Frequently Asked questions for a wedding photographer

Do you take formal pictures – couple portraits and family groups?

As I specialise in documentary wedding photography, almost all of the pictures I take will be candid, natural and unposed .

However, I fully understand that family groups and portraits have an important part to play. I recommend keeping the number to a minimum as the more you have the more they will dominate the reception. However, everyone’s expectations are different so I will work with you before the wedding to plan this part of the day.

Having photographed hundreds of weddings I can advise on what works so guests don’t get bored waiting around.

Here are a couple of blog posts which will explain my approach and show examples….

Family Group Photos

Natural Wedding Portraits

You are based in Stirlingshire – will you travel to photograph my wedding?

Living in Stirlingshire means I am well placed to travel anywhere in Scotland. Most of the weddings I cover are in or around Glasgow, Edinburgh, Fife, Ayrshire, Perthshire and the Borders. However, I love a destination wedding and am very happy to travel further afield for your big day.

How long before I see my pictures?

My priority is to get your pictures to you as quickly as possible and I work very hard to make sure this happens. However, the length of time will depend on how busy I am at that stage of the year so it’s usually longer in the summer. I work on strict rotation so all my weddings are edited in the order I shoot them. I cover myself by saying 6 weeks but it’s more likely to be somewhere in the region of 2 or 4 weeks.

Once you have selected images for your album the proofing and production can take up to 8 weeks depending on which album you have chosen.

Do you have Insurance?

I am fully covered with Professional Indemnity and Public Liability insurance. Many venues require wedding suppliers to be fully covered.

Have thought of wedding insurance for yourselves? I would highly recommend it. You’ll be making a significant investment in your big day and the cost of insurance cover could be money very well spent if anything doesn’t go according to plan.

Do you have backup equipment?

One of the biggest worries when working with highly technical electronic equipment, such as the current mirrorless digital cameras, is “What if they go wrong?” They can and do go wrong on occassion and often there’s nothing that the unlucky photographer can do to prevent it.

So to build in some contingency, I have plenty of equipment with me on the day. I shoot with 2 cameras, both writing to duplicate memory cards (2 in each camera) and I have at least one spare camera body in the car. I have multiple interchangeable lenses.

Please rest assured that your pictures are safe and should one memory card fail all the pictures from that camera are duplicated on the second memory card.

What happens if you get taken ill?

In the unfortunate circumstances that I am unable to photograph your wedding due to illness, I have reciprocal arrangements with other photographers who shoot to a similar standard and style who will stand in for me.

If you wish to arrange another photographer yourselves you will receive a full refund of all money paid to that point.

Colour or Black and White?

Every image that you receive will be hand edited by myself with colour correction, density adjustment and cropping if necessary. Your web gallery will have a variety of colour and black and white photos. Whether a picture works best in colour or black and white usually depends on the lighting conditions and content. For your web gallery, I choose the finish that I think works best. If you’d like to see a picture in the opposite finish to the one I have selected just let me know and I’ll upload it to the gallery.

How many pictures do we receive?

I don’t specify a particular number of pictures because all weddings are different and lend themselves to different amounts of pictures. I take a large volume of images during the whole day and edit them down to a narrative for your download gallery. Most wedding galleries contain 300 to 500 images.

A big part of the creative process is to select the pictures for the collection so each image you receive contributes to the story of your day. It also ensures that you are not inundated with similar and repetitious pictures just to make up a predetermined number.

Some photographers will offer you access to every single image they shoot. I don’t do this because for me, there is a great deal of work that goes on behind the scenes choosing and retouching every individual picture in your gallery – this is a big part of the work of a documentary wedding photographer.

Will you use the pictures for marketing or social media?

Being able to show my work – whether through my portfolio, my Blog, a brochure, magazine or competition is hugely important. If I can’t show my photos, I can’t promote my business and you would probably have never found me.

Having said that, I pride myself on my discretion and I have some couples for whom privacy is essential. If this is the case please contact me to discuss your requirements.

Who owns the copyright to the pictures?

You and your guests will be able to download the high resolution, unwatermarked digital files from your gallery. From these files you can produce prints and products without limit.

However, the copyright in the work remains with Epic Scotland Ltd and the pictures are licensed for your personal use only. They cannot be used in magazines or on commercial websites or blogs without my permission.

So if you receive a request for an image from another supplier or a wedding publication, just refer them to me and I’ll deal with their request and grant the necessary permissions if appropriate.

Can friends and family buy prints?

Yes, you will receive a link to a web gallery displaying all your pictures which you can share with whoever you like. You can order prints and other products direct from the gallery.

Do you photograph both the bride and groom getting ready?

If you are both getting ready in the same place, then yes.

If not, I will spend the time in the morning with the bride and bridesmaids then arrive at the venue with enough time to photograph the groom and ushers welcoming guests and preparing for the bride’s arrival.

How do we Book?

Contact me and I will send you a link to my online booking form and contract. I require a £400 non-refundable booking fee to secure the date and I ask for the full balance 6 weeks before the wedding.

Will you hold the date for me?

If you want me to photograph your wedding but are not quite ready to make the booking please let me know so I can advise other couples who might enquire about the same date. However, in the interest of fairness, please note that due to the high number of enquiries, I do not reserve wedding dates without the Booking Form and Booking Fee.

Will you meet us at the venue for a planning meeting?

I am very happy to come to your venue for a pre-wedding meeting but the time and cost of this is not priced into my services as it is not necessary from my point of view. Therefore, I will charge an additional fee based on the time and travel required.

I may well visit the venue ahead of the day under my own steam (for which there will be no charge) but if it is a place I haven’t worked before I will arrive early on the day to familiarize myself with the space, meet the venue team and walk through the stages of the wedding day.