Scenes from some recent work.
What I love most about this bus is that it has literally taken on a life (or, lives, really) of its own. I’m not a fan of the “Life After People” show, but I imagine this could be the potential fate for similar vehicles.
I drove by this old thing for more than five years before I got the nerve up to ask the owner if I could photograph it.
Lucky Ginger Studio: Lost City Bus
Follow this link to learn about the backstory and to see more Lost City Bus images.
It’s not every wedding where the bride happens to know a bit about photography, but that’s my scenario. I’m getting re-married later this year, and a) I don’t want to/can’t shoot my own event and b) I want my darkroom buddy Becca to celebrate with us…not work, so I hired a professional to capture our Big Day.
Here are some (perhaps slightly irreverant) pointers for brides.
1. So, You’re Getting Married!
You’re not alone! Most of us want to get married on a Saturday, and there are only 50 or so of them a year – and not all of them are created equal. Some dates (Saturdays or not) are more popular than others. Remember the craze over easy-to-remember-anniversary dates like 07/07/07 and 08/08/08 and 09/09/09? What about regional differences? Where I live in Virginia, most weddings – especially outdoor receptions – are held in the spring or fall so the bridal party, guests and cake won’t melt in the heat and humidity.
I thought I got a good jump on things by making inquiries eleven months in advance, only to learn that my first choice was already booked.
My point: you and dozens of other brides and grooms in your area may all be honing in on the same date. There are only so many photographers that will fit your style and budget, so my advice is for you to start looking early.
2. Identify Candidates
There are a zillion ways to find photographers:
- recommendations (my first candidate photographed a friend’s sister’s wedding, and I loved what she did. But, some other couple snatched her up first)
- Yellow Pages: you’ll find local photographers’ ads with web sites you can review at your leisure
- search engines or Internet Yellow Pages, like www.superpages.com. Simply type in what you’re looking for and where you need it (example: wedding photographer, Timbuktu…or wherever your event is going to be), and results with hyperlinks to web sites magically appear
- social networking sites, like Facebook. There are plenty of pages you can be “fans” of…or, at least, you can look at to see how their work stacks up
- newspapers: your Sunday paper (uh, that is if your town still has one!) should have a section with wedding announcements and the like. Look at the bridal portaits and note the photo credits. There may be a list of providers in your area, which is how I stumbled upon my photographer
- bridal magazines: your region probably has one. Take a look at the display ads.
- bridal shows: in our area, the bridal show is put on by the publisher of the local bridal magazine. I’m actually going to one tomorrow to interview some invitation vendors. Benefit of walking a bridal show? You can see examples of photographers’ work, and you can also see if there’s any kind of personality connection.
3. Look at Portfolios
Once you begin looking at porfolios - either in person or online – start tuning into what “speaks” to you.
- are you looking for someone to shoot in a photojournalistic/candid style, or are you hoping to come away with a collection of formal, posed portraits?
- do you want your photos to be color or black and white or a combination?
- do you want detail shots? (think: the buttons up the back of your gown, or a close-up of the wedding bands or cake topper). Are you seeing anything like this?
- basic stuff: are the pictures in focus? is the composition of the photos good, or are there distracting elements in the background, like air conditioners or telephone poles seemingly coming out of the tops of people’s heads (I’ve seen examples like that in showbooks!)
You’ll know from looking at multiple sites and albums what look works for you and what doesn’t.
I also recommend looking at online and “real life” versions of their work. Images may look different in albums than they do on a web site, plus you want to see the quality of the print and the paper that was used – especially if you’re looking at black and white images. Many photographers shoot only digital images now, and while technology has come a long way, if your candidate has not kept up with the times and the latest equipment, their digital black & white prints will look “flat” compared to a black & white print made from film.
If you don’t like the “look” of a photographer’s portfolio, they’re not qualified to move onto the package pricing level with you. Move on!
4. Do You Envision Spending HOURS with This Person?
After you narrow down the “look,” the next step is to see if you’re compatible with the person behind the lens.
Now, you’re not going to be spending the rest of your life with this person, but you will have the photos for that duration. Long after the cake is gone and the guests have sobered up, the images survive as a testament to how much fun you had. And your Big Day is a Big, Long, Emotional, Exhausting Day. You need to have someone who is capturing the joyfulness of the event and details of your wedding story without being overbearing, domineering and irritating (sorry! having a flashback to my first wedding’s photographer).
I didn’t want someone who was running a wedding photography “mill” with formulaic shots. For me, it was important to find someone who was passionate about photography who “sees” things the way I would photograph something.
