Frequently Asked Questions

Documentary is how I can best describe my work. My goal at weddings is to show how the day looked and felt — being in the right place at the right time, when the special moments happen. But choosing a photographer is a very personal decision. There's a wide range of photographic styles and approaches. My web site and portfolio are representative of what I do. I want to have wedding clients who are comfortable with my type of photography.

I know weddings are expensive — I want to give you the flexibility to use my photography within your budget, and to give you a good estimate of how much my services will cost.

It's entirely up to you. I have a two-hour minimum — I have worked as long as ten hours. I've found that five hours is a good amount of time to spend to get the range of photographs from getting ready, to the ceremony, to formals, to the reception, dancing and cake-cutting.

The majority of couples I work with prefer digital, but I want to give the option for those who prefer to have film negatives from their wedding.

For the most part, I think it depends upon the kind of photo lab you use. I've found some labs do really well with negatives, while others work better with digital. The lab I use, Phototec in Rutland, Vt., does a great job with both media.

For digital weddings, I have a Canon system, with two camera bodies, lenses and flash equipment. While working with film, I use three Nikon 35mm cameras at weddings, with the range of Nikkor lenses from wide angle to telephoto.

I use flash where it's appropriate. During church ceremonies, my goal is to keep the focus on the vows and not on the photographer, which means no flash. And I look to use natural light as much as possible throughout the day to reflect the mood of the place.

Yes, I do. Families love to use group pictures for holiday cards or to put them in a frame on the living room mantel. I'm happy to oblige.

On average, I am making about one hundred photos per hour. For formal photographs, I tend to do more to be sure there's good pictures with everyone's eyes open.

No, I do not.

About a month before the wedding, I check in to get an idea of the wedding day schedule and to see if there's anything important I need to know about (like special guests or an unscheduled surprise). For the group pictures, it's great to have a list together that we can check off as the pictures are taken. If there are a bunch to be done, it's helpful to deputize some who's not in the wedding party to help gather people for the photographs.

I'm happy to travel anywhere within New England or upstate New York near the Vermont border. If I am working at a wedding that's over a three hour drive from Tunbridge, Vt., and I'm there after 9 p.m., I need to be reimbursed for a night's stay at a motel. Outside of mileage reimbursement, there's no travel fee.

Travel outside the area is $0.30 per mile. For film weddings, optional conversion to CD is $10 per roll. For digital weddings, there's two rates, depending upon whether or not you'd like me to provide prints. For all digital weddings and film weddings scanned to CD, an edited selection of the wedding is posted to a password-protected Web site at no additional cost.

Yes, I do. If you're interested in my work, I can send a CD sample with more work on it and a contract for your consideration.

I need a $500 non-refundable deposit and a signed contract to save the date.

Upon the receipt of your wedding photographs.

I prefer 4x6 matte finish prints, without borders.

About three weeks after your wedding. For couples who do not live locally, I ship weddings with prints by Federal Express' Second Day Delivery with a tracking number. Digital weddings without prints are shipped by Priority Mail with a Delivery Confirmation number. There's no additional charge for shipping.

Yes, they are.

Most quality labs have a good selection of photo albums. Light Impressions is also a company that sells a range of archival storage materials.

I can definitely ask around to help find a good lab in your area. If it's a new lab to you, I would also suggest trying out a photo lab. Give them one or two reprints to try making before giving them a big job. It's also helpful to give them an original guide print to help match the color. There's quite a bit of latitude in color printing.

Yes, I do, and will be happy to provide current references upon request.

Email is the easiest way to reach me. I will be happy to answer any questions you have.

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