Thank you so much for considering ME to photograph your wedding! Below you will find answers to some of the most popular questions I get asked about working TOGETHER. If you have any other questions that aren’t answered below, please don’t hesitate to reach out!

-Betsy

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

What would you call your style?
This is a hard one and a question that is always asked, but I think it really depends on the couple getting married. I strive to create really beautiful, artful images that capture the essence of your relationship and who you are as a person. My work is generally mix of editorial style photos with a slew of candid shots throughout the day. Romantic, yet fun, soft yet vibrant. My art is largely dependent on how comfortable our subjects are in front of the camera and their desired outcome. If you don’t like being in front of the camera and don’t want to be heavily posed, I am happy to be a fly on the wall capturing your day, with mostly real, tender moments. If you love the camera and want to be posed, you can expect more editorial style photos. I want our images to reflect actual life, in an artful manner that tells the story of your day beautifully. When I pose clients, I like to do so in a natural, comfortable way, that looks like it could be a candid moment. If i had to put a title on it, I’d say our work is largely editorial vibe, with a good mix of documentary style photos.

When choosing your wedding photographer, it’s important make sure that you are in love with their style. As photographers, this is truly an art form to us. We have taken years to perfect our craft and develop a style that is our own. If you don't vibe with our style, we totally understand that and would be happy to connect you with someone you might fit your vision a little better! 

Can we see a full wedding gallery?
Absolutely and I think it’s a great idea to look through a few full wedding day galleries by every photographer you are speaking to so that you can get a better idea of the full scope of their work. However, as an artist I am always growing and evolving, so while I feel these galleries are a great representation of my current work, it might look slightly different by the time your wedding comes around! However, I'm shooting for an even more beautiful, artful portfolio by then :) Please check out a few of our favorite wedding days HERE!

What types of events do you feel you are the best at capturing?
I have found that I’m able to deliver the most thoughtful, artistic representation of your wedding day when I am not tied to a strict timeline and extensive shot list. Ideally my couples place the most value on their wedding day in truly celebrating their marriage and spending time with the people they love the most, not nitpicking or stressing about the details. I want to capture your event as it unfolds naturally, not turn your wedding day into an 8 hour long photoshoot. If you are unsure if we sound like a good fit, I’d love to schedule a phone call or video chat so we can get to know one another a little better!

How long have you been doing wedding photography?
We have both had a long time love of photography, but we started professionally shooting weddings together in 2014! 

How many weddings do you shoot each year?
For the last 9 years of business, we have shot around 20-25 weddings each year. However, we are now limiting the number of wedding we shoot and are accepting around 12 weddings per year for the foreseeable future. This is in an effort to prioritize our family life and really focus on the clients that are the best fit for our work.

Do you and John work together?
We started our business as a husband and wife team photographing all our weddings together, but as of recent, we are taking a very limited amount of dual photographer weddings in favor of intimate, single photographer weddings. I (Betsy) am always the lead shooter. If I happen to need a second shooter, sometimes it will be John, but sometimes I will have another equally talented photographer with me. On days when it works for our family John will sometimes come along as my assistant to help me throughout the day with various tasks from film loading, styling, dress holding, camera carrying and in general, he’s just pretty awesome and fun to have around.

Can you hold our date?
We hold wedding dates with a signed contract and retainer fee paid. We recommend signing a contract as soon as you are able to ensure that we are still available for your wedding date.

What is your payment schedule like?
We require a $1000 non-refundable retainer to reserve your date and the balance of your wedding is due 30 days before your wedding.

Do you travel?
Definitely, we have a new found love for travel and are currently available for single shooter (Betsy only) destination weddings and sessions throughout the US.

How many images will we receive? 
For engagement sessions we usually provide around 75-100 images in your gallery and around 75-100 images for each hour of wedding day coverage. For a full wedding day, that means you would receive between 600-1000 images, but it is usually on the higher end and it really depends on the dynamic of the wedding day and couple!

