Wedding FAQ

We’d have to count, but at last check, since 2008 we have photographed over 60 weddings in five countries.

The amount of time to schedule for this really depends on you and what kind of photos you want from your day.

We can do basic family formals with parents and a few groupings in as little as fifteen minutes. We can also do epic photo shoots in sprawling locations over the course of a couple hours. Hashing out what makes the most sense for you is something we do during our consultation meeting.

Our overall goal is to finish up formal photos quickly so everyone can keep their energy up, and so you can spend your day with the people who matter to you.

Of course. Our wedding work has taken us throughout western Canada, as well as to the US, Mexico, Cuba and Italy. We ask for our travel expenses to be covered in addition to our fees. Sometimes this means flights, hotels or a rental car. Sometimes just some fuel compensation and/or a hotel. Extended travel may also require a day rate to cover our time. We try to be as fair as possible in calculating travel costs. Please contact us about your exact needs and we can give you an exact quote. If you have a special arrangement in mind, we are always open to discussing it.

If you need us to drive, we charge $1/km (round-trip) to cover our time and expenses for all locations 20 minutes or more from Grande Prairie. This applies both on the wedding day and for the engagement session.

Please contact us to discuss your specific travel needs.

We encourage an engagement session with all of our wedding couples, as this session accomplishes several things. Of course, we capture some beautiful couples portraits, perfect for a guestbook, invites, and other creative things. You can see most of our engagement sessions here.

But the session also gives us a chance to get to know each other and break the ice photographically. It can be a little off-putting to be in front of a camera, but only for the first little while. The engagement session allows us to get over these natural jitters before the big day itself.

We strive to make our engagements meaningful and fun, and we work with our couples to choose locations that make sense for them. Into quadding? Camping? Softball? Have a favourite restaurant or first-date spot? Perfect.

Frankly, we can take nice portraits anywhere. So we are always happy to do photos in a location that is meaningful to our clients, such as the site of their first date, a favourite park, or another spot of significance. If you are unsure of a good location, we are happy to recommend a pretty place.

We do charge travel fees for locations further than 20 minutes outside of Grande Prairie.

You don’t need to be super formal, but you should be on your way to dressy. Wear something that makes you feel really good.

Ladies, if you wear dresses, wear one! If your man has collared shirts and pants, and dress shoes, he should wear them. Try to avoid t-shirts, logos, shorts, sneakers and sandals if possible, especially on guys. Any quirky clothing accessories you want to bring (hats, jewellery, shoes, etc.) can make things fun too.

You are also welcome to bring a change of clothes if you’re into that, but it may take time out of your session if you have to go find somewhere to change.

Our reception Photobooth is a fun way to capture charming portraits of family and friends during the reception.

Since every wedding vision is different, we leave it up to our couples to create a special spot, or arrange any backdrop or props. What we do bring is an enthusiastic experience and our professional lighting equipment to make sure everyone looks great.

We set up the booth after the formal program, so we don’t distract from the planned portion of the evening. One of us will operate the booth while the other covers the party. We’ll ask the MC, DJ, or band to inform guests when the booth is open and closing. One to one-and-a-half hours is typically enough time, depending on the size of your wedding. Works like a charm every time.

We will typically post an image or two from your wedding or other session within a few days of the shoot day on our blog and Facebook page, and then follow up with a longer blog post as soon as we can. We spend more time editing all of the images for final delivery.

For weddings, we promise final delivery of all images within 3 months. For portraits and other shoots, we promise final delivery within 4 weeks.

Albums and other products, after design approval and additional payment (if applicable), may take 3-6 months to get into your hands. We share proofs of the design with you and go through a revision process. They take around 4 weeks to be printed, bound, and delivered after the design is complete.

For weddings, we typically deliver 600-800+ high-resolution digital files for a full day of wedding coverage. Your album could contain between 60 and 120 images, depending on how many pages you choose to order.

Simply phone us, fill out our booking form, or email to let us know your preferred date(s) and location(s). You can see our basic wedding package prices, as well as portrait fees, right here on the site.

After a call or email exchange, we will set up an in-person consultation in our home to discuss your plans and look at which package makes the most sense for you. We also have samples of our albums and large canvas prints.

Book a Consultation

At this stage of wedding bookings, we also sign a contract and acquire a $1,000 retainer. Once the contract is signed and retainer paid, your date is secured!

