The warning signs that matter most are no written plan if the photographer cannot shoot your date, no cancellation or rescheduling terms, a demand for the full payment up front, and evasiveness about who will actually photograph your wedding.
Ask any photographer you are seriously considering for one complete gallery from a single real wedding, not a selection.
Documentary coverage means the photographer works continuously and reactively for most of the day, reading what is about to happen and being in place before it does.
The biggest thing that blows out a formals timeline is people who are not where they are meant to be.
The questions worth asking are the specific ones: who exactly will photograph your day, what happens if they cannot, how many photos you will receive and when, what a full gallery looks like, and how they would handle your particular timeline.
Looking natural comes from giving your attention somewhere else, not from being told to relax.
Documentary means the photographer watches and reacts, and nothing is arranged.
