My relative or friend has offered to shoot my wedding for free. Why should I consider hiring you instead?
All the little details add up and we completely understand how good “Free” sounds.
You have to ask yourselves a few questions. Are you going to feel ok if the pictures don’t turn out as you expected or at all? Would this possibly ruin the friendship or create family tension? What happens when your family member or friend wants to enjoy the reception instead of take pictures? What size and type of flies will they be shooting? (not all file size is equal) how are you going to feel if you can’t make your photos large enough because they shot them to small?
Maybe your friend or family member is a professional photographer but do they shoot weddings regularly? An architectural photographer is more likely to focus on the buildings than the people at your wedding (actual story).
We have heard so many “I wish i’d only known” stores from brides after their wedding day and we don’t want that to be you. The cake gets eaten, the flowers wilt away, and the memories become fuzzy. What you get to take away from your incredible wedding day is each other, a spectacular dress, and your beautiful photographs that 30 years from now when you pull out that wedding album will bring clarity to those fuzzy memories. Please consider hiring a professional.
How long have you been shooting weddings?
We shot our first wedding while we were in school at 6 years ago. It was for a good friend and her faience. With that first wedding we discovered all the wonderful things about working with a couple so in love on the most exciting day of their lives. The energy on a wedding day is absolutely amazing and to see how happy everyone is, is priceless. We continued growing our wedding business during school and have been full time wedding photographers for 4 and a half years. We have extensive knowledge in the art of film as well as a hard earned education in digital editing, studio lighting and creative posing.
We have both been photographers for 10+ years, beginning our life’s dream in high school.
Where are you Located?
We are based in sunny San Diego and have a beautiful modern studio in the heart of La Jolla where we welcome our clients to join us for a glass of wine. We love doing consultations in person and if our clients can’t make it to our studio we are more than happy to meet them locally around San Diego. Don’t let our location limit your inquiry, we travel nation wide for weddings and enjoy doing Skype consultations.
Do you travel out of state for weddings?
Yes. A great number of the weddings we do are out side of San Diego. One of the great things about hiring us for an out of state wedding is that unlike a local photographer you might higher we will approach your location with completely fresh eyes. We bring extra excitement and a fresh feel to a new location. This also means you have our undivided attention for your special weekend.
Is there a travel fee for out of state weddings?
Any travel outside of Southern California has a travel fee that depends on the accommodations surrounding your wedding. We are excellent flyers and have mastered the art of traveling with our cameras and lighting gear. We always fly in for an out of state wedding a day or two before the wedding day. This gives us time to scout your wedding and reception locations. We plan the trip so that we can attend the rehearsal, and the rehearsal dinner if you would like pictures from the dinner. We fly out the day after the wedding unless a Day After or Trash The Dress has been scheduled.
What equipment do you bring? and do you have backup cameras?
We bring a combination of camera and pro lighting equipment. Brett carries 2 cameras on him and I prefer to carry one and my favorite lenses. On top of those 3 cameras we have additional back up camera bodies we bring with us as well as batteries for days. We also bring a pro lighting set up in addition to our canon portable speed lights. We don’t always need the pro lighting set-up but we bring it just in case. Brett LOVES studio lights and if he gets the chance I know he’s going to wanna bust it out.
Digital cameras have made it easier for just about anyone to call themselves a “wedding photographer” but what should be important to you is that your photographer is a professional prepared for every situation. You wedding is one of the most important days of your life and theses memories only happen once.
How many hours will I need you for my wedding?
The time frame for every wedding is different. How long you will need us for may depend on wether your incorporating a send off into the end of your evening, and if the beautiful getting ready shots are something you feel is important to your day. Most weddings have a similar time flow to them and we are pretty good at figuring out the amount of time you will need us for to capture all of the special moments in your day.
Do you do engagement shoots?
We LOVE engagement shoots. This is a great time for all of us to get to know one another better and for you to get used to being in front of the camera. It’s ok to be nervous in front of the camera, it’s natural. This is one of the reasons we strongly encourage our clients to do engagement shoots. This allows all the both of you to get comfortable with the camera before your wedding day.
