FAQ’S

We’ve compiled a list of frequently asked questions for your convenience. If you have other questions, feel free to email us at mouseislandphotography@gmail.com. We add to the FAQ’S

SECOND SHOOTER


Do you have a second shooter? 

Yes, and we include them in ALL of our Wedding and Event packages. While a lot of studios charge additional for a second shooter to attend your events, we do not. We feel this should be a standard practice. Having two photographers covering your wedding or event gives you two set of eyes. This helps with the capture of moments from different angles.

For instance, if our lead photographer is photographing the bride walking down the aisle, our second photographer will be focused on catching the grooms reaction as he sees her for the first time. If our lead photographer is focused on the first dance, the second will get a few complimentary angles and then focus on the reactions of your guests. There are hundreds of moments like these that we believe should be covered from different perspectives. This is our standard practice built into our pricing, not as an upgrade. While a single photographer could capture your once in a lifetime moment, they will never be able to document your story the way two photographers can. This is just one of the reasons that two Mouse Island Photographers will be at your wedding day as a standard feature. It give you the coverage you deserve.

DIGITAL FILES


Do we get the digital files? 

Absolutely. Our studio does this for every wedding we photograph. We feel that it’s important for our clients to have those digital files. You should have the ability to use, print and share them however they’d like. We provide two versions of your images. High-resolution files can be used to make prints if you choose not to take advantage of our lab. We utilize a professional print lab, but we want our clients to have options. We also provide images that are optimized for sharing on your chosen social media networks. These are great to use on your personal website or blog.

How are the digital files delivered? 

We originally delivered them via DVD and then we moved to USB as it was a better storage option. We have two boys who have given us a complete understanding of why movie studios love DVDs; they get lost or scratched, a lot. USBs are great for the number of photos that can be saved in a little space, but our kids have also taught us that small things disappear frequently.

We now deliver images to your personal online gallery stored in the cloud. This gallery is easily accessible on any computer, mobile device or tablet. One button click and you’ll start downloading individual images or the entire collection. You can even order Fuji Luster prints direct from your gallery. The prices are very affordable and come from printing facilities only available to professional photographers.

The gallery is yours to do with as you please. You can send your link to all your friends and family. They can share in the enjoyment your photos will bring. They can download the ones they like saving you from emailing them each one. The images can also be shared across several social media networks directly from your gallery if you choose. We will host your gallery for a minimum of one year from the date it is loaded.  The timeframe from the shoot to upload is usually four to six weeks after your wedding. 

If you would still like a USB we do sell commemorative USBs from our a-la-carte menu.

Gear


What kind of gear do you use? 

We primarily use Canon professional gear for our Cameras and Lenses. We say primarily because we also love Sigma Art lenses and use them frequently. Our lead & second shooters utilizes cameras that save images to two different memory cards. This is a safety net in case one card has errors. This feature is something typically available only in high-end equipment.

Are you “natural light” photographers? 

We love shooting natural light when we can and when it’s available. If the natural lighting isn’t perfect, we will work with what is there. We augment the natural light to create your perfect image under imperfect conditions. Members of our studio are trained and continue to expand our knowledge base on how to use, modify and create light from flash and studio strobes in order to create beautiful images no matter what the conditions. If you cringed a little bit there at the thought of how your photos look with flash, it’s okay. Consumer grade camera often have a pop-up flash. We don’t use pop up flash. We use professional lighting modifiers so if there is a dark overcast sky, rain, or even if things are running late and the ceremony ends after dark — we’ve got you covered.

RESERVE OUR DATE


How do I reserve you for our wedding day or event? 

We make this as easy as we can. The two things we need in order to reserve your date are the signed agreement and a 50% retainer. Both can be done online. Once we have confirmed your requested date is available, had the opportunity to talk, email or video chat to ensure our studio would be a good fit for your needs, we’ll send you a link to sign the agreement and process the payment using any major credit/debit card. Once those two things are done – we will put it on our calendar and that date is yours.

