So many couples underestimate the importance of the Photographer to their wedding experience. There is no other vendor with whom you will spend more time before, during, and after the wedding! It is the Photographer who often tends to make or break the entire wedding day. Every single one of us has been to a wedding where the Photographer was pushy, rude, annoying, or otherwise completely unpleasant! And then the pictures weren’t even that good! None of us want to have our special day ruined by such a Photographer… So how do we safeguard against it???

Start EARLY! The Photographer should be one of the first vendors, if not the first, that you book for your wedding! Good Photographers are booked up anywhere between 6 months to 2 years in advance, so that means you will be down to second or third tier talent if you don’t start early.

Start with websites. Every Photographer worth his or her salt has one, so get crackin! Google everything wedding photography related that you can, and get a good idea of the talent in your area. Weed out any photographer that doesn’t take pictures in the style you like. I don’t care if you sister raves about her Photographer and fully expects you to book them if you don’t like their style. It’s your wedding, so stick to your guns! Try to narrow it down to your top three choices based on their website work. Rate them from first choice, to third choice.

Meet with your favorite Photographer first. If they are as freakin’ awesome in person as their photography, Book them! Be ready to book when you meet with them because there will most likely be a bunch of other Brides looking for that same Photographer on the same date! If you don’t mesh with the Photographer, move on! Remember you are likely to spend all day with them!

Do not shop on price alone! Every Photographer understands we all have budgetary constraints and may work with you a bit, but you should never skimp on the photography as it is the only thing that will last longer than the wedding day! Make your budget cuts somewhere else if you absolutely must. Most Photographers (I know I do…) offer discounts for off-season, middle of the week, etc. weddings which are basically dates that we would otherwise not be regularly filling. Wednesdays come to mind… Remember there are only 52 Saturdays every year from which we must make a living. If you consider having your wedding on a “non-traditional” day of the week, you could rack up some truly amazing savings across the board! Think about it! Otherwise be prepared to pay the awesome Photographer for their time, talent, and awesomeness!

I’m not going to bother with what to ask for in a wedding package, because places like The Knot cover these topics extensively. Just ask yourself what you need, and go from there. Are you really going to need twenty 8X10’s??? Most people don’t. I’d go with Images on Disc with printing rights, a nice album, and maybe a couple (like 2…) 8X10’s for the parents and grandparents. If you really want more “stuff” as well, order it after the wedding!

I hope that’s given you a lot to think about… now Good Luck!

I’ve been going through my wedding photos from 2009, and this one is one of my favorites. The utter joy and happiness is visible on their faces as they enter their reception! Such a great day! Wedding in Aptos, Reception in Soquel at Michael’s on Main back in October.

Friends and family: To view more photos from Leanne and Ben’s wedding, go to www.pictage.com/702793.

Friends and family: To view more photos from Leanne and Ben’s wedding, go to www.pictage.com/702793.

For Family and Friends: To view and order images from this wedding and to be notified when all the images are available for viewing, go to www.pictage.com/702788.

It’s interesting to reflect during these slow times of the year on what I have done before, and what I can do differently in the future. Richard and I are good friends with one of the first couples I photographed about two years ago (Josh and Erin, bottom left corner of image below). A couple weeks ago out at dinner with them at North India (yummy Indian food…), I mentioned that I felt kinda bad about their photos, seeing as it was my second wedding I had ever photographed. A little stunned, the groom said, “Why!?!? We love them!” To which I replied in the only way I could saying, “Well, I could have done better…” I was hoping that they wouldn’t be upset with me, like maybe I had short-changed them in some way, but he was completely understanding. He explained how that is exactly how I should feel, because if I ever feel like everything is easy or perfect, I would not continue to improve. I was a bit taken aback by this thought, because I am meticulous in my perfectionism, and am the harshest possible critic that I could have. I guess I am a real artist after all, brooding over perfecting the medium of expression I work through day by day by day…

I’ve learned so much in my first two years of business, and although I hope the hardest parts are behind me, I am more than up for a challenge! On that note, the image below is a sneak-peek of some a promotional 8X10 I will be making up for the coming season. Some of my favorite images are included, some from a while back, and some from more recent weddings or engagements. If you are in any kind of wedding planning, florist, bridal boutique, make-up artist or whatever wedding related businesses, let me know if you would like some similar items made for YOU! I would be happy to supply the photographic expertise…

For Family and Friends: To view all the photos from Abigail and Daron’s wedding Click HERE!

For friends and family: To view the complete set of photos from Karen and Michele’s wedding, go to http://www.pictage.com/702783

Hairstyling provided by Michelle Arellano at the Hairchitechs Salon in Campbell, California.




Kyra the cat watched over Elaina as she got ready to head over to the church!

OK, so my impact on the environment: I drive a lot! Going to meet clients, shooting weddings, driving around until I find the perfect spot for that Bridal portrait she’s been waiting for since she was a little girl! Yes gentlemen, girls dream about how Smokin’ Hot they’re going to look in their wedding dress! That’s why it’s such a big deal! So, I need a fuel efficient car to counter my excessive gasoline consumption. Solution: I drive a Toyota Corolla. Not that flashiest of cars, but the absolute best fuel efficiency that you can get without going Hybrid. I do so want a Prius… I think I will try to hold out for an all-electric car that hopefully Toyota and Honda will compete for and release one soon for the general American public! I don’t understand the Photographer, let’s call him Photographer X, who drives around in an SUV (that’s Sport Utility Vehicle if you’ve forgotten) with his logo plastered across the side. Seriously my camera gear, even with duplicates of everything for weddings, doesn’t take up THAT much space!

Impact on the environment #2: Paper. I mean, printing materials, contracts, information documents can add up to a lot of trees! I can use recycled paper, but I would really rather use none at all… I try not to print ANYTHING if I don’t absolutely have to. My desktop is littered with .pdf’s of documents that I need to keep but didn’t want to print!

Impact on the enviroment #3: Well, this one is rather a benefit of digital photography technology over film. There is no printing unless a person actually wants the photo! I use memory cards so no film or chemicals to process the film. Professional Digital camera’s are expensive and are frequently sold used to get the very last drop of use out of them! The great thing about Canon (which I use) camera’s, and I’m sure all the Pro-level camera gear, is that you fix it when it breaks and don’t just buy new stuff. We live in such a throw-away society, it’s nice when you don’t have to throw everything away! The way I keep the actual end product of my wedding photography green, is that I provide a photo disc to my clients. One which they may take to the photo lab and make prints as they choose to. I also would highly recommend a digitally designed album over one which uses prints. This cuts down on the number of pages and paper used in the overall album. Plus, I think storybook albums from GraphiStudio are dreamy!

More will come as I think of ways to make my business as “green” as possible… whatever that means!

Green Wedding Photography! Right now: