To all my brides… WHO WOULD LIKE TO HAVE THIER WEDDING PUBLISHED IN A MAGAZINE???

the newest wedding issue of Lehigh Valley Style magazine will be going to press soon. If you want your wedding to be submitted  just email me your wedding story in less than 500 words. All the details, the who, the what, the where, the when, you all have such amazing stories it would be cool to see it in print. I will submit the images I shot and the story you send me, so all you have to do is wait and become famous. LOL. I hope to see you all enter and maybe even in the magazine

Where do you go to begin your quest for the perfect wedding? You look to friends, to co-workers, magazines, blogs, tweets, facebook, other wedding professionals etc. etc. etc. Before you know it you have folders filled with notes, a browser filled with bookmarks and stacks of magazines dog-eared. How can you possibly (with the 50 gajillion other things going on) start to weed through all this bulk of information.

The secret to all this wedding madness is to figure out how to prioritize and categorize all this info to make it useful. I will give you a little bit of the behind the scenes on how to do this.

Source #1:
Paid Publications- This category of publication is found on bookshelves in super markets and book stores. They vary in cost from reasonable to OMG no way am I buying that Ill just sit down here at Boarders and take notes. These magazines stay in business mostly from the advertisers but also from the purchase price, so in turn they strive to provide value to the purchaser. The articles are very helpful in the general sense but you must remember that local markets vary greatly from one another, from things like common practices to price. There is a reason why New York and Long Island brides go to PA to get a photographer (the work is often times better at a significant $$ savings). Personally I am in Style Magazine (the back cover ) because I like the aesthetics of the book and its content

Read these books first to start formulating ideas and establishing thoughts on your weddings but once you start working with people locally these become not so important.

Source#2:
Free Publications- This category is mostly found at local professionals businesses and they fall into 3 categories (3rd party, self, and group) and I will explain why it is important to know the differences, because it can save you time and money.

3rd Party Free publications are considered by most professionals to be a legitimate form of advertising you pay for exposure, most established business choose to be here for various amount of reasons.

Self Free Publications are, in my opinion, not as credible of a source. These are the booklets that are put out by the professional you are visiting, mostly a venue that you are looking at for your reception. On the surface they look great but do not mistake them for a list of preferred or recommended vendors by the venue as often the venue has nothing to do with the books. These publications are actually sold by a publishing company to the venue and then populated with vendors they find on google or in other publications some are suggested by the venue. They are not necessarily the best or most used vendors for the venue. In fact there are a lot of venues discontinuing the use of these books because brides end up with bad professionals then look to the venue to be responsible for the recommendation.

Group Publication may be the most interesting form of free publication because these are made and distributed by the professionals themselves. Usually they have come together for their own personal reasons. They are not made for profit only exposure. It also usually means that the members in the publication have worked together or share a common vision and quality of work. Chances are that this is the closest you get to a personal referral with out going in and meeting with one of the professionals themselves, because these groups tend to attract like minded people

Personally I would only take the group publications home with me since online resources will turn up all the other professionals and you can help conserve our earths resources by not adding to the huge pile of paper that these other books generate (and chemicals that go into the production of them) The publishers probably found them in the same google searches you will be doing anyways. If a venue goes to hand you a booklet tell them politely that your ok but get out a piece of paper and ask them “Who would you hire to shoot your wedding?” Chances are that these recommendations may not even be in that booklet, and if they open up the booklet because a name doesn’t pop into their head chances are that recommendation isn’t all that valuable .

Source#3:
Online: Searching online is the life blood of wedding and even research so much so that many of the most sought after professionals have abandoned print advertising. A good general practice to remember here is to remember you are looking only at what has been specially prepared so it better look good. If a bulk of what you see doesn’t excite you and this is what they consider to be the best of the best then chances are you may not be happy with the entire body of their work. Its also important to remember, especially with photography, that your wedding is not just one picture but a series of pictures taken through out the day that all need to demonstrate consistency and artistry. It is ok to email a photographer to see an entire wedding rather than just greatest hits if they do not show it in their website.

Google searches make up a majority of the customers that find me if its not by a personal referral. I wont speak about the pros and cons of google but I will mention the online professional directory. When you google search a term for your wedding most probably the first link that pops up is a online directory.

Online Directories pop up first because they have the most links to them from all the vendors that advertise there. These are great resources to cover lots of ground for research. My one caveat is to remember that the order of the vendors in these directories are not from best to worst. Mostly the person on the top of the directory is the person that pays to be there so dont just go to the first couple ones, hit the whole list, skip around, start on page 2.

Facebook is a new phenomenon in finding a professional. I cant tell you how many times Im sitting down with a bride who tells me they stalk me on facebook. This is not a bad thing either, most of my friends and people that comment on my facebook page are other wedding professionals. Unlike any other online source you can see peoples personalities. This to me is great because when I hire people a lot of who I hire comes from who they are not just the work that they do.

Blogs are similar in that you get to see tons of who they are mixed with what they do. More so than a standard website. If you are looking at a blog that showcases lots of different professionals than these sites can function very similarly to the Group Free Publication mentioned above, in that normally there is a unifying theme that connects those showcased. So if that theme is something that exists in you or your wedding then bookmark it or better yet subscribe to it so you can see all the content through your email.

Source #4
Referrals

Friends- Nothing beats a referral from a friend that has used a certain professional and had a good experience. Just be wary of the referral from the friend that hadn’t used the professional. Sometimes these referrals can be the worst a friends cousin that DJs that they haven’t used may not be the best choice if they didn’t use them themselves.

Other Professionals- LOOK HERE, HEY YOU! IM TALKING TO YOU! LOOK HERE! If you scanned over this entire blog and forced yourself to read only one small part of it then read this. The very best way to find the best people for your wedding or event is to meet with people. When you find someone that you love, that you click with that you know will be perfect, grab a pen and some paper or whip out your iphone and pick their brains on who they think you should hire. Its not gospel but if you trust and respect (keyword trust and respect) the person then chances are they wont steer you wrong. These are the people that day in and day out over the course of years, live and breath weddings and events. They see the good the bad and the ugly and can give you the most reliable recommendation.

Hopefully this helps you out of that huge pile of wedding detritus and lends some insight to all the wedding related resources out there.

Q: HOW DO YOU KEEP COOL?

A: Easy drive the cart into a pond in the golf course. 

This is a bit funny followed by some seriousnes, especially for Brides and Grooms who are interviewing photographers to shoot their wedding.

so please read till the end.

Heres the story. The very nice young lady you see in distress was a rep from the golf course who was driving me and the couple to a very scenic  spot on the course of a bridge that spans a water hazard. We just dropped off the couple on the bridge and drove to the far side of the pond to grab their reflection in the water. I snapped a couple shots and walked back to the cart. Once in the cart the driver proceeded to make a 3 point turn to head back and get the couple. 

Now if you look closely its a big cart (6 passenger) and a tiny path, not the best places for her to choose to  make the turn. I remained quiet deferring to her expertise. Sadly though the cart got away from her just as soon as we were angled towards the lake. She missed the brake and gravity took over. SPLASH

Very quickly I had to make the call WTF DO I DO!!! I grabbed both cameras (I shoot with 2 black rapid straps so my cameras were close to me not on the seat) and raised them up as high as I can trying to protect the disks in them, abandoning all my lighting equipment (you can see it covered in seaweed in the lower left) When disaster strikes PROTECT THE DISKS!!!!! you can replace equipment not the images you have been shooting.

SPLASH!!!! now hip deep in water what do you do next. Pockets getting wet get out fast. Now I have always been an advocate of the GEPE Card Safe. It is a water proof hard shell case that I keep all my camera cards I carry  in. Why do I need the more expensive waterproof case LOL in case Im on a runaway golf cart that splashes down in a water hazard thats why LOL. 

