© 2007 dgPIX

WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY FAQ

I've decided to include some frequently asked wedding photography related questions by my clients. I have also included some very useful wedding photography tips that will help you in that difficult decision of choosing your wedding photographer. Should you have more questions, you're more than welcome to fill the contact form and I'll respond to it at my first available opportunity.

FAQ

What is the difference between digital and conventional photography?
What produces better quality pictures digital or a conventional film camera?
What are the advantages of digital photography?
What are the good wedding photography locations and wedding reception venues in Toronto?
Why should we have an engagement photosession?
How many hours of wedding photography should we schedule on our wedding day just for two of us?
How many wedding proofs will we get?
What are "prints a la carte"?
What are the most popular wedding photography packages?
Will we get the high resolution wedding originals?
What kind of wedding photography albums are there, and where can they be purchased?

WEDDING TIPS

Stress and "Role Reversal Effect"
Choosing your wedding photographer

FAQ

What is the difference between digital and conventional photography?

Professional digital cameras do not look different from conventional film cameras.  If fact most will not notice the difference unless the LCD monitor on the back of the digital camera is on and visible.  All the ancient photography principles and rules work identically the same, as far as the light traveling through the lense onto the light sensitive material, then exposing that material.  The difference is only in that light sensitive material.  In conventional cameras, it is the film, in digital cameras it is the light sensitive chip - CCD or CMOS which is charged by light, these electric impulses are converted and transferred into the electronic image file. Thus, the difference is only at the very back of the camera, at the very end of the picture taking process.

What produces better quality pictures digital or a conventional film camera?

Over the past couple of years, professional digital cameras have not only matched but surpassed the quality of medium format film cameras traditionally used by professional photographers.  In fact most of the images you see now in magazines, bill boards, etc. are produced with digital equipment.

What are the advantages of digital photography?

Advantages are too numerous to list all, but I will try to outline the major ones. Wedding is probably one of not many photography assignments that photographers do not get a second chance to do. Therefore, it is terribly important to make sure that all the wedding photography shots have been taken successfuly. With film cameras it is virtually impossible to ensure that photosession went well and shots were taken successfully. It is only after the film was developed your wedding photographer will know of the results. On many occasions shots do not turn well either due to the defective film or camera malfuntion, and these factors are absolutly beyond your wedding photogrpahers control. Another advantage is al much faster production time.  You can have your wedding photography digital proofs in just couple of days after your wedding.  These will be images accessible through any computer, much larger size that regular printed wedding proofs.  I always provide my wedding clients with the two sets of digital wedding proofs of the same shots: colour and black and white. Thus, any shot taken can be either in colour or b/w.  The number of wedding proofs from the typical wedding is over 800, conventional wedding photographers could rarely offer that.  Every wedding print that you order will go through a thorough digital editing process, retouching, colour correction and special digital effects will be applied to all the wedding prints, for the fee already incorporated into the price of wedding prints, which is the same price as regular, unedited conventional prints in other conventional wedding photography studios. 

What are the good wedding photography and wedding reception venues in Toronto?

Toronto is one of the best cities in North America for wedding photography since it combines many different styles of architecture, and it has many beautiful parks.  Most popular wedding photography location by far are University of Toronto, St. George Campus or Victoria College Campus which are located in the downtown Toronto area, Guild Inn Park, in Scarborough, Edward Gardens, and Toronto Islands.  I often photograph couples right on the streets of downtown, which creates very urban and hip wedding photography style. In addition, in and around Toronto, there is a number of wonderful wedding reception banquet halls and estates. Most of the estates have beautiful parks and therefore present a great wedding photography location by itself. Graydon Hall, Sunnybrook Estates, Parkwood Estate, Heinzman House, Casa Loma, Liberty Grand and Eaton Estate are just some that come to my mind. There are, on the other hands, absolutely no rules where the wedding pictures should be taken.  That is very personal, and often couples take me to their favourite spots in the city.  The main aspect is to realize is that wedding photography is not about location, it is about your wedding day memories. 

