Will you come to my house/a park/my school/etc. to take pictures?

Yes. We will travel to anywhere in Springfield or the surrounding area with one note: we are based in Republic, and if you are more than 20 miles from there, there will be a small surcharge to offset travel expenses. The first 20 miles of each one-way trip are free; past that, there will be a $0.50/mile charge.

Cities that are considered within the 20 mile radius are Republic, Springfield, Nixa, Rogersville, Ozark, Willard, Highlandville, Boaz, Clever, Battlefield, Sparta, Billings, Brookline, Spokane, and Hurley (among others). We will not charge mileage to Stonegate Glass Chapel.

If we travel more than 120 miles to get there or have to spend the night for other reasons, there can be a $125 fee for accommodations. Any requests that involve flying require at least a month of notice. A private jet is always nice.


If you don't have an indoor studio and grounds, where do you take senior and family pictures?

Short answer: wherever you want.

We have a small home-based studio that has a few backdrops and props where we can get indoor portraits if that's what you want. For the most part, we prefer portraits taken outdoors or in a place in which you're comfortable.


How are your prices usually lower than other photographers in the area?

Because you choose where we do the shoot, we don't have to pay to heat, cool, and maintain a studio. But we still have a chunk cut out: since we spend more time per session than many photographers, we can't book as many shoots. Because of our business structure, we're still able to charge lower prices.


After you take the pictures, who owns the originals?

By default, we reserve the copyright on all original and derivative images taken by any employee or member of Nellis Photography. If you elect to buy the actual digital images from us, we will give you license to copy and edit them as much as you like for non-commercial use, but the copyright is still held by Nellis Photography. If you would like to buy full copyright, we can talk about it.


How do I give you directions?

You can choose to email us directions, but if we can look up the location on Google Maps, the address should suffice. We do require a phone number we can call if we get lost. If we're late, it will not encroach on your time; we don't start the clock until everybody is there.


When are you available?

If you would like to book a shoot, just send an email to Reserve@nellisphotography.com with a list of dates in order of preference. We prefer to do shoots during weekends, but other arrangements can be made with enough notice.


What forms of payment do you accept?

We accept cash and checks at this time. If there is demand, we might start accepting credit cards in the future, but we aren't big fans of their service charges.


Why do you do digital proofs as opposed to printed proofs?

To be honest, we don't really do traditional proofs very much anymore. When we started the business, we uploaded every client's edited pictures to our developer's website where clients could peruse the pictures and order prints. Since basically every client has chosen to purchase the license for their pics, the digital files we deliver are really the "proofs" in that they are fully-edited pics. We make minor modifications (color/tinting changes, cropping, basic color effects, etc.) for free for 30 days after delivery.

It's basically a win-win: our clients get lower prices, faster turnaround times, and easier delivery of retouched proofs while we don't have to schedule a meeting, wait for the developer, or waste the paper it would take to develop thousands of print proofs per year.

Of course, we can still upload the images to our developer's website if requested.


I had a good/bad experience during my shoot. How do I contact you?

Please send an email to Feedback@nellisphotography.com. We value customer opinions and would appreciate any suggestions or compliments.


What and when do I need to pay you for a wedding?

To reserve the date, we will need half of the listed wedding package cost (Intimate, Classic, or Gala). This is based solely on the package cost and has nothing to do with print/license purchases.

The other half of the wedding package and any other expense charges (mileage, overnight stay, etc.) will be due on the day of the wedding. We can prepared an invoice if requested.

Payment for the license to the digital images isn't technically due until they're done, but if you know you want to go that route, you can expedite the delivery process by paying the fee on the day of the wedding.


What do you charge for travel?

Please see the above listing for a summary of our travel charges.


What does "all-day" coverage mean?

The Classic and Gala packages both include all-day coverage, including prep, ceremony, formals, reception, and almost anything else. This means we will truly be available the entire day if needed; our longest wedding was over twelve hours.

Of course, most weddings don't go this long, but we will show up as early or stay as late as it takes to get the pictures you want.


How many photographers are included in your wedding packages?

All wedding packages include two photographers (Britney and Scott).


How much time should I plan for formal pictures?

Think of all the pictures you want: bride and groom alone, groom and groomsmen, bride and bridesmaids, wedding party, family (taking the size of your families into account). Our normal rule of thumb is figure out how much time you think that will take, then add 50% (AKA, a one-hour estimate would become an hour and thirty minutes). Remember to leave time before the ceremony so we're not shooting formals while guests are being seated.

This might sound like a lot, but it's proven fairly true in our experience. The best thing you can do to streamline the formal picture process is to print out a list of pictures you want so we can do them in an organized fashion.


Do you recommend taking formal pictures before or after the ceremony?

This depends on several factors, including how many formal pictures you want, time limitations on your venues, whether the ceremony is at the same location as the reception, and your personal preferences.

While the tradition is to not see each other before the ceremony, after a few years of shooting weddings, we have found that things normally go appreciably smoother if couples take care of as many formal pics as possible before the ceremony.

There are a few reasons:

  1. Formal pictures can only start after you've thanked the last guest and gathered everyone who will be in them. Then taking the pictures themselves can take a while, depending on the size of your family/wedding party. Most people don't want to keep their guests waiting that long at the reception.

