when people contact me, they often have the same (or similar) questions. some of these even get asked at sessions, or after, when a client feels like they’ve forgotten something. to make it easier on anyone looking for this information, here’s a handy dandy new f.a.q.!
o1. when did you start taking pictures? do you have a degree?
i do have my BA in studio arts with a concentration in photography – i graduated from hartwick college (oneonta, ny) in 2009. i’ve always been fascinated by cameras (i’m not sure how many disposable cameras i used up on artsy close-ups of nature as a kid), but i only started seriously photographing people in my sophomore year of college (2006-07). after i graduated, i worked for disney as a photographer for about a year and a half, before deciding that i wanted to really try to make my own small business a serious, working reality.
o2. what kind of equipment do you use?
i personally think that a fancy camera doesn’t necessarily make a good photographer, but i do use professional quality equipment to get the best results. i always bring a backup camera to my sessions & shoot with two cameras during all weddings. i shoot with a canon 7d, and a canon 50d, with a variety of lovely lenses. i shoot raw, and all editing is done by me, mostly in adobe lightroom & photoshop.
o3. what is your backup system like?
as soon as i get home from your session, all of your photos are immediately pulled from the memory cards onto my computer. a folder of your original, untouched files is compressed, and saved in three places: in the folder i use to organize all of your images (originals, edits, sized for web and blog, etc), on an external hard drive, and online in my dropbox account. this gives me multiple failsafes, in case anything was to happen to your images. i’ve also invested in professional recovery software, to be used in the event of a memory card issue. i’ve only ever had to use it twice, and both times it worked absolutely perfectly, recovering every single frame.
o4. do you work with an assistant, or second shooter?
occasionally, if i feel like i need an extra set of hands, i’ll bring an assistant along with me to a portrait session.
if you’re interested in booking a wedding with me and you’d like a second shooter, please contact me to discuss the specifics of your event. i do have a fabulous second shooter that i work with, and you can see some of her shots in quite a few of my wedding blog posts.
o5. do you shoot color or black and white? or both?
because i shoot fully digital, this is more of a post-processing question. i find that i process most images in color, with roughly 25% in black & white. i choose this based on my own personal thoughts about what looks best for each image (and sometimes to provide you a variety of options when two frames are similar). if you love a certain shot in color but think it would look better in black and white (or vice versa), i can re-process that shot for you and send you both. i’m always happy to work with you to create a finished image that you and i are both in love with.
o6. i don’t see formal portraits of the wedding party or family members on your blog…do you take formal portraits during weddings?
yes! i often don’t choose to showcase formal, posed portraits of families or the wedding party from the weddings i shoot, as my style is much more of a natural, candid style, and i prefer to showcase the images i feel represent myself & my photography more closely. i always work with my couples to make sure that i have a list of every formal portrait they’d like during the day, and i always take plenty of photos with their family members and wedding party, in posed & candid settings. if you would like to see a recent wedding in full, please contact me and i’d be happy to send you a gallery link!
o7. are you insured? my venue requires insurance!
yes! i have liability insurance to cover anything that might happen at your wedding venue, provided by a trusted name in the vendor insurance industry. if you book me and your venue has any questions about my coverage or needs to see proof of insurance, i’ll be happy to provide it!