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Frequently Asked Questions

How many weddings have your photographed? How long have you been in business?

As of early 2019, we have photographed close to 450 weddings. We started Thomas Beaman Photography in 2010 when we moved to PA from California.

Do we need to provide you with a meal from our caterer?

No you do not. Even though many wedding vendors require a meal, we do not believe in making you pay for our food. I can't think of any other job where people go to work and expect to be fed. We always bring our own food and eat on the go when we have time. This way we are always ready to capture the moments. Make sure you remind your caterer not to charge you for vendor meals for us.

Do you have insurance?

Absolutely! I am fully insured.

Our venue requires a certificate of insurance, can you provide that?

Absolutely. We ask that this request is made 2 months prior to the wedding date. This gives my insurance company the time they need to submit the documents.

Can you hold the date for us (pencil us in)?

I am sorry but I can't hold any dates without a retainer and a signed contract. All dates are booked on a first come/served basis. This is to ensure I am being fair to everyone who contacts me.

How much is the booking fee/retainer? When is final payment due?

The booking fee/retainer is $500 and the final balance is due 30 days prior to the wedding day.

If we cancel the wedding can we get the retainer back?

The $500 booking fee/retainer is non-refundable. The retainer and signed contract guarantees that I will hold the date exclusively for you and turn down all other work for that specific date.

When she would we book you? How far advance do you usually book?

You should book as soon as you know that I am the perfect fit for you and your wedding (this goes for all other vendors you need too). Since all dates are first come/first served, once a date is booked, it's taken off of my calendar. I have booked dates 2 years in advance and I have booked dates 2 months before a wedding. It is completely unpredictable. Generally, Saturdays between April and November are booked 1 year to 16 months in advance. Fridays and Sunday weddings are all over the map. Best advice is to book as soon as you know that I am the right fit for your wedding.

What kind of cameras do you use?

Our primary camera system is the Canon 5d mkiv with a huge variety of L series Canon lenses.

Do you carry a backup camera?

I get this question a lot, and simply saying yes does not explain how careful I am about protecting your images. To simply answer the question, yes, I carry multiple backups of my camera bodies. I also carry backup lenses, flashes, memory cards, cables, stands, and batteries.
But just carrying backup equipment is not enough. I take many more steps to ensure that these priceless recorded memories are safe at all times.
For starters, my cameras record onto 2 memory cards simultaneously. That means that in the extremely rare occurrence that a memory card fails or breaks, there is another card recording a copy of everything throughout the entire day. Once I get home from the wedding, all of the digital files are downloaded and backed up onto 3 separate hard drives. One of these drives is taken off site. The entire time that I am working on your digital files, two additional copies of your images are stored in two different different locations.

How many images will we receive?

On a typical 9-10 hour wedding day with 2 photographers, the final image count ends up being about 800 edited digital files. Final image count depends on a few different variables. Did you opt for one or two photographers? Was your wedding a 7 hour day, or an 11 hour day? Was the dance floor busy, or did guests hang out and visit at tables? Once we find out all of the details, we can give you a better estimate.

If there are a few images that we want in both color and black and white, can you do that for us?

We can do even better! We give our couples ALL of the images in color and another set in black and white.

Are all of your digital files edited?

Yes, every single images gets special attention. I color correct each and every image. Other editing steps for each image include adjusting exposure, contrast, sharpening, dodging and burning.
Editing that involves custom retouching (removing pimples on skin, removing stains on clothing, etc...) is also available for an additional fee. Pricing for custom retouching would be given on a case by case basis depending on how complex the edit.

Do we get the rights to our photos?

Yes, you get full rights to print and share all of your images as often as you like, and with as many people as you like. They are your edited files. There is no fine print. There is no need to buy anything afterwards. The images are not watermarked. You can print 1000 4×6’s. You can make giant canvases. You can give copies to your parents and friends. I encourage the couples I work with to print and share as many images as possible.

What if you get sick?

We have not missed a wedding in our entire 9 years of business but in the rarest of rare occasions that something really bad happened, Megan our associate photographer would take the lead. She has been with the company for over 4 years and photographs her own weddings under our name. We trained her to shoot in our style. You have have actually been seeing her work all over the website. Since all editing is done by one person, you can't tell the difference between photos taken taken by Thomas and those taken by Megan. Plus we are friends with most of the amazing photographers around Central PA and we always have each others back in case of emergency. If you are still concerned about this, please give us a call and we can chat more about the subject.

Do you offer albums?

Yes, we end up making albums for about 75% of our couples. Albums are custom designed by us. You receive an online proof of the design. Once you receive the proof, you will be able to make any changes that you want. Once you think it's perfect, it goes to print and gets delivered to your doorstep. These albums are absolutely gorgeous!