Q1: How do you identify your wedding photography style?
A: We would like to describe our wedding photography style as “Fusion of beauty and photojournalism.” Glamour photography and photojournalism are two completely opposite styles. Glamour photography emphasizes posing elegantly. On the other hand, photojournalism focus on capturing the moment. Most fashion photographers are not good at capturing the emotions. Most photojournalist style photographers are not good at posing. It takes many years of practice to be able to combine the two contradictory photography style together seamlessly into elegant wedding photography. Our unique approach allows us to document your wedding day artistically with lots of touching moments.
Q2: How do you offer post-processing?
A: Each picture is individually retouched including exposure adjustment, white balance correction, leveling, cropping, automatic basic skin smoothing, special black/white effect of photographer selected photos and lighting shift with professional software to ensure the quality of work. We have the state-of-the-art work-flow that insures the on-time delivery of photos with professional quality. Signature retouching including skin blemish removing, advanced skin smoothing, teeth whitening, arm/leg/waistline thinning, texture requires additional charge for each photo because such retouching work may last hours for one individual photo. We do include complimentary signature retouching for certain photos of our choice for each wedding. Large professional prints with us (11″x14″ and above) include the signature retouching automatically.
Q3: Do you provide an additional photographer?
A: An Assistant photographer is included in all our standard packages. The assistant photographer will take photos with the main photographer the whole day. An associate photographer is available upon request for an additional fee. An associate photographer is only recommended when the bride and groom get ready at locations far away from each other, and the get-ready process of the bride and groom to be documented at the same time. In this case, the main photographer will work with the bride, and the associate photographer will work with the groom separately.
Q4: Do you guarantee your presence at the actual event?
A: Absolutely. We typically come 10-15 minutes earlier than scheduled and get ready for the photo shoot, since your event is the most important for us on the photo shoot date.
Q5: Do you bring back-up equipment to the event in case of malfunction?
A: We bring minimum 2-3 sets of professional photography equipment to insure a successful coverage.
Q6: Do you require a meal break? If yes, do you require that the wedding party provide your meal?
A: Yes. A good meal is necessary for the photographer to perform well since we may start very early and leave very late. Events like wedding photography consume lots of energy and it is essential to get enough energy for the photographer to be active. Typically, when the bridal party start eating, the photographer will also start eating, since nobody wants to see photos of eating. Once the bride and groom finish eating, we are done with eating too. By doing this, no time is wasted and we will be fully recharged for the next program.
Q7: Do you charge for travel?
A: Travel is free if the wedding is within 250 miles round-trip to San Jose, CA. Travel is also free for engagements within 120 miles round trip. Otherwise, a travel fee may apply.
Q8: How soon after the event are the proofs ready for viewing?
A: Typically in 3-4 weeks, the photos are ready to review. It could take 1-2 extra weeks during peak wedding season.
Q9: How long can the clients keep the proofs?
A: Lifetime.
Q10: Do you reserve the right to publish the photos?
A: Yes. It is important for the photographer to share his work with potential clients. However, in rare cases when the clients want to keep their photos private, an extra fee is charged because the photographer is going to lose the right to advertise and attract potential clients.
Q11: What is the deposit rate and why it is non-refundable?
A: The non-fundable deposit rate is typically 50% of the package. It should be paid as early as possible to reserve the date exclusively for you. It happened many times that the potential customers missed the opportunity to work with us due to the late payment. Because the particular date is reserved for the client exclusively, the retainer is not refundable even if the event is cancelled.
Q12: How do I order prints from you?
A: Online album will be provided for each photo shoot. The photos are labeled in the index page on the album. You can simply tell us the photo label number and the size of print. We will go through the prints carefully and apply advanced post-processing if necessary for the best quality purpose. The prints typically take 5-7 business days to be ready. It could take longer during holidays.
Q13: Do you provide RAW files?
A: Because we always process the photos including white balance adjustment, color-correction, exposure adjustment, light shifting, etc (please refer to Q2 for post-processing), we provide the clients with post-processed JPG photos to insure the quality of product. When we perform advanced special-effect Photoshop processing later on, the processing is also based on the high resolution JPG photos that are provided to you. The high resolution JPG photos can typically be enlarged to at least 20″x30″ prints. If the clients still want the unprocessed RAW files down the road, then we do offer the option to purchase the original RAW files for an additional fee.