This is always difficult to predict because each function and wedding is different.  You will, however, get enough to tell the story of the day.  It mainly depends on how many hours I am shooting.  A typical wedding day will result in about 800-1000 images.

Photography is art.  My portraits are an expression of love and a fusion of what I see, hear and feel around me.  Since your investment is in artwork personal to you; I do not subcontract to others and you are hiring me, as your artist.  Therefore, when I am booked on a specific date, that date becomes unavailable to all others.

Most clients prefer to book right away to make sure I have their date's reserved.  A $500 non-refundable retainer that comes off the package price is payable.  If you fall into this category, just let me know and I will forward you a contract.  I operate on a first come, first serve basis and the paid retainer is what takes the date off my calendar of availability. Some clients prefer to meet to discuss their requirements and see first hand what I do.  If you fall into this category, simply let me know and I will confirm an appointment time with you.  I am available most weekdays and some weekends if I am not already shooting a wedding.

In my opinion, “styles” are one of the most misunderstood issues in the wedding photography market.  To simplify things, a lot of people will break styles down into “traditional” or “photojournalistic”.  The problem with these definitions is that they mean different things to different people.  That includes both clients and photographers; but also, there are other styles as well like glamour, fashion, etc.   For these reasons, I don’t like to label what I do with a particular style.  For the sake of addressing this issue here, I will define “traditional” as a style that emphasises a lot of traditional wedding poses images and recreated events (i.e. ring exchanges, first kiss and first dance etc.), and “photojournalistic” as a style that emphasises capturing moments as they truly happened.   So what do I do according to these definitions?  I am heavily photojournalistic with a fashion angle.  My main goal is beautiful imagery.  Beautiful imagery comes in posed images and in journalistic images.  True emotion and energy can’t be captured in a pose, but other striking images can’t be captured naturally.  I don’t want to limit myself in what I capture and deliver to you - so I don’t.  Most of the day I am hands off and capture moments as they unfold throughout the day, but at other times I may be very hands on to get the type of images my clients love.

Absolutely!  60 percent of my business involves travel outside of Melbourne.  I offer competitive packages for all my non-Melbourne clients and have a short break or holiday at the same time. I often have clients who are married in a ‘host’ city and have another reception for the family in another city.  While I can accommodate this and offer competitive packages, you will need to book early as most of my clients book several months in advance.

I use professional photography equipment, lighting and tools.  I would never think of going into a wedding day shoot without backup gear.  Weddings are one-time events.  There are no re-shoots.  As such, they are much too important to not have backup equipment should the primary gear fail.  I obviously can’t foresee every possible failure potential on the horizon, but I take more than reasonable precautions to protect against equipment failures.  Your day is an important to me, as it is to you.

Yes.  The images provided to you will depend on the type of package you choose; however, regardless of your package, all images will be available for you or all your guests through the online store.

I’ve saved this one for last, because the answer is the most involved.  If you’re noticed my pricing, you will know that I am not the cheapest option out there, and nor am I the most expensive. Photography is not a regulated profession, meaning that anyone with a camera can profess to be a photographer.  This is both good news and bad news. It’s good news because the profession provides an opportunity for talented people to run a business in what they love doing.  And, when people love that they do, they are generally better at it than people who do it strictly to generate a profit. It’s bad news because some clients don’t realise the level of skill required to actually shoot a wedding.  The day can be stressful for brides and grooms, but it can also be stressful for a photographer who is always trying to think two steps ahead of everybody else.  When clients opt for non-professionals, they take a risk with someone who may not be adequately equipped or trained to handle the potential problems, which may arise on a shoot.  They hire someone largely based on price and a generally disappointed with the results. Wedding photography is not about camera technology.  Some people new to the profession think that because they have a “good camera” they can photograph a wedding.  The problem is that wedding photography can be the most demanding type of professional photography at times.  The lighting environment is constantly changing and the photographer can’t control it.  There are very bright sunny days and relatively dark churches that images must be captured in.  The photographer has to know how to handle these changing environments and has to handle those changes very quickly, while being creative in the process.  And all the while dealing with real people, not professional models who know what to do and when to do it.  So for a wedding photographer to be confident, they have to know they can handle any technical issues thrown at them and/or any people issues thrown at them and still deliver imagery that their clients will love.  That type of confidence takes experience in understanding the principles of photography, an understanding of one’s equipment, and a degree of understanding of human behavior in stressful situations.  As such, the experienced photographer will have everything they need in knowledge, equipment, and people skills to handle the extremes that a wedding may throw at them.  All of that comes at a price.  In general, clients get what they pay for. The more that a client invests in wedding photography, the more likely it is that their chosen photographer will be more experienced and better equipped at handle the day.  This isn’t true in all cases, but it is a general truth. Another reason is demand.  In fact, this is probably the biggest reason.  Some photographers because of their skill and ability are simply in more demand than others.  Greater demand leads to higher prices.  Some clients will value that skill and ability and be willing to pay for it.  While other clients may appreciate the skill and ability, but aren’t willing to pay for it.  In the end, it comes down to value.  People value things differently.  The more they value something, the more they’re willing to pay for that something.  The less they value something, the less they’re willing to pay top dollar for it. So, to sum it up, photography prices are so varied because:

1. Skill and experience levels can be vastly different;
2. Deployed equipment can be vastly different; and
3. Client demand can be vastly different.