Company: Coordinately Yours
Business type: Event Planning and Design
Website: www.coordinatelyyours.com
Owner: Julie Blanner
Phone: (913) 956-8030

Enthusiasm is a big deal. I considerate to be one of the biggest secrets to hiring the right people for your big day. Always look for people who communicate passion and excitement at the thought of being a part of your wedding. That’s why we are happy to introduce you to Julie Blanner of Coordinately Yours. She brings a terrific energy to her work and professon. We met Julie while working the wedding of Sarah and Jacob this summer. What a star! We sat down and asked Julie some questions about her work, wedding planning in general. Here’s the interview!

Q: What’s usually the greatest challenge when helping clients plan their wedding?
A: Accommodating not only the bride and groom, but their families’ wishes as well-they often conflict with the bride and groom’s.  While a challenge, it’s also why I love what I do!  I enjoy finding solutions that appease everyone.

Q: Why are you a wedding planner? What about it is calling for you?
A: I love getting to know a couple and their families during the months of planning.  I am invited to share in one of the happiest days of their lives-nothing replaces the gratification I receive by seeing the joy in their smiles at the conclusion a reception.

Q: What’s the strangest client request you have received?
A: I receive a lot of unique requests, often fueled by impulse and emotion.  It’s my job to help them refine their ideas to deliver their overall aesthetic.

Q: Why should a couple consider hiring a wedding planner?
A: Hiring a planner is like hiring a mediator between both vendors and family.  It can alleviate a lot of stress in addition to helping you make wise selections, providing savings to brides to be.

Q: What makes your services different from others providing similar services?
A: Wedding planning and design is constantly evolving-more brides are interested in diy options.  To accommodate, we now offer ala carte services to guide them and provide only the services they truly want/need.

Q: What are some common misconceptions about what it is you do?
A: Jennifer Lopez provided a lot of misconceptions in the movie “The Wedding Planner.”  It’s not nearly as glamourous!  I’m often crawling on the floor, lifting, engaged in stressful negotiations, etc.  It’s definitely not all design, in fact, that accounts for less than 30% of what I do.

Q: Tell us a little about yourself, (what do you love ot do in your freetime, favorite tv shows, movies, music, tell us a little about your family life and your background)
A: The months of March through October are primarily consumed with events/planning.  I find a lot of free time outside of those months to connect with family and friends, hosting intimate gatherings, going for a walk, an afternoon at a winery and seeking Kansas City’s best restaurants with my husband Chris and daughter Adalyn.  I find music to be one of my greatest inspirations and stress relievers.  From time to time, I even share some of my favorite songs on my blog.

Q: From your experience, is there any secrets or tips you have discovered to making a wedding truly wonderful for the couple, their guests and families?
A: Think of your reception as hosting guests in your home.  When you have guests in your home, you want them to feel welcome and comfortable.  Offer them a place to sit, food and a drink.
Keep everything in perspective, including your emotions and your budget.  Remember that little factors such as a friend who is unable to attend, a lopsided cake or another little glitch in the day doesn’t change the fact that you are marrying the love of your life and it’s official with only two witnesses and your officiate!

Q: If I don’t have a large budget what are some ways you can help us plan and enjoy our wedding day?
A: Establish a firm budget and guest list before looking at gowns, venues, etc. The easiest way to trim your budget is by trimming your guest list.  In addition, doing so creates a more intimate and less stressful day while providing you time to speak with all of your guests.  Bigger isn’t always better.  We offer an ala carte Budget Development session where we create a realistic budget based on your allotment, style, number of guests, any predetermined factors and of course, cost in Kansas City.

Tags: event planner, Kansas City wedding planning, wedding coordinators, wedding planning

After a few days of basking in the glow of your engagement ring a lump in your throats can occur upon realizing just how much work needs to be done. The couple must scale a summit called Mt. Our Wedding. Don’t worry, chances are you have overcome more difficult challenges. We can help with the first task of plannning a Kansas City wedding: picking a venue for the big day. Everything else falls into place after that.

As photographers in Kansas City, we have shot ALOT of weddings in this town. We love working at so many locations picking just a handful was rather difficult. For this list we limited our selection to venues that allow for both ceremonies and receptions to take place at the same locations. There are a lot of great reception-only venues and a ton of great churches in Kansas City, we hope to profile some of them in future posts.

