FAQ
Wedding Photography
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes. Absolutely! I photograph all weddings personally.
Please see the next question "How much do you charge" for details.
You can also see full package details here.
There are 4 packages.
3 packages include albums and parents albums and these range from £1900 to £2200.
The Create Your Own Album package is £1500, which includes all images in high resolution, so you can create your own album.
All packages include my attendance from bridal preparations to first dance. See package details here.
I am also happy to quote for a longer or shorter coverage.
Travel further afield will incur additional cost and where necessary, accommodation is charged at cost.
I require a deposit of 25%, by bank transfer. As soon as this is received, I will confirm your booking by email.
You can visit me at my home in Stevenage, or we can arrange a Zoom meeting.
Images are available to view in an online gallery.
The Platinum and Create Your Own Album packages include all images supplied as fullsize, high resolution jpegs, via Google Drive. You have licence to print, copy and share and these can be printed at large sizes.
Sorry, no. Until a booking is confirmed, by payment of a deposit, the booking does not exist. I will accept the first booking that pays the deposit.
Yes, all packages include a pre-wedding shoot! This gives us an opportunity to get to know each other and provides you with some great images. One image is included as a fullsize, high resolution jpeg that you can use as you wish. Many couples use this on orders of service, or menus.
I really recommend that you do. It will give us both a chance to get to know each other better, which in my experience, leads to better photos on the wedding day. It also gets you used to being photographed by a professional. Many couples have also told me that they felt more confident and relaxed about their photos, as they had been pleased with the pre-wedding photo shoot.
This can be scheduled at a time to suit you. It’s often arranged to take place a few months prior to your wedding, but the timing is up to you.
I live in Stevenage and normally shoot in Fairlands Valley Park, Stevenage. If you live outside the area and wish to arrange this shoot in another area, we can discuss this, but there would be an additional cost, depending on distance.
That’s up to you. They are your photos and they should be what you want. We will discuss your photography in detail nearer to the wedding and that’s an opportunity for you to tell me what you do and don’t want. Usually couples want a mixture; they want some posed shots, to take advantage of great settings and light, but they also want natural, candid shots, which I will take throughout the day.
That’s what most couples want, but it may not be what you want. If your preferences are for very few traditional shots, that’s fine with me. On the other hand if you want lots of them, that’s also fine.
A pre-wedding shoot is included in all packages and I recommend you take advantage of this. For the very best photos, I believe couples should be photographed prior to their wedding by their photographer. See the pre-wedding shoot page for more information and photos.
How long is a piece of string? My focus on the day is to provide you with the best set of images possible, so I take an unlimited number of photos.
For weddings where I attend from bridal preparations to first dance, over eight hours, it's usually 400-700 images, but this can vary from wedding to wedding, depending on weather, events and how much time the bride and groom wish to spend on photography and what photos are requested.
Yes, absolutely!
All images are taken in colour, which also allows higher quality black & white images. Even if I was taking an photo that I only wanted in black and white, I would take it in colour. This gives so many more options, through the use of image editing in Lightroom and Photoshop, both of which I'm an expert in and teach other photographers.
I personally edit all images to achieve optimum brightness, colour and contrast, but this does not include retouching.
However you can have retouching or any other editing you wish, at extra cost. I have been using Photoshop since 1992 and Lightroom since 2007 (when they launched). I taught Photoshop at the local college for 12 years, so I can pretty much do anything with an image that you wish.
I had clients recently who were seriously let down by their photographer and they commissioned me to edit their images. Editing included removing vacuum cleaners, people, drinking glasses and even the photographers own bag (yes, really!), from images. Inexplicably the photographer didn’t take any shots of the couple in front of their fabulous venue (and in beautiful weather), so I also added the couple into images of their reception and added shadows for a realistic result. The couple were so happy with the results that they sent me a case of wine!
Travel is included up to an hour’s drive time from Stevenage. Beyond that, there will be an additional mileage charge and I will be happy to quote you.
I’m happy to travel within Europe. For weddings that are further afield, flights, accommodation and car hire may be required and these would be charged at cost, or you can book them. There would also be an additional fee for the extra time involved and I will quote this on an individual basis.
Photos are usually ready to view within a week. Orders for albums take around four weeks.
The good news is that, even in this country, it’s very rare when it rains all day, so there are usually times when you can take photos outside without the rain. I stay with you until first dance, there may be other times to take photos.
On those very rare times when it rains, you can still get great photos, either
incorporating umbrella’s, or taking photos under shelter or indoors.
While sunshine might be the ideal backdrop for a wedding, rain can actually create a
magical and unique atmosphere for your special day, as it did for Ellen and Peter at Tewin Bury Farm. See Ellen & Peter's wedding here. It rained for much of the day, but they didn’t let that dampen their spirits.
Ellen said in her testimonial;
"We were so pleased with our photos, our wedding was very rainy but Glen worked with that and got some fantastic shots, in fact he used it to his advantage & got some cracking shots of us under umbrellas and dashing in the rain. Many magic moments were captured, both posed & candid."
Click here to see Ellen's full testimonial
I have photographed weddings in all conditions at many different venues and I will use my experience to take your photos in the best available situation, be it inside at the ceremony or reception. An inexperienced photographer may be able to take reasonable images on a beautiful day, at a great location, but it’s quite different to produce high quality images on a wet day
I’ve actually been asked this several times. For one bride it was her first question, because several other photographers had immediately rejected her when they heard that both her and her partner were both professional photographers.
I am fully confident in my skills and abilities as a wedding photographer, so it doesn’t bother me. I’ve photographed weddings of professional wedding photographers, commercial photographers and a brides father who was a wedding photographer. These clients were all very happy with their images.
I’ve actually been asked this! I taught photography courses at North Herts College, Stevenage for 12 years and I’ve been asked several times by students about photographing their friend’s weddings. On four occasions I’ve offered to photograph the wedding for a reduced fee, because I wanted to support the students. Three times out of the four, their images were very disappointing and in one case, their images were so bad that it would have been a disaster.
Many photographers today think that having a decent camera is enough, but many don’t even possess a basic knowledge of photography and camera settings. Some of my students booked wedding to photograph, but didn't understand photography basics: aperture, shutter speed and ISO.
Even for good photographers, weddings are challenging. I've known many good commercial photographers who declined weddings, as they don't have the skills.
Wedding photography involves dealing with people, working within time constraints, adapting to changing light and weather conditions and sometimes working within challenging environments. To really do it well, in all situations, takes a lot of practice and experience.
I have achieved the standard required for qualification of the MPA, Master Photographers Association and while I paid a subscription, could add letters after my name.
Because I am no longer a member, or pay their subscription, they don't allow me to use the letters after my name.
Yes. Absolutely. EVERY SINGLE ONE. All photos on this site are from real weddings.
This is not a silly question. Some photographers use images they have shot while attending training courses or seminars, where professional models are used and a shot has been set up by the teacher. I believe this is ethically wrong.
When meeting photographers, ask to view albums containing complete sets of photos from a single wedding. This will also give you a better idea of their quality and consistency.
You can view my galleries of wedding photos at lots of different venues here.
Sorry, no. I concentrate on what I do best.
Yes, of course. I've encountered this many times. What we are doing is complementary to each other. In my experience most friends keep fairly low key, so we don't get in each others way.
Again, yes. We are all there to provide you with a good service. I always say hello and most are absolutely great and we get on fine. Most videograhers work in the "fly on the wall" style, so what we are doing doesn't clash at all.
© 2024 Glen Smith