Questions to ask your wedding Photographer by Nicole Blumberg

I opened my business in 2010 with a full calendar of weddings. Since then I have photographed hundreds of events.

Please allow 24-48 hours for me to get back to you.

I take a hands on approach to my photography and fully direct my couples and tailor my prompts to fit every couple I work with while staying true to images that focus on the meaningful moments of your wedding that have a timeless and joyful feel. I offer professional input throughout our planning process and the day of the wedding to encourage more astecticly pleasing photos for special moments. This includes choosing the locations for moments, how you out clothes on, offering advice on standing during the ceremony and much more.

I always try to capture the true essence of people, highlighting their natural beauty. I prioritize maintaining the authenticity of the day in my photographs while keeping the images timeless with a stylish approach.

First, email me to set up a video meeting. Once we have met, to book me for your wedding I would need to receive a signed contract and a retainer.

If you would prefer we meet in person, I can go to you if you are located in SF or the East Bay. Or we can have a video call if you happen to be further.

They know what they want and care about aesthetics while still being down to earth. My couples value an album’s worth of amazing heartfelt images over hundreds of mediocre images. They are filled with empathy, love, and they laugh a lot. They are all around genuine, warm and inviting people who care for others and the world. I am lucky to say that I tend to get the nicest couples and have made many lasting friendships with them.

 I am based out of the East Bay. I primarily work from Carmel Valley to Clearlake. Happy to travel further for great couples.

I include 60 miles from my location for free. After 60 miles I charge 3.00 per mile.

I have package options for both one photographer or two for weddings. Not all events need two photographers. Depending on the size of your event or If you have a price point to adhere to, one photographer may be a better option for you. Adam and I are a husband and wife team so he shows up with me to weddings with two photographers booked. If for some reason he is unable to be there, I have a trusted network of photographers I bring as my seconds. Often they are lead photographers for their own business’s so you are in good hands

As a professional photographer it is my job to be able to work at any location at any time. Over the course of my career, I have worked at many venues and locations for the first time. Sometimes a venue is too far for me to visit before the wedding. This is very common for any photographer who shoots destinations. My couples put their trust into me and my abilities. In such cases, I show up early and take note of the venue areas that I like and see where the sun will be at certain times of the day. If it happens that I have not worked at your venue and you would like me to do a walkthrough with you after you hire me, I’m more than happy to oblige as long as it is in a reasonable driving distance from my location. If you would like me to attend a walkthrough somewhere a bit further, arrangements and bookings can be negotiated.

No, not at all. Not all venues offer professional lighting and not all couples have the option to hire a lighting crew. I bring various different lighting equipment based on your venue and my needs. I use off camera flash, on camera flash and video lights for my work and use what is necessary for the job.

I deliver roughly 70-100 images per hour that I am shooting.  A typical 8-hour wedding will end up with or around 560-800 images depending on the event, guest count and activity of the event. As my team tries to get photos of many different people at your event we want to highlight the importance of having family formals with key individuals at a designated time on your wedding day to guarantee photos of important people.

I start by culling/flagging the images that will make the first round of the cut. This eliminates images that really are not deliverable. They may be out of focus or a not pleasing angle. I get rid of lots of duplicates. Trust me… there are many of the same shots. I pick a few in every series that are the best. Sometimes after the first round I go through them again because I still have too many of the same images and need to cut them down further.

I will send you an email with a link to your online gallery. Within that gallery, you will find a button that lets you download the high res images immediately and directly to  any device  you are using.

I ask for 8-10 weeks to get the full wedding gallery delivered. While not all weddings will take that amount of time to deliver, this timeline allows for adequate time in the event that I am fully booked, have extra edits contracted or I have a vacation planned. Each project is assigned a due date in my calendar, ensuring that nothing is ever overlooked. While I welcome emails inquiring about your images, please keep in mind that they may not be ready until the designated due date. Engagements, Family, and Maternity sessions I ask for 4 weeks. These also usually get to you before the 4th week. I purposely schedule extra allotted time in the contracts for unseen needs.

 When deciding to make a purchasing decision on something as valuable and sentimental as photography, you may encounter multiple feelings. Why? Because photography is important and for quality, it should be viewed as in investment. Photography has such a wide based market so it is imperative that you choose a photographer that you feel is a great fit for you. There is a right photographer for every single couple whether it’s based on price, style, personality or all of the above.  

