FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
“ The Beauty lies in the Details”
1) How would you define your style of photography?
We aim to capture your wedding story in an unobtrusive, candid manner. We want your wedding pictures & films to feel real, so that the natural magic of your story is preserved. And when your family from the next generation takes a look at this story, they get a true sense of who you are.
When it comes to your couple portraits, we will offer direction to make the output reflect your natural chemistry, without looking cheesy or gimmicky. We also look at our couple portraits as a way of bonding and creating a relationship with our brides & grooms.
We also experiment a lot with in-camera techniques, reflective & refractive surfaces, light & shadow, perspectives, etc. We've been told that working with us is an interesting experience.
2) How many weddings do you shoot in a year?
Since we personally handle EVERY aspect of our wedding photography & cinematic film output,
we are only able to take up between 15 to 20 weddings a year.
3) What is the typical team strength of TWS team that will be traveling to cover my wedding? Will a reduction in crew affect the cost?
We usually film with a crew of 3-4 cinematographers (candid style) and 2-3 photographers (candid and documentary style) along with a director, a production manager and an aerial drone operator. The crew works as one coherent team with different cameramen specializing in different lenses and styles including aerial, time-lapse and underwater filming.
For a larger scale wedding, we don't recommend a reduction in the size of the crew as this is likely to affect the quality and grandeur of the film. This choreographed, multi-camera setup allows us to position ourselves strategically to capture ceremonies more naturally as they take place, without any hindrance.
However, there are certain advantages to having a smaller team too! For more intimate weddings, a crew size of 4-5 people is enough. This allows for a greater, non-obtrusive individual control of filming for each crew member and this can lead to better, unobstructed views of the festivities especially when the party is on a smaller scale involving lesser people. This also creates a warmer bond between the crew and families as there are lesser people to co-ordinate with. There is an obvious reduction in cost too!
4) What if I want to hire you only for photo or video only from my side of the family and the grooms side is having a separate team?
We do not take up assignments where we have to work for one side (bride or groom) and another team is covering the 'other side'. We tried it a couple of times in the past, but we always experienced that the value we could have added got affected due to two reasons. The bride and groom had to split their time (whatever limited time they did have) between two teams
Since our team believes in an unobtrusive method of coverage, it is always difficult working with another team who believes otherwise.
5) Is there anything I can do to help you make awesome pictures & videos for my wedding?
Focus on what is important to you, and how you would like to remember your day.
Celebrate the love at your wedding, absorb as much of it as you can, and share it with everyone around.
Of course, good, clean lighting always helps.
If you want to have portraits at every function, make time for them when you're fresh & looking your best.
6) What is your pricing?
No two weddings are alike, and the cost of your wedding photography and films depends entirely on the scope of work.
Customised packages are available on request, for which we need to know more about your story,
your vision for your wedding & the list, flow and guest size of the wedding celebrations.
7) What are your payment terms?
Half to block our dates & book us for your wedding.
The remaining amount is due a week before shoot.
8) Apart from the photography & videography costs, what are the other costs to be kept in mind?
The expenses for the travel, food and accommodation for the crew members are usually borne by the client unless decided otherwise or factored in as a package deal. In addition, the hard-drives for the final delivery are paid for by the clients too. Any additional days / hours of shooting (not mentioned in contract) are charged extra as per the rates in the contract. There are no other hidden costs.
9) During the wedding, who do we communicate with regarding all our photo & video requirements?
The Wedding Director or the Director of Photography is usually the prime point of contact with the family. He/she is the sole person that co-ordinates with the couple and the event planner regarding all aspects of the events and conducts interviews etc. Also, from the couples side, we need to have a singular point of contact for all wedding shoot co-ordination. The bride's / groom's siblings or the best friends are the best people for the job.
10) Can you make the trailer or a short film of the wedding so that we can show it at the Reception / Last day?
Yes we offer this service - These are referred to as "Same Day Edits" and they are a great way to showcase some of the best moments of the wedding instantly to everyone present. However, this is an expensive process (extra equipment and setups are required for an extra editor to produce this) and adds to the final cost of the package.
11) What are audio bytes and why are these important for the quality of the film?
The primary charm of the wedding video is the footage and just so that the events are nicely interlinked, we film interviews with the close family (bride, groom, parents and siblings / best friends - usually 6 frames) so that there is an underlying story that keeps the viewer connected to the film. As the story unfolds, the viewer gets a sense of how the couple met and decided to spend their lives together. For this, we film about 15-20 mins of audio / video bytes with each of the six frames of people. This is because we ask specific questions to different people and place the story in a coherent format in the edit room.
12) What is a copyright? Can TWS use our images and footage on its social media handles?
All original works of art, including pictorial and video works have a copyright protection. This means that the creator of an image/video (in this case, The Wedding Story) owns the copyright for the same. Hence, TWS can use any images/videos on our social media channels for any purpose that we deem suitable. Naturally, these images portray the clients in good light and more often than not, such social media posts are a matter of pride for all the clients and vendors involved. If the couple do not want their images/videos to be shared publicly, this has to specified explicitly at the time of signing the contract.
13) What if our deliveries are delayed by V&V?
It is rare that the delivery of the film is delayed beyond 100 days. But it is possible that the director of film is unhappy with some portions of the film and requests for a revision / re-edit - in which case a delay might happen. All we can say is that it is for the benefit of the film and the client. Most great cinema blockbusters have been delayed but have usually turned out better due to the re-edit. So it's all in good spirit. We apologize for the inconvenience (should a delay happen) but assure you that we will not release anything that we don't absolutely adore. So please be patient and give us time to work our magic.
14) Why does it take 90-120 days for the delivery of our wedding HL film?
Film editing is a tedious and creative process and we work with some of the best editors in the industry who are perfectionists and believe in the highest quality of film editing. After seeing hours and hours of footage they select the best of the best shots for the HL film and naturally all this takes time. As a thumb-rule, each minute of final edit takes about one day to finalize once the final edit begins. Rest assured, once you see your final HL film, the wait will be well worth the time.
15) How long are your wedding films?
The amount of heart at the wedding eventually determines its length.
16) Do you do other assignments apart from weddings and portrait sessions?
Yes, you can write to us with details and we can send you the relevant commercial portfolio. We've worked in categories like food, product, real estate, interiors. We are always happy to collaborate on diverse projects.