FAQ’s

Index of General Questions

Portrait Sessions

Q: How can I get the best-looking results for my portrait session?

The more you invest yourself into your session, the more memorable it will be. That being said, here are a few suggestions to get the best results:

• Do put on your best face–We highly recommend having your hair and make-up done professionally before your session. This will vastly improve the quality of your photographs–we can never stress that enough.  

• Don't let your outfit steal the attention–avoid clothing with distracting logos or patterns unless they are part of a specific theme or statement. 

• Be sure to bring a few alternating pieces or accessories to layer with your wardrobe–It will add versatility to your images and may help in a pinch.

• Get rest before your session.

• Give yourself ample traveling time to avoid stress and mishaps 

• Steam or press your outfits to avoid wrinkled wardrobes! Wrinkles can be distracting–a crisp outfit makes all the difference!

Q: What should I wear and/or bring to my session?

Below are just a few recommendations based on specific session types...But then again, to each their own.

Family Session Suggestions

• Subtle patterns or solid colors work nicely.

• Try to coordinate with each member of your family without matching exactly.  

• Don't forget a change of shirt or sweater, especially for kids, just in case.

High School Seniors Suggestions

• Try bringing 2-3 outfits:

• Something classic, like an outfit of basics–think something timeless.

• A fun trendy outfit–something "now" that expresses your personality, sport, or hobby!

• Last, choose anything looking to the future. This can be your cap & gown or something pointing to the next phase in your school or career.

• Feature accessories, like a school sweater or jacket...and don't forget your class ring!

• Get props in the mix and make it fun! 

• Bring a friend or family member to assist you with your look–they can make you laugh, plus they know just how you like your hair to fall!

Engagement Session Suggestions

• Bring the ring!

• For your wardrobe, just go crazy! If you have a theme go for it--go all out and have fun!

• Feel free to bring sweet props to show you're in love (like balloons!) 

• Don't forget some hand-written signs or blank ones! Signs are handy to use in your engagement announcements and greeting cards!

Post-Wedding Session Suggestions

• Do it ASAP! What's another day? The sooner you have your post-session the more closely the pictures will be an extension of your actual wedding images! Plus returning and re-ordering that tux rental is a hassle in itself.

• Yes, treat yourself to pro-make-up again! You can also opt to "re-do" your 'do, or wear your hair the other way you wanted to!

• Bring any details you want to give extra attention to–your vows, any extra centerpiece or decorative elements from the reception, a special gift from a family member, or even the getaway car (with or without your just married sign).

• Just like the engagement session, don't forget some hand-written signs or blank ones! Your images will be great for your personalized "thank you" cards or your first official family holiday cards.

Weddings & Events

Q: Do you carry liability insurance?

Yes, we do have liability insurance.

Q: Do you scout out the ceremony/venue beforehand or during our contracted photographer start and end time?

No, we do not scout out the location apart from the scheduled event day. The key to our images, wherever the location may be, is having an eye for the best lighting situations, which naturally change throughout the day anyway. If you are specifically concerned about the formal portraits, we do inquire of the venue staff and our clients for tips on real places of significance or nostalgia, which always lead to great location opportunities. In either case, especially with the two photographer option, we should definitely be able to find great location options before the ceremony. Also, just as a side-note, many of the pictures you may see online of wedding portraits are actually pre or post-wedding sessions, so if you would like portraits that take full advantage of the location that is a good option as well.

Q: Do you edit the pictures, if so, is it only a certain amount?

ALL of our images are stylized, with the bride and groom lightly retouched where needed–we try to be very careful not to over-process the images. While we do focus on the bride and groom for light retouching, please note that we do not edit tan lines, do heavy retouching for skin or body shaping.

1. Any additional edits of the bride or groom may be requested for custom book covers or select enlargements for print or canvas purchases through the online gallery.

2. Extensive edit requests (including but not limited to beauty/sculpting retouching) exceeding 5 hours total or not being specifically used for the purposes listed above will be charged an additional $35 per hour.

Q: Will I get my digital images? 

High-resolution images of the entire event may be available for purchase "a la carte" or may be included in your selected collection. 

Q: When will we see our wedding images?

Your images will be ready 4-6 weeks after your wedding. The images will be posted to an online gallery where you can view them privately or share them with your friends and family.

Q: How does the FTP download of the images work? Will I have to download the images one by one?

The delivery of images through FTP is a very simple process. Once your images are ready (roughly 4-6 weeks after the event), we actually send you a link of your image gallery. This gives you a chance to review the images and make sure there isn’t anything you need to be removed before you share with family and guests. Once you approve, we will email a link for you to download your photographs directly to your desktop. All of the Images will be in sequential order in their own particular folders; Getting Ready, First Look, Ceremony, Reception, etc. You won’t have to download each image one at a time, but you will download each folder separately.

Q: How many images will I receive?

