Yo! I'm a wedding and portrait photographer based in Arlington, VA. It's kind of awesome. You can read this post on my blog right here: Megan & Pritpal featured on Capitol Romance!.
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I’ll start in high school.  I went to a really big high school in the (way way far out) suburbs of San Francisco.  There were 700 people in my graduating class and something like 4,000 in the school – it was ginormous.  But I always felt sorta alone.  I had a few close friends but I wasn’t invited to the parties where all the cool kids were getting drunk and hooking up and all that.  I didn’t have a boyfriend until senior year (and only then because I didn’t have anyone to take me to prom – he was my prom date before he was my boyfriend).  I just didn’t feel that anyone understood, much less appreciated, my particular brand of weird.  It makes sense to me now, but at the time it was obviously pretty disturbing.  I more or less hated high school.

And in college, things got better.  There were more nerds and being smart was actually seen as a good thing.  It was easier to find my people.  Though there were still a lot of folks around who I didn’t jive with, it was relatively easy to find someone who got my sense of humor, appreciated my honesty, didn’t care that I don’t own a stick of makeup.

In the real world here, it’s sort of back to high school.  The world is full of people who don’t get me and who I don’t really get along with that great.  I don’t have social issues or anything (I don’t think so!), it’s just that the world isn’t full of best friends.  Lots of nice people, I just don’t click with most folks. I have to hunt them out.

And that’s where “personality-based marketing” comes in.  Like about a million other wedding photographers out there, I have been heavily influenced by Jasmine Star, who does the photo thing and all but really excels at the business side.  (Yeah, don’t even bother, she costs like $15k or something.)  Jasmine Star is all about attracting the right clients and repelling the wrong clients.  So, for instance, because we’re talking weddings here, a lot of people might be tempted to use really generic romantic language like this: “On your special day, I will capture the beautiful emotions between you and your partner as you commit to each other forever.”  Barf!  Here’s how I would say it: “I’ll photograph the shit out of whatever happens on your wedding day.”

Plenty of people – tons of people, are going to read that sentence and click right off my website.  I said shit, I was irreverent about the “most important day of their lives”, etc.  But some tiny portion of people looking for a wedding photographer are going to read that and think “yeah, that’s exactly what I want my wedding photographer to do.”  And right there, in that teeny fraction of people looking for a wedding photographer, I find my couples.  And it’s how “personality-based marketing” (that is, marketing on which I make a point of telling people who and how I am, rather than trying to appeal to the masses) draws in the incredibly awesome people who hire me.

Because here’s how it goes.  I’ve got this website.  And I talk a lot of shit up in here.  And that turns off tons of people and they go away because they hate me.  But a handful of people actually dig me.  And then they write me.  And then I meet them and they give me money and I photograph their wedding.  Because there are only so many weekends in a year and only so many weddings I can photograph without losing it physically and mentally, I don’t need thousands of clients – just a couple dozen or so each year.  Therefore I don’t have to attract the masses – I can appeal to the sliver of people that are going to think I’m funny (y’all think I’m funny, right?). And all my clients are AWESOME because of this process.  Which brings me to my very last point, after a very long post.

What does this have to do with high school?  Well, in high school I was miserable because I felt alone.  Having a business based on my own personality (and, you know, some photos and stuff) draws in people who are like me or at the very least think I’m pretty ok.  This means that almost every single person that writes me is going to be the kind of person I would want as a friend.  I really can’t emphasize how validating this is, personally.  I put myself out there on the web, and people write me almost daily to tell me they like my vibe and want to meet me.  It’s given me so much confidence about who I am.

So in sum, I want to publicly thank all my amazing, kick-ass couples.  You know who I am and you still want to hang out with me on your freakin’ wedding day.  That’s pretty great.

Yo! I'm a wedding and portrait photographer based in Arlington, VA. It's kind of awesome. You can read this post on my blog right here: “Personality-based marketing”, kick-ass clients and why high school was so miserable.
And if you want to be my facebook friend, friend me.
And if you want to read my tweets, read them.

