Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) about Wedding Photographers and Wedding Photography

Q: When do I need to book a wedding photographer?

A: This depends on a number of things. When are you getting married? Will it be in the summer months, in the midst of the “wedding season”, you may need to book a wedding photographer as early as 12 to 18 months in advance. If you have a wedding photographer that you would like to use before you have booked the wedding venue, check their availability before you book the venue. It is a good idea to book your wedding photographer as soon as possible as they can become booked very quickly.

Q: How do I find the right photographer?

A: Finding the right wedding photographer for you becomes a very important part in the whole wedding planning process.

First, you must love their work, look for a wedding photographer whose photography style you love, whose pictures tell a story the way you would want your wedding day pictures to be told like.

If you don’t love their pictures, then they are not the wedding photographer for you.

Secondly, personality. As your wedding photographer will spend most of the day with you and your fiance, you will have to be comfortable with each other. Ask yourself: “Would we be friends with this photographer even if we were not getting married?” If the answer is “yes,” then you are nearer to hiring the wedding photographer for you. The same also goes for the photographer.

However, it is not just about you liking the photographers, it is also about the photographer wanting to work with you. It is very much a two way thing.

Q: Why is wedding photography so much more expensive now?

A: Wedding photography has changed so much since your parents got married. Your parents wedding album probably consists of very formal poses with one picture on each page. The result being wedding albums looking very similar, except for the couple and no images telling the story of their day. The photographer took less than 200 photographs at your parents wedding, where today, a digital wedding photographer may take between 1000 to 2000 images, telling the story of a couple’s wedding in pictures. Digital photography has led to huge leaps forward in wedding albums. Wedding albums of today are literally works of art, bespoke designs for the couple. Designing these works of art is a time consuming process that requires all the skill, artistry and talent of the modern professional wedding photographer.

Q: Can we upgrade our package after we have booked our photographer?

A: Probably, yes. After booking your photography package you decide you want to change your mind (normally before the final payment has been made) most wedding photographers will welcome the chance to upgrade your package. Depending on the upgrade, some may allow that additional charge to be made after the wedding, especially if it includes an album. This extra amount may be payable once your album has been finalised

At Blue Square Images, you can upgrade your package any time before your actual wedding day. Even after your wedding with album upgrades.

Q: We can get our wedding photography for £500 (or less) and we get the digital files. Isn’t this a good way to save money?

A: Like any other service, there are people operating at all levels of experience and expertise. Pricing is one way to distinguish this. So if the photographer will shoot all day and give you all the files for such a low price, may be you are not getting the quality images you’d hope for. Wedding photographers at this level are normally beginners with little experience or part-time shooters. Most professional wedding photographers invest not only thousands of pounds on equipment but time to perfect their craft, from taking the images to the artistic skill of designing the perfect album. Also, remember that running a small business incurs expenses and professional wedding photography is no exception. Those who charge low prices may not have the backup equipment nor insurance to cover in the case of an accident. 

Blue Square Images was founded in 2004, but I have over twenty years experience as a photographer. Over that time I have spent not only time but money on developing my skills as photographer and image worker.

We at Blue Square Images, not only use professional equipment, we also carry back-up camera equipment, should the unthinkable happen and a camera body malfunction or a lens get damaged. With this we are also fully insured with Professional Indemnity and Public Liability insurance. Make sure any photographer that you are considering has both these forms of insurance - any photographer worth his salt would have both.

Q: Why will our wedding photographer copyright the pictures he takes at our wedding?

A: In the field of wedding photography, copyright is a form of legal protection that wedding photographers have on their images, layouts, designs and other artistic works. This protection grants them the exclusive right to reproduce or display their images, or authorize others to do so. A photographer is granted copyright at the time the product is created. Copyright does not need to be claimed or registered to belong to the photographer, nor does a notice of copyright need to be present for copyright to be in effect. It‘s illegal to violate any of the rights held by the owner of the copyright. It‘s not necessary to obtain a transfer of the copyright to reproduce the images; a reproduction release will serve this purpose. Transfer and reproduction releases need to be put in writing and signed by the photographer.

