With a wide array of Calgary photographers and photography packages available, we have answered some of our most frequently asked questions. Have other questions? Contact us anytime.
GENERAL QUESTIONS
Do you deliver every image you shoot?
No, we do not. On a typical wedding day, we often take in excess of 4000 images, all in the attempt to capture the perfect moment. We eliminate duplicate images, test shots, missed focused shots, shots with bad expressions, and other images that may dilute the overall product delivery. For example, since we often shoot with narrow focus bands, we often take extra shots to make sure we have the perfect focus. We don’t expect you to have the expertise or the time to zoom into each image to select the one with the sharpest focus, so we spend hours doing that on our end.
In another example, candid laughs and emotional tears are some of the best images from the day. Unfortunately, they can also yield some unflattering facial expressions. We might snap a few extras of any of these moments to make sure we have a great shot with the ideal expression for the moment. With our expertise of processing tens of thousands of images each year, we have the ability to choose the images that show the best moment.
My venue is very dark, how do you deal with this?
We have shot in the darkest of chapels and reception halls that Calgary has to offer, so no need to worry! If the situation allows, we will set up additional lighting to ensure we get focused pictures. Some chapels do not allow for flash photography; and for that reason, we shoot on professional series cameras with amazing low-light performance and lenses with low apertures (check out our Toolkit here).
Do you touch up all our wedding and engagement images?
Yes, we do! Every image we deliver is post-produced with our unique signature style. This involves color correction, exposure adjustment, selective black and white processing, clarity adjustments, tone-mapping, and other corrections. Many photographers will not post produce any images, or will only post produce a few “select” images from your wedding. This means that you may have pictures that are too dark, have strange skin tones, or other common photography flaws.
What do you mean by ‘touching up’ the photos?
We analyze every image and adjust color temperature and tint, shadows, clarity, saturation, noise reduction and a wide variety of other options. With the engagement and wedding couple photos, we also provide extra touch-ups to ensure that obvious skin flaws are corrected, random strangers in the background, and other distractions are removed. While there are items we can not correct, we send many hours going through your photos to provide the highest quality images to the best of our abilities.
BOOKINGS
How do we book Patton Photography as our engagement and wedding photographer?
After we meet and go over the options that best suit your needs, a photography agreement is signed. We require a 25% non-refundable retainer to save the date, with the remainder of your package is due one week before your wedding day. As we will be turning away other potential clients once you secure the date, the retainers are non-refundable. Not in Calgary, no problem, we have communicated by email and video calls with clients from around the world.
How far in advance should we book?
As our calendar fills up quite quickly, it’s advisable to book your date as soon as you have your venue secured. This could be one year or a few months before your wedding day. While the majority of our bookings happen 9 to 12 months prior to the wedding, we typically start receiving bookings a year and a half in advance.
PAYMENT OPTIONS
What forms of payment are available?
To make things easy for you, we accept many methods of payment except for debit and cryptocurrency. Our online system allows our clients to access their accounts and make payments on their terms. Make payments monthly, quarterly, or any random schedule that you like…it is all up to you.
ENGAGEMENT SESSIONS
Do We Need An Engagement Session?
While they are not truly needed, we always encourage our couples to have them. Engagement Sessions are a great way to learn some helpful posing techniques, get used to being in front of the camera, and develop a ‘click’ with your photographer – pun intended. We will photograph several different styles during your engagement session, this allows us to determine the style that you like the most. On your wedding day, we can then adapt our style to the exact style you prefer the most. While based in Calgary, we adapt the engagement session to your style, mountains, badlands, or downtown Calgary….we will find the perfect place for you.
Is An Engagement Session included?
Engagement sessions are included in our wedding package! They are also available as an add-on to any of our ‘A-la-carte’ options as well.
When should we have our Engagement Session?
Engagement sessions can be done any time, provided we have space in our calendar. Typically, it’s a good idea to have your engagement session at a minimum, 5-6 months before your wedding day. As the weather in Calgary literally changes by the hour, we will keep a close eye on how things are looking to get you the perfect session.
