FAQ’s

HOW DO WE BOOK YOU AS OUR WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHER?

Booking me as your wedding photographer couldn’t be easier. Drop me an email with the date of your wedding and I’ll get back to straight away to confirm my availability. To secure the date of your wedding in my diary I request a £200 deposit, which is then offset against your final package price. You’ll receive a breakdown of costs and receipt of the deposit by email. The final payment is requested the same week as your wedding, a couple of days before the big day.

DO WE MEET BEFORE THE WEDDING?

Yes. I always like to meet the couples I photograph before the day of their wedding. This is a great way to find out about all the finer details of your day and a great opportunity for me to look around the venue to get a better idea of what’s possible. If you’d like to tie-in your wedding meeting with an engagement shoot I ask couples to spare half a day. This can be the morning or afternoon; it’s completely up to you.  

WHAT IF IT RAINS?

My cameras are weather sealed, I own a coat and I’ll continue shooting your wedding rain or shine. Fingers crossed it won’t be wet but if it is we’ll revert to plan B which we’ll come up with when I visit your venue during our wedding meeting.

DO YOU CHARGE TRAVEL COSTS?

My package price includes the cost of travel to any venue in Kent, Sussex or Surrey. If your wedding is slightly further away I’ll work out the travel cost based on an average mileage rate and add this to your wedding estimate, which is sent by email for you to approve.

HOW DO WE ARRANGE THE GROUP SHOTS?

About six months or so before your wedding I’ll send you a group shot template document that lists family and friend group shot combinations. With this you’ll be able to go through and decide which group shots you’d like taken on your day and which you’d prefer to go without. All that I ask is for you to add people’s names to the document, which makes it easier for me to locate everyone.

WILL YOU COVER THE ENTIRE DAY FROM START TO FINISH?

You get me for the entire day at your wedding from the bride and grooms preparations in the morning through to the first dance in the evening. Buy me a drink after the first dance and I'll happily stay for longer to photograph those drunken dance floor antics!  

DO YOU WORK WITH AN ASSISTANT?

For weddings where there are 100+ guests attending I’d highly recommend hiring my assistant. More information about this and why you might want to consider it can be found towards the bottom of my pricing page.  

WHAT CAMERA KIT DO YOU USE?

I’m currently shooting with a pair of Canon EOS 5D Mark III bodies attached to my harness system that allows me to carry both side by side. In addition I always carry a third camera body with me. I mainly use Canon optics but also own a few fast Sigma Art prime lenses and own multiple flash speedlites that see use when an extra bit of illumination is required in the evenings and at night.

HOW LONG WILL IT BE BEFORE WE SEE OUR PHOTOS?

I aim to turnaround your wedding photographs in two-three weeks. If you go away on your honeymoon soon after your wedding I will aim to have the photos ready and waiting for you when you get back. You’ll also be able to view progress on my website using a password to enter your own personal gallery that can also be viewed by family and friends.  

DO YOU KEEP A BACKUP OF OUR PHOTOS?

Of course. Images are backed up to two devices and the cloud to ensure there’s no risk of ever losing your images. I also keep your wedding photographs on file for over three years so should you accidentally lose the USB with all your edited images on I can resend them to you.

HOW DOES THE ONLINE GALLERY WORK?

As I edit your wedding images they get uploaded to an online gallery where you can view them and download them at your leisure. You’ll receive a link to the gallery with a password and a download number. You have the option to pass this onto family and friends to easily share your wedding images if you so wish.

DO YOU SHOOT IN RAW OR JPEG?

Both of my cameras are set to shoot in the Raw&JPEG file formats. Why? The JPEGs allow me to turnaround edits very quickly and act as a backup. The Raw files offer much greater latitude when it comes to working on your final images at the editing stage and these can be made available to you upon request.

If you have any other questions not answered here please just drop me an email - miketophamphotography@outlook.com or drop me a line on 07952723436.