For some reason, I find myself imagining the COVID-19 virus as a WWE wrestler “coming to take your wedding OUT!”

It was a snowball effect. It started as a few out-of-town guests unable to travel then blossomed into local guests canceling and then the venue canceling the event…

Now we find our wedding unconscious on the ring floor while COVID-19 stands on top of it’s lifeless body riling the crowd up. What’s next?

Well like many WWE matches, the underdog eventually wins, so let’s pick up the pieces and see this to the end.

I can tell you that ALL of your wedding vendors want to continue being a part of your wedding, even if it’s on a different day, or (aside from your venue) at a different location.

Step 1: Pick a new date (hopefully one the venue has available). If there is a vendor you REALLY want at your wedding (like a wedding photographer) ask them if they’re available on the date you’re looking at. I’m concerned for the snowball effect this will have on 2021 wedding dates. Make sure to re-schedule as soon as you can.

Step 2: Inform your vendors of your new date/location. If you have a wedding coordinator, let them know and they should be able to get the info out to all of the other vendors.

Step 3: If some of your vendors are unavailable on your wedding date, ask who they recommend. On the plus side, you aren’t starting from scratch. You’ve already done most of the hard work.

Step 4: Get married!

Regardless of the outcome, this will be a story for you to tell your grandchildren.

After several years of working in the wedding photography business, and portrait business, I have learned a few tips and tricks to looking amazing in your wedding photos.

Have you ever noticed how some instagram stars like to share portraits of them looking slim and fit, then a second later sharing a photo of them looking like they have an enchilada baby growing in their bellies? That’s because they know their body and what angles they look best in. They know the tips and tricks of the trade. Below I am going to share some of those tips with you.

The basic way to look good in your images is to feel confident and to consciously think about your carriage (how you hold yourself). When you feel confident in your photos, you will look confident. As for your posture, pretend there is a string attached to the top of your head and someone above is pulling it up. Below, I will bread down some common body concerns for men and women.

Arms:

As a wedding photographer, I work with a lot of clients who find themselves holding things (ie flowers) in their hands. People tend to relax their arms and push them into their bodies. This flattens your arms and makes them look bigger than they really are. The easiest way to prevent this is to be conscious of your elbows. Make sure your elbows are NOT touching anything.

Curves (boobs & butt):

This is fairly simple. If you want to accentuate your curves, you need to think about your spine as the “S” that it is. Push your chest out while pushing your butt out at the same time. You should really feel this in your lower back. You can angle your body slightly to the side of the camera to make sure the camera sees your curves. Never face the camera dead on if you want to accentuate your assets. Ladies, it’s also important to pop a knee in your photos. This will help to offset your angles and really accentuate your curves.

Tummy:

Pretty much everyone is concerned about how their stomach looks in pictures. I know I defiantly am. For women, if you are taking photos with your fiancé, turn perpendicular to your partner (ooh I just used middle school math!) then press your bellybutton into your partner’s hip bone. If you are taking pictures by yourself, you can use the same “S” shaped spine idea as above in accentuating your curves to make your tummy disappear. In general, we have bad posture. When you straighten your spine your entire carriage lifts and stretches (stretching your stomach as well).

Broad Shoulders:

To broaden your shoulders, first square yourself with your wedding photographer. You are facing each other head on. Next, straighten your posture and (like in the arm section above) make sure your elbows are not touching anything. This pose also helps to slim your tummy situation.

Remember, be vigilant in maintaining your posture during your wedding portraits, or for any portrait really, and be confident! You look amazing, so feel it and show it.

Engagement season is upon us. I love getting to travel around Houston finding new and exciting locations for portraits.

We have traveled throughout the Greater Houston area to seek out some great locations to take engagement portraits.

After several years of photographing engagements and portraits in the area, we have come up with a list of our favorite:

For an edgie/grunge/hip feel: The Graffiti park off of 59 and Leeland, on the East side of Downtown. The location is always hopping with people taking video and photos. I have taken a few couples here for their engagement portraits. Another location is in Richmond, just over the Brazos river there is a location that butts up against the train tracks that I love shooting at. This location is great because it has so much. You can take pictures by the tracks, the buildings in the area are all different colors and textures.

For a green/garden feel: Herman Park has a lot to offer. There are a few locations in the area that are gorgeous (especially when the azaleas are blooming). Some of the parks in the area require a permit to take professional photos at, however.

If you are looking for a more forest like look: by me is Jones Creek Ranch Park, but also one of my favorite locations to take engagement portraits is at Memorial Park (which is where my parents were married).

For a country/rustic feel: The Fullbrook neighborhood entrance (in Fulshear) has some rustic structures, however I am always looking for rustic locations. If anyone know’s of a barn with wooden fence and maybe some animals, I’m always game.

Hey Y’all! Let’s talk about types of wedding photographers.

No, I’m not talking about journalistic vs posed. I’m talking about the monetary types. There are 3 different types of wedding photography payment plans out there. Make sure to do your research and ask as many questions as you can from your potential wedding photographer before booking them.

