FAQs
Full Q&A
By using the index above this page, you can navigate the list of questions or you may proceed to the list of Q&A below. The Q&A’s are listed according to the topic. For any other questions, you may email our studio manager at raychle@shaneandraychlephotography.com.
General Questions
Q: “Will you deliver all the images shot?”
A: No we will not. The shots that will not be delivered are those of you or your guests that are not very flattering. An example is when a person laughs and we shoot consecutive images of the laughing person. We just select those images that have the best expressions and archive the rest of the series.
Q: “Do you provide video services?”
A. No, we do not provide video services at the moment, but we have a number of videographers that we are used to working with and ensure coordinated smooth movements while getting each other’s shots.
Q: “Have you done photography at my venue previously?”
A. We have been in this business for a long time that there is a good chance we have shot at your venue. However, we always perform a walkthrough with the client prior to the wedding day.
Q: “Would you shoot destination weddings? Are there additional fees charged for destination weddings?”
A. Nashville Wedding Photography is located in Nashville and Davidson County but we offer our services to clients all over the world. We will add the cost of travel and the cost of accommodations if it is necessary to our standard packages to come up with the cost for a destination photography package. Please send an email to [Email Address] for further details.
Q: “Will you send a Master Photographer to shoot my wedding?”
A. You will meet the master photographer before your engagement session and wedding. We will not send a random person for your big day! If you have not requested to engage a specific photographer, we will decide on your master photographer based on your referral, availability and language abilities.
Q. “Do you accept engagements for partial day coverage?”
A. We cannot accept partial day coverage on weekends. We only accept with a budget of $3,000 or more on weekends or those that require coverage of at least 8 hours.
Q: “Does your studio offer photography for commercial photography, individual portraits, headshots, family portraits, or other types of photography?”
A. Although our master photographers are well-versed in all fields of photography, we are wedding and event photography specialists, so we focus on this field. If you need services in other types of photography and would like a good referral, you may get in touch with our studio manager, Raychle Searfoss at 615.830.6336, or send her an email at raychle@shaneandraychlephotography.com.
Q: “Do you shoot Corporate Events, Bah Mitzvahs, Debutants and Quinceaneras?”
A. Yes. They are all classified as ‘event photography.’ We have decided to focus on wedding and event photography and excel in these fields. If you have a forthcoming celebration, we will be happy to cover it.
Style and Quality Questions
Q: “Do you have a philosophy regarding photography?”
A. Please click here to read our philosophy regarding wedding photography.
Q: “What is your wedding photography style?”
A. The Nashville Wedding Photography team has developed a unique style of taking wedding photographs influenced by fine-art and fashion photography employing wedding photojournalism methods. We use creative lighting; find the best angles, shoots unique perspectives and compositions. Artistic post production methods are used refining the outputs while bringing out the clients personality and beauty in telling their wedding story. Our team are not just photographers, we consider ourselves artists engaged in the creation of unique and expressive imagery. The quality and style of our work can be seen by visiting our Portfolio as well as our Blog.
Q. “Can I see a sample of a full event you have shot?”
A. Yes you may. It is our pride that our work has been of consistent good quality. It has been the practice of photographers to pick their best shots from a number of weddings to put up on their websites, so it is hard to judge if the performance will be of the same consistent quality on the actual wedding day. We let our clients view full events and encourage them to ask this of all photographers they meet with to determine if the photographer will perform well throughout the day.
Q. “I am concerned about my venue because it looks really dark. How will your studio handle this situation and may I see some samples?”
A. We have done photography in the dark chapels and dimly lighted reception halls, so you need not worry! We will set up additional lighting if it is possible, to that we will get bright crisp photos. We use cameras with superb low-light performance when chapels will not allow for flash photography. We also use lenses with low apertures for situations like these.
Q: “Are there differences in style and quality among your master photographers?”
A. No. Every measure is taken to ensure that the style and quality of our master photographers are consistently excellent. Our master photographers were trained by the same mentors at the same exact time. We all have been together in the business since, and the unique style in our work has been developed together. Our studio gets together once a week to review images together. This ensures the quality and style of our work are consistent. When a master photographer learns a new technique or trick, it is shared with the other two. We hold a weekly review session to scrutinize all mistakes, whether they are major or minor. The quality and style of our photography is guaranteed to be consistent.
Post Production Questions
Q: “Do you do touch ups on our DVD images?”
A. Yes we do. We do our unique style of post production for every image we deliver. The post production techniques involve exposure adjustment, color correction, clarity adjustments, selective black and white processing, tone-mapping and other corrections. There are many photographers who do not do post production, or will only select some of your wedding images for post production. This will result in some pictures that are too dark, some pictures that will have strange skin tones, or other photography flaws may become visible.