I invited my ultimate hire to meet me on site of the wedding and reception so I could introduce her to my vision of how the day would be staged. We both “clicked” on how the day could flow as we bounced different ideas off each other.
5. Price: What You’re Getting…and Who You’re Getting for the $$
Now, prices are all over the board. You could spend $1,000…or you could spend $5,000 and have Your Special Day covered. What accounts for the differences?
- Experience and equipment and entourage, for starters. It’s unreasonable for someone fresh out of university to expect to command the same rate as someone who has 20 years of experience under their tripod. Find out how long they’ve been doing this sort of work. See if you can find out a little bit about the equipment that they’re using and the type of lighting situations they’re experienced with. Yes, you can probably get a ”deal” from someone who is trying to build a business, but that same person may not have the talent to work with difficult lighting or composition situations (example: are you getting married in a cavernous, dark cathedral? Someone with a point-and-shoot digital camera may not be able to capture the nuances you’re envisioning). As for the entourage: is your event intimate enough to be covered by one photographer? Or, do you need multiple cameras clicking at your 300+ guests?
- Are you getting THE photographer – or an assistant? My second-time-around wedding is going to be what I call a “micro wedding.” One photographer said that he would send an assistant to cover my event instead of shooting it himself. Again: with limited Saturdays, why should he cover me personally when he can send a helper and then go off and make another $5,ooo for himself at a bigger wedding? He’s running a for-profit business, and my needs didn’t qualify for his personal attention. I don’t fault him for it. I’m just glad he was upfront about it. You need to get clarification on exactly who will be at your wedding: the master, or the apprentice?
- Location of event. Are you and your photographer in the same area? If not: expect to have to pay for travel time and (perhaps) hotel accommodations for the photographer and (if applicable) his or her assistants.
- Duration of event. Bridal portrait/engagement photo/rehearsal dinner coverage aside: the bulk of your coverage will be on your wedding day. Most likely, you don’t want your photographer waltzing in as your guests are being seated. You probably want some pre-ceremony shots (e.g. bride getting ready; anxious groom goofing around with groomsmen), so you may need your photographer to be on hand one or two hours prior to the ceremony. You want reception coverage, but you may not want the photographer to be around long enough for your college buddies to start doing things that are potentially harmful to their future professional and/or political careers. Think about how many hours you want – and can afford.
- “Deliverables.” Ahhhh…this for me was HUGE. There are differences between Bridal Expectations/Needs for a First Wedding vs. a Second (or Third) Wedding. Even as a first-time bride, I skipped a lot of the “traditional” things, such as the pre-wedding bridal portrait. I went heavy instead on the album, down to the monogrammed leather cover. As a second-time-arounder, I knew I wanted even less. I was very clear with potential candidates that I was not in my 20s and doing this for the first time. I had no need for the engagement photo, the bridal portrait, parents’ albums, grandparents’ albums…even a physical album for us (this after my fianceé admitted that he only ever looked at the album from his first wedding only ONCE…and as mine collects dust in a closet.) I told them I wanted “day-of” coverage, and I only wanted a disk of high-resolution images so I could print out (at my leisure) what I wanted. I was surprised at how much push-back I got from some photographers, which made me think perhaps they treated potential clients as “one-size-fits-all.” One went so far as to not listen to my wishes that she kept pushing better and better “deals”…throwing in rehearsal dinner coverage and playing a slide-show during the reception…all for about $3,000 more than I wanted to spend. Deal? NO DEAL. What I liked about the woman I hired is that she really LISTENED and she “got it.”
- Post-production. Yeah, your reception is only five hours long, but post-production will easily take two to four times as long. Post-production is when the photographer reviews all of the images, chucks the bad ones (hey, even the best of us shoot non-flattering frames and there’s no point in retouching images of your Uncle Lenny with a mouthful of shrimp cocktail), and enhance the “keepers.” Rome wasn’t built in a day, and you’re not going to get Saturday’s wedding pictures back by Monday…or Tuesday…or even Wednesday. Craftsmanship and artistry take time, and time is money – and you’re going to get exactly what you pay for.
Hopefully, these tips will help you check ”hire a photographer” off your extensive wedding punch list. Next installment on this topic: how to work with your wedding photographer.
…new bag tags for 2010. Available to ship the end of this month.
Let’s hope so!
This just in from the Front Lines (a.k.a. the Atlanta Gift Show, one of the nation’s largest wholesale shows, arguably an important indicator of retailers’ economic outlook):
“The Atlanta show was one of the best shows we’ve had in quite a few years. Lots of orders written and a very positive attitude—great news!!!”
