FAQ
What types of photography do you specialize in?
We specialize in a blend of documentary and editorial storytelling for weddings, elopements and couples, captured in digital, medium-format & 35mm film.
How do I book a session with you?
You can easily reach out via the contact form on our website or email us directly at info@shelbyfirman.com. Once we connect, we’ll discuss your vision, then send over all the details to get your session or event on the calendar!
Where are you based?
We're primarily based on the beautiful North Oregon Coast during Spring, Summer and Fall. In the winter we often bounce around Hawaii & California. We're always happy to travel! Whether it's a local session or a destination shoot, let's make it happen.
Do you travel for shoots?
Yes! We love traveling and capturing new locations. If you're planning a destination shoot or if you’re outside our local area, let’s chat about travel fees and scheduling. Often, we're open to waiving travel fees for special locations :)
What are your travel fees?
Our travel fees vary depending on the location. We offer free travel within a 2-hour drive from our home base in Seaside, Oregon. For destinations in a ~10-hour drive radius, travel fees typically factor in gas and modest lodging accommodations for 2 or 3 nights. For destinations that require flights, you can expect a typical travel fee to factor in airfare, car rental, and minimum 3 nights lodging (it is standard practice to be on the ground 48-hours prior to your date in case of flight delays). Some couples choose to book our travel accommodations on their own using miles or points, which is a great way to save on travel fees. Please remember that travel doesn't just cost $$... it also means we have to turn down other work for the days that we are traveling. Inquire for a travel fee quote.
What is the booking process like?
For weddings and elopement inquiries, we schedule a short video meeting to get to know each other! From there, we require a signed contract and retainer fee to secure your date. Once you're booked, we'll start planning for your engagement session or your big day. We also schedule a final meeting a month out from your date to finalize timeline and details. Check the Experience page for more.
What can I expect from a session with you?
We offer carefully crafted, cinematic creative direction, as well as unique locations and a comfortable experience in front of the camera. Together, we’ll create a unique, relaxed, and natural experience—whether it's posing, movement, location, concept—or just capturing you being yourself. Our goal is to tell your story through the lens and create images you’ll cherish forever.
Do you offer digital images or prints?
We provide high-quality digital images with full usage rights and unlimited downloads. If you want to bring your photos to life, we also offer luxury print options through our gallery.
How do I prepare for my session?
We provide all our clients with a Photo Shoot Guide and Wedding Playbook and help you through the entire process. These documents contain useful information about everything from outfits, posing & prompts, all the way to wedding timeline planning.
Can I see more of your work?
Absolutely! You can check out our portfolio galleries on our website, or follow us on Instagram @firmanfoto.co for ongoing updates and inspiration.
What’s your turnaround time for images?
We put a lot of love and care into your gallery. This process can take some time! For weddings & elopements, we deliver sneak peaks within one week, and full galleries in up to 10 weeks. For engagements, couple shoots, portraits, etc. we deliver your gallery in up to 6 weeks.
What cameras do you use?
We shoot digital, medium-format and 35mm film cameras for a full range of imagery. Check out our About page for a detailed gear list.
Do you do family shoots?
Absolutely! We don't post family sessions for little ones' privacy, but feel free to inquire and we'd be happy to provide a gallery link to showcase some of our work with families.
Do you shoot at Elk Flats?
No way, José! We prioritize our clients safety and will never put you in a dangerous situation. People have died at Elk Flats, and there's a reason it's known locally as the "Forbidden Cliffs"—it's sketchy.
Do you use AI?
We use AI as little as possible in our workflow. We pride ourselves on the fact that we provide a personalized, hand-crafted experience from inquiry all the way to gallery delivery. Any email or message is written by us. No chatbots. We cull, edit and color grade all of our photo shoots by hand. No AI culling or editing software. You will never see an AI-generated image in our galleries. We only use Lightroom's built-in AI retouch functionality, which does not require data center usage.
I'm confused about film. What do you deliver?
We absolutely love shooting on film. It provides a tactile, unique, nostalgic aesthetic that is impossible to mimic with digital. While digital is fast & efficient, film requires intention and thought, due to the limited number of frames. If film is included in your package, we shoot part of your session on our film cameras, send the film in to be developed and scanned, and deliver the high-res digital scans to you in your gallery. For weddings & elopements, we also ship your film negatives to you to keep!
Can I see some full wedding galleries?
We're happy to send you highlight galleries from our weddings so you can get a better sense of our work and coverage at a wedding. However, we never send full galleries out of respect for our clients. Many of these galleries include children—something that we never publish publicly. Think of it this way. If you book with us, you can rest assured that we will never share your full gallery, either!
Do you shoot video?
We no longer offer video capture, as we prefer to focus on capturing the best photography possible. We do partner regularly with videographers (both digital and Super 8!), so if you'd like to add video to your package, we can arrange for that. Alternatively, we can provide referrals to videographers so you can reach out directly.
Can we split our coverage through the day?
Typically, no. Once your coverage begins, it continues until the hours are up. Occasionally, exceptions are made—please inquire about your situation, as we consider these requests on a case-by-case basis. Our full day wedding package is typically plenty of time to capture everything, but if you'd like to incorporate a rehearsal dinner the day before, or an early morning activity—our day + half package (12hrs) will be enough to cover that extra time.
Can we convert our complimentary engagement session to more hours on our wedding day?
Unfortunately, no. We only offer complimentary engagement shoots for our day + half packages. Whether you want to use that complementary service or not is up to you. To add additional hours to your wedding day, we recommend upgrading to the next package, or contact us for a quote to add additional time.
How do you back up your files?
We use a redundant file backup system that keeps our files on multiple hard drives, SD cards, and cloud storage until your gallery is delivered, ensuring multiple backups for worst-case scenarios like a hard-drive failure or corruption.
Do you shoot LDS weddings?
Yes! We are not LDS members, but we have shot LDS weddings before and have experience working at LDS temples. We approach each wedding, and their respective religions, traditions and customs with respect, and we welcome people of all faiths.
What's the difference between editorial and documentary photography?
For us, this really boils down to how much we are interacting and directing you throughout your wedding day or photo shoot. A "documentary" style usually means more candid, authentic moments captured throughout a wedding day. The hugs, laughs, tears, small adjustments to a dress or a suit... and ultimately, little direction from us. We're standing back, taking everything in, and finding those little moments. Whearas a more "editorial" style usually means that we're interacting with you, giving you prompts or posing you directly. This is typically captured during something like bridals portraits. We aim for a blend of both, meaning that you can be present and enjoy your day, while still getting those "frame-able" shots from the parts of the day requiring more structured portraits.
Can you send me the RAW files for me to edit?
Absolutely not. The technique, love, and care that we put into our culling, editing, and gallery curation is as much a part of our signature style as the composition of the raw photos themselves.