Wedding Photography: Services, Pricing & FAQs
Before you get into package & pricing details, I think its important that you are comfortable with my style of work (since each photographer has a distinct style) and also that it meets your expectation.
Please view my wedding portfolio.
You can check out wedding stories which are a series of images from specific weddings.
I strongly recommend you see both so you will get a fair idea on my style of work and various kinds of images I shoot.
Details of standard services
PACKAGES
There are no ready made packages available off the shelf. Every wedding is unique and hence every “package” I offer is customised and tailor made to suit the couple's requirements and expectation. The pricing depends on a variety of factors - how many events I am shooting, where the events are, how many hours of work it is for me, what formats are the images delivered in, etc. If you would like your wedding photographed, please send me a message mentioning your requirements & I can work out a package for you. To give you an idea weddings start at Rs.1,00,000 and other events at Rs.40,000/-.
EVENTS COVERED
I am available to shoot all the events of your wedding including the engagement, pre-wedding couple shoot, mehndi, sangeet, reception, muhurtham, post-wedding couple shoot and so on.
WHAT YOU GET
PhotoBook- A premium quality large size album/photobook containing images of your choice. The standard size of the book is between 10”X14” to 12"X15" and contains between 50-70 pages. This can be customised if there are too many or too less pictures/pages. Here's what a book looks like.
Digital files of images (jpegs) - All the images will be colour corrected & professionally edited. You will get two sets of the same images. One set of high-resolution images that are colour profiled to suit a professional printing lab and ready to print at your convenience. Another set of the same images that are optimized for web viewing. i.e. suitable for onscreen viewing, uploading in social media and emailing to friends & relatives. These images are lot lighter, of small dimensions and colour profiled to look best on a LED screen.
The high resolution and low resolution images will be available for digital download on a cloud server.
Web Album - I will host a private & password protected web album containing your images for a period of 3 months (No additional cost).
At an extra cost, canvas prints and framed prints of your favourite images are also available.
ASK QUESTIONS
I'm sure you have a lot of things running in your head by now. To ease it out a bit, I have a list of standard questions (that a lot of couples ask me) already answered. Please read the FAQ’s below page and if you have any further questions, you can reach me via this contact form.
How do you explain your style of photography? What do you mean by "candid photography"?
There are several styles of wedding photography - "candid", "contemporary", "artistic", "glamorous", "documentary" etc. I don't specifically limit myself to only one of these. The pictures I shoot typically contain elements from most of these styles.
My primary objective is to bring together a story in pictures that takes you back to your wedding day when you see them even after a couple of decades. You should be able to relive every moment of the wedding and for that, the pictures have to be as close as possible to reality, to what you saw on your wedding day, to what you & your families experienced. All this with a touch of style and art.
The style of images will also partly depend on your particular taste & preference. Some like it more glamorous, some like expressions more, some like a more documentary feel to the images, etc.
I shoot unobtrusively 99% of the time. This way I get to photograph real emotions and true love. However I will follow you around closer than your shadow that beyond a point you will cease to notice my presence ;-) There may be a couple of pictures here and there where I will ask you to pose for me (as a couple or alone) in a way that is natural to you (no weird forced poses).
What all do you shoot at a wedding?
This is probably the most standard as well as important question.
Cutting the long story short - I shot everything at your wedding that will be part of or complete the story of your love, celebrations and wedding day experience.
Keeping it long - I start with shooting the preparation. I understand how painful the planning and preparatory work is, so I believe there is need to document the hard work that goes behind the scenes. The bride & groom getting ready, the priests preparing for the poojas, the flowers being decked up etc. Then I shoot most of rituals & ceremonies. I shoot a lot of emotions/expressions & interaction of the couple (among themselves and also among their families & friends). I shoot most people who are actively involved in the wedding(mostly naturally at work/having fun), their quirkiness & the humour around the celebrations. The main focus is on bride/groom and what they do. Next come their immediate family and friends. I shoot the smallest detail right from the engraving on the wedding band to portraits of the horse in the baarath.
In order to put together a story that is closest to reality but still has an element of style and art, I shoot a wide range of subjects/activities/emotions/people that basically form & complete the love story of your wedding.
Here's what I don't shoot - Guests standing in a line one group after another flashing a fully fake smile for the picture. Photos of guests handing over gifts to the couple and photos of the dining room/people eating.
Does my wedding need candid/contemporary photography?
Ask yourself these 3 questions first
Are good quality wedding pictures important to you?
Do you want to preserve the memories of the best time/day of your life?
Do you want pictures that have captured the real love and emotions in the wedding celebrations rather than boring old time group pictures with everyone's fake smiles?
If you have answered yes to any of the above, then you might want to take a closer look at what candid/contemporary photography has to offer.
In a nut shell, I aim to create a story in pictures that are as close as possible to reality and to what your family experienced on your big day. This is of course a lot different from the traditional approach that has been followed for many decades at Indian weddings. This is a highly specialised form of photography that combines technology and art to preserve your best memories for a lifetime.
Are you specific about the types of weddings you shoot?
