Wedding Photography: Frequently Asked Questions • I want a professional wedding photographer. What's next? • How much does wedding photography cost? • We're having a small wedding. What can we do? • How much time will the photographer spend at my wedding? • What are proofs? Do I get to keep them? • What about getting an album? • What about Black & White photography? • Do color photographs last as long as black and white? • What details in sample photographs should I look for? • My mom likes soft focus pictures, but I want sharp photos. • Does the camera used make a difference? • What about the trend of photo journalism? • Should we do the formals before or after the ceremony? • Suppose I want more copies in two years? • What about having 2 photographers? • Does my photographer own the copyright of the pictures? I want a professional wedding photographer. What's next? Visit wedding photography web sites, then choose photographers to call. Emailing is not personal enough for wedding photography. If you like the photographer on the phone, go visit his/her studio. When looking through sample albums pay attention to your emotional response to the photography and to the communication skills of the photographer. Look for high technical quality too. Once you have decided on a photographer whose work has meaning to you, discuss prices, deposits, packages, quantity of pictures and so on. A professional photographer will be timely - arriving at your wedding promptly, and ge tting the results to you on time. A professional has just the right equipment and film for photographing your wedding. Having attended many weddings, an experienced wedding photographer will be at ease at your wedding. A professional uses a color laboratory that is in the business of meeting high professional standards of print quality. And, a professional is used to working with individuals, couples, and groups to make the formal photography go smoothly. When you think Biography the cost of photography, remember that the photographer's fee is only part of your investment: You, your parents, your extended family and your friends will be investing time with the photographer during your wedding. Don't waste time on your wedding day with a photographer who won't produce results you love! How much does wedding photography cost? Prices range from $1500 to $40,000, and even more! Photographs (and maybe video) will be your only permanent record of the day. You want good photographs (or you would not have read so far), so be prepared to spend a minimum of $1,500 for a very small wedding on a weekday or Sunday, and $3,000 and up for Saturdays. Also, for additional copies, an 8x10 reprint will cost $20 to $40 each. Expect better photographers to charge the higher rates. If you are looking for a bargain and shop via phone for pricing, you are following a recipe for poor to mediocre photography. My research indicates that photography runs between nine and fifteen percent of the total wedding budget. When couples value photography highly and are on a limited budget, they will spend up to 30% of their wedding budget on photography. Most brides initially underestimate the cost of photography by 50% - in other words, you will probably spend at least twice as much as you budgeted, unless you have advice from a wedding coordinator who is familiar with prices in your area. We're having a small wedding and have a budget. What can we do? The first thing to do if you want a professional photographer under these circumstances is to be flexible. A true wedding professional only can only work so many weekends a year, and reasonably expects one or two large weddings per weekend from May through October, or year round in tropical climates. If he/she reserves a prime Saturday in October for you, then larger weddings will have to be turned away. If your budget is small, you will be choosing from the second and third tiers of wedding photographers. If you plan your wedding in the evening or especially early in the day, you might find a photographer who can fit you in after or before another event, and thus be able to work with your budget. Unfortunately, when you are limiting yourself to a smaller photo budget you can expect lower quality photographs. How much time will the photographer spend at my wedding? That is really up to you. You can have the photographer meet you where you are getting dressed, and keep taking pictures until you leave the reception. Or you may just want a few hours of photography, with a few formal photographs and some pictures of the ceremony. (If you choose a high quality professional, the price difference between short and full coverage will be small.) My typical coverage starts two or three hours before the ceremony and ends after the bouquet, garter and cake. What are proofs? Fifty years ago, photographers presented clients with proof pictures printed on special paper; images would last for a few weeks and then fade. Now, color proofs are made with the identical paper and chemistry as final pictures. However, only on final pictures can you have retouching and cropping. Some photographers use the term "images" or "originals" in order to avoid the confusing word "proofs." Many photographers are now using hi-tech proofing methods: Online, CD Rom, Video and Slide. That means that you initially view the images on a computer or television screen. You then order from the screen and have photographic prints in your hand a few weeks later. Some photographers include the proofs in the price of their photography, others sell them separately. Some keep the proofs, putting them in the final album or simply not selling them. When you first see your proofs, you take them home and keep them for a few weeks. I recommend you order your album and reprints quickly - your photographer will have ways of helping you to avoid procrastinating. The price list should state explicitly the price of the proofs, which may be sold either individually or only as a complete set. If your photographer uses on-line, video or slide presentation, then there may be no proof prints. Online or CD Rom proofing is becoming more popular. New couples like the fact that distant family members can see the wedding images and order their own copies. Online ordering and photography go