Philosophy

Kara has been photographing weddings for nearly 15 years.  Her philosophy is based on her experience and on her education as an historian.  She believes that photographing a wedding is not only about creating images of a bride and groom, but about documenting the beginning of a family history.  The images that she delivers are a combination of action, reaction, emotion, detail, and yes – even family portraits.  She hopes that the collection of those images will become family heirlooms, to be passed down for generations to come.

Pricing

Solais Photography offers 5 distinct wedding photography collections priced between $2,400 and $9,100. We also offer a-la-carte coverages where you can design your own collections for a completely customized photography experience. We only photograph one wedding each weekend, so you know that we’re completely committed to your event and you as our client.

In order to see our full pricing, {contact us} to get the password to our {documents} page. There you’ll be able to download our complete price sheets, contracts, and information forms, as well as access to our online payment area.

Questions + Answers

Any question you could possibly think of about wedding photography and about hiring Solais to photograph your wedding. Ok, maybe not every single question, but a good number of them are answered here. These are questions we get asked all the time about what we do and how we do it. If by chance we’ve missed something, feel free to email us and we’ll be happy to add it to the list!

Q: What type of photography do you do?
Several years ago wedding photographers were mostly defined by two categories: Traditional or Photojournalistic. Today, however, those stylistic names have become nothing more than buzzwords that hold little real meaning for photographers or their clients. So rather than limit myself to a label, I prefer to describe what I do – and what I do is document your wedding day. That means that as a photographer, I am primarily an observer rather than a participant. I am there to photograph what happens, rather than direct the action. I focus on capturing events and moments from the normal course of the day: action and reaction, emotion, ambiance, and detail.

Q: Do you still take posed family photographs and photos of the couple?
Of course! Posed family photographs are a must, especially when friends and family gather together. And it’s extremely important that you have photos of you as a couple on your wedding day. We are committed to taking the time to make sure you get these important images! The difference is that we feel these photographs should account for about 15% of the total coverage; taking at most 30-40 minutes of time on the wedding day. We prefer casual fun groupings as opposed to overly posed ones and we try to make them quick and easy. We encourage you to think about doing your posed photographs in unique and different locations, rather than at the altar of the church. Consider the church gardens, a nearby park, or even stopping someplace like the beach or the town square on the way to the reception.

Q: Can we give you a shot list of photographs we want you to take?
Other than a list of family groups, we would prefer that you didn’t. We are not “cookie cutter” photographers working from a shot list. Instead we want to capture the events of the day as they happen. If we are taking the time to work our way through a list, then we are not going to be paying attention to what is happening and photographing that. For the posed group images, about three weeks before your wedding we will go over any requested photographs for groups of family and friends. Of course if there is something that you especially want us to get photos of, let us know. Otherwise a generic shot list like you get from a magazine or a website is counterproductive for us.

Q: Will you travel to photograph weddings?
Absolutely! We love to travel and have done so throughout the United States and internationally to photograph weddings and portraits. You can get more information on our travel policies and pricing on our client access pages.

Q: Who will photograph my wedding?
Kara is the lead photographer at Solais and she is the person you will meet with and who will photograph your wedding. If you decide you want two photographers, you’ll still meet with Kara as the lead photographer, and the 2nd photographer will be one of 4 different people who Kara works with on a regular basis!

Q: How long does it take to see our images?
Your online gallery will be available for viewing approximately 3 weeks after your wedding. Once the online gallery is available, your final contract payment for your wedding photography is due. As soon as we receive the final payment, we will ship out any prints and files that are due, and begin the process of designing and creating any albums that you’ve ordered.

Q: What is the online gallery?
The online gallery is a private, password protected section on our website where all of your wedding photographs will be placed online for you and your family and friends to view. It is also a secure shopping cart – which allows you (and your family and friends) to order prints and cards and select album prints online. All you have to do is provide the password to anyone who you want to be able to order. We also can provide you with cards to give out at your rehearsal dinner or to include in your thank you notes so that you can let people know where to look.

Q: What type of equipment do you use and do you bring backup equipment?
All of our photographers use professional grade digital cameras and lenses with which to photograph weddings. We use both Nikon and Canon equipment. All of our photographers bring backup equipment to every wedding. We all photograph during the day with multiple cameras so even if one camera were to fail, we’d have others that we’d used through out the day to rely on.

Q: How many pictures do you take and will I get every picture you take?
The number of photographs we take will depend on the size of your wedding – things like the number of attendants, the number of guests, and the types of events. It will also depend on how many hours of photography you purchase. We do edit all of our weddings and portraits to show only the best images and we will not show an image that does not meet our high quality standards. You can expect an average of 50-70 images per hour – but we usually deliver more than that.