I am open to shoot any wedding. It doesn't matter how much you spend on your wedding celebrations or how big/fancy your wedding is going to be. Right from weddings attended only by the bride/groom's families at a private beach to weddings at home to weddings at public auditoriums with tens of thousands of guests, I shoot all kinds of weddings of varying budgets. My main intent is not only to capture the grandeur of the event, but to capture the experience of the couple and their families.
How much do you charge?
There are no fixed packages. I strongly believe that every wedding is unique and every couple have specific requirements. Based on the total number of days of work, the duration of the work, the complexity of the work and what the required deliverables are I will work out a pricing. Prices start at Rs.60,000/-. A typical wedding can cost anything between Rs.1,25,000 to Rs.2,75,000/- depending the events, duration of work and the album requirements.
Do you travel outside to shoot? And if yes, do you charge more?
Of course I do. I am willing to travel to any location in India and outside to shoot your wedding. My core photography charges remain unchanged. Depending on where the wedding is, I may ask you to take care of my travel and accommodation.
I like your style of work and I'd like you to shoot my wedding, how do I go about it?
Send me a message with complete details of your wedding. Include the date, detail of events, venue etc. If I am available to shoot your wedding, I will send you the pricing information and we can plan to meet in person or over phone. I can answer any queries you may have. Once you have chosen me to shoot your wedding I take an advance of 50% to block my dates. The sooner you write in the earlier. Usually atleast 3-4 months in advance helps.
What are your standard deliverables?
Most of my clients get the following:
Digital files ( over the cloud) of images from the events - All the images delivered are professionally edited & corrected. You will get two sets of the same images. One set of high-resolution images that are colour profiled to suit a professional printing lab and ready to print at your convenience. Another set of the same images that are optimized for web viewing. i.e. suitable for onscreen viewing, uploading in s and emailing social media friends & relatives. These images are lot lighter, of small dimensions and colour profiled to look best on a computer monitor.
A printed Photobook - A premium quality large size photobook (AKA a coffee table book or an album) containing images of your choice. The standard size of the book is 12″X15″ or 10”X14” but can be customized if there are too many or too less pictures/pages. Here’s what a book looks like.
A web album - A web album containing images of your choice for a period of three months on my web server. The image gallery is not public & will be available only to those who you share the link with.
In addition to these I offer canvas prints, photo prints (with or without frames), additional coffee table books, posters etc at additional costs.
I am having a 3 day wedding, on what all days should I hire you?
One of the most common questions I get - "The wedding day is going to be a grand event (with 2000+ guests), the other days are not so grand we will have the events at home or a hotel (only close family, < 100 guests). So I'm not sure if it makes sense to hire you for all days or the wedding day alone."
As I mentioned earlier, my primary objective is to create a complete story of your wedding celebrations. If there are events that I don't shoot, there may be some aspects of the story that are missing. Based on whether this affects the completeness of the story, you need to decide how many days to hire me.
In an ideal scenario, if your entire wedding celebrations are covered, you'd definitely have the best set of images. Incase that is not within your budget, then prioritise. The wedding ceremony/muhurth has top priority (because of its importance). These should be followed by events where you will have most fun & are close to your heart. Usually smaller events with close family and friends are where you can get the most candid pictures. Since it is a closed group where everyone is very comfortable with each other, the couple will be themselves and least stressed out. So this will create ample photo opportunities. At a wedding reception for example, you may not be as calm & collected as in your sangeet. So you are bound to have a lot of fun at the Sangeet and also you have always have the company of your closest friends & family. Although a couple shoot is last in most people's priority, its the occasion where as a couple, you will be most comfortable with each other & stress free. In almost all cases, it's from the couple shoot that the couple have their favourite pictures. In this manner, prioritise the events and then see which all you want to skip.
How long do you typically take to deliver the images?
I ask for 8 weeks on paper. Most of the time, I manage to get the pictures ready in under 2-3 weeks. On rare occasions I've taken longer also (maybe 4-6 weeks). Since each image is worked upon individually to edit/correct, depending on the complexity of the light/subjects editing time varies. Usually you will get a preview set in 2 weeks and the complete set in 2-3 weeks. There is no way I can give you pictures in a couple of days or any snapshots/raw files/unprocessed photos etc. All the images will be edited & only after a thorough quality check will they be delivered to you. I don't believe in sharing incomplete work.
What is the payment schedule like?
I take 50% on confirmation to block my date and the remaining on or before the wedding day. Please note that as a policy, I will deliver your images only on realisation of full payment. I hate sending followups for payments. Lets do this as professionally as possible. Make the payment & take the pictures.
What is your cancellation/refund policy?
I'll try and make this as simple as possible for both of us. Since I've blocked my dates for you and have rejected all other assignment requests I got for the same dates, wont be able to outright give you a refund. But after you cancelled out, if I get an assignment for the same dates, I am more than happy to refund all or some of your money (depending on the value of the assignment).
How owns copyright to the images & will you use my images anywhere?
As per copyright laws, the copyright of the image belongs to the creator (in this case the photographer). however since this is a paid assignment, as a client you have full usage rights to the images (mentioning photographer credit where applicable).
I will use the images only on my portfolio and my own branding (websites, social media etc. The images will not be sold to anyone or used in any commercial projects.
Got any more questions?
Send me a message or call me (98848.RAHUL). I'm more than happy to answer your queries.