YTRQA:  *Your* Totally Random Questions and Answers.

Over the years, I’ve been getting a lot of similar questions and I finally decided to make a small FAQ page with some answers. I’ll be updating this page as I go.

Are you going to be the one photographing our wedding?

Absolutely! I don’t subcontract other photographers or students and you always know who will be photographing your wedding. It also means that all the photographs you see here are products of just 1 photographer and not 5-10 photographers and their present and past assistants!

What is your style of photography?

I find it really hard to characterize my shooting style. I try to create art with the images and while doing so I use many different styles. Journalistic and editorial/fashion/traditional styles are just a few to name. Sometimes you may have no idea why a photographer is asking you to do certain things or may even avoid it, but at the end of the day, you will appreciate the final results when you’ll see the images. This is why you are hiring a professional wedding photographer- I do this every day! Ultimate goal with each and every wedding is to create images worth putting on a cover of any magazine!

We don’t see a lot of family photographs on your website, do you take them?

YES, absolutely!! Those are really important and part of a wedding day. I just choose to show more creative and candid photos on my website.

How long does it take to receive my DVD and the albums? Does it really take up to a year to get the photos on our hands?

The wedding images are usually ready within 2-3 weeks after your wedding date. Engagement photographs take about 1-2 weeks. All the images are fully retouched!! After your album order is received from you, on average it takes 4-8 weeks to get your album on our hands. This is one of the fastest turnaround times in the industry!!

What kind of editing and retouching do you do?

Most photographers just color correct the images using automated software(saturation/sharpness/crop). Then randomly highlight and select a few hundred photos that they convert to Black/White. In my case I personally edit each and every photograph by hand, fixing imperfections and adjusting what’s needed, to make sure the images look amazing. It could take 3 minutes or 30 minutes for a single photo, but all the images from your wedding/event are edited like that!!!

How many weddings do you shoot a year?

Only 22-25 weddings will be photographed in 2012 and in 2013. This will allow me to invest more time in each client and wedding. Typically I shoot about 3 weddings per month. Last thing I want to do is to have a wedding on Friday until 1 am, have 5 hours of sleep, do another 12-hour wedding on Saturday and finish it off with a 3rd wedding on Sunday. This is very common with most photographers, but I just can’t be creative at that output.

What’s an engagement session? Should I do it?

You should absolutely do it!! These sessions are fun and creative. You’ll learn to be in front of the camera and we all will get to know each other. Not to mention 100-200 very fun,cool and creative photographs of two of you together in a casual environment.We can do the session locally or in any other country.

Do you photograph Family sessions?

Absolutely! I only take a maximum of 3-5 family sessions per year so please book early.

The samples on your website look great. Are these just lucky shots from 100s of weddings?

These are my favorite images from latest weddings. I always push myself to provide consistent results and believe all my wedding images look like that. During our meeting I would be happy to show album samples from full weddings. Feel free to visit my blog as well for more samples from each wedding.

The backgrounds and the skies are gorgeous. Do you Photoshop them in?

I’ve never done it. If your wedding day is blessed with gorgeous blue skies and dreamy clouds, you’ll see them in your pictures.

How far in advance do I need to reserve my date?

My best advice is to reserve your date as soon as you know that you want me to be your photographer for your event. Because I only do about 3 weddings per month, dates are getting booked up very fast. Unless there’s a cancellation, chances of booking your wedding date 4-6 months in advance for May-October are very slim. Certain popular dates are usually getting booked up 12-20 months in advance. A 20% deposit is required to secure your date.

What about the cost of bringing you with us to a destination wedding?

There are additional costs involved in doing a destination wedding. You will have to pay for the flight/accommodation,etc. However, you will also be saving some money on the other wedding expenses, making your wedding much cheaper than if you did it locally. Many of my clients believe that photography is the most important investment for their wedding, allocating a considerable amount towards it. As you know, images are the only things that will stay with you 30+ years from now, when it’s all just a distant memory.

Can we also hire you to do our family, engagement or lifestyle session outside of the province or Canada?

Yes, I travel extensively and really enjoy new and exciting places. It doesn’t always have to be an engagement session or have any reason! Some of my clients just want a few great images far before or after the marriage. Please contact me with the details for further info.

I really want to do a Trash The Dress session,but don’t want to ruin my expensive dress!

I can recommend a few online retailers that sell cheap dresses under $250. You can consider getting one of those instead. It is possible to take amazing pictures without ruining your dress. It all depends on your vision and the types of pictures you want to receive.

How many images do you provide and how many images are edited?

Although I can’t guarantee the number of images, you should expect to receive approximately 60-80 images per each hour of coverage. All the images are color corrected AND creatively edited just like the samples on the website.

I see that your packages include a DVD with Hi-Res images. Can I print them?

Yes, all the high resolution images are edited and ready to be printed up to any size. No watermarks or logos!

Some companies also offer videography, do you?

As you’ve probably noticed, I am not like the other companies. There are companies that(believe it or not) offer video+photo+chair covers+web design+flowers+limo and dj service. Do you really think they can offer you a really good and personable service?! It just doesn’t work in this industry! Video and Photo are so advanced these days, a separate full-time company is needed, in order to provide a truly hi-end level of service. It’s like going to a heart surgeon who also offers tv repair and hair cuts…

I’d be always happy to recommend a few videographers for you after your booking.

We love your work and would like to book you. How do we proceed?

If you are local, it would be great if we can meet and get to know each other and talk more about your day. If you don’t live in Toronto we can discuss all the details over the email/phone and you can mail the contract along with the retainer amount. The whole process is pretty easy and can take only an hour of your time.

Your pictures on the website are very slow to load…

It is very easy to hide imperfections in small resolution images. This is why I’ve decided to keep them at high resolution. I want my clients to see how great they all look.

I don’t photograph too well and I don’t really know what to do. Can you direct?

Most people don’t have any experience being in front of a professional photographer. With my fashion background I will be able to suggest poses so that you will look STUNNING. I will give you as much direction as required, in order for me to make you both look gorgeous!!!!!!

I love your journalism. I am looking for a photographer who is not very intrusive.

80% of the wedding coverage is pure photojournalism. During our initial meeting we would talk more about your vision and this is when requests like that can be made. Not everyone is comfortable with posing or cameras in close proximity and I will gladly work with your ideas and vision, to ensure I take the photographs you want!

Do you use film or digital?

Hi-end digital equipment is used for all weddings. It’s much more beneficial to use digital and the end result is always better(some avid film shooters may STILL(!!!) disagree). It also allows me to concentrate on your day and not on the number of film I have left. There’s no limit on the amount of images you get and is always more than enough.

That BIO picture, is it really you with a live tiger?

Yes, it is