FAQs
-
I have a handful of couples each year that want to stick with tradition, and wait until the ceremony to see each other. If that’s your vision, then let’s see if we can make that happen. Waiting to see each other at the ceremony works fine for some weddings, but can be tricky to pull off for others. It really depends on timing, daylight, and how your ceremony spaces out from your reception.
Assume you will need 30 minutes to do your formal family photos and an hour to do your fun portraits with your bridal party and fiancé. If your ceremony is offsite, then we can space out things so that you have time to get in those two things along with your travel time. Usually that means leaving about 2.5hrs from ceremony ends until cocktail hour starts.
If your ceremony and reception are in the same place, we can ignore the travel time but we’ll still have an hour and a half of photos to take. That means even if you skip your cocktail hour ,we still fall 30 minutes short. Additionally, if I’m skipping the cocktail hour with you, then I’m obviously not photographing your cocktail hour or getting any detail shots of your ballroom before you are announced for your first dance. There might be some compromise with skipping a first look for weddings where the ceremony and reception are in the same place. I’m happy to help you problem solve.
-
Dwindling daylight actually can impact your photos for fall and winter weddings, especially those getting married after daylight savings ends. But with a little planning before you firm up your ceremony and reception times, you can usually get in front of any issues.
Those doing most of their portraits before the ceremony will probably be ok. But for those hoping to do everything after the ceremony, you should plan around those daylight hours. Look at the sunset times on your date and work backwards about 2.5hr to allow allow enough time for family photos, fun bridal party photos, and travel. if you are doing a first look and everything is up front, then this is likely to be a non-issue.
-
Yes, yes, and yes, for the most part.
I watermark your gallery because what you are looking at are previews. I don’t want you to mistakenly drag an image to your desktop and try to get a print. It would look horrible. But you can download the entire batch, as high-resolution, watermark-free images. That final collection are yours to post wherever you like. But I certainly appreciate a tag so others that love your shots can find me for their weddings.
-
I spend a full day going through everything we shot before I even start editing. I’m trying to find shots to tell the story of your day. I don’t have caps or quotas but I’m pretty consistent. I generally select 100 images from each hour of shooting. A 10hr day means about 1000 final images.
So what happens with the rest? Well I’m flattered that you think every time I press the shutter to take a photo results in a masterpiece. Generally most of the excluded shots are part of the process to get to the final photos I did include in your collection.
The best way to think about it is to think of us a chef at a fancy restaurant. The final meal will be amazing. That’s what we deliver. We don’t hand over the ingredients we used to make the meal. So am I saying you can’t have them? No, you can purchase them if you really want them. But they aren’t included in the package and IMHO it would be a waste of your money. Go upgrade your seats for your honeymoon to 1st class. That would be a better use of those funds.
-
I’m a firm believer that there’s more to understanding photography than a rate and a few line items. It’s not really apples to apples. The process a photographer implements from the day you book them to your final collection, differs from photographer to photographer. Not all of those services are necessarily things you can just list out.
I generally set up meetings so we can talk about your day, understand your needs, and discuss the things we offer that add value to those package items. Once you reach out for information, I’ll give you some baseline numbers so that we’re not wasting your time if we’re over your intended budget. Then we can set up a meeting where I can hear more about your day, suggest the right coverage, and explain how things work through the entire process.
-
I’ve been at this for quite some time. I think I lost track once I hit 1000 weddings. You would think I’ve seen them all but new ones are popping up all the time. So should you be worried if your venue is new to us? Absolutely not. While there are definite perks to revisiting a venue, there are equally as many perks for a venue we have never visited. Each time we revisit a venue, we try to come up with something new. But the more you visit that same venue, the more difficult the task. Much of what we do is repetition. You get the confidence knowing that we are doing things we’ve done before with great success. But there’s honestly no substitution for the excitement when we get to explore a new venue and let the creative juices flow. It’s an opportunity to do something totally different and unique.
Sometimes couples ask if we can scout a location ahead of time, however we have found that it does not improve the experience for either party on day of the event. We get inspired by exploring the venue as we go.
-
Being a recommended vendor used to mean that venues had a good experience with that vendor. Couples raved about the work and tagged the venue in our photos. Venues would then ask for photos from us to use on their websites and marketing. We would gladly share them, free of charge. Our photos help attract new couples to their venue and in turn they recommend us to those new couples.
We have plenty of venues that we work with that still use this business model. Unfortunately though, things have begun to change. Several venues have a recommended vendor list that’s not based on talent or experience, but based on a pay to play system. Some require an annual fee to be on that list. Others ask for a percentage of any couple they refer to us. But it’s worth noting, not being on a recommended vendor list doesn’t mean we aren’t a good vendor or we can’t work at your venue. It just means that we work there based on merit and demand, not because we pay for leads.
-
Engagement sessions last about 2hrs and can take place wherever you want. If travel each way exceeds an hour, there might be some travel fees tacked on. I usually do them on weekdays because I have weddings most Saturdays and Sundays. My preference for my style is AM light, but we aren't limited to that. Turnaround is usually a week or two. You walk with an online gallery, and the rights to the final edit (usually anywhere from 100-150 images).
-
We don’t offer video. Most companies that try to offer both photo and video fall short on one or the other as they only “specialize” in one or the other. Instead we suggest teams that compliment our work and most importantly, our lighting style. I’m happy to shre that list.
-
We understand you are excited to see your final photos. There are several photo companies that outsource their editing and can turn around weddings in a week. If speed is your priority over quality, we might not be the best fit. We don’t use editing houses that bulk edit or use filters. We individually edit every frame in-house. That averages 30hrs of editing per wedding. Turnaround times change season to season. With lighter months it might only be few weeks. In the busier months, it takes longer.
As to teasers, while this seems like an easy ask, the process of sorting through an entire wedding to find and then edit a few images for thank you cards takes anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour. Multiply that across 50+ weddings and it steals anywhere from 25-50 hours of actual editing time, so everyone waits longer to get their final wedding. It just slows everything down. While I’m sure you’re excited to see things, standard timing for thank you cards is a year from the wedding date. No one expects a card weeks after the wedding. Let's put our best foot forward when using only one image to showcase your whole day.
-
There are no real rules. You should never feel obliged tip unless you feel like it was earned. Some photographers just show up, put in their contracted hours, and go home. We truly go out of our way to be more than your photographers. We’re your wedding planner, spending hours on helping you coordinate a timeline and secure permits. We’re the calming voice in times of stress. We’re the people who put out your “behind the scenes" fires that happen all too often. We’re the one vendor on the train all day making sure the other vendors don’t get you off track. In the end, when it comes to tipping, use your heart and not some rule.
