Wedding photography, value?

I wanted to share an important topic with you when considering your wedding photography.

That is Value or percieved value.

When you are in the market for a wedding photographer, it can all be very overwhelming. Marc Eric, founder of http://www.trashthedress.com/ ,did a recent poll with brides and grooms to see What is one thing you would like to tell the wedding photography industry."

One of the overwhelming responses to this question was to make wedding photography more affordable. Well this got me thinking about why clients percieve this to be an over-inflated field and I came to the conclusion that most couples do not see the value in what we do, so I am hoping to shed some light in here.

To begin with, I would like to explain that the cost involved in your wedding photography, is not simply the profit made by your wedding photographer for one day of work. This is a common misconception. It is important to keep in mind that the cost involved in your wedding photography covers the photographer(s) labour, education, equipment, overhead, marketing, accounting, packaging, album purchases, designer fees, website design and maintenence, etc...etc...

Also, it is important to realize that good photographers, who devote all of their time to their profession, only get paid when they are photographing a wedding. This means that all of their income must sustain them throughout the weeks and throughout the slow months of winter. These photographers do not have another full time job to pay the bills when the times get rough.
Finally I would like to discuss the value of a good photographer. Value, can be measured in a number of ways, but when it comes to wedding photography, value should be seen in the photographers skill, creativity, talent and experience.
This means that a photographer who demonstrates the highest essence of these talents should been seen as having much more value than a photographer lacking these skills but offering you a ton of "stuff". This is because, at the end of the wedding day, you can never get back the photographs that weren't taken. An added value would be if you receive your digital files, or negatives, because you can then make or purchase the other "stuff", at any time.
So, if you are on a budget, choose the photographer with the greatest skill, talent, education, creativity and experience first. Even if you are only purchasing their labour and/or your files or negatives.

Then if you have room in your budget you can worry about purchasing albums, thank you cards, proofs or enlargements. If you don't have room left over in your budget, then think about making these on your own (provided you have the files or negatives) or you can come back to your photographer at a later date, when times are finacially a bit better, and purchase your wedding albums etc...then. (They make great anniversary gifts!)
Well, I hope that I have shed a little bit of light, into this sometimes overwhelming area of wedding planning and I hope that I have convinced you that the value in photography lies in the talent of the photographer him/herself.

Vendors we love!!!

I've decided to do a new, on-going segment on "Vendors we love", to help our clients who are looking for other, outstanding vendors in the GTA.

To kick off this new segment, we are featuring Crystal Adair-Benning from http://www.distinctoccasions.ca/

Here is a little interview I've done with Crystal and why you should hire her!!

1. Why do you love being a wedding planner?

Everyday I get to be involved in the wedding plans and dreams of my clients. I literally get to take their thoughts and ideas and make them happen like a personal fairy godmother. There is nothing greater than watching two people in love dedicate their lives to one another. I'm lucky to share in those moments!

2. How did you get into this business?

I was an Event Planner in Toronto for over a decade. I remember hosting a music festival and one of the performers had just become engaged and wanted to "pick my brain" for ideas and vendors. That started the ball rolling and it just never stopped! A couple years later, I found myself doing more weddings than concerts and truly loving every minute. So, I chose to follow my passion and here I am!

3. What is your favorite wedding that you've ever planned?

Their all my favourites when their happening! Everytime I do a wedding I think "it can't possibly get any better than this" and yet it does. The joy and excitement on a couples face, the family sharing in their joy, the elaborate decor or simple elegance of it all. I have to admit though, my very favourite right now was just this past weekend at the Hotel de Glace, Quebec. I had the very distinct pleasure of coordinating their very first wedding of the season for a very sweet couple. What made this wedding a favourite was it's intimate size (ten guests total) and it's location! How unique and luxurious! A wedding is made in the details and this icey affair was a great mixture of love, ambience and setting.

4. Where do you see your company going in the next five years.

Wherever my clients are! Distinct Occasions WEDDINGS goal is always to provide a unique and luxurious wedding experience for our clients. If that means a beach in Maui, an overwater hut in the South Pacific, on the crest of Mt.Kilimanjaro or even right here at home we'll be there! I see the company only expanding to keep up with our dedicated, distinctive and discerning clientel.

5. Why do we love you? What makes you special?

Our weddings bring out the very best in our couples - their hopes, their dreams, their desires. Every wedding is unique, luxurious and personalized. We wouldn't have it any other way!

Actually, we love Crystal because she is the hardest working wedding planner that we've had the pleasure to work with! That and because of her honest and kind personality! We love genuine people who really love their jobs and Crystal is all of that!

Congratulations Crystal on being a "Vendor we love"!

Congratulations ...

....to my very dear friend, (and fellow wedding photographer) Amber Richmond, on the birth of her new born, B. E. A. U. T. I. F. U. L., baby boy!!!

Fortunately, I was able to grab a couple of pregnancy photos about 3 weeks ago.

Amber, I'm so happy for you, beautiful. Give him a kiss and let me know when I can see him!

Last wedding of 2007!

Christine and Liam had a gorgeous, winter wonderland wedding at the Glencairn golf club, on December 29th, 2007!

The weather was quite nice actually, and everything glittered with a snowflake and icey theme.

Please share in a few of the hightlights from there day:

And the winner is.....

Well, let me start off by thanking everyone who entered the Christmas portrait contest and everyone who took the time to vote. The pictures that were entered were outstanding, each and every one of them and although the popular choices were the children's portraits, I am so pleased with everyone's participation.

The votes were very close, especially between number 1 and number 7, but the winner in this years Christmas portrait contest isn portrait number 1, submitted by Rachel Franzke!!

Rachel, I will be emailing you!!!

Thanks again to everyone who made this years contest a success. I would love to do this kind of a contest again, so if you want to participate in something like this, let me know.

Congratulations Rachel and her beautiful little cherub!

Jen

Christmas Portrait Contest Finals!

Well, let me begin by thanking those who took the time to enter the contest.

Apparently Christmas makes a lot of us sleepy!!!!

There were not as many entries as I would have liked so I will be posting all of the entries received.

The rest is up to you...the blog viewers. Please vote for your favorite photo by making a comment at the bottom of this blog entry. Please make sure you mention which photo you are voting for by number and please vote only once. Voting will go until Midnight on January 8th and I will announce the winner on January 9th.

The winning entry will receive a $100.00 gift certificate for "The Keg". We can't do this without you..the blog viewers so please take a moment to vote! Thanks and good luck to the contestants.

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