Here are 10 awesome venues for your wedding in Kansas City:

1. Powell Gardens:Powell Gardens might just be our favorite. The sprawling gardens are located about 30 minutes east of Lee’s Summit on U.S. Highway 50. The chapel is Powell Gardens’ signature feature. It features an A-frame design and sits atop a hill overlooking the entire location. Regardless of when your wedding is on the calendar there are many beautiful locations to shoot. It is an expansive, sprawling place. The bride’s dressing rooms are located a good distance from the chapel and the reception hall requires a car ride, or trolly, from the chapel. Hence, I advise two photographer teams for weddings we are commissioned to shoot here because of the extensive distances involved. But the pictures are always a thrill.
2. Tiffany Greens: Looking at this list, it seems as though we are partial to golf clubhouses and their potential for wonderful weddings. Five out of the 10 locations are golf course clubhouses. We do like them, despite not having an ounce of golfing skills. Our favorite outdoor weddings have nearly all taken place at golf clubhouses. The landscaping is always beautiful with terrific light and color with excellent interior options in the event of bad weather. First on our list is Tiffany Greens. The clubhouse is a regal building with a spacious outdoor porch area overlooking the golf course. Tiffany Greens is located near KCI airport so there’s a wide selection of hotel accommodations within a short distance of the clubhouse. We’ve made some really nice pictures in front of the stone fireplace at the center of the clubhouse.
3. The Clubhouse on Baltimore: We like urban settings. There’s no shortage of fun, contrasting environments to put a beautiful couple. The Clubhouse on Baltimore is a perfect location for this. The venue features several rooms for weddings. Don’t be surprised if another wedding is going on in one of the other levels simultaneous to your wedding! Don’t worry you won’t even know they’re there until you jump on the elevators. The Tudor room is a striking, spacious room. Its centerpiece is the tall stained-glass windows near the dance floor. There’s a balcony area overlooking the dance floor.

   I have covered many weddings in the Walnut room. As the name suggests, it is adorned in beautiful walnut wood. The room has a long and spacious bar with windows surrounding the room. On the other side of building but on the same level as the Walnut Room is the Old Grill which is a terrific cocktail hour location. I love the Old Grill room. It has great light. We have a gallery of images from this venue.

   They even let couples go to the roof overlooking downtown Kansas City for a brief time to make some quick pictures. It’s stunning.


4. Hillcrest Country Club: We shot our first wedding at Hillcrest Country Club in 2008 and it immediately became one of our top ten favorites. It is located near Bannister Road and Interstate 435 in Kansas City. The clubhouse features a spacious locker room with ample mirrors which is a wonderful and spacious dressing room for the wedding party. This is a common benefit of golf clubhouses as a wedding venue.

   It has a ton of space with beautiful interiors.

   Our first time there, we covered an outdoor wedding in May. The venue is surrounded by flowering plants that were in full glory that day. They have had a recent renovation in the past two years.

5. The St. Joseph Country Club:: O.K., so it’s not in K.C. but it’s close enough and certainly deserves a mention here. An outdoor wedding near the clubhouse’s putting greens facing to the west allows for wonderful light to bathe your entire ceremony. There are some fun interiors with a restaurant in the center of the clubhouse that has awesome light during the late afternoons in the spring and fall. Check out our gallery of images from the St. Joseph Country Club.

   We especially love the clubhouse’s ballroom which has a stage built into the center wall near the dance floor. It’s a natural fit for a DJ and their sound system.

6. The Madrid Theatre: Located on Main Street in Midtown Kansas City, The Madrid Theatre is a retro glamour venue for your wedding. The architecture is in a 1920’s Spanish revival style and will wow your guests. We liked the big stage at the front of the theatre. It’s a natural location for a wedding party table. We also love the second floor with additional chairs and tables overlooking the main floor. The angels on the ceiling and carousel bars provide fun details.
7. Georgetown King’s Clubhouse We’re big fans of this place, we should be. Chris Cummins, Glow Imagery’s owner and chief photographer, will be married here in August of 2009. Georgetown is located in Merriam, Kan., near Shawnee Mission Medical Center and it is a bit of a secret. It features an indoor pool, bar area and multiple rooms connected to one another with a Colonial, Monticello style of decorating. It looks as if Thomas Jefferson could have lived there. It has two Elegantly Furnished Parlor Rooms, Stately Pub Room, Spacious Dining Room, Resort-Style Pool.

   The venue is perfect for smaller weddings of 70 people or less.

