FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

WHERE ARE YOU LOCATED? GRAND RAPIDS, MICHIGAN. 

ARE YOU WILLING TO TRAVEL? YES! I INCLUDE TRAVEL UP TO 100 MILES ROUND TRIP FOR WEDDINGS, 50 MILES ROUND TRIP FOR SESSIONS, FROM MY LOCATION IN GRAND RAPIDS. ANYTHING FURTHER MAY HAVE EXTRA TRAVEL FEES (GAS/LODGING). FOR OUT OF STATE TRAVEL, I WOULD ASK FOR FLIGHT COSTS, 1-2 NIGHT STAY AND A RENTAL CAR OR TAXI FEES (IF NEEDED) TO BE COVERED. 

CAN I HAVE ALL OF THE UNEDITED IMAGES? NO, I DO NOT RELEASE UNEDITED IMAGES.

DO I RECEIVE A PRINT RELEASE? YES! YOU ARE ALLOWED TO PRINT YOUR OWN PHOTOS WHEREVER YOU WOULD LIKE. HOWEVER, PLACES THAT DON'T SPECIALIZE IN PRINTING MAY NOT HAVE THE SAME COLOR AND QUALITY OUTCOME.

CAN I POST DELIVERED PHOTOS OR VIDEOS ON SOCIAL MEDIA? ABSOLUTELY! I LOVE WHEN CLIENTS SHARE THEIR PHOTOS OR VIDEOS. PLEASE REMEMBER TO CREDIT/TAG BENDING THE BRANCHES STORYTELLING OR A LINK TO MY WEBSITE. NEVER CROP, FILTER, OR ALTER IN ANY WAY AND DO NOT SCREENSHOT. INSTEAD, DOWNLOAD THE FULL RESOLUTION FILES OR IF I MAKE A POST YOU WANT TO SHARE PLEASE DO SO BY USING THE "SHARE" BUTTON. 

WHAT ARE ALL THE SERVICES YOU OFFER? PHOTO SERVICES: WEDDINGS, COUPLES, BOUDOIR, MATERNITY, IN-HOME NEWBORNS, SENIORS, FAMILIES, BRANDING, HEADSHOTS, REAL-ESTATE.. VIDEO SERVICES: WEDDINGS, ENGAGEMENT FILMS, SMALL BUSINESS PROMO FILMS, REAL-ESTATE.

HOW MANY PHOTOS WOULD I RECEIVE? AVERAGE IS ABOUT 75+ IMAGES PER HOUR.

HOW LONG WOULD THE VIDEO BE? FOR WEDDING FILMS, 2-7 MINUTES DEPENDING ON HOW MANY HOURS BOOKED. A 1-2 MINUTE HIGHLIGHT FILM IS AVAILABLE AS AN ADD-ON. ENGAGEMENT AND PROMO FILMS ARE 1-2 MINUTES.

HOW DO I SECURE BOOKING? ONCE YOU HAVE SIGNED MY CONTRACT AND I HAVE RECEIVED YOUR DEPOSIT, YOU ARE BOOKED AND YOUR DATE IS SECURED. 

HOW MUCH IS THE RETAINER? 30% RETAINER FOR WEDDINGS, WITH THE REMAINING AMOUNT PAID 30 DAYS PRIOR TO THE WEDDING DATE. CUSTOMIZED PAYMENT PLANS AVAILABLE UPON REQUEST. $100 RETAINER FOR SESSIONS.

WHAT CAMERA GEAR DO YOU USE? I HAVE A GEAR LIST ON KIT.CO YOU CAN CHECK OUT HERE.

WHAT EDITING SOFTWARE DO YOU USE? ADOBE LIGHTROOM FOR MASS PHOTO EDITING (OCCASIONAL PHOTOSHOP WHEN NEEDED). FOR VIDEO EDITING I USE ADOBE PREMIERE. 

HOW MANY WEDDINGS HAVE YOU DONE? 100+ BETWEEN WORKING FOR MYSELF AND PAST COMPANIES.

CAN I BOOK PHOTO AND VIDEO SERVICE WITH YOU FOR MY WEDDING? NO, I WORK INDEPENDENTLY, SO I CAN ONLY PROVIDE ONE OR THE OTHER PER WEDDING.

DO WE GET TO CHOOSE THE MUSIC FOR VIDEO? YES AND NO. DUE TO COPYRIGHT LAWS I HAVE TO USE LICENSED MUSIC. I WILL ASK WHAT GENRE+MOOD YOU PREFER THEN I USE THAT INFORMATION TO SEARCH FOR MUSIC.

WHAT HAPPENS IF IT RAINS ON MY WEDDING DAY? WE MAKE DO! IF WE HAVE TO TAKE ALL OF THE PHOTOS INSIDE OR COVERED AREA, WE WILL MAKE THE BEST OF IT. I ALSO HAVE RAIN GEAR FOR MY CAMERA AND A CLEAR BUBBLE UMBRELLA FOR MY COUPLES TO USE, SO IF YOU'RE WILLING TO GO OUTSIDE THEN I AM 100% DOWN! IF YOU'RE REALLY CONCERNED ABOUT RAIN ON YOUR WEDDING DAY, I HIGHLY SUGGEST TO GET UMBRELLAS FOR THE WEDDING PARTY IF YOU'RE WANTING TO BRING THE GROUP OUTSIDE FOR PHOTOS. NO MATTER WHAT, RAIN CAN'T STOP IT FROM BEING THE BEST DAY OF YOUR LIFE. I ALSO OFFER A "WEDDING PORTRAIT SESSION", SO WE CAN ALWAYS GO BACK OUT ON A CLEAR DAY!

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE PART OF A WEDDING DAY? THERE IS A LOT THAT GOES ON IN A WEDDING DAY, BUT MY MOST FAVORITE PART TO CAPTURE IS THE COUPLE--THE FIRST LOOKS, THE LOVE SHARED AND ALL THE LITTLE MOMENTS IN BETWEEN THAT YOU NEVER WANT TO FORGET. 

CAN WE MEET BEFOREHAND? OF COURSE!! I WOULD LOVE TO MEET, GRAB COFFEE AND CHAT! ALTERNATIVELY, WE CAN MEET VIRTUALLY OVER A PHONE OR VIDEO CALL.

COULD YOU HELP US WITH PLANNING A TIMELINE? YES, I UNDERSTAND PUTTING TOGETHER A WEDDING TIMELINE CAN BE AN OVERWHELMING TASK, BUT I CAN HELP! I’M HAPPY TO PUT TOGETHER A ROUGH DRAFT TIMELINE FOR YOU AND WE CAN THEN MAKE EDITS AS NEEDED.

DO YOU HAVE ANY VENDOR RECOMMENDATIONS? YES! CLICK HERE FOR MY LIST OF WHO I RECOMMEND.

ARE YOU INSURED? YES! I HAVE INSURANCE ON MY EQUIPMENT AND LIABILITY WITH STATE FARM.