The f.a.q. page

Q. How long do you spend with us on our wedding day?

This all depends on how long you want our services for. Unlike some photographers we don’t expect you to pay for services and time that you don’t require. We won’t photograph weddings by providing an hourly rate. What happens if things run late? We’ve heard too many horror stories of weddings being booked on an hourly rate only to see things over run and the photographer ‘go home’ without providing the service he was paid to do. So, to keep things simple, it’s full day or part day coverage.

Q. What areas do you cover?

We can travel anywhere. Within the Yorkshire area the cost is included in the price of our wedding services. A small additional charge will be added to cover fuel costs outside the Yorkshire area. In the last few years we photographed weddings in Hull, Bradford, Leeds, Wakefield, Castleford, Pontefract, Halifax and Huddersfield to name but a few.

Q. Do you offer pre-wedding shoots?

Yes we do and it’s included in all day coverage. We will arrange to meet you, have a cup of coffee, discuss your wedding preparations and spend some time taking some extra shots. This helps in two ways, firstly it gets us an image for your signature mount if you are having one, we ask you to select one of the images so we can inset it into the mount to use on your wedding day. Secondly, if you are nervous about having your photograph taken it helps you to get used to being in front of the camera and shows you how I work in getting the best from you for your photographs.

Q. How long does it take before I can view my wedding photographs?

We generally try to make proofs available for viewing within two week of your wedding unless we have stated otherwise in advance to you. So, if you have a few minutes free whilst on honeymoon, why not log on to the website and see if your photographs are available to view?

Q. Do you use models on your website?

No, absolutely not and yes we are aware that some photographers do. Is this an issue? No of course not as long as the photographer points out that the photographs were taken during a training day. After all, on a training day you’ve got time to adjust settings to just where you want them, you often have a professional model in front of you who knows how to pose. It doesn’t mean that the photographer can recreate these on your wedding day when he’s under pressure to produce results. It doesn’t mean training is a bad thing. I undertake additional training and shoot with additional photographers whenever I can. Why? Well it helps me to keep my photography fresh and up to date. What we won’t do is use the images on the website. All the images on the website have been taken by Martin Hillary Photography at real weddings. If models appear on the blog from a training shoot, they will be clearly labeled as such. Just so you know!

Q. I’ve heard a lot about wedding photographer insurance. So tell me more about your ‘insurance’?

We hold full professional indemnity and public liability insurance. Some wedding venues see this as a compulsory requirement. What does this actually mean for you? When you come to the studio we will cover this in great detail and explain the whys and where fors. But in summary, the insurance is in place to cover you in unavoidable circumstances such as illness or accident.

Q. I’m getting married in a couple of years time,  can I book your services now?

Yes. We are already taking bookings for weddings a copule of years in advance. Our advice would be to book early especially if you are getting married between May and September which tend to be our busiest months. 

Q. Who provides the actual photography for our wedding?

We do. We don’t believe in meeting you and then contracting out to let a third party undertake your wedding photography. All our wedding photography is undertaken by Martin Hillary. Why? Simple reason, by the time we photograph your wedding we will have met each other, two or even three times and will have started to get to know one another from our meetings and pre-wedding shoot. This is so important so on your wedding day you are not faced with someone photographing you who you don’t know, perhaps have never met or even worse cannot get on with. Besides each other, you are likely to spend more of your wedding day in the company of your photographer than anyone else. If your package contains a second photographer they will work alongside Martin Hillary shooting reportage style photographs.

Q. Can my guests also take photographs during the day.

Of course they can, they want a record of the day too and if they don’t manage to get that all important first kiss, exchanging of the rings, or the candid shots at the speeches themselves they can order them directly from our website. All we ask is that we take each photograph first as it ensures that everyone is looking at a single camera and not looking at different cameras in different directions during each shot. The only time we don’t like other guests taking photographs is when we go off for half an hour to get some real wow photographs of you both and that’s only so we can really get the best photographs possible for your album.

Q. Why do we need to meet a second time?

Besides getting to know you better we like to make sure that before your wedding day we have all the information and timings that we need to ensure your day runs as smoothly as possible. It’s widely known that a brides biggest fear on her wedding day is it won’t go smoothly and she won’t get chance to enjoy it. This once in a life time fairy tale day shouldn’t be ruined by worry and it’s all down to having quality vendors that you can rely on. That’s why we make sure before your wedding we know exactly where we have to be and at what time. This includes talking through the best places at your venue for your photographs and the type of shots you require.

Q. What makes you qualified to photograph our wedding?

Amongst other things our photographic experience, we are photographing weddings all year round, it’s our full time occupation. Coupled with the fact that we have a Royal Photographic Society distinction. To be awarded the distinction the photographer needs to attain a high standard photography and have his / her work verified by a panel of qualified judges and then ratified by the society itself. It’s a sad fact of life that someone can go into a local electrical store, pick up a digital SLR camera and then call themselves a ‘professional wedding photographer’ without having photographed any weddings. Providing professional wedding photography is as much about knowing what’s going to happen next, being able to react quickly to any condition, providing event management and at the same time being able to take a well composed image using everything at your disposal, from the natural surroundings, to the available light, to making the bride and groom look their absolute stunning best.

Q. I’m not sure about how much time I need to leave for photographs?

Besides wedding photography we are also good at providing advice on any aspect of your day – see us as your wedding day organizer. From the time you should allow to get in your dress to the best time for your first dance. We are here to help in any way we can! We will discuss all the timings and the best ways to take your photographs during our consultations. Every wedding is unique and will require different amounts of time depending on the venue, the number of guests and the type of photographs required. We are also very conscious about keeping your guests waiting when they want to be enjoying your special day and so we have a somewhat unique way of working to ensure this runs quickly and to time leaving you and your guests time to enjoy the day.

Q. What happens if your camera goes wrong?

Don’t worry. We only use professional grade equipment and ensure we have spare camera, lenses, flash units, batteries and memory cards available during the day. Beware of photographers who only have the minimum of, or consumer grade equipment. What would they do for the rest of your wedding if their camera went wrong? What would you do?

Q. How can our wedding guests order enlargements?

As a client of ours you will have passworded access to view all your photographs on line and your family and friends can order enlargements from the same on line gallery. We can also supply at your request small table cards for your wedding reception providing guests with information on how to log on to the website and order. Please ask if you would like us to provide this free service. We will provide two galleries for your wedding day, your wedding photographs will be provided in a passworded gallery for you to share with whoever you like. The second gallery if we are photographing at your evening reception is the photobooth. Everyone who attends the photobooth will be given a little card with details of how to access the photographs.

Q. What’s all this about a wedding venue survey?

We will visit your wedding venue before your big day to check where the best places are to take your photographs and also so we know what to do if we have typically ‘British Weather’. You are more than welcome to join us on this day for a pre-wedding shoot – they are free of charge in several of our example packages and we would be delighted to see you!

Q. Do you shoot more than one wedding a day?

No, we don’t believe in rushing our clients and trying to ‘squeeze’ another wedding in on the same day. You have our full and undivided attention.