Oh, man. What have I gotten myself into?!
I decided that the switch needs to be made. I love this little blog, love everything about it. I love that it shows up in the first page of Google search for my area. I love the history we've had, all the wonderful posts. And I'm sad to lose all that!
Change is good, right? Please tell me change is good. Phew. Okay.
My new blog will be at basemanstudios.com/blog, but it won't be ready for a little while. I'll have to go through and get things set up, organized, figure out what in the world I'm even doing... eeek.
Anyway, I'll keep you updated and let you know when it's ready for your viewing pleasure!
Wish me luck. :/
Friday, January 13, 2012
Thursday, January 5, 2012
5 Reasons to Book Your Wedding Photographer Now! | Appleton
The big question: how soon should you book your wedding photographer?
Well, the short answer is "NOW"...
This is the long answer:
It's never too soon to line up and secure your wedding vendors, especially if you have a popular wedding date.
As a general rule of thumb, the higher dollar amount of an investment required for the vendor (read: venues, catering, dj's, cake artist, etc.), the sooner you should secure them. In fact, as a wedding photographer, I feel most comfortable when I hear from clients at least 8-12 months before the wedding.
Time is key to get the most out of your full-service wedding photographer. Why?
1. Securing Your Date
In most cases, a photographer will not hold your date for you until there's a signed agreement and an initial investment. If your wedding day falls in a popular time of year, you might be struggling to find a photographer you like that's available. June is still a popular month, but the fall months like September and October are becoming trendy as well.
2. Engagement Session
You will definitely want an engagement session, which is most likely included. This fun, relaxed 1-2 hour session shows off your personality as a couple before the wedding day. It helps build that relationship of trust between you and your photographer, while helping the photographer see how you interact together, react in front of a camera, and discover favorite poses/styles with you two.
3. Products with your Engagement Images
Often, there are several different things the photographer can create with your engagement images! My personal favorites are engagement-photo-guestbooks (which your guests will rave about!), blog preview cards, and gift registry cards. And don't forget about save-the-dates and invitations! Many photographers can custom-design stationary with your images. The sooner you sign with your photographer, the sooner you can get working on all these fun ideas!
4. Payment Plans
Whether your photographer offers monthly payment options, lump sums, or the balance due before/on the wedding day, the sooner you book, the more time you have to get that balance paid off! It's much easier to squirrel away a hundred dollars or so a month, than to come up with a few grand right on the spot. Trust me on this. :)
5. Developing a Relationship of Trust
It all comes back to this: you and your photographer need to get to know each other. Throughout your engagement period, your photographer will communicate back and forth about the engagement session, products, payments, and answer general questions you might have. Take note: do they respond to your emails, text messages, and/or phone calls in a timely manner? Do they take the initiative in contacting you, or do they wait for a reminder from you?
Bottom line: The more you get to know your photographer, the more you will trust them. And trust leads to a happy wedding day and lasting marriage. ;)
Check your availability with Baseman Studios Photography.
Then email Mariah with your date and location of your wedding day to set up a consultation.
Talk to you soon!
~M
P.S. To view more images from Grace&Ron's big day, please click here.
P.P.S. Would you ever get married on a ferry? You could use Dramamine as your guest favors! ;)
Well, the short answer is "NOW"...
This is the long answer:
It's never too soon to line up and secure your wedding vendors, especially if you have a popular wedding date.
As a general rule of thumb, the higher dollar amount of an investment required for the vendor (read: venues, catering, dj's, cake artist, etc.), the sooner you should secure them. In fact, as a wedding photographer, I feel most comfortable when I hear from clients at least 8-12 months before the wedding.
Time is key to get the most out of your full-service wedding photographer. Why?
1. Securing Your Date
In most cases, a photographer will not hold your date for you until there's a signed agreement and an initial investment. If your wedding day falls in a popular time of year, you might be struggling to find a photographer you like that's available. June is still a popular month, but the fall months like September and October are becoming trendy as well.
