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We love to talk wedding talk.
12/31/12
12/26/12
Ask The Photographer
The Who, What, Where, When, Why, and How Much of Wedding Photography.
Who? should photograph your wedding? Let's face it, in this digital age, put a girl in a pretty dress, point and shoot and voila, you have wedding photography. Not so fast, if you're going to have a friend take your wedding pictures, make darn sure that friend is a wedding photographer. Enough said? I have some stories if you want to hear them?
What? to expect from your wedding photographer? Ask your photographer a gazillion questions and expect them to do the same. If a photographer can only talk about other weddings they've done, or show you their money shots (ask to see complete wedding galleries), chances are they'll be on a portfolio building mission on your wedding day. We don't over pose, because we are concentrating on telling a story through our lens. We want the photographs to show your personalities. We want each picture to be the one you look at over and over again.
Where? should we take pictures? Of course, we'll have ideas and scout out some surrounding photo ops, but remember we want to tell YOUR story, so you may need to think about the following when venue shopping. Drop ceilings, fluorescent, stage lighting, windowless rooms, direct sun, conference and sunday school rooms, do not picture perfect wedding photos make.
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| Making the most of a day care bridal dressing room |
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| Finding the nearby photo op's |
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| Finding the nearby photo op's |
When? should we begin the pictures? Once wedding day begins to flow, it's a locomotive. The early bird gets the best shots. Take the early hair salon appointment. Have the "first look". Do family before the ceremony wedding party after. We'd be tempted to shoot your wedding at cost if you'd schedule a "dawn" first look. We are stubborn enough (and experience counts here) to ask for a good 20-45 minutes with just wedding couple and photographer, with no onlookers. Once again, we have horror stories to tell.
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| First Look Photo |
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| First Look Photo |
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| Time alone on wedding day |
Why? because we like you--said in our best Mickey Mouse Club voice ... wait, if you're just now getting married you probably didn't watch that show--- anyway ... we begin to think about your wedding day the moment we meet you. We communicate with you throughout your planning stages. We consult on theme weddings, timeline, props, and posture. We mark off your shot list. We don't need to be put on dinner count, but we do need a place to sit and we've been known to hit the dance floor ... with camera in hand, of course.
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| Not taken with a throw-a-way camera |
We will work within most wedding couples photography budgets and the first thing we'll consider in off-setting our price is non-summer Saturday weddings. If you are from Little Big Town Indiana* we want you! Wedding season vendor shopping is now open and we're looking to find:
Some new wedding couples
Something old or downtown, or main street, out of doors, or out of the box venues
Something blue or red brick or grey barn or argyle socks
Something borrowed, such as a family farm, a cornfield, a home wedding
* We also travel outside Indiana for nominal travel expenses and we consider destination weddings a mini-vacation (we'll photograph, rehearsal, pre & post day wedding activities), so let's talk
Next up: Trending, Pinterest, and DDIY (Don't Do It Yourself)
These are a few of our favorite sites
I Love Farm Weddings
Farmhouse Bride
Indiana Farm Wedding
Savvy City Farmer ~ styled our daughter's wedding at Grey Barn Farms
12/21/12
Bridget & Nathan 11.17.12
At STORIES Photography we love a good story, especially a good love story. So it turns out our 11.17.12 wedding couple were crowned Little Miss & Mister Jasper Strassenfest, then later reenacted the costumes. Can you say, childhood sweethearts? We enjoyed every minute of our week-end. The drive to Southern Indiana. Rehearsal dinner at the Schnitzelbank Resturant. Photo ops in the historical and quaint German town of Jasper. The homey surroundings and courteous staff at the Hampton Inn. The hardy party at the Huntingburg Event Center. Even though we were just a vendor Bridget & Nathan, found at a Lafayette Bridal Show, their families', wedding party, and guests' made us feel as if we had grown up just a spell up the road, too! No doubt, they will live happily ever after. The discs are in the mail, and the pics are ready for viewing and ordering at STORIES Photography
Hopefully it was around Halloween when Bridget and Nathan donned look-alike Strassenfest outfits or maybe that's just how they roll in Southern Indiana. What happens in Dubois County ...
12/11/12
If I Could Save Time In A Bottle
Top Ten Tips (AKP) Ask The Photographer
Today's lesson will be on timelines.
Let's think this through. This is your one and only day to capture the magic. Get Notes up on your iPad, or go old school and grab a legal pad. Start at the beginning of your day (even rehearsal day) and walk through every 15 minutes - 1/2 hour. Talk out loud. Take notes. Do this every month during wedding prep season. And ramp it up to every other day or so as the countdown turns to days instead of weeks. Then, on wedding day the important things will surface and the mind rehearsals will pay off big time.
