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Info

Thank you for showing interest in my wedding photography!  I shoot a very limited number of weddings per year as my family is important to me and so I can provide my couples with the full “Humbled Eyes Experience!”

Wedding photography pricing:

Wedding photography packages starting at $5000.

Small intimate weddings and destination wedding photography prices available by request.

***Forms of payment:  Check, Credit Card, Cash or PayPal.***

Pricing theory:

You get what you pay for….

Wedding photography pricing is a very complex subject and so I feel I should explain it further. As a wedding photographer I am a serviced based business. Basically I’m hired to perform a service at a later date that follows the guidelines of an agreement/contract. It’s not like I’m selling handbags on the corner of NYC. If you feel that my product is over priced….you go to the next block to save a couple dollars. Services are a lot harder to compare…as I’m sure you already know if you have been searching other wedding photographers’ websites. This guys offer this….and charges for that……and includes these! There are many aspects that affect wedding photography pricing like experience, location, overhead, quantity of annual weddings, quality of wedding pictures, demand and many other things! For example, a 20 year New York City wedding photographer that only shoots 10 wedding a years….may charge 15k+ for a complete package. This photographer will have the time to work with you to make sure all your expectations are met. On the other hand, a shoot and burn photographer who lives in the suburbs might shoot part-time and have 60+ weddings a year at 2k and just hands over the DVD with digital negatives. So it really depends on what type of experience you’d like and what your budget can handle. Besides that there are two main pricing concepts in the wedding photography world.

First is the “Shoot to sell pricing” which has been around for many many years. This type of wedding photographer usually charges a lower price up front and then depends on prints and album sales to make more money after the wedding. Now think about it this way, this type of photographer will show up and shoot with the mind set of making more money.  The photographer will be thinking, “that won’t sell…..so I’m not going to waste my time shooting it!” Yes….I’ve heard this many times before by some of those “Shoot to sell” photographers.

Second is the “Stylish/Artistic pricing” which is fairly new. This type of photographer has a specific uniqueness and style to their images. We will charge more to document the wedding day the way we see it unfold. Our way of shooting it not structured by safe/marketable images. There are no boundaries or limitations to what and how we shoot your wedding day! This allows us to shoot for the bride and groom…not big sales. When we shoot we don’t think, “Oh this picture will sell like hotcakes and that will look awesome in their album!” Click click click!

So the main questions you should be asking in your search for a wedding photographer are:

  • What’s more important when choosing a wedding photographer; unique style or great price?
  • Do I want my photographer to shoot for us or shoot for big print sales?
  • Do I want my wedding photographer to JUST show up on my wedding day or do I want the full wedding photography experience?
  • Can I get along with this photographer for 8+ hours?

My couples hire me because they want something different. Recently I conducted a survey to help me understand why my past and current couples book me to hang out on their wedding day. The results told me the #1 reason my couples chose me was because of my style of photography, #2 was my personality and #3 was price…and most spent more then their original photography budget!!!

Hopefully this has helped clear up some confusion with your wedding photographer search.

FAQs

Here is a new Q & A page to highlight many of the questions I’ve received over the years.

Q. You seem to capture a lot of nice candids. Is that because you know the couples you take pictures for?

A. Not all the time. I go out of my way to get to know my couples and their families. This allows me to blend in and become a part of the wedding day! Then guests act natural and I shoot away!

Q. Do you travel to shoot destination wedding photography?

A. Yes yes yes. Traveling is one reason why I fell in love with photography! Plus I love shooting at new locations and wedding venues. Delaware weddings, New Jersey weddings, New York weddings, Maryland weddings, Pennsylvania weddings, Virginia weddings and Riu Ocho Rios Jamaica wedding!

Q. What is your philosophy?

A. When shooting a wedding it’s like telling a story with my pictures. Similar to writing a book with my images. As the “writer” my mission is to introduce characters, highlight important details and invoke emotions. Just like any book each chapter should be a little different and will build on top of each other to create a complete story.

Q. What is your style, in regard to wedding photography?

A. Documentary (93%) – Most of the day is spent capturing candid moments that show natural emotions; real smiles, tears and interactions. These will help you remember your wedding day…the actual way that it happened.

“Wall hangers”(5%) – Amazing photos that will be worthy of redecorating your whole house around! These are usually artist candid pictures.

