photography

A new look!

August 20, 2012

You may have noticed that things look a little different around here and on the website :)

With the help of our wonderful designer Stef, we refreshed our logo to reflect where our business is going. She originally made the logo back in 2009, when we were just tossing around the idea of starting a business. Since then, we’ve grown so much, and we’ve really honed in on our style and our ideal couple.

Our logomark (the circle graphic) is the same, but the font in our name has been changed to reflect what we strive for in our photos– classic yet refreshing.

To go along with our new look, we’re also giving each new couple a client kit when we first meet. Check it out!

We include a sample contract, our pricing guide, cards with tips (timeline and beauty for now; I’m working on a few others), a copy of our favorite planning magazine…

…and of course, a sweet treat! Who doesn’t love a sweet treat?! We recently discovered these vanilla caramels at Trader Joe’s…Nina at Love & Lemonade posted them on Instagram, and once we got our hands on them, we were hooked! The funky looking Kit Kat on the right is none other than a green tea Kit Kat straight from Japan (thanks to my awesome parents and their care packages!).

Each bundle is wrapped in tissue paper and has a sticker with the couple’s names on it. Catherine & Aaron are one of our 2013 couples and were actually the first ones to get a taste of the new logo :)

I KNOW I need to work on my ribbon-tying skills, haha. I also realized satin ribbon is more forgiving than grosgrain!

The kraft boxes are each hand-embossed for that extra little pop. Truth be told, I was intimidated by the whole embossing process, but when I was looking for thank you card ideas (more on that later), the gals at Paper Source showed me how easy it was. I’ve been hooked ever since! It’s amazing how easy it is to create custom stationery with a stamp, inkpad, embossing powder, and a heating tool.

Hope you all are enjoying our new look as much as we are! We’re excited for what’s in store :)

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PASSing your photos

August 2, 2012

Posted in photography,products,tips for couples

At every client consultation, we get the question: “How do we get our images?” We’re making the transition from giving your photos on DVDs to sending them to you digitally. PASS is quickly becoming a great way for photographers to send images to couples without the risk of a burned DVD not working on a particular computer.

There are three main reasons we’re making the switch:

1. SHARING!
This is our main reason for getting digital files, right? PASS allows you to share straight from your gallery to Facebook. The best part about it is, you don’t need that awkward download-upload dance. Ya know, the one where you need to transfer the images from the disc and then upload them to a Facebook album, all the while crossing your fingers that the upload doesn’t error out or freeze. With your PASS gallery, you can select your favorites and create an album directly on Facebook.

Aside from sharing on Facebook, we open up your gallery for your friends and family to view and download the images from your wedding (with your permission, of course). If you have family and friends all over the world, there is no easier way of getting images to them. (Besides, who wants to get those emails that say, “Hello newlyweds! Could you please send me photos #12, 24, 45, 76, 235, and 452?”)

2. Photos are stored in the cloud.
This gives us peace of mind because if you were ever to encounter a computer glitch or crash, your images are safe and ready to download again. There is no limit on how many computers you can download the PASS Gallery app on, so you can back up your photos on multiple computers. It becomes too easy to think that the disc IS your backup, but when your images are in the cloud, they are protected.

3. iPhone app.
Speaking of your images being stored in the cloud, another advantage is that the PASS folks have developed a nifty app for your iPhone/iPad! Loading hundreds of photos on your phone takes up a ton of space, but now you simply download the PASS app, log in, and you can show your wedding off in a matter of minutes. This is one of the things our bride & grooms are excited about!

While we do love the idea of sending you something personalized and pretty in the mail, what we LOVE more is being able to give you your images faster and more securely. The postal service is pretty good, but things happen and stuff gets lost. We would hate for that to be your wedding images! Once you get that notification email from us, your images are ready to view, and more importantly, you can show the world how awesome your big day was ;)

As wonderful as PASS is, it’s not perfect and I will admit that I wish there were some more advanced features. But it’s getting better and better, and I’m excited to see what’s in store for the future.

What are your thoughts on digital downloads?

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Walk Through a Wedding recap

February 15, 2012

Posted in personal,photography

This past weekend, I attended a two-day workshop called Walk Through a Wedding. It was hosted by Justin & Mary, who are some of the most incredible people I’ve ever met. Not only did they welcome us into their home, they shared their vast amounts of knowledge openly and honestly. It’s very rare to have people in our industry do that, but there are those rare gems like J&M who love with their whole hearts…and they want to see everyone succeed.

I met some awesome people this weekend, and I discovered my Why. We pushed ourselves to try something we’ve been scared to try (for example, experimenting with off-camera lighting– something you don’t have the luxury of learning on the fly at a wedding!). I had some horrible shots, but once I finally nailed it, I was so happy. I do, however, need to work on photographing a glass perfume bottle…that was tough! ;)

Here are some images with the “Buckles & Burberry” theme. Props to Julia for setting these up…it was so much fun to photograph the details! I also need to give a shout out to Spring & Silas, our models for the day. We had to practice posing them, which I’m sure gave them a good run for their own wedding day! :)

A hidden M! (This set up was basically in the darkest corner of the barrel room in the vineyard…I didn’t notice the M until the flash fired ;))

How HOT were Spring & Silas?!

If you’re a photographer and get the chance to attend a WTAW workshop, I HIGHLY recommend it! While yes, your head will feel like it’s going to explode from the sheer amount of information you get, you learn so many valuable things not only for your photography, but for your business as well.

…and I’m off to photograph a glass perfume bottle! ;)

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Featured: Shoshana & Danny’s wedding

December 19, 2011

Posted in photography

In addition to our first birthday, we also had the honor of our first wedding being published! Shoshana & Danny’s wedding was the first one we shot professionally, so the feature was even more exciting.

Thank you so much to Alison from The Wedding Yentas! I literally screamed with excitement (such that Chris thought I got news that someone died, whoops) when I got the notification email. :)

The photos were submitted via Two Bright Lights, which is an awesome thing to have in your marketing and promotion toolkit.

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Bim’s baby shower: featured!

November 29, 2011 photography

Yesterday, we had the incredible honor of having our dear friend Bim’s baby shower featured on not one but TWO blogs! I submitted this via Two Bright Lights, and while it’s still in trial phase, I can see that it’s definitely something we need to have in our arsenal of products. ;) This was our [...]