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Wedding & Marriage

Wedding photos are demanding and you should entrust someone with this task who has a long and successful track record, the required technical equipment, high motivation and the right appearance.

We accompanied very many weddings and captured thousands of wonderful moments in pictures in the past few years. Tears shed at the marriage ceremony, moments full of joy, emotional photographs of the festivities and sensitive snapshots of the bride and groom.

All these things require a lot of skills. And, above all, it requires a high degree of motivation and the right technology. For this reason, we use several digital reflex cameras with different lenses to make sure that a time-consuming change of lens is avoided during the marriage ceremony and that the cameras are ready for operation at any time. Close-ups from a discreet distance are no problem for us.

We discreetly stay in the background and give our best not to distract the wedding guests from the actual marriage ceremony. At the same time, we are actively looking for the best shoots as the motifs rarely come to the photographer by themselves. We also benefit from our experience in the field of event and press photography in this area. When a moment has gone, it cannot be expected to repeat itself, so you only have one try.

Details on wedding photography

Wedding photos are demanding and you should entrust someone with this task who has a long and successful track record, the required technical equipment, high motivation and the right appearance.

We accompanied very many weddings and captured thousands of wonderful moments in pictures in the past few years. Tears shed at the marriage ceremony, moments full of joy, emotional photographs of the festivities and sensitive snapshots of the bride and groom.

All these things require a lot of skills. And, above all, it requires a high degree of motivation and the right technology. For this reason, we use several digital reflex cameras with different lenses to make sure that a time-consuming change of lens is avoided during the marriage ceremony and that the cameras are ready for operation at any time. Close-ups from a discreet distance are no problem for us.

We discreetly stay in the background and give our best not to distract the wedding guests from the actual marriage ceremony. At the same time, we are actively looking for the best shoots as the motifs rarely come to the photographer by themselves. We also benefit from our experience in the field of event and press photography in this area. When a moment has gone, it cannot be expected to repeat itself, so you only have one try.

The interaction with the bride and groom and their guests is also very important for us. In the end, the photographer is close to the bride and groom during the entire day. That is why we think it is very important to be sensitive, show respect and get along well with everyone - and always wear a friendly smile.

During the entire assignment, the photographer always having his camera ready will never get tired to actively wait in the background for exciting, emotional moments that the bride and groom cannot experience from this perspective. Many of the pictures on the CD or DVD will come as a surprise for you.The CD or DVD will be full of pictures that enable you to remember all the details of your marriage ceremony, the festivities, your guests and the atmosphere of this special day. Your guests will also be thrilled as the pictures they receive will show them, their children and their beloved ones.

Drop by for a non-binding appointment. We will gladly show you some shoots of previous wedding reportages and let the pictures speak for themselves.

Our range of services

We offer you the following service which are optional for you. You can select from these services at your discretion and thus only order what you really wish:

  • Free non-binding preliminary talk. You can get to know us, we show you extensive picture material of previous weddings we accompanied and provide names and references of couples that you may contact for information.
  • Comprehensive advice. We will gladly share our experience of the past few years and innumerable weddings with you - free of charge. We can also help you with questions beyond photography. We are no wedding planners; however, we can check your wedding schedule for plausibility or provide recommendations on great wedding locations.
  • Wedding reportages from the moment when the bride puts on the dress until the time when the last guest leaves the house - you decide how long we stay to capture your wedding in pictures. We can provide a second or assistant photographer upon request.
  • Individual offers according to your wishes and expectations. We can also provide lump-sum offers for total cost control.
  • Full resolution pictures on CD or DVD without watermarks at no addtitional cost
  • Picture pre-selection
  • Basic optimisation of the pictures (e.g. contrast, brightness, sharpness and section optimisation, conversion into sepia or black-and-white).
  • Image editing by means of high-quality retouching
  • On-site lighting equipment. We always take our oversize sun sail to the respective location and we can also bring our outdoor studio lighting equipment.
  • On-site picture print during the festivities
  • Picture development unless you want to do this on your part. We can order everything for you - ranging from simple prints to canvas or thank-you and invitation cards.
  • Creation of slideshows
  • Picture gallery on the internet
  • On-site photo box (your guests can take photographs of themselves by means of remote control) A very funny and exciting alternative to picture frames, where actually no one likes to peek through any more.
  • Trash the dress
  • And much more

Please tell us which services are important for you or which services you desire so that we can submit an individual offer. Of course, we understand that every bridal couple has a certain budget. However, we are also prepared to show you which services only incur slightly higher charges and might have a high degree of use for you.