Quantities of images you receive may vary depending on the many factors of the day and how much time you allot to individual photos. Once you are booked with us, we will be sending a questionnaire asking more about you and your preferences so we know what you would like for us to focus on, which will also affect the number of photos. Generally for an 8+ hour wedding event with two photographers, on average, we usually deliver about 400 to 600. For a 6 hour event with a single photographer, on average we deliver 300 to 400 images.

Books

Q: What is the process for getting our custom-designed wedding book?

The process of getting your custom-designed book is fun and simple, and results in a high-quality keepsake!

1. Once the images are available from your online gallery, we ask that you register your email and "heart" approximately 200 of your favorite images. 

2. If you select less than the requested 200 images, we can either design a layout exclusively with the selected images, or we can design the layout with your selections considered "priorities" in the book design, and we fill in the rest. 

3. Once your images are selected, the design process takes approximately 8 weeks before online proof is available. 

4. You will receive an online password to log in and interact with the online proof. From there you can review the layout, request edits page by page or image by image (i.e. removing images, switching images to a different page, or making an image black and white). 

5. After the layout is approved we design the cover (which is saved till last, because the spine of the book is based on the final number of pages). 

6. We order the book for print and it is usually manufactured and shipped within 3-5 weeks.

Q: How long will it take to get our wedding book?

• After the images have been posted to the online image gallery, the minimum turnaround time to receive a digital proof for review is approximately 8 weeks after you select the images. 

• Once your proof is approved, the turnaround time for the book to be manufactured and shipped is usually between 3-5 weeks. 

Taxes

Q: Why do you collect state tax on your photography services?

It would make sense to assume that products and services should be two separate entities, and therefore collect tax on one and not the other. However, as explained in this publication from California’s State Board of Equalization the service has to be included as a part of the fabrication of the final product. Therefore as photographers, we are obligated to collect tax on the entire process leading to the tangible product. 

Here are a few lines from page 3 that summarize the PDF publication linked below:

• Taxable digital fabrication labor
  Charges for labor you perform to create or produce a digital photographic product are taxable when the product you sell to your customer is: 

• A physical item such as a print or slide. 

• A digital image delivered on a storage medium, such as a disk, DVD, CD, or flash memory card, whether the
  medium is furnished by you or by your customer.

• Photographers, Photo Finishers, and Film Processing Laboratories
  Publication 68 | November 2014

‎www.boe.ca.gov/pdf/pub68.pdf

Copyrights & Print Release

Q: If I am purchasing digital images a la carte or if they are included in my collection why don't I own the copyright to the images?

We often hear of clients' concerns over owning copyrights to images of themselves. Copyright does not refer to the "right to copy" your images. Copyright Law, which basically outlines that by default, the "copyright," or intellectual property of the images, remains with the author of the images–the photographer. 
We definitely welcome clients' personal use of their purchased images and send them a Print Release Agreement outlining the use of their images as well.

Q: So what is a copyright?

Copyright is grounded in the U.S. Constitution and is granted by law as a form of protection of an artist's authorship of original works.
It protects original works fixed in a tangible medium of expression and encompasses the artist’s intellectual rights under Intellectual property law. 
This applies in digital network environments as well as print, film, and recording media. 
Copyright covers both published and unpublished works
in addition, it is a violation of U.S. law to circumvent any copyright protection mechanism in the digital environment to remove any copyright management information that owners of intellectual properties may attach to a digital file. 

Personal vs. Commercial use of my Images:

While we do welcome the personal use of your purchased images (i.e. printing, scrapbooking, web publishing, etc.), we do not permit the commercial use of the images. "Commercial use" can be characterized as uses that result in financial gain, including, but not limited to: advertising, stock photography, print sale profits, or resale of any nature.

Q: Who can obtain rights to the images you photograph?  

We may grant specific licensing copyrights to commercial photography clients with terms outlined in writing, but this is not usually reserved for event/wedding or portrait photography service clients. 
Commercial photography service clients seeking to own any exclusive rights to commercial images that are “work made for hire” must fully direct the photographer with the client's vision or hire a director to do so. It is also the client's responsibility to register the work to the Library of Congress using the form below.

http://copyright.gov/forms/formva.pdf

for more information please visit http://www.copyright.gov/

Publication

Can I post my images online or submit them to a publication?

Before you receive your images, you will receive a Print Release Agreement that you can refer to for specifics...

Personal Social Media Posts

If posting any digital images to social media for personal use (i.e. Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, etc.) publisher must give credit to LFQPHOTO.COM if the watermark is not present or visible on the images. You can also tag our related social media page depending on what platform you are posting to. 

Submitting to Publications

To submit images for use in a publication, we ask that you contact us personally for our express written permission beforehand. Usually, companies will require a form or a statement from the photographer before publishing to avoid copyright infringement issues, it is the client's responsibility to contact us whether or not a form is requested.