Once again we had a great bridal show. Remember that if you book your wedding within two weeks of the show, you’ll receive a complimentary $200 wedding print credit! As always, this offer applies to everybody regardless if you were at the show or not.
The winner of the matted frame for a 16×20 print worth $200 is Susan McNabb! Susan, please contact the studio within a week in order to claim your prize.
Ok, so we didn’t move very far. But Sheryl and I did move. The downstairs is finally done and we can move in. So yesterday, we had a couple of movers, move the furniture downstairs. Last night, we spent our first night in our new master bedroom suite. Each kid finally has their own bedroom. We were not fully out of our old room before, Meghan was moving her stuff in. Mathew did the same to Meghan. The one who was most confused was Baloo. I’m not sure he knows what to make of all the moving around.
Now, we just have to figure out how to arrange the furniture, move our clothes into the closet and settle in. It is going to be interesting getting used to the new living arrangements. Now we have two more phases of construction to go!
The deadline to assure delivery of your Collage album by the holidays will be November 14. Remember the deadline for the Romance and Contemporary is October 31. Meanwhile, I’m still waiting to hear about the Coolture album
Meghan was supposed to have her toncils removed earlier today. It was all set. Working in the OR herself, Sheryl handpicked Meghan’s surgical team. The Surgeon and Anestheologist, the nurses and the techs were all set. Mom and Dad were all ready to go. Meghan was looking forward to mounds of ice cream.
Unfortunately, at midnight, Meghan awoke with a 101 degree fever. Sheryl was actually talking to somebody in the OR when Meghan walked in. In a blink the surgery was put on hold. They can’t remove the toncils when the patient is running a fever. We’re on hold for at least two weeks. So now it is two more weeks of worrying.
As I mentioned the other day, I helped another studio on Saturday. I photographed Sarah and Steve’s wedding for them. There complete wedding day was at the Doubletree Hotel Alsip. This is the second time I’ve been there this season. Once again I had the pleasure of working with Noelle, from the Doubletree. She also got me some of their chocolate chip cookies. Yum.
There were a couple of things which made Sarah and Steve’s wedding, uniquely theirs. First, they met at a racetrack, so the wedding was race themed. Rather than table numbers, they used track names. The head table was named after the racetrack where they met. Another difference at this wedding was that Sarah made the floral arrangements with faux flowers. Didn’t she do a great job!
This weekend is one of the very rare weekends when I have two weddings. The first I’m shooting for my self. Tomorrow, I will be helping another studio since they were short a photographer or two and I was available. Normally I would not have done this but Roxanne and Mike had booked me until 10:00 and Saturday’s wedding did not start until 4:00 so I knew I had enough time between events.
Roxanne and Mike’s wedding was held at the Old Barn. This actually has a special meaning for me as well. When I was looking for a new job within EDS, I had just accepted the position here in Chicago. I delayed my departure in order to have dinner with the team at, you guessed it, the Old Barn. It has been years since I’ve been there but the place looks exactly the same.
I’ve got to rest as I’ve got a busy day on Saturday.
Every so often as a photographer, I get to do something different, fun or cool. The other day was just such a day. I was called by the folks over at the Schaumburg Convention Center to take some trade show photos. I got to see a side of the convention center that most people never get to see. Notice that doorway circled in red in the first photo. Well, I got to climb a three story ladder to reach that door. Not difficult, unless you are holding a $2500 camera, with a $1000 lens attached to it in your hand as you climb up the ladder. I was up there in order to take the 2nd photo.
I just heard from the first of the album companies. They are the ones who make the Romance and Contemporary albums for me. Between printing, shipping and all the rest of the process, I need to have those albums finalized by October 31 in order to assure that you will have your wedding album by Christams. While there is still a chance your album might make it by the wire, there are no guarantees! You might have to wait until after January 1 when production resumes after the holidays.
Did you know that finding just the right photographer can be a two way process? Some studios don’t care about a good client fit. They are either large studios with a sales staff and sales quotas or a hungry photographer who will take any booking they can get. This is a disservice to not only themselves but, the clients as well.
You should use the four “P”s of photography: Personality, Photography Style, Package and Price to select your wedding photographer. As you are interviewing the photographer, a professional photographer may also decide if you are the right client fit for them. Personality, Photography Style and Price are looked at in this decision process.
Price
The easiest fit test is Price. If you can only afford $1800 for a complete photography package and the photographer’s packages start at $3600, then you are both wasting your time by continuing discussions. However, a $500-$1000 difference might be surmountable. It all depends on how much each side is willing to bend.
Photographic Style
One factor which sets each photographer apart from another, is their own unique style. Some photographers may have a similar style but there are subtle differences. Other photographers have drastically different styles. The main wedding photography styles today are Traditional, Photojournalism, Artistic and Reportage. I recently referred a potential client to another photographer because the client wanted very Traditional photography. As a photographer who specializes in a blend of Traditional (to make the parents happy), PJ with a dash of Artistic thrown in, I knew this client would be paying a lot of extra money to hire me to photograph their wedding in a purely traditional style. After politely explaining this to the potential client, I referred them to another photographer who’s style more closely fits what the client desires.
Personality
Finally, some photographers see if their personalities mesh with yours. This is the most intangible of factors which a photographer may use to determine if they want to accept you as a client. Some photographers call this their gut feeling or intuition concerning a client. Photographers are human too, we try to work with everybody but, every so often there is somebody who makes us uncomfortable for one reason or another. Most of the time, the clients feel the tension too and book a different studio. Sometimes, despite the tension, the client wants to book the photographer. When that happens, the photographer may decide to be unavailable. In this case, it is much better to continue looking for a photographer who is as excited to work with you are you are to hire them.
Finding the right photographer is not an easy task. From our perspective finding new clients is not easy either. A professional photographer wants you to have a great wedding day so they can capture all of those magical moments which make your wedding day special. It takes just the right match between photographer and client to make sure you will receive the wedding photography you expect and deserve.
No, I’m not being premature. Sunset this evening starts the beginning of Rosh Hashana, the Jewish New Year. So to all of our friends and family celebrating the Jewish New Year, L’Shana Tova!