Will you do a walk through of my site?
We include a complementary walk through with every wedding we do even if we have worked at your site before. Preparation is extremely important to us and seeing that every wedding is uniquely different we want to see your site with you and hear all about the details of your wedding. It is best to do a walk through closer to the time of day that your ceremony will commence so that we can see exactly what the light will be doing.
What if you haven’t shot a wedding at my ceremony site? Why should I hire you over someone who has shot at my site?
We take preparation very seriously from bringing back up equipment to scouting locations. When you book with us we will schedule a time to do a complementary walk through with you at your Ceremony and Reception site. This gives all of us the opportunity to collaborate on the best spots around your site for all the different portraits. We want to know what your favorite places are so that we can incorporate those in to your photos, versus just choosing them for you as photographers that have shot at your site numerous times might do.
What products do you offer?
Your photographs are a piece of art so we feel it is very important to offer products that convey it as such. We offer an array of beautiful archival albums to show case your wedding and engagement. Clients that book with us typically order a couple of albums. One large one from the wedding and a couple smaller ones for parents, as well as a guest sign in book featuring their engagement photos. We also offer a unique approach to fine art prints and large wall canvases. When you come in ask us more about the new large canvas wall album we will be offering.
The list of amazing products out there is endless and constantly changing. As pro photographers we are constantly in search of newer more exciting end products to offer out clients. The important thing to us is to make sure our clients get the kinds of prints, albums and products they want. If you have something specific in mind or want something very different and unique lets make it happen. Just because we don’t typically offer a specific type of product doesn’t mean we can’t find it or create it for you.
Do you guys do black and white?
Oh yes we love black and white. We will chose a number of images from each wedding or portrait session for artistic black and whites. On top of theses if there are any specific images you see in your gallery that you would like in black and white we can easily convert them for you.
We sometimes shoot black and white film for artistic affect during a wedding or portrait session. Theses cannot be transferred into color.
Do I get the files?
There are a couple different ways that we offer the files. All weddings and engagements include the web files to put on Facebook, cary around on your new iPad, or email to the family. If it is important to you to have larger files you can print from we offer that as well. It is included in a couple of our packages or can be added on additionally before or after your wedding or engagement.
What about RAW files?
RAW files are the type of file that our professional cameras produce and computers can only open them using special software and plug-ins. We do not offer RAW files to our clients. High-REZ JPEG’s are more than adequate for large and small printing
needs.
Will we get an album?
Albums are included in certain wedding packages, but can also be added on to any package as well as purchased after your wedding or engagement shoot. Albums don’t typically come with an engagement shoot but are a nice addition to tell your love story. A fun way to share your engagement session with wedding guests is to have us create a sign in book full of your engagement photos. We leave just the right amount of space around the images for guests to write something clever and for you to read and smile at for years to come.
How long until we see our wedding images?
We have a 4-6 week turn around time. Your images are art and the process cannot always be rushed. We will send you some teasers during the editing process.
Once I place my Album order how long should I expect to wait?
Albums are ordered on a first come basis. Once you have approved and paid for any additions to your final album we will place your order in the order we have received it.
Our album company is extremely thorough and their binding process is quite intricate. Expect 6-8 weeks for the company to make and bind your forever album. We also hand check each album before we send it out to you.
Will my friends and family be able to order things after the wedding?
Of course. 4-6 weeks after your wedding or engagement shoot we will send you a link to both a private online viewing gallery and your personal ordering website that you can send out to all your guests. You or your guests can also call us at any time to personally place an order. We always love working personally with our clients and their parents to help them design and pick out a parent album, wall prints, or even holiday cards. We have some excellent fine art cards that make for lovely Thank You, save the dates, and holiday cards.
Do you have insurance?
Oh yes and lots of it. We have several different kinds of insurance to cover all the unimaginable things that can happen. Just let us know we are more than happy to send over a copy of our policy to your planner or any of your locations that might need it.