How long have you been shooting weddings? We started shooting weddings in 2009. We have now been part of hundreds of wedding days, and we love it even more than the day we began! We feel like with our vast experience, we are able to properly prepare and educate couples about what works best, but we’re also completely capable of handling any situation that may be thrown our way on wedding day! And we’re still having fun doing it!
What is your editing style? One word: Classic! Our goal is to make the images look just the way they did on your wedding day, but even better. We are experienced in all lighting situations, so you’ll never find us “hiding our cameras” on wedding day. We want the color to be true and natural. We always brighten and color correct, and we of course make sure you look your very best in your images too, but our goal is always to get it as close to right as possible in camera. When your children look back at your photos in 20+ years, maybe they’ll laugh at the style of bridesmaids dresses that were popular, or how much hair Dad had, but we never want the way your photographer edited your images to be the reason they’re laughing. We want your imagery to be timeless! We have already learned that editing trends fade, but classic imagery is always timeless! (We will include some black and whites. We always love a good black and white!)
What is your shooting style for wedding portraits? This could be another one word answer: Natural! It’s always our goal to make you and your soon-to-be-husband (and even your wedding party and family members) feel as comfortable and natural as possible on wedding day. We want you to have fun, and we just want to capture you doing it! This is why we love to get to know couples beforehand at their engagement sessions, so we don’t feel like strangers on wedding day, but instead, we feel like friends! This natural look that we go for is also why we ask you to be prepared to do some moving on wedding day. We may ask you to do a little walking or even a little dancing. (Or some hugging and kissing!) By asking you to do more than just “smile and say cheese,” we get more natural interaction between you and your husband!
What is your ceremony shooting style? Thomas and I will never be intrusive during your ceremony. We believe it is a holy ceremony. And we realize it is not about us, so we do not want to be a distraction! Oftentimes I start at the front during the procession, and then once I have captured you walking in, while all of the guests are turned to look at you, I sneak to the back or up to the balcony. Thomas usually shoots from the back, with a more powerful zoom lens. We will never use a flash or off-camera lighting during your ceremony.
Reception shooting style? At your reception, we will already have completed your portraits. That means it’s time for you to celebrate! We may ask you to smile before cake cutting or bouquet toss, but other than that, we just want you to have fun! We like to be “flies on the walls” at the reception. We just want to capture your party, naturally, as it happens! If your venue is on the darker side, we will likely use a flash and set up off-camera lighting.
So you mentioned lighting. How does that work? We love natural creamy light for portraits. Most of the work you see on our web site is that style! But we are always prepared with lighting and have nine + years experience using it. We know how to use light, and we know how to make light. We’ve got you covered! You can read some things about light that we think are a good idea to read over as you plan your day here.
What are your collections like? While we do have pre-made collections, we also offer a build-your-own collection model, that allows each couple to create a package specific to their needs. Wedding collections start at 2000.
We only need an hour or two of coverage. Is that something you offer? While we do have a build-it-yourself package option, it’s extremely unlikely. But it’s also unlikely that you need us for “just an hour or two.” In our experience, that limited amount of coverage is never enough. We are experienced in setting up a day-of schedule that allows us to capture all of the moments. Even the very smallest weddings we’ve photographed required more time than that. We are happy to talk more with you about the options we do offer, or photograph a “day after” style session of you with your new husband.
How do you prepare a couple for their wedding? We have a system that allows us to walk a couple through preparing for their engagement session to wedding day, and even on to what happens after the wedding. And we ALWAYS help with wedding day schedule. We know how much time is needed in order for us to capture the day. And we want to tell the whole story! We also have tips on the blog, which we’re always adding to. And we have tips on Instagram, which we recommend checking out too! And we’re always available to answer photography-related questions, or just wedding day questions in general! (We’ve seen a lot of weddings!)
What type of cameras and gear do you use? We shoot exclusively Nikon. Thomas shoots a D810, and I shoot a D750, and we have an assortment of lenses and lighting that allow us to capture the whole day. We always have back up batteries and backup cards, and while we’re shooting, we are taking backups of all of your photographs. We also have backup cameras at every wedding. We take insuring your memories seriously, so we always want to come completely prepared!
Do you offer the digital files for sale? Yes! We don’t like the idea of “holding images hostage,” so wedding collections include the final digital images and printing rights.
Will we get the “raw” images from our wedding? No. We take great pride in our images and the work we put into editing, so we will never release anything that doesn’t meet our standards. You get the best of the best!
Do you both shoot at weddings? Yes! Typically, when you book us, you’ll be getting both of us there to capture your day. We feel we can tell your story much easier if there are two of us there.
Do you travel for weddings? Love to! We love to travel and we love to shoot destination weddings, and so far we’ve photographed weddings in six different states. We’re always looking to add to that list! What more do we need to say?!
Will you travel for engagement sessions? Absolutely! We love shooting in new places, especially if it has a special meaning to our clients! Travel fees may apply…cars don’t run on water, you know!?
How many images will we receive from our wedding? It varies per wedding, but most of our weddings produce about 100 final images per hour of coverage.
Do we have to see each other before the wedding? No, but if your wedding ceremony will be during or after sunset, we highly recommend it. Besides, we set up the best first looks! You can read more about our thoughts on first looks here.
How much of a retainer do you require to book? We require a signed contract and a retainer equal to 1/3 of your total package price. Final balance will be due 30 days prior to your wedding day.
What’s your favorite thing about weddings? More than anything, it’s getting to know a couple and capturing memories that we know will be treasured forever. It brings us great joy to know that your wedding images will always take you back to the memories of your special day, and we love knowing that one day they will be family heirlooms that your children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren will cherish.
Why should we choose you as our wedding photographers? First and foremost, we only want you to choose us if you like our work! If you’ve gone through our portfolio and blog and love what you see, that’s a great sign! Secondly, we want you to like who we are! Since this is the most important day of your life, we think you should spend it with people you’ll enjoy it with! We will be with you the whole time, so it’s important you think we’re ok to hang out with! We really do always want to walk away from a wedding day feeling like we’ve made friends. And we want you and your families to feel that way too! But also, we want you to choose us because you believe that we have the skill, knowledge and personalities to capture the day in a way that you will love and treasure forever!
I’m ready to book! Awesome! We can’t wait to chat more! Give us a call at 334.799.0171 or get in touch here to make sure your date is available and learn more about our collections.
I still have a few more questions… No problem! For pricing information and availability contact us here. And always feel free to call us at 334.799.0171 or email us. We can’t wait to hear from you!