Miriam and Paul’s Wedding Photographs

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It has been a rather busy week and I got side tracked with a couple of other projects. So please forgive me for not getting a new post up sooner. On the personal front, the family is anxiously awaiting our new arrival. We have nowhere to put the baby but I don’t think that will stop him from coming when he pleases.

Meghan has spent all week at summer camp. I drop her off at 9:00 and pick her up at 3:15. She is having a lot of fun. One day when I picked her up, the kids were working on lanyards… When I went to camp, we called it boondoggle. I still have a box of the stuff hanging around the house. The kids, especially Meghan were surprised at all of the different stitches, knots and braids which I knew how to do. Somehow, I think I will be spending a morning at camp teaching them how to work the strands.

On Thursday, my new camera lens arrived. It lets me do some cool special effects. I can’t use it all the time but there are a couple of times during the wedding when it will provide a neat effect.

Yesterday I photographed Miriam and Paul’s wedding. Miriam had some absolutely stunning flowers. See for yourself:
Photograph of Mirriam's wedding bouquette.

Then there were a couple of times I was able to play with my new lens. See how much of the church is included in the photo!
Photo of Mirriam and Paul's wedding ceremony.
Now I just need to practice with this lens a little more to see what else I can do with it.

Another Reason I Love Digital Cameras

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Congrats to Jason and Maureen who just got married Saturday. I was fortunate to photograph both their wedding ceremonies. They had a traditional Christian wedding which was followed by a handfastening ceremony in the park. It was nice to see something new.

As is my practice, I let the wedding party see some of the photos on my camera’s monitor after I take the picture. This week was no different and yet it was. One of the bridesmaids is planning her own wedding for April 2007. She was travelling back home to Kentucky on Monday. So we planned a meeting for Sunday evening. After seeing me work and the images I showed her, she decided she wanted me as her wedding photographer, even though the wedding is in Indianapolis. She booked me on the spot at our meeting! So welcome Kristen and Brad.

Today we celebrated Mathew’s 3rd birthday, with his Nana and Poppa. They drove in from Milwaukee to give Mathew his gifts(mostly clothes with Thomas on them). Charles and Harriet gave Mathew his first bike when we visited them last week. They couldn’t wait to give it to him.

We even had something for him from Grandpa Allen… A train table. Did I mention that Mathew loves trains? Especially Thomas! Meghan helped me put the table together as well as a 5 year old can. Anyway, for some strange reason, she thinks that her grandpa, Allen, invented the Allen wrench because it is named after him!

We had a great day. I’ll post the photo, including the Thomas cake, in a day or so.

First Job Offer Tendered

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Everytime I attend a bridal show, it is the same old problem. Will Sheryl work the booth with me? Who else can I get to share the responsibilities of watching the booth and talking to prospective clients? Over the years, we’ve had some people who have helped out who were really good and other times they were not so good.

I kept thinking that it would be nice to find somebody who almost instinctively knew how to talk to prospective clients. Somebody who knows about open ended questions, proper body posture and the like. Basically somebody who knows the Disney Experience and share that excitement about wedding photography with a bride.

Over the years, I’ve lost touch with most of the castmembers I used to work with at the Oakbrook Disney Store. Furthermore, working with me at bridal shows is not a steady income but rather a way to provide a little extra cash around show season. A couple of weeks ago, I found this person but didn’t realize it. She is a former castmember. As I was driving to her house tonight to drop off a photo, I realized she was the answer to my problem.

When I arrived, my mind was made up, as part of the conversation, I tendered her a job offer. It should work out great with her other job. I’m not going to say any more until she decides if she accepts my offer. Either way, I’m excited to be expanding Magical Moments Photography by taking steps to add employees.

My New Business Card

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For weeks, no make that months, I’ve known I needed new business cards. However, I had been struggling and pondering the design. Nothing I tried seemed to work. I looked at many other business cards. I kept putting the project off. This morning I was visiting Indian Lakes where I photographed Jenna and Chris’ wedding a couple of weeks ago.

Once again I was asked for business cards but didn’t have many to give. I knew I needed to get new business cards but was dreading the design task. Then this afternoon BAM! An idea hit me out a clear blue sky. After about an hours worth of work, here’s what inspired me.

Magical Moments Photography's new business card from Jenna and Chris' Wedding Photo

May flowers bring June Brides

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The last 6 months of 2006 look to keep me really busy. As you know on the personal front, Sheryl and I are expecting our third child, a boy, August 7. If he follows in his siblings footsteps he will be born on-time (Meghan) or a couple of weeks early (Mathew). If that is not enough to keep me busy, I have 15 weddings booked in 5 months with a few weeks off in early August for my son’s birth.

