FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS:

How long have you been shooting? Since 2007.

Do you travel across the country or across the world? How much are travel rates?  YES and YES. I love to travel. Shooting in another country is even better! Rates vary, so shoot me a message and we can talk about it! 

How many photos do you deliver, and what is your turnaround time?  I average around 75 photos per hour-- sometimes more, sometimes less. As for turnaround time, for weddings I always say two months, but in in the past four years, nobody waited more than a month, and most received their photos in a week or two! For families, I say two weeks, but it’s usually the next week. I pride myself in fast turnaround times.

Do you offer prints?  You can print your photos through the online gallery your photos are delivered in. You will also be able to download them to your computer and print wherever you want. Just don’t print through Walgreens please! I love www.artifactuprising.com for wall prints!

Do you have insurance and back up equipment?  Yes and yes! Don’t you worry about a thing!

Is it just you? Or do you have assistants? My company is usually just me, but I also have an associate shooter for weddings who steps in when I am unavailable. She has been my second shooter for years, and in 2019 we teamed up! If I can’t be there on your wedding day, you can choose to book her to shoot. She will then give me the photos to sort and edit. We are similar in both personality and style and I trust her wholeheartedly to take beautiful images. Aside from my associate, I have a great team of second shooters if you choose to add that to your package. If not, I’m very used to shooting alone and do most of my weddings this way.

What happens if you get hurt, sick, or (gasp) die and can't shoot the wedding? This is not ideal. I certainly don't want to die before your wedding day, and so far I've never been too sick to shoot, but in the unlikely case that something did happen, rest assured I have a HUGE network of photographers in Chicago. When someone needs our help, we all jump in! In the case of death, I have family members and friends who know the drill and would know the right people to contact to help you find a replacement.  You will be refunded anything you have paid in advance, and charged the new photographers rates (not exceeding what our paid agreement was.) As far as sickness or other issues preventing me from shooting, I have a few go-to people with similar style that I would check with first, and then I would go to Facebook. I would be relentless.

Are you Vaccinated for COVID? Yes indeed.

How much is the deposit?  I take a $700 non-refundable deposit to hold the date. This means that when you book with me, I hold the date and do not take any other weddings for that day. If for some reason you call off the wedding or change the date, or decide you don't want to use me anymore, you cannot get the deposit back. If I am the one that has to cancel for any reason, you will absolutely receive the deposit back, and I will help you find someone to replace me.  Please make sure you read through the contract before booking! 

You say you are a natural light shooter and my wedding won't have a lot of that, will that be a problem?   In short--kinda but not really. I'm primarily an outdoor/natural light photographer. This means I shoot a lot of outdoor weddings, or venue’s with a lot of light. It doesn't however, mean that I don't know HOW to shoot inside. 90% of my receptions are inside and after dark, so I certainly have experience with that. I want to make sure my style fits what you've seen on my website, and most of the things on my website are taken outdoors, or in places with a lot of light. I want to be able to maximize my skill set for your wedding day, and since I don't bring extra lighting equipment outside of a flash, if your wedding is in a dark venue for both ceremony and reception, I may not be the best fit, but lets definitely talk about it! 

When is final payment due? By the time I leave your wedding. You can pay me up to a week beforehand, but as long as I have a check by the time I leave, we are good to go!  

How much editing do you do? I like to keep the images as close to your true self as possible. I have custom filters that I have developed over the years and those will be applied to each photo in a mix of black and white and color, using my best judgment on each.  I don't do any extreme altering of photos. I can remove a blemish or two, but that's as far as I like to go.

Can I have RAW files?  Unfortunately, no. That's like asking an author for the first draft of his novel.  Though I do minimal retouching, there are still things like cropping, and adding customized filters to your photos and without those things in post, I consider the images unfinished. Please be sure you are comfortable with my editing style before booking.

Do you take credit card?  No, but I take Chase Quickpay/zelle, checks and cash. 

TIPS: 

1.) UNPLUG! Please consider an unplugged wedding!  You can just tell your officiant when he first steps up to the mic (BEFORE anyone walks down the aisle) something like this: "We want you to be able to relax and have fun with us today! This in mind, we request that you put down your devices and just be present in the moment with us. We've got photography covered! Thank you!"  (I cut and paste that from the internet but you can google "unplugged wedding wording" and something you might like will come up.) The main reason is to prevent photos like the ones below. Often times people really get in my way and obstruct my view and if that happens, I can't be responsible for missing your kiss because Aunt Kathy decided to take a picture with her ipad at that moment, or someone who is "also a photographer" uses a flash and messes up my lighting. That might not make sense but trust me, it's frustrating, and better for your photos long term since technology really dates them. Also, I will love you forever.   

2.) THE ONLY SHOT LIST YOU NEED: Have a list prepared with the names of people you want for family photos and have someone close to you who knows who the people are help wrangle. This way we can get it done as fast as possible so you can enjoy your cocktail hour or we have more time for photos.