Clients’ Common Concerns

I was gonna call it Frequently Asked Questions, but these aren’t really questions… But anyway, whatever. Haha. XD Any concerns about my shooting, your wedding, or you’re just concerned in general? Look for your concern here. It’s covered.

General Concerns

C: Who are you again?

A: Um… why are you even asking me this? XD I’m Noel Salazar, a photographer for Imagine Nation Photography. If you want to know more about me, go to my About page or contact me in my Contact page.

C: How long have you been shooting?

A: Professionally, I started in 2007. I got into photography in 2004 after taking a black and white photography subject. I got hooked and the rest was history.

C: How many weddings have you done?

A: I can’t really answer that anymore, as there are too many to remember. Haha. XD But it should suffice to say that I’ve done A LOT. Trust me.

C: What’s your equipment and why do you use these?

A: I use Nikon gear. I shifted from Canon to Nikon because basically, Nikon is more suited for my line of work.

C: What’s your shooting style?

A: Usually, I lean more towards dramatic images. I’m very much into fashion and glamour and advertising, but I’m also into artistic shots, or what you can call non-conventional shots. I prefer to always mix those into my shots. Of course, I’m also very adaptable. If you guys want to smile and be happy and stuff, I’m game. I’m not deadset on doing just one thing. In general, I try to work on the mood of the shoot depending on the personality of the couple. If you guys are happy, as in HAPPY, then I’m pretty sure we won’t be doing dramatic shoots… unless you request it. Just tell me what you want and we’ll work from there. Just call me Mr. Adaptable, all right? XD

C: What can we expect from you during the shoot?

A: Well, basically, you can expect me to shoot you with a camera. Yay. XD Aside from that very obvious answer, you can also expect a lot of shots, a lot of jokes, and a lot of fun. I’m very chatty, especially during shoots. Trust to have little or no peace at all. Kidding. XD

C: I’m not really comfortable posing. Can we do something else instead, like candids or something?

A: No! I’m the photographer! Follow me! Otherwise… No, I’m just kidding. Of course we can do something else! Just let me know. Rest assured that I am not a dictator or anything. And rest assured also that we won’t make you do anything you don’t want to. After all, the photos will come out bad if you’re not comfortable, so we won’t do that.

C: Do you edit the photos?

A: For our personal use, yes. But the ones we give to you are not edited. Why? They don’t need it! They’re already good and shouldn’t need any corrections, just enhancements. That’s part of our training. Trust me.

C: So, how come our pictures aren’t in your blog yet?

A: It just simply means I have been busy. XD As of now, I still have almost 20 weddings not yet posted. That’s not even counting the pre-nups! But don’t worry… your pictures will eventually be posted. Just wait. Patience is a virtue after all, right?

C: What else are you going to use our photos for?

A: Just our portfolios and for the studio’s advertisements. We won’t use them for, like, selling the pictures to a company for their use or whatever. Promise.

C: Wait, don’t blog our pictures, okay???

A: Well, it’s going to make me sad that I won’t be able to put you guys in my blog, but okay, you guys are the boss. Please just make sure that you tell me during the wedding or some time prior to my actual posting, so that I don’t have to suddenly take down something I just posted, okay? Please? Thanks.

C: Your packages are too expensive. Can we get a discount?

A: Umm… yeah, okay, here’s the thing. One, I’m not the owner of Imagine Nation. Two, see the big numbers for our packages? Not all of that goes to me. We also have to pay our videographers, drivers, assistants, graphic artists, editors… and of course, the studio has to make a profit as well. So… no, I cannot give you any discount. Even if we’re really, REALLY good friends. Or even family. I can assure you though, of our dedication to quality of our photos. Also, when I say that I’m going to be the one shooting your wedding, I will really be the one shooting your wedding. And… well, let’s just say we’re worth it. Trust me.

Pre-nup Concerns

C: What’s the workflow for pre-nups?

A: The workflows for these two things differ from one another. What happens in pre-nups is usually, you guys bring me and my team to a location, and we just shoot in whatever location we see that is beautiful. We can work from a few hours to pretty much the whole day. It really depends on you guys. After the shoot, we burn the photos while eating (yes, you have to feed us okay? ), so that you’ll get the pictures already. Then you bring us back to Oasis, and everybody’s happy!

C: Any suggestions what to do or where to go for a pre-nup?

A: Well, I would definitely suggest a themed pre-nup. It lets you dress up in awesome clothes, act differently than you normally do, and in general do whatever you can imagine. What’s also great is that we have a direction of the shoot, so we have a better plan, and, a better shoot. For themed pre-nups, I also suggest getting a stylist. The most-highly recommended would be Feliz Diestro. Check her works out by clicking her name.

Of course, for those of you who don’t really want a theme, but just want a simple, fun pictorial, I suggest a place or places that was important in the development of your relationship. For example, you guys met in school, then let’s have our shoot in your school. I guess just make sure that the location is big enough that we will be able to do a lot of shots, or if not, give more than one location for the shoot. For the outfits, bring one casual, bring one formal, and bring… whatever else outfit you can think of. Haha. XD I suggest looking at clothing catalogs for cool clothing ideas.

Weddings Concerns

C: What’s the workflow for the wedding?

A: For weddings, we arrive 4 hours before your wedding time, so we can take pictures of all the preparations (now to be referred to as “preps”). This includes the make-up, the clothes, the rings… We take pictures of the groom dressing up and the bride dressing up and everybody else who is there, so whoever you want included in your album, make sure that they are there (i.e. best man, maid of honor, the entourage, grandmother, etc.). After that, we take solos of the bride and the groom as well, so it would probably better if whoever is done getting their photos taken go ahead to the church so that we’ll have more room to take shots for solos.

After the wedding, and the church group pictorial, we get the couple alone, so that they can have portraits of them together. For great photos, we suggest we be given a time from 30 minutes to an hour. Keep the guests waiting at the reception. It’s okay; there are cocktails…right? Haha. XD

After that, we stay 30 minutes after the end of the program to take more photos of the bride and groom with their guests (and to take any blackmail pictures of anyone getting drunk XD). You get the photos (and videos, if any) after a week, maximum, because we still have to sort the photos and remove blurred ones or any photo that is not up to our standards (wrong colors, busy backgrounds, etc.).

C: What church would you recommend we get?

A: Well, I would suggest that you research the policies of the church first. Even if it’s the most beautiful church you’ve ever seen, if the rules are restrictive, we would have a hard time capturing the awesome moments in your wedding. We don’t need total freedom (i.e. standing in the middle of the altar at all times, standing next to the priest during everything, etc.), but we do need a church where we don’t have to worry about getting the company banned just because we violated a rule. Like I said, we will have a hard time taking great photos if there are too many restrictions, so think about that when selecting a church. Hehe.

C: Hey, how come we don’t have a shot (insert whoever or whatever here)??? What gives???

A: Well, I’m sorry, but if you didn’t request the shot, and I didn’t think of it, there really won’t be any shots with you guys and that reception venue, or that dear friend of yours. What you can do is meet me before the wedding and make a list of who or what should definitely be included in the pictures. That way, everyone goes home happy.