Do the clothes make the person? Hard to say… but they often make the portrait. When planning for a portrait session stick to these 10 tips when deciding what to wear and you’ll be on your way to awesome portraits.

1. Be comfortable: Good pictures will require a certain comfort level from you, the subject. If you are scared of losing your balance in high heels or sweating under that polyester shirt then good pictures are going to be harder to come by. Stick to clothes you like, that build your confidence and are functional and comfortable.
   


2. Clothes are a statement: Outfit changes are the norm in a portrait shoot so mix it up with some clothing options that will make for more fun, sassy portraits. Bring along other outift options that are more formal to ensure a more broad choice of pictures showcasing the various parts of your personalities.
   


3. Keep it simple: Dark, plain fabrics usually work best. Avoid crazy patterns, designs and logos too. Clothing with distinct lines, dots and bright patterns can be distracting in a photo. Same goes for shiny fabrics. Keep your jewelry choices simple and minimal.
   


4. Avoid short sleeves and shorts: Long sleeves and pants are the superior choice. Skin tones can vary a bunch on various legs and arms not to mention the lighter complexion will distract the eye when viewing the pictures.
   


5. Not too many choices and changes: You should feel welcome to have a few clothing changes but don’t overwhelm yourself and your photographer with choices. It takes a little time for your photographer to get the creative ball rolling. Stopping for an outfit change halts and can disrupt that process.
   


6. Ask before wearing whites: Yes, dark solid print clothes are generally better, but rules are made to be broken. Talk with your photographer before the shoot if you are considering a white shirt. It can look awesome in certain kinds of backgrounds and contexts so let your photographer know and they will be better prepared to make excellent photos.
   


7. Props (nothing hokey here): Does your lovebird indulge you with an old-fashioned picnic once in a while? How about a tune on the guitar? Bring along a few items that reveal a unique aspect of your relationship. Talk it over before the session with your photographer.
   


8. Suitability to locations, or not: If you are hiking about on nature trails to get to your locations, you will want to consider clothing that is practical and appropriate for that surrounding. Or, for a little extra contrast, maybe really dress it up with a suit and tie and wonderful dress to strike a visual contrast with the rustic surroundings. Again, talk with your photographer beforehand about such ideas and get their input. A little planning always helps.
   


9. Classic, timeless styles: Great pictures last a long, long time so be sure your clothing choices will age gracefully. What is the fashionable trend today can easily be tomorrow’s parachute pants. So stow away the Ed Hardy shirts.
   


10. Hats, scarves and accessories for extra cute children’s portraits: Oversized ball caps, a football jersey from Mom and Dad’s alma mater always work well.
    

Following these guidelines will help with the mystifying task of selecting what to wear for your portrait session. But remember, photography is a creative collaboration. So some rules are made to be broken.

To see what our clients have chosen to wear for their photography sessions in and around Kansas City check out some examples by visiting our portrait photographer galleries and engagement picture galleries.

Tags: High school senior portraits, Kansas City engagement pictures, Kansas City photographer, Kansas City portrait photographer, Photographers in Kansas City

Meg and Eric’s ceremony featured some wonderful touches complete with good readings and a wonderful singer. It was simple affair which seems a reliable way to create a comfortable elegance. Comfortable elegance totally describes this couple so much! St. Elizabeth’s is a wonderful place with good light, accommodating staff with reasonable photographer restrictions.

Tags: Crosstown Station, Kansas City photographer, Kansas City photographers, Photographers in Kansas City, Waldo

1. 10 Steps to a Green Wedding from the Sierra Club


2. Indie Wedding Guide: a guide to recycling reusing and reducing, for today’s weddings


3. Great Green Weddings


4. Green Union: stylish and sustainable celebrations


5. Ethical Weddings: give everyone something to celebrate


6. Green Karat: Ecologically responsible jewelry


7. The Green Bride Guide*one of Glow Imagery’s favorites


8. How to Have a Green Wedding


9. Nice Day for a Green Wedding: How to marry your sweetheart and love the planet


10. Deborah Lindquist: environmentally conscious clothing

Contact Us Right Away!



Or Call Us Right Now At 816.550.8830

Tags: eco-friendly, environment, green weddings, wedding help, wedding ideas, wedding planning, wedding tips

Article by Chris Cummins, chief photographer/owner Glow Imagery.

The wedding is set, you found a talented photographer whose work you love. It’s a big day for you and you want awesome pictures but aside from looking gorgeous what is your part in creating great pictures?