I take multiple factors into consideration when setting the pricing for my business.   You will find photographers who are more expensive than I am and I guarantee that you will find a photographer who is less expensive than I am. You should choose your photographer for reasons that hold value for you.  My clients value photography and what it offers highly. Investing in it is important to them.  

Please inquire about your day for a more comprehensive pricing guide and/or personized proposal. If you would like events such as your engagement party, rehearsal dinner and morning after brunch included in the coverage please let me know in the email.

All packages have a discounted rate to start and unfortunately I am unable to take any more off of those or change them around. My pre constructed packages are a “get them as they are kind” of thing and which is why I place a large discount on them. I offer a la carte options for complexly customizable coverage for your event if a package I offer doesn’t quite fit your particular needs.

I offer a discounted idle rate. Please let me know in your initial email how much idle time you need and I can add that into your proposal.

Raw. It’s incredibly important for me to have full control over the images. So I only shoot in raw format. I deliver jpgs so my couples can use them.

Yes, every single image you receive will have been through my basic post-production editing process. I ensure that the colors and quality of your images meet my standards. I use the latest digital image editing software on color calibrated displays.

Included with all delivered images.

The goal of basic post-production is to create print-ready, professional-quality imagery that is vibrant yet natural. I want your images to pop with all the natural colors of our world without looking over edited or over saturated. It is extremely important to me that many years from now, when my couples look at the images I delivered they are looking at memories. I do not follow fast ending fads. My edits will be able to preserve time. Included in basic post production is the following: 

Color Correction:  I make sure an image is corrected for temperature and tint.
Exposure Correction: I adjust the exposure and brightness to ensure that an image is not too bright or too dark.

Other Adjustments: I apply a variety of effects and selective tools to get our end product.

Black and Whites: I deliver roughly 10 percent in black and white. I use my professional judgment for which ones will look best. If you have a preference of color vs black and white, let me know. I’m happy when you are happy. 

Photoshop  involves much more in-depth editing. I use photoshop on some images I take and deliver. If there is something I think needs to be removed like wires and poles in couples portraits or something that is just really really distracting in an image, I may take it out. Things I don’t do, is offer body altering to images. Even though I do photoshop on some images, I do not officially offer it as part of my packages.  If you receive your gallery and would like to inquire about any additional edits with photoshop, I am happy to do 10 images. If you would like more images processed with photoshop, I’m happy to send over a contract and pricing.

If your request is something I do not think I will be able to accomplish due to the technical aspect or the time needed, I will be more than happy to refer you to a professional photoshop company who will be able to help. I want my couples happy and to get the edits they want.

Every photographer has their own style and that’s what makes them them. If a certain photographer’s work sticks out to you, it’s important you go with that photographer. Only they will achieve what they are showcasing and you run the risk of being unsatisfied should you ask the photographer you hired to do something they don’t normally do.

I have made a detailed guide explaining how long certain areas of the day take to photograph that I send out to all of my couples after booking.

In short:

Getting ready:  At least 1 hour – 2 hours. This depends on multiple factors such as who wants getting ready images and if you are in close proximity to each other while getting ready.

First look with parent: 15-20 minutes

Couples first look: 20-25 minutes

Couples session after first look: 45-60 minutes

Bridal Party photos: 30 minutes 

Family Formals: 20-40minutes. This widely depends on how many groups you have and how organized every one is.  I really like to get through the family formals as efficiently as possible. To ensure that you get the maximum time to enjoy your wedding day, I suggest talking to your relatives beforehand and prepare them with the information of where to be and when for family formals.

Ceremony Details: I need at least 20 minutes once everything is set up and there are no guests arriving yet.

Considerations- If you have spent a lot on your flowers and décor, I highly recommend setting time aside to take couples portraits with it. This can be after the first look or after the ceremony. Coordinating with your planner and the florist to know what time it will be set up will be beneficial for timing it on the timeline.

Reception Details: 20-30 minutes. This is usually started near the last half of the cocktail hour when everything is finished being set up.

Considerations – If you have put a lot into your reception décor, It’s highly recommended to take a few moments and do a photo reveal with your reception décor before guests are allowed in. This gives you a chance to see all the hard work your team has put in without anything being touched. It’s important to spend a few moments and take posed couples photos with your set up. This will add a more editorial feel to your images as well.  