Can we order prints on our own or do we have to order them through you?
You will be able to download your images and make full size prints wherever you'd like. However, you can also order prints straight from your online gallery! When you order through our easy ordering system, you will get high quality prints from our professional print lab shipped straight to you. We cannot guarantee the quality of printed images if they do not come from our lab. 

How long will it take to receive our photos?
We aim to send out a preview within 1-2 weeks, but you will receive your full wedding gallery within 2-3 months for weddings and 2-3 weeks for engagement photos.

Do you deliver every image you shoot?
No. Sometimes we take 2-3 photos of the same pose, to ensure we don’t have any photos with closed eyes, funny facial expressions or unflattering gestures. We choose the images that we present to you very carefully, to ensure that you are getting the best and most beautiful photographs of your wedding day!

Do you edit all of our photographs?
Yes! We hand select and edit each and every photograph that you receive in our standard style that you see throughout our website and social media. Some photos, like the bride and groom portraits will receive extra special care with light blemish retouching. We don't do any extensive editing (like removing or adding someone from a photo) in house, however we are happy to outsource those types of edits to professional editing services for an additional fee. 

Do you offer video coverage?
No, unfortunately we do not.

Do you work well with videographers?
We happily work alongside all other wedding vendors and roughly half of our couples hire videographers. If you are looking for a good fit, we are happy to provide a list of some of our favorites to work with. However, we strongly suggest you book a professional videographer who is experienced in weddings so they don’t interrupt the flow of the wedding day. We’ve seen couples spend a small amount of money on a videographer with disastrous results on the wedding day that resulted in a very poorly done wedding film.

How do you feel about DIY flowers?
I understand that florals are expensive, but they can really impact the look of your wedding photos! I absolutely love flowers and think that a professional wedding bouquet is a necessary component to a wedding! Florists are masters of their crafts and can turn the look of an event around completely with florals! I’ve seen plenty of brides DIY their reception table florals and turn out beautifully, but at a minimum, I suggest hiring a professional for your bouquet. However, I highly suggest working with a local florist to help you on your day! Plus, who needs the extra stress of DIYing the day before their wedding? ;) Have questions? Feel free to reach out!

Will you help us choose outfits and a location for our engagement session?
Definitely. Before your session we will send you our engagement session guide with photos and advice to make the most of your engagement photos. I always want engagement sessions to be fun, but it’s also a great trial run together before your wedding day so we can get to know each other and take some beautiful photos.

Can we do our engagement session in a different city?
For sure. It's so fun to have your engagement photos with a different scenery than your wedding photos. However, travel fees may apply. Let us know what kind of locations your are interested in and we can send you some ideas and pricing! *Travel fees must be paid immediately upon booking. 

Can I bring my pet to my engagement shoot?
While we are happy to photograph you and your furry friends, these kind of photo sessions can get a little bit crazy. If this is something you would really like to do, we suggest taking 15 minutes of photos with your pets and then spending the rest of the time on couple portraits! We also suggest bringing someone along to take your pet after we are all done with that part of the session so they aren't a distraction for the remaining time.

What happens if you can’t make it to our wedding?
In the rare event that we are unable to make it to your wedding, we will refund your money and do our best to connect you with a photographer in your area who is available on your wedding day.

Do we need to feed you on the wedding day?
Yes, we ask that our couples feed us a hot meal on their wedding day and by signing your wedding contract, you are agreeing to provide us dinner. Trust us when we say this is not just our way of getting a free meal. Though we'd be more than happy to bring our own meal, it's just not feasible for us to bring a packed dinner to weddings and we usually do not have enough time to even run and get fast food. By the time dinner comes around, we have been working very hard non-stop for 5-6 hours and we are usually feeling a little weary. A nice hot meal perks us up and gives us the energy to keep going and continue to serve you well.  Please talk to your caterer in advance and let them know that you are providing us with a hot meal. Ideally photographers and videographers are fed at the same time as your guests so that we can get back to capturing your event as soon as dinner is done.  Again, please feel free to reach out with any questions.

Can we have the RAW images from our wedding?
No, unfortunately the RAW images are not available for viewing or purchasing. RAW images require special programs to open and edit. These files are are much like the ingredients to a cake, before it is baked and decorated. We are the master baker who finishes your images to perfection.