So I am thinking about throwing a party.  A sorta big party.  The kind of party that requires a head count and minimum orders and room fees and all that jazz.  In other words, I’m looking to throw down some money at a place.  Yesterday I wrote a handful of local joints looking for information.  I haven’t gotten many replies yet, which in itself speaks to the response generally expected (and received) from businesses.

But I did get two responses that I thought perfectly illustrated the difference between the kind of business I want to be and the kind of business I never, ever want to be.

Here was my message to Rock and Roll Hotel, a pretty hip but also pretty grungy place downtown.  I thought I was being funny but even if I wasn’t funny at all, at least I was reasonably succinct:

Hi.  I have a vision of a party for about 30 people with karaoke and margaritas.  Maybe they don’t have to be margaritas.  Maybe they could be gin and tonics.  But the karaoke is sort of vital, because we are nerds.  Do you guys do this?  Even if you don’t, I’d still love to see your rates and things for the private rooms.  Thanks!

Here’s the response I received:

Sorry Amber, we do not do karaoke.  thanks – Steve

Seriously, that is your answer?  It’s not even worth sending me your pdf brochure, an action that would take two seconds and might eventually win you the business of 30 people drinking at your bar?  Steve’s incredibly dismissive response makes me never want to spend another penny at Rock and Roll Hotel again – ever.  Because that is what happens when your customer service is so bad I don’t even want to give you regular business.

Contrast that with Bob.  I sent an email to find out about renting Alexandria venues.  It was a nondescript government form I filled out and I really wasn’t sure I would ever get a response from anyone.  But maybe half an hour after I sent out the email, I got a call from Bob.  He represents the Lyceum in Alexandria.  And Bob spoke with me for 15 minutes about how wonderful the Lyceum is, going over every detail of rentals.  He encouraged me to come down and check it out.  And then he asked for my address so he could send me a packet of information.  And this morning, I received an email with more details.  Bob is really selling his venue.  Bob wants me to rent out the Lyceum.  Bob knows that I am a person.  And Bob doesn’t even know that I am a wedding photographer and that I am going to write this article and tell every couple looking for a venue about the Lyceum (and I totally will).

I was just struck by the enormous difference between these two places and the way they handled my inquiry.  Cautionary tale for photographers: your inquiries are real people and they want to be treated as such.  Never let an opportunity go by.  If someone is interested in you and your services, at least have the decency to act like you want their business.

Yo! I'm a wedding and portrait photographer based in Arlington, VA. It's kind of awesome. You can read this post on my blog right here: Customer Service | Yeah, that matters.
And if you want to be my facebook friend, friend me.
And if you want to read my tweets, read them.

Karen and David were married at the Mayflower in DC, a beautiful historic hotel with quite a bit of history and a ton of class.  Karen was an incredibly sweet and very composed bride.  David didn’t seem the least bit nervous, an admirable trait in any groom.  I was struck by the graciousness of their families.  And even though I saw it plenty in their engagement session, they once again won me the heck over with how ridiculously cute they are once you tell them “go stand over there and hug.”

These cool cats were upgraded from some other swanky bridal suite to the Presidental Suite, which they informed me is one of only two hotel rooms in the city that is bullet-proof!  This here room where Karen’s getting dressed?  That is their hallway, y’all.

Karen’s gorgeous ring is an antique and was picked out by David alone because he knew she would love it.

Karen and David didn’t have a lot of bridesmaids and groomsmen, so they went all-out on the bouquets.  Check out Karen’s on the left full of anemones (I learned this flower word that day), and two other kinds (the tendril-things and the fern things).  I don’t know all this technical flower stuff, but I was super-impressed with these bangin’, unusual bouquets.

So much thanks to Kelly for helping me out.  Love this frame she grabbed right before they walked in the doors!

They were married at the gorgeous Holy Rosary Church on Third street right downtown.

I love their families.  Everyone was so gracious.

