Planning the wedding photography for your special day is very important and below is some information to help you when hiring a photographer to capture those special memories.
- Why hire a wedding photographer?
The difference between a professional set of weddings photos and what a friend or relative can take with their pocket camera is simply worlds apart. The photographer is working with expensive professional equipment and post processing software and using their considerable skills to produce a memorable set of photos and photo books and albums.
- What about shoot and burn?
This can turn out to be a really bad decision. You will be getting an inferior product and professional photographers will not do this. Shoot and burn photographers are cheap and compete only on price. They are not concerned with quality and service and for your special day. There are plenty of articles on “Shoot and Burner’s” on Google, check them out. Photographs of your special day will last a lifetime and you want the best that you can afford. The choice is up to you.
- When should you engage a photographer?
You should start as soon as you decide on your wedding date and have booked your ceremony and/or reception venue. Summer months are very popular for weddings and it is good planning to get in early.
- What are my costs?
It depends on what you want and can afford. The cheapest option is a single photographer and finished images supplied on disk. If you want two or more photographers then the cost will be higher. Do you want just photo’s of the ceremony or the whole day including preparation, ceremony, reception. Would you like a photobook or album and large prints, perhaps a canvas print. There are many possibilities and I am happy to work with you and provide a customised quote based on your requirements for the day. There will not be any surprise costs afterwards.
- What sort of photobooks do I provide?
The photobooks are designed by me to your requirements. They can be up to 200 pages, and A3, A4 or A5 in size. The photobooks can be portrait square or landscape. The photobooks are hand stitched hard cover in a wide choice of cover materials and paper stock. Photobooks are generally a cheaper option to the traditional wedding albums and can have many more photos and pages. Images are digitally printed on long life paper, matt or gloss. There is a wide choice of paper stock and cover materials including leather.
- How can you secure a booking?
Both a booking fee and a signed contract is required to confirm a wedding date. Payment can be made by bank transfer, cheque or cash. The balance is required by the wedding date.
- How long do I take to process the photo’s?
Generally 2-3 weeks are required to post process the images after the wedding.
- How long will it take for a photobook to be ready?
The photobook should be ready for previewing 4 weeks after the wedding. Once you approve the design and layout, the book is sent to the printer where it can take up to 21 days to be produced.
- Will I be able to see my images online?
All finished images will be able to be viewed in a private gallery when processing is finished. The images in the gallery are of low resolution and can be copied if you wish. These images are only suitable for small print sizes.
- Will I get a copy of the high resolution images?
Generally I take around 1000 images of the ceremony and formal photo’s afterwards depending on the size, location and duration of the wedding. I then select the best images for post processing and 2 copies of the full resolution images will be supplied on DVD. While you will be able to get the images printed at your local photo store, I would suggest that any photo’s that you intend to get enlarged, should be printed by a quality printer on long life photo/archival paper. Generally the local photo store photos do not always have good colour reproduction and quality control and as this is a most important occasion it is better that they be displayed at best possible quality.
– Peter
