My Photosession Philosophy

So here's my take on wedding photography. I want you to have incredibly amazing images from your wedding day. Images that will make people gasp when they see them. On the other hand, you want to be able to remember and see and use all those amazing images throughout the rest of your life.

Here's how all of my wedding packages work:

• I feel that you should be able to see and use every photo from our sessions together. Consequently, you will receive a proof of each image I take on CD, which is usually a minimum of 75+ photos for a every hour I shoot. Consequently, a typical wedding package will include hundreds of images on CD.
• Also, when you book your wedding with me, I will create a unique custom website that will be yours throughout our sessions together. It will include the details of our sessions, as well as other helpful information.
• The session types you choose will dictate how long our session is together. Obviously, the longer our session, the more photos I take, the more photos you receive. Consequently, you can plan on our photosessions starting and ending promptly.
• After our session, I will develop all the photos in my digital darkroom and make general adjustments for color and contrast. You will then receive these proofs sized for printing up to 8x12 on CD for your own printing and archival purposes. Please note, however, that these images are proofs and will not be closely retouched (i.e. removing scratches and acne from faces, etc).
• Each package includes some high-res art print files and some printed enlargements. From the hundreds of digital negatives that you receive, you will be able to choose the ones that you would like in as art prints. All art prints will be carefully retouched in Photoshop. Please note that requests for extensive changes or editing to the photos (like swapping heads or replacing part of the image, etc.) may incur an additional fee.
• From there, your images will be posted into an secured online gallery for 4 months if you would like to order any additional albums or art print enlargements. All of my art prints receive my close attention and are carefully retouched, providing you with a high quality work of art from our photosession. All of my art prints are mounted.
• All wedding packages require a $400 non-refundable retainer to reserve your date when you book. The balance of your package needs to be paid no later than 7 days before your reserved wedding date.
• Please note that with all wedding packages, there is no travel charge for weddings from Bountiful to Payson. Other locations outside this area may incur a travel fee. This surcharge will be added to your package total. There will also be a surcharge for special locations, like Thanksgiving Point and Castle Theater.

Note: Prices are subject to change without warning. You secure your pricing when you book your session.

About Nichole

Based in Utah County, Nichole Van specializes in turning everyday life into art. Nichole loves expressing the unique beauty of every client, creating artistic images that make people gasp when they see them.

Notably, Nichole won International 8x10 Portrait of the Year from Wedding and Portrait Photographers International (WPPI) for 2007. She has taken first, second, and third place honors from WPPI in several of their international print competitions and has won over 30 international accolades for her photography. Nichole was honored in January 2011 as a top ten finalist in Professional Photographers of America's (PPA) International Grand Imaging Awards in the wedding category.

Additionally, her work was profiled on the cover of Rangefinder magazine in August 2009, along with a feature article about her unique style of photography. Also, she was again profiled in a feature article in Professional Photographer magazine in March 2010. She has also been featured in numerous local and online publications. Nichole provides instruction to other professional photographers and has presented classes at WPPI's international convention, as well as IPPA. Nichole currently holds an Accolade of Photographic Mastery from WPPI.

Proofs Versus Art Print Files

People often ask about the difference between my proofs and art print files. For starters, as a skilled photographer, my images out of camera are 99% where they need to be. Most of the magic of my images happens in-camera, not on a computer. That being said, I shoot in a digital negative format that has to be developed before it can be printed. When I "develop" my images and create printable proofs, I usually don't make many changes. I just give a general boost to color and contrast. From there, when I create an art print, I will clean up any little problem areas with the file (i.e. scratches on faces or stray grass, etc.). Then I will do a detailed edit of the file, perhaps adding a texture or doing vintage toning. In the end, the difference between the proof and art print edit of the same file can be very subtle. There is a difference, but generally the difference isn't all that dramatic. On occasion, an image will shift more noticeably for a variety of reasons, but that is rare. If you wonder how much your images will shift, please just ask me. I can tell even as I'm taking the photo how different the proof will be from the final art print edit.