tips outdoor wedding photography by Ariel Campos, photographer. Los Cabos, Mexico |
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10
Questions to Ask Your Wedding Photographer and 2 More to Ask Yourself
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| " What
Your Wedding Photographer Should Tell You Before You Sign a Contract.
Before you can hire a wedding photographer, you need to know if their
style of taking pictures works with what you envision for your wedding.
Here are some important questions to ask any wedding photographer:
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| "1. What’s your primary photography style?" | |
| Ariel: I may define my photography style as Emotive capturing candid moments, but also looking for posed pictures when the moment is right. My objective is to create incredible, jaw-dropping pictures of your wedding and to help you share them with loved ones. |
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| "2. Do you shoot in color or black and white? Or both? Do you shoot in a digital format that can create both color and b/w versions of the same picture?" | |
| Ariel: I shoot everything in color on digital format. Afterwards, I apply digital retouching to make artistic treatments (black & white, sepia, etc.), on your best pictures or to correct minor imperfections. At the end of the day you'll have both versions of the same photo: full color original and retouched one. | |
| "3. What kind of input can we have on the direction of the shots? Can we give you a shot list to work from?" | |
| Ariel: In order to provide you with the best possible service, I ask clients fill out my booking form which asks some useful information about your wedding, e.g. Must have shots, How many guests are you expecting? Do you prefer a photojournalistic style, or more "classical", posed portraits? Do you have any preferred color scheme? Are you working with a local wedding coordinator? What will the dress code be? | |
| "4. Are you (Ariel Campos) the wedding photographer who will actually take our pictures? " | |
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Ariel: Yes, my sole activity during the whole year is photographing (taking, retouching and delivering pictures). I personally photograph, edit and retouch all my work. I do have a studio manager -Diana and one assistant. My studio manager helps me with all the administrative work (bidding, booking, invoicing, banking, shopping supplies, shipments, etc.) and my assist me helps me with my gear during the photo shoots. I'm the only one who photographs. All the photos we advertise in this site are taken by myself - Ariel Campos. |
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| "5. Can we meet any assistants who will also be our taking pictures?" | |
| Ariel: My assistant do not take pictures, he assists me changing lenses, keeping my gear neatly out-of-sight-but-handy, bouncing sunlight or setting portable light - when needed. | |
| "6. How many times have you worked specifically as a wedding photographer? How many were similar to the size and formality of our wedding?" | |
| Ariel: I photograph about 50 weddings yearly since Feb 2006, couple dozens of family portraits and few real state photo shoots. I'm full time photographer; photography is my only source of income. Due price and network, I usually photograph fancy events in world renowed resorts like Esperanza Auberge, Las Ventanas al Paraiso and Marquis. Weddings I photograph are from small-eloped to big soirées. | |
| "7. How many other events will you also photograph that weekend?" | |
| Ariel: I just take 1 (one) event per day. | |
| "8. What kind of equipment will you bring with you? How intrusive will lighting, tripods, other equipment or assistants be?" | |
| Ariel: I work with professional photo equipment:
Two Cameras Canon EOS 5D, assorted lens, filters and tripods. Regarding
lighting since Cabo is a beach destination, most of pictures are taken outdoors
during daytime, then flash and a bouncing disks for sunlight are more than
enough for supporting lighting, During daytime lighting is not intrusive
at all. Regarding night interiors, lighting depends on location and your photo preferences, if your wedding reception will be in a well lighted location or your prefer moody pictures like the ones in photo gallery, no extra lighting will be required, flash is usually enough perhaps with a little wireless lamp, and that's all. But if your reception will be in a low light location and you prefer sharp- crispy images, I'll require bringing lighting. It is a portable set, not-that-intrusive, but is bright and is needed. Outcome is like this wedding gallery |
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| "9. Do you develop your own film?" | |
| Ariel : I retouch digitally pictures, as required, either to apply artistic treatments or to correct minor imperfections, after this I provide you with an online photo processing service, where you can view, share and purchase prints and albums. This on-line photo processing services are the best way to have high quality prints while saving money on international shipping fees. |
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| "10. Can we buy the negatives from you?" | |
| Ariel: I provide you with an online photo processing service, where you can view, share and purchase prints and albums. And I also deliver you a copyright released CD to make as many copies / prints as you wish. | |
| "After you’ve asked these questions of your potential wedding photographer, there are several questions you’ll want to ask yourself: 1. Do I like this person? Do I get along with them or get a good feeling from them? 2. Do I like their work as a wedding photographer? Is it well lit, focused, well framed? Looking at their books, do I feel like I have a good feeling for the wedding? Don’t forget to call their references. While it may feel a bit awkward to call a stranger, it can be invaluable to have an outside opinion on a potential wedding photographer. Remember, your photographs will be one of the most lasting aspects of your wedding – you’ll want to make sure you find the right wedding photographer for you." Questions from Nina Callaway, your Guide to Weddings. about.com |
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Some
other questions, clients frequently asked |
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| 1.- How long does it takes photos to be deliver ? | |
Ariel: Due workflow reasons, turnaround timing is as follows:
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| How will the final product be like? | |
Follow the link to find a sample online photo gallery -actual ones are password protected with more pictures.
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| How do I assure your services? | |
First step would be to fill out my booking form, send it to me and confirm with your wedding planner that you picked me as your wedding photographer, I make a contract with your wedding planner and they handle my payment in a global with all the other providers. If you do not have a wedding planner, then also please fill out my booking form and 50% down payment is required to book your date. Balance to be due, few days before actual event. Personal checks and online credit cards payments are accepted. I gladly serve equally: wedding planners and solo brides, just as a comment: hiring a wedding planner seems like an expense, but at the end of the day they make everything more efficient, which gives you more value for your money, helping you to seize the day. |
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| How do we design /order and album ? | |
You can order your choice of album during or
afterwards your booking for wedding photo service . There is a field on
your booking form to place your order. If you decide to order afterwards,
and excellent timing to order is while we are publishing your photos in
the online photo processing service. |
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| Who designs the layout of my wedding album? | |
| From the choices below, LUXURY album is designed over the internet by you and me. TRADITIONAL one, would be designed by myself with your choice of pictures. |
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| How many album choices do you offer? | |
| We offer 2 different album options (Traditional or Luxury), their price vary according to the number of sheets and style. | |
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| ALBUM | # sheets | Size | bidding | colors | mounting | # pictures | display | printing |
| Traditional | 10-30 | 8 " x 11” | linen | black, red,white | glued | 10-60 | 1 photo per page | prints inside a polypropylene* sheet protectors |
| Luxury | 20-60 | many | leather | any | sewed | 80 - 180 | collage printing | embedded on sheet |
arielphotographer@mac.com
:: Tel in cabo 011 52 624 144 6278 :: Skype US Phone 1516 8742839 |
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| ©
Ariel Campos, Cabos San Lucas photographer - bio- |