Funny Questions to Ask a Photographer
Twenty questions for a photographer at a wedding, on a shoot, or across a dinner table. They ask about the odd jobs, the requests they had to refuse, the near misses with a memory card, and the lens they will not sell.
The questions
Open any question for the note
What's the weirdest thing you've been paid to photograph?
Why ask it
Adding paid is what makes it funny: pets in outfits, one sandwich, somebody's collection of taxidermy. It also skips past the portfolio answer to the working one.
What's the most ridiculous request a client has ever made?
Why ask it
Every working photographer keeps a mental list. Listen for whether they said yes anyway, which tells you roughly how long they have been doing this.
Have you ever nearly lost a whole shoot?
Why ask it
Corrupted cards and drowned drives are the shared nightmare of the trade. Asking about the near miss rather than the disaster makes it an easy story to tell.
Is there a lens you'd refuse to sell even if you never used it?
Why ask it
Gear attachment is real and slightly embarrassing, so this grants permission to admit it. The reason is usually who gave it to them or what they shot with it first.
What's the funniest thing that's happened on a shoot while you kept a straight face?
Why ask it
The professional obligation not to laugh is what makes these stories good. Weddings and family portraits produce the best of them.
Have you had to photograph something you were genuinely afraid of?
Why ask it
Snakes, heights, wasps, crowds. The answer usually includes the workaround they invented on the spot, which is more interesting than the fear itself.
What's the most expensive mistake you've made with equipment?
Why ask it
Photographers can name the exact figure years later. Whether they blame themselves or a cheap strap tells you how they handle a shoot going wrong.
What's your favorite photo that you took completely by accident?
Why ask it
Most photographers have one frame they cannot take credit for and secretly rate highest. Getting them to admit which takes the pretension out of the conversation.
Where's the strangest place you've had to set up?
Why ask it
Cupboards, car parks, someone's bathroom. Improvising a space is a real part of the craft, and this is the question that gets them describing how they do it.
What's the worst thing anyone has said about a photo you were proud of?
Why ask it
Slightly risky and usually worth it. Notice whether it came from a client, a relative, or another photographer, because each one stings for a different reason.
Which editing request do you dread getting?
Why ask it
Requests to change bodies, remove a person, or add someone who was not there come up constantly. How they handle it is a genuine answer about where their limits sit.
Do you name your cameras? Be honest.
Why ask it
Adding be honest doubles the hit rate. It is a small silly question that reliably opens a longer one about which body they actually reach for.
How do you get a stranger to relax in front of a lens?
Why ask it
This is the part of the job that has nothing to do with cameras, and most have one line they use every time. Ask for the exact words rather than the principle.
What's the weirdest thing you've used as a prop or a light stand?
Why ask it
Working photographers improvise with bins, phone torches, and white shirts. The answers are funny and genuinely useful if you take pictures yourself.
What photography advice do you hear repeated that you think is nonsense?
Why ask it
It asks for an opinion instead of a story, and by this point you will get a real one. Expect a rule about composition or gear to be taken apart.
What have you shot that the client hated and you loved?
Why ask it
It gets at the gap between paid work and personal taste, which most photographers live inside and are rarely asked about.
What's the earliest you've got up for a picture, and was it worth it?
Why ask it
The second half is the important half. A fair number will admit the light was flat and they went back to bed.
Have you ever been chased, bitten, or rained on mid-shot?
Why ask it
Offering three options makes it easy to answer and at least one will apply. Wildlife and wedding photographers have usually collected all three.
What's the photo you keep meaning to take and never have?
Why ask it
Where the funny questions turn into a real one. The unshot picture is nearly always close to home rather than somewhere far away.
Which of your photos means something that nobody looking at it would guess?
Why ask it
A good closer. It moves from the craft to the person, and it is the question they are most likely to still be thinking about later.
Talking shop with a photographer
Practical guidance for the conversation itself
Timing, especially at a wedding
- At an event, the working photographer is on the clock. The meal is the window: ceremony, speeches, first dance and golden hour are not.
- Do not stand between them and what they are pointing at, and do not ask a question while they are watching a room. They are tracking three things you cannot see.
- If they are shooting your event, hold the conversation for afterwards. A relaxed chat now costs you frames you will want later.
- Off duty, these questions work best after they have been asked something about the pictures rather than the price.
What lands badly
- What camera do you use, as an opener. It is the equivalent of asking a chef about their oven, and they have answered it a thousand times.
- Anything that turns into free work: looking at your phone photos, retouching a picture, quoting a job at a party.
- Asking why it costs that much. If you genuinely want to know, ask how long the editing takes for a full day of shooting.
- Comparing them to someone with a better phone. They have heard it, and it is the joke that ends conversations.
Follow-ups that get the real story
- 1What did you do next? Improvisation is where the craft actually lives.
- 2Did the client ever find out? Half the good stories have a version the client never heard.
- 3What would you do differently now? It moves the story from anecdote to something you can learn from.
- 4Can I see it? For most of these, the picture is right there on their phone.
If you are the client
- Ask what would help them on the day. Most will name something small and specific: a room with a window, ten minutes alone with you, someone who knows everyone's names.
- Tell them which people matter and which pictures you would be upset not to have. They cannot guess who your grandmother is.
- Ask what they need from the schedule rather than telling them the schedule. Light is not negotiable and they know when it goes.
- Feed them. It is the single most common thing photographers say gets forgotten at a long event.