FAQs
Q. Do you require a deposit to secure our date?
A. Yes, a non-refundable deposit of £200 will secure your wedding date. This is payable on booking. The remaining balance to be paid in full one month before the ceremony.
Q. Will we need to sign a contract?
A. Yes. This is essential. It allows us to define and understand our obligations to each other. I will send you a digital contract upon booking.
Q. How long will it be until we receive our photos?
A. I aim to deliver your images within 6 weeks of your wedding day, but usually, it will be sooner than this. Video may take longer though….
Q. What can I do with my images in a private online gallery?
A. Your private online gallery contains all of your edited images from the wedding day, protected by a password. You are granted a non-exclusive licence to download, print or share images with anyone you choose, including on social media of course.
Q. Is travel included in the package price?
A. Yes, to a radius of 60 miles from Macclesfield (my place of business). Thereafter any travel and accommodation expenses will be factored into your quote
Q. Do you work outside the Northwest?
A. Yes I am happy to go anywhere needed, including abroad (though obviously, we would need to discuss that option first 😊)
Q. Do you have insurance?
A. Yes, I have full public professional indemnity and liability insurance and can provide a certificate if requested by your wedding venue
Q. What if our plans change?
A. If you need to change your wedding date/venue, then please get in touch ASAP. If I am available on the new date there is no problem - if I am not then I will do my best to find an alternative photographer.
Q. What is your cancellation policy?
A. Let’s hope this is not going to happen but obviously the nearer to your date that you cancel, limits my ability to find alternative business so I have a set of graded refunds set out in the contract.
Q. We have some ideas about the images we want, can we discuss them with you?
A. Yes of course! It is YOUR big day and I will work with you to achieve your vision. It’s always fun.
Q. Your style is documentary - does that mean you will not do posed group photos?
A. See above…. it’s your day, you [literally] call the shots. My documentary style will capture the moments in between and tell the story of your wedding with as little intrusion as possible and that will include a lot of incidental and informal group shots. However, if you want to arrange some of these then that is fine. We can discuss these details long before your wedding day to make sure you get everything you want.
Q. Will you need to provide a meal for the photographer on our wedding day?
A. It is completely optional for you to provide it. If offered a meal on the day I would gratefully accept but otherwise, I can bring a packed lunch.
Q. Do we have copyright of our images?
A. Unfortunately no – this always stays with the creator, no matter who pays or who is in the images. You do have permission though to do anything you like …..except use them for your commercial gain (if that’s an issue then please contact me).
Q. Can we have RAW files?
A. Sorry but no. These are digital negatives and require a lot of processing in order to deliver the final images, involving the use of specialised software. In reality RAW files straight from the camera look pretty dull and flat – they have to be expertly edited to make them to a presentable standard. Think of the RAW file as cake ingredients and the JPEG images as the baked cake. I am the “Chef” who bakes the perfect cake! Editing your photographs to very high standards is part of my skillset and the creative process. Your images will be delivered in high resolution JPEG format.
Q. What gear do you use?
A. I use Fuji cameras and lenses. They are fantastic for my style of photography – small and retro styled but with pro standard image quality. I love using them!
Q. Your standard photography packages don’t really meet what we need. Can we add an extra hour or two?
A. Yes you can. This will be included in my quote.
Q. Will we need a second shooter?
A. Normally I don’t use second shooters but this depends on several factors - for example, if the ceremony is very large and/or you want to cover groom preparations (I can’t be in two places at once) then a second photographer is a good idea.
Q. What about videography?
A. I’m going to be too busy on the day to shoot video but if it is what you want then I can provide videography for as much coverage as you want. This will be factored into your quote.
Q. Can you supply albums and prints?
A. Once your online gallery is ready, prints, albums, presentation boxes and numerous other printed items can be supplied directly to you via the gallery shop. You can customise all of these items until your heart’s content.
Q. Will you use any of our images on your website and social media?
A. It’s very helpful for other couples to see recent photographs as part of my portfolio. I use a small selection from some of my wedding day shoots and my right to use them is incorporated into our contract.
Q. For how long will you store our images?
A. I securely store your digital images for a minimum of one year.
Q. How do you safeguard against technical failure on our wedding day?
A. I take a minimum of two camera bodies, several batteries and a selection of lenses and storage cards to every wedding. My cameras take two memory cards so I automatically make backups of every shot.
Q. We have children coming to our wedding, what is your safeguarding policy for minors?
A. I will not use photographs where children are the main subject on my website or social media unless parental permission is expressly given.
Q. What if we are running late – will you still be around?
A. In a previous life I played hundreds of wedding gigs as a musician and very few of them ran to time so I am pretty flexible about this.