Photographic Artistry » Wedding Ceremony

Bridal pricing?!

Krystal — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 03:20:41 +0000

One of our beautiful brides, Julie, poses near her church in Normal, Illinois shortly after her wedding ceremony this July.

Ed and I have gone through many web pages that brides are on, and the most recent that I’ve read and really caught my attention was a woman complaining about photographers’ websites.

She had some legitimate complaints, one was some photographers just plain have bad websites. Very true. I know I’ve seen some. And I’ve shown Ed what I like and don’t like about fellow photographers sites, and I think we have made a good-looking web site.

The other gripe was, photographers not placing pricing on the web site. Well, I can see both sides of the argument, so here it goes.

I don’t want a bride, or a family, or a corporation to not call me just because the price point I have is $100 dollars higher or lower than my competition. I want them to call, or email me, because they have seen my work and would like to know more about what we do.

Every photographer is different, photography is an art and the beauty is in the eye of the beholder. I’ve seen some amazing photographs, and I’ve seen a lot of OK shots that had a great subject, which made the photograph seem so much better than what it is. I’ve also seen a lot of very bad photography.

I worry that a bride is going to choose a photographer just because they were a few hundred dollars less expensive than we are. Then the day she sees her photographs from her professional photographer, she is disappointed in the results. Sorry, price does matter!

I don’t want to be the lowest bidder, I want to be the one that is within the price range they have allotted, and they love my husband’s artistic ability. I love that my brides consistently tell me how much they loved how we captured their day, and thank us for all of the effort we put into making their day go as smoothly as it did.

I do understand that having a price range is important, because if you are planning on an allotment of $800 for a full day of photographs, in our area, you are either going to get a shoot and burn photographer, or someone that is still training to become a professional photographer.

Ed and I are professional photographers, we are affiliated with major photography associations, have taken hundreds and hundreds of hours of course work and seminars to be a better photographers. Spending at least 100 hours a year in training, as well as thousands of dollars on equipment, dues, and insurance (yes, we are a business, and we are required to have insurance).

Ed and I both enjoy continuing education, Ed has spent the past four years teaching seminars and college courses to help photographers improve themselves and at the same time we are keeping up with the technology around us. I believe that real professional photographers do continuing education, with emphasis behind both the camera and the computer.

Ed has been behind a camera for more than 29 years, and I have been shooting since 1996 as a semi-pro, and moved into the professional range in the past two years.

By the way, our most popular package is includes nine hours of coverage, and it is $2500. It includes a number of things that would actually cost a lot more if they were all done a la carte.

Our prints are $22 for a standard 8×10, with canvas available starting at $145, and we do have on line viewing, and do allow our images to be placed on Facebook, we even put a few on ourselves! Our after the wedding prices are sometimes far cheaper, sometimes far more expensive, sometimes the same as our competition. But how can a bride learn that looking at just the package prices? She can’t.

I do wish brides had more time to contact more than 3 photographers, and choose the one that best suits their needs, not the lowest bidder for the day. Some brides will spends many, many hours choosing their dress. It makes a splash for just a few hours. The photography of you in your dress, timeless.

Krystal

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Special New Year for Bloomington couple

edvydas — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 03:55:27 +0000

The day started as beautiful but cold — and stayed that way the whole way.

But you never would have guessed that if you were with us at the gorgeous Chateau Hotel and Conference Center in Bloomington. We found ourselves spending a warm and cosy day working ourselves into our usual shooting frenzy on a wedding day.

Shooting our second wedding of the new year, we chronicled the day of Adrienne and Nicholas — a fabulous and fun couple. And met lots and lots of really cool people who were both family and friends of the newlyweds.

The day was the culmination of lots and lots of planning by Adrienne who found herself working without her groom — as he was away at US Army training! So, this date became even more special as he made it go right to get leave at the right time, not an easy task when part of the Armed Forces.

We are tossing up a few of the images from that day, please enjoy! We will have the full set of photos in about three weeks up and running.

Adrienne and Nicholas twirled their way through their first dance as a married couple at the Chateau Hotel and Conference Center in Bloomington, Illinois.

Nicholas gets a joyful and tearful hug from his new mom, Adrienne's mother, during the wedding ceremony.

Nicholas gives his bride a kiss and a dip at the Chateau.

Nick and his crew of wild and crazy groomsmen and ushers.

Adrienne and her gals made the beautiful halls of the Chateau pale in comparison.

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Ringing in the New Year with a special wedding

edvydas — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 02:22:26 +0000

Cold, oh yeah!

But, who cares when you have a couple getting married?

We ventured out for a New Year’s day wedding with a fantastic couple — Brooke and Matt — to the little villa of Farmer City, Illinois.

The couple, who leave near Weldon, hosted about 100 guests between their service at First Baptist Church of Farmer city and the Woodlawn Country Club. Even though temperatures were hovering in the teens (maybe colder) you could feel the warmth of their relationship. What we also very much appreciate it meeting lots of really nice people, family and friends, who attended the day’s celebration.

We will take a few weeks to get all the photos up and running, but I thought you might enjoy a bit of a preview.

Brooke's sons could not resist the urge to spend a few minutes playing hide and seek while waiting for the ceremony to begin at First Baptist Church in Farmer City, IllinoisBrooke and Matt had a few minutes free this fall during a wild harvest season (can anyone say lots and lots of rain) to get "framed" for their engagement photos.

Okay, that was a bad title -- but what can you say, finding love in a cornfield!

Brooke and Matt found a beautiful season to celebrate their wedding day.

Matt and Brooke pose outside (we were very quick!) at the Woodlawn Country Club in Farmer City, Illinois. They don't look too cold. . .

Okay, let's make this clear. No one can see what shoe's the bride is wearing. So, let's go for a bit of color and sparkly sneakers!

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Should you see him? Should you not?

Krystal — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 02:49:45 +0000

Krystal’s thoughts. . .

One of the big topics for discussing for a wedding day is, “Should I see my groom before the wedding?”

Well, in my opinion, yes! You should see him before walking down the aisle. And he should see you! I have been shooting weddings professionally for four years and have done a lot of research in bridal magazines and online.

First off, a bit of history of why you should wait until you walk down the aisle.

When marriages were pre-arranged by the families, the wedding ceremony started with the bride wearing a veil covering over her face.

When they finally said “I do”, the groom pulled the veil up and saw his new wife for the first time! The vows were completed and he had no way of backing out of the deal.

Now in more modern times, there have been couples so stressed out about the day that if they saw each other before the ceremony, one or both of them could be so upset with the other, or things going on that day, that they call off the wedding.

Well, after seeing many ceremonies, as a photographer and as a guest, most weddings have small hic-ups and they get fixed/adjusted rather easily.

When the bride gets to see her groom before walking down the aisle with 100 or more people watching, she is more relaxed and can be in the moment.

And that’s what it should be all about, living in the moment!