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Wedding Photography Frequently Asked
Questions
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| Are you professional photographers? |
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| Are you qualified in photography? |
Yes, Rachel is a qualified
Licentiate Master Photographer with the
Master Photographers Association (LMPA). One of
only a handful of qualified MPA photographers in the
south, she also holds an MPA Diploma in Photography
Practice. This means that Taylor Made Photography
operates to the MPA's world-renowned and exceptionally
high standards of practice, giving you peace of mind
every step of the way.
In addition, Rachel is a qualified Licentiate photographer
with the Royal
Photographic Society of Great Britain (LRPS) and
is a member of The
Society of Wedding and Portrait Photographers.
Dave is currently working on his LMPA - but taught
Rachel everything she knows! |
| What’s your primary style of photography? |
| We prefer what’s known
as reportage
photography, which means we capture you and your guests
at your most natural to create a true account of your
day, rather than focusing on heavily posed shots. You’re
welcome to have traditional, posed photographs too,
of course, and we will take these alongside more spur
of the moment shots. We try to take a wide variety of
photographs to capture all kinds of moods and scenes. |
| How many weddings do you photograph
a year? |
| We photograph around
fifty weddings each year, so keep pretty busy! |
| How do you tend to work? |
| Reportage style goes hand in
hand with being very discreet – our aim is to
ensure that you and your guests don’t actually
realise that photographs are being taken at all (aside
from traditional
group shots of course). We use long lenses so that
we can keep our distance from guests, who can enjoy
the day without feeling watched. This is of particular
importance to us: the less noticeable we are, the more
relaxed you and your guests will be, and this will be
reflected in the beauty of your photographs. |
| How will you make your photography personal
to our wedding? |
| Each wedding is unique, each
venue is different and every bride and groom respond
in their own way to being in front of the lens. You
are bound to have an idea of the kind of photographs
you prefer and we will very quickly ascertain how best
to photograph you and your day, and by its very nature
it will be personal to you. |
| We don’t like having our photograph
taken. How will you cope with this? |
| It is very common for people
to be uncomfortable in front of the lens and we are
used to dealing with this issue. We aren’t fond
of having our photograph taken either so we completely
understand! You will be very busy on your wedding day,
so most of the time you will be unaware that you are
being photographed and we work in an exceptionally discreet
manner so you won't feel on show. Just enjoy yourselves
and we'll do the rest. For more staged photographs we
tend to take photographs just before and just after
you think the ‘actual’ photograph is being
taken, which means that the results are very natural
even if you feel that you look rather tense! The main
thing is that with our expertise you are bound to forget
we are even there, and you'll have a collection of stunning
photographs that depict you as you really are on your
wedding day. Have a look at our wedding
photography hints and tips for advice on how to
cope in front of the camera. |
| Can we have a say in the shots that
are taken? |
| Yes of course! We recommend that
you spend some time considering the kind of photographs
that you would like us to take. For your convenience
we provide a list
of suggested wedding photographs both on this website
and in your information
pack. If you have any particular shots in mind,
such as romantic poses, fun shots or particular groups
of people, please do let us know before your day so
that we can keep things running smoothly for you and
your guests. Equally, on the day itself, feel free to
make as many spontaneous suggestions as you wish. This
often brings the best results, as you and your guests
will be photographed 'in
the moment'. |
| Can our guests take photographs too? |
| We actively encourage it! We
will give plenty of opportunity for your friends and
family to take photographs and we’re more than
happy for guests to take photographs at the same time
as us. |
| Can we visit the venue with you before
our wedding? |
| Yes, of course. It is not absolutely
necessary from our perspective, in that wedding photography
tends to unfold naturally on the day, and photographic
opportunities present themselves as the day progresses.
If there are any particular areas of your wedding
venue that you would like to use for photography
just let us know, and if you’d feel more reassured
by showing us in person we’d be only too happy
to visit your venue with you. |
| What kind of equipment will you be using? |
| We use a range of Canon cameras,
telephoto and wide-angle lenses. |
| Do you have backup equipment? |
| Yes. We will come armed with
several cameras, as well as plenty of back-up batteries,
memory cards, flash guns etc., so we will be well-prepared
for the unlikely event of equipment failure. |
| How do you intend to dress? |
| We will be smart but comfortably
dressed. |
| What happens if you get stuck in traffic? |
| We always leave plenty of time
for the journey to eliminate the risk of delay. We have
to date never been delayed and we always arrive early
for your peace of mind. If we are involved in an incident
we will telephone your nominated contact to advise them
of the situation. For this reason we will ask you to
provide us with several contact numbers before your
wedding day. |
| Are there any travel costs involved? |
| No, we charge no travel costs.
