Orange County Wedding Photographer

Duration: Approx. 30-60 min.

Duration Approx. 5 min. 

Duration:  Approx. 1-2 hours.

Schedule: Phone call 1 month before your wedding.

It's GO TIME

1-2 weeks after your wedding day

I photographed my first wedding in 1999. Christopher Todd Studios was established officially in 2000. I have been a professional photographer ever since. Time flies when you're having fun!

When you book Christopher Todd Studios you will get me and a 2nd photographer from my team to photograph your wedding. Unless specifically decided between us before booking.

10-15 weddings per year. We are a boutique studio, our focus is primarily on maintaining creative inspiration and great client service. 

This depends on the package you choose, how many locations, and the duration of the wedding day. A typical one-location wedding requires 7-8 hours of coverage. I can help you determine how much coverage you need to cover all the important parts of your wedding day during a consultation call. 

Yes, because that gap will be filled with photography. My coverage starts with the first photograph and ends with the last one taken. 

Absolutely, at Christopher Todd Studios we generally work in photography teams to never miss a moment. I typically have a second photographer depending on the package you choose. If you are looking for 3 photographers we can discuss this during the consultation call. It is not typical to have more than 2 photographers at a wedding. 

There is a good chance we have. If not we would be happy to schedule a walk-through with you or your wedding planner to view the property before the wedding.

We understand it’s a big day, and we don’t mind if friends and family want to take pictures. We do ask they refrain during certain times. In the past, we have had couples with overzealous photographers in their families who have ruined amazing moments. We request to not have friends and family swarm around us while we are taking group shots. It distracts the people in the group, which leads to people looking in different directions for the final image. We also request that friends and family don’t accompany us on our bride and groom session, to maintain the intimacy, and prevent distraction during the session.

Please let us take a short break to refuel our bodies. We don’t need to have seats in the reception, but it would be most appreciated to give us a little time to have a quick meal and rehydrate before getting into the swing of the party. Dinner is typically the best time for a break since pictures of people eating are never very popular. If you're planning on doing table shots, be sure to let us know so we can be prepared to meet your needs.

Let's hope this one never happens, but if I, Christopher Todd were to become ill or incapacitated before your wedding, I would provide a colleague with equal experience to photograph your wedding. We have been shooting weddings since 1999, and have many connections and good relationships with other photographers, as well as an inner circle of very talented local photographers who have formed an emergency group to help one another if necessary. I have helped a couple of friends when their children were born in the past. I have not yet called upon these services in 18 plus years and 500+ weddings. Knock on wood.

Absolutely. Digital files are included with all wedding packages. All digital files are color-corrected and delivered in a high resolution (12x18 @ 300DPI) without a watermark or studio logos via FTP download.

Absolutely. Love is love. We are all about capturing anyone's love story.

I like to have fun! I also love the outdoors. When I'm not shooting a wedding you might find me surfing with my kids, planning a trip, or having dinner with my family. My home is a little chaotic at times with my wife, 2 children, and 3 dogs. My dogs usually decide to bark when I get on a phone call.  Don't say I didn't warn you.

Definitely. I strongly encourage it. Engagement sessions are the best way to get to know each other. It gives us some insight into the best approach to work with you, along with having a great time and making some amazing images.

No, I don’t just photograph weddings. Christopher Todd Studios is a full-service photography studio. I offer family portraits, engagement sessions, and special event coverage. Including, weddings, corporate, and private events. I also specialize in branding photography and corporate headshots. 

My photographic style is multifaceted, but I can best describe it as photojournalistic and spontaneous. I look for the moments when your personality and emotions are visible. If these moments don't happen naturally we will create them and guide you through the process. My goal is to document your wedding day and deliver portraits that show your connection with your husband/wife, and your love and bond with family and friends. In the end, every couple walks away with timeless photos.

Absolutely. Natural light can be amazing, and if it is I'll be using it at your wedding. The term natural light photographer is often used as a marketing buzzword by photographers who don't understand how to work with flash equipment.  It's code for "I'm not comfortable working with a flash".

Most of the images we create for you will be with natural light, as long as the natural light is flattering. In the instance that the natural light is terrible, we typically add light or take away light to make you look amazing. We are also very skilled at finding great natural light in places you might not notice.

Only for family grouping. However, it is always useful to know which important friends/ relatives are attending, or important details.

Working from a checklist compromises our ability to capture great moments. The work you’ve seen on our website due to its candid nature requires patience and anticipation.

It is extremely important to take the time to go over the photography details a couple of weeks prior to the wedding date to communicate exactly what you're looking for when working with us.

Yes at every wedding. Sometimes families get spread out over the country or world. Almost every couple asks me to take portraits of close family and friends.

I hear this often from clients. The answer is yes I can make you look good in your photo. I believe when you are guided and coached properly throughout your session the photos come out great. We want your photo session to be stress-free and relaxing. That is why we offer portrait tips, including the best backdrop option, posing tips such as body language, and whether you should have a natural smile, a slight smile, or a genuine smile. 

Yes, I can. I typically photograph a few weddings like this every year because I am good at low-light wedding photography. The key to shooting in low light is understanding off-camera lighting techniques and having the best professional gear.

This is typically the environment that less experienced photographers tend to rely on luck rather than knowledge.

Definitely! Rest assured we bring a minimum of 3 cameras, 5 or more lenses, multiple flashes, extra batteries, and 200+ gigs of memory cards to each wedding. If a piece of our equipment goes down during a wedding we will have a replacement on hand.

