About Photo Coverage & FAQ
Our photographer "Charlie" provides Hawaii wedding photography coverage for couple seeking a professional and high-quality photos of their celebration including ceremony coverage, portraits, and scenics.
He is a very experienced and award-winning photographer who has earned the certification of "Certified Professional Photographer" by the Professional Photographers of America.
He photographs in a specific storytelling approach which creates a coherent visual narrative of your event starting with the ceremony, followed by posed portraits of the couple individually and with their family and guests, ending with scenics and more adventurous candids if the couple is up for it LOL. This methodology promotes a comfortable flow during the session and ensures genuine and relaxed subjects.
Unlike the majority of "tourist" websites, he shoots in the "RAW" image format which requires a manual adjustment of each photo for optimal color balance, contrast, exposure, and other critical image parameters. This requires an additional 1-2 hours of extra work after the ceremony but, this dedication to detail allows us to deliver the finest quality images.
Following the ceremony and usually within a day or two, we will have your images uploaded to your WebPhotoGallery for selection. These will be low-res versions with a watermark. Be assured that anything we post, will be of the highest qualty for your final version.
Upon making your selections and payment of your "Final Service Invoice", we'll upload your images to our transfer service. You'll receive and email link to download your images. Once downloaded to your computer, they're yours indefinitely, allowing you to share and print photographs at your convenience.
OK the photos look great but, what do we get for our money?
Ah, the big question people struggle with! How many photo do you receive versus other websites? Our dilemma: Give too much and people think you cut corners, send any available or lesser experienced photographer, or simply do "cheap" work. Give too little, and you just cost too much. Let's face it, besides adding a lot of extras to a package, photography is the major driver of package prices.
To that end, we prefer to offer a starting package which includes the perfect amount of photos, really enough to cover all the main points of your event including portraits, scenics, etc., the "money shots" (in photography terms). And yes, it's gonna be more photos than other websites you've seen. Why do we do it? Simply, we want you're money and business but, we don't want to take all of it! You're gonna need it while vacationing in Hawaii!
How can we tell what you show is what we'll get?
We've been in business long enough to watch websites sold and re-sold to new owners over the years consequently, you never know if what you see is from the current photographer. Charlie has been our photographer since the start and all of the photos on our website are his. While his style has evolved, what you see is what you'll get and he can do more if you want it.
Do we get paper prints?
No, that would be ridiculous in this day. You use your photo files to make your own prints.
What are Hi-Res JPEG photo files?
They are high resolution JPEG files produced after our custom individual photo "RAW" processing. These JPEG files will allow you to make your own high-quality photo prints from the smallest size (4x6 ,8x10, etc.) and up 40x60 or larger possible.
How many photos do you shoot?
We average up to 100+ for a couple and definitely more than enough to give a good variety and selection of images to choose from. We've many times shot as much as 200 for events with a lot of family or clients requesting more portrait and candid shots.
Do we select our own photos?
Yes. You will do this using our WebPhotoGallery.
What is a WebPhotoGallery?
This is a personal website for viewing and selecting your photos. It will be uploaded usually within 1-2 days after the ceremony. It'll show all the photos except, those which we shot for exposure or other tests and/or photos where there is a better selection. The gallery will be available for (30) days and can be re-posted for an additional fee. Each photo will have a copy-protection watermark unless, you pre-order (ALL) the photos and no watermark will be present. This gallery can be shared with whomever you share the link with.
How do we get our photos?
After you've emailed us your selections, we'll upload your photo files to our web transfer service. They will email you with a link for download. Your photos will be available for download for (30) days. They can be reposted for an additional $25.
Note: Phot files are large consequently, they must be downloaded to a desktop or laptopn computer.
How long do you archive photos?
We are only liable to hold your photo files for (30) days after we send out your WebPhotoGallery. Archive service is not part of our services or packages but, we do keep photos as long as we're able and space allows. It's often times years. LOL.
Can we get our photos on a USB stick or DVD disk?
Our service prices are specifically for the download of photo files. We can use other media upon your request. The media and postage cost will be additional.
Can our family and guests take photos and video?
Yes. We allow guests to take photos and video during the ceremony as long as it does not interfere with our minister and photographer duties.
Note: Any non-ODWS professional or a person acting as such, will not be allowed to photograph at the ceremony site until, all of our services are completed.
Can we get different style of photography than on your website?
Possibly but, the style you see is predictable, repeatable, and it works superbly every time no matter the weather, location, time, or lighting conditions.
Can we requests shots?
Yes but, all photos taken are at the sole discretion of the photographer. He will not agree to anything dangerous or inappropriate in a public setting.
Can the ceremony or photos be at another spot?
Yes, in the area as time allows. Ceremony and photo spots are selected specifically to allow us to for the most successful photos. We avoid areas and conditions that may be unsafe or problematic.
If we have a ceremony close to sunset, will we get sunset photos?
We schedule ceremonies at specific locations and where a sunset or sunset light is visible, normally 1 hour before the sun sets so we have adequate natural light for the ceremony in case there are clouds or other elements blocking the sun.
Note: We cannot shoot into the sun and use the sunset as a background for ceremonies, it's just too bright.
Do you "fix" and/or "edit" photos?
We process each individual photo from the RAW file to our interpretation of the optimum color balance, contrast, and exposure. We try to remove small distractions i.e. helicopters, planes, birds, etc.. This in itself is about 1-2 hours of extra work! But no, we do not "Photoshop" or edit extensively i.e. fix belmishes, eliminate wrinkles, make people thinner fix wardrobe malfuction, hair, etc..
Note: If there is an image you would like "fixed" let us know and we can give you a quote based upon the complexity of the edit.
Note: None of the photos on our website have not been fixed or "Photoshopped" other than using our normal processing explained above.
Copyright
We'll include a PDF of a copyright release for personal use which allows you to use your photos for making prints and sharing your photos for non-commercial usage. As is normal photography practice, we retain all copyright privileges.
If you have any more questions, just let us know.