Now it's not that I don't like answering questions, far from it in fact, I love my Brides and Grooms to ask away. Its something actually I'm pretty passionate about, the decision to book a Wedding Photographer is an important one and one that needs careful thought. If I can put a Brides mind at rest by answering any number of questions then I'm more than happy to do just that.
So with that in mind I thought what a better way to kick start a relationship with some of you is to answer some of the questions you may not have even thought about.
We don’t need an engagement session; can we remove this from the package?
You can if you wish but the session is complimentary and as a result the price won’t change. Personally I cant recommend it enough, have a read through one of my other blog posts about this very question and hopefully you'll see why I'm such an advocate for these shoots. - 5 reasons you should definitely have an engagement shoot
How many images would you expect to take on our wedding day?
That depends on the type of package you decide on and how long the wedding day is. Typically its anywhere from 250 to 500 images all hand edited with care. My personal belief is that any image you receive you should be able to print and hang in any room or any space.
Some people in the past have asked about the possiblity of getting all the RAW files of every image taken. This is something that I never do, it'd be like asking the Chef if you can have all the ingredients to make your own cake or the Musician to have the flute and the sheet music and you'll hum it yourself. The finished product I provide isn't just a load of photos, all the images are worked on and made perfect for you. Thats what your paying for, my skills as a photographer and my eye as an artist.
Who will photograph our wedding?
We don’t use 2nd photographers or assistants, I will shoot the wedding myself and have worked in this way for many years now. It actually scares me thinking about being responsible for another photographer. As much I may trust someone my experiences working with other photographers hasn't always been positive. Back in the film days I had a photographer working under me who shot a whole dining room full of people without even putting a film in the camera. Maybe I have trust issues but remember how important your day is. I for one cant risk it.
How long will it take to get the photos?
Normal processing is around 3 weeks but please allow up to 4-6 weeks during busy periods. Why you may ask? Well as I mentioned above, each and every image is hand edited to make it perfect for you and for this reason it takes time.
Will you shoot Reportage style photos during the day? I dont like posing too much.
Yes, I shoot a variety of natural reportage style photographs along with a few posed romantic pictures, although I try to make these as natural as possible to avoid you feeling awkward. This again is why its so important to have the engagement shoot, get you used to the way I work and actually how easy it is to look awesome. Have a look at another one of my blog posts on what documentary photography is all about, it may answer some more questions. - Photojournalism, Documentary, Reportage? What is it anyway?
Do you do any family group photos?
Yes, these are important pictures but we suggest limiting group shots to no more than 10 so as to not interrupt the flow of the day. Also a little hint is to make the Bestman aware that as part of his duties he will be responsible for helping round up all the family members that keep disappearing off to the bar. The quicker we can do the family shoot, the quicker you can all get on with the celebrations.
Are you insured in case the worst happens?
Yes I am fully insured by Public Liability and Professional Indemnity insurance.
Public liability insurance covers photographers against claims from members of the public, maybe for injury or damage that may have been directly or indirectly caused . For example, say I'd left my gadget bag lying on a pathway at a wedding and someone tripped over it and injured themselves, I would be liable for any compensation that person sought. Another fine example would be that my camera and tripod fell over and caused some damage to a nearby car, then owner of that vehicle would be able to gain compensation. Many venues won't actually allow a vendor to operate within their grounds unless they are covered by this type of insurance.
A good example of professional indemnity insurance would be something like if I shot a wedding and accidentally wiped or damaged the digital storage media, losing all of wedding pictures then that couple would most likely be requiring a significant amount of compensation. A scary thought and one that I've never had happen or heard happening and with backups should never happen but this is the real work and things happen so its best we are covered for the worst.
We are interested in booking you, what’s the next step?
Fantastic! Get in touch so we can have a chat, arrange a meeting to show you sample albums and give you a quote. Its a no obligation meeting and as I said before its a really important decision and for this reason this is a great time for you get to know me and also for me to get to know you, the fit has to right and we don't get on then maybe we shouldn't work together.
How do we book?
To officially book us a non-refundable booking fee of 20% is requested to secure the all-important date, with balance payable 2 weeks prior to the wedding. We accept payment via bank transfer or cash.
The booking fee is obviously taken off the final balance and reason its non-refundable is that we get enquiries all the time, quite often we have to turn down weddings due to being booked already. If someone was to cancel then we may have lost another wedding that we cant then refill.
We also have a contract drawn up for you to sign, its important that we all know what we are getting into. You know I'll absolutely be there and I know your serious about getting married.