We work with Sony Mirrorless cameras, Canon 5D mark 4’s, and all professional (L-series) lenses. Canon flashes, and various light modifiers.

No, I do not provide RAW files. Think of it like a potato, you go to your favorite restaurant and order your favorite side order of fries. You love how they make them, they are unique and so tasty. You wouldn't ask the chef for one of his raw potatoes and go home and try to create the best fries ever. This is my simplified analogy of RAW files.  

We deliver images in the .jpg format. RAW files are giant computer-slaying beasts designed for image manipulation. Raw image files are also not a printable format, meaning your local photo lab, will not be able to make prints for you. Raw files require special computer software like Adobe Lightroom or Capture One to view and process.

In general, couples tend to hire me because they love my photographic style and the way I process their wedding images. 

Scroll down to the bottom of this page and click contact, or pick up the phone and call our studio at 949-771-9600. You can also email me at chris@christophertoddstudios.com

Once you decide on Christopher TODD you need to select a package, sign your contract, and pay a 50% retainer of your wedding package. The balance is due 1 month before your wedding date. Your wedding date is not secured until the retainer is received.

Our policy is first come first serve.  We only hold dates with a signed contract and retainer.

I have many options available to fit every budget. Wedding packages range from $3900-7000. Typically, I create custom packages for my couples, that fit their desires and budget. It is always best to give me a call at 949-771-9600 so I can get a feel for what you're looking for, and create the perfect package for you.

California state sales tax is collected for all jobs we photograph unless:

You are not a resident of California and have a valid out-of-state address. Or we are only providing you with digital files that are transferred to you via FTP over the internet,

We have an online gallery we upload images to with detailed instructions to download your images.

No, we collect 100% payment 30 days before your wedding.  The last thing I want to do is pester you to pay me when you should be in the moment at your wedding enjoying your friends and family, and I should be photographing it.

Yes, many locations require it, and we might already have a certificate of insurance on file with your wedding venue, saving you or your wedding coordinator an email.

It’s also important for anyone who is serious about their business to have insurance. Make sure your photographer has insurance.

Cash, check, ACH, Venmo, Zelle, or Credit Card. 

No. The retainer fee and all monies paid are non-refundable. Your retainer guarantees that we will hold the date exclusively for you and once you’ve signed the contract we will turn down all other commissions for that date.

Yes, I shoot a handful every year. I’ve shot weddings all over the West Coast, just about every Hawaiian island. Mexico to Alaska, and the Midwest. I love to travel and have vast experience working away from home, and all the extra details associated with destination weddings.

Above my normal photography rates, I require a roundtrip non-stop flight from a local airport (LAX. LONG BEACH, ORANGE COUNTY). A minimum of two-night accommodations at the same hotel with the bride and groom (3 nights for international), and a rental car when necessary.

Yes. Depending on your package an FTP download or USB thumb drive with all your high-resolution (12x18 @300 dpi) images from your wedding gallery is available.

We are contractually obligated to deliver your wedding images one month after your wedding, however, we try to have your digital files ready two weeks after your wedding day.

Because every wedding and family is so different, we do not promise a specific number of images from a wedding.

However, a typical 8-hour wedding will yield 800ish images. In the last 5 years the smallest wedding image delivery was approximately 500 images, and the largest delivery was approximately 1200 images.

No. Please trust that we are awesome at making the thousands of decisions needed to bring your wedding images from our camera to your wedding album.

Brides & Grooms often hire us for our editing quality and technique. Our goal is to always create a wedding gallery with the best possible photographs, that reflect your style and taste.

We are always open to dialog about your post-production preferences if you desire.

Your images will be put in an online gallery. You can use the gallery to view and share images with family and friends and purchase products.   Your web gallery will be available after we complete your wedding album planning meeting.

Your images are edited and color-corrected before they are presented in your web gallery.

Retouching is done on a per-image basis in Photoshop for any images that are ordered a la carte as prints or are selected to go into an album you have ordered through us.

We do not retouch every image we deliver from a wedding, but every image will be color corrected.

Your wedding images are family treasures and we treat them as such. All images are immediately copied from the memory cards to two separate hard drives after your wedding.

One drive is edited, color-corrected, and finished. Once completed, the finished images are copied onto the cloud for offsite archiving.

We typically keep finished wedding sets of images on our computers for 12 months.

We do not guarantee to back up your wedding files indefinitely. That said, we will definitely do our best to keep your images archived for years to come, but we strongly encourage all our clients to make their own backup copies of their images. 

Once you select the images for the book it takes 1-2 weeks to get a design online. After you approve the design and select your album color, cover image, and custom text it takes 2-3 weeks for your finished book to arrive.

Shortly after your wedding, we will re-connect via Zoom to select the images for your album.

We will go through your entire image set selecting the images that best tell your wedding story. We will then design you an incredible book like it was our own wedding.

Most albums typically range from 80-120 images. When our dream design is finished we will present it to you for approval before retouching or any printing.

Once you view your design you're free to make any design changes you like. After the design is completed we will retouch each photograph, and send the album into production.

For a couple of reasons. Our clients hire us not only for our experience planning, and photographing weddings but also for the high-quality products we deliver.

We have found that while some clients might have a knack for picking the best images, most don’t approach the image selection process with a wedding story approach.

Our experience in selecting images, that not only tell a story but also work well visually on each spread will yield a supreme design.

Directly through your personal web gallery.

About 7-10 days depending on our production schedule, and where you live.