How to Schedule Your Wedding Day for Photography

Helping couples plan their wedding is a major part of my service. If the couple feels confident and clear about the timing of their wedding day, then they will feel more relaxed and the wedding day can proceed with less stress, thus better memories and photographs. I work nearly every weekend from May through October and have done so for the past 7 Years in the Wine Country. Here are some helpful hints regarding the timing of your wedding day.
Let’s pretend that your ceremony begins at 4:00

10:00 Hair appointment.. allow two hours to have hair made-up and transportation time

11:30 Lunch…you must eat on your wedding day to help deal with the extra stress, and emotion throughout the day

12:00 Make-Up…Make up on a wedding day always takes extra time.

12:00 Ladies dress goes on…Bridesmaids must be dressed in order to help the bride get dressed

12:30 Groom and Bride get dressed

12:30 Flowers arrive both the groom and bride’s portrait session location

1:30 Photographer arrives

1:45 Portrait session begins..,allow one hour

2:45 Guys Portrait session…About 45 minutes

3:30 Guys arrive at the ceremony site and begin greeting guests

4:00 Ceremony

4:45 Extended Family Portrait session

5:15 Couples romantic portrait session

5:30 Enter reception

6:00 Dinner

7:00 Toasts

7:15 First dance, directly after the toasts

8:15 Cake cutting followed by garter and bouquet toss

I make a type written schedule and speak with everyone in the portrait sessions before the wedding ceremony start time to eliminate confusion and anxiety.

Feel free to write me a note to set up a time to help you plan your wedding.

Take Care,

Chris

Wedding Portrait Session Options

We do offer a unique service that includes two hours of coverage which would include a portrait session and ceremony only coverage. This is meant for smaller weddings and events. Call for details.

Wedding Photography Packages: Announcing 3 New Packages to Fit Your Budget

I offer 3 packages to suit various budgets.

1. Our Standard Package, The Kingston Collection includes a custom Magazine Style Album and your digital files, a Preview Magazine, and two photographer coverage.

2. Another popular package is our Dream Collection which features single photographer coverage. This package includes a matted album.

3. The final package we offer is The Wedding Story Photograph Collection which includes single photography coverage  and 200 photographs.

Feel free to call to set up an appointment to discuss your wedding plans.

It’s Not Too Late to Book

I have received many calls and emails asking about availability for weddings this summer. I still have a few dates still available. I enjoy helping couples with finalizing their wedding plans. Planning the wedding day schedule for photography helps couples understand how to plan the entire wedding day from hair appointments to when to get dressed. I work every weekend from May through October so I have extensive experience to help couples with their unique plans.

Give me a call to discuss your wedding day plans and eliminate some of your planning anxiety.

Announcing our New: Growing Up Story Album, Projection and Lobby Display

The Growing Up Story Album, projection or lobby display feature was announced at The Wedding Expo. This service includes 40 photos to from the bride and groom’s childhood to be scanned and created into an album. This album could serve as your new family’s first family album or to have as a fun display.

Every time there has been a Growing Up Story Projection at a wedding that I have photographed, I have seen nothing but fun laughs and appreciation on behalf of the wedding guests.

The Growing Up Story can be projected or set up in a lobby on a flat screen monitor. The Album begins at $310, projection and display services $125 each.

Selecting a Wedding Photographer After Visiting a Bridal Show

We had a wonderful time visiting with brides at the Dream Day and Wedding Expo bridal shows these past weekends. We spoke with over 500 brides regarding getting married this Summer.

Photographers such as myself tend to book up fairly quickly during the month of February for the remainder of our Summer weddings, especially if you are planning a Saturday Wedding. Now is a great time to make that appointment with a photographer or other wedding vendor to secure those preferred vendors who seem to match your wedding plans, budget and vision.
As a photographer, I will spend the most time with the bride then any other vendor on your wedding day . So it is important to have a good selection of photographers.

My philosophy and practice in dealing with wedding clients and their guests is to meet the couples and guests energy and to enhance the overall feeling of the day through calm and upbeat service. I photograph weddings every weekend from May Through October, so my experience helps me become a valuable member of the “Team” of vendors you chose to hire.

We put a lot of care and attention to seeing that your wedding day is fun and as smooth as possible. It’s your wedding and you deserve to be treated like Royality!