If we cancel our wedding, do we get our money back?
The retainer fee required to book your date is non-refundable. Once you’ve signed a contract, we turn down all other inquiries for that date and have most likely put in a number of hours in emails & planning, which results in lost income for us if your wedding is cancelled. Because this is the way we support our family, we have to stay true to these guidelines. Your wedding contract covers specifics of how the remainder of funds are returned based on how close to your wedding date you cancelled.

Can we have our photos in black and white and color?
Most of your photos will be in color with a mix of black and white throughout. Portions of the day that are more dimly lit (like the reception), or messy (like a getting ready room), will contain more photos that are delivered in black and white. Having a light, bright and clean getting ready room is a great way to ensure more color photos in your gallery.  During the reception, if there are unflattering DJ lights or unappealing backgrounds, creating photos in black and white can draw the viewer’s attention away from the crazy colors of a reception and focus it on the people and emotion! If you are having an indoor wedding or getting married in a darker church, please expect more photos to be delivered in black and white than color.

Do you take vertical or horizontal photos?
Good question! Roughly 70-80% of the photos we deliver are vertical and 20-30% of the photos we deliver are horizontal. We are always working on the artistic framing and cropping of our photos, so those numbers may grow closer together as our work evolves.

During what parts of the day do you use flash?  We have a newfound love for flash, however, we love the look of naturally lit photos, so we use flash very little as long as there is sun in the sky. Once the sun begins to set, we break out our flashes so that we can light the evening events. If we are doing formal photos indoors (like family photos inside a dark church) we will use flash to compensate for the dim lighting.

What kind of equipment do you use?
We use all professional Canon cameras & lenses and flashes throughout the day. Additionally, if a film package is chosen, we use pentax , canon & instax film cameras. Film is my (Betsy’s) passion project, so if the timeline allows it, I may show up with a couple of rolls of film, even if this isn’t a package you choose, but no guarantees :)

Do you have insurance?
Yes. Please let us know 30 days in advance if your venue requires proof of insurance.

Will you feature our images on your website?
We put so much heart and effort into our sessions and weddings, sharing our clients sessions online is so meaningful to us. It helps us reach new clients and share what we are most passionate about. It's incredibly helpful to us if you allow us to share your images online. However, we understand that there are some circumstances where that is not possible. If you prefer not to have your face shown online, please let us know and we can amend the contract. Please note, there is a $500 fee to compensate for loss of marketing.

What time should my wedding start?
Each wedding day is different, we would love for you to consult with us and your wedding planner to figure out the best time of day for your wedding ceremony to begin! We will say that the closer to sunset, the better the light gets for ceremonies (usually). For an average 30 minutes ceremony, we recommend scheduling your ceremony 1.5 to 2 hours before sunset, that way after the ceremony, we will have enough time for formal photos during the gorgeous golden hour of sunset light. If you're not sure, we would be happy to consult about the best time for your ceremony to start! 

How many hours of coverage do I need on my wedding day?
Each wedding is different, but in our opinion 8 hours is a great amount of coverage for a typical wedding day! However, there are many factors that go into deciding the right amount of coverage for you! Some things that may be cause to add additional coverage is larger bridal parties, longer religious ceremonies, travel between ceremony & reception venues, etc. If you can't decide the amount of coverage you would like to add, please consult with us and your wedding planner. 

What is the most important aspect of choosing your wedding vendors?
Trust is everything to us on a wedding day. Choosing wedding vendors who you trust and whose work you love is like giving a wedding gift to yourself. This gift means that you don't have to worry if your florist will set up the arbor in time and your won't have to question your photographers location choices or get nervous about the songs your DJ picks. It means that you won't have to stress yourself with the little details and you will be able to enjoy yourself while savoring each moment. We are overjoyed when couples choose us to photograph their wedding day, but it is an true honor when our brides and grooms put their complete trust in us.

Thanks for reading, we hope this was helpful!

HAVE MORE QUESTIONS? Ready to book your wedding? SHOOT US AN EMAIL!

hello@betsyandjohn.com