STYLE:

What type of photography do you do?
We adapt to tell the story of your wedding day to include documentary style, portraiture and fine art photography. Our goal is simple – to document and showcase the beauty of your day. While we are very hands-off and unobtrusive in our coverage of the day, we do believe that there is a time and place for gorgeous, casually posed images of the bride and groom together. So while we won’t stop you and make you pose while cutting the cake, we would like about an hour (if possible) alone with you both sometime during the day to create some images of you. We also believe strongly in preserving all of the details of the wedding; from your cake to your shoes.

Do you still take posed family images?
Absolutely. We strongly believe in those family images, as they are records of your entire family at an important time in their history together. Please bear in mind that the hallmark of our coverage is journalistic and real-time, so a very long list of posed images will hinder our ability to cover the event in a documentary manner.

Can we give you a shot list of photographs we want you to take?
It is very helpful to know what important relatives and friends are coming to your day, and if any events bear special significance, but repeated requests for posed images and having us work from a checklist is counterproductive to the work you’ve seen here on our website. Shot lists are a great idea, but please understand that we generally will capture those images without prompting.

Do you provide black and white as well as color photography coverage and is there an added expense for black and white images?
We process the photos in color and black and white at no added expense. Our books, albums and prints will all be delivered in color unless you tell us otherwise.

Do you shoot weddings with film or digital?
We shoot most of our personal work with film cameras but decided years ago to concentrate on digital for weddings. However, we absolutely love the look of film for portraits. Tim shoots most of his personal work on a medium format Hassleblad and Jenn shoots on a large format 4×5 field camera (the kind with a drape). Let us know if you are interested in having some of your portraits taken with our film cameras – we would be thrilled!

So are you photographers or videographers?
Good question! We would say photographers who shoot both photos and video. Our background is in photography and even our video work has a still photographer’s aesthetic. In the last five years, we have been fortunate enough to work on some documentary films that have been screened at film festivals around the world and one of our films even won an Emmy (yes its on our mantle!).

COVERAGE:

Are Tim and Jenn the only photographers?
Tim and Jenn are the only photographers that work for The Love Project. Depending on your package, we will hire a steadicam and stationary video camera operator for our photo+ cinema package and an assistant for The Love Booth and time-lapse. When you hire us you get more than two photographers that work together. You get a married couple that loves and inspires each other on a daily basis. You’re getting two extremely passionate photographers that will provide two different angles and moments with one creative voice. We love working together!

How many pictures will we get?
The number of photographs taken depends on many things – the time allowed for portraits, hours of coverage, types of events. Our bare minimum is 500 images, but often it’s much, much higher.

Do we get to keep the negatives?
We provide the high-resolution digital files (the digital equivalent of negatives). When the files are released to you, we will provide you with a list of resources from which to get quality prints. We do retain the copyright to the images and the right to use them for promotional purposes, competition, professional review, and so on. You will get a written release that will allow you to make unlimited personal reproductions and copies for your friends and families.

Do you come to the rehearsal?
Rehearsal dinner coverage is available if you’d like to add it to your package; otherwise we do not attend the rehearsals.

Where Do you live? You travel? Right?
We live in South Minneapolis right near Lake Nokomis.. but don’t let that throw you off, we have a second home in Nags Head, NC, where we also photograph weddings. We also spend part of our year traveling the world for our editorial and commercial clients. If you are within 3 hours of the Twin Cities, there is no charge for travel time or mileage. If you are more than 150 miles from the area, there may be an additional charge.

What is the online gallery?
The online gallery is a private, password protected section on our website where all of your wedding photographs will be placed online for you and your family and friends to view. It is also a secure shopping cart – which allows you (and your family and friends) to order prints and select album prints online. All you have to do is provide the password to anyone who you want to be able to view the images.

Do you do engagement sessions?
Engagement sessions are included in all of our packages. We love them and the creativity that most of our couples have when it comes to those sessions. It also gives us some time to get to know you better and for you to get a sense of how we work.

Prints & Albums

How long does it take to get our products and images?
Even before your honeymoon is over you will be able to view your photos on your own private wedding website. So.. once the wedding has been photographed, we will take up to a week to process, edit, tone and upload your images and the DVD with your high resolution images will be delivered/shipped within two weeks. The books and albums will take up to 12 weeks to be individually designed, printed and shipped. The films, given the great amount of time to produce, will be finished and delivered within 12 weeks.

How does the album design process work?
We give you six months to select the images for your album, should your package include one. You do get to preview your album design and make three rounds of changes to it before a change-fee is assessed. Once you approve the layout, we will help you choose your album cover style, color, imprinting, and other small details. Then you’ll sign off on the book and it will go to print. All of this process can be completed online simply and easily. Once you choose your images, it takes about four weeks to produce your first draft and each round of changes generally takes two business weeks to complete.

What will my album look like?
You have a couple of choices – from leather bound traditional albums to our fine art bound hard back books. During our consultation, we will talk about your style and what might be best for you.

Can we get prints through you?
Yes. We give you a DVD of print-ready digital negatives but would love to print for you. We have a professional grade printer in our studio that we use for archives and galleries throughout the US. The benefit to having us print it is that we have full control over the final printed image and we are very meticulous printers – meaning we will not deliver a print to you unless we find it to be perfect (skin tones, colors, etc.).