PHOTOS


How many photos will I get? 

600-1,400 is what we have found is a good number to tell the entire story of a wedding day and around what you should expect. This means 60 to 100 images an hour on average from our team of photographers for weddings and events but will vary based on the length of the event. Every wedding is unique and some weddings will have more photos, others will have less. It’s important to not get hung up on a fixed amount of images, as documentarians we will capture your special moments.

Color or Black & White? 

We deliver photos in BOTH. You will receive your gallery photos in our unique and timeless color toning as well as a selection (sometimes the entire gallery) in our artistic high dynamic range black and white.

Are they high resolution? 

Yes. Your photos will be optimized so not only are they high resolution and will print amazing, but they are also stripped of all the unnecessary information that makes file sizes large and bloated. If you are not utilizing our print services these are the images you need to get the prints you desire from your preferred print lab.

We also provide optimized images for web use. These watermarked images are much smaller in size for downloading from your gallery and uploading to your favorite social media platforms. They have been resized in a way that gives you the best images online without having to resize the high-resolution print image files yourself.

How long before I see them? 

30 days on average, but up to 6 weeks during peak wedding season when we are shooting multiple weddings per week. We try to get them to you quicker than this but we give ourselves thirty days to make sure we can edit them to our studio standards. Mouse Island Creatives will not put out images that do not represent our studio photography style, so the attention to detail in the editing process is as important as the image capturing process. We will also do our best to post a sneak peek for you early on in the editing process.

What rights do I have to the digital prints? 

You have the right to reprint images whenever and wherever you want. However, you may not sell your images for profit or publish your images without the written consent of Mouse Island Creatives.

Do you provide the RAW files from my engagement session and/or wedding day?  

Each of our packages comes with an edited full resolution image download. However, we do not provide RAW (unprocessed digital negative) files from our shoots because we believe in delivering a finished product. You will receive our post-produced JPG’s from the Raw files, but not the digital negatives.

What if I lose my images? 

There is a $100 replacement charge for additional downloads after the event has been archived. We do not keep copies of your photos forever. After a few years we removed them from our servers to make room for more recent clients. We strongly suggest you make at least one copy of the download when you receive it from us.

PRINTS


Do I have to order prints through you? 

Not at all. You can download the high-resolution images and order your prints from wherever you would like. With that said, if you like things that are convenient and easy you’ll love the print order system built directly into your gallery. Prices are extremely affordable and the prints are produced on Fuji Crystal Archive Professional Super Type PD Luster paper. Unlike some of the fly-by-night options on the web, our prints are made at an amazing production facility that works solely with professional photographers and delivers directly to your home in just a few days. So if you want to do it yourself you can, but if you like it easy we’ve made that possible for you as well while still providing quality prints that are made to last.

FOOD


Do we need to feed you? 

It’s not required but definitely appreciated. We are even ok if you want to order us a pizza or two. We have a minimum of two photographers at your wedding or event, sometimes a lighting assistant or two, and it is safe to say we all like pizza.

Do you need a space at a table? 

Please no. We prefer not to sit with the guests. Not because we don’t want to meet them, we will and we will get lots of pictures of them for you, but because we are usually working at the same time as we are eating. We typically find a hidden corner somewhere (or behind the DJ) and as we are eating we will be downloading photos, cleaning gear, charging batteries, etc. There will also be times when we need to get up quickly to take photos of an event that is happening. So it is always much better for us to not have to excuse ourselves constantly from a table of your friends and family.

DESTINATION WEDDINGS


Do you do destination weddings?

Yes, we do. While Mouse Island Creatives Photography is based in New England, we serve clients all around the world. Our destination wedding photography packages include the cost of travel and reasonable accommodations. Because of our frequent trips around New England, special, lower rates may apply depending on the specific circumstances. Contact us by clicking here.

How much does it cost for you to travel to my wedding? 

