Crafting the Perfect Wedding Album

Happy Monday everyone! Today's blog is short but important. Today we are talking about picking the best images for your wedding album. Over the past 12 years of doing wedding photography Sarah and I have designed hundreds of wedding albums. After a time we started to develop a philosophy when it came to how these albums should be built. Similar to our business philosophy, which is to revolve everything we do around love, our photo album method is to tell a love story. 

It is very easy to grab 30 or so of your favorite photos and drag them into a folder and hit the place order button. It’s fine to do that if that's what you want but realize that your photo album could be so much more. Your future granddaughter could pick this book off the shelf and see either a common book of old photos or they could be reading a fairy tale. The difference is that one book is made up of good photos and the other of course tells a story and has the potential to be a time machine! 

When you're designing your book remember that you're weaving a narrative. Additionally not as many photos fit into a standard album as you might think. In my opinion that is a good thing. You might have 700 photos in your wedding album and have to narrow that down to 30-40. That means that only the cream of the crop are going to make the cut. 

There are 5 main parts of a wedding day when it comes to photos. 

Preparation ( getting ready shots. Make-up, getting into the dress, first look with bridesmaids etc… )

Couples and bridal ( Immediately after the first look if you have a first look. If you do not have  a first look they will should be done immediately following the ceremony. )

Formals and bridal party (Bridal party shots followed by your more formal family posed shots ) 

Ceremony 

Reception ( Cake cutting, dancing, speeches etc…) 

I would recommend picking 4-5 photos from each part of the day and then fill the remainder of the book with couples shots as they are going to be the star of the show in this story book. 

Personally I like to pick the photos which are the most expressive whether or not they are the best photos because they are the ones that tell the best story. As an example a grainy photo of your grandfather laughing and having a moment with your fiance is worth more than a perfectly lit and staged photo of your rings. 

So, to sum this up I would say to keep the mindset of telling a story and imagine someone picking this book up in 30 years. Be in their shoes as you design and think about how they will read it. Will they be looking through old photos or will they be transported back to a special time and place in your life and in the history of your family.

Sarah and I are open for bookings in the Southern Ohio and Northern Kentucky area as well as traveling sessions. If you’re interested in possibly booking a session just hop over to the contact page and shoot us an email!

  If you enjoyed this read, please leave a like and consider subscribing for more photo session advice. Follow us on Instagram at the link below to keep up with our most recent photo session samples and reels.

If you want to learn more about Sarah and I you can click the link below to check out our about us page and hop over to the contact page if your interested in setting up a shoot or a consultation!

Thanks for reading!

- Jordan Epperson

How many hours of photography do you need?

  Odds are if you’re reading this then you are recently engaged or shopping around for a loved one. Either way congratulations! You have reached out to one or more photographers and received information on packages and pricing. There is a lot you need to think over and different packages come with different perks and options. There is a lot to unpack there but for now we will keep it simple and focus on the one thing that defines any wedding package. The hours of wedding day coverage. 

   It’s hard to tell when you have just started your wedding planning how many hours you might need. Especially when you have little or no experience when it comes to wedding planning. Hopefully this article can help you get at least a foot in the door with your final decision. I will base this article on the packages which Sarah and I offer but most other photographers are similar when it comes to hours they offer so this should be helpful across the board! 

The Hourly Option

Every photographer offers packages with a set amount of hours, you can find photographers who are willing to go by the hour or photographers who offer very short elopement packages. If you are looking for 3 or four hours of coverage this might be perfect for you. These packages are good for people who aren’t having big weddings. Just a small intimate ceremony and some couples photos. Maybe some family photos as well.  If you are wanting a full wedding day experience you will want to consider a longer package but please don’t make the mistake of thinking you can squeeze a day’s worth of events into this short amount of time. Not only will you find yourself incredibly tense trying to achieve this goal but your family will not have a good time and you likely lessen the quality of your photos as a whole due to rushing your photographer and leaving your family no time to offer up those cute candid moments that photographers watch for. 

Part of the Day

   Our packages start at 6 hours of coverage. This amount of time covers two thirds of an average wedding day. When I say a wedding day I’m referring to the time between preparation, (Hair, Make-up etc..) to the bride and groom's exit at the end of the reception. Typically when we schedule a 6 hour package we will arrive at the end of hair and make-up and exit after the first dance at the beginning of the reception. The Bride and Groom will have photos done that capture many important parts of the day but leave out the majority of the behind the scenes action and the celebration. 