Simply contact us - we will find the right solution for you.

How to compare and find the right wedding photographer

As the number of photographers offering wedding services has constantly increased in the past few years and the service ranges have become more and more confusing, we would like to give you some tips on how to effectively compare different photographers.

  • Firstly, you should decide which services you desire. Friends with some experience in this department are certainly willing to help you. Photographers will also gladly provide advice. Obtaining offers without a clear understanding of what you like will lead to offers based on different services.

Therefore, you should think about the following questions beforehand:

  • How long do you wish the photographer to stay on-site?
  • Would you like to obtain the pictures on CD/DVD or do print pictures suffice?
  • If you wish to obtain the pictures on CD/DVD, should they be sorted beforehand?
  • How many pictures do you want to be edited professionally (i.e. including retouching, which is a complex and time-consuming task)?
  • Travel expenses to the marriage ceremony/reception venue
  • Special services you would like to commission

Tip: Look through the photographers' ranges of services. Maybe you will find some ideas you have not thought of before!

  • Do not overrate wedding pictures on the photographers' homepages!
    You should be aware of the fact that every photographer only posts selected, well-edited pictures choosing only one or two pictures of a wedding (you should be wary if all pictures stem from one wedding ...).
    It is more important to see all the pictures that were finally handed over to the bridal couple! It is best to pay the photographer a visit and look through an entire reportage to find out whether the style and picture language suit your taste. You should also try to find out for how long the photographer has been working in this area and how many weddings he accompanied in the previous year.
  • Obtain references! Every good photographer will be in a position to name some references without hesitation. Get information about the appearance of the photographer, his conduct towards wedding guests, the motivation and processing of pictures afterwards. Or look for online ratings of the photographer. Portals such as Qype.de or Google.de can often provide important information of previous customers.

 

  • Make enquiries about the equipment. Even though you might have other things to do, this is a very important issue. That's where the wheat is separated from the chaff.
    How many cameras will be on-site and how many of them are used? Are the cameras splash-proof and have high-speed lenses (it is very dark in many churches)?
    A professional photographer will never show up with only one camera but at least actively work with two cameras (particularly during the marriage ceremony) so that he wastes no time changing the objectives.
  • Obtain information about other specialist areas of the photographer and his track record!
    It is always an advantage when the photographer has gained similar experience in addition to wedding pictures. It is also very helpful when the photographer is used to take professional pictures of non-recurring moments at press conferences, events and similar assignments.
  • Find out how strongly the photographer caters to your needs.
    Every wedding is different. And the expectations of bridal couples also vary. That is why the photographer should ask for your personal expectations. Some prefer the "typical" wedding portraits - others want something rather "fancy". However, if the photographer is not in a position to cater to the wishes and expectations of the couple but pushes through his own style, you should be worried whether this suits your taste.
  • What is often underrated: Sympathy and trust!
    Do not forget that the photographer will accompany you all day. So it is important that you get along well. You do not have to marry the photographer but if you spend such a long time close-by, a positive atmosphere is important.  Only book a photographer, whom you really want entrust with this day and who gives you a positive feeling that the results will come up to your expectations.

 

Frequently asked questions

That is a tricky one.
In the same way as there is no "standard wedding", there is no standard price - neither do we have package prices. Every wedding is different - the wishes and expectations of the bridal couples even more so. Some couples wish to have many pictures edited digitally, whereas others attach greater importance to the photographer’s presence. There is also a difference in the purpose of the pictures: shall they be developed or "only" prepared for a slideshow or the internet. Contact us - we can offer you the right services. Of course, we can also provide tips and sensible options in order to make the most of your budget.

 

Yes and no!
It usually takes 1 to 2 hours to take the "typical" wedding pictures. We would love to have more time but this period generally suffices.
We only accept wedding requests with a lead time of more than four weeks and only from a minimum of four hours working time, as we would otherwise block entire weekends with "small assignments" long in advance. We hope that you can understand that this is the only efficient way for us to work - we are not one of those who cancel confirmed assignments when bigger assignments come up.
We know that this happens quite often as we receive many requests at short notice. However, if you require a photographer at short notice and we are not yet booked, we will gladly accept such assignments.
Yet, a comparison is always worth the trouble. Photographers often charge disproportionately high fees for "small" assignments and you can often get a small reportage at a slightly higher price.