8. Adams Pointe Golf Club: Located in Blue Springs on Adams Dairy Parkway, this golf clubhouse is a striking building with some great views. We shot a Halloween wedding there a couple of years ago. The staff at the clubhouse were very helpful and supportive of the couple’s fun theme and decoration ideas. When our clients are happy, we are happy.
9. Lenexa Conference Center:: Frequent readers of this blog have read my praises for this place. You can check out Ashley and Cale’s wedding pics from recent posts to get a front-row seat for this venue. The Lenexa Conference Center offers a distinctive Kansas ambience to your wedding. It has hillsides planted with native prairie grasses alongside the impressive barn structure. The historic buildings are a large farmhouse and a renovated barn that is equipped with all the bells and whistles of technology. They even have built in audio-visual equipment you can use for an awesome slideshow at the reception.

   The combination of rustic roots, great location, and modern amenities makes this location a gem for Kansas City’s couples.

10. Arrowhead Yacht Club: This is another hidden locale for Kansas City weddings. Located in Greenwood, Mo., Arrowhead Yacht Club sits on the banks of a private lake. The serene waters are within 50 yards of the clubhouse’s patio and are a terrific spot for an outdoor wedding. If Mother Nature refuses to cooperate, the clubhouse features sufficient space to move a ceremony indoors. Check out our gallery of wedding photos from Arrowhead Yacht Club. Maximum guest capacity 225 seated, with patio 250.

Tags: Add new tag, Kansas City wedding, Kansas City wedding pictures, wedding planning, wedding tips

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

I wanted to share with everyone a new gallery of images I made from a couple of weddings we have photographed at Asbury United Methodist Church in Prairie Village over the last couple of years. This church is really lovely with beautiful light and spacious interiors not to mention a great location which is not far from many reception sites in the Kansas City area.

Click the picture below to see more!

Tags: Add new tag, Asbury United Methodist Church, Kansas City wedding photographer, wedding help, wedding planning

Here’s a great idea for turning your wedding into an occasion for giving…

Recent brides can donate their dresses to Making Memories Breast Cancer Foundation, an organization whose mission is to grant wishes, including memory-making events, for metastatic breast cancer patients, while continuing to support, educate and increase resource awareness.

The effort is titled Brides Against Breast Cancer. Here’s how it works, you donate your gown to the charity, the foundation turns around and sells it to a bride-to-be during one of the foundation’s nationwide tours. The proceeds go to the foundation’s efforts of helping breast cancer patients and fighting the disease.

Check it out here!

Tags: Add new tag, wedding help, wedding ideas, wedding planning, wedding tips

In case you wanted to know my answers to the 16 questions from my previous post, here they are:

1. (For self-described photojournalists) How much of your candid-looking work is posing and setting-up of shots or do you get shots as they happen without posing or reenactment?

I only direct action during the posed groups and formals portion of your wedding day. I believe very much in using my camera and abilities to find the genuine sparks between a couple and record the emotions, feeling and pageantry of their day as it truly happens.
Your wedding photos should be joyous celebration of your love and the momentous event you two are sharing.

2. Are you full-time? When did you start shooting full-time?

Yes, I have been a full-time throughout my career as a publications photojournalist (12 years) and an independent studio photographer (five years.) My career began during college at the Missouri School of Journalism in the mid 1990’s.

3. Why do you like to photograph weddings?

It’s about moments, and weddings are full of them! I’ve always been interested in telling stories through photos, particularly the stories of people. My greatest joy as a professional is to find those photos that reveal relationships and the feelings two people share. This makes photographing a couple’s wedding day a great thrill and tremendous honor.

4. Will you be the actual photographer to shoot our wedding? If not, who?

Yes, I will be your shooter. The only reason I would not be your shooter is in the event of my being physically indisposed or incapable of shooting your wedding due to events beyond my control.

5. What kind of input can we have on the shots? i.e. subject matter, shotlists and ideas from other wedding shots we liked?

Upon request, I provide a formals worksheet with the most popularly requested groupings. The sheet helps couples plan out this process and budget for the necessary amount of time to devote to what they want to have shot.

As a wedding photojournalist, I welcome a few ideas and suggestions but encourage couples to allow an open-ended approach to their wedding photography which helps me as your photographer find those genuine, real moments and memories to unfold and be recorded. I can’t produce every kind of photo you can think of but I can produce the photos you never dreamed of.

6. Are the digital files available on CD/DVD? If so, are they high resolution?

Yes, many of my packages are structured with CD/DVD’s of high resolution images. My images are recorded by 8.2 megapixel cameras which are sufficient for any variety of size of prints you would require. They also included a written copyright release signed by Chris Cummins which is often necessary to have before labs will produce prints of professionally created files.

I also offer discounted prices for CD/DVD’s after the first anniversary of your wedding.

