“No question is a bad question”
Wedding Photography is an investment and we believe in building a relationship with every couple we work with. We have answered some of our recurring questions below.
GENERAL
Q: Do you deliver every image you shoot?
A: No, we do not. We eliminate duplicate images, test shots, missed focused shots, shots with bad expressions and other images that may dilute the overall product delivery.
Each image we deliver is handcrafted to enhanced your experience. On average, the final product will have 50-80 images per shooting hour.
Also, remember there is no benefit for us to not deliver all good images to you. We just weed out the ones that are not usable.
Q: Does your studio provide videography services?
A: No. We have partners who provide videography services and we can always connect you with them. We are also open to working with new videographers.
Q: Have you shot at my venue before?
A: We have shot weddings in most Gurdwaras, reception halls and outdoor venues in the GTA; so we might have. With our experience, we are ready to shoot in new and familiar venues.
Check out our blog on GTA Gurdwaras
Check out our blog on GTA Reception Venues
Q: Do you do destination weddings? What are the additional fees associated with destination weddings?
A: Yes, we have shot in 8 different countries. We love to travel with you to tell your wedding stories. Additional fees are travel associated costs.
Check out our blog on Mexico Resorts for Indian Destination Weddings
Q: Which photographer will be shooting my wedding?
A: You meet your photographer from day one, you see their work and they will be the shooting your engagement shoot and your wedding.
Q: Do you provide partial day coverage?
A: We typically do not provide partial day coverage on weekends. On weekends, we only accept clients that require at least 8 hours of coverage.
STYLE AND QUALITY
Q: What is your photography style?
A: Check out our blog on style
Q: Can I see a full event from start to finish?
A: Of course you may! We recommend that all our clients view a full wedding gallery from any photographer they are considering to book. What you see on Instagram and photography studio websites are a very curated version of the artists work. That is why it is important to see a full gallery which will better give you an idea of the full product that you can expect to get.
Q: Is there a style or quality difference among the photographers?
A: Consistency is key. We trust that the quality and style of photography you receive will be consistent. However, we do tailor our shooting style and techniques to our client's requests. For example, some clients may prefer a light and airy look while others may prefer dark and dramatic lighting.
POST-PRODUCTION
Q: Do you touch up all the images in our image download?
A: Yes we do. Every image we deliver is post-produced and this involves our signature edits, color correction, exposure adjustment, selective black and white processing, clarity adjustments and other corrections.
Q: What do you mean by “retouched image”?
A: “Retouched images” mean post-processed images.
Q: What if we need more editing or custom editing and why are there additional costs for custom retouches?
A: Custom post-production is anything that requires extensive, custom work in Photoshop such as removing entire objects from the scene, changing the size and shape of body parts or other objects in the scene, adding objects to a scene and any other custom work. We charge hourly for the custom post-production as the time required depends on the complexity of the request.
Q: Do you shoot in JPEG, Small Raw, or Large Raw?
A: We shoot in Large Raws and JPEGs on two different cards for reliability purposes.
WEDDING DAY
Q: How many hours do you suggest we set aside for wedding day images?
A: We suggest about 90 minutes for a bridal party and couple portraits. Here is a link to wedding day timeline which walks you through a timeline of a typical wedding day.
Q: Is that time I have a few hours between events, will those hours be included as part of my contractual hours?
A: It depends on many factors. In general, any break of more than 3 hours will not be considered towards your contractual hours. There are various activities such as setting up for the second venue, traveling to the second location, taking venue and decoration shots, etc. which would be part of the hours.
Q: What happens if we go over the contractual hours?
A: One month prior to your wedding, we schedule a photography timeline meeting to discuss on how we should allocate our service hours to your wedding events. We keep an hour buffer for any delays which we do not charge anything extra. At this time, you can add coverage hours at the rates mentioned in your contract.
However, if on your wedding, we still exceed the contractual hours plus buffer hour; we will communicate with you at that time if you wish to add additional coverage time.
Q: I don't want to have the stress with going overtime, so can I get an unlimited hours of service package for my wedding?
A: From our wedding photography experience, we have never had a client requiring an unlimited hours package. We are able to capture most of our wedding within the service hours in one of our packages. At most, a few additional hours are added when the client has extra pre-wedding events.We need to charge for additional coverage primarily because there are costs of having us to stay for additional hours. The shooters and lighting assistants all require additional compensation per hour. Furthermore, the additional photos taken will need to be post-produced which adds to our overall costs.
Q: How long before do I need to inform for additional events or coverage?
A: Sooner the better, again we will love to accommodate all your needs but our wedding day schedule is required at least 2 week before to allocate for any additional coverage time. Additional hours can be told on the wedding day and we will our best to facilitate your requests.