Couples are often concerned about not being able to find the right photography team for their destination wedding. Easily solve that problem by taking the right ones with you. We are destination wedding photographers who absolutely love to travel and we are always willing to accommodate your destination wedding needs. Our destination packages are priced the same as our standard photography packages with a few additional related costs entirely to do with the travel to and from your event.

We have been traveling around the US and throughout the world for the last few years. Setting up the airplane travel, hotel, rental car, etc can be time-consuming, expensive and difficult. We’ve simplified the process for you. A rough estimate for the different time zones across the United States based on past travel for your two photographers are as follows. If you are unsure which area your wedding would fall in to please email us.

Travel costs include:

  1. Airfare and/or mileage for your photography team
  2. Baggage fees
  3. Hotel accommodations (usually 2 rooms for 2 nights, but for longer events additional nights are required)
  4. A rental car (usually for a 3-day duration) or the cost of Taxi/Uber
  5. Vendor meals on the day of your event

These additional fees cover your two photographers no matter where you live or where your wedding is being held, Mouse Island Creatives can be there to capture your memories.

CONTACT


How do I reach you? 

The easiest way is using the contact form built into the site. You can also shoot a text message to Shawn at 207-551-5257. He only listens to voicemails a few times a week so email, text or even reaching out on Facebook are the best ways to reach us. After an initial chat or email exchange, we love to set up a meeting to get to know one another either face to face or by video chat. It’s a wonderful way of learning about each other, chatting about the wedding and answering any questions you might have for us.

GENERAL


Do you deliver every image you shoot? 

No, we do not and you would not want every image we shoot. We take more images than we would ever dream of delivering for multiple reasons. We know we will get multiple images that are so close in composition and timing that they are considered duplicates, you wouldn’t want two of the almost exact same shot.

Mouse Island Creatives will also eliminate the test shots that we take to gauge exposure. We do not shoot auto so we are constantly adjusting the manual settings ourselves to match the lighting and image we are trying to capture. That is why you will see us taking a picture, adjusting for exposure and other things before we take additional shots.

Missed focus shots are also deleted, often in camera. With professional lenses, we have the ability to do some really cool things with depth of field to create bokeh (the blurred backgrounds people love). Those shots can often give us only inches of wiggle room in order to give you the sharp images you’ll love. There are times when we may be off by just a little bit but that causes the photo to be out of focus. We delete those and take another that is in focus.

We do not deliver shots with bad expressions, eyes closed, clothing malfunctions and other images that may not match the rest of the images being delivered. Some of the best shots we document when shooting photojournalistic are the candid moments; the unexpected laughter or the tears of joy that might come. While those can often be the most memorable, they also have the potential to be some of the most unflattering. A half second too early or late and we end up catching things you do not want in your album. Trust us.

These reasons are why we do not provide every image. It is unprofessional to do so and we would not want our names on any image that is not up to the Mouse Island Creatives standards of excellence.

Have you shot at my venue before? 

We have shot at a lot of different venues across New England and the United States, so there is a chance that we have. However, if we have not, we always get to the venue early on the day of your event and are sure to perform a thorough walk-through to scout out the best photography locations and test the available light. We also do extensive online research prior to your big day!

Do you provide partial day coverage? 

We typically do not provide partial day coverage on weekends. On weekends, we usually accept only clients that require at least eight hours of coverage or have a budget of $2,699 and above. This is not a line in the sand we will not cross, so please contact us to see if we are available to meet your needs.

Does your studio do headshots, individual portraits, family portraits, newborn shoots, commercial photography, or other types of photography? 

Yes, we have experience in many fields of photography and we capture them under our lifestyle photography brand. Feel free to contact us at The Wicked Good Life for all of your non-wedding and event needs.

Does your package pricing include tax?

No, tax is not included in the package pricing.

STYLE & QUALITY


What is your philosophy regarding photography? 

Please click here for details on our wedding photography philosophy.

What is your photography style? 

Mouse Island Creatives is known for developing a unique style of wedding photography that is deeply rooted in wedding photojournalism while also being influenced by fine-art and cinematic photography. We love using creative lighting, unique perspectives, angles, compositions and artistic post-production while documenting your story. Creatives is in our name because creativity is woven into our lives and the products we produce.

