The Beauty of Albums

One big change that my business has made in the last year is offering albums with wedding collections. This is a change I'm so, so proud of and excited to build further. Most of my current clients do choose to include an album in their wedding collection, and I'm so thankful for it. Designing albums is a part of the business that a lot of photographers hate - they even frequently outsource it. It's actually one of my favorite things! I majored in graphic design in school and my favorite graphic design project I was ever assigned was a magazine layout. Later, when I had a job in graphic design, what I loved the most on the job was book and magazine layout. It's like a beautiful puzzle! Read my bio, I LOVE a puzzle. 

Again, most of my current clients do include albums in their collections. This blog post is not about selling albums. It's about sharing why I think albums are deeply valuable and an essential part of the wedding photography process. 

The purpose of your wedding photos is to help you relive the story of your special day, and help share that story with family and friends for generations to come. I think it's a real disservice to your wedding story to have a bunch of jpgs sitting in a folder on your desktop or external hard drive. Scrolling through icon size photos whenever you happen to stumble across them on your computer is not an ideal way to relive your day. Creating an album is the perfect book end (no pun intended) on your wedding photography experience. Often the experience is left dangling when the photos are delivered to the client and then no further action is taken.

Of course, prints are also a great way to use your photos for their purpose of sharing your story. If you are anything like me though, only so many prints are acceptable. I have over 700 wedding photos to choose from, and I'm not going to hang them all up in my living room. An album allows for a large amount of photos to all be collected together, and in STORY format. The albums I create are chronologically designed. This chronological visual paired with your personal narration makes the perfect way to share the story. 

For almost every wedding there's an important family member or friend who wasn't able to be there. For us it was Kyle's grandmother. She wasn't able to travel from California to Texas for our wedding. Kyle and his grandmother are the best of friends, so it was crushing for both of them that Grandma Shirley couldn't be there. However, it's important to both of us that she be able to feel like she didn't miss a thing. In the same way, our children will be able to look at our wedding album and feel transported to that moment in time when mom and dad got married. I'm really excited to share our album with them someday.

I didn't have the option to order our own album right after our wedding, but I've now designed one for us and it should come in soon! I'll share photos when it comes in.

5 Essential Tips for Choosing the Perfect Wedding Photographer

One of the most important choices you'll make for your wedding day is who you have as your photographer. There are a thousand and one different photographers to choose, so how do you know who is right for YOU and YOUR special day? I've compiled five essential tips from my time as a wedding photographer and as a bride myself. 

1. Choose someone you like

I can't emphasize this enough! Many brides don't consider this, but you will spend more time with your wedding photographer than any other person on your wedding day. More time than your mom, more time than your MOH, more time than even your groom. Your wedding photographer will be by your side almost every moment of your big day. If you meet with a potential wedding photographer and think they are arrogant, or annoying, or you don't like their sense of humor, TRUST YOURSELF. Don't hire this person. On your wedding day you want to be surrounded by people who make you happy and make your day the absolute best it can be. You want a photographer who makes you feel content, calm, confident, and comfortable. Choose someone you will look forward to spending all day with. Someone who makes you happy. 

2. Choose someone who responds

It's frustrating when you want to get in touch with someone and they never seem to respond. It's even more frustrating when the person you want to get in touch with is responsible for your wedding photos, or has already taken the photos and you haven't heard from them. Unfortunately, I've had two friends in the past two years who had issues with uncommunicative photographers. One of these friends has STILL never seen her wedding photos (almost two years later). Understandably, not every business owner can respond within the first 24 hours, (though most GOOD ones do) but if you reach out to your photographer and regularly cannot get contact back that is a big RED FLAG. Great customer service is essential when you're talking about something as important and irreplaceable as wedding photos. If someone can't take the time to get back to you, you can find someone else who will be happy to work with you. 

3. Choose someone who fits your needs

You want full day coverage, but this photographer only offers 6 hours? No. You want a bridal session, but this photographer only offers engagement sessions? No. You want to be able to purchase an album, but this photographer doesn't offer that service? No. There are so many wonderful photographers out there in the industry. Find someone who is offering you EXACTLY what you want. 

4. Choose someone who fits your style

The best photographers have a clear style and vision. There are so many different artists with so many different perspectives on wedding photography. Find someone who has the right vibe for you. Don't book someone just because they are local or in your price range. If they don't produce the style of images that YOU want to treasure forever that's ok. But find someone who does.

