FAQs
What are your general policies?
My pricing is based on the real cost of living and running a full-time photography business on a small Caribbean island. That said, I do offer discounts for select venues and coordinators I’ve worked with extensively, because familiarity with a property genuinely makes my job easier and the results better.
Preferred venues in Puerto Rico:
- Hacienda Siesta Alegre — a stunning Spanish Colonial estate in Rio Grande, nestled at the edge of El Yunque rainforest
- Hotel El Convento — a landmark boutique hotel in the heart of Old San Juan with centuries of history and architecture that photographs beautifully
- Condado Vanderbilt Hotel — San Juan’s most iconic oceanfront wedding venue, a five-star property with Spanish Revival grandeur
- Villa Montana Beach Resort — a secluded boutique resort on three miles of private beach in Isabela, on Puerto Rico’s northwest coast
When you reach out, let me know who your coordinator is and where you’re getting married. Discounts aren’t guaranteed, but there’s a good chance one applies.
What you receive and when
All digital images are delivered within 14 days of your wedding. In practice, most galleries are returned well within that window, often within 24 hours — but I’m a one-person operation on a small island with two kids, so the 14-day policy is the one I stand behind in writing. Exceptions for travel or unusual circumstances are available with written agreement from both parties.
All images are delivered digitally via an online gallery. No culling by committee — you get the full, edited take from the day.
Film add-ons
If you’ve chosen to include analog film coverage, a few additional notes apply:
Film turnaround depends on the lab, not me. Expect 7–10 business days of processing plus transit time in each direction. Digital scans are delivered once I receive the negatives back.
Optional gelatin silver prints and original negatives are available. Print and shipping costs are billed in the week following the wedding — typically $3–4 per roll for prints, plus actual shipping cost for negatives. Please note that prints from film include the full roll: the good frames, the great ones, and the occasional misfire. That’s part of what makes film, film.
Because film negatives are physical objects traveling through the mail, I ship them in the most secure way I can and I’ve never had a roll lost or damaged. That said, once a package leaves my hands it’s in the carrier’s, and I cannot be liable for shipper or lab errors. A brief waiver acknowledging this will be included with your contract.
Video timelines work a little differently
Because video editing is a collaborative process, the final product depends on feedback from both of us before it’s complete.
All video packages receive an initial draft within twelve weeks of your wedding. From there, we work through revisions together until you’re happy with the result — typically a couple of weeks after you confirm the creative direction. Hybrid photo-video packages are generally turned around faster.
A 50% retainer is due at booking and is non-refundable. This is standard practice across the industry — it protects both parties and ensures your date is held exclusively for you.
The remaining balance is due 30 days before the event. Full details on cancellations, additional hours, and other specifics are outlined in the contract at booking.
I hold onto RAW files and footage for as long as I possibly can. There are wedding drives in my studio going back to 2006. Redundant backups are maintained for one year after delivery, after which duplicate copies are pruned to manage drive space — so while I make every effort to retain RAW files long-term, one year is the only window I can officially guarantee. Your JPEGs are stored in cloud indefinitely.
Online galleries remain active as long as our proofing system is in place. If that ever changes, every client will be notified by email in advance.
Once your gallery is delivered, downloading and backing up your images is your responsibility. Please don’t treat your online gallery as your only copy.
If you worked with me before 2015, your images may still be in the archive and can be migrated to our current proofing system on request — just reach out.
Who are you and what's your experience?
My name is Elliott Anderson. I’ve been a photographer since 2006 and shooting weddings since 2007, when I assisted my first wedding in Portland, OR, where I grew up.
Late that year I joined Holland Studios in Northwest Portland, where I worked as a photographer and editor for two years before finishing my degree and transitioning into photo post-production. In 2012, my wife and I packed up and moved to Vieques, Puerto Rico, and I’ve been a full-time wedding photographer here ever since.
Over the past decade-plus, I’ve photographed well over 700 weddings across Vieques, the Puerto Rico main island, Culebra, St. John, St. Thomas, and beyond. My work spans the full range of what this region offers, from intimate elopements on Vieques’s secluded beaches to larger celebrations at venues across San Juan and the wider Caribbean. Editorial, commercial, and real estate work round out the rest of my schedule.
When I’m not shooting, I’m usually fly fishing, biking, or paddling. Or chasing epic light somewhere remote. I’m also a food geek, a father to two little boys, and husband to my wife, who happens to be a wedding coordinator right here on Vieques. You can find her at Green Eyed Girl Events.
What sort of Equipment do you use, film, etc.?
The longer I shoot, the more I realize that gear only matters to a point. Over the years I’ve worked with Nikon, Canon, Fujifilm, Sony, and Olympus systems, and the honest truth is that most modern cameras are capable of extraordinary images in the right hands.
My current digital kit is all Canon RF, with L-series glass throughout. That means up to 50 megapixels for stills and RAW video up to 8K when clients need it. All my editing and post-production runs on Apple. After 12-plus years living and working in a remote corner of the Caribbean, I’ve also become something of a camera technician by necessity. My gear is meticulously maintained and ready for whatever Vieques or any destination wedding throws at it: salt air, humidity, golden-hour light on the water, or a dark reception with no air conditioning.
On the film side, I gravitate toward Nikon and Contax bodies and film stocks like Kodak Portra, Ektar, and Fuji Professional. I develop and scan my own Black and White film, but color film is sent off to one of my favorite labs. If you’re interested in adding a film component to your Vieques wedding or elopement coverage, just ask.