We usually talk two or three more times leading up to the wedding to make sure the plan hasn’t changed, and we’re always happy to get together for more casual meet-ups.

We are Chris and Laura Beauchamp, a husband and wife photography team based in Grande Prairie, Alberta, Canada. We work full time as photographers, although we do some other things as well. We specialize in documentary-style photography and unique environmental portraiture, with a focus on the eternal qualities of great photography: timing, light, and composition. We have been in business since 2010, although each of us nurtured our own development in photography for years before that. You can learn more about us here.

First, hopefully, because you like our images. The clients who hire us see something in our style and approach that aligns with their own vision.

Second, because you are looking to work with professionals, in the simplest sense of the word. We have the experience, equipment, and confidence to produce great images anywhere, under whatever difficult conditions may come up.

Finally, we find most clients also hire us because we are personable, friendly, and easy to work with.

For us, it simply means capturing people in their element. Whether that’s a workplace, home, or activity that they love. Great environmental portraiture provides context and insight into both the person and the place. Although we often focus on this approach when we do commercial and editorial people photography, it’s actually something that has grown out of our experience working in rapidly changing environments such as weddings and journalistic assignments. The challenge of finding the perfect portrait composition in a new or difficult environment is one of the things that keeps photography exciting for us, regardless of subject matter.

True documentary photography means attempting to capture real people and places without the photographer manipulating or impacting the scene—or at least doing so to the smallest extent possible. It means finding the art and beauty in every-day moments. It means telling stories within the frame of the picture. We strive for this approach during our wedding work, or for clients looking to capture the reality of their people or organization. It’s also the approach most suitable for news coverage and reportage.

For us though, it is something more fundamental: an aspiration that all of our work tells a story.

It depends. For larger commercial projects, events, or things like weddings and engagements, we work as a two-person team, with each of us capturing images. We are each “primary” photographers and are both capable of taking the lead to produce great images. In these types of settings, we are able to cover things from multiple complementary perspectives and cover each other during important moments.

For other sessions, like family photographs, portraits, or smaller projects, we will typically work independently, with one of us handling the session.

Other times, we both may be present, but one of us will take the lead photographically, while the other assists with lighting or posing.

If you want to know which of these approaches we plan to use for your booking, please just ask.

Everybody’s different. For us, that’s the point.

Some really appreciate photography as art. Some are sentimental. Some adventurous. Some shy. Some want to push the boundaries, and some want to be a bit more subdued or traditional. We believe in authenticity. It’s the moments between the forced smiles that count.

Our commercial clients want their business and people to look as great as they know them to be. Our family portrait clients want photos to share and treasure. Our wedding couples value naturally beautiful images of once-in-a-lifetime moments.

You can see most of our past clients—and just how different each of them are—by checking out our blog and Facebook page.

Hopefully: easy and fun. We strive for an unobtrusive approach in our work, but gently guide when needed.

We know not everyone loves to have their picture taken, and we work with al of our clients to ease into the session. We find that the first ten minutes of any new session are often the hardest, but it always gets easier. We will pose people during portrait sessions and formals, and occasionally make suggestions (such as moving closer to nice light), but we encourage everyone to be themselves, above all.

No, we do not. We prefer to do “studio on location,” which means we bring our professional lighting gear to the location. This allows us to produce professional imagery in context. If you are looking for traditional studio portraiture we can arrange to rent third-party studio space. We would also be happy to refer you to another photographer who specializes in in-house studio work.

We ask for our travel expenses to be covered at cost, in addition to our commercial fees. In the past, this has included hotels, flights, meals, and/or rental cars. If you need us to drive, we charge$1/km (round-trip) to cover our time and expenses for all locations 20 minutes or more from Grande Prairie. Please contact us to discuss your specific travel needs. If you have a special arrangement in mind, we are always open to discussing it.

We use Canon 5D Mark III cameras and a variety of “L” series professional lenses. We prefer prime lenses (Canon’s “Holy Trinity” of 35L, 85L, and 135L) for the majority of our work. We have backups of everything that matters, including camera bodies, lenses, batteries, flashes and storage media.

We also carry commercial liability insurance and Canon Professional Services membership to ensure efficient gear repair and replacement as needed.

If you have another question, please contact us. We’re friendly.