Frequently Asked Questions
__________________________________________________________________________________________ How many years experience have you had? I have 27 years experience as a professional photographer. How many weddings have you photographed? Approximately 400 to 450. Have you had any formal training? I am a qualified Associate Member of the New Zealand Institute of Professional Photography and won many awards over the years. May we see your portfolio? You can see a selection of wedding photos on my website at www.tim.co.nz in the wedding section. There are also several wedding galleries that can be viewed as well as designs of Coffeetable Books. I also have a big selection of Coffeetable Books, Albums, DVD Slideshows and Framed Prints available for viewing in my studio. How far in advance must we make a booking? I get bookings 1-2 years in advance, so the earlier booking the better to secure your date. Do you have another job on our proposed day? I usually don’t do other jobs on a day I have a wedding booked, certainly no other wedding. What are your criteria for choosing what you photograph at a wedding? I meet with each couple before the big day to discuss how I usually go about capturing your big day. We will discuss also what your expectations and wishes are so you have a complete record of your day and any locations that you might want to go to for photography. Are you available before and after the ceremony, at my home and at the reception? I offer different package options . Additional photography can be booked and it will be discussed with you prior to your wedding day what your priorities are. Have you previously worked at our ceremony and reception sites? I have pretty much covered all ceremony and receptions sites in Hawke’s Bay over the years as well as quite a few nationally and internationally. Should your wedding be at a location where I haven’t worked before I will check photography locations beforehand. Do you have a list of different locations that may be suitable for our bridal party photos? Yes – I have a very good local knowledge of Hawke’s Bay and I will discuss options and possibilities prior to your wedding day with you. How are your charges? Please refer to my pricelist for different package options. Do you have back up equipment if something goes wrong? Yes I always have a backup camera with me as well as a wide range of photography equipment. 1|Page-Tim Whittaker Photography Ltd.
Frequently Asked Questions
__________________________________________________________________________________________ Will there be an assistant? No I don’t work with an assistant. I have found over the years, that this is just a distraction and not necessary. The day should be about you and I try to stay in the background as much as possible so you can enjoy yourselves without being hassled by too many people. Are there any extra costs? Not usually unless your venue is out of Hawke’s Bay or overseas I will have to charge travel expenses. But this can be discussed well in advance - there are usually no surprises. There might be extra costs occurring later on if you decide to upgrade on your products or add more pages to a book or album, but the pricing is very clear in my pricelist. What is you payment and cancellation policy? I require a $500 non-refundable deposit and a signed contract to fix your booking. The balance o the payment is due 1 week prior to your wedding day. For overseas weddings I require a higher deposit - $400 to secure the booking plus the travel costs in advance. On average, how long does it take for the online gallery and the pictures to be ready? We put up a sneak preview of a few selected images on our facebook page within 1-2 weeks of your wedding day. The online gallery is usually up at the same time. Your wedding package should be ready within 4 weeks. Books and Albums will take longer to print and/or assemble and depending on the approval process and if it is high season. This can take up to 3 months from your wedding date. Do you take photos with a digital or film camera? I use digital equipment. Do you take some black and white images too? You will receive a selection of black and white images as well as colour images. Colour images can be converted to black and white images, so if you have special requests regarding colouring or retouching that is not a problem. What happens if it rains? I monitor the weather forecast very closely prior to the wedding and on the day and have bad weather options / locations available in Hawke’s Bay. On locations outside of Hawke’s Bay and overseas I always check prior to the wedding for alternative locations in case of rainy/stormy conditions. I have pretty much covered all weather conditions and always managed to get good selection of images. The most important thing is that you keep your spirits up and enjoy your day despite the rain .
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Frequently Asked Questions
__________________________________________________________________________________________ What happens if you get sick? I have never missed a single wedding and hope it’s never going to happen. But if it does we have a very good network of professional NZIPP qualified wedding photographers in Hawke’s Bay. Should there be an accident or emergency situation, I will most certainly help to find a good backup photographer. Can family and guests order enlargements from your website? Yes they can order from your online gallery and you can refer them to us, so you don’t have to deal with this after your wedding. What quality are your Books and Albums? I am aware that a Book or Album is going to be a memory that you want to last for a very long time. So I use only quality products. Our Coffeetable Books are handbound and printed in New Zealand. This is more contemporary version of a traditional album and allows more flexibility in the design options. There are different quality papers available – please refer to our pricelist. Our supplier has won numerous awards for excellence in printing. Our Albums are from the finest New Zealand Album maker. They sell their products worldwide – Queensberry. Those albums are handmade and assembled in New Zealand and look just stunning. Their quality is outstanding and they can be passed on for generations. They are quite costly, but it is a good investment! We have samples of all products available for viewing in our studio.
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