Q: Do I get to keep the negatives?
We provide your digital negatives when we deliver your album or final prints.  When the files are released to you, we will provide you with a list of resources from which to get quality prints. We do retain the copyright to the images and the right to use them for promotional purposes, competition, professional review, and so on. You will get a written release that will allow you to make unlimited personal reproductions and copies for your friends and families.

Q: How long have you been in business and how many weddings have you photographed?
Kara has been photographing weddings for over 15 years and many hundreds of weddings (truly, we’ve lost count of all of them!).

Q: Do you require a meal or food during the wedding?
We do ask that you provide some kind of food and drink for us at the reception. Oftentimes we are unable to leave the venue during the reception and therefore can’t “take lunch” like someone working a regular job can. We don’t need a full sit-down meal, but something nourishing to keep us going for the rest of the evening would make us happy. Really good wedding cake is always a bonus!

Q: Will you attend our rehearsal?
As a general rule we do not attend rehearsals unless there is a compelling reason for us to do so (very unique ceremony, unique location, etc.). If you want us to attend the rehearsal in a non-photographic capacity, we charge $150 and will come to the church for up to an hour to observe the rehearsal. If you wish to hire us to photograph the rehearsal or the rehearsal dinner, we offer Rehearsal Dinner coverage for $650.

Q: What if I want an item that is not included on your price list?
We offer a pretty large selection of items for our clients, but it would be hard to list everything that is available without creating a book! If there’s something that you’re looking for in particular and you don’t see it on our price list, please ask us. We have access to many different vendors and are happy to help you find any item you want

Q: Do you mind if people other than you take photographs during the wedding?
Not at all. It is not our goal to interfere with the happenings of the day or to keep your guests from taking their own fun photographs. We only have 3 requests: One – we ask friends and family not to take photos during posed group photographs of you, your families, and your wedding party. This not only helps the session go more quickly, but it insures that everyone is looking at our cameras and paying attention to us for these photos. Two – that we ask for about 20 – 30 minutes of time alone with the bride and groom after the family images are taken. This gives us the time and privacy needed to create the special, romantic images of you in your first few hours as husband and wife. Three – if you purchase a portrait station for your reception, we ask that your guests not take photographs of the station as their flashes can trigger our lighting equipment.

Q: I really want more formally posed photographs and I just need an hour of coverage after my ceremony for those. Can you help me?
Maybe! Because we can only do one wedding per day (and there are only so many weekends in a year), it doesn’t make sense for us to book too many smaller events. However, if you’re having a really really small event and just want portraits, we can schedule an on location portrait session if we’re available (or if your wedding is on a non-traditional wedding day). We can also provide some limited coverage by one of our associate photographers if Kara is booked for an all day event.

Q: I’m pretty sure I want to hire you, but I still need to visit one other photographer. Will you hold the date for me?
In order to be fair to everyone, we do not hold dates without the booking fee and a signed agreement. We accept bookings on a first come / first served basis only.

Q: I love your work and I want to hire you – what do we do now?
In order to commission Solais to photograph your wedding, we require a signed contract and a booking fee. If necessary, everything can be done online or via email, fax, or FedEx.

Q: What is your payment schedule policy?
A booking fee approximately 1/3 of the coverage amount is required at the time the contract is signed. This amount is fully applicable to the price of the coverage you choose. The the amount of the coverage is due in two payments: The first is due 60 days prior to the wedding and the second is due at the time your online gallery is made available to you. Once the second payment is made, your proof set (if ordered) will be delivered and we’ll begin the process of designing and printing any albums you have ordered.

Q: I think I might have to cancel or reschedule my wedding. Can I get my booking fee back?
No, we do not refund booking fees. The booking fee guarantees that we will hold your wedding date exclusively for you. This means that once you pay us and sign your contract we turn down any other work for that date. The closer it gets to that date, the less likely we are to find another event to replace yours – and that means lost income.

Q: Another family member is helping us pay for the photography. Can you take his/her credit card or check?
Of course! We can provide credit card authorization forms or your family member can make payments towards your coverage using our online payment processing. However, we want to be clear that no matter who pays for the coverage, we consider the bride and groom our clients. It is the bride and groom who must still sign the contract for services and it is the bride and groom who will determine the details of our coverage on the wedding day.

Q: What if I have a question that is not covered here?
Feel free to email or call us with any questions you have. Many of the basic questions about coverage, fees, packages, and options are covered in our price list and on our client pages, which are very detailed.