Cochrane Wedding Photography

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Top questions to ask your wedding photographer

If you’re looking for a wedding photographer, you’re going to want to know more about that person and how they work. While I’m conscious that a lot of these are covered in my FAQs page - I wanted to cover these off again, as they are important. I’ve outlined below the 10 most common questions that people have for their wedding photographer - and have answered these for me and my business. You might be surprised at some of the questions or the answers!

#1 - WHO WILL BE TAKING MY PHOTOGRAPHS?

IT’S ME (and Alex)! We love meeting all our potential couples for an easy going coffee/tea/beer/wine date where you can tell us all about how you met, how the proposal happened (did they get down on one knee?) and any plans you might have made for your wedding! Decisions don’t need to be made right away about your wedding photographer - we’ll be the first to admit that it’s a big decision and there are lots to consider. It’s important that we’re a good match, and that you trust us. To build this trust and help us become more familiar with each other we always suggest we have an engagement session. We include these in some of our wedding packages (FYI). At our engagement session, we will spend about an hour together. These little sessions are a good insight into how we work.  We always have so much fun on these sessions. The engagement session ensures that both you and your other half are comfortable with us and how we work, and makes the wedding day go more smoothly. Through the whole process, we will stay in touch. So, when you have any questions, we’re only an email/text/phone call away!

#2 - HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN SHOOTING WEDDINGS?

We shot our first solo wedding in the summer of 2018, and have gone full steam ahead since then. We’re now actively photographing couples and weddings as well as scheduling as far as 18-24 months in advance! We’ve also assisted a few different photographers at this point, by capturing images from a different perspective to their own. 

We should also note that we (both) think it’s incredibly important to continue to learn and grow in whatever craft we have. We are constantly investing in our education and ensuring we stay up to date on current practices. This helps us serve you better and lets us stay ahead of the curve so your images remain timeless and priceless.

#3 - IS THERE A WAY YOU WOULD DESCRIBE YOUR PHOTOGRAPHY STYLE?

We love brighter, lighter colours and try to capture that in our photography and through our editing. This world we live in is really gorgeous, and we love the colours people incorporate into their weddings so we think we should celebrate that and really highlight it. We love soft light and that ever fleeting golden hour of the night. We always try to capture that in our photography by helping you choose the time and location for engagement sessions, and at your wedding by guiding you to the right location and pose to create the light but still vibrant images that we can all love.

#4 - HOW DO YOU WORK?

We both love meeting new people and love keeping those new people close. We always treat our clients like our friends (and more often than not we become friends). We love forming lasting relationships with our clients and still speak to them even now - months and years down the line. Where the need presents itself, we always focus on being efficient. Wedding days go by so quickly, so sometimes you need to be an efficient worker when squeezing in the first look, the family sessions while the kids are still engaged in the photography process, and when it’s not so warm outside and we need to ensure to move move move to keep warm. We strive to create poses that look and feel natural and always strive to capture any naturally occurring moments for you.

#5 - DO YOU SHOOT DIGITALLY AND HOW DO I GET MY PHOTOS?

We shoot digital (and to dual slots), and have a plethora of Nikon equipment!

Much like the digital camera we shoot with, I also deliver my photos digitally. You will get your own online gallery that you can share with your friends and family and it comes with a pin to allow you to download those photos as many times as you want.

We also offer a variety of beautiful albums that will last a lifetime, and offer special memories that your family can look back on for years to come.

#6 - WHAT DO I GET IF I BOOK YOU?

Well, that depends on what you need. Each wedding is unique, so we work with you to build up a package that suits your needs. Whether you want us there all day (from getting the makeup done to the time you’ve done your first dance) or just want us there for the ceremony and party. It’s up to you.

Our most popular package is the all-day coverage package. This means that we arrive in the morning just as you’re prepping for your wedding, so we can capture you and your party as you’re getting ready for such a momentous day. It also means we’re there with you until the party really gets going - we tend to leave before everyone gets so merry they won’t want their picture taken anymore.

We also have an incredible photo booth which we can bring along to our full day bookings.

#7 - I HAVE A SHOT LIST, WILL YOU USE IT?

Whilst we do work to try to capture some of the more important moments of the day, we can’t guarantee to capture every single photo that is provided to us on a list. We do, however,  have a comprehensive and wonderful questionnaire that we send before your wedding day. It’s in this that we ask about some of the more specific and unique shots that you might be looking for that might deviate from the normal shots on a wedding day! Or where you will list some specific family combinations you would love to have captured on the wedding day. For example, if you’ve got any special unique details that you’ve added (such as matching shoes or special charms on your bouquet) those are details that we love having in advance to make sure we capture these!

#8 - OKAY..BUT HOW LONG AFTER THE WEDDING DO I HAVE TO WAIT TO GET MY PICTURES?

Within a two months, and usually within 6-8 weeks after your wedding day! We do same day sneak peeks, so you’ll always have something to look back on as you wait for the final gallery. We want to make sure you’re getting the very best from your gallery, and we take the time to look at every single picture we take to ensure it’s the best of the best. We want you to be happy with your pictures, and be so pleased that you get to blow them up and print them off!

#9 - SO THE IMAGES ARE ONLINE - BUT FOR HOW LONG?

Your images will be accessible via a secure link to an online gallery. The interface we use is very user-friendly and super easy to share. We email the link to you which will contain the direct link to your gallery. We keep the images up on the online gallery for up to a year, and our best advice is to always back up your images! Save them to a few different places, and even to a cloud service.