Sometimes it works out to do engagement photographs before the wedding with a destination wedding. Other times, it doesn’t. Jess met me for her bridal photographs in Los Angeles, but TJ couldn’t come. So we took an hour the morning after the wedding (yes! we were all a little groggy) to capture some images of the two of them together. I’ve said it before, but it’s worth repeating: I love how relaxed and sweetly intimate post-wedding portrait sessions always are. Really, it’s the recipe for perfect portraits …

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That’s a wrap! Now, we are drawing near to Jess and TJ’s first anniversary and I am quietly wishing them, as I wish all my clients, a marriage as marvelous as—or more marvelous than—their wedding!

photographs: Gia Canali

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I’ve always had a distaste for the term “day rate” when it comes to wedding photography.  Not only does it woefully misrepresent what we do, I think it actually devalues it.  So, in the interest of helping you guys evaluate wedding photographer package rates (at the time of year when everybody seems to be looking), I thought we should discuss here what actually goes into a package rate or fee.  Forgive me the long post.  I think this is worthwhile information.

Here, we’ll discuss what’s in a wedding photographer’s package that’s stated or listed (tomorrow, in Part II, we’ll talk about what’s in a photographer’s fee that’s not stated).  Stated items are the services listed and the tangible goods (photographic prints and products) that are included in a package.  I’m breaking them down into their most probable parts.

1. Wedding Day Photographic Coverage

Packages or photographer’s fees will likely vary by hour, but may alternately be a flat rate.  You may have the option to add time or additional photographers to your package.  But basic coverage may be for one photographer or two, or for a photographer and an assistant. A second photographer takes photographs at a wedding, of course, but a photographer’s assistant generally does not take photographs.  A photographer’s assistant usually is someone who helps carry bags and equipment.  So: don’t confuse a two person team for a two photographer team.

Having two photographers is definitely better than one, but it’s also more costly.  A skilled artist needs to be hired, and more people shooting (or more hours of shooting, regardless of the number of photographers) adds up to additional expense, both in hard costs and in your photographer’s time on the back end, too.   These expenses may be a separate line item on the contract or invoice or your photographer may include the expenses in the base rate.  Either way, the price will reflect the expenses incurred by the photography studio.

2. Proofing

Proofing is the way you take in all the images from your wedding.  In this film-plus-digital age, proofs may be online in a private password-protected gallery or they may be physical proof prints, or your photographer may do a combination of both for proofing.  Both methods have their advantages and their limitations, and we use both methods in our studio.  All our clients get an online gallery and some amount of proofs.  Some of our clients elect to get all their proofs.

Online digital proofing is quick and the images can usually be very well organized, so it’s easy to find something specific when you’re looking for it.  It’s also easier for you to access images from a number of locations and to share the photos with friends and family.  Unfortunately, computer screens vary dramatically from monitor to monitor, so there’s no way, with online proofing, for your photographer to know if you’re looking at really accurate color.  (I mean: assume you’re not!).

Physical proof prints fix that problem easily— you can look at the image exactly as it’ll print because you’re looking at the print!  Really big events are cumbersome to look at online and understand their full scope, but physical proofs fix that, too.  And side by side comparisons are a snap when you can hold one photo up next to another.  Physical proof prints can get disorganized pretty quickly, though, if you’re not careful, and sorting through piles of photographs looking for a specific image can become tiresome.

Laying out albums can work well physically with proof prints or digitally with software, but some people, myself included, are more tactile and the physical prints do seem to help with the task.

3. Prints

Some photographers may include prints or print credits as part of their basic package. You don’t really have a photograph until you have a print of an image (right?! Your grannies and your grandchildren aren’t going to care about a disc of images. That’s just the shoebox-under-the-bed v. 2.0.  Out of sight = out of mind).  So even a small print credit is a big plus, and an added value.

4. Albums

A finished wedding album may or may not be included.  Be sure to ask if the credit is for a specific album or if it’s a general credit.   Consider the value of the album, and also ask what the costs may be for upgrading or changing your album.  You may change your mind about which album you want as you go through the planning process for your wedding, or after the wedding.

Not all albums are created equally, so be sure you’re comparing like-to-like with albums.  Beware the cheap, cheaply-made album and photo books on the market these days.  We use only high-quality artisan-crafted albums in our studio, and we work exclusively with local album companies, so that we can collaborate with them face-to-face. The really good photographers are in the business of making heirlooms and we all take that duty very seriously.

Note that a lot of photographers discount the albums and products inside of a package, as a buying incentive.  This is similar to the concept of the baker’s dozen, where you buy twelve bagels and your baker throws in a thirteenth.  This adds value.  And because of your total investment, your photographer can offer the album (or photographic coverage or prints or whatever) at a discounted rate as opposed to purchasing that same album or product or service on its own (a la carte).

5. Disc of Images / License to Use Images / Negatives

A photographer makes her living on the creation and use of images she creates.   A basic wedding photography package may or may not include image-use privileges.  People always used to talk about getting “the negatives,” but now “negatives” has become a generic term to mean a license to print or otherwise use the images. It’s good to inquire what image use rights, if any, are allowed as part of your package.

