BRITNEY AND TIM'S ST AUGUSTINE E-SESH

St. Augustine, FL is one of my favorite spots to photograph e-sessions.  The romance of the city lends to the romance of the session.  Here is a peek at one of our latest e-sesh sessions.  We can not wait for their April 2014 wedding!  After the session was over and we were saying our goodbyes; Tim decided he wanted to recreate his proposal to Britney. We love these the silhouette type photos!

Love the horse photobombing our shot!

HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE ANNUAL JPPG HOLIDAY PARTY AND AWARDS CEREMONY

Here is a highlight video from this year's JPPG Holiday Party and Awards Ceremony.  If you are a professional photographer you need to join us!  You can find more information on our website: www.jppg.org.

TIPPING YOUR WEDDING VENDORS

Today's post comes from guest blogger Katrina McCullum.  Katrina owns Made of Honor Weddings  .  Made of Honor Weddings offers full planning services for weddings and events in Northeast Florida and the Triad and Greensboro of North Carolina.  Their goal is to go above and beyond for their brides resulting in a stress free, memorable experience.

While browsing wedding forums to see what brides have the most questions about, I came across a post regarding a bride tipping her wedding planner. This bride wanted to know how much should she tip her planner and decided $100 was a good price. The following replies surprised me… a former bride (posting a pic of her beautiful wedding) stated she felt she shouldn’t have to tip her planner. Although she (the planner) did a beautiful job and went above and beyond, she (the bride) felt she paid her enough and that was that. Next a planner (or so she says) goes on to state brides shouldn’t have to tip because they pay their vendors enough.

First off, let me say I don’t expect a tip from any of my clients. When I do get them it makes me feel really good, they say how hard I worked for them and appreciate me outside of my standard fee. Speaking on behalf of my fellow planner and vendors;The “large” fee that our clients pay for is not going directly in our pockets. Over half goes back into the business… supplies, equipment, license fees, association fees, bills in general. If the vendor has an assistant or employees, of course they are being paid.So the vendor rarely has enough money to pay themselves a salary.

No, I will not provide a tipping guide. I feel that a person should tip what they feel someone deserves. Wedding magazines and the internet has a chart outline that dictates what percentage each vendor gets… go with your gut…. Yes. You have shelled out a lot of mulla for your wedding. If a vendor went far beyond the call of duty, exceeded you expectations, gave it 150% … by all means show your gratitude. Your tip does not have to be cash.. it can be a small gift.

So once again…it is not expected. I would never ask, but when it is received it is greatly appreciated and lets your vendor know, you know their worth.

Happy Planning!

<3 Katrina

Katrina McCullum/ Made of Honor Weddings/336-528-4664

SANTA SESSIONS EXTENDED!!!

Santa will be in our studio November 15th and 16th. No lines to stand in at the mall and your child will receive individualized attention.  Bring a wrapped gift for your child and Santa will give it to them. Watch your child's face light up with the magic of Santa.  This year we have a brand new set- Victorian Santa. 

Fees for this session are $129.95+tax and include a complimentary 8x10 image. The session fee is payable at time of booking.  Call us today at 904-704-7071 to schedule your session. 

Hurry.....sessions will book fast.  Do not miss out.  Book your session TODAY!

While your child is dressed up why not take the time to have a family portrait done?  We can even have Santa pose with your family if you desire.  We are building a beautiful living room set complete with a fireplace, Christmas Tree and decorations.

The Wedding & Portrait Photographers can custom design cards for you. We also offer a variety of products including personalized ornaments and nametags to name a few.

TIPS FOR HIRING YOUR WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHER

Your photographer is one of the most important vendors of your wedding day.  Their job is to tell the story of your special day with images that will put a smile on your face for many years to come.  Here are a few tips in helping to find that special photographer.

1) Make sure you LIKE your photographer.  Now you may be asking yourself why would    
    THIS be your number one tip?  Besides you Event Coordinator, your photographer is the
    person you will spend the most time with during your wedding planning and on your
    wedding day. If you are not fond of this person believe me it WILL SHOW on your face.
    Who wants wedding photos where you look like you are mad at the world?  