Sometimes if we are to attend a wedding that is more
than a two-hour drive away, we may ask for a nominal
fee to help towards fuel charges, but this will be discussed
on booking. For international weddings we do not charge
for our travel time, but flights and hotel accommodation
should be provided. |
| We want ‘getting ready’
photographs but the Bride is likely to be a bit stressed.
How will you help her to relax and forget about being
photographed? |
| It’s perfectly normal for
a bride to be anxious on her wedding day! We will work
around how you are feeling on the day but you will find
that very quickly you get used to being in front of
the lens and your preparations will keep you busy enough
not to realise you are being photographed. We’ll
focus on the details first – shoes, dress, flowers,
jewellery etc., so that you get used to having the camera
around, and when you’re ready we can turn our
attention to you. If you're worried, our wedding
photography tips page might help you. |
| Will you photograph our actual ceremony? |
| If your ceremony venue permits,
yes. We are very much in the hands of the official who
is to marry you but on the whole most venues understand
that ceremony photographs are important to each wedding
couple. We will always doublecheck with the venue on
the day and normally find we are permitted because we
are so discreet. If we are granted permission to photograph
your ceremony we will take photographs only at opportune
moments - during natural pauses and not during key moments
of your ceremony - so as not to be a distraction. We
do find that churches tend not to allow flash photography
during the ceremony, but our cameras and lenses are
very fast and we can still capture those special moments
for you. It is always worth checking with your venue,
of course, and letting them know in advance that your
photographer is particularly discreet, does not move
around during the ceremony and does not take photographs
while vows are being said - this usually helps to have
permission granted. |
| What happens if you are not permitted? |
| If we are not given permission
to take photographs throughout your ceremony, and if
time permits, we can easily stage key shots afterwards
(exchange of rings, the kiss, signing the register etc.).
In this instance it is worth letting your venue know
that this is the intention, so that they can ask guests
to remain seated for a little while longer. |
| Do you or our ushers organise group
photographs? |
| Traditionally it is their role
to organise guests and to keep your day running smoothly.
It would be very helpful if your ushers are primed to
help organise group photographs simply because they
are likely to know who’s who. It helps to keep
things running as efficiently as possible, so that guests
are not kept waiting and so that you have more time
to mingle. If your Best Man or one of your Ushers has
a strong voice it would be appreciated for him to make
announcements, but if not, we are more than happy to
do so. |
If we want you to stay for longer than
our
wedding package indicates, what will the charge be? |
| £50 per additional hour
- this is normally agreed before your final balance
is due. |
| If things are running late, will you
stay longer than agreed? |
| It is completely normal for weddings
to run a little late – this is not a problem.
We will slip away when our photography naturally comes
to an end. |
| What happens if it rains - will the
photography be ruined? |
| Being in the UK does of course
increase the chances of rainy weather! It is adviseable
to prepare for this by bringing bridal umbrellas, requesting
that your guests bring their own umbrellas, and consulting
your venue/s as to what happens if it rains on your
special day. If it does rain, we will decide with you
as to where group photographs may best be taken. Lounge
areas, sofas, stair cases, conference rooms, marquees,
fireplaces, bridal suite etc., all present great opportunities
for photographs during a rainstorm. Please bear in mind
that due to the amount of room we have to work with
if we are forced to head indoors, the larger group shots
may not be possible. Our advice is to not let the rain
dampen your spirits - your wedding day will be wonderful,
no matter what the weather decides to do. |
| Can you provide references? |
| Please refer to our wedding
photographer testimonials page – these testimonials
have been written by couples whose weddings we have
photographed and are 100% genuine and unprompted. Should
you wish to contact any of our wedding couples please
let us know and we’ll be delighted to put you
in touch. |
| Can we meet the assistant who will be
taking pictures? |
| Of course you can. We have a
fantastic team of reliable assistants who act as second
camera. |
| Can your assistants provide references? |
| Yes – we can put you in
touch with wedding couples who have been photographed
by our assistants, and can refer you to certain galleries
where assistants have been present. |
| How soon will we get to see our wedding
photos? |
| Your photographs will be available
for viewing on a password-protected gallery area of
our website within a few days of your wedding. We try
to have them available within 24 hours if we can, but
during the busy wedding season it may take a few days.
We will contact you via email with a link to our login
page and a username and password that you can use to
launch your wedding gallery. You may then forward this
to friends and family. |
| Do you heavily process your photographs? |
| We tend not to. We prefer photographs
to be as real to life as possible. Very often heavily
processed images (for example when a dramatic sunset
is added behind a Bride and Groom) can look rather false
and is not the style of photography we are comfortable
with. We prefer to offer a true account of your day.