together well - you see the picture and order a copy any time, any place . Still, many brides and grooms would rather have proof prints to hold From the photographer's point of view, proofs are becoming a liability. Dishonest clients are scanning the proofs and making prints. Just as DVD manufacturers have made it difficult to copy their product, photographers will move towards proof presentations that protect the photographers' copyright. Online proofing seems to be a good, equitable solution. What about getting an album? Some photographers offer "Packages," each package having a set number of hours, images, and certain number of final pictures in an album. It might be better to get a package that includes an album that the photographer will assemble completely, because most of us never get around to putting our pictures in albums if we have to do it ourselves. Consider ordering parents' albums too. If your parents vision is less than perfect, they would really appreciate getting an album with large photographs so that the faces are easy to see! After looking at all the proofs, the bride and groom usually decide what goes in the album. The photographer may let you specify the sequence and size of the pictures, so that the album really shows the wedding the way you want to see it, with important images enlarged, and related candids grouped together. Some photographers will suggest a layout for your album or design the album with you, using proofs or computer images to show you what the final album will look like. You will benefit from the photographer's eye and feel for the wedding. You will probably let your parents decide what pictures go in their album. Album Design software is being using by some photographers, and may develop to a point where brides can design their own albums online. I don't know if this will actually produce better albums. Some popular album manufacturers are Queensberry, Capri, Leather Craftsmen, Leather Bound, Art Leather, General Products, Holson, Tap, and Spicer-Hallfield, Zookbinders. Each manufacturer makes a variety of styles, so if you are picky Biography albums, note which styles and manufacturers appeal to you. Again, it is a matter of taste. The style to avoid is a non-reversible album. Reversible simply means that you don't have to flip the album sideways to look at horizontal pictures. Some albums have metal hinges visible on the spine of the album. I find these unattractive, but the pages do lie flatter. Look at sample albums that are several years old. If sturdy, they will show wear, but not be falling apart. Digital albums - either photographic or color laser - are available now. I wonder if they will look dated soon, or if they are a trend that will become the new tradition. Most of my clients prefer the traditional wedding albums. Plastic pages - Plastic gets in the way of the image. It creates reflections and lessens the clarity. A lacquer coating on the prints provides protection, but does not get in the way. Lacquer coating (spray) costs more, so when comparing photographers' prices, be sure and note if lacquer spray is included. What about black and white photography? Some couples want black and white pictures because they like the classic quality. Also, there has been a return to black and white (in advertising and weddings) with a contemporary or Fashions look to it. For you, this is purely a matter of preference. If you just love black and white photography, make sure your photographer uses black and white film, rather than color film, to produce your black and white prints. I have seen good black and white prints made from color negatives, but I have been hand-printing black and white since 1972. In my opinion, there is a magical quality in black and white film that cannot be matched with color film. Yes, black and white is more expensive. Digital black and white images are printed on color paper, and do not have the permanence of true black and white paper. The look of digital black and white can rival film black and white. Do color photographs last as long as black and white? No. Color paper (and color negatives) are made of three layers of color. Each layer, being different chemically, fades --- both in the light or in the dark --- at a different rate. So, if the green layer fades more in twenty years than the red layer, your pictures will look brownish. However, black and white prints (on black and white paper) should last at least a century. Some color labs are printing black and white images on color paper, sometimes with a faux sepia tone. These pictures, like color pictures, have no silver in them, and will fade over time. What details in sample photographs should I look for? Lighting quality is an important ingredient in superior photographs. The light in photographs should be natural and flattering, so that the pictures look three-dimensional. Overuse of on-camera flash can ruin wedding pictures. Watch out for flattened faces, harsh reflections off of cheeks and foreheads, and dark shadows directly behind or next to the subjects. With finesse, a fine photographer can work with almost any outdoor lighting situation without using flash. Look for a variety in subject size - a mix of distant, medium and close-up pictures. Even with groups, lighting and posing should be interesting. There is a trend among skilled photographers to produce highly posed bridal portraits - which can get great scores in print competitions, but which may not be a true picture of the bride and groom's personality. While you may anticipate wanting a few of these dramatic images from your own wedding, probably most of your album and your parents' albums will consist of traditional and candid pictures. You might want to take a look at another page that discusses four aspects of wedding photography. It is important that each album you see is only one wedding from start to finish, not just a collection of highlights from a dozen different weddings. If a photographer assembles and shows the best photos from several weddings in one album, you are not seeing an accurate representation of the results you might expect from your wedding. My mom likes soft focus pictures, but I want sharp photos? Except for mood shots and some portraits, pictures should be sharp. You should be