lindsey + kyle are married!
October 4, 2008 | Filed Under weddings | Leave a Comment
I photographed Lindsey and Kyle’s wedding a couple weeks ago. Lindsey had such gorgeous details! Here are a few of the faves…
See, awesome details!
I thought this little note the bride’s sister left was so cute!
Sexy shoes!
Getting ready…
The girls.
And finally Mr. and Mrs.!
The gorgeous rings.
welcome averi claire!
October 3, 2008 | Filed Under family, newborns | Leave a Comment
Congrats to my friends Scott and Val who welcomed little Averi into the world yesterday! She is soooo cute and looks JUST like her momma! Seriously, I can’t believe how much she looks like her momma.
quote of the week.
October 1, 2008 | Filed Under Uncategorized | 1 Comment
“The digital camera is a great invention because it allows us to reminisce. Instantly.”
~Demetri Martin
more wedding day tips.
September 26, 2008 | Filed Under photography, tips | Leave a Comment
More wedding day tips just for you!
Formals, Tips to Make Them Quick!
By: Corey Ann
One problem I seem to run into again and again is that formals are taking a lot longer than the bride and groom budgeted time for and it is leaving less FUN time to play with me outside of the church. Most of you have booked me for my photojournalistic approach to your day and not for the posed shots that your Mom and Dad had when they got married. So, when your time gets cut short and we can’t play as much, I feel that you haven’t got what you paid for from me and you are sad at the end of the day because you didn’t get as many pics as you had hoped. Keep in mind that I do everything I can to get through the formals and to our play time - but without help from the bride and groom I can’t always guarantee that we can do it without arriving later at your reception than planned. So below are some tips from me to make sure we get our time together!
1. Add 30 minutes at least to the time you THINK it will take for pictures! Most brides and grooms think an hour after the ceremony ends is sufficient time to take pictures. However, most fail to realize that even with a grand exit, people never leave as quickly from the ceremony venue as you think they will. People get to chatting with friends and families and time goes by and you are still waiting for them to leave. Also, if you are doing a recieving line, that takes a LOT longer than you expect it will. I don’t think I’ve had a bride yet turn to me and say “gosh that went quick!.” Same thing with the formals before the ceremony, someone is always running late, someone didn’t get the right tux etc. You will be thankful for that half hour buffer!
2. Know your bustle! Another huge time consumer is the bustle. Practice it in the store at least twice and practice it again the day before or the day of so things run smoothly. Have at least two people that know how to do it incase one person is too busy when you want bustled. You may think it isn’t such a big deal now but that is probably one of the biggest time munchers!
3. Let Family Know Who is in the Pictures! Make sure that everyone knows before the big day if they are wanted or expected for formal pictures and when they are needed. This includes the bridesmaids and groomsman. Make sure if it is before, that everyone knows what time they have to show up READY by and if after, that they need to stay and not leave with the crowds. Most often grandparents leave because they didn’t count themselves as “immediate family” and then you have a shot at the reception with them but it’s not quite the same. So make sure EVERYONE knows that they are wanted.
4. End Pre Ceremony Formals 30 Minutes Before Arrival Time! Another huge time sucker is when guests start to arrive as we are taking our formals before the ceremony starts. It’s a temptation to talk to you, congratulate you and then start wanting pictures with you, their family and their friends. I am more than willing to take them - but each one of those shots you hadn’t planned on because Aunt Betsy wasn’t supposed to be there until an hour later will eat into your time you had set aside for pictures with your friends. If you say yes to their request for a picture, I cannot say no.
5. Have a Plan of Action! Going along with number 3 - have a plan of action of the set up of pictures that you want. I do not accept shot lists (the ring, the ring in my hand, the ring in his hand, him picking up the ring type lists) but what I do like are the lists that let me know the groupings that you want. Me and the bridesmaids, me and my parents type list. This then lets me know ahead of time where we need to start and how things need to roll. I will come up with how to pose you, but if I am already able to know that I need your family and the family dog, I will be that much ahead of the game making things run that much smoother.
6. Just Me… I really hate to say this, but I’m going to have to say it. To ensure that not only your formal pictures go fast but that also they are quality shots I do need to ask that you ask your friends and family to hold back their urge to take pictures alongside of me. Not only does this take extra time from your formals by having to wait on up to 20 people to take their shot of the pose (no kidding, it’s happened many times to me and other photographer friends) but the other problem is that almost 100% of the time when there are other people taking pictures I do not have all eyes looking at me for the pose. I can tell everyone to look at me but naturally you are going to most likely look at your camera, your best friend etc. than me - a virtual stranger. If this request makes your friends and family upset, I do at least ask that they wait until I am finished taking my shot. When they are shooting at the same time I am, their flashes can ruin my shot when my flash goes off at the same time making everyone ghost people.
