The Complete Guide to Queenstown Wedding Photography Packages

So you’re searching for your dream Wedding Photographer and you now find yourself comparing dozens of different Queenstown Wedding Photography Packages. There are A LOT of Wedding Photographers in Queenstown (especially for such a small town). So how the hell are you supposed to choose one option from all the Photography Packages you have received?

I am going to outline in this blog post a few simple tips to help you work your way through all the options and hopefully pick the photographer that is the best fit for you.  Disclaimer: Yes, I am a Queenstown Wedding Photographer myself but you won’t catch me promoting myself and my business in this post.  This post is meant to help you find the wedding photographer who is the best fit for you.  And, as every couple and every wedding is different, each often has their own specific needs and desires when it comes to wedding photography and photographers.

Right, now that we’ve got that out of the way, let’s get started!

All the dirt on Queenstown Wedding Photography Packages from an actual Queenstown Wedding Photographer

What is normally included in Wedding Photography Packages?

Of course what is included in various photographer’s packages is going to vary from photographer to photographer. But generally speaking, your bare bones Queenstown Wedding Photography Package is going to include the following;

• X number of hours of coverage
• Usually the Package will specify roughly how many edited images you can expect to receive based on the hours of coverage in the Package.
• Editing of the delivered images
• A specified amount of travel (for the photographer) to/from the wedding and/or photo locations.
• A private client gallery to view/share/download your images.

Other products and services that might be included in the Package or offered as optional extra include;

• Prints
• Albums
• Digital slideshows, galleries or apps like a StickyAlbum.
• Rush delivery (an extra charge if request a faster than normal turnaround of the delivery of the edited images).
• Advanced photo retouching (eg removing tattoos or blemishes in certain/all photos).

But what do these inclusions really mean?

The above may (or may not) seem clear and straightforward to you, but there are a few things to be aware of. So let’s talk through the various items that are typically included in Queenstown Wedding Photography Packages. What do these inclusions really mean for you? Is there anything you need to be aware of with them?

Hours of Coverage

When does the clock start and stop when it comes to Hours of Coverage?

Speaking for myself, Coverage starts when I turn up at the first location or meeting point. That first location is usually either the Airbnb/hotel room/salon where the girls are getting ready or the ceremony location itself. And Coverage ends at the agreed time and place. This is usually at the Reception. Either just after the Bride & Groom are welcomed in as man and wife by their guests or after the First Dance.

What counts as coverage and what doesn’t? Is travel included in the Hours of Coverage?

For me, Coverage is continuous. ie the clock starts when I turn up at the first location and ends at the final location/venue. Any travel that happens between those two times is included in the Coverage. So, if I turn up at the ceremony venue at 230pm and finish shooting at 630 at the Reception Venue that is 4 hours of coverage. That 4 hour period may include 5 minutes of travel or 55, it is still 4 hours of Coverage. However, unless it’s an out-of-town wedding, I don’t charge for travel time to the first location or from the last location. (See the Travel section for more info on out-of-town weddings).

But, it’s important you make sure your photographer (and their contract) is clear about what constitutes Coverage, when it starts/stops etc.

What happens if your photographer ends up shooting for longer than the Package specifies?

Number of images delivered

When a Photography Package specifies say “includes approximately 500 images” it usually means this is roughly the amount of photos your photographer will select, edit and deliver. That doesn’t mean he/she only shot 500 images on the day. As an example, for a 10 Hour Wedding Photography Package I would guarantee the delivery of approximately 500 edited images. (I work on the formula of 50 edited images delivered for every hour I’m shooting). But, at a 10 Hour Wedding I would normally shoot around 1500 – 2000 images in total. So why am I only delivering 500 images if I shot say 1500? Here are the main reasons;

• With many photos I will shoot multiple similar versions but only choose one when culling. This is especially true of Family Formals and any group photos. The more people there are in the photo the more chances that at least one of them will have their eyes closed or a less than flattering expression on their face in any given shot. This is why it’s crucial to shoot multiple versions of any group photos to make sure you get one keeper.
• There is such a thing as “too many photos” for wedding couples. If you receive too many photos in one go from your photographer it can become a daunting task to even look through them let alone decide which to print/share.
• Some shots will be duds – a guest stands up or raises their cell phone in front of the photographer during the ceremomy, focus is off, the shot is unflattering etc.
• The last reason is a selfish one – time. It takes time to edit and deliver every image. With extremely large numbers of images, the editing and delivery process becomes incredibly time consuming.