WEDDING ALBUMS
Does Patton Photography offer wedding albums?
You bet!! While we don’t specifically include wedding albums in our wedding packages, the print package can be used towards the purchase of the wedding album. As we have access to a wide variety of albums, Italian leather, ‘layflat’ pages, and smaller coffee table books, if you are interested in a wedding album, let us know. From there we can find what suits you best and help narrow choices down from our many options.
Who designs and selects the images for the albums?
Patton Photography uses its professional judgment to determine which selection of images best tells the story of your day from the beginning to the end. We will then communicate with you to decide on the final arrangements.
Can we add special items such as vows and other mementos to the album?
Absolutely! We go over all of these details after the wedding when you’ve had some time to relax. Prior to final approval, you will have the opportunity to make changes as are required.
Can we order additional albums later on?
Yes! Depending on the size of the album you want, the pricing will be different. We send you several options. Extra albums would be invoiced separately when ordering.
OTHER COMMONLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Do you have backup equipment?
Protecting your images and ensuring you receive quality images is our top priority. Although equipment can fail, we do come prepared with a great deal of extra equipment. Additional camera bodies, memory cards, and a significant amount of other equipment allow us to continue in the unlikely event of a failure. Once the wedding is over, we continue to protect your images through the use of network back-up systems.
Do we meet again before the wedding?
We recommend that we meet approximately one month prior to the wedding. This will give us the opportunity to go over final details like itinerary, locations, and back-up plans so that we are fully prepared…and so that you can concentrate on having a great time. For our clients that are not from Calgary, we will stay up to date with all the details through detailed emails and if needed, video call.
Will you have an assistant or second photographer?
We always recommend a second photographer and automatically include one on our larger wedding packages. This is a debate among the wedding photography community with many supporters of both sides. For us, we believe in the importance of making sure our clients are the focus of the day, not your photographer running around trying to capture all the angles and reaction photos.
By having two photographers, we are able to reduce our movements, thus blending into the crowd. While one photographer captures the bride walking down the aisle, our other photographer is capturing the groom’s reaction and the tear in the eye of the mother of the bride. During the couple’s photo session, while you are focused on the photographer who is posing you, our second photographer is off to the side capturing candid moments, the little smile as you look at each other, the wink you thought no one else saw
How are the wedding photography teams made up?
We always do our best to ensure that our photography teams are made up of male and female photographers. This ensures a level of privacy during the getting ready portion of the day, the female photographer will be the girls while I go with the guys. Our photography teams are also split with a natural light photographer and a strobist (uses flash lighting systems) photographer. this allows us to capture images that are modern and dramatic as well as soft and whimsical….the best of both worlds.
Do you require a meal?
Yes, we do. In all honesty, we are on our feet for the majority of the day, trying not to miss a moment. This means that it’s difficult to eat lunch or even a snack during the day. While the bridal party may be having a mid-day lunch, we will be off photographing the important detail shots. We ask for a meal during dinner service so that we don’t pass out on your wedding day.
Why do photographers have different pricing and package options?
As with all occupations, photographers all value their time and work a little differently. We also offer different things in our packages that others don’t. Some photographers might only edit a portion of the photos, some may not actually supply the client with digital images. Additionally, the add-on’s and extra services you receive all vary from photographer to photographer.
Do you have a social media presence?
We try hard to keep our social media up to date to show all our followers some of the latest projects we are working on, as well as some of the new techniques and locations we are trying out. Follow along on our Facebook and Instagram accounts, as well as all our latest blog posts. As many of our clients are not from Calgary, social media provides a great way for us to highlight our portfolio.
Calgary Photographers – Calgary Wedding Photographer – Calgary Engagement Photographer
Patton Photography is a professional photography studio based out of Calgary, Alberta. Our signature style offers a clean and modern look to your photographs. Contact us anytime to sit down over coffee for a stress-free conversation.