Avalon Park, FL | Family Portraits

You may recognize the name. That’s okay, we say it a fair amount around here. Brandee Gaar is the owner of the amazing coordination group, Blush by Brandee Gaar. They are some of the best people you’ll ever meet. And when it comes to planning and executing weddings, they are the best. But Brandee is more than just a killer coordinator, she’s also a wife and a mom and we had the pleasure of documenting her (growing) family for the holidays this year!

But you know us, we never do things the boring old way. So instead of a standard and boring family portrait session with lots of “cheese” we started this one off with a few beers (for the guys, since Brandee and I are both expecting and the girls are… well… underage.) and ended it the same way. I’d say that’s a family portrait session a dad can get behind! ;)

But seriously, these 4 (soon to be 5) are so much fun. The girls are gorgeous and complete hams for the camera and were more than happy to smile and throw presents around for our photographic pleasure. They were all troopers and we had a great time capturing not only what this family looks like but who they are too.

Happy Holidays!

How To | By Nate…

It’s crazy to think that we just recently passed our 1 year anniversary. (Boom!) It seriously feels like it was just last month that we were exploring Europe and eating our body weight in gelato and pizza. We love looking back at the photos that our photographer took for us while we were there. They are priceless! Needless to say, we know what it’s like to have to decide on something so important, not only did we go through it ourselves, but we meet with people all the time making the same decision. And since we hear, “I don’t know what to ask or where to start.” all the time… We thought we’d try to help…

If you Google “how to choose a wedding photographer”, the majority of the pages that come back to you are either outdated guides, or pieces from planning books with huge lists of seemingly random questions. (Liability insurance, RAW files, megapixels, oh my!) I wanted to share some things that I’ve been mulling over recently. I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments section afterward too…

First, lets get on the same page and make a few assumptions about couples looking for their photographers:

1. Obviously budget is always factor. But money aside, what’s really important in the search?
2. No matter how cautious you are, there are always a few bad eggs out there that give everyone else a bad name. By taking the time to evaluate what you want in photography and by doing your homework, you can easily avoid any potential messes. Let’s assume that you are choosing between established and reputable professionals so all the standard (do you have liability insurance, do you have backup equipment, do you shoot RAW or JPEG) type questions can be thrown out the window for now.
3. Assuming there are many talented pros to pick from, who is the right choice for you? We’ll be the first to tell you that we’re not right for everyone. This is not a ploy or an attempt at false humility. We’re really just not. Our style is not a one-size-fits-all style and neither are our personalities. But we’re okay with that, and we don’t change it on purpose because we feel that by being true to ourselves, we are better artists and people. Your job is to find the photographer who is perfect for you.
And a few other statements before I proceed:

Fact: Picking out a wedding photographer can seem daunting. You should approach it as a couple (you both need to be confident and comfortable in your decision) and you should always explore several options before making a choice.
Quasi-fact: You get what you pay for. And you get back what you put in. Take the time to be confident in your choice.
Fact: Seahorses do not have a stomach or teeth, and process food so fast that they must constantly eat to live.
Opinion: Seahorses are neat.

Now that we’ve got that out of the way. These next few principles are the three things that I think are paramount when deciding on your photographer. Let’s call them The Four C’s.

Character
If you’re a bride, you have a right and responsibility to research your vendors. Some things will be apparent right off the bat. Do you like their work? Do they post a lot of weddings that are consistently good? Are they quick and courteous in their responses to you? Photography is a service provided on your wedding day, but you don’t see the product until weeks later. You put a lot of faith in your photographer to deliver what they say they will, based on the assumption that the work they deliver will be of the same quality as what they represented before hand. They need to have a solid character that you can trust and that you mesh well with. The best way to get to know us and our character is by looking through our blog here, hanging out with us on our Facebook page, and by flipping through our info magazine.

Consistency
“Even a blind squirrel finds a nut from time to time.” Anyone can buy a website template. Anyone can buy a “pretty fancy” camera. If you take enough pictures you’ll probably get enough randomly good ones to make a decent portfolio. Sadly, there are people out there doing photography that are not exactly qualified to do so. It’s your job to weed them out.  Look at websites, blogs, full sample weddings, and pay attention to the PHOTOGRAPHY, without focusing on the manner in which it is presented. A nice website or an impressive online persona is important to any photography business, but is should not be a mask to make mediocre pictures look prettier. And if you, as a client, would like to see a full wedding of ours, just send us an email and we’ll be happy to send you a link and password to an entire wedding on our proofing site.

Compatibility
This is what we really believe makes us different, what we believe makes us unique, and a part of our business that we take exceptional pride in. We take very seriously the fact that when wedding day comes around, we will spend more time with the bride and groom than they will with each other, with their families, their wedding party, and their guests. If you don’t feel a personal connection with your photographer during your consultations, run away. This is one of the reasons we encourage every single couple to do an engagement session before their wedding, and it’s one of the reasons our engagement sessions so often turn into wine and/or dinner dates. This is also why we like to meet or at least talk with our couples before sending them a contract. That way they can get a feel for our personalities and visa versa.

Cuality and Style
Normally pronounced “quality” (but I needed a fourth “C”) this is pretty self explanatory, but is often overlooked when all of the aforementioned prerequisites are met. Spend time with your future spouse looking at several photographers images, and talk about what you both like and want when it comes to style, price, and how your images are returned (do you want albums or large art pieces, prints or digital files). Ask your friends to see pictures from their weddings. Ask your photographer to define their style, and ask for more of a description than “traditional, modern, vintage, or photojournalistic” (currently the most popular buzzwords in our industry). Make sure their description is consistent with what you talked about and saw in their portfolio.

And lastly…

Once you’ve made your decision, give yourself the freedom to be proud of it and be confident in it. Nothing kills a photographer’s creativity like being micromanaged by a couple that doesn’t really trust that they’ll do a good job. You know what it feels like when you can tell that someone doesn’t truly trust you and it isn’t that great of a feeling. You chose the person you did for a reason. And, since you are brilliant, stylish, and completely on top of your wedding planning game, they are probably pretty darn fabulous.

Till next time,

Nate

Downtown Orlando, FL | Engagement

JJ& Nicole’s wedding is coming up quick! I can’t believe that we’re already getting ready to be shooting the first of our 2012 couples! January is just around the corner. And… JJ & Nicole’s wedding happens to be the last wedding before our maternity leave. So it’s pretty much a double party. ;)

Nicole had an idea for a rooftop brunch with an urban vibe. I knew the perfect spot. There’s something so pretty about clean, gray concrete in the morning sun isn’t there? Nicole and JJ love to have brunch together so we they brought a little branchy set up and cheers-ed to their love. These two are so much fun! Nate and I were laughing the whole time. WE even got to go out and get burgers with them afterward. Build your own veggie burger? You know I’m all about that!