How long have you been a photographer? When did you start shooting weddings? We’ve been full-time professional photographers for the last 12 years. We started shooting weddings together 4 years ago.
What is your photography style? We would characterize our style as “classic” and “organic”. We avoid editing trends that tend to change every few years. Sepia tone, anyone?!?! We want your images to look great 50 years from now. We specialize in more candid feeling images, but do set up a number of photos being careful to keep you looking natural. We’ve been told that we are really good about keeping things light and always work with you to feel comfortable in front of the lens. The majority of the time we focus on capturing the moments as they unfold. It’s your day to enjoy with family and friends; it’s our job to document the energy and emotion.
Where are you located? We are proud to be based out of Roswell, GA, a suburb of Atlanta. We’re also available for travel.
How much do your services cost? Six hours of day of coverage starts at $3,000; Package options include additional photographers, albums, pre-sessions such as a bridal or engagement session and start at $4,000. We also have a la carte options. We are happy to customize our offerings to fit your needs.
Can we meet you in person to see if you might be the right photographer for our day? Yes, we love meeting new people and we’d be happy to get together to learn more about your wedding plans and answer any questions you might have.
What if we’re from out of town and can’t physically meet you? Some of our clients are planning a wedding from afar, and an in person meeting isn’t feasible. We are happy to have a conversation via phone or Skype.
Do you do engagement photos and what’s the advantage to having them done? An engagement session is your chance to spend a few hours with your beau giving each other long looks and kisses. Let’s face it, on your wedding day you’re going to have that one quick kiss before you start celebrating with all of your loved ones. Our couples love the chance to walk around hand in hand capturing the spirit of their bond. Some couples use the images for their save-the-dates or a signing book at the wedding. Our couples tell us that this session makes them comfortable in front of the camera on their wedding day.
We’re curious, how does the booking process work? We will fill out a wedding contract online and both sign and keep a copy. A 33% retainer reserves your date.
Can you hold our date for a couple weeks? Unfortunately the only fair way we’ve found is to give dibs to the couple that puts down their retainer first. In some cases we can hold a date for a couple days.
What forms of payment do you accept? We accept cash, check, credit cards or money order.
How about bridal sessions? A bridal session is your chance to have a dress rehearsal for the big day. It also gives you the opportunity to relish in your carefully selected bridal attire for one more day. During a bridal session we will spend up to two and a half hours with you at the locations of your choice capturing the spirit of your dress. On the big day, you’ll have a short window to get your family portraits, couple photos and pictures of just you. Brides that have a bridal session tend to feel more at ease in their bridal duds the day of the ceremony, and they tend to have less anxiety about hair and makeup after they have gone through the process once before.
I’m getting married out of the country… would you consider doing my wedding? How does that work? We have a current passport and am ready to travel. We would work out the details as far as travel compensation.
Who will be the photographer on the day of my wedding? Martine Beher and/or Vania Stoyanova will typically be your lead photographer. We also have associate photographers available. If that is the case, you will meet with them and myself from the beginning and be comfortable with them. There will also be an experienced second photographer present, if included in your package, and an assistant.
Who will your second photographer be on my wedding day? Either Vania or Martine or one of our lead photographers will be my second the day of the wedding. They have specific experience photographing weddings.
How many hours will you be at my wedding taking pictures? Our packages start with 7 hours of continuous wedding day coverage. Additional hours may be added. We recommend starting your coverage about an hour and a half before your ceremony time.
How many photos will you take at my wedding? Most of our 7 hour weddings yield 750+ final images.
What type of editing do you do? Are “touch-ups” included? Absolutely, touch-ups are included as part of all my packages. We carefully examine each and every photo. The images are then cropped, rotated, color-balanced, polished, and made to look their best. We spend a lot of time on the back end working with your images. We love happy brides who love how they look in their photos.
Can we have a list of references so we can speak with some of your former clients? Yes, definitely. Upon request, we would be happy to provide you with a list of my former clients that you can speak with regarding their experience working with Love & Story Collective. You can also check out what past clients are saying on our Wedding wire or The Knotreviews page.
How long after the wedding will I get to see my photos? There is a lot that goes on behind the scenes in the digital darkroom. Therefore, turnaround on wedding photos is usually about 6 weeks, but can take longer in the busier seasons. We will certainly keep you in the loop.
