We’re super excited to announce that we will NEVER again be designing a DVD again – haha, YES! DVDs took much too long to make, they were so fragile, and come on – who uses discs anymore? How much cooler are these things? When you order a hard copy of your Digital Negatives, or if you’re currently awaiting to get one – chances are that we’ve already got one of these bad boys with your name on it!

xoxo,
A&D

When we were getting married (exactly 4 years ago, last week!), Dara and I had no clue about anything when it came to hiring a photographer. Even though we had photographed two or three weddings ourselves – we were clueless.

No matter what your understanding is of what wedding photographers do, I promise you – you know more than we did. …aaaand you’ll know more after reading this…

We recently sat down and wrote out everything that you can expect from us. The whole process from booking to getting your wedding book – it’s all here, baby – and it only took us 4 years to get it to you!!

The Client Field Guide covers:

• Our Booking Process
• Your Engagement Shoot
• You Wedding Day
• Your Photos
• Your Digital Negatives
• Your Wedding Book

Booya.

PS: That shot is a teaser (for any who were wondering) of Jarrod and Val’s engagement shoot. We hope to post it soon.

PPS: Let us know what you think of the Guide by leaving a comment. Gracias.

If you wondered what our Wedding Books looked like, here’s a quick video we put together of the latest one we did for Jason & Alicia who got married at Elings Park, Santa Barbara:

The song is called “Unsingable Name” by Mike Doughty. This 10″x10″ wedding book was photographed and designed by us, and made by our friends over at KISS. Oh, and a big thanks to our little Aliyah for helping with the video

xoxo,
A&D

I was just looking through our current blog, and I realized that it only went back to 2008! It made me realize: people might not know how long we’ve been around. This is actually our 4th blog – haha! Yeah, we should have figured out how to carry over all the posts. But then again, some of that old stuff was pretty embarrassing!

Anyway, here is our old site, back when we were called “Curtishots” circa 2006-07:

If you want to laugh some more, check out the old site in full.

PEACE!

A

Hello beautiful clients of ours!

Quick Note: If you are a friend or family member and would like to purchase individual digital negatives, please read this tutorial. The tutorial below is for the Bride and Groom who have purchased their entire collection of digital negatives.

Here is a quick video walk through on how to download your digital negatives:

Quick Guide:

1. Go to your Online Gallery link and enter your password
2. Select a category, and open up a photo.
3. To download an entire category: Hover your mouse over the photo and select “Download Originals > All Available”
4. Enter your super secret secondary password
5. All of your Jpg files will be compressed into a Zip folder, which should open on any computer just fine.

Now you may be thinking, “What should I do with my files, and what am I allowed to do with them?” Read on…

Remember

• According to your contract, you have agreed not to share your digital files
• Do not post them on Facebook without watermarks, because Facebook’s privacy policy says that they own any photo that you upload! If you need them watermarked, we’d be happy to do that for you.
• Only get them printed at a quality photo service (not Costco).

Printing Permission

At some places, you may need a “permission slip” from us to print them, in which case: Copy and paste the following into a word document, put in your names, and hit print.

We have released the printing rights of these photos to YOUR NAME HERE.  If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us:

Austin & Dara Photography
333 W. Victoria St #B
Santa Barbara, CA 93101
(805) 679-1645

Did we forget something that would be helpful? Let us know!

WARNING: I am not a tax expert! Consult your tax professional before you listen to me . All of my research is in regards to California Sales Tax and photography specifically. Now that you can’t sue us, here is me, Austin trying to define the mysterious relationship between Wedding Photography and California Sales Tax.

The Big Deal: Sales Tax on groceries is no big deal, but when you’re talking about 8%+ Sales Tax on $5,000+ the game changes, big time. Whether you’re looking to hire a photographer or hire yourself out as one, I hope my research helps you out

The Confusion: Is photography subject to Sales Tax even though it is a service? I know photographers who charge Sales Tax on all goods and services they offer – just to be safe. On the other hand, I know photographers who only charge Sales Tax on the actual cost of the goods they sell. Assuming they all have CPAs, have a good work ethic, and live in the same state – What the heck is going on?

My Research: I went ahead and looked it up for myself on the official gov site: Tax Tips for Photographers and then called Kent, a California Sales Tax expert to discuss it further. What follows is my interpretation (not anyone else’s), so like I say – look into it yourself.

Is Wedding Photography subject to CA Sales Tax? The short answer is yes and no. Haha, yes – you MUST ready on!