Can I see a full event from start to finish? 

Of course you may! We provide a consistent product across both of our photography brands and we pride ourselves on being able to reproduce any image we put in our portfolio. We understand that all photographers tend to only post their best shots from each wedding on their websites. This makes it hard to determine how well he or she will perform on the wedding day. We encourage you, as we do all potential clients, to view a full event from any photographer you meet with. This is the only way you will be able to see how the photographer performs throughout an entire wedding day, not just the formal posed pictures, but also the candid moments that you would not want to miss from your day.

 My venue is very dark. How does your studio handle these situations and can I see samples? 

We have been in situations where ideal lighting was never a thought by the designers. We’ve shot in the darkest of dark churches and reception halls so no need to worry! If the situation allows, we will set up additional lighting to ensure we get focused pictures. Some churches do not allow for flash photography; and for that reason, we shoot on Canon camera’s with superb low-light performance and lenses with low apertures (check out our Camera Gear here).

Is there a style or quality difference among your studios’ photographers?  

Yes and No. We created our C.R.E.A.T.I.V.E. experience to ensure uniformity in all of the products we produce. We do training on a weekly basis to ensure we maintain a consistent style and quality of work. Each shoot is reviewed to ensure our quality and style are consistent. All mistakes, no matter how minor, are scrutinized in post-processing. We believe that the quality and style of photography you receive will be consistent.

On the flip side, we trust the creative eye of our photographers and give some freedom in composition. For instance, one of us likes to shoot wider and sees things more cinematically, while the other tends to shoot images more artistically, focusing on details, closer crops and in portrait form. These are not differences that produce an inconsistent product, they are a part of what makes our style the style you see. We can mimic the others preferred range to the point we often “argue” over who took the photo because we can’t tell and you won’t be able to tell the difference either. We approach weddings and events with this knowledge and utilize our strengths to ensure your images will be consistent no matter which of us captures the moment.

POST PRODUCTION


Do you edit all the images in our image gallery? 

Yes, we do. Every image we put into your gallery will be post produced with our signature Mouse Island Creative style of post-production. This involves color correction, exposure adjustment, selective black and white processing, clarity adjustments, tone-mapping, and other corrections. Unfortunately, many photographers will not post produce any images, or will only post produce “select” images from your wedding. This results in images that are often too dark or too bright, have strange skin tones, weird color variations across the collection or other common photography flaws. Our post process is handled by Rowena who is a senior graphics designer with twenty years of experience editing and developing images. After she has edited the color images, Shawn converts them to black and white and adjusts them again to produce our signature High Dynamic Range Black & Whites.

What is the difference between advanced and custom; and why are there additional costs for a custom retouch?  

Advanced post-production includes touch-ups such as removal of blemishes, removal of bags under eyes, removal of fly-away hairs, etc. On the other hand, custom post production is anything that requires extensive, custom work in Photoshop such as removing entire objects from the scene, changing the size and shape of body parts or other objects in the scene, adding objects to a scene and other custom work. We charge hourly for the custom post-production as the time required ranges depending on the complexity of the project. Please contact Rowena for a quote for custom post-production.

Do you shoot in JPEG or Raw?  

We shoot all of our images in Raw. We may switch between Small Raw and Large Raw based on conditions, but we always shoot Raw. The reason is JPEG is a preset development of an image that leaves little room for changes after creation. Raw is a digital negative that allows us to edit the images to our studio style. We then create JPEGs to deliver to our clients.

WEDDING DAY


How many hours do you suggest we set aside for wedding day photos? 

Take a look at our Ideal Wedding Photography Timeline to see a detailed breakdown of how much time you will need to set aside for your wedding photos.

I have downtime between events on my wedding day. Will I be charged for that downtime?  