Reception first look and photos: 15 minutes 

Sunset couples images: 20-30 minutes 

Night photos-15 minutes.

Open dancing- 1 hour.

Send off- 15-20 minutes. Depending on how many people you want in the photos it can take a bit of time to set up. Consider staging a send off earlier in the night for better images. If you are using sparklers. Earlier is better. Very tipsy individuals waving flammable sticks around isn’t always the best idea.

I have no problem with family and friends bringing any kind of camera to your wedding. I want your guests to be able to take photos and enjoy themselves.

However, as I do not mind other people bringing cameras, I do ask that they not try to be the photographers for the event, give me and my team our space to be able to move around freely and not cause a disruption that limits my ability to perform my job.

I also ask that during  portrait time with couples and family no other cameras are out. Most of the time we notice when family and friends have cameras out during this time, our subjects’ eyes are on their cameras and not ours that are being paid for. It makes my job harder and things take longer since I will put my camera down and wait until they are done.

While I don’t need a shot list in the traditional form I really want to know what things mean a lot to you. Such as items that will be there that are important, people who are extra special to you, your favorite parts of the venue, what you like most about your outfits, if there are certain traditions happening during the day. Also I’d like to know things such as Aunt Becky and Mom are not talking right now and asking them to take a picture together may not be ideal.

Before our photo sessions and your wedding day, I like to go over images with you. I will send you a Pinterest board and ask that you add images to them that you like. They can be from my sessions or from other photographers. This will give me a good sense of what you want. We will sit down together and go over the images and talk about how we can create similar images together.

I ask for all of your details to be placed together in one spot before I get there if I am doing getting ready images. I may combine items or even take an item out of the room if there is better light somewhere else and people in the background or clutter that may devalue the photo.

 If I’m starting after you get ready, we can do stylized shots of you to get details of particular items.

I ask that if there are people you you really would like to make sure you get a photo of, invite them to be part of your family formals. Please also ask for photos with people throughout the day at any time. My team and I will be near you all day and are happy to take your photo with loved ones. I know that everyone invited to your wedding is important, so I do my best to get lots of different shots of many guests throughout the day.

During the timeline planning we will go over what stylized shots you want and make sure that the allotted time and locations of those are on the timeline.

The designated time can be during portraits, formals, reception or whenever you feel the time and place would be the best for the photo. Please make sure that the people/things for the photo are available during the time you designate for that shot.

If you would like to get my professional guidance on where that  photo would look best, I’d be more than happy to give my thoughts. 

Family formals tend to be taken either before the ceremony or after the ceremony. Sometimes both. Some couples have their immediate family photos taken after the first look and couples images and then finish with extended family after the ceremony. 

The designated time/s for formals should be in the timeline provided to me before the wedding. Everyone you would like to be in the formals should be informed before your event that they are being requested by the bride and groom for family photos at a certain time. If they are not told that they will  disappear or not show up. Guaranteed. It’s really hard to keep a large amount of people’s attention when so much is going on and it’s such an exciting day.

I ask that you write the groups to be photographed prior to your wedding. Please remember, I do not know your full family and this is a job best done by you. To keep things efficient, I ask that someone besides you and me will be in charge of calling the groups. Preferably give the list to someone loud and who knows most of the people on each side. If you need some guidance on how to make your shot list for formals please read the link that I made regarding wedding timelines. (link coming soon)

Yes, please. The sooner I am able to communicate with your coordinator or wedding planner and other hired professionals the easier my job will be. I will be able to tell them what I need to put the photographer’s allotted time in the wedding day timeline.

 It’s best to have your engagement scheduled 12-3  months before your wedding. This solely depends on what you want your engagement photos for. If you are using them as a save the date, the sooner you take them the better. That way we both do not feel rushed. Engagement sessions that come with a package are good for up to one year after you sign your contract with me. So If you booked me relatively close to your wedding and can’t really do the photos before, there is a twelve month leeway on the shoot.

Preferably weekdays but weekends work depending on my availability. If I am able to book a wedding for weekend a date that an engagement session is scheduled, I will notify you and we will reschedule our session. Some locations work better on weekdays too as there are less tourists and crowds.

Engagement sessions are 1 hour long and you receive 75-100 of the best images.

