Wedding Photography FAQ
Wedding Photography FAQ
The following is our Wedding Photography FAQ page, or Frequently Asked Questions Page, in order to assist on general questions that we have had surface in the past, so that you can learn the answers to most of your questions without even having to reach out!
Q: Do you deliver every image you shoot?
A: No, we do not. We eliminate duplicate images, test shots, missed focused shots, shots with bad expressions and other images that may dilute the overall product delivery. For example, because we shoot with low apertures, sometimes we take a few extra shots to make sure we have the perfect focus. We don’t expect you to have the expertise or the time to zoom into each image to select the one with the sharpest focus, so we spend hours doing that on our end. In another example, candid laughs and emotional tears are some of the best images from the day. Unfortunately, they can also yield some unflattering facial expressions. We might snap a few extras of any of these moments to make sure we have a great shot with the ideal expression for the moment. With our expertise of processing tens of thousands of pictures we may eliminate ones that we feel are duplicates and only deliver the best one.
Q: Do you provide partial day coverage?
A: Yes. Wedding coverage starts at 4 hours and extends up from there.
Q: Does your studio do headshots, individual portraits, family portraits, newborn shoots, commercial photography, or other types of photography?
A: Yes, we have experience in many fields of photography.
Q: Do you shoot Quinceaneras, Debutants, Bah Mitzvahs, or Corporate Events?
A: Yes. These are all considered ‘event photography.’ While our main focus is Wedding and Engagement photography, we still will quote out and accept other events!
Wedding Photography FAQ – STYLE AND QUALITY QUESTIONS
Q: What is your photography style?
A: Depending on the venue, the desire of the couple, and the flow of the day, a variety of photography styles are employed throughout most events including photojournalism, fashion, fine art, and traditional.
Q: My venue is very dark. How does your studio handle these situations and can I see samples?
A: We have shot in the darkest of situations so you have no reason to worry! If the situation allows, we will set up additional lighting to ensure we get focused pictures. Some chapels do not allow for flash photography; and for that reason, we shoot on cameras with professional grade low-light performance and lenses with low apertures.
Wedding Photography FAQ – POST PRODUCTION QUESTIONS
Q: Do you touch up all the images in our image download?
A: Yes we do. Every image we deliver is post produced with our unique style of post production. This involves color correction, exposure adjustment, selective black and white processing, clarity adjustments, tone-mapping, and other corrections. Many photographers will not post produce any images, or will only post produce “select” images from your wedding. This means that you may have pictures that are too dark, have strange skin tones or other common photography flaws.
Q: What is the difference between advanced and custom; and why are there additional costs for custom retouch?
A: Advanced post-production includes touch ups such as removal of blemishes, removal of bags under eyes, removal of fly-away hairs, etc. On the other hand, custom post production is anything that requires extensive, custom work in Photoshop such as removing entire objects from the scene, changing the size and shape of body parts or other objects in the scene, adding objects to a scene and other custom work. We charge hourly for the custom post production as the time required ranges depending on the complexity of the project.
Q: Do you shoot in JPEG, Small Raw, or Large Raw?
A: We shoot most of our images in Small Raw with certain situations where we move to Large Raw.
Wedding Photography FAQ – WEDDING DAY QUESTIONS
Q: I have downtime between events on my wedding day. Will I be charged for that downtime?
A: For a variety of reasons, we have to charge for the time in between events. The fact is, we’re never truly resting during the day, whether we’re backing up images, setting up for the second venue, traveling to the second location, taking venue shots, or making up for lost photo time because of unforeseen wedding day delays. In many cases, we use that “downtime” to take you and your significant other out for a photo session or more family portraits
Q: What happens if we go over the contracted amount of time?
A: We understand that not everything goes as planned during a wedding. We never pack up before the contracted time, and moreover we’re not leaving on the dot when the contracted time is up. Instead, we will ask you at the end of your contracted time whether or not you would like to extend. If you would like us to stay, we will charge the rates specified in your contract rounded to the closest 60-minute increment.
Q: Why do we need to charge for additional coverage?
A: We’ve dedicated the entire day to your wedding, so we won’t be racing off to catch other plans that evening. However, we need to charge for additional coverage primarily because there are costs of having the team stay for additional hours. The shooters require additional compensation. Furthermore, the additional photos taken will need to be post produced which adds to our overall costs.
Wedding Photography FAQ – ENGAGEMENT SESSION QUESTIONS
Q: When can we expect to see our photos from our engagement session?
A: Post production for engagement sessions are completed within 2 weeks after the date of the shoot. If you require the images to be completed prior to 2 weeks after the date of the shoot, a rush process fee will be charged.
Q: When should we do our engagement session?
A: We encourage you to do your engagement session as soon as possible. The latest we suggest is at least ten weeks prior to the wedding date due to the time necessary to post produce each image (2 weeks) and complete your product order(s) (2 weeks). See the engagement session post production delivery time and engagement session product delivery time FAQ’s for more details.
Q: Can we schedule our engagement session for the weekend?
A: Depending on our wedding schedule, it is possible to schedule an engagement session on a weekend date.
Q: I’d like you to Photoshop our name and date into the save-the-dates, is that included in the package pricing?
A: Custom save-the-date images are priced at $250 per image and can be added on to any package.
Q: When and where can we view our engagement pictures?
A: Your engagement session images will be completed no more than 2 weeks after the date of the shoot. If you require the images to be completed prior to 2 weeks after the date of your shoot, a rush edit fee of $150.00 will be charged.
Wedding Photography FAQ – ALBUMS, PRINTS, BOOKS QUESTIONS
Q: How long does it take to get my prints?
