What does "You own your own photos" mean?

I give you a written release of copyright, a CD with all your wedding pictures, the negatives and an album with 250-300 prints. You can do anything you want with your photographs. You own them. Other photographers retain the rights to all pictures they take. They don't allow you to make prints, post photographs on the web or even email images to your friends. I don't do that.

Do you take posed family pictures?

Yes. I'll take all the posed pictures you want.

At my sister's wedding, the photographer was a pain. Are you a pain?

No. I'm unobtrusive, and I won't boss anyone around. It's your day, not mine.

"My (uncle, cousin, friend) wants to photograph my wedding. Why should I hire you?"

Here's what one bride told me: "I have spoken at length with my fiance and we have decided this event is too important - there are no 'do overs.'"

Is digital better than film?

No. All you should care about is whether you like the pictures, not how they were captured. It's the eye, not the tool. I shoot 35mm film, but I also have that converted to a CD for you. You receive both the CD and the negatives, so you have the convenience of digital images (email, web posting) and the archival quality of film. Twenty years from now, if you can't open the JPEG images on the CD, you'll still be able to get prints from your negatives. Film still surpasses the resolution of any digital camera. You'll receive about 400 archival prints, and every print will be numbered the same as the images on the CD, so you won't have trouble finding your favorite pictures, whether you want the negative or the digital version. I think you receive more value from me than you would from any other photographer (but I'm prejudiced).