Well, ya can't ya know ... save time in a bottle, that is. So now, a word on timelines:
1. Have them. 2. Stick to them.
3. Make sure everyone has a copy ... especially the groomsmen.
4. Adjust them accordingly, but if you do adjust them make sure everyone has the updated versions ... especially the groomsmen.
5. Time saving tip: Give your photographer some pinterest photos of shots you'd like them to capture, especially wedding party shots. When it's wedding party photo time, we can hold the photo up and show wedding party participants exactly what to do and how to pose for the shot ... especially the groomsmen.
6. Bride and groom: always stay focused on each other ... all day. We've found the natural and romantic shots actually happen in the moment right before or right after a posed shot. This is true ESPECIALLY during the first look. In all reality, this may be your only 15 minutes the two of you can steal all day. Take advantage of it. Forget about the crowd in the background ... especially the groomsmen. Forget about the photographer and videographer. Forget about everything, except each other. When we've felt you've had your moments (we'll be shooting off in the background) then we'll start directing traffic ... "look at each other, kiss, look at us, etc. etc"
7. Hire the 2nd photographer. Timelines are just that, timelines. And a photographer is just that, a photographer. It's super hard to be in two places at once. We try as hard as we can to never shoot a wedding alone. It's simply too risky. Even with an assistant, it's hard to gather the families, fluff the dress, pose rings and shoes, shoot the shot list, ride the party bus, coral wedding party ... especially the groomsmen, and drive our car, all at the same time.
8. Don't ever not give us a "shot" list. (Forgive the double negative, but we live and breathe on wedding day by the shot list) A good working rule: Let your timeline drive your shot list. In fact, we think shot lists are so important we'll have a Top 10 for them soon! Give us that list and we'll do our darndest to shoot everyone ... especially the groomsmen.
9. A word to the groomsmen ... We realize we've been a little hard on you in this post. We love you to death, and we'll for sure take the blame if you feel a bit pushed around on wedding day. It's a give and take kinda thing between the photographers and the groomsmen. You give us your undivided attention during the day and we'll cut you loose for the reception. Deal?
10. Timeline recap: Have them and stick to them, but first and foremost, and the headline of every timeline should read, "Enjoy your day!!!" We ALWAYS frame our shots with your personalities and the romance of your day in our minds. We concentrate on the two of you. We want every picture to be the one you look at over and over again. If that means going with the flow, we'll do just that. We aren't there to work on our portfolio. You set the pace of the day and our photographs will become your keepsakes.
Relax! We've got you captured.
Today's lesson will be on timelines.
Let's think this through. This is your one and only day to capture the magic. Get Notes up on your iPad, or go old school and grab a legal pad. Start at the beginning of your day (even rehearsal day) and walk through every 15 minutes - 1/2 hour. Talk out loud. Take notes. Do this every month during wedding prep season. And ramp it up to every other day or so as the countdown turns to days instead of weeks. Then, on wedding day the important things will surface and the mind rehearsals will pay off big time. Well, ya can't ya know ... save time in a bottle, that is. So now, a word on timelines:
1. Have them. 2. Stick to them.
3. Make sure everyone has a copy ... especially the groomsmen.
5. Time saving tip: Give your photographer some pinterest photos of shots you'd like them to capture, especially wedding party shots. When it's wedding party photo time, we can hold the photo up and show wedding party participants exactly what to do and how to pose for the shot ... especially the groomsmen.
6. Bride and groom: always stay focused on each other ... all day. We've found the natural and romantic shots actually happen in the moment right before or right after a posed shot. This is true ESPECIALLY during the first look. In all reality, this may be your only 15 minutes the two of you can steal all day. Take advantage of it. Forget about the crowd in the background ... especially the groomsmen. Forget about the photographer and videographer. Forget about everything, except each other. When we've felt you've had your moments (we'll be shooting off in the background) then we'll start directing traffic ... "look at each other, kiss, look at us, etc. etc"
7. Hire the 2nd photographer. Timelines are just that, timelines. And a photographer is just that, a photographer. It's super hard to be in two places at once. We try as hard as we can to never shoot a wedding alone. It's simply too risky. Even with an assistant, it's hard to gather the families, fluff the dress, pose rings and shoes, shoot the shot list, ride the party bus, coral wedding party ... especially the groomsmen, and drive our car, all at the same time.
8. Don't ever not give us a "shot" list. (Forgive the double negative, but we live and breathe on wedding day by the shot list) A good working rule: Let your timeline drive your shot list. In fact, we think shot lists are so important we'll have a Top 10 for them soon! Give us that list and we'll do our darndest to shoot everyone ... especially the groomsmen.
9. A word to the groomsmen ... We realize we've been a little hard on you in this post. We love you to death, and we'll for sure take the blame if you feel a bit pushed around on wedding day. It's a give and take kinda thing between the photographers and the groomsmen. You give us your undivided attention during the day and we'll cut you loose for the reception. Deal?
Relax! We've got you captured.
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