Wedding Photography: General Information
Our Approach:
Wedding days are typically both sublime and stressful, which is a really unique combination! A wedding photographer's primary task, of course, is to document the beauty and wonder—the smiles, the hugs, the flowers, the dancing, and so on… and because things happen fast, and often in low-light environments, that part is no job for amateurs. But the best photographer will also help keep everyone relaxed, will help keep things running smoothly, will work quickly while seeming totally at ease, and will be someone whom the bride and groom regard as a teammate and friend. This is what we aspire to. We're experienced, organized, and responsible, as well as easy-going and fun-loving. We're comfortable operating quietly in the background, as well as stepping out and taking the lead when the situation calls for that. We're happy to run with your ideas, or to share those of our own. We strive for a collection of images that blends timeless and contemporary. And we have awesome gear.
"Full-Day" Coverage:
We provide what we call "full-day" photographic coverage. This doesn't, of course, mean that we'll be on hand for 24 hours. Instead, it means that there's no categorical limit on the amount of time we're going to spend with you on your wedding day. We want to be on hand to chronicle all the important parts of your day—from getting ready before ceremony, all the way up through plenty of dancing at the reception… though this typically doesn't involve being present from the very first brushstroke of makeup, or being around until the very last minute of the reception. (That would make for a brutally long day for us; and most people don't want the big cameras in their faces through that much of the day anyway.) The details are always worked out in advance, and we want above all to be generous with our time.
Number of Pictures:
For engagement sessions, the goal is to pass on at least 75 pictures—and typically it's more than that. For weddings, if Ty's photographing by himself, we're aiming to give you at least 400 images; and if Ty and his second photographer are both on hand, we aim to give you at least 600 images (and, again, it'll often be more). In all cases, it's a boatload of photos, and yet we work to sort "keepers" from "non-keepers" in such a way that the images you get are uniformly strong. Every picture we deliver gets individually edited with care—primarily with Adobe Lightroom, but also with Adobe Photoshop where necessary.
Turnaround Time:
For wedding photos, we guarantee that we'll have your photos ready within 45 days of your wedding. For engagement sessions, you'll usually have your photos within 2 to 3 weeks of the shoot—though in the fall we can get pretty swamped and it could be a bit longer.
How to Book:
If you haven't done so yet, please take a peek at the pricing page for wedding photography. Then, if you're interested, we ask you to get in touch – via email or phone – to introduce yourself and inquire about our availability on the date of your wedding. We're also available to meet in person if you want. From there – if you give us the green light – Ty will email you a short, friendly contract document. We'd ask that you read it, fill in a few pieces of information, sign and date it, and return it within 7 days of receiving it. Within that same timeframe, we also require a $500 deposit, which is deducted from your total amount owed. It can be paid by personal check or, if you prefer, we can initiate an electronic bank transfer for you. Once the contract and deposit are received, you're official, and nothing else is due until a few weeks before the wedding.
Sales Tax:
Ohio's law pertaining to taxation of photography is a bit, uh, odd. It says that if digital photographs are "delivered electronically" –
meaning downloaded by the client – they are not taxable, but that if the digital photographs are instead delivered to the client on a flash drive or disc, they suddenly count as "tangible personal property" and thus are subject to sales tax. In a perfect world, we'd deliver each clients photographs on a nice, custom-engraved flash drive, because that feels like a bit more special a way to receive and store the photos than downloading does. However, we also understand that most people would prefer, all else equal, to avoid paying sales tax. So, we simply give clients the choice: before we make up the contract for you to sign, we'll ask you whether you'd rather get the pictures on a flash drive and pay sales tax or download the photos and avoid sales tax.
Travel Fee:
We don't charge a travel fee except for weddings that are more than 100 miles from our home base (Sidney, OH), or engagement sessions that are over 60 miles from it. And even then, we're not trying to get rich off the travel fee – just to cover our time and the operation of our vehicle (and, okay, maybe a sleeve of crackers to eat on the road) – so we hope it wouldn't discourage you from getting in touch!
Our Wedding-Day Attire:
It's pretty tough to blend in while wearing two gigantic cameras. Still, we aim not to get any extra attention on account of our wardrobe. We want to be able to move comfortably and not sweat to death while still looking totally professional. Ty's attire, for example, will involve dress pants, a button-down shirt, and a tie... and often he'll have on a sport coat through at least part of the day. He pledges not to wear his powder blue leisure suit... unless you request it specifically!