Prices can vary depending on the length of your wedding, individual requirements, and album desires. All my packages include unlimited film and/or digital capture, all developing, proof prints of all images taken, the negatives &/or CD’s and my assistant , and generally run between $2,000 and $3,500. Please contact me for a full price list.
A signed contract and a 30% deposit confirm the photographer for the wedding. An additional payment of 30% is due three weeks prior to the day of the wedding. The remaining balance of 40% is due upon receipt of your proof prints.
The prints that are included in your wedding package are one high-quality machine proof print of each shot I take (5x5 for each of the formals and 4x6 for the rest), whether from film or from digital capture. You can use and show these proof prints right away – I do not stamp or mark them. For additional and custom print prices, please request a Print Prices sheet.
I shoot most of the ceremony and reception with top-of-the-line Nikon 35mm gear, which allows me both the spontaneity and quality I need for action that is unfolding quickly. For the formal portraits and occasional details where a little more time is available, I shoot with medium-format Hasselblad cameras, which are known for having the sharpest lenses available. I always have back-up camera bodies and equipment with me.
I think both have their place in most weddings. The digital camera I use is a professional Nikon D70, that yields 6 megapixel files. What this means is that the images from this camera will yield a great-looking 4x6, 5x7 or 8x10 print, and a decent-looking 11x14 print. This is pretty much the same case as with 35mm (small-format) film, depending on which film. For larger than that size, you are better off with 35mm film than with digital, but far better than both is medium-format film. This is why I still always shoot the formal portraits with medium-format film regardless of whether the rest is shot in traditional film or digital. Digital offers some advantages, such as more freedom to experiment without worrying about shooting huge amounts of film, saving resources, and the ability to change from one lighting situation to another without having to change film or cameras. Film offers advantages in quality under certain conditions, since it has a broader tonal range, and much more tolerance to being over- or under-exposed than a digital image. In other words, the photographer has to be far more precise with digital than film in order to get good-looking images. Incorporating both allows me the flexibility to use the digital medium when it’s most useful, and film when it will deliver the best quality. However, if you prefer that I use exclusively one or the other, please let me know and I’ll be happy to accommodate you.
I strongly believe that wedding negatives are really a family heirloom, and although the legal copyright remains with the photographer, they essentially belong with the couple. Therefore, after six months, all negatives from your wedding are yours to keep for free, if you so choose, or they can remain safely on file with me. The six months is just an average time frame I use to make sure we have enough time to carefully process a final print order for you, but this is flexible.
The first two hours of travel are free. Generally, extra travel time is $40/hour, but I am flexible on this matter as well.