Frequently Asked Questions:
If an answer to your question is not here feel free to contact me.
1. Why Choose Heather Garland Photography instead of your local studio photographer (Walmart, K-mart, etc.)?
http://www.professionalchildphotographer.com/information/
They are only interested in getting you in and out , usually doing three shots. Their pricing may be cheaper if you choose their packages but most likely are more expensive when you go with the a-la-cart and get the prints you actually want. I will give you lots of shots that show your personality, not something identical to everyone in that was front of you. I will give you the prints you want without charging you a fortune if you do not chose my packages. My packages are just there for your convenience.
2. What does editing mean? Do you edit all of my photos? Can I get the unedited photos? Can I edit my own photos?
This is a huge question from most people. “Can I have your unedited photos?” The answer is very kindly, no. This may seem harsh but a huge part of the image process and the art of photography is the work you do in the darkroom or the digital darkroom, aka Photoshop or Lightroom. The reasoning of this is because I always shoot in Raw, meaning I edit before it even becomes a JPG, which is what you see everyday on the internet. I do however, only do the Raw edits (basic lightening, vital edits that would distract from the photo) before proofing. This is also a common question, “Why are all my images not fully edited?” This is because this could take months if I am dealing with a wedding. I do edit all the photos you want printed, or all the digital negative files you want to buy. However, low resolution CDs only include the proof edits and any prints you bought will be fully-edited on the CD.
An example to help you understand is here:
3. How long does it take to do formals? How many formals can I get? What kind of formals do you do? Can I have portraits with just my husband? Do you do untraditional shots? Are you traditional?
This is a common problem I see in weddings that I photograph. Not enough time for wedding formals and too many formals that are not that useful. This may seem strange, but in a Wedding Album you might include the full family formal and MAYBE two more at most, yet you took 55 others and you did not leave time for couples portraits. Now we have a very blank album with photos that all look the same. This also is not my style. My style is a fun, fresh style and I like fun portraits.
I also think these kinds of portraits are much more memorable, meaningful, and show my clients personality better. Thus for formals I only do a full family portrait, bride with her whole family, groom with his whole family, bride with parents, and groom with parents. This includes everyone at lease once, and should only take around 30 minutes. Then I ask for one hour to do fun bridesmaids & groomsmens shots and then move to the portraits of the bride and groom. If you would like other photos please contact me for pricing.
4. Can I get the photos on a cd? Can I print my own photos? How much does it cost to get my photos on a cd?
This is a VERY common question I get, probably the most common. Can we get all the files on a CD? The answer to this is 3 fold. Yes, you may get a watermarked image of your choice to display online. These are not to be printed. These are to be shown to friends and family, posted on facebook, etc. Second is yes, you may buy the full-resolution files with a print release for $200/whole portrait CD or $500/whole wedding. I have to set a per image price because each session has a different number of photos, and this means I have to edit every single image for you which can take hours. I include a full resolution DVD of all the weddings images with my wedding pricing.
5. What in the world is a Trash the Dress or Day After Session? Is it something I would want?
You might see in my Wedding Sessions, I offer Day After or Trash the Dress (TTD) Sessions, AND you might be wondering “What in the WORLD is that? I have NEVER heard of that before!” This is a new trend, that I quite like. It is a time after the Wedding, after the honeymoon, after the stress, to put back on the wedding dress and your tux (or even slide on shorts and t-shirt!) and take some fun, relaxed pictures!
Day After Session:
This is a very relaxed session where the bride and groom come and get the portraits that they might have missed or not had time for on the wedding day. Now married they have the chance to have a much more intimate and romantic session together. OR you might not have had an engagement session and want some casual pictures with your new hubby.
Trash the Dress:
This is a session where you slip back on the wedding dress and can be with either the bride & groom, or just the bride. Although it says TRASH, you can take this to whatever extent you want. You might just want to lay in the grass, while others might want to roll in the mud. The basics of this session is that the bride does something in her dress she would not normally do. Whether you want to ride a tractor, go four-wheeling, go to a run down mill, or jump in a pool, the limits of your creativity are boundless, I am here to give you a fun, new way to have memories of your wedding day.
6. Where are you located? Will you travel? How much does that cost?
I am located in both Belmont, NC and Greenville, NC. I will be in Belmont, NC all summers and December & January and Greenville, NC the rest of the year. However you might want to check with me because I could be traveling in between them and you might catch me at one of those times.
To answer the traveling question, I do travel throughout all of NC and also outside there if you would like to book a destination wedding. Please contact me for travel fees.
