Well this is an absolutely gigantic question. The short answer is that I apply—to each and every photo—one of several “presets” that I’ve been tweaking, updating, and modernizing for over a decade. Then I make more specific adjustments to exposure, color, crop, etc. You might have noticed that the vast majority of images in my portfolio have a similar feel: a vibrant, contrasty, true-to-life style. That’s just always been my personal preference, because I think it’s the most modern and still-timeless look. But I like other styles—vintage chic, retro farmhouse, ethereal…fuckin…tall-grass whatever—and I have presets for lots of them. If you prefer a more delicate look with subtler colors and contrast, let me know!

The LONG answer is…long. You’ll have to get me into a conversation if you wanna hear it.

Man what a good question.

I believe that a photography session, whether it’s for a family, a baby, a wedding, an engagement shoot, or some commercial shots, can be an experience that is about more than just the pictures from the shoot. It is an opportunity to explore emotions, build relationships, and maybe try something that I’ve never done before. Instead of soliciting smiles and poses, I’ll interact with you. I’ll try to make you laugh, and I’ll try to make you make each other laugh. Conversations don’t have to be about photography. They can be about your life or my life or our favorite movies, or maybe we can just sing songs. I’ll never try to make you look or act or feel like somebody you aren’t, because pictures of you as you really are make the best pictures. For example, my favorite group pictures are the ones where everyone is still getting ready to pose. I know we have to do the posed, family pictures. I know those are the ones people print and put on the mantle. But I think the time in between the posing is what’s actually precious. When you aren’t thinking about your fake smile or how much you wanna be done with pictures. In that small window, you’re the most present. Whether you are happy or sad or bored or agitated or whatever, you’re so genuinely you that I can’t believe it ever even occurred to anyone to say “look at me and smile.”

An old painter sips coffee at a cafe and watches the foot traffic pass busily while he waits for his breakfast. A lady sitting with her friends at a different table recognizes him and humbly approaches. She tells him she loves his work and that he’s so talented and would he be willing to draw her something pretty please. The old painter smiles and tells the lady he’d be happy to, and the lady gives him the napkin she brought from her table. He takes a charcoal pencil from his jacket pocket, thoughtfully strokes his chin, and gets to work. After only a couple circuits of green to yellow to red of the nearby traffic light, he sets his pencil down and hands the napkin to the lady. The drawing is rough but beautiful–soulful–and so reminiscent of the old painter’s style that no one would question its authenticity. As she gazes at it, the painter tells her that $1,000 seems a reasonable price, and that he’ll take a check or wait for her to go get cash. His breakfast isn’t even ready yet, after all. Shocked from her reverie, her face now painted with incredulity, she tells the painter that it’s an absurd price since it’s couldn’t have taken longer than two minutes. The old painter smiles understandingly and says “of course it did. It took 60 years.”

Then I imagine she throws the napkin onto the ground and goes to back to her friends and calls the painter a jerk or something like that.

Anyway, you get the idea right? I’m not comparing myself to a famous painter; I’m only saying that part of what I am including in my pricing is my experience.

I seriously know what I’m doing, because I have eight years worth of mistakes and successes to guide me. I know how to make people comfortable and how to get the shots that I want. I don’t stress out when something inevitably goes wrong. I know that having fun and being myself is just about the most important thing. I’m comfortable shooting in the rain or the snow, inside or outside. I understand how light works, how my gear works, how people work, and how to makes those things cooperate.

These are not things I learned from reading articles or going to school for photography (I went to school for English, and then for business). These are things I learned by doing. Legwork baby. I’m proud of what I know and what I can do and the art I produce. Maybe more proud than anything else. And so that’s why you need to trust me that my prices are correct, and hiring me to shoot your wedding would be cheap at twice the price.

I’m pretty easygoing with this. I can make suggestions, or you can. Or we both can. I like places with dynamic light and lots of textures. We can go pretty much wherever you want, though for locations that are more than half an hour away, I might need to charge a small travel fee.

I’m happy to travel! Typically I ask that travel expenses, including accommodations and flight, if necessary, be paid for.

I get this a couple times a year. Most of the time, the answer is “no,” and there are two parts to why:

First, after seven-plus years of culling, editing, and organizing images, I’ve gotten exceedingly efficient and, *ahem•, good, at it. During my first pass through your images, I remove all the shots that are one or more of the following:

• Duplicates
• Dramatically out of focus
• Utterly uninteresting
• Profoundly unflattering
• Unrecoverably under- or overexposed

I’m pretty conservative in this first pass. If I see any chance of you desiring this image, I don’t mark it for deletion. Often, I’m able to salvage an image with some aggressive editing. Even out-of-focus images can sometimes be rad with the right treatment. Simply, if it’s got any potential at all, I hang onto it.

Second, it’s entirely possible that I just didn’t capture the picture you’re seeking. Much to my chagrin, I can’t be two places at once, and even with a second photographer, we can’t be three. Also, I’m only human, and I make mistakes. Sometimes it’s gear malfunctions; sometimes it’s user error. Maybe the autofocus misses, maybe I accidentally had flash on when I shouldn’t have, or maybe it’s one of a hundred other things that I could possibly screw up. This is why in my contract I say that I can’t guarantee any one or more specific images. Certainly I do everything in my power to limit these errors, but as they say, shit happens. It doesn’t very often, but as is the nature of shit, happen it inexorably will.

I entrust my wedding album keepsakes to the excellent company, KISS Wedding Books. “KISS” stands for “keep it simple, stupid.” Though I’d never call anyone stupid (to their face), I am endorsing simplicity, craftsmanship, and a focus on the pictures. KISS promises these things, and so do I. Albums come standard with 10, 15, or 20 spreads (20, 30, or 40 sides), but you certainly are not limited to that. This is the process:

1. I complete my edit on all of your wedding and/or engagement pictures.
2. I upload these pictures to ShootProof, separated into appropriate, (mostly) chronological folders
3. You log in and mark 50 or so of these images as your “favorites.”
4. I design the album using my “Best of” folder images as well as the ones you’ve marked as your favorites. Some spreads will have 6 or 8 images; some will only have one big one (those are my favorites).
5. I release the design to you to make comments, suggestions, and requests. Then you release it back to me, I make your changes, and we rinse and repeat until you love it big-big. We can either do this process in-person or online. I prefer in-person…with beers.
6. I order the album and send you an invoice for any additional spreads beyond those included in the package.
7. You enjoy the crap out of your album for the rest of your life.

Generally, I believe that the more pages an album has, the more awesome it is. As mentioned before, every album comes standard with 10, 15, or 20 spreads. However, each additional spread comes with an additional cost that is dependent upon the size (4”x4”, 8”x8”, 10”x10”, or 12”x12”), the thickness (thin or thick), and finish (luster or matte). The trick is to find a happy medium between including your most beloved images and not overextending yourself financially. Of course, I can help with that too.

Our wedding packages are designed to help you figure out how far Shutterhead can take your dollar. They are not carved in stone; they are not carved at all, in fact (mostly they are typed). They are malleable, and they are open to interpretation. For example, we can substitute excess hours for album or Youbooth credit dollars. We can add a la carte pieces to any packages. We can even order from the off-the-menu menu. If you can dream it, we can get it into a wedding package. This is not about coloring in the lines; it’s about getting creative, thinking outside the box, and ultimately giving you what you want for a price that doesn’t make you go “DAAAAMMMMMMMMNNNNN!”