Q&A

Ask Any Bride to describe her wedding day and chances are she'll respond, "It was a big blur!" Which is why you want to capture the whole thing for posterity (especially for your future children who will get a kick out of seeing footage of Mom and Dad). Photographs and videos ensure that you'll be able to relive the day (and-cringe your father-in-law's rendition of the moonwalk) decades...or months...from now.

So welcome to your 15 minutes of fame. For one day only you'll be followed by photographers and videographers cataloging your every move. To make sure those snapshots are prefect consider these points when lining up your photographer and cinematographer!

To help you choose the right photographer, we have listed some of our most commonly asked questions for you to read!

All AZS Photographers are trained as Editorial Photographers which means we are at your wedding to capture all of your special moments. Each and every AZS bride gets a survey asking them how they would like their wedding to be photographed and from this we capture your wedding how you want, in the style you want it done. Editorial photography encompasses posed, traditional, candid, and photo journalistic styles! Check out samples of our photos in our AZS photo box! AZS Photobox

No problem, as I mentioned before we customize our photographic style to fit your wants and needs. So you tell us what you do/don’t want and that’s what you will get.

Yes, many of our packages include engagement photoshoots. This is a great way to test run your photographer. But even if you do not want an engagement photoshoot we require all of our clients to meet with us a couple weeks prior to the wedding for a pre-event consultation. This is where we sit down and go over your whole day’s schedule, your azs shot list, and your style survey. We help you plan and schedule your day so everything runs smoothly!

Yes, we are a fully insured professional photography studio.

Yes! As a thank you to all of our military service men/women we offer a 10% discount!

All AZS Photographers shoot with state of the art digital photography.

All of our photographers shoot with professional full frame, DSLR cameras and multiple lenses.

Yes, Each AZS Photographer carries their equipment along with 2 sets of backup equipment to every event.

We offer many different style albums from yearbook style, coffee table, layflat, & flush mount.

All of our staff dresses in all black for your wedding. Men wear black suit pants and black dress shirt & tie, often with a suit jacket. And women wear black suit pants and a black top.

Yes, we can give you as many references as you need! Click HEREto check out our past testimonials!

We only require 10% down to save your date!

Yes, we offer interest free payment plans with any package.

Yes, of course! We find that it’s best to start with a package and then we can add or remove the things you want! We are always willing to customize our packages to fit your needs and budgets!

We currently have 5 Lead Photographers and additional Second Photographers. We NEVER farm out our photographers, which means we book our events on a first come first serve basis and once our staff is booked we do not take on any extra events. Our reputation is too important to put it on the line for anything. Each AZS photographer had to go through a rigorous training program before becoming a staff photographer.

All AZS Photographers have undergone an intense training program and have many weddings under their belt. Click HERE to read their bios!

You are guaranteed the photographer who you book in your consultation. You choose whom you would like to shoot your wedding!

We never overlap weddings! If we are booked at your wedding our priority is you all day long!

Yes, always! For all weddings that we are booked we pay one of our photographers to be on call all day for those “just in case/emergency” needs.

Most professional wedding photographers shoot their events with a "second shooter". Different from an assistant, the second shooter's primary job is to get detail shots (the venue, the flowers, the guests, etc.) so that the lead photographer is free to focus primarily on the bride and groom. Having a second shooter allows coverage of the groom getting ready with his grooms men as well as 2nd angles of the ceremony, formal photoshoot and reception events , ensuring that no important events are missed.

Absolutely! We are fully prepared to photograph in all lighting!

Yes, we personally edit each of your wedding photos and thanks to our training in graphic design we are known to add that perfect special touch to your wedding. Check out the AZS Photobox to see why are photos our so special!

Many of our packages include unlimited time with your photographer! For the packages that do not include unlimited time, you have set hours included in your package. If they are not enough, we can always add on more!

No, we will go to as many locations as you need for your wedding!

Yes, and we charge only if the wedding is further than 50 miles away and all of this would be determined in your contract.

AZS does not believe in proofing our photographs! It is just another way for your photographer to make more money off of you. We give you the rights to all of your photos so you never need proofs! All photos are ready about 2-4 weeks after your event or wedding.

Yes! We are one of only a few wedding photographers who offer you the rights!

Yes, online at our AZS Photobox

Depending on the time of year it can take anywhere from 2-4 weeks to see your edited photos online.

We edit all of your photos! Depending on your package this could include color corrections, touch ups, photo-shopping and special effects. Unlike many other studios we do not just edit the photos you would like printed. Instead we take the time to edit all of your photos ensuring that you get the best quality high resolution prints for all of memories!