If rights to the images are included or are for sale, they are probably personal or family-use only rights (like: you can’t sell the images or use them for commercial purposes).  We retain full rights to our images, unless someone, usually a celebrity, does a very expensive, and almost always otherwise unnecessary, image buyout. (The image buyout removes our right to make money from prints and other duplication of the images.)

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So when you look at a photographer’s fee, try to look at it holistically.  Get a feel for what’s included and for the caliber of what’s included—and I mean that all around.  It’s easy to get trapped in the shopping mode (“what do I get?!) without thinking about album-to-album or photographer-to-photographer comparisons.  A high quality album and fewer hours of photography from a fantastic photography studio might be a far better investment than unlimited coverage and three albums from another studio.

It’s just as easy to get trapped in the bottom-line-only mentality (“what’s the fee?) without regarding what’s actually included in the fee.  Some photography studios try to size up everything they think you need to make the investment worthwhile (so there aren’t hidden costs for you later).  Others offer a low fee, but then everything else is a la carte, and that might or might not cost you more in the end.  Most photographers fall somewhere in between.

It’s good to assess what you think you’ll want to have as your keepsakes early in the planning process.  Even if you don’t make the whole investment at once and even if you change your mind, at least you’ll be a smarter, savvier commissioner of wedding photography.*

Be sure to check back tomorrow for Part II.  We’ll discuss what goes into a wedding photographer’s fee that’s intangible, a very real part of what you’re paying for … though it never makes it onto a package price list or a contract.

photo: Gia Canali, from this adorable wedding

*Ultimately, I think you should hire someone whose work makes your heart go pitter-pat.  But that’s another story altogether.  We’re assuming you’ve found one and we want you to be savvy about sizing up the fees.

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After I photo-edited {this} post earlier in the week about planning for a picture perfect first dance, I remembered a few more absolute favorite first dances, and among those was this one. It was a sweltering hot day in Healdsburg, and the sun was just beginning to set behind the hills, affording the first bit of (exhilarating!) relief we’d felt all day.  We wanted to fit the first dance in before we lost the light and the lanterns were just beginning to glow in the oak trees above a meandering serpentine dinner table.  It really felt like the set of a movie, with the glowing light and live music from a country band.  Plus, there’s nothing like seeing your own beloved friends go through these moments …

P.S. Don’t you just love Tom’s white suit?! I do … My Uncle Rocco almost always wears white suits to weddings.

photo: Gia Canali

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The first dance is such a sweet moment in the wedding day.  It’s a challenge for shy brides and grooms (since all eyes are on you!), but I think it’s a particularly lovely tradition, one that can yield some fantastic photographs, and one that deserves some thoughtfulness in the planning of your wedding day.  Here are a few easy tips to get you started:

1. Choose that just-right song.

Emotion in real life = emotion in your real photographs.  The song can be magical or meaningful, sentimental or just plain fun, but definitely choose one that makes you two dance.

2. Consider the lighting and space you’ll use.

Lighting can add drama, but it also shows off your faces.  And I know I’m always reminding folks about their grannies, but your grannies will be glad they can see your faces, too.  This might mean planning your first dance just before or after sunset if you are planning an outdoor reception.  Or it could mean bringing in lighting to accent the dance floor if you’re planning an indoor or late night outdoor reception.

3. Practice!

I don’t necessarily mean you have to take dance lessons, though I have seen—and thoroughly admired!—some spectacular choreographed and rehearsed first dances.  Practice could simply mean slow dancing around your living room a few times before the wedding (which you’ll probably love anyway at that point in the planning!).

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photos: Gia Canali

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Two photographer coverage of your wedding day might sound like a nifty luxury, but in fact, it’s darn close to (or, frankly, is!) a total necessity.  Some photographers, myself included, work exclusively with a second photographer/assistant.*  And because it’s our job, as the professionals, to watch out for you guys, to set you up to succeed—and, truthfully, to set ourselves up to succeed on your behalf—I thought we should talk about why savvy couples book two photographer coverage of their weddings and why I require it for the weddings I photograph.

I. You Want Better Art

Two pairs of (trained) eyes are better than one.  Two photographers will see the same wedding entirely differently.  One of the reasons I love working with my husband is that he continually astounds me with how he sees what I see, but he sees it differently.  The coverage we offer together is more varied and more unique than what I could offer alone.

II. You Want a Better Wedding Day

Your day is better because we are efficient. When we’re working together, we can wrangle the zillion cameras and zillion people involved in a wedding day smoothly.  My shooting style requires two necks (at least!) to wear all the cameras I rotate through while I’m shooting.

And two pairs of hands mean I can keep shooting even when a roll of film needs changed or a new battery needs to go into a camera.

Plus, all the “organized” formal group photographs move along quickly and easily, which spells more time for you and your beloved with each other and with your guests.

III. Most Importantly: You Want To Protect Your Investment (And We Do, Too!)

The other reasons aside, the one that makes two photographer coverage of the wedding day a non-negotiable as far as I’m concerned, is that we all want to protect your investment in photography—in us. Sometimes a photograph of mine is better than my husband’s.  But sometimes his is better than mine.  Sometimes the shot or angle we thought would be the best, for some reason, isn’t (an overzealous aunt walked into the shot, say). But the other person got just the shot.  And that’s only thinking of normal shooting conditions.

