Frequently Asked Questions written by BDS Owner/Principle Photographer Adam Reuter Where are you located? Baltimore Digital Studios is based out of Baltimore County, Maryland. Will you travel outside of Baltimore to shoot a wedding? I will accomodate a driving distance of 50 miles from our area. After this, a travel fee may be required (and is dependent on distance/need for travel accomodations). Yes, we do destination weddings! What type of style do you do? For the most well-rounded photo albums, I feel (and the bridal magazines agree!) a mix of traditional (formal/posed) and comtemporary photojournalistism (documentary/candids) photo styles are appropriate. As they say, variety is the spice of life!   May we view your work in person? Absolutely! I prefer to meet with all potential clients in person to ensure compatibility. I feel the relationship between the photographer and clients is no less important than the equipment, technique and experience of the photographer. This relationship will show in your photos. This is also why I prefer to attend rehearsals, so that not only are the bride and groom more comfortable with me, but their family and guests are as well. Who shoots the weddings? Adam Reuter (myself) is the photographer you will meet at your appointment and is the photographer who will show up to photograph your wedding. If you choose to hire a second photographer their style is equivalent to mine and compliments my coverage. I do not pull bait and switches like some larger studios with multiple photographers have done and continue to do to brides and grooms. Being independent also allows me to provide a direct personal line of communication to you.   Do you also offer videography services?   Yes, as of late July 2008 we have began offering a high definition videography service and are offering discounted rates for the 2008 fall/winter season. Please go here for more information. Why is wedding photography so expensive? You are hiring a photographer for their abilities...artistry, creativity, professionalism, experience and the final images. And not all photographers are the same. There is a large difference in ability between photographers, not to mention attitude.  When you hire a professional photographer, you're hiring someone not for photographs, but for the images on those photographs. And after your wedding day is over, the most enduring investment is the photography. The old saying "you get what you pay for" holds true. If you want quality photos and service, you should hire a photographer based on value, not price. Legitimate photography professionals must also keep their equipment up to date, have liability and property insurance, use professional labs that charge more than conventional labs and market/advertise...amongst other expenses. Will you provide references? That's not a problem. Just ask and you shall receive. How long has Adam been a professional photographer? I have been photographing with professional cameras since 2002. I became a professional in 2006. I am also an avid videographer and have worked on projects for The Aberdeen IronBirds, Comcast SportsNet and MASN. One of my videos was featured in Fortune Small Business Magazine and another project I worked on aired on ABC's "Good Morning America." A portrait I took was featured in PINK Magazine's  March/April 2008 issue. Do you limit the amount of images that you take? No. I shoot as many photos that it takes to properly photograph your wedding. The requirements of your particular wedding will dictate how many images will be shot. Typically 400-500 photos are delivered. What kind of equipment do you use? I use Nikon zoom and prime lenses, and two Nikon digital SLR cameras. For my lighting equipment I have Nikon strobes (flashes) and many accessories including a flash bracket (which reduces red-eye occurance substantially and places flash shadows at a better angle), flash diffuser (to soften harsh flash light) and a tripod. There are also enough memory cards to take over 1,000 pictures at the highest quality setting my camera allows. Why do you shoot digital instead of film? There are many reasons why I shoot digital. Here are a few. a. Digital has the flexibility that wedding photography demands. It offers image quality that is comparable to 35mm film and digital files last longer than film negatives. b. The instant feedback that a photographer can get when using digital is invaluable. Now I know when something is good, and therefore time to move on, or if something is not working and it is time to try something different. With film, many wasted images are taken and sometimes missed. c. With digital files we can send them over the internet directly to our photo labs to be printed. With film, negatives can get lost in the mail...forever. Or the film could be damaged by a lab technician. Using memory cards, one person handles the files from the time the pictures are taken to the time they're shipped. And if the post office loses your disc(s), they can easily be sent out again. d. The sad reality is film negatives degrade over time. Dust accumulates, colors fade, and they can easily become lost or scratched. Digital files hold up far longer over time (for an infinite amont of time as long as the media they're stored on is cared for properly) and they are not as easily damaged or lost. What is your payment structure? Our clients pay for their wedding photography in three  installments. The retainer is 1/3 of the total package price and is required to reserve your wedding date. Another 1/3 is due 90 days before your wedding day. The final installment is due 45 days before your wedding day. All payments are non-refundable. However, if your wedding is canceled and an equally packaged wedding on the same day is booked, I will refund all payments, less a $250.00 administration fee. Do you accept credit cards? Yes, we accept Visa, Master and Discover card via PayPal's invoice system. There is an extra $20.00 fee per transaction if you choose to use this option. How long will it take for us to see the photos from our wedding? I upload your photos to a password-protected gallery four to six  weeks after your wedding date. The gallery is a form of "digital proofing" and prints can be ordered by your wedding guests as well. Once a print order is placed through BDS, you should receive them within 2-3 weeks. How are hard copy photos finished from the digital files? Believe it or not digital photos are finished (printed) in almost the same manner that film is finished. Most photo labs have a machine that accepts film negatives and digital files then prints them on the same kind of paper regardless of format. Negatives are scanned into the machine and turned into high resolution digital files and printed just like an originally shot digital file. The high-tech machines direct a laser onto photosensitive paper to create an image, much like the old dark room days.  The paper, called silver gelatin, is the same kind of paper that you have been getting back from your one hour photo lab all of your life. Will photos printed digitally fade faster than film? No. Since the paper is the same as a print made with a negative, it will last just as long. Baltimore Digital Studios does not use low-grade inkjet printing, which will easily fade when exposed to sunrays or just naturally degrade in a small number of years. A color print whether it is made with a negative or a digital file will last without fading from 30 to 200 years depending on processing, paper manufacturer and storage. A color negative will last for about the same amount of time. A digital file however will never degrade. As long as you keep up with the different storage formats you will have your files forever. Currently the storage formats of choice are CD recordable (CD-R) and DVD recordable (DVD-R or DVD+R) discs. External hard drives are also another great way to go. I do not recommend flash/thumb drives as a means of backup as these types of media are more prone to failure. How large can my enlargements be? As large as a billboard! Seriously though the largest print Baltimore Digital Studios offers is 20x30. Our primary digital camera is over 12 megapixels and makes very nice prints at large sizes. If you caught us at the Baltimore Bridal Show this year the 11x14 prints you saw were all taken with our 6 megapixel backup camera. Do you offer on-site printing? I do not offer on-site printing because of the inherent qualities of inkjet printing. Photos printed on-site will not last very long and I feel it would be a disservice to my customers if I offered this option. Do you have any other suggestions related to wedding photography? At the risk of sounding pretentious a regret a lot of couples make is purchasing disposable cameras and placing them on tables at the reception. Usually photos from these cameras do not turn out properly and cost a lot of money to purchase, develop and print. This was a great idea before digital cameras were invented but guests tend to bring/use their own cameras nowadays. A better idea that I have seen is to place recordable discs (CD-Rs) on each table with a self-addressed envelope and note requesting that guests burn their best photos on these discs. Or you can setup a photo page at websites such as Flickr or webshots and have guests post their photos there.   How about suggestions on wedding planning in general? Please research vendors before choosing. Get references from them. Google company names and definitely run searches on sites such as the Better Business Bureau and ripoffreport.com . Being a smart bride/groom will lend itself to a happier wedding day experience!