After all, it’s not every weekend you plod around in a wedding dress and tux every weekend with a photographer in tow. How do you help your photographer achieve their best? Here are 10 do’s and don’ts when working with your wedding photographer

1. Do have fun
   Great wedding pictures reveal something special about the people in the photos. As a couple, the feelings you have for one another are unique and should shine through in your shots. When people have fun and are spontaneous great pictures easily happen.
2. Do feed your photographer
   Photographers are normal people too… they get hungry. Allow ten or 15 minutes for the photographer to eat at your reception. It is an extra expense to feed another guest but that’s preferable to calling an ambulance because your photographer passed out!
3. Do share your ideas
   Express your wants and needs with your photographer and bounce ideas with them. You are a participant in the creative process of photography so your ideas should be welcomed. How do you share your ideas without micromanaging? Share a few ideas but keep it relatively open ended for his or her talent to shine through. Collaboration is important, so don’t be afraid to share your ideas about locations, backgrounds and some poses you’d like to try.
4. Do consult about your schedule
   A good photographer can get the shots you want without endless hours of posed groups. Work with your photographer before the wedding to set aside the necessary time to do your groups. Be sure to include travel time and a little extra time for inevitable surprises and delays. Most photographers should have a shot list of the most popular groupings you can review prior to the wedding to see what you would like to do.
5. Do communicate
   Were you planning a sendoff after your ceremony? Uncle Mike who just received a liver transplant made it to your wedding! Don’t you think he and his wife deserve a picture with the couple? Tell your photographer! Your shooter will have a lot going on while working your wedding. They are trying to accomplish their work on schedule, do it well and make something creative you’ll adore for years. Make plain for them your expectations, needs and desires prior to your wedding, during and after as well. This helps them anticipate shots, meet and surpass your expectations.
6. Don’t be late
   A wedding photographer is responsible for getting the photography you want within the the time you set aside to do the pictures. If you are late, all bets are off. In the event your are late, a good photographer will try to help but it isn’t their responsibility to be your wedding coordinator and keep your entire wedding experience on schedule. If you run into a hitch and you know you are going to be late, immediately talk with your photographer about how to adjust your photography schedule to recover some of the time. It may mean you have to curtail some of the posed groups, do away with a third location or do some of the formal groupings at the reception. Communicate, be on your toes and be flexible.
7. Don’t micro-manage
   While it’s tempting to share your enthusiasm for wonderful pictures in the form of extensive shot requests and examples you have seen in magazines and on the internet, curtail your ideas to the few you love the most and share those with your photographer. Great photographers will not be able to capture every image you can think of, but they can deliver images you never dreamed of.
8. Don’t chase fads
   Photography, like most things, is vulnerable to trends and styles. What may be today’s cool thing often becomes tomorrow’s parachute pants. Photoshop tricks, trendy poses and dress trashing sessions date quickly but great pictures are timeless. Great pictures reveal how people feel about one another, expressions and what it was like to be there at a past time and place. They are done with with superb craftsmanship, good lighting and composition. These kind of pictures never go out of style.
9. Don’t procrastinate
   Be timely with everything. Try to get your picture selections in for the album sooner rather than later. This allows your photographer the maximum time to do their best. Let the photographer know if there will be any problems with payment, a change in schedule or any other obstacle. They are there to help. If you foresee a challenge that could impact your photographer before during or after the wedding, be proactive and let them know sooner rather than later.
   

10. Don’t stress
    Weddings are complicated projects with many moving parts that can go wrong. Take a deep breath, take many deep breaths. Focus on the positive and delegate the little details. It’s entirely possible to have a blast at your wedding and make great pictures. It is not possible if you are in a near panic most of the day. Tense photos just aren’t as good. Tense memories are worse.

Follow these tips and you’ll be on your way to an enjoyable wedding day and years of enjoyable pictures.

Tags: Add new tag, Kansas City wedding photography, wedding help, wedding planning, wedding tips

Article by Chris Cummins, chief photographer/owner Glow Imagery.

The ceremony and reception venues are booked. You have an idea of the style of dress you want, colors and who will be your maid of honor and best man. The excitement is building! Next up is photography. You know you’re going to want wonderful pictures of your big day. But a cursory glance at wedding photographers and their prices can be an exercise in sticker shock. Photography without a doubt is expensive. But why? They’re just pictures for pete’s sake!

Here are eight reasons good wedding photographers are so expensive:

1. They are qualified

   When considering photographers and their fees it helps to remember you are not paying for merely a photographer’s time on your wedding day. You are paying for the ten, 15, or 20 years of experience which is required to create wonderful images in the handful of hours they will shoot pictures during your wedding day.

   Like most professions, becoming a consistent quality professional photographer requires years of hard work. Many photographers attended college in photography, cut their teeth working for years as assistants or as newspaper staff photographers. They also spent countless nights surfing online forums talking about the latest and newest ways to improve their work. They are always networking, attending seminars and reading countless books just to keep up to date.

   By paying more than you might have expected for a qualified, experienced photographer you are granting yourselves the extra reassurance you will enjoy your wedding memories for years to come.

2. Important one-time events require serious responsibility

   This is a once-in-a-lifetime event that is a culmination of months or years of work. There is no chance for a reshoot, not with so many important people in your lives coming from so many far away places to be with you and your future spouse for this one day.

   What happens if your photographer drops their camera? What happens if one of their camera disks is corrupted? What happens if your photographer breaks their ankle two days before your wedding?