Chris’ Keys to Photographing Children

1. The key to photographing children is to understand and adapt to their natural energy which is PLAY! Children’s first instinct is to discover and play. With this in mind, my children’s portrait sessions are scheduled for about one hour. During this time, I will change and adapt my energy to your child’s energy. Usually during the session, I will simply play with the child. This is essential. They must trust me enough to know that they can feel relaxed enough to let out a relaxed friendly expression.

2. Photograph in a space where the subject can move and the background will still look good. As a expert in my craft, I try to set my portrait session seens in a place where a child can move and the quality of light and background will not change if the subject moves. 

3. Change Energy, Voices and Play Interactions.  Toddlers and preschoolers have a very short attention span (about 3.8 seconds). With this in mind, I change my style of voice and movement around the child as necessary to keep the session going.

4. Photograph a lot of images. I mean a few hundrend per session. I photograph about 200-300 of images per session (one child). Often I fire off about 5 images in 5 seconds to ensure a high quality expression.

5. Be positive.  Kids react best to positive (yet not over the top) reinforcement. I will often praise my subjects for their positive energy and specific good behavior. These praises are genuine rather that artificial. “Good Job” is artificial. Rather, I like to use such comments as you are doing a good job at showing me your big smile.”

6. Have Fun!  Trully have fun! Laugh, giggle, chase, run around with youth! I am in expert in having fun with kids and by the end of the session it is my goal to have my clients openly admit that they had fun too! (Or have smilly drooling expression!)

7. Keep the session “child centered.” Make the child feel comfortable at all times. Adapting to a child’s sense of comfort is vital to success. Change scenery if the child is restless in one area.  

 I trully enjoy photographing the playful personality of youth. I feel it is an honor to be a photographer of youth, because as a father of 4 children, I understand the importantance of capturing a precious moment in time. Being an expert in my craft is essential to creating to a high quality art that reflects the child’s personality.

 

Enjoy your children today! Call to set up a session to preserve their expressions today, for forever.

 

Chris

Planning a wedding? Chris’ recommendations for planning for wedding photography

Congratulations on your engagement. Once you have decided to get married, what’s next in planning your wedding? Wedding professionals such as myself recommend that you book your main wedding vendors 10 months in advance of your wedding. The longer you wait, the more likely a preferred wedding vendor will be booked for your date. Also, the more high quality and reasonably priced wedding vendors will more likely be booked. In other words, the longer you wait, the less likely you will have your preferred desired vendors available.

Below are my “Top 10 things to consider when looking for a photographer.”

  1. Visit the photographer’s website.
  2. Quality: Pay close attention to the quality of the images. Does the photographer seem to have images with exceptional lighting? Do the subjects seem relaxed and enjoying the wedding?
  3. Expressions: What types of expressions appeal to you on the photographers website. Expressions often reflect the photographers interaction with the client on their wedding day.
  4. Needs: Visit at least one photographer to begin to calibrate your needs and requirements.
  5. Craftmanship: Wedding photography is a delicate service and hiring an expert in their craft is paramount! Too many times I’ve seen friends and married couples be disappointed with the quality of their images or that the photographer was to agressive and obtrusive.
  6. Pricing: Remember, you get what you pay for. After your wedding, the food has been digested, the dress is hanging in your closet, and the tux is returned. The photographs are your visual and emotional link to your wedding day.
  7. Personality: Do you want to spend up to 8 hours with this photographer? Does his tempermant match your needs?
  8. Quality: Look carefully at the quality of the albums and individual images.
  9. Trust: Does this wedding professional have the experience and seem to care about me?
  10. Planning: How does the photographer prepare themself before and after a wedding to ensure smooth service?

Ultimately the photographer is the number one or two most important vendor that will be at your wedding.

My philosophy about wedding photography service is that I am there on your wedding day to use my expertise and experience becomes a part of the “team” of other wedding professionals you have choosen to hire for your wedding. My style and energy on your wedding day is very calm and upbeat. You will be nervous or anxious enough and I want to be a positive element to your wedding day.

Give me a call and we will set up a friendly and informative consultation where together we can make an outline for your wedding day timeline to help lower the anxiety of your wedding.

Cheers and Congratulations on your engagement!

 Chris