…soon you will have answers!

As a wedding photographer, I am keenly aware of how people look. Especially how brides and grooms look (and feel) on their wedding day. A long time ago it became apparent to me that the more put-together the couple looks (the perfect dress, the perfect shoes, the perfect hair, etc) the more confident and beautiful they will feel, and with that, they will have the perfect day! So with that in mind -

Sara Lovell, a Rochester MUA/hair stylist has agreed to an interview with me in an effort to educate and help brides prepare and look gorgeous on their wedding day. Sara has a huge list of tips already, but we are still interested in getting more questions so that the interview can be more productive and more informative for you! So, ask away – and in two weeks, your questions will be answered! Use the Facebook comments tab, or the native blog comments, and please please please also share this with your friends/girlfriends/family/coworkers – we want A LOT of questions, so we can have a GREAT interview, so it can ultimately help you have the wedding day you always dreamed of!

This is something that has been a concern of mine in the past, and of other photographers I know as well. The issue of image credit has come up almost every time right after  I posted a new blog or a new images to Facebook. We photographers put a lot of work into our images and when we post it online for everyone to see it is like displaying the best of the best in our portfolio – so why do clients still think it’s OK to strip the image of any identifying marks (logos) when they repost it on their own social media sites?

Drew is an awesome wedding photographer down in Orange County couldn’t have said it any better, so here it is verbatim:

“I get asked a lot by both photographers and clients what my policy is on letting my clients post their images to their blogs and facebook account. I personally love it when my clients post their family pictures on their blogs, facebook, etc. It shows me that they truly love their images! I encourage my clients to “steal” their pictures from my blog to use on the internet. Here are a few do’s and don’ts that you should think about when reposting your images:

1) DO ask your photographer what their specific policy is on taking pictures off of their blogs. Some photographers encourage it and some don’t allow it. If this is important to you this is something you should ask BEFORE you hire your photographer!

2) DO include your photographer’s name and website under the images (a link would be super nice!). That’s just the polite thing to do

3) DON’T crop out their logo. Unless you have paid for the digital negatives don’t alter the files in anyway. Most photographers use their blogs to advertise their work and do so as a courtesy to give their clients a sneak peek. If a client crops out the logo then how will other people know who took the picture?

4) DON’T edit the picture in any way. Taking the pictures is only half of a photographers job. The other half is editing. If you think you can do a better job or want to edit out some of your wrinkles or use selective coloring please don’t show and/or tell your photographer. That is super insulting. If you don’t like your photographers editing enough to want to edit it yourself than maybe you need to find another photographer next year.

5) DON’T try to print from the files on the blog. For me specifically I know that the files I upload to my blog are too small to be printed in a 4×6 size. It’s not cool to invest in a family session and then print the images off of the blog and not pay for prints. Make sure you know how much the prints cost before the session to avoid sticker shock. Same goes for scanning prints that you already bought. Not cool! Some of my family members are guilty of printing images off of my blog. It makes me cringe when I see them FRAMED in their homes with my logo still on there! To be fair, I’m also not great at emailing them the file when they ask for it ”

Thanks Drew, I couldn’t have said it any better!

Please respect your photographer.

*Photographers, you can re-post this information, just as long as you give Drew credit. (http://www.drewbphotography.com/)

* If you have any questions or concerns, please contact me at kristina [at] photokisses [dot] com

As I sit nice and cozy in my office, designing some albums and ordering holiday prints, I am already thinking of awesome things to do next year. Everyone who knows me, knows that winter is my favorite season. So…

Grab your sweetheart and let’s go play in the snow!

Details:
1/2 hour session, $150 with images on disc. Book now, shoot January 1-31. 1/2 hour if it’s brutally cold, longer if we are having too much fun to quit. 20-30 images on disc with print release. Sweethearts, best friends, moms and daughters, pets – anyone that can have a snowball fight

Contact me using the form above, or email me directly kristina [at] photokisses [dot] com; make sure to include 2-3 preferred dates (any day in January) and 2-3 preferred locations (in the Rochester area)

Once again, this is not just for engaged couples – anyone can play!  Have a fantastic holiday and I hope to hear from you soon.

Kristyn’s friend Jenn contacted me as soon as she got pregnant to arrange for a photoshoot. By “as soon as”, I mean she contacted me in March for a September shoot! We had an awesome time in her home town and her house. Honeoye (oyeoye….?) Falls is a great little place with a great little area downtown where you can visit their great little waterfalls.

Jenn’s hubby was very supportive of the shoot, even though he thought it was a bit silly that she would want her belly photographed. The kids loved it though! They even got some pictures of their own with my assistant Kim while I was in another location photographing the parents.

Jenn had this awesome idea to wrap herself in some of the beautiful fabric she owns. She designs custom curtains and draperies, so she has great patterns in the house. In the end we chose a simple white fabric and some of her beautiful custom draperies behind her.

Hubby joined her for the last few shots, and they ended up being my favorites of the whole day. You’d think this was their first child – he was so tender and loving with her.

Kristyn found my website and saw that I had done some pregnancy work. She contacted me and we kept in touch through email for about a month until we both found a day that worked for us to get her beautiful 33 week pregnang belly photographed. Kristyn is having twins, a girl and a boy. Her husband was skeptic at first about the idea of a pregnancy photoshoot, but as we went along he got more and more into it. We ended up having a great time. I went to their home for the shoot and we basically rearranged all the furniture there. It was fun. Their little poodle Bella was occupied with a chewy toy for most of the time and we had no trouble keeping her out of shots. For example in this favorite one of mine, she’s just below their knees

I did this photoshoot at no cost to Kristyn. That makes three kinds of work I’m donating my time for – my project Dance Visions, Pregnancy, and Birds. Anyway… Kristyn might be referring me to other expectant mothers who might want to have photoshoots, no matter how hesitant their husbands might be Thank you Kristyn for being an awesome model!