I  will drive  60 miles round trip from my location for free on both the engagement session and the wedding. Every mile that exceeds the 30 miles each way or 60 miles round trip will be $3.00 per mile

Once we go over images together and I get a sense of what you like, I can help curate a mood board for you that we can use as a guide to our sessions together. Allowing me to help style you and your session will take what would be a pretty session to a wow session. If you want fun images, you will be need to be willing to follow prompts that result in a fun look. The same thing can be said for any other vibe of photos. If you want romantic images, you must be romantic and take the directions I offer. If you want a really editorial style, I ask that you allow for me to guide you in that direction and help plan an iconic session.

Confidence is also one of the best attribute for great looking images. I want you to be confident and I will be there every step of the way helping guide you during our session.

 You are granted limited personal use copyright over the images from your event and have the right to get your images printed anywhere you like, give images away to friends and family and post them on personal social sites or a personal blog. You may not sell the images for a profit or publish the images with organizations or magazines without the written consent of Nicole Blumberg Photography. The photos I deliver to my couples and clients are a representation of me as an artist, my business, and my brand so I ask that you do not re-edit or alter the photos when putting them online.

 At cost  prints are prints that only cost what the lab charges for them through the gallery I use for delivery. When you use the gallery I send over to order prints online they are not marked up more than what the actual lab charges. My business is not set up to be a print model. I am set up and priced as a service based brand. I already give you the right to print, so I don’t feel the need to mark up prints.

Yes. I  offer high-end luxury 8×8 and 10×10 albums for my clients. I believe that not only are albums so important to have but the quality of your album is extremely important.

If you place a retainer on an album when you book me for your wedding, you will receive 15 percent discount.

After you order your album I then need 4 weeks to design it. After the 4 weeks, I can send you a proof and you may have up to 3 free changes in the design. All additional layout changes after the first initial 3 changes occur additional fees per layout. An image change after the 3rd change is $5.00 per image. After you have approved the proof for the album I can then send it off to be built. It can take up to two months to get the album after it is sent in to be built.

My albums come with 25 pages (50 sides) and 100 images comfortably.

For a small fee, more pages can be added

I am a digital photographer. My gear is always the most current and highest performing camera bodies available. My cameras are equipped to handle the lowest of light and the fastest of speeds. 

I use a range of lenses that fit different needs. I have many different lights and drones.

Absolutely. I am fully covered.

I do

I only hold dates in my calendar once I have a signed contract and retainer.  If after our meeting I get an email from another couple who have the same date as you and are interested in my services, I will send you an email letting you know. I want to be respectful of everyone’s time so I will wait up to 24 hours to hear from you before I respond to the other couple and set up a meeting. 

Retainers are used to reserve your date as well as pay for all planning, gear maintenance and backend involved in your event. Once I have  reserved your date, I do not accept new clients for your date or take any other jobs for that date. I get couples who inquire for the same dates that I have booked, that I turn away. There is also a limited time frame in which events can be booked for the season, if your event is canceled I will have missed the opportunity to re-book that date. The retainers are non refundable once booked if the wedding is canceled for any reason. 

I highly suggest purchasing wedding insurance since most wedding professionals have this policy. It saved a lot of people heartache during COVID.

Yes.  As long as I am available for your new wedding date, I will be able to move your retainer to a new date. However, because it’s essentially canceling the date I was holding and saying no to other work, there is a 10 percent fee to change dates. Please coordinate with me prior to picking a new date if this is something you have to do.

Unfortunately, collecting in cash does not exempt a photography studio from paying California sales tax on the amount of the entire package price when a physical product is delivered. However, since I deliver everything digitally (excluding albums) I am able to avoid charging tax! Hurray!!  Albums or anything tangible you buy will have tax added to it. I do this on a separate contract so it does not include the total price of your event as well. 

Adam and I started our photography business in 2010 after we were married. We work as a husband and wife team and use our personal strengths to complement each other.

As a family we often find ourselves either outside on hikes or inside playing with new and exciting tech toys.

Expanding my knowledge and taking new photography related courses is something I’m very passionate about. I’m a professional and in so I want to know how to be in charge of any situation I encounter. I have taken course such as Master Studio Lighting, Commercial Photography and Retouching, Pose, Luxury Photography and many other courses. Adam and I enjoy hiking with our two golden retrievers. We spend a lot of time with our toddler creating a wonderful and formative childhood for her.