See How Much I Love You
Booking & Info
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Every wedding has a story, we tell it … We consider ourselves story tellers; we know that your wedding is so much more than just a day. Its an event that has been blueprinted over centuries by family, friends and life’s unexpected wonders. We move away from the idea that videography is just a chronological compilation of wedding day events and rather we discover the wonderful story behind it; from the song choice to the artistic selection of the scene order, everything comes together to tell stories of love, families, and celebrations.
The Process
A. Make an appointment to meet with the photographer/videographer, familiarize with us and discuss the relevant process and preparations for the shooting.
B. Select a package, make a reservation date, pay a 30% deposit for the shooting fee, and sign the contract.
C. When your wedding is near. Your wedding coordinator will contact us and provide a license before the shooting. Then, we will confirm the timeline before your wedding.
D. After we complete shooting, and you will pay the rest payments at the end of shooting.
E. The Raw profiles will be ready after 7 working days, you can come to our studio to copy all of them, or choose to purchase a hard drive we can mail it to you. The photo and video processing will be within 12 weeks.
F. Mail or pick up the edited photo/video (4-8 weeks).
Q: "WHAT IS YOUR STYLE?"
The Shmily Wedding team is acclaimed for fine-art photography and authentic storytelling cinematography. We love using creative lighting, unique perspectives, angles, compositions and artistic post production refining to bring out our clients personalities and beauty while telling their wedding story. We pride ourselves on not just being photographers, but rather artists creating unique and expressive imagery. To see examples of our quality and style, please visit our PORTFOLIO to view our work.
Q:"HAVE YOU SHOT AT MY VENUE BEFORE?"
We have shot at hundreds of venues so there is a good chance that we have. If we have not however we will be sure to perform a thorough walkthrough with you prior to your wedding day.
Q: "MY VENUE IS REALLY DARK. HOW DOES YOUR STUDIO HANDLE THESE SITUATIONS AND CAN I SEE SAMPLES?"
We have shot in the darkest of dark chapels and reception halls so no need to worry! If the situation allows, we will set up additional lighting to ensure we get bright crisp pictures. Some chapels do not allow for flash photography; and for that reason, we shoot on camera’s with superb low-light performance and lenses with low apertures.
Q: "HOW MANY HOURS DO YOU SUGGEST WE SET ASIDE FOR WEDDING DAY PHOTO/VIDEO?"
Preparation Shots – Duration: 1 hour - 1 hour 30 min
Ideally we would have 45 minutes for the girls and 45 minutes with the guys.
First Look – Duration: 30 min to 1 hour
First look is the first impression that a husband see his bride. It is adorable and unforgeable. Highly recommended.
Couples session – Duration: 1 hour
We highly suggest doing this before the ceremony in conjunction with a “first look.” That way you can enjoy the rest of your day without having to worry about taking too much time out for photo’s. Also this is when the makeup and hair are fresh. We’ll set up a first look moment so it’ll still be a surprise when you see each other. Be sure to give us at least a full hour so we can capture the amazing shots you see in our portfolio.
Family Formals – Duration: 30min - 1 hour
Have a list of pictures that you want with your family/friends right after the ceremony. Typically this is done at the altar but we can do it any location you’d like. Also, have one person from each side of the family that is really organized (and loud) to move people in and out of photo’s.
Bridal Party (Optional) – Duration: 30 min to 1 hour
This is where we take the bridal party out for some fun shots. This is also nice to handle before the ceremony so that you can rest and enjoy your day afterwards.
Q: "DO YOU DELIVER EVERY IMAGE YOU SHOOT?"
No we do not. We eliminate duplicate images, test shots, missed focused shots, shots with bad expressions and other images that may dilute the overall product delivery. For example, because we shoot with low apertures, sometimes we take a few extra shots to make sure we have the perfect focus. We don’t expect you to have the expertise or the time to zoom into each image to select the one with the sharpest focus, so we spend hours doing that on our end. In another example, candid laughs and emotional tears are some of the best images from the day. Unfortunately, they can also yield some unflattering facial expressions. We might snap a few extras of any of these moments to make sure we have a great shot with the ideal expression for the moment. With our expertise if processing millions of images each year, we may eliminate ones that we feel are duplicates and only deliver the best one.
Q: "ARE YOU AVAILABLE FOR DESTINATION WEDDINGS?"
Yes! Shmily Wedding is based out of Irvine and Chino Hills, we serve clients all around the world. Our destination wedding packages are simply our standard packages plus the cost of travel and reasonable accommodations if necessary.
Email shmilyphotostudio@gmail.com for details.
Q: "WHAT ABOUT LUNCH AND DINNER IF YOU WORK WITH US ALL DAY?"
If you book me for a long day of coverage I'd really appreciate to get something to eat and drink (and lots of coffee) to keep my strength and energy going.
Q: "DO YOU MIND IF OUR FAMILY MEMBERS TAKES PHOTOS AT THE CEREMONY?"
Not at all. Tell them to snap away all they want, but maybe it is nicer for you and for them to actually enjoy the ceremony instead of taking pictures, that's why you have me there.
Q: "CAN WE BREAK UP HOURS?"
No, I always shoot consecutive hours of coverage.
Q: "WHAT'S INCLUDED?"
Pricing includes preparations, planning, meetings, research, my time shooting, film, scanning and post processing of the images. My support before, during and after your wedding. A proofing gallery with shopping cart and back up. All of my wedding collections also includes high resolution digital images.
Q:"HOW MANY PHOTOS DO WE GET TO SEE FROM OUR WEDDING DAY?"
You will get all of the best photographs from your day. It can be anything from 400 up to 800 images. It all depends of the situation of the day. How many guests you have attending, how much time we have for portraits, how many details there are to photograph. But I always aim for quality over quantity.
Q:"HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE UNTIL WE WILL GET TO SEE OUR PHOTOS/VIDEO?"
It will take between 4-6 weeks before you get a preview of your photos. The full wedding gallery will be ready within 6-12 weeks depending of the time of year. Film rolls needs time to be develop, scanned and color corrected. After that we will edit and retouch the images so we can present a carefully curated collection of wedding photographs to you.
Q: "CAN WE MAKE PRINTS ANYWHERE WE WANT?"
Yes.
Q: "CAN WE ORDER PRINTS FROM YOU?"
Absolutely! I print smaller sizes in-house. For larger re-prints and albums we use a trusted print house that makes archival prints. I'd be happy to take care of your print order.
Q: "ARE THE PHOTOS/VIDEO GOING TO BE EDITED?"
Yes! All the photos/video you receive will be carefully edited depending on the package, that means they are color corrected, contrast adjusted and sharpened and ready to print. What you see here on my website is what you get! Beautifully crafted photos, I'm very meticulous when it comes to my editing process.