Having a wedding to plan is a wonderful blessing. When two people decide to unite their lives everyone wants to celebrate. A lot of planning goes into a perfect wedding day and Sun and Sparrow is here to help you with all of your wedding planning questions. It is important to know what to ask your wedding photographer, so we have compiled a list called: questions for my wedding photographer. One amazing thing about coming this far, is that you’re interested in working with us! We would love to answer as many questions as we can right here! We hope we can help in making your decision to work with Sun & Sparrow
Do you photograph non-traditional weddings?
We photograph all types of weddings! Here are a few examples of alternative wedding options.
• Elopements – An elopement is a wedding with under 10-15 people, including your vendors. We believe that many clients will plan to have a small elopement in 2020, and then have a bigger celebration in 2021.
• Micro Weddings – A micro wedding is a wedding under 50 people. A micro wedding is encouraged if you have a larger family, but want to keep your guests safe through social distancing. This is an amazing opportunity to be able to celebrate your love, with a number of your close family, while still creating your dream fairytale wedding.
• Editorials – An editorial styled shoot is an awesome opportunity for a bride and groom to have a styled shoot in their wedding gown and tux before their wedding day. We work closely with our clients past to create a beautiful, fairytale moment to capture their love. We can even plan for your editorial session on your originally planned wedding days!
• Love Celebration – We encourage all sorts of creative love celebrations. If you want to have a fun celebration, party, or small gathering, we would love to be a part of your story. Send us your ideas and we can create an amazing celebration together!
WHAT’S UNIQUE TO SUN & SPARROW
How long have you been photographing weddings? // We have been in business since 2008 and have photographed over 500 weddings with Sun & Sparrow. We have photographed many different styles of weddings, diverse types of ethnic and religious ceremonies as well.
Are you a preferred vendor at any venues? // Over many years we have cultivated beautiful relationships with many venues and vendors. We absolutely adore being a part of so many wonderful PREFERRED VENDOR LISTS, including… Descanso Gardens, Calamigos Ranch, Bella Vista Groves, Hurst Ranch, Ebell of LA, Heritage Park in Santa Fe Springs, Los Robles, Mattei’s Tavern
What is it like to work with Sun & Sparrow? // We like to make your photo sessions fun, dreamy, and connected. It is our goal to create a beautiful collection of photos so that you can remember your family and life moments as they happen.
How would you describe your photography style? // We are fine art fairytale photographers. We love to tell stories through our art in a natural and whimsical way. We connect well with many unique visions, but we especially connect a luxurious and romantic vision for a wedding day. We love posed portraits but also love photographing candid moments as well, so you will experience a mix of both. Our editing style is very whimsical, light and airy. We have a signature style of using soft lighting situations with a pastel inspired editing style that gives our photographs that fairytale look.
What is the difference between principal and associate photographers at Sun & Sparrow? // Simply put, associate photographers are employees of Sun & Sparrow who have been photographing weddings for less than 10 years.
All of our lead wedding photographers, principal and associate alike, work diligently and collectively toward that Sun & Sparrow whimsy. Our principal photographer, Ellie, has over a decade of wedding photography experience.
All of our photographers have gone through intensive training to be a part of Sun & Sparrow. Our team members understand the importance of loving people and moments through our lenses.
What types of sessions do you offer // We specialize in sharing and capturing special life-events. We absolutely love Engagements, Weddings, Maternities & Newborn sessions. We love becoming our client’s forever-photographers and being a part of their special moments for life.
What cameras do you shoot with? // We respect all types of photographers with many types of equipment. We personally photograph with top-of-the line Nikon cameras, utilizing mainly professional-grade prime lenses.
Do you edit and color correct your images? // Absolutely! Quality is highly important to us. Our team goes through a rigorous post-processing workflow to ensure that every image you receive will have had our eyes and hands on it. We typically offer approximately 75 + images per hired hour and every image presented to you in your gallery will be enhanced and edited with color-corrections to present our light and airy Sun & Sparrow feel.
If you would like to read testimonials from past clients and vendors, CLICK HERE.
LET’S TALK WEDDING
How far in advance to I need to book with you? // We recommend booking as quickly as you make your decision. We only take a select 50 weddings per year between our team members. All of our dates are filled on a first come, first serve basis.
Are you comfortable photographing outdoors and indoors? // Yes we are. Photography is capturing light, in all forms. We love to use every type of light to create a consistent look through all of our work. Whether we are outdoors in a forest, or in a grand ballroom, we are intentional about all of the light we bring into our cameras.
Do you travel for destination or international weddings? // It is our desire to document your love story, wherever your heart is. We love documenting love stories all over the country and the world. Many of our weddings are photographed inside of Southern California, but we we have documented love stories in places as far as Washington, Alaska, and Cabo San Lucas. There are no places too far to tell our clients’ stories. We do have special pricing and considerations for destination weddings. Please contact us directly for full pricing information.
What if it rains on our session day or wedding? // I highly recommend keeping your session whether rain or shine. There are many benefits to photographing in all types of weather, and it can also be an unexpected pleasure to have a session that is unique to you. Whatever your preference, we will offer to either reschedule or shoot in the rain.
