How to avoid a no-show photographer

You’ve made the calls with your photographer, discussed what you want, and are excited about the pictures that will go up on your social media pages. But one hour into the event, your photographer is nowhere!

What do you do?

A quick alternative will be to use the nearest and most accessible iPhone, but is that really a great idea for your big day? Rather than waiting till it happens and interfering with your plans, you can take action beforehand.

This blog post dives into how to avoid a no-show photographer.

Do that research

The first thing you need to do when booking any vendor is to do your research, and your photographer is included, irrespective of the referral. Researching helps you read through reviews from past customers which tells you if they have a history of standing their clients up.

You generally want to avoid such service providers because there’s no certainty they won’t be absent on your big day, too.

Let your research cover their social media platforms, their website, or, if allowed, a nice chat with their previous clients about their services. You can also read up on these major tips on event planning.

Set up a contract

To avoid a no-show photographer, you may want to make things legal by setting up a contract that binds their service to you with a fee. Your contract can include the terms and conditions of working together, cancellation fees, and no-show fees.

Your contract must spell out the responsibilities of your photographer, his appropriate time of arrival, and other consequences attached to a no-show situation.

Follow up before the event

Contact your photographer multiple times before your event to remind them of their presence and responsibilities. In this case, having more than one contact detail of your photographer is helpful to ensure you have more than one way of reaching them when needed. 

Check-in and have a backup plan

On the day of the event, check in with your photographer so they arrive on time to capture the important moments. Because life is filled with uncertainties, it is helpful to have a backup photographer just in case of an emergency absence from your main photographer.

A backup helps relieve the anxiety of not having anyone to capture important moments during an event. 

Consider a professional company

You can choose to hire photographers from vendor agencies like GoldnLilies or companies where photographers are registered to offer their services. At GoldnLilies, we vet vendors, and reviews are available when hiring from us—our primary aim is to deliver the best service. 

For those looking for a photographer in Lagos or Abuja, this gives you a guarantee and assurance that you’ll have someone to handle photography throughout your big day and that legal processes are in place just in case things go south. Learn more about GoldnLilies.

Start your photographer search on GoldnLilies

Having your photographer absent during an event can’t be a frustrating experience, one that you don’t want to repeat itself.

To avoid a no-show photographer, do your research before hiring, set up a legal contract, follow them up weeks before the event, check in with them, and prepare a backup photographer, or consider hiring a photographer from a professional company to get reassurance.

Want to connect with skilled photographers near Lagos, Abuja or anywhere near you?

Go to GoldnLilies today and connect with any vendor of your choice.