Will there be an online gallery for sharing my wedding photos via social media or with friends and family? Yes
We really want our wedding images on a USB drive, do we get that? Yes! All our packages currently include the high resolution image files on USB drive with a limited non-commercial print release so you and your family can share the photos online and make your own prints and enlargements.
Can guests order prints from you? We don’t want to field all those requests from friends and family. Your images will be posted to an online gallery. There is a simple option where people can order prints and have them mailed to their door if you share this gallery link with them.
Do I get the copyright to my wedding pictures? The photographer retains the “copyright” to all the photos, but you will have the right to print the images, make copies, and share them online. You’re covered for everything you’d want to do with the images.
If my package includes an USB of edited photos and a print release, why would I order prints directly from you? Of course you can take your disc to the corner drugstore or giant box store and print out some photos and have those back in an hour. That’s fine for smaller photos if you just want to send one of your guests a candid snapshot. We actually recommend that approach. But, if you plan on printing anything 8×10 or larger and want to ensure the highest quality for your prints, you may want to consider ordering through me. We work with a professional print lab that goes the extra mile to ensure the highest quality standards.
Is a wedding album included? Some of my packages include an album and some don’t. We have a graphic design background and we would be happy to help design the perfect album for you. There are several different sizes and design types and all the albums are flush mount style. Some of my brides are graphic designers or scrapbookers and they would prefer to create something of their own so we don‘t require the purchase of an album. If you have an amazing project you’d like to create with your images on Usb, go for it! We’d love to see the finished product.
If I decide I want an album, when will I receive it? We will include an album order form with your use. Once you have selected the images you’d like in the album and have returned the order form to us, the design phase can take up to 6 weeks. Once we have posted the design online and have received final approval from you, you will receive the album in approximately 2 weeks.
How are my photos stored? Are they safe? The moment we leave your wedding and get back to base camp we make multiple copies of your image files. One set is stored off site in. One copy stays online on cloud storage for up to one year, and one copy goes onto an external hard drive where it will live forever. As you can see we’re really serious about backing up and protecting your images. We understand that your wedding day will only happen once, so we take every precaution.
What happens if there’s a major emergency on my wedding day and you can’t be there? Part of being a professional involves having a backup plan. Granted, in the many years that we’ve been photographing weddings, we have never been late nor missed one. That being said, we never know what life might throw at us. If something were to happen (knock on wood and cross fingers and toes), we have a strong network of trusted professional photographers that we could turn to to help fill in and take care of you on your wedding day.
I’m trying to figure out my scheduling for the day of…how long does it usually take for the formal photographs? When will you do the artistic bride and groom photos? The length of time to do the formal photos depends on the number of guests, how large your families are, and the size of your bridal party. On average, the formals take about an hour. But try to factor in a little cushion if you can because most weddings don’t start right on time. Also, remember that you will most likely want to have some nice artistic bride and groom photos too. We are willing to work on those photos as long as you like. That’s our favorite part! When we do them depends if you are doing a first look or not as part of your wedding day.
What kind of equipment do you use at weddings? We are constantly adding to our array of photo gear. Currently we use Canon 5D series cameras. We have an assortment of ultra-wide to telephoto prime lenses, external flashes, tripods, and strobes with light stands. we also bring extra memory cards, batteries and backup gear. We also have a few other pieces of miscellaneous gear, but that’s mostly photographer nerd speak.
How do you dress on the wedding day? The only reason I’m asking is because one of my friends had a photographer show up to her Catholic wedding in jeans… We dress professionally with slacks, and our goal is to blend in with the crowd. How else are we supposed to get all those great candid shots?!
Obviously we’re new to this whole wedding thing…do you have any advice from a photography standpoint? Light is a photographer’s best friend. If you possibly can, try to schedule your ceremony during daylight hours and leave a little time afterwards for bride and groom photos before the sun disappears behind the horizon. It’s common photography knowledge that the last hour of light is the most flattering for portraits. If for some reason you can’t help this situation, we have professional lighting equipment that can help us out. Still, there is no substitute for the sun.
Feel free to contact us with any other questions you might have. It’s our goal to make your day beautiful and meaningful.