7. What kind of color correction and adjustments do you make to the files on the CD/DVD.

I give individual attention to assure a decent quality print of each of the files on your disc. I color correct, adjust for exposure and other assorted adjustments to images which will help you produce a good quliaty print from a variety of printers.

8. Do you have a list of references with contact info?

Yes, this is available upon request.

9. Who do you carry liability insurance with?

My liability insurance is with Fireman’s Fund Insurance. Certificates of insurance are available when required.

10. What is the delivery time for the various products you offer?

I deliver CDs and DVDs within six weeks of your wedding date. Album first-drafts are completed within eight weeks of your wedding date or from the ordering date, whichever is later. The first drafts are submitted to my clients via an online proofing gallery.

All clients have 60 days from the time they are sent the online proofing gallery to request changes to the album’s first draft.

11. With the albums, how does the design and picture selection process work? Are there any fees for changes we would like prior to the album’s production?

I believe our clients should have ample opportunity to give us their input on the products they receive. Most clients receive their album first drafts by email and respond with requested changes by email. There are no fees for changes.

12. When will the proofs be ready? Is there a time limit for the online proofing galleries?

Online proofs are ready and posted to an online gallery within one week of your wedding. Your wedding gallery stays online for nine months from its first posting date.

13. What happens if the photographer is ill? What about back-up equipment?

I have a network of shooters I work with to help each other with assistant shooters and emergency shooters for such occassions. I have two Canon cameras and Nikon digital bodies as back-up plus film gear as back-ups for the back-ups. I also have multiple CF discs (go into my cameras and store the actual pictures throughout your wedding day) and disk recovery software.

14. Should our event last longer than scheduled? Will the photographer stay, are there extra charges?

All of my packages are built around a six to eight hour time frame. If there are major reception events we have not yet covered after eight hours, I will politely remind couple of the schedule we are on and see about completing the events in a timely fashion. Hours in excess of eight hours are handled on a case-by-case basis and may require extra hourly surcharges.

15. What associations do you belong to?

I belong to the Wedding Photojournalist Association and am a member of the Digital Wedding Forum. I have past memberships in the Nationa Press Photographers Association.

16. Why should we hire you?

I love what I do. I love people and telling their stories through images. What better story than such a momentous day as your wedding day?

Chris Cummins
Owner/Chief Photographer, Glow Imagery
chris@glowimagery.com

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

Happy New Year. Of course among wedding professional we look at the next six to eight weeks as “booking season.” Easily half of our business for the upcoming year is scheduled during the next several weeks. To help brides and grooms, here is a list of pretty effective questions built from my years of experience working with couples and working with others.

1. (For self-described photojournalists) How much of your candid-looking work is posing and setting-up of shots or do you get shots as they happen without posing or reenactment?

“Wedding photojournalist” has become a buzzword which has lost its specific meaning with it surge in popularity among photographers. Often, the term “photojournalist” means candid-looking when used by photographers and studios to describe their own work. Often these photographers will set up and reenact a few things during your wedding day but rely heavily upon traditional portraiture for a lot of your photos… there is nothing wrong with this approach if you are comfortable with that. But a true wedding photojournalist has the talent and ability to anticipate, observe and “see” moments as they happen, thus really documenting the flavor and fun of your day with very rarely any need to “stage” things.

2. Are you full-time? When did you start shooting full-time?

Many, many wedding shooters out there work full-time jobs in something other than photography. Their plan is to grow and develop by gaining experience and building a client base which will ultimately allow them to go full-time. A full-time photographer has already made the personal and professional investment of their time and energy to create a valued, sought-after business. Look for the full-time shooters if you want a photographer with experience and who can give their undivided attention to all details about your wedding before during and after your event.

3. Why do you like to photograph weddings?

This question helps you to gauge who your photographer is as a person and artist. Gauge the person’s passion and energy. Does he/she seem enthusiastic or kind of flat? People who love what they do have a tendency to be very good at what they do, and they tend to make the process enjoyable and fun. And knowing a little about what makes the person tick is a good way to feel out what kind of a “fit” personality-wise you may be. After all, you will be spending an entire day with your photographer, so do what you can to be sure the person you pick will be genuinely excited to be there and pleasant throughout that day.

4. Will you be the actual photographer to shoot our wedding? If not, who?

It’s not uncommon for photographers and larger studios to have a network of shooters. If you learn the person you are talking to will not be the shooter. Insist you talk to the person who will and also insist you see their personal portfolio.

