Frequently Asked Questions

Finding and hiring a photographer for your wedding is a big step.  This is the person that will be with you for the entire day of your wedding.  This is the person who will document the day, process the photographs, and provide the album that stores your memories for generations to come.

Remember that after the wedding day, the only thing you have left is your spouse, and the photos.  We want you to have the best possible photos to remember your day.

To help you choose the best possible photographer (who might not be me) I’ve put together a list of questions and answers for you.  Feel free to use this list of questions when you interview other photographers.

Q: “Who should be my photographer for my wedding?”

A: This is probably the most important question that you can think about, and the most important question to ask the various photographers when you are interviewing candidates.

A photographer, in my opinion, is more than just a person with a camera.  They are recording history, but there’s also some innate artistic interpretation going on.  Anybody can push the button on a camera – but a true photographer will think about things like “what’s important here?”  “what do we want to see and remember?” as well as “what things are distracting from the main message?”

Your wedding photographer will probably spend more time with you during the wedding preparations, and the wedding day than any other vendor you have, and in fact, more than most of the people in your wedding party!  Our job is to be the fly on the wall, documenting your day.  Then at the end of the day when everybody else is done, we still have a big job to do – to put it all together in such a way that the story can be told.

You need to choose a photographer that you are comfortable with personally, professionally, and artistically.  Two out of three will lead to disappointment.  If I am not a good fit for you in all three of the above categories, I will help you find another photographer that is.  My goal is for you to be happy.  As Stephen Covey says, “Win/win, or no deal.”

Q: “How would you define your style?”

A: This is actually a great question, and it’s something you should ask every photographer that you are interviewing for your wedding.

I would define my style as “simple, clean, and subtly dramatic.”  I am not overly artistic with my photos – I prefer cleaner photographs that tell a strong story.  I do some black and white conversions, some sepia toning, I will do some vignetting – whatever enhances the story.

Q: “How much should I expect to spend on wedding photography?”

A: There are photographers to match every budget.  Some are as cheap as $500 for the day.  Others can range to over $20,000 for the day.

My packages start at $1,750 for 8 hours of photography.  We also have a variety of a la carte products that you can add on.

Q: “Why are you so expensive?”

A:  Actually, we are quite reasonable, considering all that we provide.  You might want to take a look at the “Behind the Price” page, where I outline all of the things that go on before and after I actually press the shutter button.  I think you’ll be surprised.

The short answer is that my prices are based on my costs, and what I put into the production.  I am not the cheapest alternative, nor am I the most expensive.  I believe I am a good value for the price, and my customers seem to agree.

If you get a photographer that only charges $500 to $1000 for a wedding – you are most likely getting images straight out of the camera, with no corrections.  If someone is doing the same amount of work that I’m doing, with the same amount of gear that I bring, providing the same quality of work that I provide- then they are losing money, and they will not be able to stay in business.

Q: “How much do I save by getting a package vs. getting everything a la carte?”

A: On average, you will save between 10 to 20 percent buying a package.

Q: “Who will actually come and photograph my wedding?”

A: I will.  I do not subcontract weddings.  If you book a wedding with me, you will see me on your wedding day.

Q: “Since your wedding packages include the data disk, and I can take the disk to a local place to have the photos printed, why should I buy prints from you?”

A: First, I really want you to have the disk.  This ensures that years from now, you have all of your wedding photos.

Second, you should make sure that your disks are stored in a safe place.  I provide two copies of the disk, one for you, one for you to store in a different place.  That means a different house, a safe deposit box, some other place in case something happens to the first set, you have a backup set.  I do not keep backups of your photographs past a certain amount of time, usually about six months.

When you order a print from me – I retouch the photo to make sure that everything about that photo is as perfect as possible.  I remove stray hairs, I remove facial blemishes, I make sure the eyes are clean and bright.  On average, this takes me anywhere from 5 minutes to 30 minutes per photo.

I order my prints from a professional lab, which only serves professional photographers.  They use calibrated equipment, to make sure that what I see on my screen is exactly what you will see on your print.  Have you ever noticed how you get different color prints from different places?  That doesn’t happen here.

All of these things account for the higher price of my prints vs. your local print shop.

Q: “How many photos should I expect to get?”

A: You should expect between 30 and 50 photos per hour of shooting, per photographer.  This is a lot of photographs, and many will be similar.  Keep in mind that some photographs are merely to establish the story line when we go to produce the album; not every photo will be “cover quality”.

Q: “Can I see an online gallery from a previous wedding?”

A: Definitely.  In fact, I prefer that you look at that to determine what I can do.  This gives you an idea of how I will cover your day, as well as a better overall picture of the results you’ll get.  Anybody can go out and take 1,000 photos and put the best 10 up in a portfolio – but consistently getting the shot, capturing the moment, is more important.  Yes, you will have your “cover shots”, but the overall result is equally (if not more) important.  Drop me an email for access to a gallery from a previous wedding.

Q: “What does it take to book you?”

A: By signing a contract, and putting down 1/3 of the package price, you have reserved me for that date.  If you are not sure which package you wish to choose, then 1/3 of the smallest package can be put down as an initial deposit to reserve the date.  Note that locking in the date also protects you from future price increases, even if you choose to go to a higher package.

Q: “Why should we do an engagement session?”

A: This is more than just a chance to get some good pictures.  This is a chance for you and I to get to know each other, for me to find out what you like, and for us to learn how to work together.  We’re not just capturing moments – we’re creating art together.  The more I know about you, the better your wedding day pictures will turn out.  Many couples like to book this engagement session 2-3 months before the wedding, so they can use the photos for the wedding announcements, or the “save the date” cards.

I’ve also found that the engagement session builds trust between us.  Most people have bad memories of being photographed – our mothers dragging us off to places in the mall run by disinterested people who waved toys in front of us.  Later we sat for school pictures (which never looked good).  Or, people would force us into groups and bellow, “Say cheese!” (which is really cheesy) as we exposed our teeth in a grimace, looking forward to having the whole thing be over.

Our sessions are different.  We might ask you to stand a certain way, move a certain way; when you see the pictures, you’ll understand why.  Because we use digital SLR cameras, we can usually show you the pictures right on the back of the camera – so you can see that we make you look good.

On your wedding day, you’re not going to have time to look at the back of the camera.  You’ll be doing so much, talking with so many people, managing so many details, that you’ll just have to trust that I get the pictures.

Q: “What should we wear to the engagement session?”

A: Take a look at the “Your Portrait Session” page; that’s a good place to start.  The only addition I would make is that because there are two of you, you should wear complementary colors so you don’t clash.  You don’t have to dress like twins – you don’t do that anywhere else, right?  Think “clean, simple, bright, cheery” – and that’s how your photos will turn out.  Definitely make sure you shower, and that the groom shaves (if he is clean-shaven) on that day – although the camera can’t capture smell, you’ll feel fresher, and that will show in the resulting photos.  Make sure you get a good night’s sleep the night before.