Q: What do you call your style of wedding photography?
A: When describing their work, modern wedding photographers typically use terms like ‘photojournalism’, ‘editorial’, ‘commercial’ and ‘traditional’. The truth is, a single wedding day demands that a photographer be fluent in all of these disciplines. That is the foundation of my approach to every wedding.
I believe in the magic of visual storytelling. Getting married is an exciting start to a grand adventure, and I strive to artistically document all the important moments. When I photograph your wedding, I follow the flow of your day, remaining as unobtrusive as possible. Along the way, I document the details, shoot the “traditional” group portraits and capture the wide range of wonderful emotions that spontaneously occur as part of your celebration.
Vibrant. Candid. Insightful. Wonderfully intimate. These are just a few of the ways our couples have described their wedding photos.
Q: What is your photography background, and how did you get into weddings?
A: I started studying photography in 1994. At the time, I was shooting primarily black and white film. In the darkroom, we developed and printed every photo by hand.
I started photographing weddings in 2009. Wedding photography challenges me to creatively document an endless cast of people, places and emotions. No couple’s love is the same, and no two celebrations are alike.
Simply put, weddings bring out the best in us. Families come together. Old friends reunite. All in the name of love. Who wouldn’t want to be a part of that?!
Q: What kind of equipment do you use? Do you have backup gear?
A: I shoot with full-frame Canon EOS digital cameras and Canon L-series (luxury) lenses. Designed to excel in the low-light environments often found at wedding venues, this equipment combo produces images of exceptional quality that can be enlarged well beyond the standard 4×6 print.
I bring back-up equipment to every wedding.
Q: How many photos will we get?
A: Naturally, the number of images you receive is dependent on the number of hours I shoot. For standard wedding packages (6-10 hours of photographic coverage), you should plan on anywhere from 500-700 images. For all-inclusive packages (unlimited coverage), you should expect more.
Q: Who will photograph the wedding?
A: All Chris Werner Photography weddings are photographed by me. Many couples ask about adding a second photographer. Although I photograph every wedding with the strategy of a sole photographer, adding an additional photographer is a small investment with big returns.
Q: When will our photos be ready?
A: I want you to get your photos as soon as possible. On average, turn around time is about 6 weeks during the busy wedding season.
Q: How do we see our photos?
A: When your photos are ready, you will receive a notification email. This email will direct you to an online gallery where you can view your photos. I will also send you a guest-specific URL to share with friends and family that would like to visit the wedding photography gallery.
If your wedding guests (or anyone who was not at the wedding) would like to order prints for themselves, they can do so directly from the gallery, without having to order through you.
Q: How can we make the most of our Wedding Photography Collection?
A: Chris Werner Photography wedding packages are designed to give you not just the best photography experience available, but to provide you with a premium, family heirloom quality wedding photography album as part of your photography package. These albums are customizable, using an incredibly diverse variety of materials and layouts. Two of my favorite album companies are Zookbinders and Finao.
We can also use the high-resolution files from your wedding to create breath-taking enlargements and canvas prints. These pieces of art can transform your wall space, and truly must be seen to be believed.
Q: Do you use Photoshop?
A: Yes. In fact, the RAW file format that I use could be thought of as a “digital negative”. Photoshop serves as the “digital darkroom”, which I use to “develop” each and every photo you receive. This brings to life the color, skin tones and contrast of the image.
While this process affords a greater degree of control over these fundamental qualities, it is also more time consuming. Some photographers shoot much smaller files (jpegs). Given the time savings, they are often able to charge less for their services. Generally speaking, the significant decrease in file size results in a notable sacrifice in image quality.
Q: Do we have to pay extra for a photo CD?
A: No. A disc of high-resolution images is included with every Chris Werner Photography wedding package. This disc is delivered with the completed album.
Q: How far in advance do you book up?
A: This varies depending on time of year, but I book weddings anywhere from 6-16 months out. As soon as you have your date set, please contact me to check on my availability.
Q: What do you charge to travel?
A: I do not charge any travel fees to photograph weddings in Northern CA. As travel costs to photograph a wedding outside of CA vary, travel fees are determined accordingly.
Q: Anything else?
A: If you’ve read through the FAQ’s this far, I thank you for your efforts to learn as much as possible about who I am and what I do!
Your wedding is going to be an incredible event. The flavors of the food and the scope of the music may fade a little over time, but the photos will always remain as a reminder of your special day. Choosing the right photographer is an important decision. Please don’t hesitate to contact me if you have any other questions!
Chris Werner is a destination wedding photographer in Lake Tahoe. He has a penchant for international travel in tropical places, mangoes and Lake Tahoe DJs who can get everyone on the dance floor.
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