 

 

Let's say it is getting more and more popular to book that as well. The reasons are obvious.
In the end, this day is about two things: the marriage ceremony and the festivities with your family and friends.
In the beginning, customers have "only" the usual wedding portraits in mind, which are important, however, they only reflect a small part of the entire day.
It is particularly the shoots during the festivities - after the marriage ceremony – that are the most demanding task for the photographer. They require extensive equipment and, above all, high-speed cameras and "special" lenses. That is the reason why you should never leave shoots of the festivities, the cake-cutting or first dance up to laymen or family members, who are likely to take snapshots by means of program exposure and "non-ideal" camera equipment. It is best you particularly pay attention to these photos when paying us a visit. You will be surprised how empathic and interesting a documentation of your wedding reception and how spontaneous and vivid the pictures can be.

 

Yes, you can! We provide full-resolution pictures on a data carrier or a download - this service is included in the agreed price.

 

There are no hidden costs with us!

We agreed on fixed prices for wedding shoots with most clients. However, in some cases it does not make sense to provide lump-sum offers, e.g. when you want us to do the picture development as well. Or maybe when you are not sure for how long exactly you need a photographer and which image editing services you will request.

 

We recommend ordering the pictures on your part, e.g. on the internet. We edit the pictures upon request so that you can inexpensively order them with a suitable provider in the format and number of your choice. This saves you cash and us the effort. However, we can also gladly do this for you upon request. We can also provide some tips where we order our print pictures and recommend you favourable providers who develop high-quality photographs.

 

We only use digital reflex cameras. This enables us to take more pictures and optimise them digitally afterwards. This technology is also less expensive and has been state-of-the-art for years.

 

Generally, yes - provided that we agree upon the user rights beforehand. Normally, the bridal couple can use the photographs for private purposes as it pleases. Online publication is subject to prior approval by Steffen Oliver Riese Fotografie, as we do not want unedited pictures to appear somewhere on the internet.

 

Yes, many. You will find some of the pictures on our website. However, these are only some snapshots of the innumerable weddings we accompanied in the past few years. The pictures selected are intended to express the diversity and our individual attempts to cater to your wishes and expectations.
We will gladly provide the contact data of previous clients you may contact for references. We even recommend doing this! So, we have every reason to be proud of our assignments. The pictures published give you an impression of our commitment, appearance and cooperation. We also meet every bridal couple at least once before the shoot. In this way, you get to know us and we discuss your expectations together - with a relaxed cappuccino or glass of champagne. You can have a look at previous shoots to assure yourself that you will also be more than satisfied.
You can also find ratings of previous clients online, e.g. on Google or Yelp.

 

Well, ... that is a tough one. We would have to know who you compare us with. Let us do it the other way around... What do we stand for?
We are highly motivated, have never fallen for the cookie-cutter approach and realise your individual expectations. You particularly benefit from our experience due to our manifold assignments in other areas. The spontaneous reaction to situational conditions constitutes the must-have skill of a press photographer and for event or concert assignments.
These areas are our highlights, which also help us to take meaningful pictures during wedding reportages or marriage ceremonies.
We take extensive equipment to the respective location, including three digital reflex cameras with high-speed professional lenses made by Canon. Thus, we can discreetly take pictures from the background, as the required lens is already affixed to the camera. Thus, very spontaneous shoots are possible. And ... if a camera quits the service (what they sometimes do), we always have a replacement at hand and you will receive the shoots you desire.

 

(Our favourite question ;-))

That is hard to answer. Let us start with some counter questions:

o    Did you compare apples and oranges? Please do not misunderstand us. This does not refer to the skills of the photographer but the services to be rendered.
o    Is he or she really a professional, experienced photographer?
o    Does he or she have the required equipment or will he or she show up at your wedding with only one camera? And is this really what you want?
o    Does image editing really mean the editing of images or only image optimisation?
o    Will you receive the pictures on CD/DVD in full resolution and without watermarks or do you have to pay extra for the prints and data?

Experience shows that these are the aspects with the major differences.
Please do not misunderstand us. We have been well-established for some years now and therefore we know and appreciate our colleagues and we can compare ourselves with them. Prices may differ by 10 to 20 per cent. However, they do not differ by more than 50 per cent - we all only put our pants on one leg at a time and we do not charge our customers a star photographer bonus.
But, as is the way of the world and as hard as it may sound: You get what you are willing to pay for.

Impressionen