You got questions? We got answers. Here are some of the most common questions we get asked.
Q: HOW FAR IN ADVANCE DO YOU BOOK WEDDINGS?
A: We typically book weddings 9-12 months in advance. Popular weekends in the summer do fill up fast. When you book your venue, we highly suggest booking your photographer / videographer not long after. Or even better, contact us before you book your venue to check our availability and for venue suggestions!
Q: WHAT TYPE OF EQUIPMENT DO YOU USE?
A: We shoot with professional level equipment, zoom & prime lenses covering a wide focal range and drones for those breathtaking aerial shots! We believe great images are made with attention to details and not by the equipment, but we use the newest and latest gears to minimize any hindrance to this goal.
Q: DO YOU TRAVEL TO DOCUMENT WEDDINGS?
A: YES! We love traveling and shooting weddings in new places. Please don’t hesitate to inquire with us even if you aren’t getting married in the Greater Vancouver Area.
Q: WHAT’S INVOLVED IN BOOKING OUR WEDDING?
A: First, email us with your wedding date so we can pencil you in our calendar. We will then reply back and we can start talking about pricing and packages. To continue our conversation, we would meet up. We require a signed agreement and a 35% retainer to fully secure your date.
Q: HOW MANY EDITED PICTURES WILL WE BE GETTING FROM YOU?
A: From a 2 hour portrait session, you will get about 120-150 carefully edited images. From an 6 hour wedding, you will get about 1200+ carefully edited images. Yes, we edit every image you get because we stand behind every image we deliver; whether it is going to be hung on the wall, or stored in your hard drive, we want you to receive the very very best.
Q: CAN OTHER PEOPLE TAKE PICTURES WHILE YOU’RE TAKING PICTURES?
A: We prefer if guests refrain from taking pictures or videos (with a camera, a phone, or God-forbid – a tablet) during any posed shots, like bridal party or bride & groom. The other cameras’ flash may effect our photos or may distract the people in the photo to look another way. As a general rule, we do not allow guests to shadow us on weddings. We reserve the right to kindly tell a guest these rules. We also ask that guests don’t stand in or near the aisle during the ceremony, as that could affect you from getting “the shot” you have always dreamed of.
Q: WE AREN’T SURE IF WE WANT AN ENGAGEMENT SESSION OR NOT, DO YOU THINK WE SHOULD?
A: We think it’s a great idea for multiple reasons. We want you to feel confident that we can really capture who you are and that comes with trust. We will get to know each other, laugh, and share stories during your engagement session. You will become more comfortable with us and being in front of my camera. We also get to see how you two interact and the best ways to photograph you. By the wedding day, we won’t be strangers and you two will be totally ok with us taking SO many pictures of you. Ultimately delivering even better pictures on your big day! You can see some of our recent engagement sessions by clicking here.
Q: DO YOU HAVE A BACKUP PLAN IN CASE THERE IS AN EMERGENCY AND YOU CAN’T SHOOT OUR WEDDING?
A: There is a whole paragraph about this stated in our agreement, but we were recently asked if that has ever happened. Gladly we can say it has not. (knock on wood) But for some crazy, unforeseen reasons, someone from the original team cannot shoot your wedding, another member of our team would fill in. This is another reason to hire Pear Tree – we have 9 talented and capable artists on the roster.
Q : Isn’t it all digital, why does it take you so long?…my uncle gave me the photos from his camera the next day!
A: Our studio is not set up to create “cookie cutter” generic collections of images and push them out the door as fast as possible for higher profits. Your Wedding is a once in a lifetime event and we believe every photo deserves the time it takes to craft a quality product that is unique as each of the couples getting married. In the slower off season months, we can usually deliver the images sooner than the contracted time although during the busy summer months, there is much more time spent shooting events which means there is less time to edit the images. Nonetheless, we promise to deliver a few sneak peeks the day after your wedding and gallery one week later.
A: Sweet! Just as you are keen to learn more about us; we want to learn more about you and your wedding. We love to meet with you in person first before proceeding with bookings. If we can’t meet due to geographic location or other reasons, we can host video chat. It’s a great way to learn about each other and see if we are a good fit to create something memorable together.