A Full Story

   Our most commonly booked package is our 8 hour package. At this point we are talking about capturing a full story of your wedding day. This package ( in most cases ) captures a big picture story of the emotions and celebration of your love. We typically arrive closer to the beginning of the bride's hair and make-up session. We capture photos of not just the bride getting ready but also the bridesmaids and moms before moving over to the men in the bridal party. We spend the wedding day making beautiful art and have a blast capturing behind the scenes moments that the bride and groom might have missed all together if we hadn’t been there. As long as this package is, it still isn’t usually long enough to take us to the end of the reception. Typically if the bride and groom don’t want to add time for this we will bring up the option of doing a “mock exit” We will have the DJ announce that the guests line up around the exit and make a tunnel. The bride and groom will run out of the reception hall as all of the guests cheere and celebrate. At the end of the day we have a story that appears complete and we have helped create a family TREASURE!

The Definitive Full Story

  In this package we provide 10 hours of onsite coverage. This is no doubt the best option for a couple who is planning a big wedding and an exit at the end of the night. Nothing will have to be faked or reenacted. We arrive at the beginning of the preparation and leave after the big exit at the end of the night. The end product is not only gorgeous but priceless. As the years pass the decision to go this route becomes more and more valuable to your friends and family as a window into the past. We have only been photographing weddings for just over a decade and I can’t tell you how many clients have contacted us years down the line to tell us how something came up that required them to dive back into their wedding photos and they fell in love with them all over again. In 10 hours a good photographer can capture so many special moments and will have time to catch each one of your guests at your reception. 

In Closing

   Only you can know which package is right for you and there are many reasons aside from budget that will determine that decision. Sometimes wedding planning can change as the wedding approaches. This is why Sarah and I always offer the ability to edit your package or add hours when you need them. Even on a wedding day. Take your time most importantly make sure you pick the right photographer who understands you and your needs! 

Thank you so much for taking the time to read. I hope this article helped you on your wedding planning journey.

  Sarah and I are open for bookings in the Southern Ohio and Northern Kentucky area as well as traveling sessions. If you’re interested in possibly booking a session just hop over to the contact page and shoot us an email!

  If you enjoyed this read, please leave a like and consider subscribing for more photo session advice. Follow us on Instagram at the link below to keep up with our most recent photo session samples and reels.

Thanks for reading!

- Jordan Epperson

4 Pros and cons to doing a first look

Hello again! Today I’m excited to talk about a subject that many couples spend months stewing over before finally making up their minds. It seems like it should be simple, but the more it works its way into your head the more it becomes an enormous overblown thing that it really doesn’t need to be. Hopefully this article will help to condense this big knot of mental Christmas lights into a few simple things to consider. After reading this I hope you will be more than a step closer to your decision to have a first look, or to opt for the more traditional route!

So, it's been years now since the idea of the first look hit the wedding scene. It has officially proved itself to be more than a fad and for good reason. It’s romantic, modern and intimate to name a few reasons. Oh, and also the pictures from a first look are precious and beautiful if done right. As photographers, Sarah and I love first looks for a few main reasons.

The Pros.

Goodbye to Nervousness.

First, on a wedding day it can feel like there is a lot of pressure on the bride and groom to keep things running smoothly. Think about this. In a stressful situation who is the one person who makes you feel like you can do anything? I hope you answered your partner! I mean, that’s why you're getting married right? My number one reason I love first looks is that when the bride and groom come together early on a wedding day you can actually feel their tension melt away. Not only the nervousness about seeing each other that was hanging over their heads. But the subconscious feeling of doing this alone vanishes.

Photos done early.

When researching for this article I saw tons of writers saying that couples photos might not be as special to you on the wedding day if you aren’t actually married yet. Well… Fine, that’s fair. However, We aren’t necessarily talking about couples photos. Yes we can do some of those after the first look and we almost always do, but a huge chunk of our couples photos will be done around sunset. Long after the ceremony when the light is right! Now we are talking mainly about family photos and bridal party photos. These photos take a lot of time and when we do them all after the ceremony we often find ourselves trying to squeeze everything in as fast as possible. This is not only stressful for everyone “Stress is the enemy of good wedding vibes” but it cuts into precious couples photos time!

