Another frequently asked question we get pretty much every time we sit down with couples is, “so what images do we get”/”how many images do we get”. And that’s a pretty tough questions to answer. In short, we’d say “we give 50 images per hour of coverage”. But this is just because we want to give you a concise answer. The real answer is quite a bit longer…
First, let me give you some background into what goes into choosing images. After we shoot a wedding, we get home, and I go through all the cards. Every wedding we shoot thousands of images. Thousands. And sure, every wedding is different, and we shoot different numbers at each wedding depending on a number of factors (how long we have for portraits, how long the dinner service is, how hilarious the guests are, etc.). But the point is, there are thousands. And of those thousands, there are hundreds I delete without a second thought. Now I know what you’re thinking.. NOOOO those are pictures of my WEDDING day! But they aren’t. These are the test shots, the adjusting our setting, the mis-fires, the pictures of Michael making a weird face at my camera so I can make sure that when it’s you in my frame, your skin is exposed properly. These are the ones we took before we even let you know were were there! The scouting out location options, and the checking what the light looks like in different spots, and making sure the flash is firing.
And then I start with the wedding day. And cut hundreds. And I know.. it’s your wedding day. But we take 20 pictures of the exact same pose. So I take out the blinking, the blurry, and the poorly lit.
But we are the eyes of your wedding day. We will be there for moments you may miss on the day, and we want to keep them frozen forever. So you can see it all, even what you miss. And we take that job seriously. So if there is a moment were we only capture one, a split second in time where our cameras fired at just the right moment, we are going to give it to you regardless of the exposure..
We learned this lesson from our sweet friend, and past mlbride, Emily. We almost cut out this insanely grainy picture of her and her dad just before the ceremony started. Flash wasn’t allowed in the building and we weren’t allowed to move during the ceremony (the church had some serious rules).. I was just running by to get in my designated spot before I was forced to stay put.. and I saw this sweet moment. Emily and her dad have such a beautiful relationship.. and this was that last moment of Emily’s dad being the one man in her life.. looking at his little girl for the last time before she became someone’s wife. And then, the doors had just opened to the sanctuary, and there is Emily looking at Jonathan, standing, waiting for the love of his life to walk towards him, in just moments he’d be her husband. And Emily’s dad, just as emotional, knowing that Jonathan was the perfect man for his little girl.
We just couldn’t cut this moment away. It is definitely not our proudest image, but it was such a perfect moment, it had to be kept forever. And when we sent Emily her PASS gallery, she didn’t comment on the hundreds of pictures of her bridal party or reception. The first thing she mentioned was this. This rough image, from a dark room with no flash allowed.. because it’s the moment that was important. And no matter what, we are going to make sure we capture it for you.
So to answer your question, we give you every moment we can. We spend hours editing and culling to make sure your perfect day can be relived again and again. We pack your gallery full of those precious moments, because we are your eyes on your wedding day, and we don’t want you to miss a thing.
Liked this post? Take a look at our other FAQs:
This is a great post for your clients! And it’s so important to educate them as to WHY they don’t get all the images you ever shoot! 😉
Such a great informational post for clients!
Such great information and perspective! 🙂