What to expect if you choose me to be your wedding photographer:
In the beginning:
Email me and check to see if I have your date open. If I do, then we’ll set up a time to meet, have some coffee, chat about your wedding and I’ll show you my contract and my work. Then if you want me to be your photographer, you’ll sign the contract and put down a $250 as your deposit to hold your date.
After you’re booked:
We’ll set up a date for your engagement session and I’ll send you a form for you to fill out so I can get to know you and we can come up with a completely customized engagement session for you. Then, about a week after your engagement session, I’ll post a sneak peek on my blog of some of your images. And I will email you with a password to a private online gallery where you can view all of the portraits from your session and order prints.
4 weeks before your wedding:
Your remaining balance is due in full. I’ll email you a reminder before the due date =)
This is when we finalize details and come up with a timeline/schedule. This can be done in person or over the phone, whichever is best for you.
Your wedding day:
have fun!
1-2 weeks after your wedding:
I will post retouched/stylized images from your wedding on my blog and I’ll email you with a password to your private online gallery where you can view all of your portraits and place your order for prints.
4 weeks after your wedding:
I will mail you your digital negatives on dvd.
8-10 weeks after the wedding:
If you order an album, I will send you a password to an online gallery where you can review the pages for your album.
Then after the final adjustments and changes are made, it will be ready for printing.
Travel Fees (for weddings outside of Orange County, CA)
$1 per mile roundtrip for distances less than 2 hours by car.
If the distance is over 2 hours by car, then one nights hotel stay will be added to the fees.
If the distance is over 6 hours by car then plane tickets, a rental car and 2 nights hotel stay will be added to the fees.
FAQ’s:
Why do a first look?
A first look (when the bride and groom see each other before the ceremony) is highly, highly, highly, did I say highly? HIGHLY recommended.
The tradition of not seeing each other before the ceremony comes from when the parents of a bride, who was in an arranged marriage, didn’t want their daughter to see the groom before the ceremony in case she though he was ugly and run away! Obviously, I hope, you are not in that situation =)
A first look gives couples a chance to see each other in a much more intimate setting than with hundreds of people staring at them, they can relax, hug and kiss and be able to say things that they wouldn’t be able to in the ceremony. The butterflies go away and you can relax and get be able to do your portraits in natural light and not be worried about missing a big chunk of your reception or leaving your guests waiting for you to join them. It takes the stress off of everyone, especially you =)
How many proofs will I get?
After your wedding I go through and take out the ones with closed eyes and strange facial expressions, the ones where I was metering and the out of focus ones. Then I go through again and take out the duplicates because more often than not, I take 3 shots in a row and end up with three of the exact same image. When I’m done the end result is approximately 500-700 images.
Will all of my images be edited?
The images on your digital negatives dvd and the images in your proofing gallery will all be color corrected. You can purchase a dvd with your favorite 10 to be fully retouched/stylized in color and in b&w for $250. All of the images you order through me for prints, gallery wraps, albums, etc. will be fully retouched and stylized.
What are digital negatives?
Think about film negatives: completely unedited. Digital negatives are the same way. They are a blank canvas, with lots of potential. However, digital negatives are NOT the images you see on my website, albums, prints, and on my blog. All of those images that you see have been fully retouched/stylized. Most couples want their digital negatives because they feel a sense of security having a digital copy of all of their wedding images, or because they want to print the photos themselves, or because they want to post their photos online, such as on a blog or Facebook.
What does retouching a photo mean?
Each image is truly unique, therefore, retouching a photo is different for every image. It can mean increasing contrast, sharpening, making certain things lighter or darker, removing wrinkles, acne or scars, covering an ear, switching a head with a separate image, erasing strange things from the background, etc. The things we can do to one image are truly endless, and every single image needs different and customized retouching. To see a few examples, scroll down =)
What does stylizing a photo mean?
Stylizing a photo can mean many different things and hopefully you like my style already because all of the images you see on my blog have been stylized. I try to not “over stylize” my work. I like to make the images artistic and modern with a touch of vintage. Stylizing can involve changing certain color hues, adding grain, and so on.
Why does one of your desk prints cost $25 when the drugstore costs 25 cents?
Not only are you paying for the print itself, but you are paying for the time it takes to make your print look it’s absolute best. This means editing and retouching it, which can in some circumstances take a very long time. We have to calibrate the image, re size it and order it from a professional printer, who will print your image on high quality photographic uv coated paper. We then have to pay for the prints to be packaged in a professional manner and shipped. At the drugstore, they run your image through a low quality printer and print it on low quality paper, and spend at the most 5 minutes with you and do nothing to make your image look better. In fact, most of the time, your image will turn out looking worse because my computer is not calibrated to their printer.
Which images will you retouch then?
I will fully retouch/stylize all of the images you order for prints, canvas wraps, albums, etc.
Can I pay extra for you to retouch/stylize all of my wedding proofs?
When I retouch a picture, it usually takes 10 minutes and then if I have to switch a head, remove a scar, etc. it takes even longer. So if I were to retouch all of your, say, 500 images, it would take somewhere around 150 hours, so that is not a possibility for me. I do however, offer a dvd that has 10 of your favorite fully retouched/stylized, high res. images.
Check out the difference between a proof and an retouched/stylized image:
