Q: How long have you been shooting weddings? A: Our photographer David, has been shooting weddings on weekends for nearly two decades, whereas our videographer/photographer and editor, Joe, has been shooting and editing wedding videos for the past 6 years, and wedding photography prior to that. OKPhotos was established in 2002 to combine outstanding wedding photography with creative videography. Q: What approach do you take to wedding photography? A: A mixture of both classic and photojournalistic styles. While our photographers are very good at classic portraiture, they also like to capture a lot of candids throughout the day. And instead of just giving you a handful of 4x6 prints, we try to tell a story of your wedding, using our very own creation, called the Bixbook™, an elegant 13x19 wedding picture storybook. And if 13x19 is a little big, you may also choose the 11x14 version instead. Or you may choose to go with digital images on CD. Beside artistic and super nice guys as your photographers, we use up to 5 cameras to capture your ceremony, and up to 3 cameras for your reception. Afterwards, we utilize our expertise in digital artistry to adjust the images individually to create a consistent set of excellent photographs of the highest technical quality, picture to picture. Q: What approach do you take to wedding videography? A: Documentary, long-form, with occasional (licensed) background music added, and if you like, plenty of guest interviews before and after the ceremony and at the reception. The ceremony is usually produced in its entirety, with 4 to 7 video cameras, while the reception is captured with up to 3 video cameras, depending on the package selected. OKPhotos uses either professional low-light or HD cameras, shot and edited in SD widescreen mode, to obtain the best picture quality under the particular lighting condition. And lapel mics with digital recorders, one on the groom, one on the minister, and one on the lectern if there should be a reader or two, ensure clear clean audio during the ceremony. While most videographers use one or two manned video cameras which enable them to cover the action from one or two different angles, we choose to use one to three manned cameras, plus 2 to 4 other unmanned cameras at the ceremony, capturing several times more raw footage, which enables more creative and substantive editing later on. The preparation and reception is captured with one to three cameras. Our works also include an element that most wedding videos lack - wide-angle shots. Most of our video cameras has wide-angle or superwide lens, in fact our videographer carries one in his pocket thru out the day, so he can go from close-up to superwide in a few seconds, producing more balance footage with both prospectives, instead of just medium and closeup's all the time. This permits our wedding video to be more creative, more artistic, more movie-like. Back at the studio, the raw footage are corrected for light level, contrast, white balance, matching up footage from different cameras, and every bit of audio is adjusted, before producing the final video. Our goal is to obtain clean, clear, beautiful video footage of your wedding day, as much as possible, be it in the bright sunlight or in the dimmest chapel and the darkest reception hall, and edit them into a wedding feature WIDESCREEN movie starring YOU. A beautiful musical intro, a story line, smooth elegant transitions, special effects, cinematic soundtracks, moving interviews of friends and family, multiple-camera coverage of the ceremony in its entirety, the reception, and a dramatic ending and closing credit. Your own personal wedding movie, with you and your new spouse, and mom and dad, loving families, and best friends. Something you can watch again and again for years, and eventually sharing it with your future friends, children, grandchildren, and even great grandchildren. Q: What kind of still camera do you use? A: The best for the occasion. While all wedding photographers use professional cameras and lenses, most could only afford entry-level ones, as the typical wedding photography price permits. But we already have the top professional camera and lenses for weddings, why not use them? In the two photos below, the left photo was taken by us using an entry-level camera and lens some years ago, while the right one was taken by us using our high-end professional camera and lens last year. Can you see the difference? The right one has better overall sharpness and color, since it has twice the number of pixels, and more importantly much better accuracy in terms of capturing the precise shade of the color. However, the best feature of the high-end lens, is the ability to isolate the subjects, by blurring the background. Notice the gazebo in the left image, totally in focus and distracting, just like an affordable consumer-grade digital camera. The tree in the right image on the other hand, is slightly blurred and does not distract from the subjects. The ability to defocus the background, to take away the distractions behind, is the true mark of real professional photography . High-end digital can also do something that entry-level digital cannot -- super large group photos. We know, because in the distanced past we had used entry-level digital, and even under the favorable condition its resolving power will only allow group pictures of 30 or 40 persons before the individual faces start to blur out. High-end professional digital on the other hand can handle many, many, more people in a group photo (see group picture sample below). Q: Can your camera handle big group portraits? A: Not only can our cameras and superwide lenses, but our photographers as well. Check out the picture below. Not counting the ring boy and flower girl, there are 4 rows of people, and amazingly our photographer still has both his feet on the floor. And you can see and recognize each individual faces. However we also shoot them using regular wide-angle lenses, without the optical distortion, if that is what you prefer. Q: With digital camera, is there a risk of loosing my wedding photos due to "computer error"? A: Never say never, but the chance of loosing photos with digital camera is less than film. In digital photography, captured images are stored in reusable memory cards instead of rolls of film, which are in turn read by computers. Chances of a card going bad is something like one-in-a-million, absence physical abuse. In more than ten years of professional photography using digital SLR's, we have never encounter a single card failure. And instead of 24- or 36-exposures, these cards can contain as many as several thousand photos per card, which might entice a less experienced photographer to use just one big card for the whole wedding day, eliminating the hassle of carrying and changing memory cards. Again we have never encounter a card failure, but we do give it some thought, as wedding is a once-in-a-lifetime affair. Instead of one big card, we use four or five smaller cards during each wedding, so that in the unlikely event that one of the cards should fail, it would affect only a small percentage of the photos. Q: How much do your reprints and enlargements cost? A: Click here for reprint price list and instructions. Q: Can the reprints be ordered by phone or via the Internet? A: Yes. Click here for more information. Q: What is a Wedding Bixbook™? A: Wedding Bixbook™ (bi•x•book) is short for Big Picture Book, a larger (13 by 19 inch), more elegant, modern version of the popular wedding story book produced by many upscale wedding photographers around the country. Give us a call, you will like what you see, everybody has so far. Q: What is a 8x11 mini-Bixbook™? A: It is the same as the 13x19 and 11x14 Bixbook™, except it is about 8x11 in size, and do not have the thumbnail pages at the back. The 8x11 mini-Bixbook™ is very suitable for the parent's album. Q: Do you use “3-CCD” cameras for wedding videos? A: Not just 3-CCD, but professional low-light 3-CCD cameras. Actually all professional cameras, and some advanced amateur video cameras too, are 3-CCD. But not all 3-CCD cameras are low-light. Q: What do you mean by "4 or 5 video cameras" in the photo/video package? A: It meant that you paid for and we originally intend to shoot 4 cameras, but since we already brought a 5th camera as backup, might as well use that too. At OKPhotos, We try to deploy as many cameras as possible, makes our editing easier with more camera angles to choose from, and a better final video for you. The same practice applies to "3 or 4 video cameras". Most wedding videographers, even those charging an arm and a leg use only 2 cameras. Some might tell you that we are crazy to deploy 5 video cameras for a fraction of their price, but the problem with that claim is, we have been doing multiple-camera shooting and editing for more than 6 years. The other guys may not be able to meet the logistic, technical, and creative challenges of shooting and editing 5 video cameras for the same ceremony, but we can, and have, with no complaints, and many happy clients. Q: Do you use tripod for your video camera, which may be too big for our little church? A: We advise using of tripod for video for everybody, even if somebody else was shooting your wedding. Watching video footage not shot on tripod from a handheld camera for any extended period of time, is like watching a tight-rope walker, shaky and constantly worrying if he is going to fall, and extremely tiresome for the eyes because they have to constantly adjust up and down to compensate for the “shaking”, as many as several times each seconds. We also have a remote-control skycam, which can be set at eye level to perform like a regular camera, except the foot print required at the camera spot is one quarter that of a regular camera on tripod with a cameraman, or raised more than 10 feet up in the air for a "sky" view. Click here for complete details about the skycam. We have used this small foot-print setup successfully in tight situations before, where the minister was literally backed against the wall, and the happy couple was less than 5 feet from the wall facing it. The primary camera was against the wall to one side facing the bride, and the whole video turned out wonderfully (check out the Debra and Greg video highlight in the video gallery) Q: Can you do candle light ceremony video? A: Yes, and a good one too, because we are able to deploy a number of low-light 3-CCD video cameras. Q: Is having the 2nd video camera at the reception important? A: Yes if you have dancing. For the important dances, the first dance, mom/groom, dad/bride, one camera would be recording the wide shot while the other close-up, so we can cut back-and-fore between the two in post. Q: Do you use professional wireless microphone? A: We have them, and relied entirely on them for many years prior to 2007, but now frankly regrets spending so much on them, because unbeknownst to most people including wedding videographers, the government have sold off radio frequencies used by many of these wireless microphones, and that starting 2007 the radio interference has gotten worse and worse, resulting in an unpredictable second of silence here, and a cracking sound there. Also, a wireless mic could conflict with the house PA system, i.e. the wireless mic wore by the priest for the house speakers. Hence since late 2007, we have gone entirely to digital voice recorders for the ceremony. Recorders don't transmit via wireless, instead they record to onboard memory cards, which are then sync'ed up with the video in post production later. Currently we carry 4 recorders with 3 lapel mics, typically only the groom and minister are mic'ed (if one fails, still have the other), with a 3rd recorder going on the podium for readers, etc. And if there is a 2nd podium like those in large Catholic churchs, we are ready, but please let us know ahead of time. And these are not big bulky recorders. In fact if you take an old-fashion fountain pen, break it in two, and put the two pieces side by side, our recorder is not much larger than that. And weighs practically nothing too, our clients love them so far, and the sound is indistinguishable from the larger units. The only time we use wireless mic, handheld mic, if at all, is during guest interviews, which is monitored live by the videographer and can be stopped and corrective action taken if necessary. But at time we also use a wired handheld mic to rid the possibility of radio interference completely. Q: Will our wedding DVD have chapters and a menu system? A: Yes. In the old days of VHS, menu systems and direct-jump to chapters of course was not possible. As DVD's got popular, many videographers for whatever reason continue this practice of simply dumping the final video footage onto a DVD, without a menu system or chapters. OKPhotos started doing menus and chapters since Day One, it is part of our practice, and expertise. In fact, we typically spent hours on building and perfecting menus and chapters for each project, carefully considering where to put the beginning of each chapter, designing and testing individual menu backgrounds, incorporating the right menu music, etc. One thing our customers like a lot, was the background of the scene selection menu, where we usually put a "panoramic" view of the ceremony in progress, from images captured by our photographer with a superwide lens. And on our DVD's, you can have up to nine chapters that are selectable from the "select scene" menu, and unlimited number of sub-chapters which can be used to jump forward and backward using the chapter-jump buttons on your remote. This way, you don't have to fast-forward and reverse straining your eyes trying to stop at the precise point. For example, when the guests start arriving, there could be a chapter or sub-chapter point, so you can skip there quickly. When the grandparents start down the aisle, another chapter point. Then the parents, the groom, the bride's maids, etc. This way, you can fast-forward with ease, without straining your eyes or over-shooting the start of the segment. This applies to all standard OKPhotos wedding video DVD's. No extra charge. Q: Can you make any changes to our wedding video after delivery? A: Yes, for a small fee. We try to retain your wedding video files on our system for at least one month after delivery, so changes could be made and a new DVD could be mastered. But re-edit does not guarantee what you think you requested. Since nobody can read another person's mind, we try our best to picture what you want. Q: Will we have any problem playing your wedding DVD in our DVD player? A: There is no guarantee, but there has been no complaint so far. We do not purchase our DVD blanks from discount chain store. Instead they are obtained from professional commercial supplier and are of the highest grade – the professional grade. More expensive, but zero error and no compatibility problem so far. Q: How would the DVD's be packaged? A: Each DVD will come in a standard DVD case, both the DVD disc itself and the case will be decorated with custom artwork, using the pictures from your wedding photos, if you booked one of the photo+Video packages. Else we would try to extract some images from the wedding-day video footage for the artwork. The artwork on the DVD disc is PRINTED ON in a professional manner, not some cheap sticker which might cause imbalance to the disc as it spins at high speed in the DVD player. Q: Are guest interviews a must in our wedding video? A: Nope, you decide whether to have interviews, and to what degree. In our current contract, you get to pick from following options. "Try your polite best" is the safest option to go with. We would be somewhat passive in getting interviews, definitely not pushing anybody hard. Important people like those in the wedding parties, parents, etc, would be asked more than once if necessary, but again not pushed. "Try very hard" means we would persuade the guest a little bit if he/she was reluctant at first. Initial reluctance is common with wedding interviews, most people do not expect to be asked, and often instinctively say "no". However after the initial surprise, many would change their mind and decide that it is a good idea. In the final video, we like to keep the interviews polite, because we presume the video would also be shown to friends and families at anniversary parties. Hence we put some effort into keeping out the "rough stuff". For example, one guy talked about some "very rough" stuff they did, not exactly for polite conversation. We took the 10 seconds out of the one-minute interview, almost seamlessly, and nobody was any the wiser. Another, grandpa threatened the groom "you better take good care of my granddaughter or else..." before he "calmed down" and did a sweet interview. We cut out that front portion and everything was peachy. Which is why the next option is "try very hard and keep the rough stuff in". In this case, we would keep almost everything in, unless they are truly extreme, which means they are no longer just "rough". Another option is "bestman/maid-of-honor and parents only", which is done prior to the reception. This way, only the "safe" people are interviewed, and the videographer is free to get more candid shots at the reception. And finally, "no interviews" means just that, even if a guest ask, we would not permit any interviews, for the entire day. Q: Is 