The Blog of Chris Gonzales 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

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.

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.

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