We think complete transparency is the best way to run a business so here is a little list of things that you may want to read through before you book us!
If you have any questions regarding any of the points raised below we would be happy to answer them.
BOOKING FEE
All wedding dates are available on a first come first serve basis and will only be secured by submitting a completed and signed contract along with a booking fee of £250. For Destination Weddings the booking fee is £600 as it is needed to book travel & accommodation.
The booking fee is non refundable, it covers all the admin work needed to prepare for your wedding and also serves to block out your wedding date, meaning that we will turn away any other bookings for the same date!
BALANCE
Payment of the balance is due no later than 1 month before the date of the wedding. You will receive automated email reminders 2 weeks before the due date and on the due date. We offer flexible payment, meaning you will be able to pay any amount any time towards your final balance should you wish to.
If you fail to pay by the due date, depending on the circumstances one of two things will happen, either we won't show up and as such will not shoot your wedding, OR we will shoot your wedding but you will not receive a single image/film until payment has been made. Late payment of any amount due will incur an 8% interest rate per annum from the time the payment was due until the time paid.
CANCELLATION
If we have to cancel for reasons beyond our control (for instance- death, injury or sickness) liability shall be limited to the amount of monies paid. If we have to cancel within four weeks of the wedding date, we will try to source alternative photographer(s)/videographer(s) of the same or higher qualification and style and similar pricing. If that is not possible we will issue a full refund minus any services/products already received.
If you terminate the contract the booking fee will not be refunded.
BOOKING
After exchanging a few emails and/or chatting on Zoom we will send you a link to your online booking proposal where you'll be able to select which collection and add ons you would like to book, and review and sign your contract.
If another couple enquires about your date within two weeks of the booking proposal being sent to you, we will contact you out of courtesy to see if you are still interested. If we don’t receive a response within 24hrs we will take the other booking forward. After the two week period is over, you will not be notified if another couple is interested in or books your date.
OVERDUE PAYMENT
If you fail to pay by the due date, depending on the circumstances one of two things will happen, either we won't show up and as such will not shoot your wedding, OR we will shoot your wedding but you will not receive a single image/film until payment has been made.
DATE/LOCATION CHANGE
If you wish to change the date and/or location of the wedding then all monies paid can be transferred to a new date subject to our availability. Please check our availability before booking a new date. We reserve the right to charge a fee, for example if the new date is on a bank holiday, if the new location requires additional travel/accommodation expenses, or if our prices have increased.
PRE WEDDING SESSION
The location of your pre wedding session (if applicable), will be within 20 miles of Ipswich. If you wish to have your engagement session further away fees may incur to cover our travel expenses depending on the chosen location.
Pre wedding sessions can be booked on a week day/evening. Should you wish to book your pre wedding session on a Saturday or Sunday, please be aware that we may need to reschedule your session if we are required to provide emergency cover at a wedding for a fellow photographer/videographer. You will be informed over email/text and we will give you at least 3 days notice.
For Destination Weddings, your pre wedding session will take place the day before your wedding around the wedding venue.
TRAVEL EXPENSES
If your wedding is in Scotland/Ireland we'll have to fly over so we'll need our travel & accommodation covered. This will usually be discussed during our first meeting and agreed upon signing the contract (unless there is a change of venue for example).
If your wedding is taking place outside of Europe we will require our travel and accommodation expenses covered. Accommodation will be a minimum of 5 nights stay to cater for any potential flight delays or cancellations.
BREAKS
As wedding photographers/videographers we are on our feet all day, running around to capture everything that’s happening and helping out with the preparation where we can. So we get tired and we will take 1-2 hours of breaks to rest our feet and have a drink/snack. We usually take a quick break after the ceremony, a longer break during the meal and another break in between the reception and evening celebrations.
EXCLUSIVITY
We will be the sole professional photographer(s)/videographer(s) on the day along with our assigned second shooter(s) where applicable. However friends and family are welcome to take lots of photographs. We do reserve the right to ask them not to take photos, for example during group photos to avoid guests looking at the wrong camera.
MEAL
It’s always a bit tricky for us to get food as usually venues are miles away from any shops so it would be greatly appreciated if we could be fed during the wedding breakfast! We don’t expect to sit with the guests and be served a 3 course meal but a hot meal would be nice.
We'll ask you to please tell the venue/caterers to treat us like guests and request that we get fed at the same time as the top table, that way we can take you out for sunset or set up & capture the speeches without worrying that our food will get cold (otherwise we usually get fed after every single guest has been fed and we barely have 5 minutes before we need to be p and shooting again!)
