Wedding Photography and Videography Solutions for San Jose and the Bay Area

Even if your are pressed for time, I encourage you to read the following information carefully. I do things differently in my business. These may be the services you need!

You only get one chance to choose the right photographer and/or videographer.
Aside from your dress and some special mementos,
your photos and/or video are all you will take home from your special day!

Hello.

My name is Douglas Dailey. I have been photographing and videotaping weddings and other events for over 20 years between the San Francisco and Monterey Bay areas. Although weddings are a major part of my work, I also do corporate parties, awards banquets, quinceañeras, anniversaries, bar/bat mitzvahs, baptisms, shows and other events. I enjoy employing a variety of mediums from straight film photography to digital imaging using professional computer hardware and software.

On this web page, I would like to talk mostly about weddings. When I am at a wedding, I have 3 main objectives: 1) to tell the story of your day, 2) to help everyone look their best in print, and especially 3) to give you the products and services you want in a form that you and your family can use and treasure for many years. With over 1400 weddings as experience, I know how to be unobtrusive yet take all the photographs you need and the ones you want. I hope the samples available on my website will get you curious. I also have a variety of photos, wedding CDs, and videos in my studio which I would be happy to share with you. Please call for an appointment.

I want you to know right away that I run my photography business differently than most other photographers. For one thing, I do not use the proof system.

You do not select from a small number of proofs. You get all your photos, often over 300, with a fine quality album and all your high-resolution digital files, set to music, on a CD.

The so-called proof system originated in the early decades of the last century, when photographers had to insert fresh film for each picture. They couldn't take many pictures, so they slowed everything down to pose it. And if they took more than the bare minimum number of photos, then the client was expected to pay for these "extras". This proof system still generates more money for photographers and, with the advent of digital cameras and editing software, greatly reduces their workload. Also, many photographers don't want you to get additional photos from your friends and relatives, because they are counting on charging you for any "extra" photos you may want beyond the limited number of "proofs" you can choose. So the photographer may become hostile toward them. Nothing can bring down the mood of a wedding like a hostile and pushy photographer. You can ask around. It is not as uncommon as it may seem.

I believe that anyone important enough for you to invite to your wedding is important enough to be in at least one photograph. When you hand your finished album to friends who attended, they will be looking for their own picture. It requires many photographs to assure that all aspects of the day are captured in expressive and attractive photos. Many other photographers will offer to take 200 or more photos, but then you choose from, say, 40 to make into 5x7s or 8x10s for your album. The other photographs are never touched-up or provided (unless you agree to pay considerable additional fees for those "extra" photos).

My partner and I have taken more than 400 photos at many full-day weddings. We spend between one and two weeks just editing your photos so that they all look perfect. You get all these finished photos plus the high resolution files. We are proud of our work and want to make certain that you can use your photos in as many ways as is possible.

After your wedding, we process all the digital files and put them on a CD along with a slide show set to music (which is also formatted for posting on the web). We then put a custom label on the CD and its case, and take that CD to the lab to have all your prints made. Then we give you the CD with your prints and album, plus two extra parents' CDs at no extra charge. You can also copy your entire album for the price of a blank CD and give it to anyone, because the label files are also included on your CD. Your friends and family can email any particular file they want to a lab and get a copy. Using and sharing your wonderful wedding photographs couldn't be easier.

You can get both comprehensive photo and video coverage without the expense of hiring 2 different businesses; the combined coverage is efficient and unobtrusive.

Many years ago, I observed that the best locations for the photographer at a wedding were usually also the best locations for the videographer. Most brides and grooms hire (and support) two different businesses which are usually unacquainted with one another. When something important happens at the wedding or reception - which is all the time - both crews will rush to the same area and often experience conflict with lights and competition for floor space. The photographer often appears in the video and the videographer often appears in the photographs.

When you hire us to do both photography and videography, you get a tremendous savings in cost, plus the benefit of equipment and techniques which are integrated, flexible and effective. The proof can be seen in our collection of photos and videos. And an important extra benefit is that we can use some of the photographs in the introduction and on the cover of the video. You get a beautifully produced video with photographs of your wedding on the DVD's label and cover. And as always, you get three copies of the DVD and are welcome to make any other copies whenever you need them.

Of course, we use a 3-chip digital video camera. The vows are captured with a concealed wireless microphone. It is very common for guests in the back of the ceremony area not to hear the vows, even if the officiant has a microphone. We produce a video in which all the vows are clearly heard. And at a typical reception we may interview 30-90 guests, each getting to say something personal to the bride and groom on their wedding video. To complete the video editing, we create a personalized menu that enables you to jump directly to the special events of your day.

I have both high-resolution digital and film cameras. I can explain and demonstrate the strengths and weaknesses of each to help you decide on format and style.

There has always been debate among photographers and consumers about the type of cameras best suited for weddings. In general, photographers argue for the equipment they already have. Because the technology is changing so rapidly, I think it is important for you to see several varieties of prints and styles so you know you will be getting what you want. Digital photography has made it much easier to produce fine-art versions of prints. Digital images can be touched-up (i.e., blemishes removed and lines softened) and fine-tuned with photo editing software without the necessity of first scanning them. Scanning film prints or negatives into digital files introduces some degree of "noise" into the resultant images; noise which can't be entirely removed with editing software. Although I still own and occasionally use high-end film cameras, I have the newest digital gear from Canon. I resisted the change from film to digital until I was certain that the quality and flexibility provided would be superior.

I can show you a sample of a digital photograph enlarged to about 60" by 40", almost life size. It is amazing how clean and sharp the image remains. With film, there were always problems with dust on the negatives, deterioration of the negative, or the grain in the negative itself. You may never want a photograph that large, but you may want to crop and enlarge a smaller portion of a digital photo image. That is when the extra resolution my equipment produces is so important.