FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT WEDDINGS
We’ve seen your website and would like more information before deciding whether to book you to photograph our wedding. What should we do?
Give Martin a ring or send him an e-mail, leaving your contact details and the date of your wedding.
If he is free on that date, he is always happy to meet you both (and anyone else, such as a parent who might be footing the bill!), show you the albums and let you see some recent wedding photography.
Booking your wedding photographer is an important decision and you have to feel that the person you choose will provide you with a great service, wonderful photographs, is the sort of person you can have a good relationship with and that you would be happy to have at your wedding. Having a detailed chat is the best way of deciding whether that is going to be Martin.
If it’s not, no problem, and best wishes for the very happiest of wedding days.
If it is, great, and it’s going to be fun!
What do we need to do to secure a booking?
Once you’ve decided to book Martin to photograph your wedding, he’ll send you a booking form. Return that form with a £300 deposit and the booking is secure.
Once a booking is made and the deposit is paid, Martin will not take a different booking, even if the other person begs or offers him lots more money (it has happened!).
What happens after that?
The planning process begins, with the pre-wedding shoot.
What is a pre-wedding shoot?
Martin will meet you (usually at the studio) and spend a couple of hours with you, taking relaxed, stylish lifestyle photographs of you both. It’s an opportunity for you to get to know him better and for him to get to know you, your likes and dislikes and to put together some ideas for your wedding photographs.
Martin finds that if a bride or groom has any anxieties about being photographed, their anxieties are soon dispelled once they’ve experienced the pre-wedding shoot and seen the results.
How are the pre-wedding photographs presented?
At a convenient time a week or so after the pre-wedding shoot, Martin will meet with you and show you the photographs on a digital slideshow set to music. If you live a long way away, or prefer, he can send you a CD or DVD so that you can see the slideshow without having to wait for a meeting with him.
Can we buy photographs from the pre-wedding shoot?
Of course, and people often do. However, we also give you the CD or DVD of the slideshow to keep and either a mini-album or 6 loose prints, so that you will have a permanent keepsake of the shoot.
What sort of steps does Martin take to prepare for the wedding day photography itself?
Firstly, Martin likes to get to know all his clients, so that he can understand exactly what they want (and, as importantly, don’t want) from their wedding photography.
He will have a detailed planning meeting with the bride and groom (and any other interested friends or family members who want to attend) to discuss the timetable for the day, the group photographs the couple will want, any special details of the wedding or important friends or family members with whom the bride or groom want to be photographed.
Martin will provide you with a suggested list of photographs to help you consider what is important to you and will create a personalised list just for you before the wedding day.
Martin will also visit the venues for the wedding and the reception if he is unfamiliar with them and will make sure he speaks to the organisers at each venue beforehand.
If your wedding is a religious service, he will speak to the person officiating over the ceremony, to make sure that the way in which the photography is carried out meets the needs of the ceremony and the venue. For example, some churches restrict the type of photography that is permitted. In addition, Martin is anxious to ensure that his presence and photography during the ceremony respects the solemnity of the religious occasion.
What sort of contact will we have with Martin before the wedding?
You will meet Martin at least twice before your wedding day after you have booked him, at the pre-wedding shoot, the pre-wedding slideshow and the planning meeting.
Martin is happy for you to have the studio number, his mobile number and his e-mail address.
All his brides and grooms are encouraged to call or mail him as often as they need to, so that every aspect of their wedding photography is exactly as they want it to be.
Is there any limit on the time Martin spends taking photographs on our wedding day?
Martin offers four wedding packages (which you'll find set out in detail on the pricing page).
Option 1 provides for 6 hours' photography on the wedding day (which usually covers bridal preparations through to the start of the wedding breakfast).
Option 2 provides for 8 hours' photography on the wedding day (which usually covers bridal preparations through to the speeches).
Option 3 provides for 10 hours' photography on the wedding day (which usually covers bridal preparations through to the first dance).
Option 4 provides for unlimited shooting time on the wedding day.
The suggestions for what will be covered above are just that, suggestions. Martin will agree with you when he will start shooting and is happy to start earlier or later than the bridal preparations, if that's what you want.
Does Martin shoot on film or a digital camera?
Martin shoots on Nikon digital cameras. Although different photographers have different preferences, he finds that it allows him to shoot an extensive list of photographs without any additional cost to you, he is able to present images as colour and/or black and white and there are other processing effects that can be introduced if they enhance the way the photographs look.
Does Martin photograph a wedding with a second photographer?
Not usually. His style is to be as unobtrusive as possible and he prefers to move quickly and efficiently, and to try to remain as low-key as possible.
He also prefers to take all the photographs himself, to make sure that they are as good as he wants them to be. Every picture in the sample albums available for you to view have been taken by Martin.