5. Choose someone who has YOU in mind

Whew, this is a big one. As wedding photographers, it's our job to go to weddings all the time. Duh. I'm sorry, that was obvious. Because of this some photographers will fall into the trap of treating your wedding like a run of the mill day at work. It can be easy for people in this industry to begin to think of your super-special-once-in-a-lifetime-very-important wedding as just another task to accomplish. The cake was prettier at the last wedding I shot and will be better for my portfolio. Uh, if I see ONE MORE bride use navy blue for her bridesmaids dresses. I've already shot at this venue twice this year... BORING! Etc, etc. YOUR WEDDING IS NOT ABOUT THEM. You MUST choose a photographer whose number one priority is making YOUR big day the absolute best it can be. Your wedding is not a portfolio filler. Your wedding is not a future Facebook ad. Will your photographer use your wedding photos for their portfolio and future Facebook ads? Probably. But that cannot be the focus of a great wedding photographer. The focus should be you.

If you're still looking for your perfect wedding photographer I would love to work with you! Head to the contact page to get in touch!

How to Have an Amazing Engagement Session

I always get asked certain questions leading up to an engagement session so I wanted to take some time to address those questions here! Hopefully these things will help my brides feel confident going in to their sessions! Ok. Here it is. My version of how to have an amazing engagement session. 

What do I wear for my engagement session? How many outfits do I need?

This is the most commonly asked question I get from my brides before a session. Here are some things I like to keep in mind. 

Most of my engagement sessions are 90 minutes long. This provides for two or three wardrobe changes. I like to tell my clients to have one more formal outfit and one or two more casual outfits - all of which should represent your style. Changing clothes creates more diversity in your images and helps you get the most out of your session for the best images possible.

A perfect example is a shoot I did with Savannah and Mason. They wore three different outfits and this helped their images have a more diverse feel. It almost seems like three completely different sessions, which makes it seem like we shot more than we actually did. Get the most for your money and time!

Are patterns ok?

Patterns are great! However, there are some rules to follow.

FIRST: Please don't both wear a pattern. It's not always a terrible idea, but I say each outfit should have one major pattern between the two of you. If the girl is wearing a polka dot dress, maybe the guy wears a solid colored button down. If the guy is wearing a plaid shirt, maybe the girl wears a solid color dress that matches one of the minor colors in the plaid.

SECOND: Go big or go home. Your pattern, weather it's stripes or dots or plaid needs to be on the larger side. Itty bitty tiny patterns tend to cause weird distortion in photos. Avoid things with really thin pinstripes or a very, very small checkers. Just trust me.

In the example below Ethan wore a pattern, but Whitney kept it simple. The pattern was large enough to register in camera. Perfect.

Same her with Kerry and Jose. Jose wore a pattern, and Kerry's outfit complimented it perfectly.

Most importantly - be comfortable.

This should be obvious, but if you're not comfortable in what you're wearing you aren't going to LOOK comfortable. Don't wear something that is too tight, or bulges in a weird place when you sit. Get clothes that feel good and look good. You should be confident and feeling great about how you look.

Should I bring anything?

You don't have to bring anything, but if you want to that's great! I suggest setting a scene for you to interact with rather than using individual props like signs or chalk boards.

What I love about doing this is that the couple has something to interact with. Natural interaction between the two of you becomes effortless because you've given yourself a space to interact with as well. I will still direct you on what to do, but sometimes having a scene helps a couple feel more natural and relaxed. This also helps personalize your photos and make them perfect for the two of you. 

One of my favorite sessions like this was with April and Michael a few years back. This is also a perfect example of what to wear. They looked adorable. 

Or, you can highlight a hobby!

Hannah and Brandyn brought something to their engagement session that they both love. BOOKS! Hannah and Brandyn are intense readers (which I love because now I live down the street from them and borrow their books all the time). As a couple this is something they do together and love about each other. It made their engagement session more personal to add their shared hobby into the mix.

Can we go somewhere?

Absolutely! If you love to do something together, LET'S GO DO IT! Let's take photos at a coffee shop or your favorite bakery. I've taken photos at the library. Let's do what you two love to do.

Like go get ice cream.

Or coffee.

Or we can just jump in the lake.

Looking for a photographer? Interested in working with Stephanie Benge Photography? I would love to hear from you! Contact me here!