Wedding Photography & Videography FAQ’s

• How does your pricing work/how much does it cost to add videography?

  The short answer: it costs nothing to add videography. We are unique here in the Calgary wedding scene in that we offer packages based on coverage time instead of charging per deliverable/service. You’re paying to have Jesse and Elena document your wedding, whether that’s with 1 photographer and 1 videographer or 2 photographers - the pricing is the same. Here’s a link to our pricing page.

• We’re awkward on camera! How do you make us look good?

  If you haven’t checked out our portfolio - please go take a look! 95% percent of those beautiful smiling faces ALSO said they were awkward/uncomfortable on camera. The way we make our clients comfortable is by taking our ego out of it - not forcing anything, and by making you laugh and forming a genuine connection with you. It’s not about us getting a particular shot to feature on instagram, it’s about capturing your authentic spirit. Our direction is centered around our couples interacting naturally - because when you’re focused on your love instead of being micro-posed or directed like your day is a music video shoot we are presented with lots of opportunities to take those natural joyful images you want to look back on. We keep you moving, always flowing from one prompt to the next, and we often shoot with long lenses so you can have some space and not feel like we’re up in your face. Kind of like a doctor giving a baby a vaccine, we keep you laughing and distracted so you don’t even realize you’re getting your photo taken and so far we have a 100% success rate with proving “awkward” couples wrong. We promise to never ask you to do something that is obviously unnatural unless you ask for that sort of thing, to use props, or make you hold yourself in an uncomfortable way. Our priority is your comfortability and fun!

• How long does it take to receive our photos and videos after the wedding?

  It’s safer and more fun to just get ‘er done! We meticulously work our buns off to get you your package in full within 6-8 weeks of the wedding and we will always do our best to deliver faster if we can.

• Do you take film photos at every wedding?

  Yes! Film is an essential part of our workflow. We shoot with several vintage cameras alongside our full-frame digital Sony cameras.

• How many photos do we get?

  This really depends on your day. We deliver between 400 - 800 images on digital and film. For shorter weddings, intimate weddings with fewer guests and micro weddings it will be closer to 400 - for long days and weddings with lots of guests it will be closer to 800.

• Do you offer single photographer packages?

  You always get both Elena & Jesse documenting your day. In our experience, it’s much more reliable to have two photographers or a photographer & videographer documenting your day. We hate to think about what would happen if we were alone and something went wrong/we got injured etc.! Having two shooters is a security blanket for your coverage. It also allows some flexibility because we can split up if needed so you don’t have to book as much time. The only case where we would offer a single photographer package would be for a short elopement within the city of Calgary.

• We LOVE candid photos, but we still would like some traditional portraits and family photos - can you do that as well?

  Absolutely! While we mostly share the edgy candid shots on our portfolio and instagram - that’s certainly not all we do. We’ve shot everything from 10 minute family portrait sessions with just a few big groups to hour long sessions with hundreds of family members - we always do a formal family portrait session, usually right after the ceremony or before if you’re doing a first look. Our couples sessions have ranged from 10 minutes to one hour and we can make those formal portraits happen without it feeling formal. We love to create timeless portraits to decorate your walls and to send to grandma, and we are happy to incorporate those shots into your portrait session.

• How much time should we book you for?

  We made a detailed blog post about this with some timeline examples. Usually 4 hours can cover a bit of getting ready, the ceremony and a photo session or the ceremony, a photo session and a bit of the reception - you can expand that coverage in either direction to adjust to your day and what you’d like covered.

• Do your packages include an engagement session?

  Wedding and elopement booking clients receive a 50% discount on engagement sessions and bookings of 10+ hours or multi-day events include a short engagement session. We really encourage our wedding clients to book an engagement session as it helps to get better acquainted with us and to give you more confidence on camera - so many of our couples breathe a sigh of relief once they do an engagement session and experience how chill our vibe is - followed by excitement for the wedding photos of course!

• How do we book you for our wedding?

  1. First you can email us with your wedding date & any relevant details or fill out our contact form.

  2. Then we schedule a video chat or in-person coffee date to make sure we’re a good fit - and to help you decide how much and what kind of coverage is a good fit. We always follow up with blank contract after the call so you can review the terms.

  3. When you’re ready to book we send you a customized contract to sign.

  4. You send us a 50% of the total balance along with the signed contract. This deposit is non-refundable to reserve your date.

  5. Let’s go baby! We’re stoked to work with you!

• Do you travel? Do you charge travel fees?

  We don’t charge travel fees within a 2 hours drive of Calgary. If your wedding is further than 2 hours from Calgary we will create a custom quote based on accommodation/flights/etc. We try to be as transparent as possible - travel fees ensure that we can do our best work for you.

• Can we see some full wedding gallery examples?

  100%! Shoot us an email and we’ll send over some real wedding galleries.

• What’s your cancellation policy?

  There is a non-refundable 50% deposit due upon signing the contract, however if you have to cancel due to unforeseen circumstances you can apply it to a new date as long as agree to cooperate with our schedule. If - big if, this has never happened before thankfully - if we have to cancel on you, we send you a full refund.

• How do you protect our images and videos before their delivered?

  Our cameras all have 2 card slots, creating an instant backup. We always have multiple cameras ready to go in case something breaks and we backup the photos IMMEDIATELY to multiple drives when we get home.

• How long have you been shooting weddings?

  Jesse has been a wedding photographer/videographer for 12 years, 6 years in - Elena began shooting weddings with Jesse and under Elena Rae Photography - March 2023 we started branding our combined services as Hey Lover!

Anything else? Shoot us an email <3