As soon as you choose the photos you would like included in your album we begin designing. This normally takes roughly 4-8 weeks and then you will receive your album!

Like we mentioned before, all of our couples receive a survey that they return to us during their pre-event consultation. This survey will ask you if you like black and white, sepia, black and white with color photos, vintage, etc. This will help us determine how you want us to edit your photos. So the answer is yes, we do include black and white.

Yes, we have lots of experience trashing the dress! If you are interested in this good luck ritual then check out photos from our past shoots online to get some ideas!

Photobooths can be added to any package. We only have limited availability for these so if a photo booth is what you want then call today for your consultation. Click HERE for more information on our photobooths!

It is extremely important to check the reputation of your wedding photographer. Be a smart shopper and do your research online and through friends who have gotten married. Something to think about: If you go to a restaurant and have a wonderful dinner, it is highly unlikely that you will take the time to write a review of your good experience. But let’s say you went to the same restaurant, had a rude waitress and the most over priced, horrible food ever. Would you be willing a take a minute or two to write a review and stop someone else from making the same mistake? Yes, of course you would! So do your homework and you’ll be happy you did! Your photographer is one of the most important vendors you will book for your wedding. So take your time and make the chose that's right for you!

Check out ourTESTIMONIALS and see what so many people are saying about us!

It may seem silly to sink 10 or more percent of your budget into photos, but years from now your pictures are the only tangible things you'll have to show for all your hours of planning. Make peace with the fact that you'll spend a hefty sum on pictures-between $2,500 and $12,000 depending on where you're getting married, the photographer you choose, and the package you pick. Still nothing captures moments quite like video. Don't write off the concept because it conjures memories of watching home movies of neighbor Jane's sweaty cousin doing the chicken dance at her reception. Cinematography has come a long way over the past few years. Your cinematographer will create a 45-minute cinema quality documentary film of your day with special effects for about $1,500-$3,000.

The most common mistake when choosing your photographer is selecting them solely based on the price. The phrase "you get what you pay for" is very true when it comes to artistic professions such as photography and cinematography. When you simply go with the lowest bidder in photography, you are generally selecting someone who is either (A) inexperienced, (B) not confident enough in their own work to put a higher value on it, (C) not in high demand, or (D) cuts corners on quality of products or amount of time they will devote to you. Additionally, some of the lowest bids may come from studios known in the industry as 'wedding mills'. These are the kinds of studios that focus on quantity over quality. Instead of having a few prominent photographers on staff, they have a large pool of on-call photographers with varying skills and experience levels to fill in at events as needed. In most cases, you don't get to pick your photographer. In many cases, you won't even know who your photographer will be until they show up the day of the wedding. Trusting a wedding mill to handle your wedding photography can be a real gamble, not only with your photography quality, but with your overall customer experience. Try to remember that after the food has been eaten, the cake has been cut, the dress has been put in storage, your honeymoon is a distant memory, and the kids are growing up and going off to college, the one thing you will have to look back on to remember your wedding day will be your photographs.

Click here to see our PRICES!

You're going to spend a long time with your photographer, so you'll want to be completely comfortable with him or her. You may even want to arrange a test shoot, perhaps for engagement photos, so you can get a feel for how he or she works and find out if you're compatible. Also, be sure to meet with your photographer before the wedding, just like you would the reception hall. This guarantees that your photography staff and you are on the same page! In all your excitement remember not to wait too long to book your favorite photographer. Your only planning on getting married once and you won't want to miss out on the photographer you really want!

Rather than hiring a professional photographer, some brides risk not having any quality photographs of their big day by allowing a friend or relative to shoot the wedding for them, usually as their "gift." The quickest way to ruin a friendship is to volunteer to photograph the most important day of your friend's life and then screw it up. That brings me to my next point… generally a part-time or hobbyist wedding photographer will not have the same caliber cameras, lenses, and other equipment as a full-time professional wedding photographer would have. Furthermore, most part-time or hobbyist wedding photographers will not have backup cameras, lenses, flashes, and other critical equipment should something malfunction. Your wedding photographer only has ONE chance to photograph your wedding day correctly. These memories will last you a lifetime and you want to make sure you will be happy every time you see them for many years to come.

TIP: Disposable camera favors are a bad idea! Not only are they budget hogs—a couple can spend hundreds, possibly thousands, of dollars on buying and developing these cheap, often defective cameras—but they won't provide a return on your investment. You won't get fun candids of the bride, groom and guests. You'll most likely end up with a lot of pictures of cut off heads, blown out skin tones, red eyes, a dark room, the floor, and so on. Let your professional photographer catch professional-quality shots of all of your guests for you instead.