1. There is the type of wedding photographer who charges everything up front. They tend to look like the more expensive photographer, because they do not charge anything on the back end. Sort of like flying Spirit Airlines vs Southwest. These are the Southwest airlines of photographers. They offer prints and digital copies, and usually their package information is spelled out very clearly. I am a believer & practice this method.
2. There is the Spirit Airlines version of wedding photographer. This photographer looks cheaper from far away, but as you start adding amenities the price starts adding up. You may be charged for the photographer to be there and a small number of digital images from your wedding, then you can add digital images and print images for a price. This is a perfect photographer for someone who just wants a few cherished moments from their wedding and are on a tight budget. Be careful, make sure to ask up front before signing any contracts how many images you get with their package, and exactly what comes with it.
3. The last type of wedding photographer is a hybrid of #1 and #2. This photographer offers a standard package with most of the amenities you get from the #1 type of photographer, however they also offer reproductions and wedding albums on the back-end with an additional cost. They may tell you they will give you all of your edited images, however you may have to pay to download them or have them printed.

The most important thing is to consider what is most important to you, and make sure to ask all the right questions. Would you like to know what to ask photographers? click on the link below to go to a previous blog post about it.

What questions should you ask your potential wedding photographer?

Ever wondered what to ask a potential wedding photographer? Well have no fear, here are 20 sample questions you can use (in no particular order).

Click here to download the free easy to print PDF

1. Are you available for my wedding date?
2. Do you travel to my location?
3. Do you use off camera flash?
   1. Why is this important? You want your photographer to be using a flash that doesn’t flash directly in your face if you can avoid it. Off camera flashes have the ability to bounce the light off a ceiling so you don’t have harsh shadows.
4. What is your most popular package?
5. What amenities do you offer in ALL of your packages?
6. Are there any amenities that I can add to packages that don’t already offer them?
7. Do you take engagement portraits/ bridal portraits?
8. Do you have insurance (this is really only important if your venue requires it)
9. Do you offer packages with second photographers?
10. What is the turn-around time for your images?
11. Do you edit your images?
12. Do I have the rights to all of my images or only a select number
    1. Some photographers charge a smaller fee to photograph your wedding, then charge clients per image. Some photographers charge a higher up-front fee and include edited images.
13. How do the images come to me when they are done?
14. Do you offer prints beyond what is in your package?
15. Do you offer wedding albums?
    1. What does your wedding album look like?
16. Do you share images on social media?
17. Do you offer same day edits?
18. How long have you been a wedding photographer?
19. Have you ever worked at my venue before?
20. Have you ever photographed a wedding like mine before?

If you haven’t already read the previous blog post (3 steps to hire a wedding photographer) check it out now!

3 Steps to Hire a Wedding Photographer

It’s engagement season, and I imagine a lot of you have just gotten the ring (yea!) Now’s the time to start looking for things like wedding venues and a wedding photographer. So what should you do? I’m a believer in lists, so…

Step 1: Make a list of all of your potential wedding photographers. I would suggest using Excel if you have access to it.

• In your spread sheet, put in the company name, main contact, phone number, website…

Step 2: Determine what’s most important to you and put those photographers on your list.

• Are you on a tight budget and you just need someone to take a few snaps of you at the alter?
• Do you have a specific style in mind and are hoping for some great amenities like USB’s, Printed images and wedding albums?
• How much time do you think you will need a photographer (ball park idea)?
• Of coarse, your budget needs to be considered.
  • Know that wedding photography averages $2,000-$5,000

Step 3: Start contacting your potential photographers & whittling them down to “the one!”

Lastly, things to consider, choosing a wedding photographer should be like looking for a friend to rent (that sounds bad). You’ll want to consider personalities. If you don’t get along with your photographer, your images and nerves could suffer. Make sure their photography style is in par with your vision. If you don’t like the style of photography they offer, you probably won’t like the images they produce for you.

Where do you search for wedding photographers?
Facebook, WeddingWire, The Knot, Google…

Leave a comment below!

Best time to hire a wedding photographer.

If you’ve done any sort of research, you’ll know that the very first thing you should do is lock in a date and location. (generally)You can’t hire a wedding photographer or anyone else for your wedding until you’ve booked a venue.

Some rare few might be obsessed with a wedding photographer and want to book them above all of the rest. They might find an available date with the photographer first, then find a venue that was available during that time. Good for you for going after what you want. All the rest of us tend to start from the top of the list and work our way down.

I would say on average you should book a photographer at least 6-months before your wedding. However, depending on the photographer and their load, 6-months might not be enough time.

• 3-6 months for new wedding photographers
• 6-12 months for seasoned wedding photographers
• 12+ months for popular wedding photographers

It also doesn’t hurt to book sooner for several reasons. First, you guarantee you get the wedding photographer you had your heart set on. Second, you give yourself plenty of time to either save up money for the wedding photographer or you start a payment plan.

Also, the sooner you hire a wedding photographer, the sooner you can get things like your engagement portrait session and bridal portrait session booked. Knocking those out of the park will reduce any stress you may encounter along the way.