2. Engagement Session
You will definitely want an engagement session, which is most likely included. This fun, relaxed 1-2 hour session shows off your personality as a couple before the wedding day. It helps build that relationship of trust between you and your photographer, while helping the photographer see how you interact together, react in front of a camera, and discover favorite poses/styles with you two.
3. Products with your Engagement Images
Often, there are several different things the photographer can create with your engagement images! My personal favorites are engagement-photo-guestbooks (which your guests will rave about!), blog preview cards, and gift registry cards. And don't forget about save-the-dates and invitations! Many photographers can custom-design stationary with your images. The sooner you sign with your photographer, the sooner you can get working on all these fun ideas!
4. Payment Plans
Whether your photographer offers monthly payment options, lump sums, or the balance due before/on the wedding day, the sooner you book, the more time you have to get that balance paid off! It's much easier to squirrel away a hundred dollars or so a month, than to come up with a few grand right on the spot. Trust me on this. :)
5. Developing a Relationship of Trust
It all comes back to this: you and your photographer need to get to know each other. Throughout your engagement period, your photographer will communicate back and forth about the engagement session, products, payments, and answer general questions you might have. Take note: do they respond to your emails, text messages, and/or phone calls in a timely manner? Do they take the initiative in contacting you, or do they wait for a reminder from you?
Bottom line: The more you get to know your photographer, the more you will trust them. And trust leads to a happy wedding day and lasting marriage. ;)
Check your availability with Baseman Studios Photography.
Then email Mariah with your date and location of your wedding day to set up a consultation.
Talk to you soon!
~M
P.S. To view more images from Grace&Ron's big day, please click here.
P.P.S. Would you ever get married on a ferry? You could use Dramamine as your guest favors! ;)
Tuesday, January 3, 2012
3 Tips for Choosing Your Wedding Photographer | Appleton Wedding Photographer
Time for an informational post, courtesy of yours truly. (Does anyone else think they should officially change the spelling to "truely"? I think so.)
As many couples become engaged over Christmas and New Years, this time of year gets dubbed as the wedding planning season. Back when my husband and I were engaged, I joked that if we could just get through wedding planning, we'd have smooth sailing for our marriage. Or was that just picking the items for our gift registry?? Either way. ;)
It can be very overwhelming as you startspending hours browsing Pinterest doing research online, signing up for bridal websites, downloading to-do lists, and buying multiple binders to organize all your ideas.. no? Maybe that was just me. :)
However, I wanted to offer a few tips for just one area that means a lot to me: choosing a wedding photographer. From a photographers' perspective.
#1: Talent and Expertise
The most important thing to consider is the photographer's talent and expertise. Many times this is not shown by having photographed XX number of weddings, but the quality of images from each wedding they have photographed.
There's this funny thing about weddings... family and friends come together and celebrate on this one day that is centered around you, the bride and groom. It's a once-in-a-lifetime day of joy and happiness. If you should choose a photographer that fails capture this wonderful, yet fleeting day, there's no re-do.
Four out of five times when I let it slip in conversation that I am a wedding photographer, the other person has to tell me about a horrible experience of theirs, one of their friends, even family members. Stories that would be nightmares to me: no-shows on the wedding day, no communication for 6 months after the wedding day, up to re-renting tuxes and hiring another photographer to capture a mock wedding. Ack!
So, whether the photographer has 100 weddings or 10 weddings under his or her belt, make sure you are comfortable with their talent level and expertise for capturing your very special day.
#2: Personality
Hire a photographer that you would consider having as a personal friend. Make sure your personalities mesh.
Honestly, your wedding photographer spends more time with you, the bride and groom, on your wedding day than even your bridal party. I always tell my potential clients in consultations this very fact... and then "if you don't like, don't hire me!" Heh. Maybe that's why some never respond... ;)
Those big group photos with your crazy aunts and uncles that you've been dreading? The right photographer can keep the whole process light and fun, while still keeping control and moving efficiently. Same with the bridal party.
Once again, make sure the photographer you choose is one that you enjoy as a person. If you have a grand time in the consultation, laughing, chatting, etc, good chance that you'll love having him or her around for your entire wedding day.