5. What kind of input can we have on the shots? i.e. subject matter, shotlists and ideas from other wedding shots we liked?

A formals/posed groupings worksheet is sometimes necessary when planning when and how to get that part of your wedding. I know I have one. Of note: if you are keen on hiring a wedding photojournalist and have a bunch of photojournalism style shots you have seen elsewhere for your wedding, it’s wise limit your shot suggestions to a handful. It is important when capturing the unique qualities and moments of your wedding to keep it open-ended for your photojournalist. A good wedding photojournalist cannot produce every photo you can think of, but he/she can produce photos you never dreamed of.

6. Are the digital files available on CD/DVD? If so, are they high resolution?

This is a popular request by couples. The discs can vary widely in price. Also ask if there are any discounts applied to the CD/DVD after a certain time has passed from the wedding., i.e. half-price two years after the wedding.

7. What kind of color correction and adjustments do you make to the files on the CD/DVD.

It is nice to have your pictures in hand to keep safe and make whatever prints you like. Keep in mind all digital images on the disc should be toned, adjusted and worked a little to make an adequate print. I usually tell all my clients if they want the very best gallery quality prints with minimal fuss, they may want to think about ordering the photography products from me and not on their own from a disc. I can provide more superior quality control over five 8×10 prints than I can 500 image files.

8. Do you have a list of references with contact info?

This is fairly self-explanatory. A real live person who has worked with a photographer will give you valuable information.

9. Who do you carry liability insurance with?

Chances are slim you will ever have to worry about this. Enough venues out there require a certificate of insurance for a photographer to work an event at their venue it is worth asking. More importantly, a photographer who will produce a professional standard for you operates their business with professional standards focused on the long-term viability of their business.

10. What is the delivery time for the various products you offer?

It really shouldn’t take half a year to receive an album, your proofs or any other products. A caveat: although it is not always possible, try to be timely with any input your photographer requires as far as albums, edits to help this process along.

11. With the albums, how does the design and picture selection process work? Are there any fees for changes we would like prior to the album’s production?

You should have some input into important keepsakes of your wedding. Some photographers charge extra for a certain number of changes to the albums they design for you prior to the printing and binding of any album. Beware of time deadlines too, they are necessary to preventing production bottlenecks.

12. When will the proofs be ready? Is there a time limit for the online proofing galleries?

If working with a digital photographer, online proofing (when you first get to see your photos online) should be completed within a couple of weeks of your event. The time period of online availability for those galleries varies among photographers. Some post them for three months, others post for a full year. Check with your photographer.

13. What happens if the photographer is ill? What about back-up equipment?

Any succesfull, established professional photographer should have a network of shooters available for emergency help. You should have written assurance the substitute photographer will be a competent professional.

14. Should our event last longer than scheduled? Will the photographer stay, are there extra charges?

Self explanatory.

15. What associations do you belong to?

I find most couples don’t care but it is one (among many) useful ways to gauge a photographer’s qualifications and professional commitment.

16. Why should we hire you?

Again, this question is similar in spirit to Question 3. Your photographer’s answer should communicate some excitement not just about potentially getting a wedding gig but getting to shoot your wedding.

These are some good starter questions. Add your own and you’ll be on your way to some breath-taking images!

Chris Cummins
Owner/Chief Photographer, Glow Imagery
chris@glowimagery.com

Tags: Kansas City wedding photographer, wedding help, wedding ideas, wedding planning, wedding tips

For many years, as a staff photojournalist working for daily newspapers across the country, I learned to dread opening the morning paper.

This dread did not arise from some need to avoid the latest roll call of bad news in the world. It was to avoid the enormous letdown of seeing my hard fought artistic efforts presented in horrible layouts that wasted good pictures. Most days it was best to not look at what became of my photos for fear of starting the day on the wrong foot.

Most publications photographers as visual communicators develop a very good eye for how pictures should be used on a page. They understand how to use pictures for the greatest impact and storytelling experience.

Truth be told, this understanding comes from years and years of watching good pictures run too small, cropped awful or ignored entirely.

My suffering was for a good cause. Now, as a wedding photojournalist with my own business here in Kansas City, my eye for good layout and how to use pictures has been a very welcome asset from my wedding clients. It is a joy to take the best pictures I can and present them the best way I can and watch couples react with glee, enormous grins and excitement.

Because of this I like to think of Glow Imagery as a truly comprehensive storytelling approach to your day. It is an excellent experience for my couples before, during and after the wedding.
I have some fun examples: here, here, here and here.

Tags: Add new tag, wedding help, wedding planning, wedding tips