Q: “What does ‘touching up’ the photos mean?”
A: In our studio, ‘touching up’ means the same thing as basic post production. The questions below will clarify this matter further.
Q: “Please explain the meaning of basic, advanced, and premium post-production?”
A. Basic post production includes color correction and processing in black and white, and is essential to each photo. If a studio or a photographer does not perform a minimal level of post production, the final product will be of inferior quality. Ever image purchased from us with a package undergoes post production at no additional charge. Clients who decide to purchase digital negatives DVD in addition are rest assured that the disc will contain photos that have all be processed using one of the basic post production styles. Clients may choose post production methods in the photos that can involve color correction of their images, black and white processing, or a combination at the discretion of the photographer (recommended).
* Non-Package Pricing – $4.99 per Image – Min. of 20 images per order
Advanced styles of post production require expertise and in depth image development that can transform ordinary photos into extraordinary images. There are three general styles of advanced post production, namely: Timeless, Natural and Modern. The Timeless Style employs effects that do not put time stamp on images, so they are regarded as classic, naturally timeless. The Natural style employs subtle effects which simply emphasize the scene’s natural beauty and colors. The Modern style employs the avant-garde effects and trendy style based on the current fashion and the modeling world. Each of our packages includes a set number of post production images done in the advanced style. Clients can choose the images and the corresponding styles, or let the photographers choose for them at his discretion.
* Pricing – $9.99 per Image – Minimum of 10 images per order
Premium styles of processing take the photograph a step beyond photographic art towards the direction of graphic art. The techniques require an expert in post production and the work is extremely time intensive. Current premium styles include Collage and Fine Art. Textures and effects are added to the natural emotion and ambiance of the picture in fine art styles; while a single or multiple images are combined with designs to create a piece that are photographic graphic arts in collage style post production. For creating large poster-size prints, collages are great and makes for an outstanding memento. Each of our packages includes a set number of post production images done in the premium style. Clients can choose the images and the corresponding styles, or let the photographers choose for them at his discretion.
* Pricing – $19.99 per Image – Minimum of 5 images per order”
Q: “Do you shoot in Small Raw, Large Raw or JPEG?”
A. We use Small Raw for shooting most of our images but we move to Large Raw with certain situations. Please see: Common Misconceptions in the Photography Misconceptions page of our website.
Wedding Day Questions
Q: “How many hours do you think we should set aside for wedding day photos?”
A. The amount of time you should set aside for your wedding day photos will depend on the time of day.
Preparation Shots – Duration: 1.5 hours
Ideally we will devote 45 minutes for the girls and 45 minutes for the guys.
Couples session – Duration: 1 hour to 1.5 hours
We strongly suggest a couple’s session before the ceremony in a “first look” moment. This will make the couple enjoy the rest of the day without worrying about too much photo time. The “first look” is also best because the make up and hair are still fresh, and we set it up so that it becomes a surprise when the couple sees each other dressed for the wedding. We request a full hour so that we can satisfactorily capture the same amazing shots you see in our portfolio.
Family Formals – Duration: 1 hour
You will have a compilation of pictures that you desire together with your family and friends right after the ceremony. This is typically done at the altar but you can also choose for this to be done in any location you want. We request that one person with a loud voice and highly organized from each side of the family who would know who are to be included in the picture be appointed to move people in and out of photos.
Bridal Party (Optional) – Duration: 0.5 hour to 1 hour
This is usually done before the ceremony where we ask the bridal party to come out for some fun shots. When this is done before the ceremony, the party can rest and enjoy the rest of the day.
Q: “Will I be charged for a lot of downtime in between events on my wedding day?”
A. We have to charge for the time in between events for many reasons and in many cases, we use your downtime for you and your significant other’s photo session or some family portraits. We never truly rest during the wedding day because we are usually setting up for the next venue, backing up images, taking venue shots, traveling to the second location or making up for lost photo time due to wedding day delays.
Engagement Session Question
Q: “How long will it take to see the photos from our engagement session?”
A: Four weeks after the shoot is the usual time to get the engagement sessions through post production. However, if you want the images post produced earlier than the regular four weeks after the shoot, we charge a rush-process fee of $100.00.
Q: “When should we schedule our engagement session?”
A. You are encouraged to do your engagement session as soon as you can manage. We suggest that it should be done at least eight weeks before the wedding because of the four weeks post production time required for each image and completion of your product order(s). Please see the section on post production delivery time for engagement sessions and engagement session product delivery time in the FAQ’s for further details.
Q: “Can our engagement session be done on a weekend?”