Privacy

If you are anything like me you appreciate your privacy. At my ceremony I felt very on the spot and I was uncomfortable at first. That may sound crazy to you but I bet a ton readers know exactly what I’m talking about. I am glad I had my first look with Sarah because I was able to soak it in in privacy and not during an anxious moment in my life with everyone watching. Social anxiety. Yes, I have it too!

Less wedding day pressure

After your first look you tackle those family, and bridal party shots and then you find that your wedding day schedule is suddenly less full, less rushed and more relaxed. That is a key ingredient to a special, fun and romantic wedding day that you remember fondly. Unfortunately over the past 10+ years we have been wedding photographers, we've seen our share of brides and grooms not enjoying their wedding day. Sweating, sour faced, snippy or even arguing… Of course we can’t stand seeing this on someone's special day. When this happens we do everything we possibly can to help. Especially Sarah. She is a master when it comes to wedding planning and positive vibes. There is one commonality between every one of these weddings. The bride and groom had planned too much into a day to not have a first look. Please don’t take that the wrong way. That does not mean that a first look is something you need to do to have an amazing wedding day. Not at all, what it means is if your not doing a first look make sure you're not planning too much after the ceremony. You will most likely find that you didn’t have time to actually enjoy your wedding and the time with the people you love the most on this special day.

Cocktail hour

Speaking of enjoying time with your loved ones. Soon after the ceremony they will all head to your cocktail hour to mingle, laugh, drink and celebrate together. Tradition dictates that the bride and groom aren’t there. But why not? We love when brides and grooms are present for cocktail hour. They have so much fun. Shake off the remaining wedding day jitters and we get to capture some candid photos of them with the guests. The ceremony is still so fresh in everyone’s minds and they are so ready to hug, squeeze and congratulate you!

There is so much more to say but I could literally be here all day and I told you I would make this simple and condensed! Some people prefer the traditional route. I have huge respect for this. Tradition is deep, meaningful and extremely charming. Especially at a formal event like a wedding day. Here are the cons. The reasons you might not want to have a first look.

The cons

Loss of tradition.

Maybe you are a traditionalist, or maybe you highly respect your Mother or Grandmother's opinion and want to take their advice. When you have a first look you are breaking a cultural tradition of not seeing each other before the ceremony. I won’t harp on that for too long because I know that you knew that before clicking on this blog!

Ceremony photos less expressive

There is a theory amongst photographers that if you do a first look, the emotions might be less present at the ceremony. This is both true and not untrue. I’ll elaborate. If you opt not to do a first look, you might find yourself very emotional at the ceremony in the way of joyful tears and a deeply romantic vibe. If you go for the first look you will likely have a different experience. With most of the tension gone you will find yourself more relaxed and likely be more outwardly happy and excited. You will have less tears in the audience and more smiles and joyful laughs and an excited energy from your partner. It will be just as emotional but it will be a different flavor of energy, which leads to a different experience. Whichever you prefer is the correct choice for you!

You’re having an early Mass

A common thought is that you're having an early Mass and so you will have a jump start on your wedding day events. Awesome, In these scenarios we agree. A first look doesn’t yield much in the way of wedding schedule efficiency. It does still offer the relief of ceremony pressure. However, I’m betting that if you are having a Mass you are a person who respects tradition and are willing to deal with that to uphold in what you believe in. That is awesome and I love and respect that, but what are you doing reading this! You already know what you want. Stop second guessing yourself and go confidently into your dream wedding!

In closing

All things considered, it’s up to you to choose. I know that probably not what you want to hear but what I offer is advice.

If you are not having a first look, please consider not overcrowding your wedding plans. Leave time in the schedule between each event to get something to drink, a snack, or just take a breather. Leave time to have fun and not be stressed!

If you are having a first look, make sure that you leave some time to have couples photos done later in that golden hour light! Have a great time but please remember, you’re getting photos done later. Don’t party too hard, you have to keep that hair and makeup on point!

Thank you so much for taking the time to read. I hope this article helped you on your wedding planning journey.

  Sarah and I are open for bookings in the Southern Ohio and Northern Kentucky area as well as traveling sessions. If you’re interested in possibly booking a session just hop over to the contact page and shoot us an email!

  If you enjoyed this read, please leave a like and consider subscribing for more photo session advice. Follow us on Instagram at the link below to keep up with our most recent photo session samples and reels.

Thanks for reading!

- Jordan Epperson