5 hours on-site time enough to cover everything? A: Yes, a 5-hour period is usually enough to cover everything, if there is no dancing, and with the ceremony and reception at the same place or very close by. With dancing, 6 hours is a must, which is why the "Classic Plus" package was created. The only exception is when the dancing is limited to one or two songs for video sake, and that the ceremony and reception is in the same building. And you can always extend the coverage by an hour or two for a small fee. Q: Can our guests use their cameras? A: Yes they can, and in fact we write it into the contract that we encourage guests to use their consumer-grade cameras, including video cameras, so long as they do not create problem for us. Q: Do you carry backup equipment? A: Yes we do, extra still photo camera, lens, flash, video camera, video light, microphone, tripod, etc. Q: What do you mean by "on-site time" in your package listing? A: On-site time refers to the time period when we arrive at the first location (usually ceremony) as previously arranged till the time we leave the last location (usually the reception). The travel time in between your locations are counted as part of the on-site time. Q: Do you provide any "safety margin" in case of traffic jam, especially when traveling to an out-of-town job? Yes. For OKC and Tulsa, we typically depart half hour early, and is glad to say that we have never been late for our appointed time (which typically is 2 hours prior to the ceremony) so far. For here in Stillwater, we usually get on-site about 10 minutes early. Q: Do you come to the rehearsal? A: We try to go to all the rehearsals to scout the location and the ceremony "flow", but sometimes there are projects on the night before, and sometimes the drive is simply too far. On those occasions, we would have to arrive early on the wedding day instead, and obtain our information then, and/or days before on the phone and via email. If coming to the rehearsal (just to scout) is important to you, please check with us at contract time. Typically we can make a commitment at that point whether one of us can make it, and put it writing. Q: How would you be dressed for our wedding day? A: We require all photographers and videographers to dress professionally, most of the time all black unless it is hot outdoor. However if you should need something more formal, please check with us. Q: How soon after the wedding can we have our photos and video? A: Despite extensive post production work and photo editing (up to 100 hours), final delivery in about three weeks. Can't guarantee anything but, that has been the case for the past five years. Some videographers shoot lots of weddings during the wedding season, and then edit them during the off season, which means several months wait for their customers. The same goes for part-time videographers who might not shoot that many weddings but has another full-time job, so they have to wait till the off season to edit. We OTOH like to edit them within minutes of getting back from the wedding, often going 14-hour days until the first complete draft is done. This way, we don't forget where the fun stuff are on the tape, what is different and special about this particular wedding, the mood, and even something as simple as who is the mom, the dad, the favorite grandpa, etc. And the main person who shoots the video, edits the video, so things don't fall thru the crack because of miscommunications. If you need them quicker, please check with us at contract time. Q: How long do you keep our digital negatives and video files, if we should require reprints or extra video copies in the distant future? A: We try to keep them forever, but of course things can and will go bad at some point, so you should order everything within 2 years. Multiple copies of the digital negatives and video files are kept both on hard drives and on DVD's. Again you should order all the reprints, enlargements, and video copies you want ASAP. We make backups, but there is no absolute guarantee. Q: We live in Tulsa and our wedding is in Tulsa, why should we consider somebody from out-of-town? A: Well, by checking out wedding photographers and videographers from nearby towns also, like OKPhotos, you could be getting a better photographer and a better videographer, a better deal, a better "fit" to your taste, since there are more to choose from. And at OKPhotos, we make it easy for you to check us out remotely. There are hundreds of photo samples on our website, and we even mail out a sample DVD for those who are interested in wedding videography. And the bonus -- many of our OKC and Tulsa customers were amazed how much more OKPhotos offer for the same price. Q: How soon should we book our date? What is the advantage of booking early? A: Popular dates get booked up quickly, about 6 to 10 months in advance. We do only one wedding video per week, and take reservations up to one year in advance. Another advantage of booking early, beside getting the date, is to lock in on the current package price. Prices are changed occasionally to reflect the continuing expansion and upgrading of our service. By booking early, you get to enjoy some of the added benefits while still paying the old price. Q: What is needed to secure our date? A: A completed contract including selecting the desired photo/video package, and the required deposit. Covering Stillwater and surrounding areas, OKC and Tulsa, no additional charge. No travel fee, and clock does not start until we get to your location. We take VISA and Mastercard. Home | Privacy Policy | Info | View Cart Contact OKPhotos.com at (405) 377-5967 or Email Content subject to change without notice. Not Responsible for typographical error. Copyright ©OKPhotos.com, All Rights Reserved. Bixbook is a trademark of OKPhotos.com.