Exciting News About Our Styled Shoot
Smitten Feature
So I know I've been talking quite a lot recently about the styled shoot that Marlayna and I did, but that's because I'm really proud of everyone involved and what we were able to accomplish in such a short amount of time. I feel like most planned shoots don't happen within a month and a half (but I could be wrong, haha). We worked tremendously hard, and I fully intend on covering every topic that there is through this blog. I've already started a little bit of the conversation in my blog last week, which made me excited to share every happy, joyous, and heartbreaking moment that we had on this journey.
One of the most amazing things happened yesterday: our first shoot - our little photo child - was accepted by Smitten Magazine. As embarrassing as it is to admit, Marlayna and I both cried when we got the email from Audrey, the editor-in-chief. Our entire goal for this shoot was showcasing everyone who dedicated time and their talent to it. After getting just a couple of rejections, we were feeling like failures in the publishing world. But then Smitten happened and our energy, emotions. and belief in love was completely restored! Can I just cuddle this exciting feeling for a little bit :P?
Again, I'll cover ever single topic in the series on styled shoots, but just know that this acceptance did not come easy, and the joy of having our work recognized is really freakin' awesome. &...
Sarah and Kevin's Engagement Spotlight
Gorgeous Morning Baltimore Session
I'm so incredibly happy to say that Sarah and Kevin's wedding is just a few short days away! I remember meeting up with them in September at Federal Hill Park for their engagement photos and chatting about how much time they had for planning. It felt like the months would take forever to pass at that point, but here we are, just a handful of days away! On Friday these two will be exchanging vows and celebrating with family and friends at the beautiful La Fontaine Bleue. Shawn and I are ecstatic to witness and photograph their day.
Going through their engagement session for this little highlight reel brought back all of the giddy feelings I had while photographing them. These two are just the absolute sweetest, and the fact that you can see the love they have for each other is just amazing. I adore them so incredibly much. <3
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The Beginning Steps to Organizing a Styled Shoot
For the Creative
A couple of weeks ago, I wrote a little bit about the styled shoot that my friend, Marlayna, and I put together. The time leading up to the shoot was exciting, frustrating, and - at times - overwhelming. But we kept pushing forward, because we knew at the end something great was waiting for us. We truly weren't expecting all of the hard-work and beauty that everyone contributed to this day. Even though our final images have to stay under-wraps for now, I wanted to start a conversation about the behind the scenes of the shoot. As I said earlier, there was a lot that Marlayna and I put into this, and I feel like there is so much that we can share regarding the process of planning and executing. I am totally aware that there is just too much information for one blog, so I'll be organizing my posts into the different parts of a styled shoot.
Organization is the key to staying sane.
If you are planning a styled shoot either on your own or with a fellow creative, please utilize a service like Google Drive. I cannot tell you enough how huge this was in keeping us on track and professional. The ability to have a cloud system that can share spreadsheets and documents is a total lifesaver. For our shoot, we started by creating a shared folder. Anything that we needed from that point was readily available in the form of a spreadsheet...
4 Ways We Prepare for Engagement Sessions
Tips & Tricks
The more days with perfect weather we have, the more and more I'm itching to get outside for some of this years engagement sessions. I am so excited for all of the couples that Shawn and I get to photograph, and all this sunshine is making it hard to wait for next month when everything fully kicks into gear.
I wanted to do tonight's blog on how Shawn and I prepare for engagement sessions after a few months of not being behind the camera regularly. For future brides and grooms who are reading this: you are not the only ones who get nervous before photos. I'm not going to lie, it can be difficult getting back into the groove, and when I feel an ounce of jitters I become a tongue tied mess, haha. However, after doing this for awhile, I've been able to come up with a process that has knocked out a lot of pre-session butterflies. My steps help me, and whether you are a couple preparing for your own engagement photos or a photographer gearing up for a crazy awesome season, I hope these will be useful!
My first step toward calming nerves is always getting to know the clients.
Shawn and I meet with our couples, we send them welcome gifts, and I try to be in almost constant communication leading up to the session. The main motivation behind doing all of that is for everyone to feel very comfortable with each other...
Why I Have a Wedding Day Questionnaire
Getting to Know You
One the emails that I look forward to sending to our couples is their wedding day questionnaire. The main reason we send this out is because it allows Shawn and I to get to know the couple on a deeper level, and I love seeing what they type out.
The form itself is split into different categories that, when completed, paints us a perfect picture of the wedding day. Of course, there are basic logistical questions that cover locations, honeymoon length, the main contact's phone number, etc. But then there are sections that are dedicated to the bridal party, family, and vendors. It's extremely in-depth (and a lot to fill-in), but when Shawn and I originally planned out the sections, we tried hard to include some fun questions so that it isn't overwhelming for anyone.