2) Make sure you like the photographer's style of photography.  There are different styles       of photography:
    A)  Traditional-  This is a more formal, posed style of photography.  The photographer
         poses the bride and groom and adjusts lighting to make sure that everyone is 
         evenly lit.
    B)  Photojournalistic-  This is a more "go with the flow" style of photography.  There
        is little or no posing done and no adjustments to lighting.  Think of this style as a
        reporting style of photography.
    C) Combination-  This is the style that most brides want.  They want a photographer
        who can pose and light them in a flattering manner and can also capture creative
        non-posed images.

   If you want "formals" of your family and bridal party please make sure the photographer
   knows how to pose people.  Many photojournalistic style photographers do not know
   how to pose.  It's more of an "Ok, everyone come over here and fall into place" style.
   Unfortunately I have seen many brides disappointed with their formal photographs 
   because they assumed the photographer knew how to pose people.  Please, please do
   not assume ANYTHING.  Ask to see samples of formal posing the photographer has done.

3) When viewing the photographer's sample work bear in mind that the images have been
    manipulated in Photoshop or some other software editing program.  Ask to see some
   images straight out of the camera.  With digital photography there is not a lot of room
   for error when it comes to exposure.  What does this mean to you???  Most 
   photographers give you your wedding images.  If they have not been exposed properly
   in camera, they will not enlarge or print without falling apart or "color shifting".  One 
   quick and easy way to tell if an image has been properly exposed is to look for details 
   in both the shadows and the highlights.  Now you may be wondering "What is she talking
   about?"  You paid a lot of money for the beading and lace detail of your wedding gown.
   You should be able to that in your photographs.  Your gown should not appear as a 
   glowing white mess.  If you have dark hair you should be able to see the natural 
   highlights in it.  Your hair should not be solid black.

4) Ask what type of equipment do they bring to your wedding.  Do the just bring one 
   camera and an on-camera flash?  Or do they carry extra equipment in case of equipment
   failure?  Digital is wonderful but it does fail.  This is your wedding and cannot be 
   repeated.  Do they bring different lenses so that they may photograph any situation to      it's best advantage?

5) Ask how long they have been doing photography and if they have received any formal
   training or apprenticeship.  Many people buy a camera and then advertise they are a 
   professional photographer.  They have received no training and allow the camera to
   make all the exposures for them.  I have seen brides devastated because they went
   the cheaper route and hired an inexperienced photographer.  They received no room
   shots, no detail shots, no first dance photographs, etc.  Images have been improperly        exposed because the photographer has allowed the camera to pick its settings.  The          story of their day was NOT told.  Remember you can not repeat your wedding day!

6) Remember photographers are human too.  We get sick, get into auto accidents , etc.
    Ask your photographer what their back-up plan is if something were to go wrong that 
    they could not make it to your wedding.

These are a few tips to help ensure that you have the best photographs to tell you wedding story.  We would love to be your wedding photographers, call us today at
904.704.7071 to set up a consultation.

Happy Wedding Planning!
        

AIMEE & JACOB'S E-SESH SNEAK PEEK

Aimee and Jacob are such a sweet couple and a lot of fun to work with!  We had a great time photographing their e-sesh.  They even brought their four-legged furbaby with them (she was an absolute delight also). Here are a few images from their session.

Location: Walter Jones Park  Jacksonville, FL

THE LEGEND OF THE CONFEDERATE ROSE

Here's a story for all us romantics of the world.  The confederate rose grows on a bush and is considered to be an "old-fashioned rose".  Here is the legend behind it:

During the Civil War a soldier was preparing to leave for battle.  He gave his true love a pure white Confederate Rose to show his love.  Unfortunately this soldier was fatally wounded in battle.  Over the course of the two days that it took for him to die, the rose turned pink and then red.  When he died the flower died with him.  From that day forward the Confederate Rose blooms white and over the course of two days changes to pink and then red.  On the eve of the second day the bloom dies and falls from its bush.

Those who are interested in growing the Confederate Rose take comfort in the fact that for a rose it is fairly easy to grow and is bug resistant.  It grows into a rather large bush so give it room when planting.  Here are some pictures of the bloom:

                                         This is the first day that it blooms.

