How many of you are or have been engaged?
Okay, now how many of you know/knew exactly which vendors you wanted at your wedding, where you wanted your wedding, and how make every idea come to life?
Continue reading “Make My Day Wedding Expo Recap”Mini Date Night Ideas
HOW OFTEN DO YOU AND YOUR HONEY HAVE DATE NIGHT?
Okay now how often do you think you should have date night?
If I was a betting woman, I would bet that those two answers are NOT the same.
For me, they sure aren’t.
Continue reading “Mini Date Night Ideas”Frequently UNasked Wedding Photography Questions
FREQUENTLY UNASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY
Typically when I’m working with a couple who’s planning a wedding, they are pretty new at wedding planning and are having to become experts on weddings as they go along. (Does that sound about right to you?) Most of the time, you are hiring a professional photographer for the first time, and generally just doing lots of stuff for the first time. So you spend a lot of time reading wedding magazines and wedding blogs and they all tell you to ask wedding photographers the same Frequently Asked Questions, right? But what about the stuff that you don’t know you should ask? That’s this page. These are the things I try to explain to people when we have wedding consultations, all the things you’re too overwhelmed to think about now, but will wonder later. And a couple of bonus fun questions too.
Continue reading “Frequently UNasked Wedding Photography Questions”Frequently Asked Questions About Wedding Photography
WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHER FAQS
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY.
The questions below are the ones all the major wedding blogs tell you to ask your potential wedding photographer. Some of them are informative, and some of them are lame, but I would be a sucky wedding photographer if I didn’t make sure they were answered for you. However, to really learn about wedding photography, be sure to visit my FUQ (Frequently Unasked Questions page. Those are the questions about wedding photography that I think are important for you to get answered, even though most people don’t know they should ask them.
WHAT PRIMARY PHOTOGRAPHIC STYLE DO YOU IDENTIFY WITH?
Making photos at your wedding requires me to be excellent at several styles of wedding photography. In a typical wedding day there will be times where I will need to work in a contemporary style, other times I will need to work in a photojournalism style. A wedding album isn’t complete without stunning portraiture, and Mom will kill you if we don’t get some traditional posed photos made. Generally, I consider myself a photography ninja. But if I have to label myself, I would say I’m a combination of documentary photography and contemporary portraiture.
WHAT DO YOUR WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY PACKAGES INCLUDE?
My wedding photography package includes up to 10 hours of shooting, a second shooter (so we don’t miss a moment), delivery of high resolution professionally edited digital files on an online gallery, with a personal use copyright release. Other available options are wedding albums, fine art photo prints, thank you cards, and gallery wraps.
DO YOU HAVE EXPERIENCE SHOOTING IN VARIOUS LIGHTING SITUATIONS?
Yes, I am very comfortable working in all types of lighting conditions. I can use available light (my favorite), or I have plenty of lights to create my own lighting (my other favorite).
IS YOUR MEDIA PREFERENCE FILM OR DIGITAL?
These days I work primarily in digital, and I love the magic the little gnomes in the cameras can do.
HOW MANY PHOTOGRAPHERS DO YOU WORK WITH?
My wedding package includes a second photographer so we don’t miss a moment! I work with a handful of local photographers, that I trust to capture the moment as I would, every time.
DO YOU GUARANTEE YOUR PRESENCE AT THE ACTUAL WEDDING?
Absolutely! I wouldn’t miss your wedding for anything! Not even a hurricane.
DO YOU HAVE INSURANCE?
Yes. Soooo many kinds. Many venues will refuse to allow me (or any wedding vendor) in the door without liability insurance. And most of them aren’t going to believe I’m your cousin/aunt/sister-with-a-camera either.
DO YOU SOMETIMES BOOK YOURSELF FOR MORE THAN ONE WEDDING IN A DAY? WEEKEND?
Two weddings in one day? No freakin’ way. Not a chance. My philosophy is never ever invite trouble. Two weddings in one weekend can sometimes be done under certain ideal circumstances, but I usually won’t do that either.
DO YOU HAVE A REPLACEMENT WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHER IN CASE YOU BECOME UNAVAILABLE ON THE DAY OF THE EVENT?
Yes, I have a network of experienced colleagues I can call upon, and I’m always making more friends. In this business, you can never have too many friends. Actually, I’m pretty sure that’s kind of true about life in general.