LOVE STORIES:

What is photo+cinematic fusion?
We approach our fusion work the same way we do our still photography. Meaning you get a wedding day film with both the still photos and the video merging seamlessly as one. We believe that using photos and video allows us to document your story by revealing the beauty, the moments, the sounds and the feel of your day. In the end this brings out the essence of that one day you hope you never forget.

How do you balance shooting stills and video at the wedding?
Fortunately we work really well together and over the last five years we have figured out how to balance stills and video. Now that we use hybrid cameras that shoot both still and video we are able to quickly change between the two which is determined by the moment. There are times when the still image can say everything and others when motion conveys emotion and energy so much better. If your package requires more video, we hire an additional steadicam and dolli operator to get those hollywoodesque shots.

How do you create the films?
We don’t have a prescribed film for your day. Every wedding and every couple different and we believe every story should reflect that. It is something that we pride ourselves on and the way we keep ourselves fresh and excited for each wedding film we produce. From your title screen to the music – everything is chosen based on your story and the feel of your wedding day. Our hope is that every time you watch the film, you are brought back to that moment.

What are the love story interviews?
In order to tell your story the best, we will interview you as a couple before your wedding day. We find the best time to do this is before your engagement session. It also gives us a chance to get to know you two more intimately.

Do we need to prepare for the interview?
You have already done that part. We will ask you questions about how you met, what attracted you to the other, etc. No interview is the same but is just a reflection on your relationship in the past and your future together.

Can we give you music for the film?
That would be great as long as you have the right to reproduce (especially if there is a song that means a lot to the two of you). As artists, we try to respect musicians and their copyright. We pay for or use royalty-free music in all of our wedding productions. We create a customized soundtrack paired with audio from your interview as the base for your wedding film.

Business & Details:

How many weddings do you book per day?
We only book one wedding per day. In fact, we try not to book a wedding within three days of each other. This keeps us fresh and excited for each wedding.

Do you have insurance?
Yes. Please let us know if you need a copy.

What kind of equipment do you use?
We use Canon professional cameras and lenses. We truly have a life savings invested in our equipment. Expensive equipment doesn’t make the photographer just like a chef’s pots and pans don’t make the food magical, but our equipment helps in capturing images that wouldn’t be possible without the gear we use. We have remote cameras we can mount anywhere for unique compositions. We have remote lights we can trigger from our cameras and wireless microphones so you can clearly hear your vows. We have eight digital cameras in our arsenal and numerous HD video cameras. Our array of gear is like a photographer’s toy store.

Do you have back-up equipment?
Yes. Both Tim and Jenn have four (4) professional grade cameras, two are used as a backup and a remote. The other two are used for different focal length lenses to give you a visual variety for your day.

Can you hold the date for me?
I’m sorry, but we can’t hold the date or pencil you in without a retainer and a signed contract. We accept bookings on a first come/first served basis. If you are interested in booking us, make sure you call us and let us know your deposit is being sent.

What is your payment schedule like?
A deposit/retainer fee of $1000 is due to reserve your date. 50% of your balance is due 90 days before your event with the final amount due the week of the wedding. If booking under thirty days before the wedding, the entire contract amount is due at the time of signing.

Can we pay you part of the amount after the wedding?
No, I’m sorry, we do require full payment before the event. However, we do have clients that will order and pay for prints and albums after the wedding (sometimes as wedding and/or Christmas gifts).

I have to cancel my wedding. Can I have my retainer back?
The retainer fee and all monies paid are non-refundable. The retainer guarantees that we will hold the date exclusively for you and once you’ve signed the contract we do turn down all other commissions for that date.

What if you can’t be at the wedding?
Very few things will hinder us from being there. Despite the circumstance, we will still supply you with coverage from our extensive network of photographer friends from around the country (all of whom have similar accolades and experience).

If we decide to commission The Love Project for our wedding, when should we book?
ASAP. Since we cannot “hold” dates or “pencil you in”, dates are booked when…well, when we receive the deposit and signed contract. Most of our commissions contract us within a year of the wedding date, sometimes as close as two months prior, sometimes a full calendar year ahead.

On the contract, you mention a model release, why?
We might want to use your photos for promotional purposes on our website, but they will not be used or sold for commercial purposes.

Do you offer discounts for off-season or non-saturday events?
We rarely give discounts on our photography packages considering our work and traveling schedule. But we often send out promotions to those on our email list.

Do we need to feed you at the reception?
It would be really lovely if you did. It doesn’t have to be the same as your sit-down meal (many caterers offer “vendor meals” as an add-on option) but feeding us ensures we stays cheerful, mobile, and that we don’t faint. We prefer to be fed when you are fed because when you are eating you’re not at your most photogenic. And then when you’re done, we want to be done as well to continue your coverage.

Can our family and friends take pictures with their cameras? Will that bother you?
Of course they can and it doesn’t bother us in the least bit! We do request they not swarm the family photographs right away because we would prefer all eyes facing us in your images, but we doesn’t mind at all if they snap away from the background. We definitely welcome other cameras during dancing, cake cutting, and other events just asks politely if people could please not push us out of the way and respect our presence.