Engagement Sessions

I have an engagement session to shoot tomorrow (weather pending of course) and I am really looking forward to it. We will be shooting around sunset to hopefully get some really great pictures of the future bride and groom just hanging out on a Sunday. Congratulations to Melissa and Teddy on their engagement.

These sessions benefit both the client and myself in many ways and I really think the engagement session photos add to the story of the wedding. For one, these images are going to look nothing like the wedding photos. They are natural, not posed and he bride and groom are not in costume. We also do not have the time constraints of the hectic wedding day and if the weather doesn't cooperate, we can always reschedule. I always urge the client to book the engagement session well in advance of the wedding just so weather and scheduling does not become an issue with either of us. The last thing anyone wants is to have the stress of wedding plans visible on their face while in these photos. That may actually tell a different story.

These sessions allow the client to get to know me a little better and visa versa. I walk away feeling even more comfortable that I know what the client is looking for.

I always love to present the clients with their engagement photos in person, just as I do for the wedding photos. When I did my first engagement session almost 4 years ago, I presented the client with their photos and they were floored. It was a great feeling. Their wedding was not for another 8 months at this time. After they left to go home, I felt that something was missing. OK, they got their photos and now they get to go home a look at them. Great, now what? I thought about it that evening and came up with the idea of displaying the photos at the wedding reception for all to see as a surprise to the couple. I did not charge them additional for this of course. I decided to assemble a poster-sized collage that I could display in a large frame just outside the entrance to the wedding reception ball room.  I quickly realized I was going to need a very large professional and elegant wedding-style frame with a nice easel and a picture light because most of these places are very dark. Oh, and the picture light had to be battery powered so no wires. What was I getting myself into. By the time I was done spending money, I don't think I actually made much on the wedding. It's all good though.

When we arrived at the wedding reception venue, my assistant and I unloaded all the equipment and as we were bringing the frame into the lobby, the maître d’ approached us and asked if he could help with placing the picture in a safe spot. It was perfectly placed outside the entrance doors to the reception ball room while safely out of the way of harm. Everyone that entered the room saw the collage as they entered the room and most stopped and looked. I was fortunate enough to catch some really nice comments about the collage. It truly was an appropriate presentation for the wedding. The bride and groom saw the collage when they arrived at the reception and I received big hugs for the surprise. Oh, and I also got a ton of requests for my business card. My assistant handed out over 100 cards.

The client gets to take the collage home while I keep the frame and easel. I always include this display when a client books an engagement session with their wedding package.  It is a huge hit for both the client and myself. It makes me feel pretty good too while I have to walk past it a few times during the event.

If you are getting married anytime soon or thinking about it, ask your photographer about an engagement session. It is the Icing on the Cake!

If you would like to check out some more engagement photos, click right here.

My Gear

I have been meaning to post an article about what equipment I use when I shoot a wedding, so I actually created a page to my blog that shows just that. I feel it is important to let the clients know what equipment I will be using to shoot their event. Some may not worry about that stuff, unless if they were photographers themselves, but it speaks to the integrity when you have this information available for all to see.

You can see my new page right here.

Photoshop Is Fun!

Photoshop is truly an incredible tool. There is some controversy as to how much it should be used in professional photography. I personally like to play with it a lot to stay sharp with it. If I do include an altered photo with the final images from a shoot, I usually include the original just in case the client doesn't take to well to it. I will often times create some really contrast-rich photos such as a color and black and white mix, or use it to soften skin or whiten eyes and teeth on a close up portrait shot. But the true magic lies in the effort where the client (or anyone else for that matter) doesn't even know you altered the photo.

Photoshop has really saved my butt a couple of times and has turned some OK pictures into some really great images. This is not something I rely on in my photography. I always try to get every image in camera, but sometimes reality is just not good enough.  Take this image for instance. How much better does this look without that bed in the way. It was just not possible for me to move the bed this far out of the way, because it was already up against the wall. Let's face it, it was a nice idea, but that bed was ruining the shot. So I played around in photoshop and came up with something that I thought looked good and the client didn't even notice until I showed them the original. The bride was very happy that I took the time to create this shot.
 
This next image was fun. The couple really wanted a cool shot of them through the window from outside looking in. This is a nice picture to have and I try to include it whenever I can. Interesting enough, every time I went outside to snap a few frames, the couple were greeted by guests and really did not get good shot of the two of them. Well, the cake was right there in the window and so was this nice little statue of a bride and groom dancing and hugging. This could have easily been pulled of by simply asking the couple to dance a few steps in front of the window, but I don’t think a posed shot would have ended up looking that nice. Instead, I found a nice picture of the bride and groom dancing….on the dance floor and pulled this off.


Gotta go for now, my daughter is waking up and needs her Daddy.

Pricing Page Updated

Same look....more information. I have recently updated my pricing page with the goal in mind to offer more to my clients for their money spent without sacrificing quality. I am proud to say that my packages are packed with products and services that are truly fulfilling.

I have always been into photography, but I got into shooting weddings when I realized there is a chance to tell a story with the photos. There are too many studios out there making way too much money without giving the client much more than an album to walk away with (particularly my wedding, for example). I saw this as an opportunity to offer a quality product without taking advantage of my clients, but building a relationship so they will want to come back and that they were happy with what I provided.

I would have to say that the most fulfilling part of the job for me is presenting the client with their images (which I usually do with a personal meeting) and all of the products that I include with my packages. I always think to myself, what would I want with a wedding package that I didn't get with my own? I include enlarged prints with most of my wedding packages, so I also include frames with certain packages, and offer frames with all prints. I'm not talking about your basic wooden/plastic frames you find at Michaels (which are still nice). These are custom frames you will only find at a professional frame shop.

Albums are included with most of my packages, even the less expensive packages. This was a result of heavy research on my part of using the right vendors that offer different materials, yet still very high quality products. Most traditional wedding albums can cost several thousand dollars and are truly a work of art. But for someone who just can't afford to spend that much on a book, they can still get a professional-grade photo book with a leather cover with inscription so they are still walking away with a nice album.

The materials used in some of these products are getting more advanced. Less expensive doesn't always mean less quality. In some cases, it can be better quality, it is simply cheaper for the manufacturer to make it, and therefore I can purchase it for a lesser price and offer it to my clients for a lesser price. Some photographers out there are making more and more money by doing things cheaper in the studio and perhaps even raising their prices to really take advantage (hopefully not that many). And the fact is, some people do not even know the difference. They may even believe that the price tag is a direct reflection of the quality of the product.

Check out my new pricing page and if you do, leave me a comment and let me know what you think.

Thanks