How do I choose a photographer?
- Besides recording the day, every photographer also has some degree of artistic interpretation of the day and choosing your photographer may come down to the way in which a particular photographer interprets weddings.
- With the digital age in full swing anybody can pick up a digital camera and shoot a whole lot of images, put them on a disc and your wedding pics are done… it really isn’t that difficult to take a photo. But, can they really see the light? Can they anticipate the important moments of the day? Are they able to create spontaneous moments between the newly married couple? Are they able to take a photo out of camera and edit the colour and contrast? Can they really bring out the best in the image? All questions you need to ask yourself when trying to decide who you will entrust to take your photos.
- Look at websites and make sure that the photographers you have shortlisted show a good spread of images in varying conditions. Ensure that you are happy with the consistency of the image quality and that you like the style of editing and the emotion that particular photographer brings to the images. Also make sure that you are viewing real weddings that have been shot recently.
Our Style
- We shoot a naturally intimate style of photography with a unique artistic flair that really captures a couple’s emotion. Through practice, research, workshops, and model shoots we continually refine our art and continually strive to sensitise our eyes to finding the light and making sure we create images of beauty and emotion. Primarily working with natural light we position our couples to take the most advantage of the light we can find, a technique that has take time to develop and one which we are continually striving to master. We pride ourselves on “getting” you and each wedding is interpreted as we see it.
- We are not a consumable product and if you are just looking for photos of your day and somebody to just record the day and provide you with a disc then we are probably not the right type of photographer for you.
- We are signature brand boutique photographers and our professionalism is based on the images we produce.
How much should I spend on photographer?
- This is a tough question. There are photographers who charge as little as R 2000 and there are some that charge in excess of R 50 000. It all depends on your budget and the value you place on your wedding photos. Just remember, the photographs are the only thing remaining after the wedding day and your album is something you will treasure for years to come. If photographs are important to you make sure you get the best you can. This is one part of your wedding day you really cannot compromise on. Remember, your wedding photographer will most probably spend the most time with you on the day out of all the other service providers, including your guests, family and friends.
How many photographers will there be?
- There will be two photographers capturing your day.
How many photos do you take on the day and can we get all of them (evens the ones not in our album)?
- We take on average 2500 photos on a wedding day. We then go through all the images and choose the photos that best portray your wedding day, omitting the ones with eyes closed or funny expressions etc. We typically edit 400-800 images, all of which you will receive in High Resolution, even the ones that don’t make your album.
Are the images really high resolution or do they have your copyright name on the images?
- The images are typically larger than 5MB and perfect for printing straight from the disc. There are no watermarks across the images.
How long do you store the photos for and if we want another album in 5 years time can we still order it from you?
- Once we have handed over your album we keep 2 copies of both your Jpegs and album design. One copy on disc and one copy on an external hard drive. You may order prints, canvases or albums from us at any time after your wedding day.
How much time do we need to give you on our wedding day?
- We typically spend two hours with our bride before the ceremony and about one hour with our groom before that. After the ceremony we like to have at least one and a half hours to capture family photos and shoot the creative session, 2 hours from the end of the ceremony to the beginning of the reception is, however, ideal. Just remember, it takes time to create beautiful images. A good example is a cover shoot for a magazine. The image you see there wasn’t just one shot, it took hours of planning and shooting to capture that one image that makes the cover. All we ask is a little bit of time to be able to maximize our oppurtunities to create beautiful images.
- A typical day: Groom 12pm
Bride 1pm
Ceremony 3pm
Ceremony finishes at 4pm
Family photos and creative session from 4pm
Bride and groom walk into reception at 6pm
The times above are a guide and depend on travelling time between locations but give you an idea of how to plan your day with regards to hair and makeup etc. Each wedding is however unique and time of year plays a vital role in deciding what time the ceremony should start. Our best light for shooting the creative is just before sunset so as a guide look at planning your ceremony for about 3 hours before sunset.
How long until we see our pictures?
- It typically takes 6-8 weeks to edit the images and design your album. Once the album design is approved it usually takes around 3 weeks to be printed. A selection of images will first be posted on our blog and then a few days later the disc will be sent to you.
What is an e-session?
- An e-session or engagement session is an informal photoshoot that usually takes about one hour and is shot in a location of your choice. It’s a casual shoot with just the two of you and allows you to get comfortable in front of the camera, especially if you have not been photographed before and feel a bit intimidated by the prospect of your wedding day photos. It’s also a perfect opportunity to get to know us better and to see how we shoot. You also walk away with a beautiful set of images of just the two of you. You can use these images at your wedding as well or let us design a guest book from your e-session photos. An e-session guest book is a perfect way for guests to leave their special wishes on your wedding day.
We would like to book you, what’s the next step?
- We require a signed contract and R 2000 retainer to secure the date. By paying the retainer you also secure the package price.
When is the balance due?
- We require the balance to be paid at least 5 days before the wedding date.
We are not from South Africa. Is there any way of meeting you before the wedding day and how will we receive our album and images after the wedding?
- We regularly deal with international couples and have found that the easiest way to communicate is via Skype. It’s easy to set up and convenient. We can video call and have an opportunity to literally meet face to face. (Click here to download Skype…. It’s free… or if you already have skype add us as a contact… neilcuninghame) Albums and images are couriered to you where ever you are in the world at a nominal fee.
Do you back up the pictures after the wedding?
- Yes, at any given time there are at least 2 copies of your images on different hard drives located at different locations. Our usual workflow for backing up is as follows: Return home from wedding, backup to working hard drive, backup to second backup hard drive, backup to second working hard drive. Once images are edited, backup to disc, backup to backup hard drive.
Do you Photoshop the images?
- We enhance images by correcting colour and contrast and then adding our unique way of editing that is our style. All our images go through the same treatment and may also be worked into black and white, sepia or any other effects that may optimise the image.
- Here is an example of how we typically edit our images, adding our editing style to create our brand of images. The before images are as shot and straight out of the camera:
Before After
Who owns the rights to the images?
- We do. You may however print as many as you want for friends and families but may not sell the images or use them for any advertising or for monetary gain. We encourage and welcome you to enter bridal competitions but please ensure that our details accompany the images.
Are you full time photographers?
- No we are not. We are both Doctors, Tymara is a Homeopath and I am Chiropractor by profession. Photography began as a hobby and turned into a profession and passion as we grew and fell in love with creating beautiful imagery.
Do you require seating at the reception?
- Yes. We would require seating for two at the reception as well as meals and drinks.
My Cousin is a really keen photographer and wants to bring their camera with to the wedding. Can she also take photos?
- We don’t mind guests taking photos at the wedding but please advise them to stay seated at the ceremony as guest photographers do sometimes forget that there are professional photographers trying to capture the image. We will not compete with guest photographers at any stage during the day. We do have a strict no shooting policy for the creative session.
Do we have a say over what images are put in the album?
- We will design an ideal album for you, taking into consideration the entire day and telling stories of the day as the album progresses. You will have an opportunity to swap pics out before the album is sent for print, we do however find that our album designs generally remain as is when going to print.
How many images are in the album?
- This varies depending on your wedding story but usually around 120 images make it into your final album. Remember we are telling a story, not scrapbooking…J
Do you do the traditional album with the stuck in photos?
- No, not at all. If you are looking for that I recommend you first have a look at the type of albums we do (click here) and if you still want a traditional album after that then it may be best if you find a photographer who does that type of album.
What do your albums look like?
- For a full description and pictures please click here.
Can we get extra discs of the images and small albums for our parents?
- Yes of course. You may purchase extra DVD’s and we have a wide range of parents’ albums available also.