Yesterday was a great day, great weather, great venue, great atmosphere and an AMAZING Bride and Groom! Here is the sneak peek from Facebook! Full blog post coming soon!

More to come as wedding season is now fully underway!

I have been photographing weddings for several years. Over these years I have noticed that I get asked the same type of questions. These type of questions are usually in list form and are provided from popular wedding sites. These wedding sites are trying to help guide you along the path of find a photographer that fits your needs and will photograph your wedding in the way that you see fit. They are great questions, and a lot of them I feel need to be asked because if you don’t like the answer then you can find someone who more matches your style.  However, I feel that these lists don’t help you get to how that photographer works . So, I have listed some questions with my answers- these questions will let you in on my work ethic and my dedication to you as a client.

1.  Communication is key, how fast do you respond to emails/phone calls?  As a general rule, I respond to all client emails within 24 hours. I understand that as a Bride you are busy and have to sometimes make time sensitive decisions and I would never want my lack of response to hinder your planning!

2. I have been on a few wedding sites and all of them talk about a shot list, really do you need me to tell you I want a shot of the first kiss?  Uh no, as a wedding photographer I KNOW what important moments I need to capture, so no need to print that list and give it to me.. I know to get you walking down the aisle, your first kiss, pictures of the toasts, etc. The shot list that I request is very specific… I need the list with the family members that are to be photographed immediately after the wedding.. by the end of the night, I will have a good idea of Aunt Sally, and who Uncle Henry are, but at then end of the ceremony I dont know who they are and if you want a picture with your Aunt and Uncle it is best to put their names down. A good list looks something like this:

Bride and Groom with both sides of parents
Bride and Groom with Aunt Sally M and Uncle Henry M.
Bride and Groom with all siblings: Darlene H, Chad S, Brent S.

The first and last names help Sheena and I move quickly during this time and eliminate confusion when people in both sides of the family are present.

3. There are some photos that I have seen around and I would like those photos, can you do that?  Any photos that you see be sure to send me links to, make a Pinterest board, or anything like that and let me know! I like using other photos as inspiration, as an artist who uses photographs I want your wedding photos to represent you and your wedding and not a bunch of photos from around the web. So, yes! send me that cool bridesmaid shot, or amazing bride and groom shot and we will use is great inspiration!

4 I see the word “photojournalistic” everywhere, but what does that mean to you?: This word means different things to different people.. and I even have my own definition of what I think this should mean when it comes to wedding photography. In my mind a true photojournalistic photographer does not interfere with the scene in front of them at all, they are in the corner capturing things as they happen.. they don’t speak except for general comments.. they don’t change things as they are happening.  Not even during couple creative photos do they pose or direct.

5. Ok, so what is your style of shooting? Photojournalistic? Posed??: A wedding day is full of emotional, happy fun moments and sometimes those moments need be coaxed a bit to make sure that on film the emotion is truly captured. Sooo, I considered myself a modified photojournalistic photographer. I want to capture moments as they happen, but I understand that sometimes I need to help those moments look the best they possibly can.  Here are a few examples:

      1. Parents – When I work with brides and grooms, I always tell the bride and groom where there parents should be, why and dressed in what.  As the Groom is getting his boutinnere on, his mom should be the one pinning it on, and mom of course should be dressed in her wedding attire.  Same thing with the bride getting dressed! Mom does not want to be in her sweatpants, she wants to look pretty for this special moment in her daughters life.

     2. Couple Pictures – During couple pictures, I like to employ a this modified PJ style of mine.  I want to capture the completely candid moments, such as you walking along the path, or your groom kissing your newly wedded hand, however I also want to capture images that make you both look good!   So yes, I will pose you a bit, get you into about the right position and then coach you through  till you fall naturally in to the look I was going for.  Don’t go thinking that I put people in awkward positions and then ask for cheesy expressions, no I put you so you look great and then YOU will naturally fall into the pose and it will look natural and be a timeless photo you will love forever. My portfolio is full of these types of images

Well, I hope that answers a few more questions for you!  I will post a few more questions in later blog post!