We'll also ask you to let us know what food we can expect so we make sure we are served what you actually paid for. A lot of venues/caterers treat us like second class citizens and unfortunately think it's acceptable to give us scraps or pretend they didn't know we were supposed to get fed instead of giving us the meal you paid for (we've even caught some waiters eating out food before!). We're now asking our couples to tell us exactly what they've paid for so we can call out the venues/caterers that treat us badly and essentially run off with your money!
IMAGES/FOOTAGE CAPTURED
We (and our second shooters if applicable) will record the day in a documentary and reportage style. We will not, and cannot photograph/film every single person present at your wedding. If there are certain special people that you want to us focus on, you will need to tell us and point them out. Any images required other than that of a documentary nature should be written down in detail and provided to us before the wedding day. You will receive a questionnaire 2 months before your wedding with room for you to write down your group shot list and any specific requests.
Although we will endeavour to capture all the photos/footage requested, on occasion circumstances will occur out of our control that may mean it is not possible – for example weather, unwillingness of guests, schedule…
EDITING AND CREATIVE LICENCE
We shall be granted creative and artistic licence in relation to the choice of locations and poses used. Only images/footage that meet our creative standards will be provided. Images not supplied to you are deleted from the systems at point of selection and are not stored in archive. Please be aware that we deliver all useable images, the only images we don’t deliver are duplicates, blinkers or blurs.
All images/footage supplied will be edited. We do not supply Raw/unedited files.
We use a preset which we have designed and perfected over the years. This preset is applied to all the images/footage and tweaked image by image/clip by clip. This preset is the style of our work and by booking us you will accept that this preset will be used. Please ensure that you have seen enough examples of both our work and other photographers/videographers to understand the different editing styles.
IMAGE DELIVERY
A sneak peek of 30+ images will be posted within 7 days of your wedding on our blog or uploaded onto your gallery depending on your privacy agreement.
High resolution watermark free edited images will then be delivered within 8 to 10 weeks. These will be uploaded onto your online gallery available for download.
GROUP PHOTOS
Group photos are important, but they do take time, so please make sure when you are planning your day with your venue that you allow for 3-5 minutes per group shot. We usually say to couples that 5-8 groups is a good number (this doesn’t include the wedding party/ bridesmaids and groomsmen) Please note it is not always possible to do all the group shots but every effort will be made to achieve them.
VIP GUESTS
It is your responsibility and/or the responsibility of your guests to come and speak to us prior to the wedding to inform us of any circumstances in which a person cannot have their photograph taken and or/shared online.
FILM DELIVERY
We will edit a short teaser film within 7 days of your wedding and upload it onto your gallery.
The rest of your film(s) will be ready within 10-12 weeks and will be uploaded onto your online gallery for your to watch, share and download.
PRINTING RIGHTS
You will be given full printing and sharing rights for personal use only. This means you can share your images with your family & friends online and you can have them printed anywhere you like, you just can't sell them or allow for anyone to use them commercially. If you would like to agree other uses, or if for example one of your suppliers asks to use your images for a commercial purpose then please reach out to us and we will give you/them a quote!
You will be able to order high res prints directly from your online gallery. Should you and your guests prefer to print images yourself please note that we cannot guarantee the printing quality. Full resolution images will be available for purchase should you or your guest want to order extra large prints.
IMAGE/FOOTAGE & DATA STORAGE
Before the wedding: Personal data is stored on our online password protected Studio Ninja account.
During the wedding: Images will be stored on SD cards during the wedding. Our cameras have dual card slots and each and every image and video footage is recorded on 2 SD cards at a time to prevent the loss of images/footage in the unlikely event that one card fails.
After the wedding: All the raw/unedited images and footage are backed up onto our NAS after the wedding (the NAS is pretty much fail proof, there's 4 hard drives in it that kinda back each other up so if one fails no data will be lost!). All SD cards will be cleared and formatted once this has been one.
Raw/unedited images and footage are deleted 3 calendar months after the wedding. Full resolution edited images and edited films are stored for a period of 3 years.
Personal data is archived onto our online password protected Studio Ninja account. Should you wish for this data to be deleted please let us know.
IMAGE USE
You will be sent a questionnaire with your online booking proposal where we ask you to let s know if/where you allow us to use images/footage where you are recognisable.
We reserve the right to share images on our Instagram and Facebook stories during the wedding. This could include photos/footage of you and/or details/venues (anything except identifiable data) depending on your privacy agreement.
We also reserve the right to post details images/footage (flowers, locations and scenic shots) without using any names, people or faces as a marketing tool even if you have requested privacy.
BACK UP
It is your responsibility to back up your images & films. We can only guarantee that your photo/film gallery be live for 3 years maximum. In reality it should be live 'forever' but we only guarantee 3 years in case for example our gallery provider goes out of business.
We would recommend saving all your photos and films on at least 2 devices and a cloud storage such as Dropbox.