All Frequently Asked Wedding Questions

You can choose from several photography packages — the arrangements couples ask for most often. If none of them fits, I will put one together that is built around your day. Whichever you choose, every package covers the wedding day itself, a meeting beforehand so that we get to know each other, a check-up questionnaire, and a wedding contract that sets it all down. You also receive a password-protected download link to your photographs and, where they are booked, your films. I keep a backup of those files for at least two years.

As soon as you have the date. I usually plan at least a year ahead, but ask me anyway if your wedding is sooner than that and I will check the date.

Of course. I am available for weddings in the Rhine-Main area, elsewhere in Germany and abroad. Travel and, where they are needed, overnight costs are charged on top; the travel costs page has the detail.

Believe it or not, more than half of my couples told me they were not photogenic before they stood in front of my camera. Many people carry that fear, and then are surprised by how well it goes. Once you see your photographs, I think you will be glad. I believe everyone is photogenic, especially standing next to the person they love. Most people who think they are not photogenic are remembering awkward school portraits or bad snapshots from family parties. When I photograph you, we keep the mood relaxed and cheerful, we look for the best light, we use the angles that work — and above all I let the natural connection the two of you already have come through in every frame.

There is no fixed number of weddings I photograph in a year. I limit how many dates I take on, because it matters to me to have enough time to get to know you as a couple and enough time to prepare and to carry out the day properly.

All wedding dates are booked bindingly. So that every one of my clients gets personal attention, I take on only a limited number of weddings each year. The date is secured once we have concluded the wedding contract and I have been able to record the deposit.

Certainly. I am glad to show you a whole wedding. Send me an email through the contact page and I will send you an example.

Your wedding photographs are usually available within four to eight weeks after your wedding, through a personal, password-protected link. Films generally take somewhat longer. Photographs and films are sent the same way. For wedding photographs I can arrange faster delivery for an increased editing fee of €100. For films, faster delivery depends on how booked up I am, because the work takes considerably longer, so it can only be agreed at short notice.

Yes, of course. I think it is important to take family photographs. I recommend taking them either shortly before or shortly after your ceremony. They are part of the wedding, and there is no additional cost.

I photograph everything in color, images and films alike. Images can be converted to black and white, and we can agree that for individual pictures.

For many couples the pictures they have together before the wedding are snapshots and selfies. Those matter too, because they hold a time and a place in your relationship. But professional engagement photographs are something you and your family will still be glad to look at and to show many years later. And when they match the later wedding photographs in style and mood, they round off the whole experience. They also give you the chance to gather some practice, so that you feel more comfortable in front of the camera when the wedding comes.

What matters is that your day runs smoothly. I draw up an individual schedule for all my couples, in which we set down, for example, when you want to start with hair and make-up, when we go out to photograph, and when you want to cut the cake — all of it worked out with your wedding planner, your venue or your caterer.

I suggest that every couple writes a list of family and group photographs, because you know best which friends and which family groupings you want in the pictures. Group photographs with your immediate family, grandparents included, and with everyone else who matters — aunts, uncles, cousins, friends — are important to most couples. I recommend taking those shortly before or after the ceremony. If there are particular traditions or unusual moments you want kept, of course tell me and they go on the list. And I can support you with my own experience, and will take care to capture your day the way you lived it.

I dress formally but comfortably, in dark clothing, or classically with a white shirt and a black jacket, so that I do not stand out among a wedding party.

Of course. I can provide proof of insurance for your venue.

I use professional photo and film cameras, and I bring a replacement camera of comparable quality to every wedding, along with further spare equipment.

One of the additional benefits of working with professionals is that we can rely on one another in an emergency. I am connected with several professional agencies and have a wide network of photographers and filmmakers I can contact, who as a rule are able to step in for me should something unforeseen happen.

Yes, of course. My packages cover your day from the start of the hair and make-up preparations to the last big moment of the celebration. Additional hours are always possible, depending on how much more you would like covered.

We can discuss that in detail when we go through the schedule for your wedding. Often it is exactly that free time between the fixed appointments that serves as preparation for the next one. As a rule, though, the time can be put to good use: quiet personal photographs with you and your partner, or further family portraits put together. The gap you were worried about often becomes an important focal point for the most atmospheric pictures of the day.

Wonderful. The next step is to fill in my contact form with your date, so that I can check my availability. Once we have agreed the ideal package for you, I will send you the wedding contract. From my side the date is firmly booked as soon as the contract is signed and a deposit has been recorded.

We can simply arrange a time to talk about your wedding plans. I hold most meetings in person in the Rhine-Main area. Since I typically photograph weddings or corporate events at weekends, a weekday suits me best. Many of my couples have full calendars, or are planning their wedding from a distance, so the conversation can equally well be held by telephone or over Skype.

Because my calendar is limited, I currently travel rarely to meet clients. If you would like to arrange a meeting, please get in touch with me.

I would be glad to meet you before the wedding; but if you are too busy or too far away, we can handle everything remotely. Just think about what you hope to get out of the meeting, and we can then discuss the best ways to reach it. To give you a sense of the work, I am glad to show you a complete wedding online. Because it helps to actually see one another, I prefer a webcam appointment, over Skype for instance, to a telephone call.

I keep the photographs and films for at least two years. You get in touch with me and receive a link to your photographs or films the same day, and can download them again.