A. We don’t normally shoot engagement sessions during weekends because most of our wedding schedules are on weekends. If you are only available on weekends for your engagement session, we can schedule your session tentatively. But if a wedding gets scheduled later for that weekend, we will give priority to the wedding schedule and we will have to reschedule your engagement session. We also prefer that the engagement sessions be done on weekdays because the venues are not as crowded on weekdays.
Q: “How many images are delivered from an engagement session? From a wedding?”
A. Typically, we deliver from 50-100 images for a 3-hour engagement shoot and for a wedding shoot; typically we deliver 100 images per hour.
Q: “Is the use of Photoshop to put our name and date in the images included in the package pricing?”
A. Custom save-the-date can be added to images in any package through our website and are priced at $100 per image.
Q: “Where and when can we see our engagement pictures?”
A. Engagement session images are completed within four weeks after the shoot. A rush-process fee of $100 will be charged if you require the images earlier than four weeks, unless other terms have been arranged. The image DVD will be sent before the fifth week.
Albums, Prints, Books Questions
Q. “How long does it take before I get my prints?”
A. Generally, print orders are completed within four weeks after the submission of the product order but product creation times may vary depending on the order.
Similar to the post production processing, a fee of $100.00 is charged for rush-processing prints. Additional fees may also apply for rush shipping.
Q: “How long does it take before I get my album?”
A. Generally, your album will be finished in 4-6 weeks after placing the order, but keep in mind that like our other products, production times may vary. The process will depend on how quickly you respond to our communications in relation to the album design as well as the changes you want made after the initial designs have been presented. Based on experience, some brides are able to complete this process and can place the order within a month or two, while others take more than a year.
Similar to the post production processing, a fee of $100.00 is charged for rush-processing. Additional fees may also apply for rush shipping.
Q: “Hong long does it take before I get my sign-in book?”
A. Generally, the sign-in book takes 4-6 weeks to print after the order is received. The time to get the order ready for printing depends on your quick response to our instructions and the changes you will require after we present you the initial designs.
Similar to the post production processing, a fee of $100.00 is charged for rush-processing. Additional fees may also apply for rush shipping.
Q: “What album companies do you use for your package offers?”
We maintain accounts with major printers like Graphi Studio, Finao, Leather Craftsmen, Queensberry, and Willowbook Sequoia. Presently our printing partner is Willowbook Sequoia for standard leather albums because of durability, print quality/consistency and cover style options. For the premium albums, our printing partner is Finao. But if you have style preferences offered by other album makers, we will be happy to accommodate your wishes. However, there may be additional charges depending on your choice of printer.
Q: “How many pages will there be in our wedding day album and how many images will it contain?”
A. The signature Nashville album has 20 pages and contains 60 images. You can request more pages and images at the extra cost of $50 per page which includes the cost of design time, revisions and three retouched images.
Q: “Can we request additional pages and images for our album?”
A. Yes! We charge $100 for each additional page which includes the design time, revisions and three retouched images per page.
Q: “Does your company provide framing services?”
A. No, we do not provide framing services but we can give you recommendations where to get your images framed.
Q: “What is the difference between a ‘dvd slideshow’ and an ‘online slideshow’?”
A. DVD slideshows are DVDs created for you using two songs and the images you choose. We recommend that the selection of the song and images be left to us as part of our expertise. However, if you want full control of the slideshows, we will defer to your wishes.
Online slideshows are the kind of slideshows you see on our blog. Typically, these include on song and about 60 images which will depend on the length of the song. We choose the song and the images from your wedding day photos. We host these slideshows on our blog indefinitely.
Q: “How do I start with my album order?”
A. You can read the details of the Album Design Process in our website.
Image DVDs Questions and Legal Questions
Q: “Up to what size can we get our photos printed from our full resolution image DVD?”
A. Generally you can get your photos printed up to 20 x 30 without any loss of quality. If you choose to print larger than 20 x 30, you have to pay for additional post-production costs. For a quotation on special services like these, you may e-mail our studio manager at [Email Address].
Q: “Do I have any rights with regards to the digital prints?”
A. You have he right to get your images reprinted wherever you want, whenever you want. However, you have to get the written consent of Nashville Wedding Photography if you intend to sell your images for profit or get your images published.
Q: “Will you provide the RAW files of my wedding day and/or the engagement session?”
A. We provide a full resolution image DVD for all our packages. However, we believe in delivering the finished product, so we generally do not provide RAW or unprocessed files from our shoots. However, we can provide you your RAW images if you want them together with our post-produced JPG images for an additional charge of $1,000.00.
Q: “How many images are included in the image DVD that you will deliver?”
