Wedding Photography FAQs
What people want to know (I think).
What is documentary wedding photography?
Documentary wedding is essentially candid wedding photography. The photographer (me) won’t pose you or set up different shots and scenes during the day. Instead, the couple (you) are free to enjoy the day and have maximum time to spend with friends, family, and loved ones. The resulting images are an unstaged, unscripted, narration of the day.
Will you take photos of our cake and the other details?
Usually, I take photos of everything. Of course, we won’t be talking for the first time when I arrive to start taking photos so we can talk about what elements and details are most important to you during the day to make sure I know what to pay special attention to. Anything that is important to you, is important to me. Maybe it’s the cake, or your dog, or your best friend who moved to Australia.
How long will you work for on the day?
It depends on what you want and need. I usually cover ‘the day’ and this usually lasts about 10 hours. I don’t want to have to charge by the hour and then stop working after exactly 8 hours and miss something, or surprise you with ‘extra hours’ charges either.
If you’re having a multiple-day event, that’s fine, too - I’ll adjust my rates and photograph the whole thing.
Do we need a ‘second shooter’?
Nowadays, the internet is awash with literally millions of lists, blog posts, and entire websites detailing all the must-haves for the perfect wedding. Everything sounds vital, from tableware to stationary to champagne fountains to huge audiovisual teams with drones. Of course, you don’t really need all that stuff.
The main advantages of having a second wedding photographer are that we will be able to cover the bride and groom preparations better and more easily, and there will be more candid material of guests throughout the day. This is especially advantageous if you have a big wedding party.
When should we book our wedding photographer?
The easiest answer is immediately. When you’ve found a wedding photographer you love and can afford, the sooner the better.
There are two obvious advantages to booking early - the photographer is more likely to be free for your wedding day and it will probably be cheaper.
What do we do before the wedding?
Once you have booked me as your wedding photographer, we’ll have at least a couple of chats via Zoom or Teams to talk about how the preparations are going, the timeline you have planned, any special details you want me to know about etc.
I’ll also double and triple-check the destination and times with you guys so I know where to be when.
Of course, since we now live in the age of WhatsApp, you can contact me anytime with questions or changes and we’ll work it out.
How long before we can see our wedding photos?
Usually, I need 6-8 weeks to get your online wedding photo gallery ready, but often I’ll send you a sneaky photo or two before that to keep you going.
If you want an album it takes longer to design and print but there’s no rush. Often couples prefer to order an album several months after the wedding to spread the cost out through the year. Weddings are really expensive but there’s no time limit for ordering an album, and I’ll have all your photos ready to go.
Do you have insurance?
Absolutely. In fact, lots of wedding venues won’t let an outside professional work on their property without it.
Can we do a couple of group shots of the most important people?
Absolutely; if you want some huge group shots of your whole family, or all your uni friends, or just everyone at the wedding, we can find a good time during the day to set it up and make sure you have that memory locked away. I’ll even try my best not to get a single person blinking.
Will all the images be black and white?
No, your final gallery will have a mix of black and white and colour. Some situations simply work better in black and white so I will make a photo thinking in black and white. That being said, most digital cameras create pictures in colour so there’s always a colour version available.
How many photos do we get?
Based on a ‘normal’ wedding day of about 10 hours with one photographer you’ll receive about 500-600 photos in the final gallery.
That being said, wedding photography is an exercise in quality over quantity. Wedding photographers almost always overshoot moments to make sure they don’t get a blink or a weird face. Even the most incredible photo from your wedding will lose its appeal if you see another four very similar photos.
What are you going to do with our wedding photos?
Great question. The wedding photos I create at your wedding belong to me because the creator is the default copyright owner. I usually use wedding photos to promote myself as a wedding photographer so people can see other people’s weddings and decide if they want to hire me.
However, occasionally a couple will want to keep their wedding private or only share specific photos, and that’s fine too.
How do we book you as our wedding photographer?
You can contact me anytime to check my availability and schedule a meeting. I often prefer to have a meeting with potential couples right away so we can just chat about how you are feeling and what your ideas are for the wedding.
To book my services for the day I need a signed contract and a deposit and then the whole day is yours. The deposit is usually 25% of the total price, but a lot of couples prefer to pay 50% and take the pressure off the second installment.
What do we do after the wedding?
It usually takes me a couple of months to edit and develop all the photos from your wedding. When they’re finished, I will send you a link to an online gallery where you can see and download all the photos.
If you want a printed album the process is a bit more complicated because you guys are more involved in choosing the photos and that album size and colours etc. Once we have done all that, the album usually takes a couple of weeks to arrive.
What happens if we lose our photos?
Now that basically all wedding photography is done digitally, or at least sent digitally, there is a risk that you could lose them. It’s actually more common than you’d think! Between broken laptops, lost hard drives, and the odd spilled coffee, it’s quite easy to lose a digital copy of your wedding photos.
I keep a copy of the whole gallery for at least a year after your wedding day and I also have a backup of the whole day, too, just in case.
What if the weather is rubbish on our wedding day?
This is a real risk in the UK, even in summer. If it rains or it’s really cold it makes no difference to me at all. The photos will still be incredible and from my point of view, it will give the photos an added quality when you look back at them in 50 years.
On a more practical note, venues usually have an inside and outside space just in case, so you can move your ceremony inside if the heavens open.
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