I also have a whole section dedicated to items "For the Blog" that asks the couple questions about their relationship and wedding. This part has to be my favorite, because the answers vary so much, but are always incredibly sweet. Usually the first question I check when I get a finished questionnaire is: "When did you know he/she was the one for you". That one question makes me tear up pretty much 100% of the time, because I feel like I'm getting a glimpse into the relationship that isn't commonly heard from.
The biggest thing that I encourage with my questionnaire is to have fun with it. Shawn and I want to get...
Instagram's New Sorting (The Sky is Not Falling)
From Shawn
Hi everyone. Shawn again, and I'm here to present some news that interests me on more than a few levels. As a computer scientist with a special interest in the technology that makes sites like Facebook and Google tick, I've been watching the discussion about the major changes to Instagram. For those not in the know, Instagram is changing the way the news feed is sorted. Previously, your Instagram feed was reverse chronological ordering, with the most recent posts showing up at the top. The new ordering is going to use a mix of machine learning and magic (okay, mostly machine learning) to tailor your feed to how it thinks you would appreciate the content.
Some people are scared this means the death of small businesses, enough to form an online petition to request a reversal of the decision. As a co-owner of a small business, I understand how there can be a strong fear of these changes that might make an already difficult job even harder. This is actually going to have an effect on getting content published, which is one of the hardest things as a small business. And it's scary enough trusting another company, let alone some mysterious algorithm.
I'm here to tell you that everything is probably going to be okay, whether you are a purveyor of images or a casual Instagram user.
Engagement and Instagram
The excellent Instagram post scheduling site Latergramme has a blog post discussing the changes. It's worth a read, regardless...
Our First Styled Shoot
Teaser
Next to my wedding day and Pony's arrival, yesterday was literally the best day of my life.
About a month and a half ago, me and photo-friend, Marlayna, decided to do a styled shoot together. The goal of a styled shoot is to provide a central spotlight on a lot of fantastic businesses by creating a mock event, which gives everyone excellent product photos and some good exposure after submission to some fantastic blogs. It was our first time planning our own shoot of this caliber, and we had little idea of where to start. So we Googled the heck out of previous styled shoots conducted by other photographers, and came up with an awesome game plan. First, we needed a theme that is unique and interesting so our photo blog submissions would stand out. I think that was probably the easiest part of the whole process, because we pretty much just looked at our collective Pinterest dream boards and discovered we both love geometric shapes, geodes, and watercolors. Boom, theme was done. We set up our checklist and magical spreadsheet of what we needed and started reaching out to people. The hard work came in finding our venue, not spending our life savings in Home Goods, and figuring out the logistics for moving super heavy (and gorgeous!) furniture.
The end result, though? Fan-freaking-tastic! It was better than any of our Pinterest boards, and the saying "go big or go home" has never been truer than our...
Meeting with Your Photographer
Conversations Beyond Email
This past weekend, Shawn and I had two client meetings. These chat sessions are always really exciting to me because it's the chance to get to know someone and have comfortable conversations with them. After the meetings, I started to think of how important it is to me that Shawn and I get to have this time with our potential couples. I know I'm not the only one that is at least a little different in face-to-face conversations versus email. I am well aware that while my emails are thought out with conservative exclamation point placement and carefully typed words, real life me is just a ball of excitement that makes a lot of high pitched sounds when proposal stories are shared. It's a high priority to make time to get to know who you will be capturing your love on your wedding day.
I know when meeting your photographer, there are time commitments to be considered and other places to be. But the best part about living in today's world is that we have the capability to meet over the Internet with services like Skype and Google Hangouts. For one of the meetings this weekend, Shawn and I got to virtually meet with the bride who was out of the country for school. Sure, we had to worry about the occasional lag, but the meaning and excitement behind the call was still there. Shawn and I still got to see the personality of this particular bride and she...
Remember the Big Picture
Something Borrowed, Something True
Weddings are almost always viewed as the beginning of a beautiful life with your partner. It's exciting and special, and most of the time our imaginations build a spectacular day full of sparkle. But our imagination rarely takes into account the stress leading up to the day or the cost of that dream wedding. Both stress and money together can lead to a lot of heartbreak throughout the planning process if you aren't well equipped.
Tonight's blog is about strategies to remaining sane when you are in the thick of planning. A few of our brides touched on this topic, and I found it fascinating how each couple dealt with things differently. From organizing finances to just remaining calm, the advice in this installment is very unique to the couple that wrote it. I must say, though, one of the common factors across the board is that at the end of the day you are marrying your perfect person. Even if the cake gets dented, or there is an accident which backs up traffic and delays your wedding, you still get to say "I do" and start your new beginning.
April & Corey "Really consider your dream wedding plans. It's so easy to feel pressured to find things that fit your theme, but really think about it because halfway through the planning process that probably won't matter to you anymore. Really all that matters is marrying the person you love."
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