This page provides a list of frequently asked questions about William Porter Photography's wedding photography services. For info about personal portraits or other events, please click the Other Services link above. For more info about my wedding services, please call me: 214-704-3407.
ME: I don't have fixed "packages". Every person is an individual to me and since I don't do two weddings a week, I can afford to tailor a plan to fit your needs exactly. And my charges are determined by services, not "by the hour." So your actual total cost will depend on the services you ask me to provide. I have charged as little as $600 for most basic coverage. Are you on a tight budget? Almost everybody is. Please don't be afraid to ask - you may be surprised.
ME: I provide most of the same range of services that other experienced professional wedding photographers provide. This includes full coverage on your wedding day, from hair salon, to the church, to the tossing of the garter. After the wedding, I provide proofs via the Web, the ability to order high-quality prints from a pro lab (much better than your local drug store!). I can help you build a wedding album or book. Before and/or after the wedding, I can also help you set up a web site for your wedding, which is a very popular thing to do these days.
In general, the final selection of photos may be delivered to you on a CD or DVD. However, because I believe so strongly in the importance of prints, regardless of the fee we negotiate, every bride and groom, no matter what they pay, receive a small package of a half a dozen high quality, pro-lab prints along with the digital images.
Of course, I also do engagement portraits and/or bridal portraits. Whether you hire me or someone else, I urge you to arrange for your wedding photographer to do a bridal and/or engagement portrait before the wedding. It will make you more comfortable with your photographer, and it will also help your photographer get to know you, which will very likely mean better quality wedding photos.
There is a separate cost for some of these services.
ME: Let me tell you a bit about what my photography is—and what it isn't.
I like to describe my style as classic or traditional documentary photography. I'm there to capture what was unique and special and real about your wedding. My goal is to give you images that will look fresh in ten, twenty, thirty years.
I'm afraid this means that my photography is not trendy. You have probably seen some photographers whose work looks like fashion photography, like it belongs in Vogue or Brides Magazine. This is a valid approach to photography and I know some great photographers who do this kind of photography. But there are problems with this approach. I think it all looks the same. The more serious problem is that you can't really do this for the whole wedding. The rock album cover style of photography or the Brides Magazine style works for a couple of photos—perhaps for the bridal portrait—but it doesn't work too well in church, or at the reception, or for the formals. I approach every wedding as a special and new challenge and try to provide photos that will not go out of style next year when the fashions change.
ME: Not for me. I completely respect the authority of every pastor or rabbi in any church to set the rules. And although I am ready to photograph any sort of wedding, I have more experience covering Roman Catholic weddings than any other kind and I have a 100% priest-satisfaction index. Well, I would if there were such a thing. If you will be having a Catholic or Orthodox Christian wedding, please do read a little more about me on the "About" page of this site. You might want to consider a photographer who is deeply familiar with these particular liturgies. If you wonder why this might matter, ask the wedding coordinator or pastor at your church and be prepared for a sad story or two.