Wedding Photography FAQ

Now booking for 2024. Limited 2023 Dates Remain

WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHER FAQS 2

life is full of questions

Frequently Asked Questions about wedding photography.

The questions below are the ones all the major wedding blogs tell you to ask your potential wedding photographer. Some of them are informative, and some of them are lame, but I would be a sucky wedding photographer if I didn’t make sure they were answered for you. However, to really learn about wedding photography, be sure to visit my FUQ (Frequently Unasked Questions) page. Those are the questions about wedding photography that I think are important for you to get answered, even though most people don’t know they should ask them.

What primary photographic style do you identify with?

Making photos at your wedding requires me to be excellent at several styles of wedding photography. In a typical wedding day there will be times where I will need to work in a contemporary style, a documentary style, a fine art style, or an editorial style. A wedding album isn’t complete without stunning portraiture, and Mom will kill you if we don’t get some traditional posed photos made. But if I have to label myself, I would say my work is a blend of documentary and contemporary portraiture.

What do your wedding photography packages include?

All wedding photography packages include delivery of high resolution professionally edited digital files on a flash drive, with a personal use copyright release. Other available options are wedding albums, photo prints, fine art photo prints, thank you cards, gallery wraps, acrylic and metal prints, and more. Feel free to ask for more details or challenge us to make something new. We love a challenge.

Do you have experience shooting in various lighting situations?

Yes, I am very comfortable working in all types of lighting conditions. I can use available light (my favorite), or I have plenty of lights to create my own lighting (my favorite).

Is your media preference film or digital?

These days I work primarily in digital, and I love the magic the little gnomes in the cameras can do. However, I am always very happy to supplement the gnomes’ work with old school film images (elves do that stuff since there’s more room inside a film camera). I have 35mm, 120mm, and 4″x5″ film cameras. I process all of my own film and have a black and white darkroom.

How many photographers do you work with?

Most of the time I am a one-person wolf pack. However, if your wedding needs additional photographers (like if you have more than 200 guests and/or a really big wedding party, or we'll need to travel to several locations on your day), I know many very talented wedding photographers to invite.

Do you guarantee your presence at the actual wedding?

Absolutely! I wouldn’t miss your wedding for anything! Not even a hurricane.

Do you have insurance?

Yes. Soooo many kinds. Many venues will refuse to allow me (or any wedding vendor) in the door without liability insurance. And most of them aren’t going to believe I’m your cousin-with-a-camera either.

Do you sometimes book yourself for more than one wedding in a day? Weekend?

Two weddings in one day? No freakin’ way. Not a chance. My philosophy is never ever invite trouble. Two weddings in one weekend can sometimes be done under certain ideal circumstances, but I usually won’t do that either.

Do you have a replacement wedding photographer in case you become unavailable on the day of the event?

Yes, I have a network of experienced colleagues I can call upon, and I’m always making more friends. In this business, you can never have too many friends. Actually, I’m pretty sure that’s kind of true about life in general.

What kind of equipment do you typically bring with you on the day-of?

Equipment needs vary pretty wildly from one wedding to the next. But I always prepare (for everything in life) by packing way more stuff than I expect to need. And then when I think I have everything I could possibly need, I pack some more.

Do you bring back-up equipment to the event in case of malfunction?

Yes. Always. I’m a chronic over-packer. See above.

What is your policy on taking breaks? If you require a meal break, do you require that we provide your meal?

I do not require, or even prefer, a meal break. I typically take a couple of very short breaks during quiet moments to have water or soda and a small snack. I prefer not to sit and eat a large meal while working because I don’t want to miss anything. Besides, I like to have a nap after I eat, and it’s hard to find a good spot for that at a wedding reception. Plus, the camera gets sticky.

How soon after our wedding will our proofs be ready?

Within three or four weeks of your wedding, I’ll make a blog post of some of my favorite finished images, usually 50-60. A few weeks after that your proofing gallery will be available online. Your photos will be finished within 90 days of your wedding, and once you approve the images in your proofing gallery, I will process and ship your files.

In what format are the initial proofs offered?

You will have a private online proofing gallery at a secret location on the interwebs, with the option of it being password protected and completely private, or public for family and friends to see. Batman would be proud.

Do you retain the copyright for the photos?

Yes, as your professional wedding photographer, I will retain copyright of all your wedding images, however I always provide an official copyright release for you allowing unlimited personal use and printing of your wedding photos. Since copyright stuff is pretty serious and dull, I can’t really make any good jokes about it. Bummer.

Do you reserve the right to publish the photos?

I prefer to; however, this is negotiable. I respect your privacy and I will never insist on retaining any right to publish photos of you. But I hope you’ll agree that your photos are amazing enough to share!

Do you provide the digital files and/or negatives (or copies of the negatives) to the client?

Your wedding photography package includes a flash drive with processed and print ready jpeg files, along with a personal use release so you can print your photos and/or use them on all your favorite social networks, like FaceSpace and Flutter and stuff.

Will our images be available for viewing online?

Yes. First I’ll make a super awesome blog post about your amazing wedding day. And you will have an online private proofing gallery to review your photos and share with family and friends, and also allow everyone to purchase prints or digital copies for their own use, saving you the work of distributing the photos.

What kind of wedding albums do you offer?

I’m so glad you asked about wedding albums, because I’m not just a shoot and burn wedding photographer. We love to see your photos come to life, and we have several wedding album options for you to choose from. All our wedding albums and books are lay-flat style. Wedding albums and parent albums are leather or fabric bound, with all images silver halide printed on archival paper and flush mounted. Books are press printed and have custom designed printed covers.

When will we get our wedding album?

Wedding albums are ordered immediately upon your final approval and generally arrive 2-4 months after that. Because our wedding albums are hand made, the amount of time to complete them can vary, but it’s sooooo worth the wait!

Hey! You made it to the bottom of the page! Congratulations to you. That was some boring stuff. But if you’ve stuck around this long, I think you really should email me about your wedding photography. I bet we will have a great chat.