For a variety of reasons, we must charge from the time coverage begins regardless of any breaks between events and locations. Simply put, we’re never truly resting during the day, whether we’re backing up images, setting up for the next venue, traveling to the next location, taking venue detail shots, or making up for lost photo time because of unforeseen wedding day delays. In a lot of cases, we utilize that “downtime” to take you and your significant other out for a photo session or more family portraits.

 What happens if we go over the contracted amount of time?  

We understand that not everything goes as planned during a wedding. There are a lot of moving parts that can cause delays. We never pack up our gear before the contracted time, and moreover, we’re not leaving on the dot when the contracted time is up. Instead, we will ask you at the end of your contracted time whether or not you would like to extend. If you would like us to stay, we will charge the rates specified in your contract rounded to the closest 30-minute increment.

Why do you need to charge for additional coverage?

When you become our client, we dedicate the entire day to your wedding, so we won’t be racing off to catch other plans that evening. However, we need to charge for additional coverage primarily because there are costs of having the team stay for additional hours. The shooters and lighting assistants all require additional compensation for their time and the additional photos taken will need to be post-produced which adds to our overall costs.

ENGAGEMENT SESSION


When can we expect to see our photos from our engagement session? 

Post-production for engagement sessions is completed 4-6 weeks after the date of the shoot. If you require the images to be completed prior to 4-6 weeks after the date of the shoot, a rush process fee will be charged. If we complete the processing early, we will load them to your gallery as soon as they are ready.

When should we do our engagement session? 

We encourage you to do your engagement session as early as possible. The latest we suggest is at least 10-12 weeks prior to the wedding date due to the time necessary to post produce each image and complete your product order(s)

Can we schedule our engagement session for the weekend? 

Because most weddings occur on weekends, we typically do not shoot engagement sessions on weekends. If you can only do your engagement session on a weekend, we can tentatively schedule your engagement session on a weekend, however, if a wedding is later scheduled for that weekend, we will have to reschedule your engagement session. There will also be an additional charge for weekend engagement sessions because the few weekends we have free, we spend with our families. We also like to shoot on weekdays because locations are typically less crowded.

How many images do you typically deliver from an engagement session? From a wedding? 

We typically deliver anywhere from 50-70 images per 3-hour engagement shoot and for a wedding, we typically deliver 60-100 images per hour. Keep in mind these numbers may increase or decrease depending on the flow of the day and the number of events/activities needing to be captured.

When and where can we view our engagement pictures? 

Your engagement session images will be completed 4-6 weeks after the date of the shoot. If you require the images to be completed prior to 4-6 weeks after the date of your shoot, a rush edit fee of $250 will be charged. Your photos will be uploaded to your personal online album from which you can share, download or print directly from the gallery.

ALBUMS, PRINTS, & BOOKS


How long does it take to get my prints? 

Product creation times vary, however, print orders will generally be completed within 2-3 weeks after the product order is submitted. Similar to the post-production process, if you require rush processing, a fee of $250 will be charged. Additional fees for rush shipping may also apply.

 How long does it take to get my album? 

As with our other products, production times vary. However, you can typically expect to receive your album 6 weeks after placing the order. The process prior to placing the order varies in duration depending on how quickly you respond to the instructions for the album design as well as the number of changes you request after the initial designs. Some couples complete this within a month or two; others take over a year. Once again, if you require rush processing, a fee of $250 will be charged. Additional fees for rush shipping may also apply.

How long does it take to get my sign-in book? 

The sign-in book takes around 6 weeks to print after the order is submitted. As with the album, the time it takes to get the order ready for print depends on how quickly you respond to our instructions and how many changes you request. If you require rush processing, a fee of $250 will be charged. Additional fees for rush shipping may also apply.

What album companies do you offer? 

We have accounts with several printers but work almost exclusively with Finao.

How many pages and images do we get in our wedding day album?  

Our signature album contains 20 pages and 50+/- images.

Can I add more pages and images to my album?

Yes. Each additional page can be added for additional cost and includes the design time and revisions.

Do you provide framing services as well? 

We do not provide framing services.