Here’s where we get to answer all of the questions you may have! Wedding planning can be stressful and we want to make sure that booking your photographer is one of the easiest parts of your wedding journey. Take a look at some of our most asked questions below.
Have more questions? 🙂
How would you describe your style?
We are somewhere in the middle between candid and posed – but the mantra that everyone in our studio follows is “Whatever it takes to keep you happy and comfortable.” If you are happy and comfortable, we will get amazing photos!! Sometimes making you happy means we need to shoot candid and leave you alone – and sometimes making you happy requires us to step in and let you know that if you turn your body to the left you will look like a goddess. You’d want to know that, right? 😉
Why do you love shooting weddings?
It’s like opening night backstage of a Broadway show! You’ve made all these plans and now it’s time to see it all come to fruition. It’s exciting. I love troubleshooting and the challenge of making beautiful photos in (sometimes) less than ideal conditions. I also love making people happy. I love being responsible for delivering the beautiful photos that brides and grooms have come to expect – and then watching you smile and share them with the world.
How long have you been in business and how many weddings have you photographed?
Eek… I’m showing my age. Do I have to? I’m old enough and experienced enough to do a great job, but not so old and so experienced that I’m out of touch, bitter, or jaded! I’ve shot over 600 weddings since 2006, but I still get excited to go to work every weekend!
What equipment do you use?
We use the most advanced dSLR camera bodies and lenses available – in some cases, MULTIPLE camera bodies! And don’t worry, we have a backup with us for every piece of equipment.
What will you be wearing on my wedding day?
We dress appropriate to YOUR wedding, and we will ask you if you’ve requested a specific dress code for your guests – all events are different. We will appear to be well dressed guests, but we will happily lay on the ground and ruin a nice suit or dress if it will yield a great photo 😉
Do you have liability insurance?
Absolutely! We have up to $2 million dollars in coverage from our insurance company. Anything beyond that, and we will have to set up a GoFundMe page!
We love your style, but will we love the second photographer?
Awww shucks. We love you and we love our 2nd photographers too! If we didn’t, we wouldn’t invite them to help photograph your wedding. We have a group of experienced second shooters who have been working for us for many years. Their primary purpose is to capture additional candid images, not photographing the family portrait – your primary photographer will do that for you and be your main point of contact. That said – they are all so talented and amazing and we love spending the day with them at your wedding.
What is the difference between a lighting assistant and a second shooter?
Lighting assistants help with every aspect of the wedding day except taking photos. In an emergency, they are all talented with a camera so they CAN help if absolutely necessary. More often than not, they are holding the bouquet to give your arms a break, fluffing your dress, changing camera lenses for me so I can keep shooting, moving lightstands, and finding your aunt when we need her for a family photograph. Second photographers are photographers. Of course they will do whatever we need to make the day go smoothly, but their primary job is to photograph the day.
How many photos do you take?
This varies from wedding to wedding, so if you have a small wedding with a small guest list, you will have fewer photos – maybe 500 total. If you have a 200 person guest list and everything is all in one location, you might have 800 photos. If you add a second photographer, you might have over 1,000. The important thing to take from this is that we do not limit the number of photos. We do narrow the photos down from the wedding day and take out any photos where someone is blinking or a guest walks in front of the camera. Rest assured, we give you all of the best shots from your wedding day.
Can we provide you with a shot list or must take photos?
Of course! DO: Send us a list of your family and loved ones – let us know who you MUST have a photo of. Or let us know if you made the place cards by hand. We wouldn’t want to miss something important to you. DON’T: Send us all of your Pinterest pictures and ask us to copy pictures from ten different weddings, at ten difference venues, on ten different days with different weather. Feel free to let us know what you like – but if you DON’T see what you like, there’s a good chance that we don’t do it, don’t like it, or aren’t good at it! So hire the person that shoots what you like, the way that you like.
Do we get to see or keep the RAW images?
We’ll place a bet that you saw this question in The Knot magazine, right? 😉 We can certainly give you all of the RAW files but you will regret this decision, as the file size is enormous and will make your computer angry. But if you want them, you can have them – you will need to supply us with a portable hard drive and will be responsible for all shipping related charges.
What is the online gallery?
We host a website that you can share with your friends and families, so that they can see all of your finished photos. They can purchase digital files or prints directly through the online gallery. We fulfill all orders that are made in the online gallery. Also, you will be able to download all of your high resolution wedding photos from this website as well. The link never expires!
Are the digital files watermarked?
We send watermarked sneak peeks – but the finished product you receive will have no logos or watermarks.
When will we get our pictures?
You will receive a preview to share with friends and family (and prove your marriage to the world) about 3 days after the wedding. We guarantee delivery of your edited photos within 6-8 weeks of your wedding day. Designing an album with us? You will typically receive that within 1 week after finalizing your album design. Awesome!
How much are your wedding packages?
Truthfully, we are somewhere in the middle of other studios you may have looked into. We have options that range in price from about $3,000 up to $8,000. You have a wide range of choices and we’d love to help at any price point in between!
Do you charge for travel or multiple locations?
There is no charge for travel in the Albany – Lake George region, but we do often charge for mileage and in some cases hotel reimbursements more than 60 miles away – this would all appear in your original quote so there are no surprise costs after the wedding. All of our weddings include a specific number of hours of coverage – that time starts when we arrive at the venue and ends when we leave the wedding. So any travel in the middle of the day is included in the coverage time allotted for your wedding day.
We’re ready to book! What’s your payment plan?
YAY! Just let us know you are interested and we send an online quote and contract for you to review. Everything is signed electronically, so no need to fire up the old fax machine or find postage and an envelope. Once you agree to the quote and contract, we ask for a 1/3 deposit of the total price. If the total is $6,000, we would ask for a $2,000 deposit. You can pay by cash, check, bank transfer, or any major credit card.
When should we book you for our wedding?
Today! Truthfully, if you don’t book early, you won’t get the venue you want, the photographer you want, or the videographer you want. Each photographer can only shoot one wedding on any given day. Sometimes people book two years in advance, sometimes they book two months in advance. We would encourage you to coordinate availability with your venue and photographer BEFORE signing a contract with either! Then you get everything you want!!
Can you pencil in a date for me?
We can but the only way to actually hold the date is with a signed quote, contract, and deposit. We “hold” dates up to 10 days for those that have signed their contract. If the deposit is not received in a timely manner, the date is released. If we pencil you in, we will notify you when someone else contacts us – but when a potential client wants to know our availability, we want to tell them YES or NO… not MAYBE – no one trusts a photographer that says “I MIGHT be available on your day, I’m not sure!”
If I need to cancel my wedding, is the retainer refundable?
The retainer is refundable only if we are able to “re-book” your wedding date. We will actively try to re-book the date, but if you cancel on short notice, that becomes less likely. The secondary payments are fully refundable in the event of a cancellation, regardless of whether we re-book the date. If the venue burns down, or someone passes away – we return all of your money, no questions. That’s the “Act of God” clause in our contracts.
Do you offer discounts for off season or non-saturday events?
We have a separate pricing list for weddings that take place December – March. April – November are usually always busy for us. But please don’t hesitate to let us know what you are looking for in a wedding package.
Want to know more? 🙂