Editing

‘Here are the major things you want to think about/ask questions about when it comes to editing;

• Does the package I booked even include editing? As unbelievable as it seems to me, some photographers practise “shoot and burn” photography where they deliver unedited images pretty much straight out of the camera and into your hands.
• How extensive/professional is the editing that is included with your Package? Does it include Black and White versions? If so, do you get the colour versions of these images too so you can choose? Does it include cropping, exposure adjustments, sharpening, colour correction etc?
• Do you actually like the editing style as shown on your photographer’s website? If not, your best bet is to book a photographer who’s editing and images you love. If this isn’t an option, you can always ask your phototgrapher if they’re willing to adjust the “look” of your wedding photos. (But be ready for an upset photographer when you ask that question).

 

Travel

Most Queenstown Wedding Photography Packages will likely mention the kilometres and/or hours of travel included. This is pretty self explanatory – it is the distance or time the photographer is prepared to travel for your chosen Package. Apart from fuel costs, it all comes down to time for your photographer. If you book a 2 hour Elopement Package but expect your photographer to drive 500 kilometres each way to get to your dream Elopement Location, it is in reality a 14 hour shoot for your photographer. Now, if your Photographer is super keen to shoot at that particular location (or just get your booking full stop) then they might waive or discount their travel costs. But, if you are planning on doing your shoot more than 25 kilometres from your photographer’s base then you should check with them if there will be any additional travel charges.

Client galleries

If your photographer is a real pro, they will likely deliver your edited images electronically using a client gallery. A good client gallery makes it easy to view, print and also share your images. Keep in mind that these client galleries are usually a paid subscription service and organising and uploading images to the client galleries takes time. So even though this one is pretty much a given for any pro photographer it’s still a nice and important touch. A couple of things to keep in mind/questions to ask with Client Galleries are;

• How long is the Client Gallery link active? Ie when do you need to download/share them by before you can no longer access the Client Gallery?
• Does the Client Gallery allow easy sharing of both individual images as well as the entire gallery via social/email/SMS?
• How secure is the Client Gallery? Can anyone browsing the web access it? Can anyone with the link access it? Is it password protected?
• Can you download images direct from the Client Gallery?
• What sizes/resolutions can you download the images in?

Some things NOT covered in most Photography Packages

The following items are things that aren’t normally mentioned in most Photographer’s Packages but are questions worth asking in my opinion.

Contract

Don’t misunderstand me – of course most wedding photography packages include a contract. (The wedding photographer you’re considering doesn’t use a contract? My advice – run away now!). However, most couples only consider the contract when they are actually part way through booking the Package. And who knows, some couples no doubt pay the deposit before they’ve read the contract. Make sure you read the contract thoroughly – even though it’s booooooooooring as all hell it is important. Don’t be afraid to question your photographer if anything doesn’t make sense to you.

Image backups

Most people are not good with backups – and that is also true of most Wedding Couples. And if you don’t backup your data properly you risk losing it. A popular mantra with Data Backups is the 3-2-1 rule. Ie 3 copies of all important data stored on 2 different mediums with 1 copy of the data stored offsite. As an example of following the 3-2-1 rule, here is my backup setup;

• My offsite backup is handled by Sync.com. All my images are backed up to the cloud using this service and can be accessed, downloaded or restored from any location or device as long as I have internet.
• The 2 mediums I use to back up my image library is the afore-mentioned Sync.com cloud backup and a massive hard drive array in my office.
• The 3 copies of all my images are stored on (a) a Drobo 5d hard drive array with 10 Terabytes of capacity, (b) A Time Machine backup of the Drobo 5d to a Thunderbay hard drive array with 10 Terabytes of capacity and (c) my Sync.com cloud backup service, also with 10 Terabytes of capacity.

I strongly recommend you make at least 2 copies of both your high res and low res images in 2 different locations. Ie not on the same hard drive/laptop/computer. On top of this, ask your photographer how many backups of your images they have at any one time and whether they can be made available to you later if necessary. If so, is there a cost to redeliver the images to you if you somehow lose or destroy your copies?

Custom Packages

Now, while most Queenstown Weddings have got a few things in common, every wedding and every wedding couple is quite unique. So it makes sense that in order to get not only the best value for money and a wedding day that is more “you”, you will need your Wedding Photographer to tailor some Custom Wedding Photography Packages for you. But the vast majority of Queenstown Wedding Photographers only offer generic Wedding Photography Packages. This is simply a time-saving effort on their part. While they no doubt work hard to fine tune their standard packages to be the best fit (and an easy sell) for most couples, you will often end up settling for a Package that is “close enough” to your needs rather than an exact fit.

My advice? When hunting for your Dream Queenstown Wedding Photographer ask them if they are willing to customise their Wedding Photography Packages for you if necessary. Who knows, this might even save you some money!

Long story short…

Right, I think that about covers it for Wedding Photography Packages for now. I will update this Post from time to time so stay tuned! And if you have any questions or feedback feel free to comment below or email me at patrick@fallon.co.nz.

P.S. You might also find this helpful – Queenstown Wedding Packages – The Complete Guide.