I will be exhibiting at The East London Wedding Show this Sunday 13th March at The West Ham United Hotel, Boleyn Ground, Green Street, Upton Park, E13 9AZ.

If you would like to come along and have a chat about the various wedding photography packages that I offer, I will be there from 11am until 3.30pm. I will have a selection of contemporary wedding storybooks for you to have a look though as well as my traditional album and my updated wedding portfolio.

I look forward to seeing you there.

Neal

• Do you charge extra for editing the photographs in photoshop? This may sound like a silly question, but many wedding photographers will charge to make images black and white, or to create a variety of looks for your photos. Double check what is included in your package.

• What kind of input can we have on the photographs? Can we give you a shot list to work from? Check how flexible your photographer is. Some may be set in their ways! While this may work really well, you may have some fantastic ideas that they haven’t thought of. You are paying for the photographer, so make sure you get the kind of images that you want.

• How many other events will you also photograph that weekend? You don’t want the photographer to turn up bleary eyed and shattered from a long engagement the previous day. You need to be on your toes to photograph a wedding and you want to make sure that the photographer will be fresh… and also that they don’t have any other engagements to dash off to in the evening.

• What kind of equipment will you bring with you? How intrusive will lighting, tripods, other equipment or assistants be? This is very important. When working with professional cameras, the need for flash lighting is vastly reduced. Check that your photographer will not be flashing away, disturbing intimate and important moments. Also be mindful of the fact that they will be there with you all day. Will they be personable and pleasant with you and your guests? Will they be discreet in their movements? You don’t want someone get in the way or detract from the special moments on your big day.

• What is your style of photography? You will have a good understanding of the photographer’s style from their portfolio, but ask them how they really like to photograph weddings. You may find that their preferred style really matches what you want, and they will focus on that for you throughout that day, creating images that you love.

• How long will the photoshoot of the bride and groom take? I have heard horror stories of photographers taking the bride and groom away from their guests for up to 2 hours! Now some brides and grooms may want this, but make sure that your wedding photographer realizes that it is a wedding and not a fashion shoot.

• Is the work that I am seeing all yours and only yours or is it a selection of work from other photographers? Check that the photographs on their website and in their portfolio are really their work. Look out for images that look like they have been bought from photography stock sites.

• Is an album included and can I see an example? It is important to see an example album if one is included in the price. The top quality stroybooks are made by companies like Graphistudio, and there are many top quality traditional albums.

• Do you offer additional products such as parent books? If you take a contemporary storybook packages, then most companies will be able to provide you with parent books, which are miniature replicas of the main book. These are fantastic momentos of the day for parents, groomsmen and birdesmaids, and I even know of brides who keep a copy in their handbag to show to all of the friends and work colleagues.

• Is your wedding photographer affiliated to any photographic bodies? While you do not need any qualifications to be a top wedding photographer, the majority of the best wedding photographers will be members of the main photography associations such as The SWPP, The MPA or The AOP

Booking the best wedding photographer for you is of paramount importance if you wish to have a collection of images that you will treasure.

It can appear to be a bit of a minefield at first, but if you are clear about what it is that you want from your photographer, and ask all of the right questions, you will be able to sit back and enjoy your big day, safe in the knowledge that your photographer will deliver exactly what you wished for.

• How long have you been photographing weddings? Being a wedding photographer is incredibly demanding and experience is essential as the day can throw up all kinds of different scenarios that the photographer has to work around. Lighting changes all of the time and it’s vital that the photographer knows their way around their camera without thinking as there is no second chance to catch those spontaneous moments. There are a lot of amateurs trying to get into the wedding photography business but while they may be cheaper, you could be taking a massive gamble on the biggest day of your life unless you book a professional wedding photographer.

• If I book, will you be the photographer at my wedding? The photographer will be with you all day and it is vital that you have a rapport with the photographer, like their style of photography and even more importantly, like them! Some photographers hire other wedding photographers to work for them and it may not be apparent that the person you are talking to is not going to be the person who is going to photograph your wedding. Double check with them.

• Can I see some complete weddings? This is really important. A photographer putting together a portfolio or website will only ever include their best shots for obvious reasons. It’s important to see a couple of complete weddings from start to finish. If you are getting married in the winter ask to see some examples of complete winter weddings as lighting conditions can be very difficult to work in and you need someone who really knows their stuff.