This tiding of joy came via my rep Debbie Hawkins of Low Country Home Décor & Gifts.
For those of you who have had the “pleasure” of going to AmericasMart as either a buyer or exhibitor, you know how insanely crazy the January Atlanta shows were “back in the day”: elevators were crowded; throngs of people couldn’t figure out how to safely descend escalators; there were stampedes in Cash & Carry Jewelry.
Last year’s Front Line Report was dismal. The first Saturday, when the temps opened, you could walk on to any elevator. There were no Death Lines on the escalators. Tumbleweeds blew through the aisles.
I’m optimistic that the tide is turning/there’s wind in our sails/we’re back from the brink of disaster/(fill in your own cliché here).
Judging from my “real job,” which is in media and marketing, most of my clients feel that the economy’s no longer in free fall. While business is not 100% back to “normal” for many of them, they feel like they hit bottom months ago and they’re now on a slow, steady upswing.
This is great news because when people start making money and gain confidence in the economy, they feel comfortable enough to get a little spendy.
We’re a nation of consumers, and we can only go so long before our spending fingers get itchy. And because the health of our economy is so dependent on retail sales, the itch needs some scratching.
Here’s to a happier, more profitable year for our nation’s retailers! Welcome back from the dead!
A quick getaway to Punta Cana yielded some good potential candidates for a Lucky Ginger Studio 2011 “Tropical Escape” calendar.
The view from my chaiseView towards la playa
Beach-side massage station
...washed up coconut
Orchids by the spa
Palm detail
Sunrise
Day's end
Visit the Lucky Ginger Studio site to see more!
I temporarily overcame my aversion to the white stuff that fell on the ground in order to shoot some additions for the Lucky Ginger Studio lineup.
What global warming?!
I am having a pretty good show at “Jingle on the James“*…I just never know in advance what’s going to sell.
Hot sellers yesterday: the Champagne magnets (sold OUT! ugh! NOW WHAT?!), calendars, bag tags.
I didn’t sell any framed art yesterday, but this is my theory:
- It’s Christmas time.
- People are shopping for other people’s gifts.
- People are not likely to buy wall art to give as a gift.
- People want to buy wall art for themselves.
- People remind themselves that they are out shopping for other people’s gifts. Therefore: they take their wants out of the shopping equation and buy Champagne magnets, calendars and bag tags…for other people.
*and by “good show” – I’m using my 2008 Bizarre Bazaar sales by comparison. I’m not killing it by any means (e.g.: not ready to quit my day job!). That being said: traffic is good (excellent promo work, Tyler!!), stuff is selling.
…so far, so good in Unit 403 at 210 Rock at Rocketts Landing.
5 out of 7 of us are in place in the unit, and I’ll be in good company when it comes to display tweaking Saturday morning.
Doors open at noon on Saturday 12/12 for the inaugural “Jingle on the James”. Come check it out!
Event details at www.onesmartgallery.net
A weekend of art, dining & holiday festivity on the James at Rocketts Landing
Saturday, December 12 (noon to nine)
Sunday, December 13 (noon to five)
Tyler Snidow’s smART Gallery joins Rocketts Landing to host a holiday weekend of art and fine crafts, dining and twinkling lights on the river!
This is Richmond’s first and only holiday event on the river and includes prime viewing of the Parade of Lights lighted boat festival on Saturday evening. Shop from home-to-home in the temporary art village at Rocketts Landing.
Original artwork by 100 artists will be for sale, including oil and acrylic paintings, lawn and garden sculptures, watercolors, oil pastels, pencils and pen and inks, signed prints, numbered prints, giclee prints, wood, sculpture, original children’s room art, mirrors, pottery, ceramics, jewelry, photography, accessories and more.
I’ll be there in 210 Rock on the 4th floor with the latest Lucky Ginger Studio creations, including 2010 desk calendars!
Event details at www.onesmartgallery.net
My friends know I have transitioned from my “It’s too early to think about Christmas” Grinch-esque mood to acceptance mode. Let’s face it: the holidays are bearing down on us.
Should you find yourself in a gift-shopping mood today, I invite you to come shop the Lucky Ginger Studio selection of framed art, 2010 desk calendars, note cards and bag tags:
Kacy Cosentini’s Bi-Annual “Show & Sell”
To Benefit the American Cancer Society
Saturday, November 7, 2009
4pm – ???
2320 Castle Hill Rd Midlothian
10% of proceeds will benefit “Making Strides Against Breast Cancer.”
