About
WHY HIRE DAVID A HICKS PHOTOGRAPHY?
I guarantee my clients will be satisfied with the quality of my work and the excellent results that they expect, or they don't pay my fees. This is how confident I am that anybody who chooses me to take their commercial, architectural or lifestyle photographs will love the results otherwise they don't have to pay for them. I prepare a preview of my work with smaller lower resolution image files, and once agreed that they are just what we agreed and my client wanted, we can arrange payment and delivery of the final high resolution, great quality images in the method chosen. This could be a USB stick, File sharing site such as WeTransfer (which I highly recommend) or a Disc if preferred.
So there is nothing to loose by contacting me and we can discuss exactly what your photography requirements are. I work with my clients and their brief to deliver great results. I work very hard on each individual assignment treating each one with a fresh approach whilst all the time drawing on experience from previous work to achieve the desired outcome.
A typical full day photo shoot would start with an initial meeting, either over the telephone or email to discuss the requirements, or we can arrange to meet at the shoot location to discuss on site. The day itself would then begin at whatever time is required, even before dawn if there are images required for sunrise etc. I then work very hard for the full day, causing minimum disruption especially if it's a busy working environment. Although many areas and rooms of the business may have to be staged to ensure they look their very best and so that I have the time to prepare the stage and setup including lighting. Other areas including any public areas can be shot as they are often including during busy periods including shots with customers and staff to give a true realistic representation of exactly what we are advertising. I would work through to any time necessary to complete the job. There could then be anywhere from three hours to three days spent working on the photographs in post processing. Working on various techniques including correcting white balance for accurate colour casts, varying exposures and possibly blending multiple images into HDR or panoramas as required, correcting converging verticals, cropping, removing unwanted items from shots, masking, cloning, increasing or decreasing saturation and vibrance, sharpening.....the list goes on and on in Adobe Lightroom, and Photoshop and other software applications. I then export the images to jpg files and load them onto my website so that they can be reviewed in the clients comfort and own time. When I am then informed that they are happy with them (and so far this has always been the case) I will send the best quality images to them.
So by working in this way, I am taking a risk that I may not earn anything from possibly many days hard work, but because I have great self belief and confidence in my photography I am happy to offer this backup to my clients for complete peace of mind.
If you are unsure as to how long I may take and don't know if you would be looking at a half day or full day, or somewhere in between or even more, contact me and we can discuss it. I'm also very fair and not rigid and strict as other professions or tradesmen often are. We've probably all had plumbers and electricians doing work for us by the hour and somehow always seem to work 5 minutes over the hour mark and charging a higher rate. I'm not like that and consider client satisfaction and therefore repeat work and good recommendations are far more important than a few extra pounds on the initial job.
I will always offer discounts and offers for clients likely to have further work or multiple assignments.
My approach to wedding photography:
My primary style has many different names, some call it reportage, some photojournalism and some documentary. It's hard to categorise but I certainly document the wedding day and tell a story through the images. So they will be mostly candid photo's as the day unfolds mixed with modern creative editorial shots of the couple and guests if required, although the majority will be natural and candid, not orchestrated and staged. The best wedding shots are completely natural, capturing the human interactions, emotion and humour of the day. These cannot be recreated and setup.
In my opinion, a great photograph needs 3 main elements:
Light
Composition
Moment
It's the third one that many people including photographers forget about. Almost anybody can capture a nice photograph of a couple or a group, but capturing the moment when a father sees the bride for the first time, when the groom realises what is about to happen, the moment when the happy couple appear from the church in a flurry of confetti are all important to be caught on film as they cannot take place again. If they are missed they are gone.
A wedding day is not about the photographer, it's about the couple getting married and their guests enjoying the day. I always ask the bride and groom to carry on as though I'm not there, only if I spot something important I don't want to miss, I might ask you to wait or even move slightly to get the very best shot, but that is very rare, most of the time, will not get in your way. Many photographers claim "you won't even know I am there" but I find that impossible. I'm not paparazzi hiding behind a tree with a long lens, I'm there to get the best photographs I possibly can, if that means the camera is in your face (not literally, although you may find it's pointing in your direction quite a lot over the course of the day) then that's what will happen. But I will not instruct you where to go, when to go, how to stand, smile or say cheese!
This is my approach and I love the results.
Other FAQ's:
Do you have insurance?
Yes I have both public liability and professional indemnity insurance
Do you have back-up equipment?
Yes I always carry two professional level DSLR's (for those that are interested I have a Nikon D810 and a Nikon D750, both full frame and produce excellent sharp images) and I have multiple lenses, including 14-24mm f/2.8, 24-70mm f/2.8, 70-200mm f/2.8, 50mm f1.8 prime, 105mm f/2.8 macro lens plus others. Various lighting, flash, triggers, reflectors etc.
How do we book you?
If you are interested, please complete the form that is attached to the wedding photography contract at the bottom of any of my website pages.
Are there any additional travel costs?
No. If you book me for your wedding in the UK, I would travel to your destination and would never consider charging extra for petrol!
Can we meet you before we decide to book?
Of course we can arrange to meet as I completely understand that it's a huge decision choosing the right photographer, as you both have to feel completely relaxed and confident that you have made the right choice.
How and when do we receive the photographs?
As I am a full time photographer and do not have to fit my work in around another job, I can process your photographs within 2-3 weeks (often much sooner depending upon my diary commitments) They will be sent to you on a presentation USB for you to use and share as you wish. There will also be an online gallery on this website with a password that you can share with friends and family.
The photographs
Thinking about the above quote and just how true it really is, the photographs that I'm most excited about are the ones that I haven't taken yet. I improve with each and every wedding I capture, and I always strive to make each one better than the last.
So if you are here because you are getting married and are considering a photographer and trying to decide, don't think that my portfolio is typically what you are going to get. You won't......they will be better than these.
What do I do?
I always offer a full days coverage without any limits on time. I will start when you need me to and finish when you ask me to. There is no need to clock watch on your wedding day and worry if you are over the time limit or going to be charged more for extra hours.
Weddings are fun, they are not supposed to be serious boring affairs, they are for people to enjoy and for you to create special memories, and it's my job to capture those memories for you to treasure. Posing with your guests in an orchestrated manner is not natural and to me, that's not what a wedding is about. I capture the story of the day in a fun, documentary fashion with an emphasis on emotion and humour.
I am a contemporary wedding photographer that tells a story of the day, with a mixture of candid documentary images combined with modern, creative, fashion photographs. 75% of my photography is reportage, photojournalistic, but this has to be mixed with some modern editorial style photo's of the couple, family, friends and guests.
What do you get?
I supply the final individually edited images to my clients on a presentation USB within 3 weeks of the wedding. The photographs are also made available on a password protected page of this website so they can be shared with friends and family as soon as they are ready.
I also edit some selected photographs during a time out whilst you are all eating, and load them onto a Tablet that can be passed around the guests during the wedding breakfast and reception