• Do you work with a second photographer? Many of the best wedding photographers in Hertfordshire and London work with a second photographer. Ideally the second photographer is a highly competent wedding photographer and not just someone to carry the bags! The top wedding photographers will pay their photographer to ensure that they get great images for them. Having a second wedding photographer means that the wedding is covered from two different angles and as every photographer’s style is different, you will have a greater range of images from the day.

• Do we get a disc of photographs? Many photographers will include a disc of edited, high resolution images in the price. These are your images. You can print them and burn copies for your friends and family at no extra cost. Other wedding photographers will charge extra and some will give you a disc but they’ll be in low resolution and only suitable for emailing. You need to make sure you know what you’re getting or how much extra this service will cost.

• What is all of this talk about copyright? This relates to the above point. Your photographer owns the copyright to all the photos he takes at your wedding. This means it’s illegal for you to copy, scan or reproduce a photograph without the permission of the photographer. Double check that they are happy for you to reproduce the images.

• If the wedding runs late, will there be any extra charges? How flexible is your wedding photographer. Some will offer a package that covers everything no matter how long the wedding but if you have booked your photographer for a set amount of time will they stay to cover the first dance if it starts late?

• How long after the wedding do we get to see our wedding photographs? You don’t want to wait 6 months after the wedding to see the results. Check to see if there is a guaranteed turn-around time.

• Are there any other charges on top of the quoted price? Does your photographer charge extra for travel and other expenses. If you are not getting a disc of print files check how much extra prints cost.
• Do you require a deposit and when is the balance due? Most photographers will require a deposit to guarantee the booking. You should then get a confirmation form which sets out the terms and conditions, cancellation rights and products included in the package. Check the payment terms as most photographers will require the balance to be paid before the wedding. The deposit will be nonrefundable.

I hope that these questions have been of some help. If you have any more questions you would like to ask me, feel free to drop me a line or give me a call and I would be more than happy to go through them with you.

I will be exhibiting as a wedding photographer at The Hilton, Watford, this Sunday 6th March. If you would like to come along and have a look through my portfolio, wedding storybooks, traditional albums or simply to have a chat about any of my wedding photography prices and packages, the fayre will be open from 10.30am until 3.30pm. I look forward to seeing you there.

A selection of family photographs taken at a clients house and in their garden. It was a lovely day so we decided to take photographs in the garden… and the first thing that sprung to mind was put the little girl in a plant pot in front of the gate to make it look like she’s been left there by the baby fairies! We moved inside and took photos with the travel studio lights against a white portable backdrop to create a professional photographic studio look.

A christening photograph taken at St Andrews church , Muswell Hill, North London.

We weren’t permitted to photograph the christening ceremony, but we took shots of the proud family after the service along with this one of the little boy on his own, dressed in his beautiful christening gown.

As a preferred supplier of Theobalds Park Hotel, we will be exhibiting at two wedding fayres in the coming weeks. The first fayre will be an evening affair on Thursday 17th February, between 6pm and 9pm, while the second fayre will be between 11am and 4pm on Sunday 27th. We will have our full range of graphi studio wedding storybooks on display with all of the various covers and types of paper. We will also be offering a fantastic offer for anyone who books at the fayres! We still have a few places left for 2011, but we strongly suggest booking quickly to avoid disappointment.

Theobalds Park Hotel, Lieutenant Ellis Way, Cheshunt, Waltham Cross , Hertfordshire, EN7 5HW

It’s certainly a different experience to photograph weddings in the darkest depths of winter than on a bright sunshiny summer’s day! Claire and James had their service at 4pm which meant it was pretty much dark by the time we got to the wedding photoshoot. But with the use of high ISO settings on my Nikon, and the occasional crafty fill-in flash, the wedding photographs came out beautifully… and the dusk feel added a real sense of atmosphere to them. For the photographs of the evening wedding party I continued with the flash and kept the ISO setting high to ensure that the background still played a part giving the photographs a nice sense of depth. Here are a few photos from the wedding…

Photographs from a recent lifestyle family portrait photography session with Liz, Tori and Daniel.

Liz decided that she preferred the great outdoors to a studio set up for her family photographs, and so we met up in a coffee shop, and nipped along to the nearest park – complete with boating lake and savage geese – and took these wonderful lifestyle photographs and contemporary portraits. Liz chose a mixture of portrait photographs and family photographs and ended up with a disc of 50 photos. Here is a small selection…

Call us if you would like to know more about our portrait photography, lifestyle photography or engagement photography.