Wedding Photography Frequently Asked Questions

Booking / Before

 

When should we book you?
I accept the first booking and deposit on the table, and I get booked anywhere from two years plus in advance up to just days before the wedding in certain situations. Most weddings are booked 12-18 months in advance but basically as soon as you know it's me you want, you should sign me up!

How should we choose our photographer?
My work is based on friendship and getting the best out of you, so it's vital to choose someone you like. I'll be taking care of you all day at the wedding, usually the only one to do so. This means you should meet up with me for a chat, or on the phone if that's impossible because you're overseas say. If you think I might be the guy for you, I can even take some free portraits of you and your fiance, just to give you an idea what it's like to work with me.

How do we make a booking?
To complete a booking and sign me up for your big day, we just need to complete a few basic details about the wedding on a booking form and the deposit is £250. The balance is due "before" the wedding, either by cheque on the day or preferably by posting one shortly before.

Can we see references from previous customers?
Absolutely. I'd be honoured for you to ask my previous customers how things went for them. Obviously I'll have to give them your email address for their privacy and ask them to contact you. 

How far can you travel for our wedding?
The world is my oyster! I travel in most of the UK at no charge, we may just need to add car costs if we're driving for hours, and costs of accommodation if we have to stay overnight somewhere but we can check and agree all that before you book. For weddings overseas I'd be excited to add your exotic location to my portfolio and can probably help out a lot with costs of travel, depending on the time of year and things. Please ask!

When should we arrange our engagement session and meetings for?
I don't particularly mind - I'd always want to see your venues in advance of the day, but that can be any time and I can do it on my own if we couldn't get together. The main reason to meet up is to get to know each other and help you relax in front of the camera. If you want your lovely engagement photos for something special we can meet up really early. 

I want to google you - how do you spell Shephard?
Well, I'm hoping you'll also find me if you try Shepherd, Sheppard or Shepard. Either way, I'm a wedding, portrait and events photographer in Solihull and Birmingham ;-)

The Wedding

 

Who takes the pictures?
Me! When you book Richard Shephard you get Richard Shephard. If you've also asked me to bring a second photographer it will be someone I deeply respect, who also shoots weddings on their own, who I would be willing to book for my own wedding. Hence the limited availability. There's literally no point in me hiring someone without the skills or experience to trust them with any of your priceless wedding photographs. 

How many photos do you take?
Oh, loads! There's no limit at all, but these days I often shoot 1,000 to 1,500 on a full day, and then edit that down to something like 450-650 which you get edited and ready to print. I never cut anything out, they're just extra shots and blinkers, etc.

How long should we allow for photos on the day?
Tricky question. It's impossible to give an exact time because every wedding is different, there are different numbers of people, groups, special requirements. I'm a lot faster than most photographers when it comes to groups - I like to keep people relaxed and happy, so I usually fit very comfortably in the timescales that the venues recommend. That way it's better to have more time for mingling (and candid photos) than to run out by trying to cut it too fine. Also at some point I'll need to take the two of you aside for some gorgeous couple shots. Just five minutes if that's all you have, but twenty or thirty if you possibly can. 

Do we need to feed you?
Well you don't HAVE to, buuuuut... ;-)

Should we give you a list of group photos?
Check out my advice in this blog post on wedding group photographs lists.

Can people request photos throughout the day?
I call it "point and shoot" - you point, I shoot. Yes, people can grab me whenever for family pictures or anything they need. A wedding is a great chance to have everyone dressed up and happy. We'll talk before the wedding about the group shots, but it's also important that all your VIPs feel they can make the requests they want. Otherwise I wouldn't know.

Afterwards

 

Can we see a sneak preview on the day?
Actually, I usually download some of the photos during the meal and prepare a quick selection for a slideshow on the Macbook. I'll just leave it out somewhere out of the way, not too distracting, but guests love to take a look and see what we got up to during the day.

How long does it take to edit all the photos?
Depending on the time of year, usually between one and three weeks. But I can cherry-pick a few choice favourites though if you want something to accompany your change of facebook status ;-)

What's the deal with copyright and the files we get on disk?
The files you get are the full high-resolution, non-watermarked, print-ready files. We technically retain copyright since we "created" the photographs, but you have official permission to make prints, copies or derivative works (that means your own albums, designs, commemorative royal wedding plates/teatowels, etc). Just about the only thing we don't want you to do is claim another photographer took them or use them to promote the services of another photographer. If you're at all unsure about copyright I'm happy to negotiate - these are just the standard terms that meet most couples needs.

Do our photos go online with a password?
Yes. You can have a password or not as you wish, and guests can purchase prints at reasonable prices (like £5.) This is mostly for convenience as of course you can make them prints if you want to. We'll send you some 6x4 inch photo prints with the address on for your guests to stick on their fridge and keep as a souvenir.

How does the album design process work?
It's up to you how specific you get, but what's usually best is for you to give me a list of favourites, and I will make a draft design based on those, but including others that fit the design and tell the story well. I'll show you a copy and you can make any changes you want, like swapping or moving images, rearranging things, etc. We'll make sure you're completely happy with the design before we go ahead. 

Do you do retouching?
Yes. And I listen to coldplay's "Fix you" while I do ;-) No, really it's best to get things right in the camera, but a certain amount of smoothing, moving and massaging can be done. Certainly if you have a (god forbid) spot or shaving disaster don't worry. It'll be like it never happened.