#3: Investment
Finally, consider the investment required.
It's hard to compare photographers because we are all so different... in our style, our service, our personalities, and the products we offer. It is not necessarily apples to apples.
If you have found a photographer who's images simply "wow" you, you have met him or her and are impressed by their personality and service, then it is time to look at the packages or collections and what you'll be receiving to remember your day.
We all would like to have a wedding photography budget of $20,000, but that is not realistic. Be honest with yourselves... and with your photographer. I find it most helpful if the couple tells me their budgeted number during the consultation. If you need to stay within a certain limit, let us know. We appreciate that, I promise, and there is no shame in telling a vendor that you simply adore their work, but don't have the budget for it.
Many times we might have a few tricks up our sleeves, like gift registry or payment plans that can help manage the investment, so be sure to ask about those.
Happy wedding planning!
~M
Like these images? See Mike & Amanda's original post here.
Have another great tip that helped you or a friend/family member in choosing a photographer? Let me know in the comments below!
Or, click here to head to Baseman Studios on Facebook.
As many couples become engaged over Christmas and New Years, this time of year gets dubbed as the wedding planning season. Back when my husband and I were engaged, I joked that if we could just get through wedding planning, we'd have smooth sailing for our marriage. Or was that just picking the items for our gift registry?? Either way. ;)
It can be very overwhelming as you start
However, I wanted to offer a few tips for just one area that means a lot to me: choosing a wedding photographer. From a photographers' perspective.
#1: Talent and Expertise
The most important thing to consider is the photographer's talent and expertise. Many times this is not shown by having photographed XX number of weddings, but the quality of images from each wedding they have photographed.
There's this funny thing about weddings... family and friends come together and celebrate on this one day that is centered around you, the bride and groom. It's a once-in-a-lifetime day of joy and happiness. If you should choose a photographer that fails capture this wonderful, yet fleeting day, there's no re-do.
Four out of five times when I let it slip in conversation that I am a wedding photographer, the other person has to tell me about a horrible experience of theirs, one of their friends, even family members. Stories that would be nightmares to me: no-shows on the wedding day, no communication for 6 months after the wedding day, up to re-renting tuxes and hiring another photographer to capture a mock wedding. Ack!
So, whether the photographer has 100 weddings or 10 weddings under his or her belt, make sure you are comfortable with their talent level and expertise for capturing your very special day.
#2: Personality
Hire a photographer that you would consider having as a personal friend. Make sure your personalities mesh.
Honestly, your wedding photographer spends more time with you, the bride and groom, on your wedding day than even your bridal party. I always tell my potential clients in consultations this very fact... and then "if you don't like, don't hire me!" Heh. Maybe that's why some never respond... ;)
Those big group photos with your crazy aunts and uncles that you've been dreading? The right photographer can keep the whole process light and fun, while still keeping control and moving efficiently. Same with the bridal party.
Once again, make sure the photographer you choose is one that you enjoy as a person. If you have a grand time in the consultation, laughing, chatting, etc, good chance that you'll love having him or her around for your entire wedding day.
#3: Investment
Finally, consider the investment required.
It's hard to compare photographers because we are all so different... in our style, our service, our personalities, and the products we offer. It is not necessarily apples to apples.
If you have found a photographer who's images simply "wow" you, you have met him or her and are impressed by their personality and service, then it is time to look at the packages or collections and what you'll be receiving to remember your day.
We all would like to have a wedding photography budget of $20,000, but that is not realistic. Be honest with yourselves... and with your photographer. I find it most helpful if the couple tells me their budgeted number during the consultation. If you need to stay within a certain limit, let us know. We appreciate that, I promise, and there is no shame in telling a vendor that you simply adore their work, but don't have the budget for it.
Many times we might have a few tricks up our sleeves, like gift registry or payment plans that can help manage the investment, so be sure to ask about those.
Happy wedding planning!
~M
Like these images? See Mike & Amanda's original post here.
Have another great tip that helped you or a friend/family member in choosing a photographer? Let me know in the comments below!
Or, click here to head to Baseman Studios on Facebook.
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