7. Are the wedding packages flexible? Can I switch things around? What if I want to make my own?
Yes, somewhat. Some parts of my package are discounted so you will not get full a-la-carte value. Let me know if you would like to substitute something and I can see if it is possible. My wedding packages are designed to (hopefully) accommodate the majority of the client’s needs. If my packages do not suit your wedding, please feel free to contact me and I would be more than happy to design you a custom package!
8. What are the difference between all your albums? Why does one cost so much more than the other?
Flush-mount Wedding Albums-
These are the best quality albums as they have 2mm pages and are very study and heavy duty. These will last you a lifetime of memories and are available to purchase with product credit. They include a basic cover in the price, however, there are a lot of color upgrades. Please contact me for details. There are also cover imprinting options, dual leather covers, and cameos, available for upgrade. What is a cameo? It is a place in the cover cut out with a photo in it.
Coffee Table Books-
These include a basic cover, but can be upgraded to most leather colors. These can be used for wedding, portrait sessions, engagements, etc. These are designed EXACTLY like the flush-mount albums on the inside the only difference is the covers & paper options. Cameos & Dual Leather Option are also offered as upgrades.
Guestbooks-
These are the most reasonable books because they are not designed. They are Coffee Table books and have the limited cover and paper options, the price difference is because it is simply one photo per spread with a black page beside it for people to sign. If you would like a nicely designed and layed out guestbook please order one of the basic or coffee table albums.
9. What are included in Wedding albums? How much can I put in them? What do you mean by design and why do they cost so much?
I know albums are not as popular in this area and a lot of time I get blank stares when I try to explain it. I would love to show you my sample album at a consultation.
You can order albums for any session. They have many uses. They work as a photo album to document your children, to remember your senior year, as a wedding album, or a wedding guestbook with your engagement photos or bridal photos. The possibilities are endless and obviously design changes for each occasion. A wedding could be elegant or funky, it is up to the couple. A senior session might be very colorful. A guestbook would leave space blank for signatures and be more simple. I will discuss with each client extensively how they want theirs to turn out.
Another resource I wanted to provide is for wedding clients, is a wedding album layout to give you an idea of what you want in YOUR album. Please note flushmount albums come with 15 spreads (30 pages), and can be upgrade for $50/spread.
The list: (these are listed in spreads, not pages)
1 – Title page – their favorite photo plus their names and wedding date
2 – Engagement session (optional)
3 – More engagement session or bridal session (optional)
4 – Location shot – church, church details, sign with their last name, etc.. set the time/place/etc
5 – Girls getting ready – makeup, hair, laughing
6 – Bridal details – flowers, dress, shoes, garter, etc
7 – Bride getting put in dress
8 – Portraits of bride w/ bridesmaids
9 – Portraits of bride alone
10 – More portrait of bride alone (optional)
11 – Guys getting ready
12 – Guys goofing off in tuxes, waiting for ceremony (optional)
13 – Portraits of groom with groomsmen
14 – Portraits of groom alone
15 – Ring shots
16 – Ceremony details – chapel interior, flowers, programs, guests arriving
17 – Start of ceremony – bride with dad, walking in, groom’s reaction, giving away of bride
18 – Middle of ceremony – vows, unity candle, usually a really wide shot of the whole area
19 – End of ceremony – rings, kiss, exit
20 – Formal family photos (optional)
21 – Portraits of wedding party
22 – Portraits of B&G
23 – More portraits of B&G
24 – Reception details – location, table settings, decor, favors, etc
25 – Entrance and first dance
26 – Father/daughter and mother/son dance
27 – Toasts and cake cutting
28 – Misc. dancing shots
29 – Garter/bouquet toss
30 – Last dance/goodbyes (optional)
31 – Exit (another photo plus my details)
10. What sort of equipment do you use?
Wanting to know what kind of equipment I use? Well here is a list.
- Canon EOS 5D Camera
- Canon EOS 30D Camera
- Canon 85mm f/1.8
- Canon 50mm f/1.4
- Canon 50mm f/1.8
- Canon 28mm f/1.8
- Canon 24-70mm f/2.8 L
- Sigma 17-70mm f/2.8-4.5
- Sigma 70-300mm f/4-5.6
- Canon 580EX II Flash (2)
- Over 20gb of Compact Memory Flash cards
- Extra batteries for our camera bodies, AA batteries, and the chargers for all of them – just in case
- I also have a Canon AE-1 if you would prefer the look of film in your images with a variety of lenses. Contact if you are interested.
I hope this clears up some major questions you might have. Thank you and feel free to contact me with anything else.