Now some of you may wonder what a photographer does when faced with the possibility of a personal life event when a wedding is scheduled. First, once I knew Sheyrl and I were expecting, I stopped booking weddings around her due date. Unfortunately, some weddings were booked almost a year in advanced, before we discovered Sheryl was pregnant. So, I have arranged for another fully qualified professional wedding photographer to assist me at my previously booked late July weddings. Should Sheryl go into labor while I’m at a wedding, I will turn the primary responsibilities over to the other photographer and goto the hospital. Otherwise, my clients will luck out and receive an extra professional photographer at no charge to them. See, I’ve got it all covered!

In the meantime, 2007 looks like a busier year than 2006. My bookings are already ahead of any previous years’ booking pace. So far this June, I’ve booked 3 weddings, been informed 2 more signed agreements are being sent to me and I will be meeting with several more potential clients in the next 2 weeks. So with that I would like to welcome as new Magical Moments Photography clients:

Cheryl and Mark
Laura and Brian
Sarah and Jeremy

Jenna and Chris’ First Draft is done!

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I just finished the first draft of Jenna and Chris’ wedding album. There were so many great images, that I had a hard time decided what shouldn’t be included in the album. I guess that Jenna and Chris will have to tell me what to do next.

You can view the album at http://www.mmpix.com/Webpages/showpages/Jenna.htm

If you have not already done so, you will be prompted to install the Photodex Presenter in order to view the album. I hope you enjoy it.

A Wonderful Day for Jenna and Chris’ Wedding at Indian Lakes

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I’m sitting here waiting for the files from Jenna and Chris’s wedding to be complete their backup and thinking back on today. It was wonderful! We could not have had a better day for a wedding. Everything was perfect. While I had mentioned that I wanted to try using mylar with the flowers, I couldn’t find any. I used aluminum foil instead. Totally cool Take a look at the results! Just wait until you see the other photos with the aluminum foil. As you can see from a very small sample of the over 1000 photos we shot, it was a great day, from start to finish!
Photo of the wedding rings and flowers from Jeanna and Chris' Wedding
Photograph of Jenna being strapped into her wedding dress
Jenna looking beautiful for her wedding day portrait
Chris' wedding portrait taken on his wedding day
Photograph of Jenna and Chris on their wedding day at Indian Lakes.
One of Jenna and Chris' wedding photographs
Wedding photo taken at sunset at Indian Lakes
Wedding photo taken at sunset at Indian Lakes

Jenna and Chris’ Wedding is Saturday

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I spoke with Jenna earlier today and finalized the details for Saturday’s wedding. It seems like just yesterday Jenna, Chris and I first met at Chris’s apartment in Lombard. Looking back it really was last September, 8 months ago! Wow does the time fly and there have been many changes.

The most important changes since I first met Jenna and Chris are my Certified Professional Photographer Wedding Endorsement, this blog and some of the new ideas I’ve got for wedding photography. For instance, just this past weekend, I was at the Schaumburg Art Festival and picked up an idea from a fine art photographer that I’m excited to try. That is using mylar as a background to create irregular reflections in the background. I can’t wait to try something similar with the rings, flowers and invitation! If I can find some mylar between now and Saturday, I’ll show you the results.

Getting back to my conversation with Jenna, I think that the two most important pieces of advice I have for any couple on thier wedding day is:

1) Just enjoy the day, no matter what happens!
2) Get a lot of sleep Wednesday and Thursday nights before the wedding.

Cost and Value

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I received some lower quotes so I was just wondering what the difference was in pricing. I am comparing right now, but I do want quality photos.

You have no idea how many times I hear something like this. Invariably the person who says this books with the seemingly lower price photographer only to pay more in the end.

My brother, Rick, owns ProScapes, a landscaping and snow removal company located in Central New York. ProScapes is not the least expensive company in the area but they are one of the best! Actually, I’m quite proud of my little brother’s accomplishments!

Anyway, one day Rick told me he lost a landscaping contract for a local restaurant. The previous general manager had been transfered and the new GM went with the low cost provider. Rick didn’t seem the least bit upset. He said this is a cycle he goes through with some of his contracts. Eventually, the manager would realize the low cost provider did not provide the same quality or level of service as does ProScapes. Eventually, Rick would receive a call from the manager asking for a quote to fix landscaping damaged by the low cost provider and take over the contract. The low cost provider ended up costing the restaurant more money in the long run.

With wedding photography, the low cost provider can end up costing you more. For instance 6 or 8 hours of photography coverage may not be enough to fully cover your wspecial day. Especially when your DJ decides to have your first dance at 8:30! Your album package may include 60 units but the sample album you loved is 120 units! All of these extras can make your “low cost” photographer cost you much more in the end. After all of this, you still need to take into account the qualifications of your photographer. After all, you will have your photographs for the rest of your life!