Once on dry land I empty out pockets and set down all equipment on dry land. Im already wet so time to retrieve the rest of equipment from the lake bottom. Sadly its all electrical so can never be used again Id never reuse electrical equipment that has been submerged to unreliable.

Now assess damage. Cameras are good, images are safe, lighting is junk but I have backups back at the reception. Main priority now Im wet how do I keep shooting at a very elegant Golf club with sea weed in my shoes?

Proshop! I walk (run, lol its 95 degrees remember ugggggg) back to the proshop as the golf carts are dispatched to pick up the couple. Toss off my clothing grab a polo and slacks from the sale rack, good to go. Wait there are Coi fish swimming in my shoes. Here it comes, only golf shoes. Only ones in my size are a very nice white and tan alligator skin wingtip model -sigh- 

And the show goes on Whooo Hoo!!

Here is a shot of the bridal party on the course

NOW YOU MAY WANT TO KNOW THE MORAL OF THE STORY!!!! Especially if you are a bride interviewing photographers for your wedding. Well here it is ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS ask “Do you carry back up equipment with you? and if so is it just a back up camera or do you have back ups for everything?”

I would have been screwed if I didn’t have back up lighting. Its expensive to buy all the equipment then buy it second time “just in case” but WTF its a wedding. Professionals should never make up an excuse as to why they couldn’t get a shot if their preparation could have gotten it.

Conclusion: We lost no pictures, the Club is going to replace my equipment, we didn’t have to delay the reception, I got a refreashing swim in on one of the hottest days of the year and  I got to wear alligator skin wing tips all for the low low price of smelling like algae for the remainder of the night.

Many brides wake up on their wedding day, snap on the weather channel and cringe. But in all honesty mother nature in all her elements just add some spice to the wedding day if you have a bit of preparation and a great attitude. Ive been lucky these past 2 weekends to have some amazing brides and grooms that see the snow, pack their boots and say “bring it on!”

The first picture and third pictures was taken of Cassandra + Josh, at Lehigh University after their Ceremony. The 2nd picture was taken at night from the deck of Bear Creek Mountain Resort of Katelyn + Mike and the 3rd was taken on the ski slopes of Bear Creek Mountain Resort.

So pack your boots bring a big jacket and don’t ever let the weather stop you from getting the pictures you want. 

The Processional is that time when the bridal party makes their way down the aisle at the beginning of the ceremony. Typically its guys, then girls, followed by the bride with dad.

Where the photographer is at this time can be crucial. For me there are a couple key shots beyond the standard in the middle of the aisle walking shot

The first 2 are often missed shots but help tell the story.

Generally the Bride and her father are shot in the door way or just walking in. The first is just before this I love the look on the fathers face, its private and a real moment. The second is often missed because the photographer may be on the move to the front of the ceremony, But just a simple back shoot, it can even be shoot low from ground level can add another layer and dramatic element when the pictures are assembled into the album. 

The above image can be shot from the front, side or rear of the church. It is simply a detail of the bride and her fathers hands as he escorts her. Sometimes photographers get wrapped up in the big large moments but a wedding can be the sum of many small precious ones as well. Never forget the details and small stuff

Now for in my opinion the most important. Being in the front of the ceremony is essential for emotionally charged processional photography, the eyes, the expressions even on the people in the pews. This is the meat and potatoes but….  

Please take the time to see what else is going on beside the bride and her father. This is when most let their guard down. Like the picture below when the groom sees his bride for the first time, years later (decades later) a picture like the one below will bring back that moment in time for even the toughest of grooms. 

As a bride there are a couple of things you can do to help make this a great chapter in your wedding album. Talk to your photographer about what you want to see, communication is the single most impactful thing you can do to get the most out of your wedding professionals. AND PLEASE, PLEASE PLEASE COMMUNICATE WITH YOUR GUESTS – I cant tell you how many pictures get ruined because an Iphone comes out of nowhere blocking the shot, hire someone you trust and allow them to get the shot. 

