Bellissimo Wedding Photography
Wedding photography professionals offering services in Northwest Indiana, Southern Michigan and the Chicago-land area.
What equipment do you use? All of our photographers photograph with Canon Brand cameras and lenses. Canon is certainly in the top two names in professional high-end digital imaging cameras. Most all of our lenses are the ‘L-Series’ professional lenses and in many cases the lens (we call it glass) is more expensive than the camera! We say glass, because there are no plastic lenses used by us so we can offer the best possible image quality. And speaking of quality, we photograph in the RAW format which is the highest quality and most digital data collecting format possible. You’re finished images, after RAW editing, will be more common JPEG digital files.
When will we get our photos? We pride ourselves in a quick turn-around time and your images will be ready to view in your online / downloadable photo gallery on the Friday following your wedding if your wedding was on a Saturday. We know that this is quick, but rest assured that your images will be adjusted and edited and ready for you to enjoy! We like our couples to enjoy their images before we dive into your album design, but we are happy to begin that process as soon as you either select the images you’d like to see in your album, or give us the ‘green light’ to select them for you and present design ideas to you for review and approval.
Do you bring lighting? There is a variety of lighting that we may use depending on your particular wedding. Different venues have different needs and we are fortunate to have experience in many wedding locations so we can plan for your wedding day. On-camera flash is used for some of the day but only while bouncing light off of ceilings and walls and never direct flash. Other lighting may be used for portraits or other needs and when needed we use professional Alien Bee lighting by the Paul C. Buff Company. We even have power packs so the lights can be used anywhere even when not close to a wall power source.
We love you as the owners, but will we love your other photographers? Of course! All of us work together and have the same set of photographic skills with over 300 weddings captured by our team. You will always meet your photographers well before your wedding day so you can see how you all ‘click’. If not clicking, we’ll have you meet someone else, but we have never had any couple change the two-photographer team that was assigned to capture a wedding. We all are people oriented; after all, we’re wedding photographers and can and need to get along with everyone associated with your wedding day including all vendors, family and guests!
What do you wear to our wedding? We will simply blend in with your guests and won’t be overly dressed or underdressed. Again the venue has something to do with our outfits and we promise to look clean and nice and may even change for your reception if your particular wedding day calls for that approach. We’ve been doing this a long time so we normally will wear something a little darker in colors as we don’t want to stand out. We also need to dress comfortably to move around to capture your images.
How many photographs do you take? We never count! We just shoot to cover your wedding day and since ALL of our weddings are photographed by two photographers you will receive a nice variety of images and your wedding day will be covered. Different size weddings can generate more or less images. For an example, a larger wedding party of say 12 to 14 in total will naturally generate more photos then a smaller wedding party. Size of families too, and so on. If we have to count, most of our weddings will receive 800 to 1200 images on average.
Do you charge for travel or multiple locations? Every wedding is different in that some have more locations than others so we don’t discriminate that or charge travel fees within our area. If your wedding is more than 50 miles from our studio in Valparasio, or in a major city like Chicago then travel fees may apply but are evaluated on a case by case basis. We travel and photograph weddings all over the United States. We would agree on any extra charges up front.
Do you have liability insurance? Absolutely and we’ll happily provide your venue with a proof of coverage if requested. Most venues know us and it has never been an issue. We are a real business with a federal tax ID number, insurance, a studio space and a great team of talent eager to capture your wedding day memories.
How much do you charge? We offer several pre-designed wedding packages because most of our clients like that approach, however, there are NO two weddings alike. So we can easily take any package and simply adjust it to fit your particular wedding day needs; like add an hour here, remove one there, add other items as needed or completely custom design a package just for you. You will find us very easy to work with and extremely flexible! Click the button to review our packages.
What if we have to reschedule our wedding? We will make every effort to work with you for any rescheduling needs and make it as easy as possible. With our multiple photographers we can usually accommodate a change of date and are happy to do so.
What if we don’t want to spend an hour taking family photos? No problem. One thing we stress is that it is your wedding day and you may design it however you’d like. We are there to capture it for you, not dictate your day and photo needs.
How do we book you? We make this simple and can send you a PayPal invoice for easy online payment of your $500 retainer. That retainer secures your wedding date and is applied to your unpaid balance depending on your particular package. You don’t even need to decide which package you need as many of our couples don’t know the timing of their wedding day yet. So that is not a problem at all. We can fill in the package or custom package later. Your full amount is due 2-weeks prior to your wedding date. You may make payments along the way, or wait to pay it all at one time. Even a gift registry is available if someone would like to ‘gift’ to you a portion of your photography.
Additional info about booking… We will require you to review the wedding contract and sign that at the time of booking and we can fill in the package info later once your have your wedding day plans finalized. We can also adjust the package if your plan change in any way. No problem.
What if we have to reschedule our wedding? We will make every effort to work with you for any rescheduling needs and make it as easy as possible. With our multiple photographers we can usually accommodate a change of date and are happy to do so.
Weddings can be complex with many moving parts. We are happy to answer any questions you have or even seek recommendations from us using our vast wedding experience knowledge. After all, many of you are planning your very first wedding, so it can be overwhelming. Either use the contact form tab to reach out to us or simply email us at bellissimoweddingphotos@gmail.com or call our studio at 219.736.5217. Our schedule is flexible and we can set up a meeting or zoom call to discuss your wedding in greater detail. We look forward to hearing from you.