Roxanne and Mike

This weekend is one of the very rare weekends when I have two weddings. The first I'm shot for my self. Tommorrow, I will be helping another studio since they were short a photographer or two and I was available. Normally I would not have done this but Roxanne and Mike had booked me until 10:00 and Saturday's wedding did not start until 4:00 so I knew I had enough time between events.

Roxanne and Mike's wedding was held at the Old Barn. This actually has a special meaning for me as well. When I was looking for a new job within EDS, I had just accepted the position here in Chicago. I delayed my departure in order to have dinner with the team at, you guessed it, the Old Barn. It has been years since I've been there but the place looks exactly the same.




I've got to rest as I've got a busy day on Saturday.

Schaumburg Convention Center

Every so often as a photographer, I get to do something different, fun or cool. The other day was just such a day. I was called by the folks over at the Schaumburg Convention Center to take some trade show photos. I got to see a side of the convention center that most people never get to see. Notice that doorway circled in red in the first photo. Well, I got to climb a three story ladder to reach that door. Not difficult, unless you are holding a $2500 camera, with a $1000 lens attached to it in your hand as you climb up the ladder. I was up there in order to take the 2nd photo.

Romance and Contemporary Album Holiday Deadlines

I just heard from the first of the album companies. They are the ones who make the Romance and Contemporary albums for me. Between printing, shipping and all the rest of the process, I need to have those albums finalized by October 31 in order to assure that you will have your wedding album by Christams. While there is still a chance your album might make it by the wire, there are no guarantees! You might have to wait until after January 1 when production resumes after the holidays.

Interviewing Photographers is a two way process

Did you know that finding just the right photographer can be a two way process? Some studios don't care about a good client fit. They are either large studios with a sales staff and sales quotas or a hungry photographer who will take any booking they can get. This is a disservice to not only themselves but, the clients as well.

You should use the four "P"s of photography: Personality, Photography Style, Package and Price to select your wedding photographer. As you are interviewing the photographer, a professional photographer may also decide if you are the right client fit for them. Personality, Photography Style and Price are looked at in this decision process.

Price
The easiest fit test is Price. If you can only afford $1800 for a complete photography package and the photographer's packages start at $3600, then you are both wasting your time by continuing discussions. However, a $500-$1000 difference might be surmountable. It all depends on how much each side is willing to bend.

Photographic Style
One factor which sets each photographer apart from another, is their own unique style. Some photographers may have a similar style but there are subtle differences. Other photographers have drastically different styles. The main wedding photography styles today are Traditional, Photojournalism, Artistic and Reportage. I recently referred a potential client to another photographer because the client wanted very Traditional photography. As a photographer who specializes in a blend of Traditional (to make the parents happy), PJ with a dash of Artistic thrown in, I knew this client would be paying a lot of extra money to hire me to photograph their wedding in a purely traditional style. After politely explaining this to the potential client, I referred them to another photographer who's style more closely fits what the client desires.

Personality
Finally, some photographers see if their personalities mesh with yours. This is the most intangible of factors which a photographer may use to determine if they want to accept you as a client. Some photographers call this their gut feeling or intuition concerning a client. Photographers are human too, we try to work with everybody but, every so often there is somebody who makes us uncomfortable for one reason or another. Most of the time, the clients feel the tension too and book a different studio. Sometimes, despite the tension, the client wants to book the photographer. When that happens, the photographer may decide to be unavailable. In this case, it is much better to continue looking for a photographer who is as excited to work with you are you are to hire them.

Finding the right photographer is not an easy task. From our perspective finding new clients is not easy either. A professional photographer wants you to have a great wedding day so they can capture all of those magical moments which make your wedding day special. It takes just the right match between photographer and client to make sure you will receive the wedding photography you expect and deserve.

Happy New Year

No, I'm not being premature. Sunset this evening starts the beginning of Rosh Hashana, the Jewish New Year. So to all of our friends and family celebrating the Jewish New Year, L'Shana Tova!

Hyatt Regency Bridal Show

Yesterday, I was at the Hyatt Regency bridal show. As always, it was great fun to meet and greet all of you who are currently planning your weddings. As promised, I'm announcing the winner of today's drawing for a complimentary engagement session. And the winner is..... Jennifer Vogler who is getting married on July 5, 2008! Congratulation Jennifer. Please contact me to arrange your engagement session.

Shira's Bat Mitzvah

Today, was a little different paced for me. I had the great honor to photo document Shira's Bat Mitzvah. I'm told her name means "song" in Hebrew. Anyway, her mom is a cantorial soloist and Shira did a great job herself. Rather than being held in a temple, the ceremony was at Carnivale (BTW, check out their website. It is one of the best I've seen in a while). We started upstairs and then we moved into another room for the party. It was truely a unique event and the food was great. If you need a location for a rehersal dinner (or even a wedding), I would recommend this place!


From the outside, it does not look too big, but looks are deceiving!


The religious service was held upstairs. All of the rooms are painted similar to this!


These were the fried banannas and cheese. Wow, did they taste good!


Chocolate desert. Do I need to say anything?

Holiday Deadlines Approaching

I know, I know, who can think about Christmas when it is 90 degrees out and the calendar says it is still summer. But if you want your wedding album to show your family at Christmas, then we've got until the end of October to complete your design. Once I receive word from the album companies, I'll try to pass the word along to you.

I realize, I'm a little backed up but I'm working as fast as I can to catch up. If you've already received your preliminary draft, then just let me know what changes you desire and we can get your album moving.

April and Tristan

It was a crazy day! But at the end of it April and Tristan were married! April was very late getting started this morning, so we did not get a lot of the usual getting ready photos. Then when we arrived at the ceremony/reception site, more disorganization follwed. Despite all of the chaos, love reigned supreme.





I'm am just too tired to post any more about this wedding. I really worked my butt off today to catch up and make sure all of the required images were captured!