Frequently Answered Questions

How much experience do you have?

I have been shooting for several years and have photographed around 20 events including 12 weddings and a few Bat Mitzvahs.

How would you describe your photographic style?

I would describe my style as photojournalistic. See my notes in the About section.

Have you shot at location x before?

I have worked at a few locations but in most cases I would like to visit the site of the ceremony and/or reception prior to your event/wedding day if at all possible. If you have a rehearsal at the location I find that is a good time for me to stop in and have a look around.

How far will you travel?

I currently live and work in Rochester and prefer to limit my travel to the greater Rochester/Finger Lakes area.

What kind of camera do you use?

I use a Canon EOS 5D Mark II which is part of Canon's line of professional digital SLRs. It provides all the creative flexibility and speed I need. My backup camera is a Canon 30D. My kit currently consists of the following lenses:

In addition I have two Canon Speedlite 430ex flashes and three PocketWizard MultiMAX Radio Tranceivers to fire them remotely.

Why digital?

I prefer digital photography for several reasons. I can instantly see the results of a shot and it gives me a greater amount of creative freedom because I don't need to worry about wasting film. This also saves you money, since some film photographers charge by how many rolls of film they use. A digital camera also allows me to change the ISO or sensitivity on the fly so I can adjust for new lighting situations without worrying about changing film rolls. Digital also gives me a great degree of flexibility after I have taken the picture. It allows me to easily adjust color balance, exposure, sharpness, saturation, and many other characteristics. If I feel an image would be enhanced if it were in black and white, I can convert it from color and have a large degree of control over the process. When digital first came onto the scene cameras with sensors required to capture enough resolution for large prints were too expensive but now that has changed and I have had 6 Megapixel images blown up to poster size with spectacular results.

How many pictures do you take?

This varies with each individual event, but since it is digital and I have a lot of flash card capacity I tend to shoot liberally. I average about 150 photos an hour and end up keeping about 100 of those. If a shot has unintentional poor focus, poor composition, or was shot so close to another frame you can't see any difference I will delete them to focus my post production on the keepers.

Do you provide your high resolution originals and when do we get them?

Yes. I will provide a CD or DVD in about 2-3 weeks after the event that will have both the original image files in Canon RAW format and my post-production JPG files. Per my contract, I retain the copyright on the images but grant you the right to print as many as you like anyway you want. My only restriction is that you can not sell them for profit without consulting/compensating me.

I recommend you make copies and copy them to new media every few years to make sure they will be around for years to come. Don't depend on your computer's hard drive alone to store your pictures. Assume your computer's hard drive might fail any day and that all data on it could be lost because that is truly the case.

Do you provide prints?

At this time I do not sell or provide prints. There are many online and locally available photo printing services that will not only print your pictures but also allow you to share them online with your friends and family. If you want long lasting prints I recommend you use a service that offers Kodak Endura paper.

Do you make albums?

At this point I am not doing photo albums to keep time and costs to a minimum. You can either create one yourself or there are several online printing services that will print a book with the pictures of your choosing.

Can I provide a list of shots I would like?

I will use a shoot list and often they are helpful when shooting the formals but please try to keep them to minimum. I prefer to focus on the events of the day rather than trying to get every shot on a large list.

How much time should allocate for formals?

For formal portraits I get better results if I have time to setup some flash units with umbrellas. This usually takes about 15 minutes. In addition, you should allocate about 5 minutes for each group of people you would like photographed. It usually takes a bit of time, particularly with larger groups, to get everyone together and then a minute or two for me to positition everyone. If there is designated person that knows everyone well and can help round people up, the process goes much faster.

Do you require a retainer?

Yes. At this time I require a retainer to reserve your date. This fee will be refunded if you notify me no less than 30 days before your event is cancelled or is rescheduled to a date that conflicts with my schedule.

Do you have any references?

Yes, contact information for references is available upon request.

What kind of attire do you wear?

Unless asked otherwise I will dress in a shirt and tie with dress pants and shoes.