You can't put a price on quality wedding photos. After all, when the day is all said and done with, what do you have left? You're wedding pictures! They'll be there forever. Ok, maybe for a day or two you also have some of your grandmother's lipstick that still won't rub off. Fine, you might also find yourself with some leftover booze, some cake if you gave your guests the pretend one, and maybe even the center pieces, but you don't really know what to do with those. It's the documentation of your day in photographs that you really want to keep forever, and you want them to be just right for you.

Do I have you convinced? Enough procrastinating... pricing for wedding photography begins at $1,950 for eight hours of coverage and $2,650 for eight hours and a 10-spread, 10x10 flushmount album. Additional charges may include travel expenses. I'll shoot your wedding anywhere, really. My immediate coverage area includes the metropolitan New York City areas but I also accept weddings in Pennsylvania, Maryland and Washington, D.C. If it's a warm and sunny location I might even reduce my rate to encourage you to elope, bringing me along of course.

I'll now accept your questions:

• What does your price include? Do you offer packages?

  • Let me start by saying I do not really offer packages. The two rates that I offer include eight hours of coverage, just one includes an album. Additional hours may be added on to both options. (The more time I spend with you, the more complete story I get to tell.) They also include toning of the images as well as online proofing. The bride and groom will also receive a DVD, or DVDs, of the high-resolution files to keep forever. As an added bonus, the back of the disc, the reflective side, can be used as a mirror to always document your passionate marriage. Just get close together, hold it up and try to squeeze your faces in the reflection. Guaranteed amusement for hours!
    
    

• Doesn't everything included in that price make it a package?

  • No.

• Are any prints included?

  • No, that to me is what would make it a package. I don't think it's necessary. Some photographers will create packages with a certain number of prints and then you try and figure out how you fit into that package or what works for you. I don't think it should be that way. I want to be as flexible as I can be. You're paying a lot of money for this wedding and you should have someone that will work with you and your budget. Focus on hiring a photographer who has an eye and a personality that you're attracted to. That's what will make your wedding photos come to life. Not how many prints are included in the package.
    
    That being said, as much fun as it is to look at photos online and share them on Facebook, we still like to print photos. I offer two options. The first is to use the DVD to print the photos you like at a lab that you choose so that you can make it as cost-effective as possible. The other option is to print photos through my lab. I will fulfill them, but it will also cost more than doing it on your own. It depends what you like, whether you want guaranteed quality and ease of mind. You spent a lot of money on me at this point, I try to make it as reasonable as I can.
    
    Friends and family will always have the option of ordering prints through the proofing Web site that you've hopefully shared with them. Unless you want to start ordering prints for them, I'd recommend they order it through the site.

• Do you shoot film or digital? What cameras do you use?

  • I shoot with Nikon digital SLR cameras, a D2h and a D200. With the way printing technology has improved, the quality of digital prints is the same as film if not better. Using digital allows me to take essentially an unlimited number of photos at your event and allows you to share them with your family and friends via the Internet.

• How many photographs do you usually take?

  • Enough that my finger is about to fall off by the end of the day. I generally shoot about 1,600 to 2,000 photos, which gets narrowed down to about 1,300. The more exciting your wedding is, the more photos I take. It's really that simple, to be honest. Either way, I work almost the entire time that you're hiring me for. With the exception of short meal breaks when necessary (usually about every 15 minutes during the reception). However, I try to limit them as much as possible because I'm missing something every time I break.

• Do you offer album services?

  • Albums are a recent addition to my wedding photography services. Even if you choose the option without an album, you can change your mind later. Who am I to complain? The advantage to choosing the option that includes an album when you book me is that I shaved a little bit off of the base price for a 10x10. I personally design each page of the album, to tell the story not only of your special day, but of your love for each other. More information on album pricing »

• How would you describe your approach and style?

  • As I am primarily a photojournalist, I tend to document everything I see. I will not be setting up a lot of photos or rearranging the way things are happening. I will work with whatever I see in front of me. The only posed photographs I arrange are portraits. I take mostly candid shots as if I were documenting the event for a newspaper. I'm very unobtrusive, and I often hear from couples that they didn't even realize I was there taking a particular photo.

Quick highlights:

Coverage area?
Weddings in New York City metro area, Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, Washington, D.C., Maryland and everywhere else. Exotic locations preferred.

Prices?
$1,950 - $2,650

Albums?
Handcrafted, leather albums designed by yours truly begin at $875. Click here for more information on the albums.

Do you photograph things other than weddings?
Of course!

Contact:
max@maxorenstein.com.