What if a roll of film came out badly? What if one of the photographer’s shots were just slightly out of focus? What if something went wrong with a camera card? What if one of your photographers got sick at the wedding? Or hurt?  It would still be your wedding day. And, with two photographer coverage, you’d still have beautiful heirloom photographs of the entire day.**

Destination weddings, of course, up the ante on all these concerns because so much can happen when travel is involved.***

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In the end, I’m talking about you making sure we all get it right (and get it best!) the first time because there’s only one go at your wedding day.

photo: Gia Canali

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* Some weddings are more logistically involved than others.  So with really big weddings, I’ll bring a third person, just to assist me and expedite what we do.

** Okay, that’s not to say that we don’t still miss something every once in a while.  We aren’t robots, after all.  And we can only be where we can be and do what we can do.

*** Not to mention that my cameras don’t all fit in one person’s carry-on luggage.  But that’s a story for another day.

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Well, you don’t have to be adventurous.  But you will be rewarded richly for your efforts.  It might look like this couple naturally appeared on the boughs of an enchanted tree, but in reality, getting this photo was decidedly rigorous.  The bride climbed down a steep creek bank in four inch platform heels (her idea, not mine—but I’m thrilled she did). The recipe is below – and I’ll share more of their enchanted forest photos soon!

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{click any image to enlarge}

Sometimes, getting the photographer of your dreams means going with partial day coverage instead of full-day coverage.  And if that’s what you need to do, do it.  But—if there’s any way you can help it—don’t skimp on coverage early in the day.  Unfortunately, photographs of getting ready are often the first thing to go with limited photographic coverage.  Not only is the getting-ready time a beautiful ritual in and of itself, but it’s one you and your fiance generally go about separately from each other.

Adding time on the day of the event won’t necessarily give you time earlier on in the day when you’d have really needed it. So it’s a good idea not to rely on adding coverage on the day of the wedding.  In any case, proper advance planning should tell you how much time you should budget for.

photos: Gia Canali

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There are lots of different reasons people want engagement portraits.  Some people want to get practice in front of the camera.  Others want prints to display at the wedding.  Some folks want nice images to use for their save the dates.  Or they just want a few nice photos of themselves together in—if not regular—at least non-wedding attire.

In any case, planning engagement photographs is just like planning other sorts of portrait sessions, with a few special considerations, mostly in the interest of timing your session out before the wedding.  So these tips are also good for people looking to plan a bridal session, a family portrait session or a children’s session (well, except you want to keep in mind kids’ naptimes and happy vs. grouchy times in mind, too, not just lighting).

I. Imagine a Concept

I always think the most successful sessions have the simplest concepts.  Choose somewhere meaningful, like where you had your first date, or re-create your proposal, or take photographs at home, particularly if it’s a home you’ve built or remodeled together.  Choose something fanciful (you know, I’ve had a few couples choose underwater photographs).  Choose something you love doing together – my twin sister, Meghan, just did a portrait session with a couple skiing (so cute!).  Your photographer might be able to help you get your ideas flowing, so definitely ask for help if you need it.  She may be floating an idea around in her mind, just waiting to match it to the right couple.

II. Choose a Location

Your concept may dictate a specific location, but if not, it’ll certainly help narrow down to the type of location you want to find.  In Los Angeles, be mindful of location permits and use fees (insert groaning and rolling-of-eyes).  Other places aren’t so strict.  Your photographer may have some ideas – you may have some ideas – and scouting is almost always very helpful, particularly if you want to use a location you aren’t familiar with.

III. Think About Time of Day

There are a few times of day that are generally excellent to take photographs: early in the morning, during that last golden hour before sunset, and, in some locations— think urban locations with lots of lights—just after sunset when the sky is deepening blue.

IV. Think About What You’d Like To Do with the Images

This might be counter-intuitive, but with engagement photos specifically, planning ahead for the output is important in case you want anything ready in time for the wedding.  Do you want a single stand-alone image to print?  Do you want a collection of prints? Are you looking to make a book? Would you rather have one or a few handmade prints? Does any of this need to be ready in time for your wedding?

V. Plan Your Wardrobe / Look

I think the best looks for engagement photographs are flattering and special.  I’m not crazy about costume-like looks, but you want to look your best for sure! Note: though both partners should look equally dressy.

VI. Schedule Your Session

With all this information gathered, all you’ll need is to coordinate with your photographer.  If you would like prints or albums in time for the wedding, be sure to ask how much lead time your photographer needs to put those things together.  With destination weddings, “engagement photos” might not happen until the day after the wedding.  But otherwise: give yourselves plenty of time before the wedding, if at all possible.  And once you settle on a session time, stick to it!  If you’re planning photos during the busiest part of wedding season, missing a session might make rescheduling tricky.

We’ll talk about getting great results at your session soon!

photos: Gia Canali

* This couple opted to take their photos on the Malibu hillside where he proposed to her!

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