WHAT KIND OF EQUIPMENT DO YOU TYPICALLY BRING WITH YOU ON THE DAY-OF?
Equipment needs vary pretty wildly from one wedding to the next. But I always prepare (for everything in life) by packing way more stuff than I expect to need. And then when I think I have everything I could possibly need, I pack some more.
DO YOU BRING BACK-UP EQUIPMENT TO THE EVENT IN CASE OF MALFUNCTION?
Yes. Always. I’m a chronic over-packer. See above.
WHAT IS YOUR POLICY ON TAKING BREAKS? IF YOU REQUIRE A MEAL BREAK, DO YOU REQUIRE THAT WE PROVIDE YOUR MEAL?
If your wedding is longer than 5 hours, I do require a meal be reserved for the photographers. A wedding day starts early in the morning and usually ends late in the evening. If we don’t eat, we can’t be on top of our game to ensure we capture every moment. Besides, do you really want pictures of you and your guests chowing down?
DO YOU CHARGE FOR TRAVEL?
There are no additional travel fees for wedding travel occurring within 100 miles of Jacksonville, FL. If your venue is outside of the 100 mile radius, I charge the standard tax rate of $0.50 per mile.
HOW SOON AFTER OUR WEDDING WILL OUR photographs BE READY?
A sneak peak of pictures will hit your inbox within 24 hours of your wedding! A few weeks after that, usually 4 weeks, your photographs will be available via an online gallery.
DO YOU RETAIN THE COPYRIGHT FOR THE PHOTOS?
Yes, as your professional wedding photographer, I will retain copyright of all your wedding images, however I always provide an official copyright release for you allowing unlimited personal use and printing of your wedding photos. Since copyright stuff is pretty serious and dull, I can’t really make any good jokes about it. Bummer.
DO YOU RESERVE THE RIGHT TO PUBLISH THE PHOTOS?
I prefer to; however, this is negotiable. I respect your privacy and I will never insist on retaining any right to publish photos of you. But I hope you’ll agree that your photos are amazing enough to share!
DO YOU PROVIDE THE DIGITAL FILES AND/OR NEGATIVES (OR COPIES OF THE NEGATIVES) TO THE CLIENT?
Your wedding photography package includes a flash drive with processed and print ready jpeg files, along with a personal use release so you can print your photos and/or use them on all your favorite social networks, like FaceSpace and Flutter and stuff.
WILL OUR IMAGES BE AVAILABLE FOR VIEWING ONLINE?
Yes. First I’ll make a super awesome blog post about your amazing wedding day. And you will have an online gallery to review your photos and share with family and friends, and also allow everyone to purchase prints or digital copies for their own use, saving you the work of distributing the photos.
WHAT KIND OF WEDDING ALBUMS DO YOU OFFER?
I’m so glad you asked about wedding albums, because I’m not just a shoot and burn wedding photographer. We love to see your photos come to life, and we have several wedding album options for you to choose from. All of my wedding albums are lay-flat style. Wedding albums and parent albums are leather or fabric bound. But you have to see them and touch them to truly understand how amazing they are, so email me now and let’s go have coffee so you can see them!
WHEN WILL WE GET OUR WEDDING ALBUM?
Wedding albums are ordered immediately upon your final approval and generally arrive 2-4 months after that. Because our wedding albums are hand made, the amount of time to complete them can vary, but it’s sooooo worth the wait!
Hey! You made it to the bottom of the page! Congratulations to you. That was some boring stuff. But if you’ve stuck around this long, I think you really should email me about your wedding photography. I bet we will have a great chat.
Wedding Morning Gifts for the Groom
Today I am focused on the guys. Wedding days are often see as the brides biggest day, but the guy deserves some love too. So here are my top ideas for wedding morning gifts for the groom!
An unofficial gift exchange on the morning of the wedding between the bride and groom can be fun. It doesn’t have to be an expensive gift – a keepsake token or something meaningful works just as well to give your groom.
I see so many amazing photo opportunities arise during gift opening, so make sure the we are around to capture the emotion of the morning.
You shouldn’t have much trouble finding the right gift for your groom because there is a schwack of options online. Here’s my curated list of favorite groom gifts including:
- Tech gadgets
- Grooming accessories
- Thoughtful gifts
- Gifts for the Home
- Gifts for sports enthusiasts