   With each wedding, a truly professional wedding photographer has to be prepared for the risks of covering a one-chance event. That means keeping multiple disks on hand, image recovery software, multiple good quality cameras and a list of contacts that can fill in for them in the event they can’t shoot. The contingencies are numerous. Such preparedness can be costly and time consuming to maintain, hence the higher fees for clients.




3. Seasonal nature of work

   Photographers can only reasonably expect to have one wedding per week. These almost always take place on a Saturday. For many markets, including the market my business serves here in Kansas City, the winter months are not a popular time to hold a wedding. Weather can be very unpleasant and downright hazardous. Hence photographers outside of the Sun Belt can expect to be busy only six to eight months of the year.

   A photographer is having a very solid year if they have 20 to 25 weddings. In order to provide you and future clients an excellent service, photographers have to protect their business’ margins for the entire year with those 20 to 25 weddings.

4. A single wedding represents a major time commitment

   Your wedding is more than a commitment by your photographer for working the day of the wedding. They will pour many hours into the planning, editing, processing, presentation and shipping of the pictures, not to mention albums and other photography products included in their quoted packages. Your wedding will easily require 80 hours of your photographer’s time if not more.

5. Tools are expensive

   A qualified photographer will be carrying $10,000 or more in equipment on their person during your wedding. The digital camera gear will usually have to be replaced every few years. That’s expensive, considering professional caliber camera bodies cost more than $2,500 to replace. The photographer must also upgrade computers and software just as frequently. Add to that burden the normal wear and tear on all equipment and the costs become eye popping.

6. Commitment to you

   As a wedding photographer I can tell you it is much more pleasant to explain prices to clients once rather than apologize for the quality of their pictures forever. Ten years from now when viewing your wedding album, you will not be concerned with how much the photographer cost but you will be concerned with the quality of their work.

   Good is almost never cheap and cheap is seldom good. A good photographer understands this and builds their business with a priority placed on a commitment to your pictures and experience first and foremost.

7. Growing the business is costly

   A wedding photographer does not receive much repeat business from our clients. If we did that would mean a lot of failed marriages! Referrals to family and friends are not uncommon but there are only so many friends and family about to be married.

   Word-of-mouth business from happy clients is important, but it rarely is sufficient to fill a photographer’s calendar. Photographers, more so than other businesses, have to invest more into marketing plans that introduce their businesses to new potential clients. Many of these advertising efforts are expensive. A page one placement on The Knot’s photographers website listing costs more than $5,000 annually. That’s not cheap.

8. Integrity

   Imagine trying to decide between two photographers for your wedding, one photographer plays by the rules and doesn’t cut corners to save a few extra bucks but they have a higher price. Another photographer has a lower price but cheats the rules and cuts corners so they can low ball the competition. Which one is more likely to have your back when you need it?
   

   For some photographers integrity is sacred. They understand the long-term success of their business is impossible without it. Integrity requires them to deliver on their promises on time and exceed expectations. Their internal business affairs are conducted with integrity also. They pay their fair share of income taxes like you do and carry adequate liability insurance. Integrity requires them to collect sales taxes and pay them to state governments in their entirety on time. Such ethical practices are not always easy to maintain and often require us to pass on some of those costs to clients.
   

   Unfortunately for some integrity is seen as an inconvenience or an impediment. While these issues may not seem relevant to your decision in photographers, a person or a business which honors all of their obligations is much more likely to honor their obligations to you.
   

   Of course, a more expensive photographer doesn’t guarantee such integrity but doing right by others is the only way for some and it usually costs more.

Wedding photography is expensive. No one can disagree. There are many reasons a photographer has to charge such rates to ensure their survival over the long haul. As you ponder your options and choices don’t lose sight of how important your memories from this day will be to you. They shouldn’t be trusted with just anyone. The photographers may cost more than you originally expected but ask yourself a question: Is it better to pay more than you expected or less than you should?

About the author: Chris Cummins is a Kansas City wedding photographer, the owner and chief photographer of Glow Imagery. You can follow Chris on Twitter and visit Glow Imagery on Facebook.

Tags: Kansas City wedding photography, Portrait photographer, wedding help, wedding planning, wedding tips

Hey all,

We have moved our blog to a new location. Go to http://www.glowimagery.com/glowblog to see our new location. We hope you’ll like it!

We are very excited to announce a new portraits gallery on our website. We also have links and an inquiry form for those wishing to find out more information about availability packages and pricing for a variety of portrait session including high school seniors, family, maternity and baby pictures! Check out the gallery here.

Are you interested in booking a portrait session with Glow Imagery? Click here to fill our our inquiry form.

1. Think you have seen some ugly cakes? Check out Cake Wrecks. I have to say the second one is stupendously bad.

2.On another note much more asethetic note, this couple used a very cool wedding theme using pixelated images and flowers to create a distinctive look.

3.Lastly this is a pretty neat proposal video.

Are you worried about questionable style choices for your wedding? Don’t fret. Wanna good laugh? Check these wedding pics out. Enjoy!

“Passion, though a bad regulator, is a powerful spring.” - Ralph Waldo Emerson