Frequently Asked Questions
Phone now (415) 529-5473
Please email us at joymayweddings@gmail.com
At SF City Hall Photography we want you to feel confident and comfortable knowing you have hired a quality, professional service. We will deliver creative and artistic images of your event for less than 1/3 the cost of other high end studios. Our images prove our talent. We promise our calm approach will help make your dream wedding a reality. Here are some key wedding photography questions you should be concerned with and how we address them:
1. Who is SF City Hall Photography? We are a team of four professional artists: Joy May- digital artist/painter. Johnny – Main wedding photographer. Elise – a seasoned wedding photographer/assistant/digital artist and Agnes – a ten year veteran wedding photographer/assistant/digital artist. We are first come, first served.
2. How long have you been in business? Everyone knows there is no substitute for experience. At SF City Hall Photography we have been providing outstanding wedding service for Northern California since 2001. We average 30 weddings per year and have photographed over 300 weddings. That’s over 20 years of professional experience. Experience, creativity, quality, and service are our trademark.
3. How much do you charge and what is included? $250 WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY includes two hours service, One Photographer, © Copyrights Title (non-exclusive copyrights), All images color corrected , 20 rendered images ( artistic photo editing ), All images on DVD-ROM ( Unlimited Digital Images ), Online wedding photo album and no travel fee for San Francisco City Hall. We require a 50% retainer fee to secure our service for the specific event day. Our availability is limited, as our photographers can only shoot one wedding per day.
4. Why do I want the © copyrights? In the USA all creative work is intellectual property, protected by copyrights rights law , for 95 years. All copyright protected images, digital or hard copy, are “proofs”. The clients do not own the “proofs”. For example- average price for one 8×10 proof/reprint/enlargement from a wedding photographer/studio is $50. Also- all major photo processing companies (Walgreen’s, Costco) will recognize professional wedding images and will require certificate (title) of ownership in order to reprint your wedding photos. By signing the certificate of ownership, we legally transfer the nonexclusive copyrights to our clients & the means (DVD-ROM, DVD-Video) to reprint your wedding images, forever.
5. How many photographers shoot our event? For our $250 (2 hours) service, we include our main wedding photographer. Johnny is a seasoned veteran of over 10 years. He has the experience to make your event memorable and create the beautiful images that you will treasure for a lifetime. If you want an additional creative professional photographer/artist we charge a subsequent rate of $125 per hour. For example, two photographers ($250) for four hours will bill at $1,000 plus sales tax.
6. Do you bring “back up” equipment? Yes, we do. Although equipment failure is rare, we won’t let it stop and ruin your special day. At SF City Hall Photography we bring enough back up gear to cover any equipment failure.
7. We need photos for eight hours – How do we secure the time? No problem. We can work for as many hours as you need. Please let us know how long you want us to stay.
8. Do you colorize, soften or retouch the digital (jpeg) images? Yes we do! All images are color corrected, with contrast, clarity, saturation and white balance correction. We then rendered 100 (CS5 photoshop) images. These 100 images are cooked to perfection with Joy May’s signature photo editing style. Joy May is one of the few digital artists who devotes this much time creating works of art from your photos. These 100 fully rendered images (and originals) are included at full resolution on DVD. We also include the original, untouched images too! Additional enhanced images are charged at a rate of $50 per image.
11. What is your shooting style? At it’s core, our shooting style is a mixture of unobtrusive photojournalism (candid) and traditional (posed) photography. We feel that this modern approach satisfies everyone from the bride & groom to the parents & grandparents.
12. Do you use professional equipment? Yes, we do. At SF City Hall Photography we use automatic exposure Canon 1D EOS digital SLR cameras with auto-focus Canon EOS EF lenses and camera mounted integrated TTL EOS flash to ensure clean, sharp, high quality images. As we are natural light artists, we do not bring studio equipment (light stands, power packs, umbrellas, lights) to a wedding. All our equipment is professional, industrial grade.
13. Do you charge for set up and take down? No. Absolutely not. At SF City Hall Photography you are only charged from the moment we start, to the moment we end, as you specify in our contract. We usually arrive 1 hour early (Not billable time) to set up and familiarize ourselves with the locations.
14. When will our photos & DVD be ready? After your event, your DVDs will be processed and burned and ready for pick-up after 2 weeks. We will send an email bill upon completion.
