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Proud pup mom, type A creative, lover of the outdoors, Top Chef fan girl, and wedding and portrait photographer. Welcome to the blog!
HI, I'M RACHEL!
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micro WEDDINGS
elopements
Welcome to the last post in my series on your wedding photography investment. This installment kind of addresses a pretty common sense piece of information, but it’s important nonetheless! And that’s to consider the tangible takeaways you’re getting when you book your wedding photography / photographer.
There are different types of photographers and it’s important to match your needs, wants, and expectations with the photographer you hire. I’m actually going to be doing a Facebook Live on this topic this afternoon, so be sure to tune in for that at 4:00 at this link: {click here} But for this post I’m going to focus on what tangible takeaways can be provided to you by your wedding photographer. My goal is to lay these options out for you so you know what to consider and ask about when making your wedding photography investment. Because at the end of the day, you should be receiving some type of tangible takeaway from your wedding photographer.
Lots of photographers will give gifts or surprises to their clients (yay!), which are obviously considered tangible takeaways, but for the purpose of this post, I’m just going discuss the tangible takeaways you know about and sign up for when booking your wedding photography.
Digital Files Through Online Gallery Only
Ooh there is so much to talk about just within this category!
Like I said, there are different types of photographers. I classify myself as a ‘shoot-and-share’ photographer, which means I provide whatever I shoot, minus the test shots, duplicates, any blurred or out of focus images, or any pics where people are making a weird face or are caught talking mid-sentence. I deliver, on average, 100 digital files per hour of shooting. I deliver digital files, all lightly edited, in an online gallery where you can view, download, and print those images. This is pretty standard for ‘shoot-and-share’ photographers, so your tangible takeaway here are the hundreds of digital files from your wedding day that you have print and share rights to.
Some photographers will ask you to select the images you want edited, within certain parameters (like, you can choose 100 photos), and then they will only deliver those images. But you will still get those digital files as the tangible takeaways with your wedding photography package.
Prints
Some photographers will only provide prints of your wedding images; no digital files are included or the digital files cost extra. They will sit with you in person to select which images you want prints made of and they will personally order the prints for you or print them themselves.
Other photographers will provide a certain number of prints along with the digital files.
And even other photographers (like me) will allow you to order prints yourself from a professional / premium quality print shop they have personally vetted and that is connected to your online gallery of images.
Thumb Drives with Digital Files
If your photographer delivers digital files, sometimes they will include a thumb drive or CD with the image files. If that is important to you, definitely ask your photographer if they provide that or an online gallery, or both.
Wedding Album / Book
There are quite a few options offered out there for this as well!
If a photographer offers this as part of their package, there are a couple ways they will do it. A photographer will either work with you to choose the images you want included in the album or they will create the album on their own using their own creative eye.
And of course there are many options for the actual style of the album/ book and usually a photographer will have a selection for you to choose from. Some include leather-bound options, some are hard cover books. It all depends on what your photographer offers, so be sure to ask to see samples and to know what options are offered as far as the physical album/book.
Sometimes the album or book will be included in the price of the wedding package and sometimes it’s an add-on item, so be sure to ask about that as well.
Styling and Coordination: Elizabeth Carberry
Photography and Planning: Rachel E. H. Photography
Florals: Eight Tree Street
Place settings & chair rentals: DC Rental
Cake: Soul Cakes by Tanya
Calligraphy: Alchemy Calligraphy and Design
Bridal Gown: Fabulous Frocks
Bridal Rings & diamond tennis bracelet: Ascot Diamonds
Bridal Earrings: Kimberly Ross of India Hicks
Hair: Cutting Edge by Mora
Makeup: Janet Kiel, Mary Kay
Makeup Artist: Kim Damico
Personal Assistant Services: Rebecca Ruest of My Personal Assistant
Camera accessories rentals: DC Camera Rentals
HELLO@RACHELEHPHOTOGRAPHY.COM
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Rachel is a wedding and portrait photographer
Serving brilliant, elegant couples in Washington D.C. + Beyond
Copyright 2022 Rachel E.H. Photography | Website by Alex Collier Design
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