able to count the threads in the veil. But a soft filter can be flattering in a close-up photo. A soft filter can soften other unwanted details that are not important to the photo. You might tell your photographer that you want a few pictures done soft-focus and the rest sharp. Then, when you get the proofs, you have your choice for each pose. Does the camera used make a difference? Maybe. There are five camera and film sizes used by wedding photographers. From smallest to largest they are - * Digital (1.8cm x 2.9 cm, not standardized) * 35mm (2.4cm x 3.6cm) * 6 45 "six-four-five" (4.5cm x 6cm) * 2 1/4 inches square (6cm x 6cm) * 6x7 (6cm x 7cm) Prints from a larger negative are better because they are sharper and less grainy. Large negatives produce prints with greater color saturation. Large negatives (2 1/4 inches square and 6x7) will still produce excellent prints when cropped. Look at a photographer's samples to see if the difference in film size shows. Many photographers who use 35mm cameras are less experienced, and may even send their film to a one-hour lab rather than to a professional color lab. Some photographers are using large negatives for formal images (where retouching might be used) and 35mm for candids or wedding-photojournalism. Digital imaging is supplementing and will eventually all but replace most film-based photography. With each new generation of light-sensitive chips there is an increase in quality (meaning dynamic range, color quality, and reduction of image noise). Most, but not all, digital cameras are too slow for wedding photography and the digital workflow [from pressing the button to producing proof images, albums and reprints] can be daunting. There are wedding photographers using digital for some or all of their wedding images, and the results can be very, very good. What about the trend of photo journalism? There are many stories and vignettes at a wedding: Bride getting ready, ring bearer being coaxed to walk up the aisle, the bride's mother watching the father-daughter dance. Moments like these, when photographed, are Wedding Photojournalism But capturing moments does not tell the bigger stories: Relationships and Fantasy. A posed loving photograph of the bride and her grandmother captures the relationship, and this is a photo that will have meaning for generations. The bride and groom in an idyllic setting has that fantasy quality that we all seek. Anybody with a camera can take a formal photograph or a photojournalistic photograph. A good formal photographer evokes and photographs the genuine expressions of relationships, and makes everyone look their best. A good pictorial photographer creates your fantasy images, believable fantasy images! A good photojournalist captures decisive moments to tell a story. Don't you want all three at your wedding? Find the photographer who can do all three well. This is also a matter of taste, combined with necessity. Great wedding photography can be done with no formal posed pictures at all (wedding photo journalism). But, there may be many people and combinations of guests that will never be captured unless the photographer deliberately gathers them in one spot for a picture. (Whether the picture looks posed or natural depends on the photographer.) When planning with your photographer, draw up a list of "must get" photos, such as college roommates, kids from your old neighborhood, a four generation picture, and so on. If you want a large catalog of specified pictures, then expect your photographer to spend more time doing those, and less time doing candids and wedding photojournalism. Should we do the formals before or after the ceremony? Some couples think it is bad luck to see each other before the ceremony. If following this tradition is important to you, all of the photos of the bride and groom together will be done afterwards, but solo shots can be done before. However, getting all the formals done at the beginning has several advantages: Flowers, clothing and make-up are fresh, and you can carefully budget time for formals. (And, if your ceremony ends after dark, the only time for natural light pictures of the two of you will be before the ceremony!) Couples who feel formal photos are important will set aside one, two, or even three hours for formals, which finish up Biography half an hour before the ceremony begins. If you do formals immediately after the ceremony, guests have to wait before they can greet you, and members of the bridal party will have pose for pictures rather than mingle. Biography half of the weddings I photograph have all the formals taken before the ceremony. Suppose I want more copies in two years? Your photographer should keep negatives on file for a specified number of years so that you can call or write any time and order more prints. Or, he/she may offer to sell or give them to you after a certain period. Expect to pay a fee for retrieving old negatives from the files. What about having two photographers? Some studios offer two-photographer coverage - where both professionals are taking pictures. One concentrates on the formals, the other on wedding photo journalism. Having two photographers allows for capturing some really unique moments. We do offer this option at an additional charge. An additional photographer will run you $165 per hour. Does my photographer own the copyright of the pictures? Yes and yes. According to federal law, images produced by a professional photographer are copyrighted the moment they are created. Federal law prohibits copying or reproducing copyrighted material without permission from the owner of the copyright, i.e., the photographer. If you copy or scan your photos, the photographer should be paid just as if you were buying reprints. If you or your videographer transfer the proofs to videotape, the photographer should be paid just as if you were buying reprints. If you don't feel comfortable paying for these copies, find a photographer whose work is so good that you are glad to pay. When I really appreciate something I purchase, like a fabulous meal, an antique, a good pair of shoes, or even medical care, I do not mind paying a premium for getting the highest quality. Look for the photographer who will provide you the satisfaction of paying for job well done.