Why should we have an engagement photography session?

It is a good idea to have an engagement shoot for a few good reasons.  First of all it is a great rehearsal opportunity for the couple before their wedding day.  Your wedding photography experience is going to be much more enjoyable and productive if you've had a change to meet your wedding photographer, see him in action.  It will relax you, as some people are camera shy, and without prior experience, wedding photosession might feel awkward at the beginning.  Another good reason is that you will have a number of nice shots which you can use for digital wedding invitations and other wedding stationary.  You can frame and place that engagement portrait during the wedding reception for your guests to sign around the matte, thus using it instead of the wedding guest book. 

How many hours of wedding photography should we schedule on our wedding day just for two of us?

Typically 2-2.5 hours of wedding photography is sufficient enough for a moderate size wedding album of 30-40 pages.  However, it very much depends on the size of your wedding party and your family.  If you have more that 2 bride's maids and best men, you will require a longer wedding photosession as everyone in the bridal party needs to be photographed, as well as your family members.  The most important thing is not to rush during the wedding photo session.  Therefore, allow yourself some extra time accordingly.

How many wedding proofs will we get?

On a typical wedding I usually shoot up to 100 frames/hour.  Therefore to calculate an approximate number of digital wedding proofs, all you need to do is simply multiply the number of hours you are planning to have me on your wedding by 100. On top of that, most of our wedding photography packages include 400 printed, unmarked 4/6 wedding proofs.   

What is "prints a la carte"?

Prints "a la carte" simply means that you will order the wedding prints after the wedding, and not as a whole wedding photography package beforehand.  You might not know how many wedding prints and what sizes of the prints you might want, thus you will only pay for my time as a wedding photographer, and choose the wedding prints after you see the proofs from your wedding day.

What are the most popular wedding packages?

Since every couple is unique, their wedding photography needs are unique as well.  Once I've realized that no particular wedding photography package can suit anyone's particular needs, and every wedding package needs to be customized no matter what, I started to offer custom designed wedding photography packages as well as pre-set wedding photography packages.

What are the most popular wedding packages?Will we get the high resolution wedding originals?

Two years ago I have started to include high resolution wedding originals into all of my packages. Some Toronto wedding photographers have the same approach and release the originals, some do not release them to their wedding clients. It is a sole decision of your wedding photographer whether to release the wedding originals to their wedding clients or not. However, if it is important for you to own the originals, you should have the agreement with your wedding photographer to own the rights to originals prior to signing a wedding contract.

What kind of wedding photography albums are there, and where can they be purchased?

Literally, there are thousands of different kinds of wedding albums out there. Hundreds of different wedding album makers offer albums that differ in design, size, amount of pictures it can hold, materials, colours, etc.   However, there are only a few major types of albums that are available.  First, and probably the oldest design is the type where wedding photographs are placed or glued onto the page, either using the glue corners or right onto the page in case thy album already has adhesive pages, then wedding photographs are covered with a transparent protective plastic layer. These wedding albums are very common, they are easy to assemble and are sold in most photography, stationary and department stores.  Second type is very similar to the first one, corners of the photographs are placed into the pre-made openings on the page, then covered with the protective layer, these are also available in most photography, stationary and department stores.  Third type is a library bound album with windows or page openings that take various inserts, wedding photographs are first attached to the inserts, then inserts are placed into the openings.  Inserts are available in many different shapes and can hold anywhere from one to 16 pictures. Such albums present unique opportunity to custom design your wedding photographs presentation, maximizing the space and making your wedding alum look unlike any other wedding album you’ve seen before.  Some wedding photography studios carry these albums, they are only available through custom order from wedding photography suppliers that are usually not open to public. Usually these albums have genuine leather covers. We offer this type of album at our studio as a part of some wedding photgraphy packages.  Fourth, and seemingly last type is digital flush mount album.  Wedding photographs are carefully designed using various layouts and combinations, then printed as one large print, then prints or photographs are glued onto the complete page of such album, giving it the look of a magazine or an art album. Then completed albums are bound with leather covers of various types and colours.  These albums are custom made and offered by some wedding photography studios. This type of albums is available at our studio and offered as a part of higher end wedding photography packages, or can be ordered separtely to compliment any other custom wedding photography package.