7. Start Big, Go Small. My main goal is to whittle down the people staying afterwards for formals by taking the largest group shots first and allowing those people to leave as I work through the group. This way your guests can head on to the reception and it is less people to slow down the process. So make sure everyone knows that they’ll be staying for shots but they will be free to leave as soon as they are over so to plan carpooling accordingly. My goal is to end with just the group going out and taking the fun shots afterwards so if the bridal party is going with, let them know that they will be last for the formals in the church.
8. Ask the Expert! When you are drawing up your timeline for the day, feel free to call me, shoot me an email or whatnot to ask me how long you think you will need for formals. It all depends on your bridal party and family size for what I would suggest. Typically I say 1 hour for formals, 30-45 minutes for the fun shots (again depending on what you want).
Thanks for taking the time to read this and I hope that maybe this helps your day run a bit smoother and enables you to have time to enjoy your husband and have some fun times with me!!
lindsey + kyle | wedding teaser.
September 24, 2008 | Filed Under weddings | Leave a Comment
More coming soon!
Hope you two are enjoying yourselves on the beach!
quote of the week.
September 24, 2008 | Filed Under quotes | Leave a Comment
“Art is the tree of life. Science is the tree of death.”
-William Blake
quote of the week.
September 17, 2008 | Filed Under quotes | 1 Comment
“To see a world in a grain of sand
And a heaven in a wild flower,
Hold infinity in the palm of your hand
And eternity in an hour.”
-William Blake
print tips.
September 17, 2008 | Filed Under photography, tips | Leave a Comment
It’s been awhile since I posted any photography tips on my blog. I came across this article and had to share.
By: Corey Ann
Oftentimes I will read on bridal forums and blogs that “I can get that printed off the disc at Wal Mart for 57 cents. I am not paying my photographer $20 for the same thing! That is a rip off!” What many people do not understand is that Wal Mart and a true photo lab are two entire different animals. You will get what you paid for when you bargain hunt with photo labs. Today I hope to help you understand WHY your photographer charges more for prints from a lab and why Wal Mart can’t compare.
Wal Mart, Snapfish and all those other ‘bargain’ type photo labs have their place in the world. For the prints from your Mom’s birthday, snapshots of your kids making silly faces and the like. Sometimes the image is just something that you don’t mind if it isn’t perfect - you just want a hard copy of a moment or a memory that is special to you. That is all perfectly fine. I’m not here to tell you that Wal Mart and the other photo sites are evil and you should never use them.
One problem with the bargain photo sites is that the colors are often not true to what your photographer intended them to be seen. I had a good friend of mine recently use Snapfish for some prints of a picture for her daughter’s 2nd birthday and they all came back orange. Snapfish did reprint them and the same thing occured. They told her that it was an error in her image file and refused to comp her for the costs. I had the images reprinted with my lab and the colors were true to what was seen on the monitor. This happens more often than I can tell you. It can be due to various reasons, most often that the printers have not been calibrated recently and/or correctly.
Another issue with the bargain photo sites is that the actual ink and paper used is not the same quality of ink and paper that you will find being used at the professional labs. It may sound like a lot of mumbo jumbo geek photo talk but basically the higher quality of ink and paper you have, the longer your colors will remain true and the longer the image will last. Pictures aren’t forever. I have some images that I had printed off at Kodak online that are already fading and it hasn’t been much more than a year. When it’s just a simple snapshot it’s not that big of a deal if the color fades but you want your wedding images to remain true a lot longer than a year - especially when they are going to be displayed where sunlight will hit them. Most photography labs also can add a UV coating that will help prevent fading even more and oftentimes that cost is built into the price of your print.
Another problem with most bargain labs is that they do not offer anything beyond the standard color print in either matte or glossy. Professional labs will not only offer color, but true black and white prints (there is a difference!), metallic prints, pearl prints and so forth but offer just as many finishes as well including luster which is hard to find at most bargain stores. Choosing the right type of paper for your image is almost as important as choosing the right frame for the image. Sometimes, your image can come to life with the perfect finish and paper.
Finally there is the attention to detail. A bargain lab is pretty much computer run and then put into an envelope and let go to the customer. With professional labs, there is someone checking everything every step of the way to ensure that your print is exactly how you ordered it and that it is perfect when it finally touches your hands.
I hope that this helps clear up why photographers do charge more than Wal Mart when it comes to printing. I promise you, you aren’t getting a Wal Mart print with the end cost jacked up - there is a higher cost involved when using professional labs but the end result is so worth it. Most labs do not print to the public, but I do highly reccomend http://www.mpix.com which is a professional lab that does allow the public to print. It is the only lab I reccomend to my brides whom are planning to self-print.
my hubby, the fiddler.
September 16, 2008 | Filed Under personal | Leave a Comment
This was totally his idea, I just snapped the camera. I thought it was pretty funny though so I thought I’d share.
new links.
September 15, 2008 | Filed Under photography | 1 Comment
In case you haven’t noticed, I’ve added a new links page in the navigation bar up top. There is a list of other photographers for you to check out if I’m not in your area and you are in need of some pictures! Go check em out!