Certain photographs benefit from a little contrast and
saturation, but on the whole we try to take each image
as we wish for it to be, rather than rely heavily on
post-photographic processing. |
If we opt for a wedding package that
includes a DVD, can we print
photographs to give to our friends and family? What
about copyright? |
| As author of your photographs
we retain the rights to your images but as far as we
are concerned they are yours to do with as you wish.
We will supply your images in high resolution, JPG format,
specifically so that you can print your own copies again
and again – so feel free to print them, publish
them, put them into album, make your own photobook etc.
We hold the official copyright of the images we take
so that we have the right to use them for promotional
purposes, as is outlined in our terms
and conditions and on our booking
form. If you do publish an image, for example in
a newspaper or Hello! magazine, we would ask that Taylor
Made Photography is acknowledged. |
| Do you limit the number of photographs
we receive on DVD? |
| No – you will receive ALL
of your wedding images, not just a selection. |
| How many images can we expect to receive? |
| You will receive hundreds of
wedding images, depending on the weather and the length
of time we are with you. From experience, you will receive
any number between 300 and 800 images. Your images will
be processed, manipulated and sorted accordingly. |
| Will you help me choose the images for
the photobook? |
| Yes. We will design your photobook
proof using those images we feel best represent the
story of your wedding day. You can then request any
changes you like (please see below). |
| Will we see our photobook before it
goes to print? |
Not only will you see it,
but you will have full control over it! Whether your
package includes a coffee-table photobook or a luxury,
handcrafted, Italian GraphiStudio photobook, we make
sure that you are 100% happy with it before it is
sent to print. We personally design each page template
of your luxury photobook based on the layout / design
style of photobook you prefer. We will send you an
email containing a link to a downloadable proof, and
from that you may request any changes you would like.
Only when you are happy with your photobook will it
go to print and we will keep you informed of its progress. |
| Can we personalise our photobook? |
| Yes, there are lots of different
upgrades to choose from (covers, paper etc.) and we
will go through these with you before your photobook
goes to print. |
| Can we see examples of photobook designs? |
| Yes, just let us know if you
would like to see some examples of photobooks we have
previously created, and we will send you link to some
of our photobook proofs. |
| Do you have examples of your wedding
packages that we can see? |
| Absolutely – you are welcome
to meet with us and have a look through examples of
all of our wedding packages to see if we have something
to suit you, and of course all of our packages may be
tailored to your exact requirements. |
| Can we see examples of photographs you
have taken of other weddings? |
| We have numerous examples both
in our online gallery and in our stunning photobooks.
We are always adding more, so pop back to have a look
now and again! |
| Do you have insurance? |
| Yes, we hold public liability
insurance and professional indemnity insurance to MPA
standard (recognised internationally). |
| Do you keep copies of our wedding pictures? |
| We hold four independent digital
back-ups of your original wedding images, and two of
these are located off-site. We do our utmost to ensure
that your images are protected for you during the time
they are guaranteed. |
| How long do you guarantee our wedding
images for? |
| We guarantee them for a period
of 365 days from the date of your wedding but we will
keep your images indefinitely. |
| Do you have a contract / terms &
conditions? Can I view them? |
| Absolutely – please contact
us to receive copies via post or email, or feel
free to download a copy of our wedding
photography terms & conditions, and a copy of
our wedding
photography booking form. |
| If we book with you, will the price
we pay change if you put your prices up? |
| No. The price you agree to pay
at the time of booking is the price you will pay when
your final balance becomes due, no matter whether you
book our services years in advance. This applies to
any products you add to your package too. The price
you see stays the same and there are no hidden costs. |
| Can we book your services without actually
meeting you? |
| Lots of couples do and we’re
very flattered indeed! Just check with us as to our
availability and if we are free we’ll reserve
the day for you with pleasure. All we need to secure
your booking is a deposit of £100 made payable
to Taylor Made Photography, and a completed wedding
photography booking form. We will also require you
to sign our wedding
photography terms and conditions form. Please see
our brochure
page for all relevant paperwork. |
| What happens after we have booked? |
| We’ll keep in touch with
you from time to time via email, just to let you know
that we haven’t forgotten you and that we are
here to answer any questions you might have as you plan
your wedding. Feel free to contact us as often as you
wish. Around two months before your wedding day we will
be in touch to confirm all the details we have regarding
your wedding day, and once these have been confirmed
we will send you your final invoice. |
| When is the final balance due? |
| The balance becomes due two weeks
before your wedding day. If you wish to stagger your
payments you’re more than welcome to do so via
standing order. |
If you
have any further questions, please contact
us |
