GENERAL QUESTIONS

Does your studio offer other types of photography? (e.g. family, baby, event or commercial)

Yes, we are equipped to photograph an assortment of concepts and have specialized training in a variety of genres. Please inquire for additional information or booking.

What forms of payment do you accept?

We accept cash or check, and all major credit cards.

What areas do you serve?

We serve clients in all areas of the Triangle including Raleigh, Cary, Chapel Hill, and Durham. In addition, we shoot weddings and portraits throughout the US and most countries. Please inquire for more information.

Do you have a physical studio location?

Yes, we have a photography and editing home based studio space, however, since our business is predominantly location centered around weddings and portraits, we relegate this mainly for editing and practice sessions. For the greatest convenience to our clients, we have created a completely portable studio. With compact, unobtrusive and rapid setup capabilities, we can bring the complete studio experience to nearly any home, business, or location for studio quality portraits anytime. This convenience has allowed us to transcend the limitations of a typical studio space giving our clients beautiful studio results nearly anywhere imaginable.

WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY QUESTIONS

Do you have any advice for choosing a wedding photographer?

Yes, we do and it's not what you may think. We truly love Claude Monet's master works of impressionism, but his style is not for everyone. That said, choosing a wedding photographer is indeed a very important and personal decision. Unlike choosing nearly any other wedding vendor, your photographer may be with you from first light, till past the stroke of midnight on wedding day. Think carefully about that for a moment. For that reason, it makes sense that you be very comfortable and at ease with your photographer. While it would be nice to think we’re a perfect fit for every couple, it’s simply not the case. That is not to demean you as a couple nor us as wedding photographers. In reality, personality and artistic style are open to subjective interpretation. Our philosophy is simple, be friendly, courteous, lighthearted, and professional. We strive to keep things calm and smooth on wedding day. Low stress creates better photographs and great photographs help ensure happy clients. We treat clients as we would wish to be treated as a client. Our ultimate goal is to foster relationships for life, and everything we do stems from that philosophy. If we seem well suited after an initial meeting, and our style and philosophy resonates favorably with you, look no further you've found your wedding photographer.

What is the difference between photojournalism and directed or posed photography?

Photojournalism is a method of photography to capture images with minimal interaction or intervention. This is certainly the preferred method during both the ceremony and reception. Photo-journalistic photography can yield some truly amazing candid expressions. The caveat is that there is little control over body position, lighting, or background elements. For this reason, subtle positioning cues and slight adjustments can produce unparalleled images. First, let’s dispel the myth that directed photographs look posed and unnatural. It is true that done improperly, things can look awkward and unnatural. However, done correctly a directed photograph has no equal, looking beautiful and natural, elegant and refined. The photos most likely to become wall art or be included in a wedding album will likely be directed photographs. As Jerry Ghionis, one of our favorite photography mentors once said; “Unless a bride stands in beautiful light, tilts her face and chin up, points her toe, bends her knee, shifts her weight and shoulders back, and cracks up laughing. It just doesn’t happen.” Think of it this way, "As beautiful as you are, we can make you shine brighter than ever before with a simple direction. Would you like that?" For the perfect synthesis of beautiful imagery, we approach the wedding day from a multi-faceted approach, directing when necessary and using photojournalism when appropriate.

Is professional equipment really important?

The simple answer is yes and no. While we’re sure Bobby Flay could still produce something extraordinary over a campfire, he could not produce his best culinary marvels without an exceptional kitchen. The same is true in photography, professional equipment does not guarantee superb results without a skilled artist behind the shutter. Together, masterpieces are created with a photographic brush, painting a canvas with texture, dimension, and mood. In addition, the best equipment stands alone with robust build quality and redundancies to prevent lost or corrupted images. Similar to mail delivery in rain or shine, sleet or snow, we must perform and succeed in all conditions. Professional equipment allows us to do just that. No one can afford to lose priceless once in a lifetime images due to equipment failure. In short, both professional equipment and professional training are required for the best possible results. Our approach combines both of these to produce spectacular results.

How do you ensure our images will remain safe and won’t be lost?

We employ a multistep workflow process to ensure your images remain safe and secure. First, all of our professional cameras write simultaneously to dual memory cards, so there are always two copies of each image immediately as it is taken. Second, image files are backed up to hard drives upon our return to the editing studio. Finished images are then backed up again with cloud services to ensure multiple data redundancies.

Are you a natural light photographer?

When choosing a photographer, this is a very important distinction to evaluate. We utilize our skills with both natural and artificial light to get the best quality photographs in a variety of situations. While we absolutely love natural light and use it whenever possible, there are a mixture of conditions where natural light will frankly not produce the best results. Many of these can be found during a typical wedding. For example, overcast or rainy days, indoor and evening weddings, or dimly lit reception venues simply may not have enough natural light for beautiful photographs. Additionally, we prefer not to limit our clients to shoot exclusively with natural light under ideal conditions. Despite the best intentions and planning, sometimes mother nature dictates adverse conditions that are beyond control. To ensure success, we use a selection of the fastest lenses, professional low light camera equipment, and supplemental lighting to produce the best results. We will be ready regardless of circumstance.

