Frequently Asked Questions

Why Swope’s Mountain Photography...

1. We’re full time, full service portrait, event & wedding photographers dedicated to our clients.

2. We love what we do! We’re fun. We’re nice. We’re happy to be with you.

3. We stay on top of cutting edge trends & techniques. We study our craft.

4. We’re enthusiastic. We think every wedding or portrait is our chance to do our best work ever.

5. We’re trained in classic portraiture. We know how to make you look your best.

6. We combine that classic portraiture with fine art & action packed candid photographs to tell the whole story, whether it’s a family portrait, an intimate elopement or grand destination wedding.

7. You can build your own portrait or wedding photography package with our very flexible ala carte menu. Get exactly what you want & get a discount too. It’s all about you.

8. We have a toll free number. Just call when you have a question.

9.  We provide online proofs. Show your special photographs to anyone, anywhere, anytime. And they can order without involving you.

10. We love Photoshop! We’ll take a few of your images & add special effects like cool borders, textures,  black & whites with accent colors or a watercolor wash. Your photographs will be unique.

11. Complimentary retouching is included on all your reprint & album orders. Got a blemish?  No problem. It’s gone.

12. We’re team players, helpful to you, your guests & the other wedding vendors.

13. We take customer service seriously. Our goal is great photography & great customer service.

14.  We put everyone at ease with big smiles & fast, fun photography.

15. With a combined 40 years as photographers we can shoot through anything. Nothing ruffles our feathers. We’ll get the job done. And we’ll be smiling.

16. Did we say we were nice?

17. We know Jackson Hole, Grand Teton & Yellowstone National Parks & their secret spots. We can take you to locations that maximize every season & highlight your destination wedding or portrait.

18. We bring the finest Nikon cameras & lenses & plenty of them, for superb color & amazing clarity. Your photographs will be vibrant & exciting.

19. Our passion for creating legendary photography means this… we will exceed your expectations.

Our Wedding Pricing…

To see our full pricing structure, go to the  FEES page. We offer a very flexible pricing structure. For weddings you begin by picking a base package that includes all of our time and image creation.  All packages include  online proofs with a convenient shopping cart for super easy ordering.  Larger packages include items like proof magazines and CD slide shows. Then feel free to add albums, enlargements and lots more from our ala carte list. All items added to your base package from the ala carte list before the wedding receive a 20% discount.  This gives you package pricing and allows you to create your own custom package. So you get exactly what you want and special pricing too! Portrait pricing can be found from the FEES page as well.

 

Photojournalism versus Formals...

As your photographer, our approach to wedding photography is a blend of photojournalism, fine art and a few classic poses.   The photojournalist seeks out candid moments, photographing the unaltered moment in time, telling the story with photographs.  Given the time to just watch and wait, we love to work this way. 

Wedding formals are the posed photographs of the bride and groom with their families and together as a couple.  These photographs take time and are usually done immediately after the wedding.  They can be done before the wedding if the couple doesn’t mind seeing each other before the ceremony. Either way, we will work from a checklist of group poses that the couple will give us.  This allows us to be organized, prepared and work quickly through your list.  One of our favorite things is what we call your “wedding day portrait”.  It’s a time apart from your family & guests when we can photograph just the two of you together on your wedding day. You will find this photo session to be fun, intimate and relaxing in the middle of an intense day! Again, we approach this more candidly than posed.

 

Black & White Photos…

Typically we present about 20% of your proofs in black and white and sepia (brown) tone.  We can do any percentage that fulfills your vision. And we may choose a few BWs to ”handcolor” with splashes  of color. As your photographers, we have the skills and tools to make your vision a reality! Jackson Hole is beautiful in black and white or color!

 

Purchasing Your Digital Files…

After 25 years of shooting film, Swope’s Mountain Photography made the switch to digital photography. So there are no negatives. Instead, we will have digital files of your images. We’ll have 3 stored sets of your wedding images. Each set will be an identical copy of the original, tripling the safety of your precious photographs. 

You may purchase a set of these high resolution digital images on DVD.  These are  unretouched files. For weddings you may pre-purchase your DVD at a price determined by which base package you are purchasing. That pricing can be found here. For portraits, events, or after the wedding the DVD ranges in price from $300 to $1500 and is determined by the specifics of your sitting or event. Individual files may also be purchased easily and safely from our secure shopping cart site.

 

Best Light / Best Time of Day for Outdoor Events…

The Teton Mountain Range makes a stunning backdrop for any event. The mountains are beautifully front-lit in the morning, making them sharp and clear.  In the late afternoon the sun moves around to eventually set behind the Tetons, making them back-lit and hazy and not nearly as detailed or photogenic.  These Wyoming mountains are also notorious for creating late afternoon thundershowers in June & July. The light in the shade is lovely and flattering any time of day. Strong, warm light comes at sunrise and sunset, offering different opportunities.

 

More Wedding Details...

Click here to see a  proof catalog . Most packages include one for you. It is an 8 1/2 x 11 bound album with 16 of your photographs printed on each page. The album contains all the edited proofs from your wedding. Edited means we’ve thrown out all photographs in which someone blinked or threw a hand in front of their face, or any other unflattering stuff (like Uncle Ernie with cocktail sauce on his face). All the rest of the amazing, wonderful photographs are printed in the album, with a proof number under each for convenient reference and ordering. Because it comes in a box and has a handsome hard cover, it is easy to carry around and show the entire story of your wedding to family and friends. Approximate delivery time is 5 weeks.

Samples of online wedding proofs for viewing and ordering may be seen at www.orderpics.swopephoto.com. See current Jackson Hole weddings there now! Approximate time to get your proofs online is 4 weeks.

Extra time may be added to packages at $200 per 1/2 hour. Think of all the extra images we can shoot!

A $25 travel fee is added to weddings in Grand Teton National Park & varies for other out of town locations. 

A 50% retainer is required to book your wedding date.  100% of your total package price must be paid three weeks before the wedding.

We accept VISA, MasterCard, Discover, American Express, PayPal, checks and cash.

All copyrights and reproduction rights are retained by Swope’s Mountain Photography.  Unauthorized reproduction is prohibited by Federal Copyright law.

Still have questions?   Ready to see if we are available for your wedding or portrait?

 Call toll free 1-877-838-FOTO  or email us at swope@swopephoto.com.

We’re here to help!

Portrait, Wedding & Event Photography

Jackson Hole, Wyoming

Fine photography that’s fun!

 

We want to be your Jackson Hole photographer.