ENGAGEMENT SESSION
Q: When can we expect to see our images from our engagement session?
A: About 4-6 weeks is our committed turnaround time for engagement sessions.
Q: When should we do our engagement session?
A: We encourage you to do your engagement session as soon as possible. The latest we suggest is at least ten weeks prior to the wedding date due to the time necessary to post-produce each image (6 weeks) and prints if required.
Q: Can we schedule our engagement session for the weekend?
A: Weddings are usually on the weekends, so we do not typically shoot engagement sessions on weekends. Also, it it preferable to shoot on weekdays because locations are typically less crowded.
Q: How many images do you typically deliver from and engagement session? From a wedding?
We typically deliver anywhere from 50-80 images per 3-hour engagement shoot. For a wedding, we typically deliver 50-80 images per hour. Keep in mind these numbers may increase or decrease depending on the flow of the day and the number of events/activities needed to be captured.
ALBUMS AND PRINTS
Q: How long does it take to get my prints and albums?
Product creation times vary; however, print orders will generally be completed within 6 weeks after the approval order is submitted through our album proofing software.
The process prior to placing the order varies in duration depending on how quickly you respond to the instructions for the album design as well as a number of changes you request after the initial designs. Some couples complete this within a month or two; others take over a year. Our contract requests couples to close all albums changes within 4 months, if in condition couples do not respond in 4 months time period, we are authorized to finalize the album on their behalf.
Q: How many pages and images do we get on our wedding day album?
A: Our standard album contains 30 pages (15 spreads).
Q: Can I add more pages and images to my album?
A: Each additional page can be added for am additional cost which includes the design time/revisions.
Q: How do I get started on my wedding album?
A: We share a process document with you and a tutorial video on how to design your album.
IMAGE DOWNLOAD QUESTIONS AND LEGAL
Q: What is the maximum image size we can print to keep full resolution?
A: You can print any image up to 20X30 image size.
Q: What rights do I have to the digital prints?
A: You have the right to reprint images whenever you want. However, you may not sell your images for profit or publish your images without the written consent of Alfaaz Photography Inc.
Q: Do you provide the RAW files from my engagement session and/or wedding day?
A: Each of our packages come with a full resolution image download gallery. However, we typically do not provide RAW (unprocessed) files from our shoots because we believe in delivering a finished product.
Q: What if I lose my images?
A: We keep a copy on the online gallery for 18 months after your wedding date. Clients are responsible for downloading the images from online product within 18 months of their wedding date.
BUSINESS INSURANCE AND IMAGE BACKUP
Q: Do you back up our images? How can we ensure that our images won’t be lost?
A: Your images are backed up on a cloud-based system and 2 hard drives which are never kept at the same location.
Q: Do you have liability insurance?
A: Yes. Many venues require the photographer to have Liability Insurance.
MEETING POLICY
Q: We live out-of-town. Is it possible for our family/friends to meet with you instead?
A: Most definitely. However, we prefer to meet with the couple to get a better understanding of their personality and desires. We meet a lot of couples on the Google hangouts especially for destination wedding clients.
Q: How do I set up an appointment to meet you in person and see some of your work?
A: Schedule your Meet and Greet session via our online meeting scheduler or contact our studio manager at +1-647-921-0006.
PAYMENT AND TAX
Q: How do I reserve you for my date?
A: All dates are reserved once we receive your signed contract and deposit.
Q: What if we exceed our contracted time for our engagement shoot and/or wedding day coverage?
A: Standard rates apply for overtime. Overtime is billed at the rate of $200/hour.
Q: Is there an additional fee if we pay via credit card?
A: Yes. The retail adjustment fee for all credit card transactions is 3% of the charged amount.
Q: If we cancel the wedding, will we receive our retainer fee back?
A: Unfortunately no. Retainer fees are used to reserve your date. Once we’ve reserved your date, we do not accept new clients for your date.
Q: If we change our wedding to a different date, will we be able to use our retainer fee towards a future date?
A: Generally no, but this is taken on a case by case basis. The reason for postponing and our availability is taken into account. Also, if rates change from your original date to your new date, the new rates will apply.
Q: Are there travel fees associated with the engagement session and/or wedding day shoot(s)?
A: Travel fees are handled case by case.
Q: Why do you charge travel fees?
A : The primary purpose is to provide adequate compensation for our photographers and our lighting assistants for the additional time spent in travel.
Q: If I pay for my package in cash will we be able to avoid paying sales tax or receive a discount?
A: Unfortunately, collecting in cash does not exempt a photography studio from paying sales tax on the amount of the package price when a physical product is delivered.