Do you have liability insurance?

Yes, we have both professional liability and personal property insurance. As you may already know, most professional venues require vendors to have general liability insurance to work on their premises. Rest assured, we are exceptionally careful with our equipment and techniques to prevent potential problems, but in the unlikely event something photography related were to happen, we are covered to protect both you and your guests. In addition, we employ a third tier of cataclysm coverage. If the unthinkable were to occur and images were stolen or damaged, this coverage provides a variety of safeguards to protect us collectively.

How do we reserve our wedding date?

A signed contract and deposit will reserve your wedding date.

How far in advance should we book you for our wedding?

To ensure your date is reserved, booking as soon as possible is preferred. Other than the date, most wedding details need not be finalized before booking. Many brides book nine months or more in advance, but there may still be dates available for tighter timelines. Please feel free to inquire at any time.

Have you photographed at my venue before?

While we have photographed at a diverse array of venues, there are some uniquely important considerations in the creation of stunning imagery. As wedding photographers, our primary mission is to compose beautiful images through the subtle manipulation of light and shadow. With that in mind, lighting conditions differ at each and every wedding, regardless of venue. For example, suppose we photograph at a particular venue one weekend, then photograph another wedding at the same location the following weekend. Differences in ceremony and reception lighting, element placement and room setup, and time of day or weather conditions all affect the creation of images. A respective venue can look remarkably different each time we photograph, revealing or dissolving opportunities from previous occasions. Accordingly, we devote considerable time and effort to evaluate these unique conditions at each wedding. This ensures that your wedding photographs will be tailored precisely for you, attentive to the exclusive conditions present on your wedding day alone.

Do you edit or post-produce every image you deliver?

Yes, every image we deliver to clients is edited in post-production. Dozens of elements go into our post-production process including adjustments for color correction, exposure and tonality, sharpening, highlight and shadow detail, and camera and lens profiling. Selected images may also be converted using a unique black and white process. While certainly not an exhaustive list, this should provide an idea of just a few of the elements that go into post production. By a significant margin, this is the most time-consuming element of wedding photography. In addition to basic post-production, we offer advanced image retouching. See retouching question below for more details.

What types of retouching do you offer?

We offer a variety of professional bespoke retouching services. From basic post-production touch up such as blemish and fly-away hair removal to advanced retouching for removal of background objects, body restructuring or compositing, we can modify photographs in nearly any way imaginable. Since some services require an artist’s eye and skillful master retouching, please inquire for a customized quote on post production services.

Do you include digital files in your wedding collections?

Yes, most of our wedding collections include high resolution digital negatives. In addition, for your convenience the images are accompanied by usage and printing rights.

We’re getting married in another state or out of the country, how does that work?

We would be delighted to be a part of your day in any state and most countries. Reasonable accommodation for airline travel, baggage fees, lodging, rental car, and a meal per diem for each photographer/assistant is required. We do not expect to profit from travel, so our actual expenses are all you are asked to defray. If you would prefer to use/receive reward miles for our travel expenses, following a travel consultation you are welcome to book our arrangements. Please inquire with your plan details for a customized quote for your destination.

SENIOR PORTRAIT, ENGAGEMENT, AND HEADSHOT QUESTIONS

What should I wear to my photo session?

After booking, we’ll provide a personalized list of recommendations regarding clothing choices and accessories. Clothing can make all the difference between good and great photographs. Clothing colors and accessory choices can accentuate or distract from the person being photographed. For these reasons, we provide very specific recommendations. For seniors, it’s better to bring more outfits than needed. Since we’ll likely be shooting at several locations, multiple outfit changes can allow the greatest diversity of photographs. For easy clothing changes, we have a popup changing tent for locations lacking convenient changing area access.

Do you offer hair and makeup services?

We can assist with basic hair and makeup touch ups, however, for best results a professional hair and makeup stylist is recommended. Matching skin tone with proper facial contouring and resilient hairstyling will pay many benefits in the finished photographs. Since many of our clients already have a preferred stylist, we will defer to your personal preference. If you’d like specific recommendations however, we are happy to recommend a professional stylist prior to your session.

How do you perform studio style portraits on location?

Since our business is predominantly location centered around weddings and portraits, we have created a completely portable studio. With compact, unobtrusive and rapid setup capabilities, we can bring the complete studio experience to nearly any home, business, or location for studio quality portraits anytime. This convenience has allowed us to transcend the limitations of a conventional studio space giving our clients beautiful studio results anywhere imaginable. Studio style portraits have a remarkably different look than typical location based photographs. Since all elements of a studio portrait are controlled, we can create nearly any look imaginable. In fact, studio style portraits are preferred for headshots, professional portraits, or photographs that will be composited with another background in post-production.