“Parent pleasers” (2%) – These are the posed pictures with family and friends. I will do my best to make these “grip and grin” pictures faster and more exciting than you’re used to!

Every wedding is a bit different which will vary the percentages…obviously.
Q. What are my payment options?

A. We can break up payments and also wait until after the wedding to purchase albums and prints when your “rolling in the dough!”

Q. What is the next step?

A. If you like my work, like me enough to hang out for 9 hours on the biggest day of your life and I fit in your budget…..we have got to get that contract signed and deposit sent ASAP! There has been many situations where I’ve had couples wait too long….and the date was booked by another couple! Actually I’ve had three couples interested in the same date at the same time. So basically it is 1st come, 1st serve.

Q. Could we hire you to document our entire weekend?

A. Of course we can hang out all weekend…I can shoot your rehearsal, wedding, day after brunch and day after photoshoot! I’ll basically become part of your family for the weekend!

Q. How far out do couples book you?

A. Most book me over a year and some change out….if not longer!

Q. How long does it take to see our wedding pictures?

A. I usually post 15+ photos highlighting your wedding to my blog within a couple days. Then an online wedding movie about one month later. Then all the edited wedding pictures will be ready to view within two months of your wedding.

Q. Do we have to meet face to face before the wedding day?

A. No. This is not completely necessary. Sometimes it is not possible to meet each other before your wedding day.

Q. Do I take every wedding request that comes to my door?

A. No. It is very important that I “click” with my couples. We will be hanging out for 9 hours on the biggest day of your lives! Most of my couples are a lot like me and we usually become good friends throughout the whole experience. Also it is very important for me to make sure my couples are 120% comfortable and confident in their decision to have me be their wedding photographer!

Q. Are you the primary wedding photographer?

A. Yes. You will be dealing with me 99% of the time. Before your wedding, during your wedding and after your wedding.

Q. So Rob….after we sign the contract I’ll see you on the wedding day right?

A. Heck NO! We will talk and/or meet up at least 3 times to make sure “all is good in da hood!” This ensures that we are all on the same page!

Q. Can I contact you before I have a wedding date or a rock?

A. Yes! Some of my couples contact me before they even have their dates hammered down. This will help ensure that you get the photographer of your dreams! lol

Q. Why wedding photography Rob?

A. I’ve been a photographer since I was “knee high to a grass hopper.”  Photography stemmed from my love for the great outdoors. At first, my pictures helped document my travels and experiences. Then sharing my pictures with others pushed me to take my photography to new levels. After attending my family/friend’s weddings, I began thinking “I could do a better job than these photographers.” People would be having fun and laughing…then the photographer would come up and say, “Can you guys get together for a picture!” First off, this interrupts the fun and secondly people don’t act natural when they are aware of the camera. Weddings are supposed to be a fun, exciting and the happiest day of your life…so the pictures should show that.

I am a full time wedding photographer and loving it! It is my “job” to hang out with couples on the biggest day of their lives! Plus the more I think about it, the more I realize it was meant to be. Throughout my years…I was a landscaper, jeweler, meteorologist and now a wedding photographer. Now wrap that up with being a newly married man…I can recommend flowers; advise you on rings; give you a wedding day weather forecast; photograph your wedding and tell you some good wedding day stories!

Q. As a full-time wedding photographer, what is your life like?

A. Well my job is to hang out with couples on the biggest day of their lives…and shoot pictures! Is it all fun and games? I do love what I do, but most of my Fridays and Saturday are very busy. I travel a lot and spend many hours in front of my computers. I’m not complaining…I’m explaining. I chose this lifestyle…and it has its pros and cons. My free time is mostly during the weekdays….except for Sunday beach volleyball! When I do have some free time you can find me using my Navy college money to complete my degree in Entrepreneurship, traveling, surfing, playing ping pong, Wii and hanging out with my wife!

More to come…

 
Delaware wedding photographer Rob Nicholson. Wedding photography in New York, Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Virginia and beyond. Humbled Eyes Photography is owned and operated by Rob Nicholson in a small beach town in Southern Delaware. Specializing in stylish, unique and fresh documentary destination wedding photography, Rob covers destination weddings on the east coast, west coast and worldwide.

©2010 Humbled Eyes Photography | Delaware wedding photographer - All Rights Reserved.
email: rob@humbledeyes.com
phone: Delaware +1.302.743.1444 / San Diego +1.619.365.8278

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