If, however, the wedding demands a second photographer to do justice to the venue or the timetable of the day, that can be arranged as Martin has a number of people he trusts and upon whom he can call if necessary.
Does Martin have an assistant at weddings?
Not in the formal sense! However, his wife Rachel assists him if necessary.
In addition to helping him with photography, such as by quietly getting groups together for the formal photographs and ensuring that no-one is kept standing around for that reason, she has found herself helping out in all sorts of other ways. She has made tea, taken labels off the bottom of the bride’s shoes, passed round glasses of champagne, done up buttons on dresses, calmed nerves when it looked like buttons on the wedding dress wouldn’t do up, sorted the ushers’ buttonholes, carried umbrellas, and handed out clean tissues to mothers of the bride and groom when they’d forgotten that they would cry during the vows.
As a result of all the experience we have gained together at weddings and events, we have decided to offer weddings and events planning as a separate service from Martin Hambleton Photography. Please ask for details if you are interested.
How many photographs will we see from our wedding day?
That depends on the length of time you ask Martin to be with you. The longer he is there, the more pictures there will be.
Martin will remove from the list any pictures that don’t pass his ‘quality control’ such as those where someone in a group shot is blinking, or are unflattering of the subject, or are a simple duplication.
As a guide, you should expect to see between 400 and 600 photographs.
Do you carry out re-touching or enhancement of the photographs if necessary?
Yes. We tend not to need to re-touch or manipulate the photographs, but if necessary discreet re-touching or correction will be carried out.
For example, an unwanted blemish that crops up the night before your wedding day, or a shaving nick on the groom’s neck, or a smudge of lipstick after a kiss can be taken out if they would adversely affect the beauty of the photograph.
There is no extra charge for this unless very significant work was required, but that would be discussed in advance with you. If it isn’t discussed, there will be no charge and we expect that you won’t notice that the work has been done at all.
How will I see the proofs of my wedding photographs?
Martin will show you the proofs in the same way as he showed you the pre-wedding photographs, on a slideshow set to music (on a CD or DVD).
You will get to keep the CD or DVD of the wedding slideshow, to upload onto your laptop, to show to your family and friends and to keep to play whenever you like.
With packages 3 and 4 you will also receive a personally designed hard-back proof book, which is also yours to keep.
What sort of albums do you provide?
Martin provides three different types of album: matted, digital and the Memory Book.
In each case, the albums are individually designed to present your chosen photographs at their very best and then made to order.
The album design is created after you have chosen your favourite pictures and so the album is unique to you.
For matted albums (the classic style with photographs set into matted pages) Martin uses albums by Jorgensen of Australia or Queensberry of New Zealand.
For digital albums (where photographs can be merged and overlaid and the images are printed directly onto the pages) Martin uses the GraphiStudio Wedding Book.
Martin also provides the ‘Memory Book’ (see below).
Parent albums are designed and made with exactly the same care and attention, with Martin using Jorgensen of Australia for these albums.
What is a ‘Memory Book’?
The Memory Book is a digital photograph album, with a difference.
It is a unique hand-made album which combines your chosen images with special words and memories from the wedding day.
It may help if we describe the process of creating your ‘Memory Book’.
When you have chosen them, your favourite photographs are sent to an award-winning designer with whom Martin works. We also ask you to provide important words and text, such as the words of your vows, a copy of the order of service, the lyrics of your first dance song, a list of the people who attended the wedding and played key roles, such as the best man and the bridesmaids.
The designer takes all the text and images and designs page spreads that combine them into a beautiful record of your day.
A Memory Book is a truly personal record of your wedding.
Do you provide an internet viewing or purchasing service for our guests?
Yes. Once you have viewed the wedding photograph proofs they can be uploaded onto the internet. Obviously, any very intimate pictures can be removed from the list that is uploaded if you prefer.
Your guests can then view the photographs online, using a link from Martin’s website and also purchase their favourites.
Access to your photographs is password protected and details of the password and the website will be left on printed cards at your wedding reception so that your guests have the information they need at their fingertips.
How long do you keep our photographs available for us?
The original photographs are kept safe (literally, on a dedicated separate computer hard-drive in a fire-proof safe) for ever.
If you ever need to replace your album, want to buy reprints or have a canvas or some other form of artwork made for your home, come back to us and we’ll be able to retrieve the files and provide you with what you need.
Do you have a studio?
Yes. The studio is in the grounds of the Arley Hall estate in Cheshire. It is an old barn tucked away next to a country lane, which we converted into a fabulous studio. All our clients love the atmosphere at the studio and the sense of relaxing and getting away from it all. It's a great place to work!
Are you insured?
Yes. Martin carries industry-standard public liability and professional indemnity insurances.
Are you VAT registered?
Yes. All prices quoted are inclusive of VAT.