  2. The time immediately following the ceremony is normally the craziest time of the entire day: people are going through the receiving line, leaving for the reception, talking in the aisles, etc. It can be difficult to get everyone to stay around and be organized enough to get pictures done in a reasonable amount of time.

  3. While couples have the best of intentions about getting pics after the ceremony, most end up wanting to get to the reception to have some fun or get concerned with how long they're making their guests wait, so they end up cutting the after-ceremony shoot short.

  4. Keeping the above in mind: since we've found the most popular wedding pictures are ones of just the bride and groom together and, if they choose to wait to see each other, the only time we can get these is after the ceremony, we don't normally get as many as they might want.

  5. If you do all your formal pics beforehand, you will be free to relax, talk with the guests, and take your time getting to the reception as opposed to trying to get everyone organized in the excitement.

  6. If you decide to do all formal pics before the ceremony, we can do a "moment" before we start so we can still capture the moment you first see each other. Some clients even prefer this because it's more intimate; we kick everyone else out so it's just us and you.

Of course, we will accommodate either way, but for the reason above, we recommend taking all formal pictures before the ceremony.


Do you require I sign a wedding contract?

We do require a contract be completed and signed for all weddings. We didn't for the first few years, but we've just had too many late payments and other undesirable actions with no real recourse or leverage.

Of course, the contract doesn't just protect us. Among the protections is one that specifies that we are obligated to arrive/stay for the times specified and, in the event we both fall ill or otherwise cannot attend, we must hire/supply competent professional photographers to take our place.

We will be happy to supply the contract it so you can read through it before you sign.


What if it rains on the day of my senior or family shoot?

In times where inclement weather keeps us from starting or completing a shoot, we will reschedule a time to finish it without charging you extra. We recommend you plan on doing outdoor photographs before indoor ones during your shoot so if it does end up raining, we can go inside.


When does the clock start and stop?

Basically, the session starts when everyone is at the first location and ready to start taking pictures. If you are a little late or need a few minutes to do a clothing change or final makeup adjustment, we can hold off for a little while. Of course, if we are at all late, the clock does not start. Once the session has started, it will usually go without a break until you are done or we run out of time. Travel time between locations does count.

That all said: if you are very late (half an hour) and have not called us to let us know, we reserve the right to start the session.


Can we take breaks?

This all depends on the shoot: if we have an adjacent appointment or need to be done by a certain time, any break you choose to take will probably count toward your time. If we're doing a longer shoot during a time that is usually considered a time to eat (noon, 6:00pm), we might take a break for that and not keep the timer running; photographers get hungry, too. You should not expect a break during a shoot two hours or less.

All that said: if there's an emergency, medical problem, or anything else out of your control that makes us stop, we are very forgiving.


Can I split a long shoot into smaller shoots on different days?

This seems like a good idea and we would really like to do it, but it is just way too open to abuse. At this time, we will not allow splitting of session time for any reason other than inclement weather.


What and when do I need to pay you for senior or family pictures?

Your shoot fee is due the day of the session. Full payment for all print/license orders is required before the order is shipped.


What are my picture options (prints vs. license)?

This can be confusing, so let's just look at the different options a little closer:

  1. Our most popular method is purchasing a license for the edited images. In a nutshell, we still make the proofs, but instead of ordering physical prints from us, we sell you a license to those edited digital images and deliver them on a DVD or from our website. With this option, you can edit and distribute them as much as you like as long as it's for non-commerical use. We can still upload to them to our developer's gallery in case anyone wants to order professional prints.

  2. The more traditional process consists of you ordering physical prints and us keeping all printing and reproduction rights. With this option, we put all the edited images on our developer's website and you, your friends, and your family all go there to order physical prints. There is a minimum dollar value you must order which depends on which package you've chosen.

Any amount of money spent on either option goes toward your minimum order.


If I purchase the license to my pictures, what are the allowed "personal" uses?

Almost anything. You can crop them, email them, edit the colors, put them on Facebook, make one the background on your phone, use them on your wedding invitations (engagement pictures), and basically anything else except things that make you money. If someone wants to purchase the images for commercial use (website, flier, magazine, etc.), they will need to purchase them from us.

When you purchase the license for your pictures, we will sign a contract that better defines commercial use. Let us know if you would like to review it in advance.


Does the purchase of license for pictures count toward the minimum order?

Yes. The purchase of license always counts toward your minimum order.


If I choose to order the license to my pictures, can I still order prints?

Yes; you are not required to, but it is an option. You will also get a 20% discount on any prints if we have received payment for the license.

When you purchase the license to your pictures, you have fulfilled your minimum order and do not have to purchase anything else, including prints. That said: since we have access to a professional developer, many people will choose to order a few prints through us, usually larger ones. The quality on larger prints is normally better than budget developers and the coloring is more consistent.


What happens if I buy the license to my pictures, and then I lose them?

There will be a $30 charge to retrieve them from our backups and ship a DVD to you.

We back up all images taken (originals and proofs) in case your computer blows up or something else happens to cause you to lose your pictures. We will not print them for anyone else, but we might use them for our advertising.



Updated 2011-12-22

Your photographer in Springfield and Southwest Missouri