Frequently asked questions
As a wedding photographer I get a number of questions about what to do, what not to do, how I work etc. You can read my answers to these questions here and if you have questions of your own feel free to get in touch via email and I'll be happy to oblige.
| 1. | Do you have back up equipment? |
YES. I shoot with two Canon 5Ds and with two flashes. For both cameras and flashes I carry enough spare batteries for two weddings. I generally also shoot with an assistant who is often a trainee photographer or a photographer friend of mine who's shooting with me for fun (yes, photographers are strange that way) and that person will often also have camera equipment on them. |
| 2. | Do you shoot with an assistant? | YES. It has happened though that my assistant has been very ill last minute and I've not been able to find a replacement. This is an extremely rare occurence, but it has happened. When it has happened I manage perfectly fine on my own . . . after all that's how I started out . . . but having an assistant does make the shoot move faster which in a wedding is a very good thing. Should my assistant not make it on the day there is no recourse on this as the assistant is not included in the cost of the wedding package. |
| 3. | Do we get to keep your assistant's photographs? | My assistant's pics are not included in the package but can be bought from them after the fact. As they are training I feel that this is an important way for them to make additional money and for them to build their self esteem. If you want to buy their digital negatives, the rate per negative is R1.50 and R90 to burn to disk. Their printing prices are the same as mine. When I deliver my order disk there will be an additional disk from them and you can order your prints and / or negs then. Their images can be included in your album, coffee table book or story book album. |
| 3a. | Do you shoot with a second shooter? | While a second shooter might assist me with certain aspects of the shoot, their primary function would be to take photographs. I shoot with a second shooter when requested and will happily look at adding this to your package with a personalised quote. The exact rates depend on who I get to 2nd shoot and how many of their digital negatives are included in the package. |
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4. |
What happens if you are sick on our wedding day or unable to make the shoot? | If, for any reason, I'm unable to make your shoot then you will receive a full refund from me unless I am able to secure a wedding photographer in my place. Because of the nature of the wedding photography industry it is not possible to guarentee a back up photographer should something happen to me as other wedding photographers need to earn a living and accept commissions as and when they arrive. Because of how I feel about my work, though, for me to miss a wedding (which touch wood will never happen) it would have to be something very, very serious keeping me away. |
| 5. | Do we need to provide seating and food for you and your assistant? | YES. If you are having a sit down reception then you need to accomodate myself and my assistant. Ideally I like to be seated where I can see what's going on, but I'm not fussed if, because of the layout of the venue or because of the number of your guests, I have to sit in a seperate room in a service section. I do ask that we get fed just after the bridal table though. Not because I'm pushy . . . well, I am a bit . . . but that's not the reason here. I do some of my favourite shots at the reception and I like to be finished eating at the same time as the bridal couple, or even before, so that I can get back to shooting. If I'm served last I can't do that. |
| 6. | If we're having an out of town wedding do we have to make travel arrangements for you. | NO. You do have to pay my travel costs, but I make all my own travel arrangements. I'm a bit OCD that way. |
| 7. | If we're having an out of town wedding do we have to organise accomodation for you? | NO. As with the travel you do need to pay my accomodation costs, but I do all my own organising. Again I'm a bit OCD that way. In this regard, please note that I don't stay in the houses of your friends or relatives (I'm sure they're very nice pepole) and I don't do hostel accomodation AT ALL. I book reasonalby priced accommodation in a nearby guest house. |
| 8. | Can we give copies of our photos to our service providers? | This is always a bit of a tricky question for me. Wedding service providers use the images of wedding photographers to promote their own goods. This is fantastic, provided the service provider in question acutally does a good job. I'm sure you can understand, but when it comes to this - the passing on of my work to other service providers - I ask that you check with me first and that the images go out with my branding on them. Images that go out with my branding will also only be charged for at cost. |
| 9. | Can we give copies of our digital negatives to our service providers. | As above, but even more so. It's unfortunately a sad reality that many images are stolen on the web. So any of my images that are put on the web need to have my branding on them. I've read one too many story about a wedding photographer stumbling across their work on the website of a substandard photographer. I'd really hate for that to happen to my work. |
| 10. | Can we post our wedding photographs to Facebook or other social media sites. | With pleasure . . . provided it has my name and logo on it :) I'm always really honoured when clients put up their wedding pics! |