Q: Film or digital wedding photographer?

A: To be honest it really does not matter. When you are looking for a wedding photographer, review their work, either by looking at their website or in person and see examples of their albums. It will more likely be the quality of the prints and albums that are more important rather than whether they shoot film or digital.

At Blue Square Images, we use professional digital camera equipment. DIgital helps our workflow and allows us to capture the images of your day in full colour and then, if required, using imaging software we can alter and enhance the images. This can also be done with film, but just means that the film has to be scanned into the computer before any work can be undertaken.

Q: What is a proof?

A: A proof is the first set of photos you see after your wedding. You will use these to choose the final prints to go in your album as well as any reprint orders. There are many ways to display proofs, some of these include: an online gallery, a DVD, 6”x4” prints. Be sure to ask your photographer what form the proof take. Proofs usually only have basic colour correction with no specific retouching or cropping made to them.

At Blue Square Images, we do not supply printed proof prints. We do put your wedding photos online and you can also purchase a Proof DVD slideshow of your images if you so wish.

Q: What are the different styles of wedding photography?

Traditional
Reportage
Photojournalism (or documentary)
Fine art
others are just a unique style of look

At Blue Square Images, we photograph what we see. So you could call it Reportage or Documentary Style but we also include a few informal “posed” pictures of you and your partner, as well as a few group photographs. Click here for more on our photographic style.

Q: So many wedding photographers say “we do photojournalism.” Are they all photojournalists

A: Many couples like the informal “natural” look of images – unposed photographs that capture a moment in time. A pure photojournalist (also “documentary wedding photographers”) will shoot a wedding without any interaction or interference. They will not pose you or your guests, they will only shoot what they see, resulting in totally natural looking images.

Some wedding photographers will shoot a mixture of natural photojournalistic and semi-posed images, where they may make suggestions where you should stand, kiss etc.

Ask whether they ever pose their subjects, this way you will find out how the wedding photographer works.

Q: What are the advantages to having two photographers from the same company shooting simultaneously?

A: Many! Two photographers can shoot from two different angles getting better coverage. For example, during the ceremony they may be either side of you so are able to get both of your expressions as you exchange your vows, or one may be further away shooting wide-angle views, while the other is near and getting close-up pictures of the bride’s tears. Another example is during any formal group pictures you may have, one photographer takes the group photos while the other photographer can take informal photos of your guests enjoying themselves. Again this is good for the speeches. Having two skilled wedding photographers allows for more detail of your wedding to be captured.

Some wedding photography studios offer two photographers as standard, others charge an additional fee for the second photographer.

We do offer a second wedding photographer at an additional upgrade fee.

Q: What are the advantages of having a single photographer?

A: Many photographers want their subjects to be themselves and act naturally. It’s great to hear that the bride & groom “were so relaxed that the photographer had everything in hand, I think I forgot about him until remembering to offer him a glass of champagne!” A solo photographer can blend in with the other guests whilst producing natural images of everyone enjoying themselves.

Q: Do wedding photographers offer separate pricing for really small weddings?

A: Whether you are having hundreds of guest or just a hand full, the work and time that the photographer puts in, both during and afterwards, does not really change. Many wedding photography packages are based on time spent at an event, so a smaller wedding may need less coverage, so find a package that suits your needs.

Q: What kind of wedding photography packages are available?

A: Generally, there are either set packages that include any number of services and products, for example, photography time, albums, proofs, online-galleries and prints, to name but a few. Or there is a la carte pricing, which means that you can tailor the products and services to your specific needs, for example the number of hours of photography, an album, two parent albums and a slide show.

Q:What is a la carte pricing?

A: This is where each product and service is offered by the wedding photographer is individually listed and priced, instead of being in a set package. This has the advantage for you being able to pick exactly what you want, from length of photographic coverage, to whether you want an album or hi-resolution images, size of album and parent albums.