A: Product creation times vary, however, print orders will generally be completed within 4 weeks after the product order is submitted. Similar to the post-production process, if you require rush processing, a fee of $150.00 will be charged. Additional fees for rush shipping may also apply.
Q: How long does it take to get my album?
A: As with our other products, production times vary. However, you can typically expect to receive your album 4 weeks after placing the order. The process prior to placing the order varies in duration depending on how quickly you respond to the instructions for the album design as well as the amount of changes you request after the initial designs. Some brides complete this within a month or two; others take over a year. Similar to the post-production process, if you require rush processing, a fee of $150.00 will be charged. Additional fees for rush shipping may also apply.
Q: How many pages and images do we get in our wedding day album?
A: Our albums contains anywhere between 20-40 pages and 30-100 images. If you’d like to add more pages and images, each additional page can be added at additional cost and includes the design time/revisions.
Q: Can I add more pages and images to my album?
A: Each additional page can be added for additional cost and includes the design time/revisions.
Q: Do you guys provide framing services as well?
A: We do not provide framing services, however, we can provide you with recommendations on where to purchase and frame your images.
Wedding Photography FAQ – IMAGE DOWNLOAD QUESTIONS AND LEGAL QUESTIONS
Q: What size can we print our photos up to with our full resolution image download?
A: In most cases, you can print your photos up to 20×30 without any quality loss. If you’d like to print larger than 20×30, additional post-production will be required.
Q: What rights do I have to the digital prints?
A: You have the right to reprint images whenever you want and post images to social media. However, you may not sell your images for profit or publish your images for profit without the written consent of Photography by Jake.
Q: Do you provide the RAW files from my engagement session and/or wedding day?
A: Each of our packages comes with a full resolution online gallery built through Pixieset with it’s own unique URL. However, we typically do not provide RAW (unprocessed) files from our shoots because we believe in delivering a finished product. In fact, we’re often shooting with the end product in mind. However, on occasion, we may provide RAW images along with our post-produced JPG’s for an additional fee and restrictions.
Q: How many images do you deliver on the online gallery?
A: For a 90 minute engagement session we typically deliver 100-150 images and for a wedding we typically deliver 450-1400 edited images (depending on hours of coverage). Keep in mind these numbers may increase or decrease depending on the flow of the day and the number of events/activities needing to be captured.
Q: What if I lose my images?
A: There is a $150 replacement charge for additional downloads after the event has been archived. We strongly suggest you make at least one copy of the download when you receive it from us.
Wedding Photography FAQ – EQUIPMENT QUESTIONS
Q: What type of camera/equipment do you use?
A: We have four professional grade DSLR Camera bodies and a myriad of professional lenses, a variety of flashes, lighting, and stands. The full portfolio of equipment is as follows:
Canon 6D Body
Canon 5DS Body
Canon 5D II Body
Canon T6i Body
Canon 50mm 1.2 L
Canon 70-200mm 2.8 IS L
Canon 17-40mm 4.0 L
Canon 100mm 2.8 Macro
Canon 200mm 1.8 L
Canon 10-22mm
Rokinon 14mm 2.8
Rokinon 12mm Fisheye 2.8
Canon 580 EX II Flash
Canon 430 EX II Flash
SLIK Tripod
Manfrotto Monopod
4 Photoflex Softboxes
1 Umbrella
3X Pocket Wizard Plus III
1X Pocket Wizard Plus IV
4X Sunpak Super 383 Flash 2 8-10′ Stand
Wedding Photography FAQ – IMAGE BACKUP QUESTIONS
Q: Do you back up our images? How can we ensure that our images won’t be lost?
A: We have multiple checks in line to ensure that no photographs are lost. Memory cards are taken out of the cameras and immediately uploaded to an external hard drive and a cloud service. When we get those back to the office they are immediately uploaded to an online server, so we never have any less than 2 means of gathering your photographs.
Wedding Photography FAQ – MEETING POLICY QUESTIONS
Q: We’re very busy and won’t be able to meet. Are there any other options?
A: We would love to meet with you prior to our engagement shoot or wedding; however, if you’re too busy or too far away, we can handle everything remotely. Just let us know what information you need and we will do our best to accommodate your request. For example, if you would like to see more of our work, we can forward you to one of our galleries online. If you would like to talk about packages and get a sense of the photographer’s personality, telephone calls, and webcam appointments can be arranged.
Q: Do you travel to meet clients?
A: Due to the limitations of our schedule, we currently do not travel to meet clients. If you are not in The Greater Phoenix Area, I would be happy to set up a Skype session to meet.
Q: How do I set up an appointment to meet you in person and see some of your work?
A: I would be happy to meet in person to share prints from my portfolio and began the consultation process regarding expectations and timeline regarding your Wedding Day and the events leading up to it.
Wedding Photography FAQ – PAYMENT QUESTIONS
Q: How do I reserve you for my date?
A: All dates are reserved once we receive your signed contract and deposit.
Q: What if we exceed our contracted time for our engagement shoot and/or wedding day coverage?
A: Standard rates apply for overtime. Overtime is billed at the rate of $150/hour per Master Photographer and $100/hour per Associate Photographer.
Q: If we cancel the wedding, will we receive our retainer fee back?
A: Unfortunately no. Retainer fees are used to reserve your date. Once we’ve reserved your date, we do not accept new clients for your date.
Q: If we change our wedding to a different date, will we be able to use our retainer fee towards a future date?
A: Generally no, but this is taken on a case by case basis. The reason for canceling and our availability is taken into account. Also, if rates change from your original date to your new date, the new rates will apply.