A. We generally deliver 50-100 images for a 3-hour engagement session, and 100 images per hour of coverage for a wedding.
Q: “Do we get the digital negatives of the shoot?”
A. Yes we do. We provide a Full Resolution imaged DVDs with all of our packages.
Q: “If in the event that my DVD arrived damaged, what should I do?”
A. If you received a damaged DVD in the mail, you may contact our Studio Manager, Raychle Searfoss, at 615.830.6336 or send her an email at [Email Address]so we can immediately send out a replacement copy.
Q: “What if my imaged DVD gets lost?”
A. We will charge you a $50 replacement fee for image DVDs. It is best if you copy the DVD for your file the moment you receive your copy from us.
Equipment Questions
Q: “What types of camera and equipment do you use for wedding photography?”
A. Click here for our Cameras and Photography Equipment
Business Insurance and Image Backup Questions
Q: “How can we be sure that our images will not be lost? Do you have a backup of our images?”
A. We have never lost a wedding image because we use the following backup workflow in all of our events:
We backup on an Epson External Hard Drive during the shoot and after each major event shoot throughout the day. This creates one copy on the Epson External Hard Drive and one copy left on the CF cards. We back up the CF card after the shoot to a local server set up in a RAID 1 configuration. After the images have been completed, we upload them to an offside location and another copy is burned for our archives. There are always two copies of the files at any given point.
Q: “Do you carry liability insurance?”
A. Yes. Photographers are required by many venues to have Liability Insurance. Make sure Uncle Joe is covered before hiring him.
Meeting Policy Questions
Q: “Is it possible for our family or friends to meet with you and make the arrangements as we live out of town?”
A. While we would love to meet your relatives, we will appreciate to at least webcam with you and get to know you better. We will answer all your family’s question and present them our work for review.
Q: “If we’re really busy and there is no time to set a meeting. Do you offer other options?”
A. A meeting is recommended prior to the engagement shoot or the wedding. However, if you’re really too far away or too busy, we can make arrangements remotely. You have to tell us what you hope to achieve as if we are actually meeting and we will think of ways of delivering what you wish. If you want to see more of our work, we can direct you to our complete events posted online. If you want to talk about packages and establish a rapport with the photographer, webcam appointments and telephone calls can be arranged.
Q: “Will you travel to meet clients?”
A. We currently do not travel to meet clients because of schedule limitations. To set up a meeting, you may call our studio manager, Raychle Searfoss, at 615.830.6336 or send her an e-mail at raychle@shaneandraychlephotography.com.
Q: “How do I set up an appointment for a meeting to see samples of your work?”
A: Contact our studio manager at 615.830.6336 or email her at raychle@shaneandraychlephotography.com.
Payment and Tax Questions
Q: “How do I make a reservation to hire you for my date?”
A: You have to send us your signed contract and deposit and we will reserve the date for you.
Q: “What happens if we go beyond our contracted time for our engagement shoot and the wedding day coverage?”
A. We have standard rates that we apply for overtime. At present we bill an additional $200 per hour for each Master Photographer and $100 per hour for each Associate Photographer.
Q: “Do we pay an additional fee if payment is done via credit card?”
A. Yes. There is an additional 2.8% credit card processing fee based on the total package price.
Q: “Will we receive a refund of our deposit if we cancel the wedding?”
A. Unfortunately, no. When you make a deposit, the date has been reserved for you and we lose the opportunity to serve other clients for the date you reserved.
Q: “Will we be able to apply our deposit to a new date if we change our wedding date?”
A. Yes. However, if the rates are different for the new date from your original date, the new rates will apply.
Q: “Are you charging travel fees for the Engagement Session and/or Wedding Day shoots?”
A. For all sessions, thirty miles each way or the first sixty miles of travel roundtrip are included in the package. Every mile is charged $1.00 in excess of thirty miles each way.
All other engagement session destinations beyond 200 miles roundtrip are subject to negotiation and will be handled on a case-to-case basis.
Q: “Do we get any discounts on weekday weddings, Sunday weddings, or weddings held during offseason?”
A. We do not give discounts on offseason weddings and Sunday weddings. We are shooting throughout the year as wedding season is now almost year round. However, we offer discounts on weekday weddings when our calendar is open, so please call Raychle at 615.830.6336, or send her an email at raychle@shaneandraychlephotography.com to inquire if your date is open.
Q: “Will we be able to receive discounts and avoid paying sales tax if we pay for our package in cash?”
A. We do not get exemptions from paying Tennessee sales tax for an image DVD, album or any other physical product when we collect cash payments. However, some tax-free services and packages fall within Tennessee State Law if you like a service only package or if you like to do a transfer of the images to your hard-drive prior to the event.
