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Your Questions Answered

HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN IN BUSINESS AND HOW MANY WEDDINGS HAVE YOU PHOTOGRAPHED?

I’ve been in business as a wedding photographer for 12 years. I shot my first wedding in 2009 and since then have photographed 150+ weddings and elopements. I am based in Central Australia and although most of my weddings take place in Alice Springs and Uluru (Ayers Rock), I usually have 1-2 weddings booked each year elsewhere in Aus so please do get in touch if you’re interested in having me photograph yours! I have photographed weddings in Perth, Darwin, Cairns, Port Douglas, Adelaide, Melbourne and the Central Coast. I’m always open to travel for yours!

WHAT ARE YOU LIKE TO WORK WITH?

My many years of experience photographing weddings and events allows me to remain calm, relaxed and completely competent with any situation, especially if any kind of difficulty arises (which can occasionally happen). I want you to know that you’re in safe hands, and feel comfortable knowing I won’t be fiddling with my flash or swapping out a battery when an important moment happens.  I’m upbeat and will take charge when needed (like when gathering everyone for a big group photo!), and be inconspicuous when needed too (during your ceremony for example – it’s about you and your guests and I aim to be s unobtrusive as possible).

 

Above all, I’ll be respectful and polite and get along with everyone including all your guests and vendors. Read more about what my couples have to say about working with me here

WE’RE A BIT NERVOUS ABOUT BEING PHOTOGRAPHED, HOW DO YOU HANDLE THAT?

It may surprise you to know that even I am not the most at ease in front of the camera! I need lots of direction! Some people are just naturals in front of the camera and need less guidance, some need a little more. I’ve found that mirroring my couple’s energy and personalities helps create a comfortable environment. If you’re shy and reserved I’ll take a more relaxed and quieter approach and level that up as you become more comfortable. If you’re energetic and adventurous then so am I! I basically tailor the experience to who you are as a couple. This is another huge benefit to choosing a photographer who you ‘click’ with, whose photos you love and who will take the time to get to know you. This is where my second approach comes in!

 

I include an engagement session complimentary for all my local (Alice Springs) weddings, and can add one if you’re marrying at Uluru or somewhere else in the NT! An engagement session is the perfect way for us to get to know each other and give you a chance to be in front of the camera to experience how I work before the big day. This does wonders for reducing any anxiety around being photographed, and has the added benefit of getting to know me. Now I’m more like a friend with a camera at your wedding and you’ll feel more comfortable – which of course, results in better photos! If we’re not able to do an engagement session I’ll take the time to chat and help you feel right at ease around the camera.

 

A good photographer will know how to help you feel at ease, however the key ingredient to great photos coming together is you being yourselves! Try to relax and just enjoy being together and celebrating the love you have for each other. Thinking about this, along with how happy you are at that moment (essentially ‘thinking happy thoughts’!) does wonders to help you look natural and relaxed and to allow your sincere emotions and joy to come out.

WHEN WILL WE SEE OUR IMAGES?

I cannot begin to tell you about some of the stories I’ve heard about other photographers taking months to deliver wedding photos! I provide a sneek-peek of my early favourite images for all my couples within 48 hours, and the full set is delivered within 4-6 weeks, depending on the size of your wedding and my workload. Every image you receive is hand picked and edited by me and this does take time, but you certainly won’t be waiting months and months!

HOW ARE OUR PHOTOS DELIVERED, DO WE GET AN ONLINE GALLERY?

You sure do! Online galleries are the new norm in the industry and they are amazing! No more waiting on the post for a USB, or trying to work out how to share your photos with family and friends. Your online gallery is safe and secure, with a password only you get (and you choose who you pass it on to) and is available to you for an entire 12 months. During this time you can download your gallery (and back it up on your computer, which I encourage you to do). The gallery is really easy and user friendly, and viewable on any device – desktop, laptop, tablet and mobile. Your online gallery is divided into each part of the day for ease of navigation, and you can even mark certain photos or entire sections as private if you only want to share some of your photos with your guests. Only you receive a special pin number to download the entire gallery, your guests can download individual images if they’d like to. You can even order from a great range of professional prints and products in your online gallery!

CAN WE MAKE OUR OWN PRINTS FROM OUR DIGITALS?

Absolutely – however I always recommend having any larger prints printed professionally. Your beautiful wedding photographs deserve to be shown the way they were intended and, the quality and longevity of professional printed products makes all the difference. All my product printing is done through an Australian professional lab and includes a 75-year warranty on workmanship. Your online gallery comes with your own store where you can purchase any of these items.

HOW MANY IMAGES DO WE GET? HOW DO YOU DECIDE WHAT TO DELIVER?

This is such an important question to ask, because some photographers deliver just a small selection and others deliver thousands – and everything in between! You can expect to receive from me at least 85 final edited images per hour of coverage. So for 8 hours of coverage you can expect to receive at least 650 images. In saying this I don’t keep count, you’ll receive all the winners!

 

As to how I choose what I keep for you – I don’t have any limits on what I edit and deliver, however I also won’t overwhelm you with thousands of only ‘ok’ images. If there are multiples of a similar shot I’ll keep only the most flattering one. Any others that don’t make the cut are those with bad exposure, blurry, unflattering (mid sentence or eyes closed). I definitely deliver all the fun, silly and candid moments I see (those are often going to be some of your favourite photos!).

DO YOU SHOOT SOLO?

I sure do! I’ve worked with a second shooter a few times in the past and have found I don’t need one. I shoot with two cameras on my hip and I’m practically a ninja! Two cameras at all times allows me to get all the angles. I’m very observant and always ‘on the job’ even when not much is going on because those little moments are important too. I believe a wedding photographer (for the most part) shouldn’t be noticed and prefer intimate weddings to the big movie-set productions, so I never need more than just me. I’m very confident I can give your wedding the coverage it deserves solo.

