Fallon Photography FAQs
The answers to the questions I am most frequently asked.
WHAT DO YOUR PACKAGES INCLUDE?
I don't have any Packages, I charge by the hour and supply approx. 50 professionally edited images per hour of shooting.
I charge NZ$500 incl. tax for the first hour and NZ$400 incl. tax per additional hour after that. Ie a 2 hour shoot costs $900, a 3 hour shoot costs $1,300.
If you want me to shoot in a location further than 50km from downtown Queenstown, travel charges will apply.
WHAT AREAS DO YOU SHOOT IN?
90% of my shoots are in the Queenstown/Arrowtown area ie within 30 - 40 km of downtown Queenstown.
If you want me to shoot in a location further than 50km from downtown Queenstown, travel charges will apply.
If you are interested in shooting outside of Queenstown, please get in touch by email at patrick@fallon.co.nz for availability and travel costs.
WHAT ARE YOUR DELIVERABLES?
I aim to deliver 50 edited images (in high res and in low res, no watermarks) per hour of shooting.
They will be delivered to you electronically via an online gallery and you/anyone you share the gallery with will be able to download images individually or in bulk.
The gallery lasts indefinitely but I would strongly recommend you download all your images and make a backup in case the gallery ever goes offline.
the weather forecast looks terrible!
Don't even bother looking at the weather forecast earlier than 3 days before the shoot as it will be so unreliable all you will do is stress yourself out for no reason.
The only exception to this is if you are planning a wedding or large outdoor event in which case you need to plan well ahead for a bad weather backup option. (Even then the forecast earlier than 3 days is pretty much useless but you need to plan for the worst anyway).
DO YOU HAVE A BAD WEATHER BACKUP VENUE FOR US?
The short version is not really. If the weather is really bad we need a roof and almost every roof in Queenstown is private property. The few that aren't are public and therefore we can't guarantee that we will be able to use them on the day.
The most likely option is the rotunda in the Queenstown Gardens.
If the weather is too bad to shoot, I will suggest we reschedule and if you can't reschedule I will happily refund your deposit.
If the weather is mildly bad (eg light showers, windy) then tree cover is our best bet but be aware that this usually means no lake and mountain views.
how do you plan for weather?
I will check the weather forecast 3 days out and at this point we can start talking locations and timing. If we lock in locations and timing on a forecast that probably isn't accurate, we are just wasting time and worrying un-necessarily.
And even if we lock in locations and timing 3 days out, we still need to wake up in the morning on the shoot day, look at the sky and possibly revise all our plans anyway.
In short, you need to be flexible and patient to get the best results from the weather and light and your photos.
WHAT LOCATIONS DO YOU RECOMMEND?
Queenstown is best-known for it's iconic mountain and lake views.
However, you might prefer a different type of location or the weather might force us to choose a different location.
The most important thing if you want beautiful photos is to be as flexible as possible with timing and location to make the most of the weather and light.
You can check out sample photos and info about some of Queenstown's best photo locations in this blog post I wrote.
(Note that Deer Park Heights now charges around $500 for use as a photo location).
WHAT IS THE BEST TIME OF DAY TO SHOOT?
Most outdoor photographers will tell you that the best times to shoot are as close to sunrise or as close to sunset as possible.
And I would agree in general, however...
Many locations in Queenstown get the sun quite late or lose it quite early (especially in winter) due to the shadows cast by the mountains. While we can plan to shoot at sunset at a location that keeps the sun really late, if the weather forces us to abandon that location (eg it's too windy) it may well be that every other location has lost sun already.
For this reason, I generally recommend we shoot in the morning or afternoon but not super close to sunset. This ensures that if our chosen location is no good on the day, we will still have sun at other locations.
DO YOU PROVIDE TRANSPORT/RENTALS?
I don't provide transport to/from the locations, I will meet you at the agreed location for the shoot.
I also don't rent out suits, dresses, or arrange hair and make up stylists for you. But, I am happy to recommend some awesome local professionals you can contact.
WHAT CLOTHING DO YOU RECOMMEND?
Ideally, don't wear too much black. Other than that, wear what you feel comfortable/look good in.
If you want to shoot in high heels, please bring flat shoes as well.
If you have long hair, make sure you bring a hair tie in case it's super windy.
Please bring a warm jacket even in summer in case it's windy/cold.
WE WANT CANDID PHOTOS
I love shooting candid photos but there are some times it doesn't work;
+ If more than 2 people in the photo, the chances that all of them have nice facial expressions (or even have their face visible) is pretty low.
+ If you're not comfortable and natural-looking in front of the camera and we shoot candidly, you will look uncomfortable and awkward in the photos.
+ I have a fun relaxed style and can usually get photos where people look happy and natural even in a posed large group photo.
Long story short, if you don't like what you see on my website, don't book me.
how do we book?
If and when you are ready to book, you can pick a date/time, pay your refundable $100 deposit and sign my electronic contract via this link.
Notes;
+ The $100 deposit is 100% refundable should you cancel for any reason as long as you give me 24 hours notice.
+ The above scheduling link will only show 1 hour appointments but I'm happy to shoot longer and we can adjust the timing at any stage).