This the second day of the bloom.  Notice that the bloom is now pink in color.  It will turn a deeper shade before it does and falls from the bush.  Sorry, my iPhone did not focus correctly (which proves NEVER use a cell phone camera when it counts).

BUYER BEWARE

One afternoon I had the opportunity to meet some wonderful ladies.  They were the bride's event planner, her mother and her aunt.  They came in to take a closer look at my work hanging on the wall.  They stated the bride already had signed a contract for a wedding photographer but wanted to know if I did boudoir sessions.  I told them yes and to have the bride call me and we would put her on our schedule.

"Sara" (the name has been changed) came to our studio and did a "special session" for her fiance'.  She ordered a flush mount album to present to her future husband on their wedding day.  Needless to say she was extremely pleased with both her session and her album.

I kept in contact with Sarah as she hired my florist friend for her wedding.  We would briefly chat about how her wedding plans were coming and life in general.

About 6 weeks ago (after her wedding)  I received an email from Sara.  In it she stated she had just received her wedding "album" from her photographer and it was AWFUL.
She wanted to know, since the photographer has given her a copyright release to her images, if I could design an album for her.  I made an appointment for her along with instructions to bring the CD of images and her current "album".  I could not believe what she brought in.

Her "album" was a coffee table style book made from a company similar to Shutterfly or Snapfish.  There was no flow to the album and it did not tell the story of her wedding day.  The "album" even came complete with a barcode on the back.  Sara thought she was going to receive something like what she had purchased from me.  A leather bound flush mount album that you could pass down from generation to generation.  What she had received was a "hot mess".

Now I am not writing this to bash the other photographer.  If that type of book was included in her package that is fine.  But it should have been explained to Sara exactly what she would be receiving.  

Upon redesigning her album I found that the photographer had made some very rookie mistakes.  There were no room detail shots, no first dance images, and the only image of the father-daughter dance was out of focus to name a few things.  My heart broke for Sara because I know her wedding photography was very important to her.  We did redesign her album the best we could and she was absolutely THRILLED!!

I told you this story to let you know that it is a "buyer beware" world out here.  Here are a few tips when looking to hire a wedding photographer:

1)  Ask to see the photographer's work both edited and straight out of the camera.  When 
     looking at the straight from camera work make sure the image is properly exposed.  
     You should be able to see detail in both the whites and the darks.  If you have dark
     hair you want to be able to see highlights.  If your dress has beading and lace, you 
     want to be able to see that.  Your dress SHOULD NOT BE a glowing hot with mess!
2) Ask to see a sample of all products given to ensure that there are not misunderstandings.
3) Ask if the photos you receive are edited and to what extent.
4) Ask how many photos on average can you expect.

Make sure everything is in writing BEFORE you sign the contract.  

And most importantly, make sure you like the photographer's personality.  If you do not like them (and people do hirepeople they do not "click with")  it will show in you photos.

I hope that Sara's unfortunate experience can prevent someone else from going through the same thing.  Or better yet, pick up the phone and call us.  We understand the importance of your wedding day and will go the extra mile to ensure your story is told.

SANTA IS COMING!!!!

Santa will be in our studio November 8th and 9th. No lines to stand in at the mall and your child will receive individualized attention.  Bring a wrapped gift for your child and Santa will give it to them. Watch your child's face light up with the magic of Santa.  This year we have a brand new set- Victorian Santa. 

Fees for this session are $129.95+tax and include a complimentary 8x10 image. The session fee is payable at time of booking.  Call us today at 904-704-7071 to schedule your session. 

 

 

Hurry.....sessions will book fast.  Do not miss out.  Book your session TODAY!

 

While your child is dressed up why not take the time to have a family portrait done?  We can even have Santa pose with your family if you desire.

 

The Wedding & Portrait Photographers can custom design cards for you. We also offer a variety of products including personalized ornaments and nametags to name a few.

Krista & David's Wedding

We enjoy shooting all types of weddings, both small and large.  We LOVED working with David & Krista on their intimate wedding.  They along with their close family and friends celebrated their love at the Hyatt Riverfront on a beautiful fall like afternoon. It was a great event to be a part of.

Venue:  The Hyatt Riverfront /  Officiant:  David Tagliaferri/  DJ Entertainment:  Lee Osborn of MagnetiX Entertainment