David Madden Photography FAQs
What’s the first step?
~Okay, you like what you see and want to move things forward- get in touch to check
we are available for your wedding date (fingers crossed). Then we arrange to meet up
/ Skype to get to know each other a little better and I answer all the questions that
you have and aren’t covered here.
How Far in advance should I book?
~There is no such thing as too early. Obviously Fridays and Saturdays are
traditionally most popular and these tend to get booked up quite early (up to a year in
advance in some cases), as can some other popular dates. Send us an e mail or better
still a quick call and we will check your date for you.
What if I like your work but cant find a package that really suits us?
~No problem, we can tailor make a package that will closer match your needs- quite
often a more cost effective way too!
How do I book with you?
~We require a one third deposit to secure your date and a signed booking contract.
When is the balance due?
~The remainder falls due in 2 subsequent & equal payments- midway to the wedding
and then again the week of the wedding- allowing you to better manage your finances.
eg. Total package cost - €1,800
Booking Deposit
2 months prior to wedding date
The week before the wedding
-
€600
€600
€600
How do I pay?
~Most payment methods are accepted, but we prefer direct bank transfers (its easier
for record keeping purposes).
So we book with you – then what?
~Then over the next while we get to know each other better, meet for coffee to chat
and plan the photography timeline for the day. I reccie all wedding locations and
suggest ideal spots for shots on the day and we together discuss the finer details of the
wedding. I am also available to meet up / chat on the phone to answer any further
questions you have as they arise or simply to calm any wedding day nerves- (believe
me I’ve seen it all).
Are you Insured?
~Absolutely – It is a requirement of the professional institute that professional togs
hold a minimum of €6.5M cover in public liability insurance. Insurance
documentation can be provided for your venue if required.
Do you travel for weddings?
~We certainly do and enjoy it too. We travel all over Ireland & Britain on wedding
shoots. There is a small extra fee for travel expenses to cover petrol etc for weddings
in the North & West of Ireland. Britain is worked out on an individual basis, but again
we keep the charges to a minimum, just enough to cover our own travel expenses.
How would you describe your style?
~I get the bride & groom to interact with each other instead of with the camera,
aiming to capture the emotional relationship that exists between the two. There will
be some subtly posed shots that I feel work well –these often depend on the couple
themselves aswell as the location(s)
Will I have to “pose”
~You wont have to do anything on your wedding day you simply don’t want to – I
am there to document “your” day. I will discuss ideas with you before hand and quite
often I will simply ask you guys to hold each other in a certain way or simply walk
towards/away from camera – very simple stuff but done with a specific look/shot in
mind that I am aiming for- dependant on the light, location etc.
How long should we allow for family group shots?
~This depends entirely on the number of group shots required, but on average this
part of the day usually only takes around 30 minutes. (This is determined in the
overall timeline plan for the day).
How long do I need you for on my wedding day?
~This is entirely up to you, depending on what elements of the day you want
photographed, but to give you some idea my usual wedding shoot day is around 7-8
hours long.
This covers the Bride & groom preparations in the morning, the ceremony itself,
location shots straight afterwards and then reception at the venue up until (at least) the
meal sit down.
More and more often though, I am finding that more clients want me there longer
into the evening to cover other evening formalities such as cake cutting, speeches and
bridal waltz.
(especially if they are getting an album as photographing longer into the evening helps
round out the story of the whole day).
What Packages do you offer?
~My packages are contained in a separate document that I can send you – just get in
touch and I will send it over to you asap. Suffice to say that the main difference in the
3 packages on offer is based around the amount of photography coverage required on
the day.
What happens if we want you to stay longer on the day?
~That’s no problem I can easily stay longer on an hourly rate. However this is
something that we usually identify in the lead up to the day and then we can always
switch to a different package that includes longer coverage (this works out more
economical to decide in advance of the day). If for some reason on the day you just
decide that you would like the speeches/cake cutting covered at the last minute
though, then that’s fine too.
How long should I allow for each part of the day to be photographed?
~This is something we work out together when we do up the photography timeline
for the whole day. But generally speaking you can use the following as a rough guide:
Brides Preparation – 1 1/2 hrs (min)
Grooms Prep – 1 hr
Ceremony – 1hr (approx)
Location shots – 1 hr
Reception – 1-2 hrs (depending on the timeline of events for the evening)
You also have to allow for travel time between each location for each part of the day.
Do you work alone or do you use a 2nd shooter (photographer) for our wedding day?
~ I prefer to shoot with a 2nd photographer on the day, this is beneficial in so many
ways. We can capture images from different angles, of different subjects (especially
during the ceremony). Seconds are invaluable as an assistant for lighting equipment
for the location shoot aswell as being great stylists.
Although this is my strong preference the final decision is up to you, there is an
additional cost so the final decision is always yours. I have, of course shot many
weddings by myself, and find that the only time I absolutely NEED my 2nd shooter is
when the bride & groom prep shots are at two locations that are so far apart that its
logistically impossible for me to shoot both.
How many images do we get form the day?
~Again this is dependant on how long I am there for- but on average you will
received between 500-600 images for a 7-8 hr day. (This is after editing and removal
of duplicate images)
Does this include the editing of images?
~Yes all images are edited for colour correction, light, balance and contrast. We
remove blurred images, duplicates - leaving you all the very best images from the day.
Can we get images in B&W / Sepia tone too?
~Absolutely, we shoot all digital images in RAW. This format retains all the digital
information in the image – allowing us to change to black & white and even Sepia (if
you really want to?)
Are all our images our to use as we wish?
~Again, absolutely – the images from your wedding day are your copyright property
and not mine. We ask that we can use a select few (with your permission) on our
website for promotional purposes.
How long after the wedding do we receive our images?
~This depends if it’s the middle of wedding season or not – generally in wedding
season things are much busier (as you can imagine) than out of season. So expect to
wait 4-6 weeks in season (May- Sept) and only 2-3 out of season (all other months).
What type of albums do you offer – are these included in the packages?
~We offer a large range of albums, storybook style and matted aswell as fine art. We
design every album from scratch so whatever style of album you choose you can rest
assured it will be completely unique to your day. The albums are listed seperately
form the photo packages for ease of comparison, however if you decide from the get
go that you want an album we can tailor make a package including album for you
(this is always more cost effective).
How long do I have to wait for the album?
~Once you have chosen the images you want in the album, then its around 2weeks
for the album to be designed. We then make changes as you request. Once everyone
is happy with the final look then we send it of to be compiled by the album company.
Production time is anything from 4 – 6 weeks after that (depending on how busy they
are at that stage).
I hope you find this little FAQ helpful – if there is anything that isn’t covered here
please just call or e mail and I will be more than happy to help.