Do you have liability insurance? // Absolutely! We want to make sure that your venue, our team, and our clients are all protected.
PRICING GUIDES & INVESTMENT IN YOUR HISTORY
Selecting and booking with a photographer is a very big deal. You really want your photographer’s vision for art to match your own. You want to be able to trust your photographer to be able to help you through the process as well as guide you through your photography session. When you decide to book with Sun & Sparrow, you can be assured that your investment will be an investment in remembering your history in a beautiful, fairytale way.
How can I book with Sun & Sparrow? // We would love to be a part of your story!! You may book by filling out an inquiry form HERE or by emailing Ellie@sunandsparrow.com about your desired date and time.
How much do you require for a deposit or retainer? //
• For weddings, our standard studio policy is for clients to retain the date for our services with a 1/3 payment of the total contract amount. There will be 2 more equal payments of 33% each of the remaining balance; spaced out equally between the contract signing date and a month before the wedding date. 3 payments total. All fees are due no less than 7 days prior to the wedding.
• For ENGAGEMENT, MATERNITY OR NEWBORN sessions, our standard studio policy is for clients to retain our services with 1/2 of the total contract amount. Final balances is due the day of your session.
How many shooters do I need at my wedding? // We highly recommend having two shooters at any wedding. There are many reasons to consider hiring a second shooter, but the main reason is to have more of your wedding day covered. We highly recommend having a second shooter if your guest count is over 45.
How will we receive our images and how many will we receive? // Sun & Sparrow believes in quality over quantity. With your collection, we want you to love every image. We offer our clients approximately 75+ images per hour of photography coverage. Once a gallery is complete, we send out an email with a link to your gallery. You will be able to immediately download your gallery and we highly recommend archiving right away. For your engagement session, you can expect a gallery delivery between 4-6 weeks.
Do you have the ability to provide additional photoshop work? // With our candid and natural style, we typically like things to be as pure as possible. We are able to provide additional photoshop work, if requested, but any requests will incur a fee per image. Typically photoshop adjustment fees range from $20-45 per image depending on the request.
Do I receive copyrights to the photos? // We offer a variety of options for copyrights and privacy. However, some clients may prefer to buy full rights to their images. Most of our clients won’t require a full copyrights buyout. For clients who are extremely private and concerned about their privacy or would like to use their images for branding or promotions, we do offer full buyout of copyrights to the images. Please inquire for pricing and usage restrictions. For corporate clients, also offer full-copyright buyouts as well.
Will you post or share my photos online? // We absolutely love to share our work on our blog and our social media platforms. It’s a way for us to love on our clients and share the hard work that all of our vendor friends have put into a wedding day. On some occasions, we love to submit our weddings to magazines and wedding blogs. However, if you prefer to not to have your photos posted online, we can accommodate your privacy preferences.
Do you offer packages or à la carte pricing? // Our studio offers the most popular services and products in four different collections for both our principal and associate photographers. We are also more than happy to customize a package specifically for each client based on your needs. Through the year, we offer the following that vary in pricing:
• Portrait Sessions Collections that range from 1-3 hours
• Each moth we have a select amount of mini sessions that are offered REVIEW MINI SESSIONS HERE
• We offer a variety of Wedding Photography collections that range from 1-2 hour elopement/micro weddings to full coverage wedding days.
Do you offer videography? // We are also no longer taking any new videography inquiries. Thank you for your support over the years. We love you!
Do you offer heirloom albums, prints, print boxes & canvases? // We do offer a variety of fine-art products. You can view our custom ordered heirlooms HERE.
FINDING THE RIGHT QUESTIONS TO ASK
We have reviewed a handful of amazing bridal help websites and hope we have compiled information to help you making your decisions for your wedding easier. If you would like to browse through a few question guides, we have provided a few below:
HERE COMES THE GUIDE.COM Questions to ask your photographer
BRIDES.COM : 36 important questions to ask your photographer
POLICIES REGARDING ECOLOGICAL WELLNESS, CLEANLINESS
Photographing outdoors // We encourage our clients to keep our photography locations clean and to respect any neighbors or residents (human, plants, or animals). Take only pictures, leave only footprints.
Photographing in neighborhoods // When we photograph in neighborhoods or open trails we are guests. We strive to be aware of the plants and animals that live in any environment so we do not trample on hidden homes or protected plants. We bring minimal items to any location, and pack out anything we bring, including garbage, florals, and furniture.
Props // We allow clients to bring props to elevate their photos. However, we do not allow the following items:
1. Any pyrotechnics, including un-permitted fireworks, candles, or smoke makers.
2. Confetti of any kind that can not be completely cleaned up
3. Any props that will destroy property or natural environments.
Outdoor Safety // Safety is our highest priority. Please be aware of potentially hazardous situations. We always look out for dangerous animals, insects, or reptiles for safety. We also want to be aware of any place where we might fall from a high location. Please be mindful and use discretion when choosing locations to photograph. We want everyone to be safe while having fun.