There is no debate on physical goods. For example, all albums, wedding books, printed photos, and DVDs/CDs are subject to Sales Tax. Now, when it comes to Sales Tax on services, it gets a little tricky. Generally, services are not subject to Sales Tax. This makes sense since that labor is already being taxed through Income Tax. But in California, “Any labor and services involved in producing or fabricating the photograph” (Pg.1) is subject to Sales Tax. “However, if you transfer a photograph electronically and do not include any physical product in your sale, tax does not apply.” (Pg.7)

WAIT, WHAT!?

Yes, this is crazy: Unless the photographer and the client have agreed to transfer all images digitally, the entire sale is subject to Sales Tax. The entire sale includes the cost of the photographer’s time to photograph and edit the photos.

The Startling Truth

If you are a photographer in California and you plan on delivering an actual product, your time is subject to both Sales Tax and Income Tax.

“But isn’t sales tax good?”

“But Austin,” you may say, “sales taxes are good for the community! They go to good causes like repairing roads, and paying public school teachers.” Okay, this is a good point, but do you pay sales tax on anyone’s labor? The answer is no, and the reason is because they pay tax on their income already.

You only pay tax on actual goods. That is, unless you live in a state like California.

Bonus Question Time:

How should Wedding Photographers in California charge for Sales Tax?

Solution #1 Bite the bullet, twice: Some photographers include the sales tax into their sticker price. Unless you’re an x-European taxpayer, or don’t mind “raising” your prices, this does not sound right.

Solution #2 Too bad for the client:”The price we quoted you did not include tax, I’m sorry. Didn’t you see the fine print?” Ouch.

Solution #3 Go Hardcore: Avoid sales tax completely by providing services and digitally transferred files only. **UPDATE** There is no ordering
an album or a disk later without being responsible for the tax on everything! I found out this part by a photographer who was audited. There is no loophole!!! The sucky part? No packages and no product! Sorry!

Conclusion:

If you’re hiring a photographer: make sure you ask about Sales Tax and prepare for it. If you are a photographer in California, read this thoroughly, hire a CPA, a literary scholar, and possibly an interpreter. If you are a photographer outside of CA, do your research!

Again, ignore everything I just said and consult your neighborhood Tax Attorney and/or Accountant. Much love, Austin

Hey, this post is for those who may be a little confused by their Online Gallery. Believe it or not, ordering your photos from your site is actually incredibly easy!

Update: we recently created a similar tutorial on how to download your digital negatives.

Let’s do this!

Step #1. Go to the URL provided.  It should look something like this:

Step #2a. Click on an image you want to see.  Navigate until you find an image you’d like to order.

Step #2b. Once you’ve picked an image you like, hover over it to see the left menu item marked “Add to Cart”, or click the “Add to Cart” button on the top right of the page.

Step #3. From the pop-up page, you need to specify whether you want an actual print, or a digital file.

Printed photos will be mailed to you at whatever size you choose, and digital files will be available for download.

Step #4a. To order a print, choose from the options under “Prints” on the left.  Your choices are as follows:

• Best Fit: These are prints that would not need any cropping
• Small Prints, Medium, Large, Square, and Wide Prints: These are just different ways of viewing optional sizes.
• All Prints: These consist of all sizes available for order.

Our recommendation: Unless you need a specific size, choose from the “Best Fit” List.

Step #4b. After you know what size you want, click the + button to specify the amount of copies of that you want and either “Add and Go to Cart” or “Add and Continue Shopping”

Step #5. Ordering a digital file is a bit less complicated.  First, Click “All Digital Products” under the heading “Downloads”.

On the pop-up page, you will have 2 options as follows:

• Unlimited Online Usage: These are files that you can download to put on facebook, email to friends, and print at a very small size.
• Full Resolution Digital Files: These are the full sized Jpg files that you can print your self or bring to your local print shop.

Our recommendation: Choose the Full Resolution file because you can print it any size you want, OR shrink it down for the web.  We don’t recommend downloading both unless you’re really lazy or don’t want to bother resizing them to put them on the web.  Also, don’t go to a budget place like Costco to print your photos.  Spend a little extra, and get them printed with a real printer.

Simply click the box to the left of your chosen download and either “Add and Go to Cart” or “Add and Continue Shopping”

Step #6. To Checkout, Go to your Cart.  The link is on the top left of the page.  Once you’re there, you have the option of cropping your image, and/or framing it.  You can also verify everything you are ordering at this point.  Once you’re happy with your order, “Proceed to Checkout” and follow the directions

Booya – you are done!

Want to know how to download your digital negatives now?