Are all DJs created equal?

This Saturday’s wedding came with a powerful point that I’ve been trying to hit home with couples for years. We got hired out to photograph a wedding and we had to interact with a DJ we’ve never worked with before. And I would have to say the DJ is either new to the business or totally burnt out, as he exerted NO professional courteous to anyone else in the wedding business, namely the photographer (I’m not sure about anyone else). When it came time for the cutting cake, that’s like an important part for a photographer to shoot, we plan for that, we ask the DJ or wedding planner to let us know when that’s happening. And what did this DJ do you might ask, well as the bride and groom were eating we stopped for a few minutes to eat as well, and with no extra place settings, dinner was eaten out in the hallway. The food was only partially eaten when we checked on the bride and groom to find they had cut the cake in our absence. The DJ could have waited; the DJ should have had the respect to let us know, come on. We checked with him as soon as we came in the door, so there was no misunderstanding on our part, he knew we needed to know.
Now when a Bride or Groom calls me wanting to book photography services, my second question I ask them is, “Do you need any other wedding services, a DJ, wedding Minister, Videographer, or limousine?” Because if they say “yes we need…..” right away I’m saving the new couple money by combining services, I’m also saving them any kind of complications as I’m recommending Great professionals that I’ve worked with in the past and have had wonderful experiences with. Take for example, DJ Jawz also known as Jason. Great guy and Awesome DJ, there have been times when I’m off photographing say the parents outside, or grabbing bite, or even using the restroom, and I know for a fact that Jason has got my back in that wedding. He’ll give me heads up on everything that might happen, along with keeping that dance floor hopping.
I got booked at one wedding and there was a DJ Casey, and I can tell you right now, not the best choice, shy on the microphone and not all that in tune with the crowd. Just keep all this in mind, if you are looking for multiple wedding services, please let me know so I can let you know what works well to make your day a great one.

Biker Wedding

It was biker week in Ocean City and I had a wedding to do on a Friday. I got called and booked up last minute so I didn’t get a whole lot of details on this wedding. I dread driving into Ocean City during bike week, not because of the bikers but because of my lack of a bike. I had a Honda Shadow 600 that I wanted to trade in for something newer but never got around to getting a newer bike.
Anyway catching up with the bride before the wedding, first thing I noticed was the helmets on the table. After some discussion found out Sherri was a rider, which I got a kick out of. I snapped some photos then went out to where the Minister was ready for the ceremony. I was pretty surprised to see biker after biker coming around the corner with their group colors and vests on. I knew then we were going to have a good time with this wedding.
You can check out the group at https://www.leann2thelimit.com/Home_Page.php
And the photos online are at http://hitchedphoto.smugmug.com/gallery/5953534_iMJK7#371453817_MXT5j

Why a phone call can save you money.

I often wonder why I get as many emails as I do, but not as many phone calls. With my phone number all over my websites and on my business cards, why not call instead of writing an email. Not unless someone is price shopping and sending out the exact same emails out to different photographers but still they aren’t getting the best deal I’m sure. Here’s an example of how a phone call saved me money and why I encourage people to do the same. My wife and I were going on vacation down to Busch Gardens with her mother and I called up the number on the brochure we had to ask the question, “is it cheaper to buy tickets online or at the gate?” The woman on the other line mentioned a special discount just started at McDonalds, where you get $12 off each ticket. She then asked if I was military by chance and I said yes, Air Force. Apparently military get in for free there and I didn’t know it because the last time I was there was when I was in high school. So because I called and the woman gave me that good information I brought my ID card and the coupon to the front gate. Not only did I get in for free but also my wife, and in the end we saved over $100 just from phone call.
If I were to get an email, all I might know is their date and they are looking for photography. I would then suggest my lowest package for $1000 for 3 hours of photography with various items in the package.
Now what if it were a couple getting married and the only people present to this event would be the children. Why charge them $1000 when I could offer then say a beach portrait price package of $300 and it includes prints and an hour of photography. So a phone call would have saved them $700.
Just something to think about next time you are shopping around. Even if its not with me, call around, you never know the other person on the phone might be a helpful person.

Summer 2008

Its been one heck of a busy summer, which is the reason for not Blogging in a long time. If I'm not out photographying weddings, I'm working on the new Ocean City Wedding Guide which goes into production this month. Also busy working on various web pages, and photo editing. I'm looking forward to the off season as it will give me a chance to play catch up on Blogs, projects, web design, photoshopping summer's wedding photos, and creating new ads for our wedding guide domains. So definately check back to the blog for some updates, news, and fun.

Maternity Shoot

On monday, 21st of July, My wife Olya and I had the extreme pleasure of photographying Anne and John. Two great and awesome people we just love to photograph. She is due to deliver a baby boy in just under a month, and we were like "we have got to photograph you and your belly". And it all happen on that monday. What was nice was that my wife, Olya was with me and it helped tremendously. When I went to get us some refreshments, she was photographing them and when I exhausted all my ideas, she came up with new and creative ones. With out a doubt it was a pleasure being part of Anne and John's special time and capturing the love.

Check out some of the photos here.

PPASD Photo Shoot

We had one of our first workshops with the new PPASD during our July meeting and it was a great time. Paula from Barefoot studios was our instructor that day educating us on the use of available light. Getting us to basically stop our impulse to use the flash and work with what you got. Towards the end of the evening we got to playing with the Flash bouncing and it was alot of fun. I'm happy to have had a chance to work with these fine models that evening.

Kim and Matt Wedding

An Air Force wedding, I’d like to get more of these weddings as they have a different feel to them then beach or regular weddings. And by different I mean, the man in uniform were laid back kind of people but while in uniform they have that military baring that keeps them standing in certain positions and holding themselves in that military way. And I know that wearing the uniform gets awfully hot, so I wanted to be quick about the photographs I take. It’s always good to catch our men and women in uniform on camera so that they may look upon these images with fond memories of their time in service.
I really liked the church Kim and Matt choose for their wedding day, the layout was fun and easy to shoot in. The pastor was a super cool guy, with a church as fancy as that one was, I thought for sure he wouldn’t let me use my flash, but he was totally ok with it. And after the ceremony the pastor and I were talking and he gave me some new ideas for photographing the bride and groom. One of the obstacles I had to overcome was the height difference between the bride and groom. Positioning them in certain ways was the key to making the photos look right. I brought along a new assistant photographer, Damon for some training. I photographed him before for his own portfolio and for his music album cover and I really liked his creative ideas he had for posing and locations. I know he will make a great photographer. I am starting to get rather busy and so I know that I’ll need to support of my crew to continue providing the best service I can to the clients and friends.

Rehoboth Beach Thunderstorm

Living in Rehoboth beach and having a place on the third floor has given me a nice front row seat to a lot of Delaware’s weather. I’ve always been fascinated by weather, from snow storms to hurricanes and I’m a big fan of rain, not sure why. Granted when I have a wedding to do that day or a beach portrait, I pray for sunshine and good weather, but when I’m working on photos or just chilling out indoors, I love to look out and see the rain fall.

I’ve always wanted to capture my own images of lightning strikes but never took the time to walk out into a storm and photograph them. Number one it’s not a good idea to take $3000 worth of gear near or around water. You can put it in baggies or use an umbrella but why take the risk. This time however, the storm was off in the distance and it was a awesome site to see. On these images I held the camera by hand, I had the shutter speed on 1 second, and manual focus. I had to guess approximately when it might flash again. But in some cases, it would flash, I would snap the picture and then a second flash would follow and I got it.