Information :: Why We Provide a Second Shooter

We introduced ourselves here. We shared a little about our personalities here. We included a list of 10 random things about us here. Today we want to share 10 reasons for why we provide two shooters on your wedding day. It has been well-documented that many couples regret not spending more on photography (base assumption being that greater value would equate to higher quality). While the appropriate compensation for photography services is subjective and dependent on key factors such as experience & expertise, there is one thing for sure at Poppy & Sage Photography: we want to go above and beyond to ensure that you love your images. We want to exceed your expectation for quality. One way we strive to meet this goal is through the provision of two shooters. Why exactly? Well, here are 10 reasons:

  1. One of us is responsible for the shot list provided by the client & meeting standard composition requirements; the other typically focuses on candid photography & creative composition (everything comes back to our questionnaire, though, and the priorities that you have detailed!)

  2. Second set of eyes = different perspective (for example, height differences; there is a foot between us!)

  3. Bride & groom are at 2 different locations? No problemo! (In the event of one photographer, it would be necessary to stack getting ready sessions = adding extra time to the day)

  4. Ability to split up timeline so one can focus on the bridal party, for example, and the other on the couple portraits (especially useful when timelines can run behind on the day or we need to meet specific criteria, such as couple portraits at golden hour)

  5. Technology can fail; nice to have built-in back-up with a second shooter as part of risk management

  6. Bigger wedding (100+) with a lot going on (getting ready, a first look, details, family portraits, and so on)? We’ve got it!

  7. Larger venue where you can’t possibly run back and forth to see from both side (or if you did, it would be pretty distracting)

  8. One can focus on the couple and the other on guest reactions (while walking down the aisle, for example)

  9. Two photographers typically shoot with different settings, such as aperture - this can make a huge difference to the overall feel of the image

  10. We have different strengths and interests - this is represented in our individual work and complementary perspectives

  11. We enjoy working together… oh, wait - that’s 11! We’ll stop. ;)

Would you like to see a side-by-side comparison of our work?
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Information :: Ten Things About Us

A little while ago, we shared a few things about each of us on Instagram:

Pete:
1) is half-Czech
2) moved 8 times during childhood
3) has visited 3 continents to date - 4 to go

Em:
1) played competition tennis for approx. 7 years
2) has rural roots (small town of Chinchilla, Queensland)
3) was in a tambourine ensemble... don't ask haha

It was a fun exercise (for something different). We figured that we would continue the theme a little with 5 things for each of us:

Pete:

  • Is yet to find chilli so hot that he can’t eat it

  • Will talk about the behaviour of light when you ask for best-lighting-on-the-day advice (geek alert) but will come up with Dad jokes as prompts for posing (talk about hitting the jackpot) :D

  • Has been on 64 flights to date

  • Has held a baby crocodile

  • Makes the absolute best prosciutto and rucola pizza (and vanilla slice, while we are at it)

Em:

  • Misses the Nokia 3310; those were the simpler days

  • Has waved to the Queen

  • Mapped out Parisian adventures around sweet tooth: self-dubbed “Tour de boulangerie”

  • Bumped into Steve Irwin at Australia Zoo (he was carrying Bindi - a baby - in a duffle bag)

  • Is scared of heights but has also been skydiving (along with Pete)

From a recent wedding (image by Pete from Poppy & Sage Photography)

Check out our work here

The Elephant in the Room :: Raw Files

"I just want access to the images from the most important day in my life! I enjoy playing around with Photoshop and Lightroom. I don't understand why it is too much to ask for the raw files. Furthermore, what if there is an image that the photographer doesn’t care for but is important to me or us?"

This is a question that pops up from time to time. It is a really good question, too! At Poppy & Sage Photography, we do not provide raw files as part of our delivery. Here is our why:

  • This is in line with the stated terms and conditions in our contract. It is our business policy. We only ever show our best work.

  • Delivering a complete product is important to us. It is our job; it is what you, as the client, are paying us to do. The preparation (meeting, emailing & planning) is key. The shooting (time, experience & equipment) is key. The culling is key. The colour correction is key. In particular, our editing style is essential to our brand. Every aspect of the process is just as crucial to the final product as each other.

  • Both the underlying raw files and the subsequent finalised images we provide to you all have our creative fingerprint on them; be it prior planning and storyboarding, our professional input to composition on the day, or a number of other aspects to our craft. In the same way one would not allow a stranger to work on an artist’s marble carving at any stage of their process, we do not provide our raw files as part of our business model.

  • We totally understand the concern that we might not choose an image that means the world to you. We take a ton of images on any given wedding day. Of that ton, a good amount can be accounted for in multiples, typically with only nanoseconds between them. This is especially pertinent because we shoot together; we collate all files and choose the best. Some of the images are visual exposure tests. If we followed anyone around for a day (or someone followed us), we can absolutely guarantee unflattering images - blinking, awkward moments, and so on. We strive to give you beautiful & memorable images from your day that you will hopefully love so much that you will go and tell your family & friends. We value quality over quantity. We also work from a questionnaire that lists shots important to you. There is no way we would withhold an image that is suitable and, in particular, is from your shot list. Finally, we deliver an industry standard of 50-75 images per hour of shooting.

However, if you have any questions or would like to clarify anything, we are just a message away. Feel free to contact us anytime.

Shoot Us a Question Here

Information :: Our Personalities

Pete & Em. We have already introduced ourselves here. We have shared our priorities in blog posts regularly (such as this one). However, there is a little more about us that might be of interest to our clients.

From our wedding by Lady Jayde Photography; the parent life means that we don’t often get shots of just the two of us these days ;)

Our personalities.

We are very different. Pete is the extrovert; Em is the introvert. Pete is driven by logic; Em is driven by emotion. Pete embraces posing & taking the time to set up the perfect shot. Em embraces photojournalism & allowing the moments to unfold. Pete enjoys interacting with people & helping them to relax in front of the camera (sometimes Dad Jokes play a role; after all, Pete does get a lot of practice with little Chloe). Em enjoys making sure the raw emotion & details of the day are captured. Pete works best with lists and makes sure that our shooting follows the plan. Em goes with the flow and works best in the background. Opposites attract.

We celebrate our personality differences (as well as our individual interests and “eye”). We play to our individual strengths. I guess you could say that our personalities and different strengths are some of our unique selling points. When you choose Poppy & Sage Photography, you sign up for your story to be told two different ways. We look forward to working together to capture Your Day. Feel free to contact us here:

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Information :: Wedding Budgeting Tips (The Photography Version)

Wedding Budgeting. Two words that are almost certainly guaranteed to induce tachycardia in brides & grooms the world over. Where do you start?!

Figure out your priorities and budget accordingly.

Is it the dress? Is it car hire? Is it the honeymoon? Only you two as a couple can figure out what should be at the top of this list.

Of course we are biased. ;) We could regale you with all of our personal reasons for why professional photography should be somewhere in the top 3-ish, but we will limit ourselves to just a few (please do not think that any mention of other vendors serves to minimise their contribution to the day - all vendors are equally important!):

Plan for the event that the budget could be blown due to unforeseen costs.

We have listed the cost of photography with us on our website. If the numbers line up with how your budget looks, we’re happy to meet up and have a chat in person. The next step is to see if we’re a good fit personality-wise. Feel free to contact us here:

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