Every one of my packages includes a download of the images at maximum resolution. As a rule, though, I do not offer the RAW files from my shoots, because I believe in delivering a finished piece of work. In fact I often photograph with the end result, edited, already in mind. If you absolutely want all the images unedited, I will provide them unedited as JPEGs. If you need the RAW files because you or someone else you commission wants to edit them further, I will provide them for an additional fee.

You have the right to reprint images for your own use, whenever you want and wherever you want. You may not, however, sell your images.

I can only give a reduction if serious technical faults have occurred. What I am glad to do is adjust the images again afterwards.

I take many photographs at a wide aperture, which means the background is slightly out of focus so that the intended subject comes forward. If you want an image to be sharp from front to back, you need to tell me before the wedding. It is only possible up to a point, and only as far as the light allows. Once it moves towards dusk, or when we photograph inside a dark building, the technology on the market today cannot yet do it.

In a group photograph of more than twenty people it is almost impossible for me to take a frame in which everyone is caught at their best. It is sometimes possible for me to make someone smile naturally in the editing.

In rare cases your wedding venue is not built for events and has very yellow ceiling lighting together with large open windows. That produces mixed lighting which the camera can no longer resolve. Technically, the only way to get that slight yellow cast out is with flash. If you are unsure about your venue, you are welcome to send me photographs of it in advance.

You receive all photographs in digital form only, provided as a download link.

On my website I select only my personal favorites. There will certainly be many photographs from your wedding that could go on it too. If there are images in your gallery you find particularly beautiful, I offer a small selection that I will refine a little further.

A highlight trailer is a film between six and eight minutes long. It shows all the special and important moments of your wedding. It carries no original sound; it is set to music that you choose yourself.

As standard I produce only highlight trailers. In principle further video and sound recordings are possible. Those additional services have to be set down explicitly beforehand, though, in the initial conversation and in the contract, because a second camera may have to be set up along with equipment for the sound. That can mean additional costs. It cannot be arranged afterwards.

No. I do not offer films longer than a six-to-eight-minute highlight trailer. For some celebrations it is possible to extend the highlight trailer to as much as fifteen minutes.

Yes. Scenes can be exchanged afterwards, but only within the first four weeks after approval.

No. I film with the focus on individual moments. That means I often change position and film only short pieces of any one situation.

In principle yes. There are things to be aware of, though. I film at a very high resolution, which is demanding on a machine and causes playback problems on older computers. The result is many short pieces, recorded in slight slow motion. And I film in a particular video color profile, which makes the material look very pale and washed out. That is what allows me to adjust the colors afterwards as I need to, so that they look right in the finished film.

In principle yes. I would recommend it only as a last resort, though, because the quality of the recordings, the camera work and the format make for a clearly visible break in style.

No. I film exclusively on my own, with a gimbal. I do not use a camera crane. If you would like a second camera operator, I am glad to make someone from my team available to you.

No. I photograph and film with a camera that gathers a great deal of light, so the ambient light is enough for almost every moment. If it does become a little too dark, I use a flash or an LED panel to lift it very slightly.

You have the option of my setting up a second camera with an external microphone and letting it run throughout. Please bear in mind that I may be visible in that footage when an important moment for the highlight trailer occurs.

I photograph all images in RAW format. The images delivered to you are JPEGs.

Extended post-processing covers retouching such as removing blemishes, removing shadows under the eyes, removing stray hairs and so on. Custom post-production, on the other hand, is anything that requires extensive bespoke work in Photoshop: removing whole objects from the scene, changing the size and shape of body parts or other objects in the scene, adding objects to a scene, and other custom work. I charge for custom post-production by the hour, because the time required varies with the complexity of the job.

Yes, I have. Every image I deliver is post-processed in my style of basic editing. That includes color correction, exposure adjustments, selective black-and-white work, clarity adjustments, tone mapping and other corrections.

No. Every image and every shoot is its own thing. That comes about because the surroundings are different, because the photographs are taken at a different time of day, and because the weather is different. If there is a look on my website you like very much, I am glad to try to work towards it, so that the images come out similar.

I have never lost a photograph from a wedding, because I follow this backup workflow: during the event I photograph to two cards at once and then make a backup on an external hard drive. That leaves two copies on the cards and creates a further one on the drive. After the shoot I secure the cards on a local server set up in a RAID 1 configuration. Once the images are finished, I upload the photographs to an external storage location. At least two copies of your files are available at any time.

Please take care that your guests do not sit directly in front of large open windows, because in strong sunshine those can easily blow out.

Your venue should have ceilings as high as possible, for more natural light. Ceiling lamps should not have too strong a yellow cast, because that will not look flattering in your photographs. This is more often the case in smaller restaurants than in halls built for weddings.

Tubes of soap bubbles are a perfect alternative to rice and confetti, particularly for the entrance. You can find them on Amazon from about €8 for twenty. In heavily overcast weather, a suitable umbrella is a fine way to lift the shoot. There are various models made for weddings: heart-shaped, transparent, printed, even carrying the date with your initials. If you prefer something classic, a plain white or black umbrella serves the purpose just as well. Wedding sneakers are a nice idea for dancing through the late evening, particularly for the bride. They even come as a matching pair for bride and groom, and a message can be written on the soles.

It is important that we have a fallback location for the wedding shoot in case it rains. Please give this some thought in advance and get in touch with me, so that we can look together for somewhere near the hall.