1. How would you describe your style in photographing a wedding?
I consider myself to be a wedding photojournalist which simply means that I tell a story with images. The images that I capture convey all the emotions and excitement surrounding a wedding without staging or forcing moments that look unnatural. This natural approach allows clients and their guests to just be themselves and enjoy the celebration.

2. Do you take formal and traditional posed photographs?
Of course. While I certainly prefer to take non-posed photos, the more traditional posed photos of the Bride & Groom with their families and wedding party are an important part of covering the day. The great thing about these types of photos is that if they are well coordinated, and all family members are present, I usually am able to get them done in under 30 minutes. Please remember; however, that the more time we spend on formals lessens the time available to capture the excitement and reality of the wedding day.

3. Do you mind if other people take photos?
I don’t mind friends and family taking photographs but I do ask that they refrain from shooting while I am taking formal photos or when I am taking posed photos of the couple as their flashes can interfere with the photos I take.

4. What is needed to retain your services?
In order to secure your date, I require a non-refundable retainer fee of $250 and a signed contract. The balance is due 14 days prior to the wedding. If you plan on ordering additional products afterwards, you are free to pay that amount at any time up to the time the order is placed.

5. Can you hold a date for me?
Unfortunately I am unable to hold a date for you without a signed contract and applicable retainer fee.

6. Are you the photographer that will covering my wedding?
Yes, I will be the photographer at your wedding. On occasion I will bring along and assistant or a second photographer but this individual will only be assisting me in taking other photos and will not be the primary photographer.

7. How many photographs will you take?
The number of photographs taken during a wedding varies greatly depending on the number of hours, guests, and number of photographers. In short, I will take as many as are required to capture all the most important moments of your day, including those you may have not even noticed.

8. When will we get to see our photographs?
The availability of photos varies depending the number of photos taken as we personally edit and cull all images we’ve shot. As a general guideline all photos should be available within 4 weeks from the date of the wedding. We also usually post some previews on our blog prior to the final release of photos.

9. How long do you keep our images for?
All photos are guaranteed to be kept for 1 year following the wedding day. In saying that, we don’t delete images - ever - and will most likely have available copies of our client’s images indefinitely.

10. Can friends and family order prints off the web?
Absolutely! By directing your friends and family to our Client Proofing Site they can enter the password we’ve given you and they can then order prints securely which will be mailed to them directly.

11. Do you offer customized packages?
Absolutely! While we believe our packages meet the needs of a majority of our clients, if there is something else you may need or want we certainly are willing to customize a package.

12. What are Digital Negatives?
All of my wedding packages include a high-resolution DVD of all the photos taken from the wedding. The images that are on this disc will match those you see on the online proofing gallery.

13. Am I able to print my photos from the Digital Negatives?
All of my wedding packages include a full print release that will allow you to print the images on the disc at a photo lab of your choice. Joel Rotunda Photography also offers a wide variety of print options for our clients and their friends and families directly through our online proofing gallery.

14. What types of products do you offer?
We offer a wide variety of products for our clients including standard prints, canvases, framed prints, thank you cards, save the date announcements, and much more! Contact Us for a current list of the products we offer!

15. Where are you located and are you willing to travel?
I am located in Alexandria, Virginia and will travel anywhere in the world to photograph my client’s special events! Travel over 60 miles from Alexandria, VA will incur reasonable and customary travel expenses such as flight, room, rental car, etc. To keep travel costs down, I also do not charge for travel time which many photographers do. Travel fees can be quoted upon request.

16. Do you have backup equipment?
Any professional photographer should have appropriate backup equipment including camera bodies, lenses, flashes, and various other items. Joel Rotunda Photography has backup equipment for all of these to ensure that if something goes wrong with some of our equipment we are still able to capture your wedding day.

17. Do you visit the venue(s) prior to the wedding day?
I am a big believer in visiting the venue(s) prior to the wedding day to make sure I understand various conditions that may affect your photographs and figure out a way to minimize those. I love going to these walk-throughs with my clients so that we can take a look together and have found that in many cases these work great as a final pre-event walkthrough.

18. We don’t want to see each other before the ceremony, is this a problem?
Not at all. We prefer to handle formal and family sessions prior to the ceremony if possible because it tends to yield better results. Make up and hair is fresh, clothes aren’t wrinkled, flowers are fresh, and everyone is more cooperative and attentive. However, we respect your wishes and can certainly arrange a schedule that will provide great results and fulfill your wishes.