WEDDING TIPS

Stress and "Role Reversal Effect"

The wedding day is an amazing celebration of two people joining their lives together.  It is absolutely crucial not to stress out on your wedding day because the higher the level of stress on your wedding day the less you will remember of it.  Often the stress is attributed to the "role reversal" effect that is very common for the wedding couple.  The couple is constantly trying to please their guests, coordinate the event, etc. They often fail to recognize that it is their wedding day, everything is done because they are getting married, all the guests, decorations, flowers, photographer and videograher are there for them and because of them, and not the other way around.  You need to realize that everyone there is to help you and celebrate with you, therefore, there is absolutely nothing to be worried about.  If you start stressing out, just stop and remember - it is your day, you are the most important people there, and nothing in the world can change that.

Choosing your wedding photographer

There are quite a few very important elements that you should consider when choosing your wedding photographer. I will attempt listing some that in my opinion are absolutely critical. The most important factor is, of course, photographer’s work. You should absolutely love the style that photographer works in, and if you have special requests, a good photographer should be able to change his or her style’s according to your needs. Most of the wedding photographers have websites that display their work, a website portfolio is a good start, and often could tell you a lot about photographer’s level of professionalism, however, if you like what you see on the website, the next step would be to meet the photographer in person, at his or her studio. That’s when you will have the opportunity to take a look at the printed works, as any photographer’s final product are prints, printmaking is a highly specialized skill, and not everyone knows how to do it well. Take a look at large portrait prints, 20x20 or larger. Good quality large prints could only be achieved with the high end professional equipment and a good vision of the final product. If prints look just as good as the images on the website – you’re on the right track. Next very important question is have the photographs that you’ve seen been taken by the photographer you’re meeting, and consequently the wedding photographer who will do your wedding coverage. Unfortunately, far too many wedding photography studios show works of many other photographers that have worked there in the past, a number of freelance photographers work there at any given time, and there is no way you will know who will be your photographer. In fact, since most book their wedding photographers well ahead, even studio won't know who will be your wedding photographer as their staff photographers change often. You might get lucky and get a great photographer, on the other hand you might not, it’s kind of a lottery and you should definitely avoid such arrangements. You should meet the wedding photographer who’s work you’ve chosen among others, and he or she should be specified in the contact as a photographer that will be doing your wedding photography coverage. Following factor is the price of your wedding package. Quite often wedding photography packages are quoted based on the fact that you will get any photographer that works for the studio, once you insist that a specific photographer, who’s pictures you’ve really liked, rates will most likely double or even triple. These are unfortunate marketing techniques and strategies that many wedding photography studios utilize to get you interested by the low rates they’re offering, and once you’re in their studio it is crucial to understand what exactly you are paying for. In one case your quite expesive packge will include the wedding coverage by a photographer who's presenting his own work and knows how to make great wedding photographs, in other case same rate might be getting you a college student who's never done weddings before. Please don't get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with young photographers, they might be very talented and creative, but you should never pay for such package as much as you should pay for an experienced photographer. Ater all the "custom build" approach has always been prooven better than "conveyor method". These in my opinion are the most important factors that should be looked at when choosing your wedding photographer, however, other which are not directly related to print quality and package pricing are photographer’s personality, credibility, reputation and experience in other areas of photography, which could add a very unique flavour to your wedding album. You are welcome to contact us if you have any specific questions or you would like to receive a quote. Choose dgPIX FOTO Atlier - To Be Unique!

© 2008 dgPIX FOTO Atelier Inc. and Andrew Maidanik. All rights reserved. Images may not be used without a written permission.