Nighttime/lowlight shots are great for albums too, because they provide a great ending to the album. So the viewer really feels like they traveled through the day. So if your a photographer reading this don’t stop shooting outside when the sun goes down and if your a bride, plan to dedicate some time during your reception to take a break for the crowd and grab a memorable moment with your new husband.

This wedding photography was shot outside of the Hotel Bethlehem in downtown Bethlehem. 

The rain can be a big let down on the wedding day. Many brides ask “What so we do if it rains on our wedding day?”  Well I always offer my rainy day brides a free bridal session so that she can still get that picture in her dress she had been thinking about for the past 2-40 years. But what I don’t say that often is how unique the rain can make some photography. Like this one from Krista’s wedding in the lehigh valley, Bethlehem PA this past month.

Personally the rain made a ok shot, that you see hundreds of times amazing. I love how the flash froze the drops in the background it creates so much more energy and feeling of a moment in time. So the moral is to embrace your day have the most fun you can and dont stop trying to make the most out of any challenge your day throws at you.

Also Id like to thank my assistant/photographer John for standing out in the pouring rain to hold the flash LOL. John also shot an amazing PartyBooth at the reception that was held at Silver Creek Country Club in Hellertown PA. I will post some of those images soon, being the day after christmas it had everything a Santa suit, Mistletoe even a choking man getting the Heimlich Maneuver. So excited! 

The

Time to fire up the pong paddles, munch a power pill and RSVP while the ghosts are still blue and edible 

But after wowing over the dress, the bride flipped over her J. Crew Strap backs to reveal this.

I thought “How perfect” a little fashion, a little humor. It was not a catholic ceremony but imagine how fun it would be to wear these in front of your guests when you kneel at the alter (it’s a little more tasteful than the times I see guys write “Help Me” on the bottoms of their’ s.” 

If you thing you may be interested in something like this I found one resource online at Advantage Bridal for $4.95.

I want to apologize to some of my customers, since from a time stand point tasks that took me a certain amount of time to accomplish will be taking me a little longer, as my back up machine is a little slower. The laptop will  be back in a couple days.

This does not effect any record keeping, appointments, email (they are all stored online with the ultra cool people at shootQ).

All of my weddings are also unaffected since I back up each wedding to multiple external hard drives utilizingDrobo, a BeyondRAID storage technology that protects data against a hard disk crash (Drobo.com) one of the externals is also kept in a fireproof safe. (It is also acceptable if your photographer uses an off site online form of data storage)

What happened and what should you know before you upgrade operating systems on your computer?
The purpose of this is not to scare anyone from upgrading but to inform how to upgrade. The folks at Apple explained to me that when Snow Leopard upgrades the system it sends the hard drive into a maximum work mode it starts operating at maximum capacity way beyond the normal operation of the drive. This is what caused the failure. Could the drive have already been in the process of failure, maybe. Could it have kept working had I not upgraded, maybe. But that is no reason to be scared of keeping your system up to date. After a beyond frustrating experience at the Apple Store in Whitehall I called Apple directly who with out any prodding on my part said they would take care of everything (Apple, your the best).

I will say this, and no more, that I will now be doing all my business with Apple online or locally with the killer people over at Double Click Computers whom have also been more than helpful, and are Apple Dealers (rant over)

How to upgrade:
1. Make sure  you have nothing extremely important that needs to utilize the computer. Assume the worst. (for businesses like myself this time does not exist)

2. Back up your data to an external drive like my Drobo. (Check and make sure that it transferred with out error) you should consider doing this anyways, all the time.

3. Back up your system, on a mac I use Time Machine with a Time Capsule. But there are lots of ways to create a disk images to back up your drive. If done correctly you can implant all of the old disk on to the new one like nothing ever happened

4. Allocate time to perform the upgrade, so that you can monitor the process

Hopefully this was helpful, but also remember you can contact apple or a specialist prior to making any changes that you feel uncomfortable with. And I promise that we will be at max capacity churning out the pictures soon.