15. Do we have to prepay for your service? No. Absolutely not. We require a deposit (50%) now, to secure the service for your wedding date. The balance is due upon completion. The balance is paid after the wedding, when you pick-up the photos.
16. How many digital images are on the DVD- ROM? In a four hour period, we will have a minimum of 200 original (about fifty digital images per hour) high resolution digital images on the digital camera. After the event, we burn a DVD-ROM with all these digital JPEG images. In this archival quality DVD media, every image we shoot is included. No watermarks or low resolution images – the JPEG files on your DVD are ready to print! Includes a signed reproduction agreement that enables you to make prints and enlargements whenever you want! Afterwards, you can copy the DVD-ROM, with all your wedding photos, for about 25 cents each. If you had 100 guests (100x .25= $25) at your wedding, you could give everyone a PHOTO DVD for $25. Also, 4×6 reprints from snapfish.com cost 12 cents each. A photo DVD-ROM (jpeg) will also play as a slide-show on most DVD players. Additional DVD-ROM copies are available for $50 each. Copyrights included.
17. Can you make an online gallery for us? Yes we can. This online gallery is included in our service. After final payment, we publish your selected best images on the world wide web. This is the best way to have your family and friends to see, order and print your wedding images, from any part of the world, from any computer. This online gallery is public with your names and wedding date and location. Please read our TOS for requirements.
18. Can we give you a “VIP” photo list? Yes you can. Providing us with a list of Very Important Photos (V.I.P.), is the best way to ensure you get the images you want.
19. Do you provide a written contract? Yes we do. Our Terms of Service (T.O.S.) is online. We know the importance a written commitment is to you. Not only does it guarantee our performance but gives you the peace of mind knowing we will be there on the exact date you specify. After the deposit is received, we will email you a receipt of purchase of our SF City Hall Photography service. Please read our terms of service.
20. How will you dress? At SF City Hall Photography we know the importance of a professional image and we will dress in black slacks, black dress shirt, and black vest with black dress shoes.
21. Are there any hidden fees? No, absolutely not. There are no additional fees to worry about. Our competitors will profit from price and service obscurity. At SF City Hall Photography we keep our service fee clear, honest, and simple. There is no fine print. Please read our terms of service.
22. Do we have to provide you with a dinner or lunch? No, absolutely not. We know that dinners can be expensive. We believe that it is not your obligation to serve us. However, we will accept an invitation to eat if offered.
23. How can we get a Magazine Style Album? We refer you to http://www.mypublisher.com. We know MAGAZINE ALBUMS can sell for $2,000+ . With our digital images on DVD- ROM and copyrights title, you can do-it-yourself and save! My Publisher has unique tools and publishing software that have enabled hundreds of thousands of customers to create and order custom made, high-quality, coffee-table books in single-copy editions at affordable prices.
24. What distinguishes you from other services? Our business has three great qualities: Experience, exceptional creativity & low price. Please read our Testimonials online to see what our clients say about SF City Hall Photography service!
25. Can you ship our photos, album and DVD to us? Yes we can! U.S.P.S. priority mail shipping within USA is $100.
26. Is two hours enough time? Yes it is, for SF City Hall. However, our 2 hour service is expandable. If you need us for more time, we are available.
27. We are so busy, we don’t have time to meet. Can we secure our date now with a credit card, and meet with you later? Yes, you can. * Please phone (415) 529-5473 before submitting deposit to verify we have your date available. With a credit card, you can book our wedding photography through our secure servers. Afterwards, we can meet by scheduled appointment or zoom conference with you to discuss your concerns and wishes for your event. We offer unlimited consultations.
28. Why are your prices so low? What’s the catch? There is no catch. We are aware that wedding photography, digital images and copyrights can run $10,000 for a day. We believe that providing equal access to high quality photography is an important mission. Please visit our SF City Hall Photography Gallery to see our imagination. You will love the artistic images and the money you save with our service!
*You can book wedding photography online now with a 50% retainer/deposit. We are now booking for 2025. Also, our availability is limited, as we can only shoot one wedding per day. We can meet, by appointment, to review more samples of our work at our studio. Our business hours are: Monday through Friday from 10am to 5pm.
For more information please read our Terms of Service.
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