Style:
What type of wedding photography do you do?
Seems like every photographer will answer this question with “journalistic” or “un-staged” or “creative.” We say to just trust your eyes. What’s always consistent is the way in which we go about the capture. We want to be as unobtrusive and hands off as possible. We want to appear as if we’re just old friends with really nice cameras. Sure, there’s a time and place for gorgeous, casually posed images of the bride and groom together. So while we won’t stop you and make you pose while cutting the cake, we would like 30 minutes (or more!) alone with you both (if possible) sometime during the day to create some images of you without your wedding party or guests looking on. And since you’ve spent a great deal of time and money on all those details, they will be captured. Cake, shoes, flowers – they all add flavor to the story. Our images of the guests at the wedding are almost 100% journalistic . We won’t stop entire tables at the reception and make them pose for “table shots”, preferring instead to capture them laughing, smiling, dancing, drinking, and having a great time.
Do you still take posed family images?
Absolutely. These family images record your most treasured relationships at one of the most momentous times of your life. Prior to your wedding our studio will send you a questionnaire covering the details of the day and among the other questions we will provide a list of the family groupings that we traditionally photograph at each wedding. You’ll have space to write in your own additional groupings. PLEASE bear in mind that the hallmark of our coverage is journalistic and real-time, so a very long list of posed images will hinder our ability to cover the event in a documentary manner. In general, we encourage clients to stick to immediate family (parents, siblings with spouses/kids) and grandparents. These groupings are quick, easy, and largely informal and we try to make them pleasant and enjoyable for everyone involved.
Can we give you a shot list of photographs we want you to take?
Other than the family groupings, we prefer not. It is very helpful to know what important relatives and friends are coming to your day, and if any events bear special significance, but repeated requests for posed images and having us work “from a checklist” is counterproductive to the work you’ve seen here on our website and to the nature of both journalism as well as looking for great light. “Shot lists” provided by many major bridal magazines are a great idea, but please understand that we generally will capture those images without prompting.
Will we have a good time with you on our wedding day?
Of course! As your photographers, we’re there to preserve the authenticity and enjoyment of the day through imagery, but we also highly value our interaction with you, your bridal party, family, and guests. Your day is every bit as much about the photography as it is having a great experience!
Coverage and Products:
Where’s your studio? Do you travel?
Colling Photography lives in Lynchburg, VA … but yes, we’ll be glad to travel anywhere nice! Travel for weddings within approximately 90 minutes of Lynchburg, VA is included in the price of all wedding packages. For wedding locations beyond this there will be an additional fee for travel costs.
Who are the photographers?
Jeremiah and Kathie are the sole photographers with Colling Photography and will photograph your event throughout the day. Having two shooters ensures that all the spontaneous moments and intimate details are captured throughout the day. When we’re together, we will work with each other on everything from lighting assistance to bridal assistance, and the rest of the time we will work as two individual shooters capturing your wedding from different locations and perspectives.
How many pictures will we get?
The number of photographs taken depends on many things – the number of guests, hours of coverage, types of events, etc. Our typical range is 550-700 images. Each one is individually selected and when necessary, carefully adjusted to provide you with the highest quality images to give you our specific “look”.
Do you offer proofs from the wedding?
Yes! You are given the option of a beautifully crafted proof album OR professionally printed 4×6 loose prints of all the pictures from your wedding. In addition, we will also categorize and post all the images from your wedding in an online gallery for friends and family to view and order.
What is the online gallery?
The online gallery is a private, password protected section on our website where all of your wedding photographs will be placed online for you and your family and friends to view. It is also a secure shopping cart – which allows you (and your family and friends) to order prints and cards and select album prints online. All you have to do is provide the password to anyone who you want to be able to view the images. By default, the password is the bride’s maiden name, in all lowercase.
Do we get to keep the negatives?
We do provide the high-resolution digital files (the digital equivalent of negatives) in all of our wedding packages. The files come on a DVD and are yours to keep forever. The DVD is released to you along with your wedding album. We do retain the copyright to the images and the right to use them for promotional purposes, competition, professional review, and so on. You will get a written print release that will allow you to make unlimited personal reproductions and copies for your friends and families.
Do you come to the rehearsal?
Rehearsal dinner coverage is available if you’d like to add it to your package. Otherwise we do not attend rehearsals as we’re familiar with the people and events of the next day through a series of questionnaires completed before the wedding.
How does the album design process work?
As a courtesy to all our clients, we will select the images and create the first draft of your album design to preview. You will get to preview this design online and provide any feedback on changes you would like to see. (Most of the time we find that brides love it exactly as is!) Once you have approved the layout, we will then help you choose your album cover style, color, imprinting, and other small details. Then you’ll sign off on the book and it will go to print. All of this process can be completed online simply and easily. Once the album goes to print and binding, it takes about four weeks to show up at your front door.
What will my album look like?
Timeless and elegant. And, if awesomeness was a word, that would also describe your album :-) Our desire to to recreate your day through the art of storytelling with your images. We have partnered with the premiere wedding album maker in the industry to bring you hand crafted, flush mount albums with true panoramic spreads. A variety of premium leather and fabrics are available as cover treatments.
How long does it take to get our products and images?
Online galleries are posted within six weeks of the wedding date. Printed proofs are available within eight weeks of the event. Upon final approval of the album design, most albums are ready for delivery within twelve weeks of the event.
Business and Details:
What kind of equipment do you use? Do you have backups?
We use only top of the line professional Canon equipment, lenses, and extensive backups. This is one of the biggest days of your life, and we take the utmost care in being prepared.
Can you hold the date for me?
Sorry, but we can’t hold the date or pencil you in. To be fair to everyone we can’t “hold” a date without a retainer and a signed contract. We accept bookings on a first come, first served basis. We can guarantee that once you have booked us, our studio becomes unavailable on that date for anyone else.
What is your payment schedule like?
A retainer of 1/2 the package price is due to reserve your date. The remainder of your balance is due anytime up to 2 weeks before your event. If booking under thirty days before the wedding, the entire contract amount is due at the time of signing.
I have to cancel my wedding, can I have my retainer back?
Sorry. The retainer fee and all monies paid are non-refundable. The retainer guarantees that we will hold the date exclusively for you and once you’ve signed the contract we do turn down all other commissions for that date. Thus, cancelled weddings can cause a substantial loss to the studio.
If we decide to commission Colling Photography for our wedding, when should we book?
ASAP. Since we cannot “hold” dates or “pencil you in”, dates are booked when…well, when they’re booked. Most of our commissions contract us within 6-12 months of the wedding, though sometimes longer or shorter. Also, we DO limit the number of weddings we shoot every year. This allows us to give the best possible care and attention to each of our wedding clients.
Do we need to feed you at the reception?
It would be really lovely if you did. It doesn’t have to be the same as your sit-down meal (many caterers offer “vendor meals” as an add-on option) but food in general ensures that we remain cheerful, mobile, and that we don’t pass out from low blood sugar. We prefer to be fed when YOU are fed, not afterwards, because when you are eating you’re not at your most photogenic. And when you’re done, we want to be done as well to continue your coverage.
Can our family and friends take pictures with their cameras? Will that bother you?
Of course they can and it doesn’t bother us in the least bit! We only request they not swarm the family photographs right away because we’d prefer all eyes facing us in your images, but we don’t mind at all if they snap away from the background. We do, however, strongly prefer that family or friends not come along for the bridal images or the images of you two alone for privacy purposes. And because, frankly, other people can be distracting! We welcome other cameras during dancing, cake cutting, and other events.