Frequently Asked Questions

How do I book & pay you?

Please send an inquiry through the Contact Form above or send an email to hello@thejosephchoi.com. State the details of your request including the date, time, and location. I will follow up with you within 1-3 business days to discuss your request!

When you are ready to book, you will need to sign an Agreement Form and pay a non-refundable retainer.* The Agreement Form and invoice for the retainer will be sent to your email. An invoice is emailed by default, but you may also request in writing to pay via Venmo, Cash App, or Apple Pay Cash through iMessage.

*The payment amount for the retainer is dependant on your type of request.

Can you give me the raw photos / videos?

No. I do not share unedited photos or videos. I’m not trying to be mean; I swear! There are creative and technical reasons for this.

I’ve spent years studying, practicing, and honing my craft for photography and filmmaking and have developed a style for the content I create. I have an artist’s integrity to develop a final work that is true to myself and meaningful for the final viewer. Not everyone may like my style, and that’s perfectly normal! But I will not break who I am just to lazily toss you a bunch of unedited photos and videos, even if that’s what you want. That’s just not how this is done here. Please consider the visual style of my work beforehand to know if I would be a good fit for you!

Another thing to note here is that the average person seems to correlate raw as simply meaning “unedited.” This is not the case. RAW is an actual file format in which photos and videos are shot by professionals, and this RAW file format is not meant for final distribution to the end client. So this is not your typical iPhone photo that I simply just slap a filter on and send you. These RAW files are meant to be painstakingly processed, carefully color graded, and then converted into a final deliverable format such as JPEG or H.264/HEVC. Not to mention that RAW files are enormous in storage size! From a typical 2 hour portrait session to an 8 hour wedding day, I end up with hundreds of gigabytes (GB) if not well over a terabyte (1TB = 1000GB) of photos or videos!

If all of this technology nerd-speak is confusing you, here is a simple analogy to help you understand: imagine that I am a chef at a restaurant that serves steak. You come into my restaurant and instead of asking me for a delicious cooked steak, you unknowingly ask me to give you the whole entire raw cow while it’s still alive. I simply cannot do that. It’ll be a bad look to lug a cow out of my kitchen, and it’ll be a horrible experience for you as the end consumer to take that cow home in your Toyota Prius.

This is what it feels like when I get asked for all the unedited photos and videos I take. Just like the cow, the unedited content is not meant for final consumption. It has to be processed and served in a deliverable manner.

Do you travel?

Yes - I love traveling! Whether your project / wedding is taking place across state lines, international borders, or on a mountaintop, I am eager to help you! Please send me an inquiry through the Contact Form or send me an email to hello@thejosephchoi.com. We will coordinate the travel details closely together.