CAN WE SEND THE PHOTOS TO OUR FLORIST, VENUE, MAKE UP ARTISTS ETC?

Please give any vendor my email address to contact me directly. For every wedding I shoot, I collect the names and email addresses of all your vendors from you in a pre-wedding questionnaire so that I can send them images of their work post-wedding. This is so your vendors are getting the correct images and usage rights to ensure your images are kept safe and used correctly. If any of your vendors missed out for some reason or contacts you directly, please just give them my email address.

WHAT EQUIPMENT DO YOU USE?

I currently shoot on two Sony A7RIII’s and have a third back up Sony A7III. These are professional cameras and are very reliable, I’ve never needed a backup yet (but I always have it – just in case!). I also have a Mavic Pro 2 drone, and I use a range of professional lenses and also use speedlites (flashes) at your reception to light up my images. My cameras can also shoot completely silently – I can switch this on and off, and I’ll usually leave them in silent mode for prep and your ceremony – you won’t hear any camera clicks from me at all! This just helps me be even more unobtrusive (and sneaky for those natural, candid images.)

HOW DO YOU BACK UP AND KEEP OUR IMAGES SAFE?

I take this very seriously, and am very careful with your images. The process begins by using only the best SD Memory cards, and both my cameras record to two cards at the same time. So the ‘back up’ starts while I am still shooting. Then, right after your wedding, I download those cards to my computer, and my computer then backs up overnight to two external sources (my RAID drive and also to my cloud service). Once your images are edited and delivered, I keep all your edited images forever. I never delete a wedding. I do ask that you please download and backup your images yourself; your online gallery is available for 12 months so there’s plenty of opportunity to do that.

WHAT HAPPENS IF WE HAVE TO CANCEL OUR WEDDING, IS THE RETAINER REFUNDABLE?

The purpose of the retainer you pay is to lock me in for that date, that means I am retaining that date for you to the exclusion of all others who wish for that same date (or even the day before and after if I am traveling to your wedding). So unfortunately yes, you will forfeit the retainer in the case of cancellation or postponement. I understand that sometimes exceptional circumstances can occur and while I sympathise with that, I cannot put my livelihood in jeopardy by making refunds on retainers. This is standard across any industry where other work is turned away to hold a date for you.

HOW MUCH TIME DO YOU RECOMMEND FOR PHOTOS? WHEN SHOULD WE HAVE OUR CEREMONY ETC.

I can absolutely help you with timings! I design a custom suggested timeline for every couple as soon as you book in. I do this after we’ve had a chat about the kind of wedding day you’re planning and the feel you’re going for, so I can suggest how much time you should have for each part of the day depending on your priorities. One thing I always stress is that location photos concluding just after sunset is an absolute must. This time of day is what photographers call ‘Golden Hour’ for many good reasons! It’s the most flattering light of the day, soft and gold and ‘glowy’, and also makes the scenery around you really shine – and including the scenery is a big part of my process. Golden hour are the images in my portfolio you most likely fell in love with when you decided to book me. Please work your day around sunset time! (and I’ll help you with that).

WHO OWNS COPYRIGHT?

We both do – with some things to note. This is your wedding so you may do whatever you wish with your images for personal use. Commercial usage comes into play when any of your vendors ask to use images from your wedding; I own the copyright for this usage so please ensure any image requests from vendors come straight back to me. This is most of all to ensure they get the right images and usage license so your images are kept safe and used correctly. If you ask for your images to not be used on my social media and website, I will of course respect your wishes. However please understand that if I can’t use your images and neither can your suppliers then this means you’ll be buying the rights to your images which will cost extra. This happens sometimes in the commercial industry and there is always an additional fee, weddings are no different.

WE DON’T WANT TO HAVE AWKWARD POSES AND FORCED SMILES. HOW DO YOU HANDLE THIS?

A good photographer will be able to help any person feel comfortable and relaxed around them, and this is what I strive for. Having said that – it’s important that you give back a little as well! Try to relax, be open to my suggestions and most of all, be yourselves and have fun! Most of the couples I work with haven’t had professional photographs before and have no idea what to do – that is normal and absolutely OK! While I do have a set of core poses that I like to on corporate into every photo shoot, I tailor this to who you are as a couple. This process includes little tricks to get you to relax and smile naturally. I also pay attention to how you’re responding and how you are together as a couple and tailor how I work to you. Some couples are more quiet and reserved, in those cases I will be too. Some couples are more adventurous and outgoing, so I will be too! Every couple and every wedding is different and what I enjoy most is helping you show those emotions and personalities that make you ‘you’. No forced smiles or awkward poses at all!

DO YOU TRAVEL?

I am based in Central Australia and most of my weddings take place in Alice Springs and Uluru (Ayers Rock). I usually have 1-2 weddings booked each year elsewhere in Aus so please do get in touch if you’re interested in having me photograph yours! I have photographed weddings in Perth, Darwin, Cairns, Port Douglas, Adelaide, Melbourne and the Central Coast. I’m always open to travel for yours!

HOW DO WE BOOK YOU?

That’s the easiest part! Fill in the form on my contact page here and I’ll respond with my full pricing + info guide within 24 hours. The next step is to hop on a phone call so we can have a chat about your plans and get to know each – this is a great chance to answer any questions you may have and also give us a gauge of if we’re a good fit (your wedding photographer will be with you for much of your wedding day and through the process of planning as well, it’s important that you ‘click’).

My booking form, your invoice and questionnaire leading up to the day are all online so it’s super easy (and be done on any device including your phone). Booking me requires signing of an agreement and payment of the retainer.

If your question hasn’t been answered or you’d like to get in touch, drop me a line below!

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