Frequently Asked Questions
All together, Matt has been shooting now for about 17 years and has experience shooting with both, film and digital equipment. As a world traveler and military brat, Matt’s passion for photography originated as a kid taking photos of various places around the world to document the experience, and quickly grew into a serious hobby. As the years went by, Matt’s passion and knowledge for photography expanded and Matt Ramos Photography, LLC was officially created in 2002. Matt shot his first wedding nearly 7 years ago, and he and his team now shoot between 40-50 weddings a year on top of other personal, corporate & commercial projects. Matt Ramos Photography has quickly become one of the photography studios in the region & continues to grow at a rapid rate, taking on new clients each week. You can read more details & specifics by checking out Matt’s bio page.
This is a question that is a bit more tricky to answer than the standard one word answer. The simple truth is, we shoot with multiple styles throughout the course of the day. Most photographers want to refer themselves as a “photojournalist” since they are in fact, documenting the wedding. We like to refer to ourselves as “creative journalists” as we document the day, but try and do it in the most creative or artistic way possible. 90% of the day is shot with a photojournalistic or candid style of photographer where our subjects have no idea they are even being photographed, however the remaining 10% is used for some of the important family & bridal party shots that will be important down the road. When working with a bride & groom alone, we still try to make it as photojournalistic as possible, however to give some slight direction or ideas of what we are looking for and then let the couple naturally fall into place. As you can see, to define a particular style is challenging, however each client can expect to see a wide range of images and styles from their wedding day.
Our studio shoots in 100% in digital format. While film certainly has it’s advantages, the power, flexibility and quality of digital technology is now unmatched by film cameras for the most part. Aside from keeping the cost down to the client from not having to purchase expensive film, digital images will give you a silky smooth photo without rough grain, etc. Digital images will last just as long as film when printed at a quality lab (which we do), and will give you tremendous advantages in terms of overall sharpness, quality & image enhancement flexibility.
Matt will always be the lead photographer (along with a 2nd shooter) for weddings and most major projects – we do however, offer associate photographers, who are available on smaller projects or weddings when Matt’s schedule does not allow him to be available. If you see a date on our calendar that shows as being booked, chances are we may have an associate available, so be sure to let us know if this is something that interests you. If not, we’ll be happy to make other recommendations.
95% of all images are shot in color at the time, however we do sometimes shoot a few select images at a wedding in black and white for true black & white output. With digital photography, a color image can easily be converted to black & white, or even a sepia tone without losing any quality or increasing your costs to do so. Our online viewing/ordering system allows you to see an automatic color, black & white, and sepia tone preview for each individual image, where you can decide for yourself what version you like best.
We shoot all events or projects with high end, Canon professional SLR’s and a wide variety of top of the line Canon L-Series lenses. Having superior equipment does not necessarily make one a better photographer, however quality equipment does allow a higher image quality and ability to shoot in low light situations, giving your images a much more natural and professional look – not to mention, it allows us to remain un-obtrusive and shoot from afar without being in the way or firing distracting flashes during a ceremony, etc. All equipment including backup equipment are 21 megapixels.
While a majority of the weddings we shoot are located in and around the Capital Region of Albany, NY, we cover the entire state of New York and New England. For destination weddings, usually any additional costs needed for travel/hotel accommodations are loaded right into the package ahead of time.
Our normal turnaround time after the wedding to have images complete & ready is approximately 30 days (perhaps a few extra days in the heart of the busy wedding season). Your wedding photos are important to you and we work around the clock to make sure that we keep up with deadlines. Usually, within a week or less, we’ll also have a blog entry of samples available for you to check out and to tie you over until the rest are ready to check out.
You may sign into your event well ahead of time via email to receive automatic notification of when images go live and you can even check our calendar for up to date status updates!
Ordering prints is quick and easy, and can be done at the click of a button in the privacy of your own home. Once your shoot or event has been completed, (and images have been edited), a personal image gallery will be created for the customer. You will receive an email confirmation once your image gallery has been successfully created, and at that point may be begin giving other friends and family members the address to view as well. Once on the site, you will be able to view all images from the event or shoot, and will have the ability to select from color, black & white, or sepia tone options for each image!
Generally, your personal image gallery will be posted for a time period of 6-9 months in which you can view and order prints. Should you miss the ordering window, or someone want to order prints several months after the event, they can simply contact us, as we will keep images on file for you. Once your photos have been ordered, you can expect to wait approximately 7 days (give or take) to receive your images. Please note we also offer the ever so popular metallic prints that can also be ordered for those interested!
We offer a variety of beautiful, fine art wedding albums to choose from, from all different sizes, textures, and designs. Because we feel the wedding album is so important, all wedding packages automatically include an album credit that can be later applied towards your album selection(s). Our wedding packages include various levels of album credits, and having a larger album credit can go a long way after the wedding with some of our premium albums. Your album credit is similar to a voucher or gift certificate and can be added to or up graded at anytime before or after the wedding. You may check out some of the various albums we offer on our Albums page.
Images used for the album can be selected by the bride and groom with an easy to use online selection system and albums are then custom designed by Matt Ramos & his team, and sent out to a professional, wedding album binding company that will bring your album to life! Please note, we also offer a wide selection of parent albums and miniature albums that can be ordered with any package or even after the wedding by anyone interested. Our clients have the ability to see their album design in the form of an online slideshow presentation before anything is printed as well as give feedback for any changes or edits they may want. You’ll love our system and feel confident knowing exactly how your album will look when it arrives from the manufacturer.
Locking your date with us is very easy and consists of a simple contract and deposit. The contract is mainly meant to keep things organized and protect our clients – it will have a complete list of items services included in your wedding package. Should our rates or packages change in the future, your contract ensures everything stays organized just as discussed at the time of your booking. It also means, we will not discuss your date with anyone else but you.
In terms of the deposit, we normally ask for a standard $1000 down, however are flexible, and do hold dates for as little as $500 if needed. We also are proud to accept all major debit/credit cards, and offer flexible payment plans to help clients spread costs and make things more affordable. Lastly, clients may add us to their bridal registry and have friends and family give gifts such as products, upgraded albums, or credits towards your wedding package in general.
When shooting a wedding or project, we are generally not counting images as we shoot, and with the freedom that digital photography provides, this is not of major concern. Usually, a great rule of thumb or expectation is to receive approximately 80-100 finished images per hour of service (and we are usually on the higher spectrum of this guideline). We may shoot over 3,000 images on the wedding day, but once final editing has been done for an8 hour wedding, 800-1200 images would be an accurate estimate. Obviously, the number of images per wedding will fluctuate based on the day and 9 or 10 hour coverage weddings should also expect slightly more images. Either way, you’ll have several hundred images to look and choose from!
A Proof DVD is a copy of all images in digital format, but are generally smaller in size and not able to be printed from. They are generally used for emailing, reference, facebook, etc. A master DVD is a digital copy of all images in their highest resolution and are able to be printed from at a facility or lab of your choice – these also come with a certificate of ownership, giving full printing rights.
Different packages come standard with either of these two types of DVD’s and generally our mid to higher range packages come with the Master DVD as a standard item vs. only the Proof DVD. Any package may be upgraded to have a Master DVD and they can even be purchased a few years after the wedding. The normal cost to upgrade to a Master DVD with full print rights is $500.
We are happy to set up a no hassle meeting with you as well as answer any questions you may have regarding our photography services. You can easily contact us by visiting our contact page from the menu bar. Please note, there are absolutely no obligations when contacting us for any reason…. we are only here to help! On the contact page, you will also find our phone number and email addresses should you wish to just contact us that way instead.