David’s brother brought down the house.

And then Karen’s sister made everybody cry.

And then there was a surprise belly dancer!  With a candelabra on her head!  She did the splits balancing this monstrosity on her head.  I photograph the coolest weddings.

This is what happens to the photobooth at the end of the night.

Karen & David, your wedding was spectacular and so filled with love and good wishes and kindness.  Thanks for being you and good luck with everything!!

You can see even more of Karen and David’s day in this little slideshow action right here:

Mad props to the fabulous vendors who helped with this wedding:

Ceremony – Holy Rosary Church
Reception – Mayflower Hotel
Cake – Fancy Cakes by Leslie
DJ – David Grimm with Signature Talent
Flowers – Mayflower
Hair and makeup – Salon Blu
Karen’s fantastic dress – Lazaro

Yo! I'm a wedding and portrait photographer based in Arlington, VA. It's kind of awesome. You can read this post on my blog right here: Karen & David | Mayflower DC wedding.
And if you want to be my facebook friend, friend me.
And if you want to read my tweets, read them.

Why should we have an engagement session?

Obviously, engagement sessions mean different things to different people.  Some are specifically looking for an image to use for save-the-dates or want a big photo for their friends and family to sign at the wedding.  Other times, the motivation is a bit more subtle.

My thinking about engagement sessions is that they are a way to capture how you really were before you got married.  On a wedding day, it can be hard to show life.  You’ve got a lot going on, it’s a huge day – a lot of emotion, family drama, etc. – and there’s a huge party going on.  An engagement session is a quiet, personal look into your lives pre-marriage.

Where should we go?

I always encourage my couples to pick somewhere meaningful for their engagement session.  Sure, we can rock out whatever old park you like or cherry blossoms or whatever.  But wouldn’t it be neat to go to the place where he proposed?  Or hang out in your neighborhood?  Or go horseback riding?  Or scope out your local library? (That’s where George and I did ours.)  Bonus points always for activities.  Maybe you guys like to cook and we should go shopping at the farmer’s market and then you can make something together.  Maybe your favorite thing ever is hiking and we should roll out to one of your trails.  Whatever it is that speaks to who you are as a couple is what I want to include in your engagement session.

What happens at the session?

I keep my photo sessions as low-stress as possible.  “Stand over there and hug each other” is a cue I might give.  Some people are instantly cuddly and giggly – others are a bit more reserved and I have to tease it out.  I make fun of you, make fun of myself, joke about how exciting and fun picking out centerpieces is, etc.  If it makes you laugh, I’ll say it.

How long is this going to take?

Oh, hello mens!  Nearly every guy I’ve worked with has had this question.  I don’t like to put any strict time limits on photo shoots, but most tend to last around an hour.  That’s enough time to get you guys tired enough that you’ll stop fake smiling and actually have a good time!

What should I wear?

I (sort of) covered that in this post.  It’s on my to-do list to flush that out and make a real post out of it but for now, that should get you started with some tips and examples.  Some people like to bring a change of clothes and I’m cool with that – as long as it’s not a bunch of stuff that you need to keep putting down or hanging up.  Bring as little stuff with you as possible so we can keep moving.

Should we bring props?

Aaaand hello ladies!  The blog world has everyone thinking that props are where it’s at for photo sessions.  A pinwheel here, a piano in a field there.  I can work with that, if it’s what you guy want, but I personally think it gets in the way of showing who you are.  If you’re bringing a chess board because you play chess all the time, then by all means!  I always ask my couples to look to the future – what are you going to want to see of yourselves in 10 years?  I doubt it’s a “themed” shoot.  Then again, if you’re the crafty, DIY type…

Should we bring our dog?

Yes and no.  And it depends.  A lot of couples want to incorporate their pets – part of the family and all.  But they are unpredictable.  And they must be watched.  This can be very distracting and can really be a drag on a session.  I move my couples around a lot to different spots, try different ideas, etc.  If we’re constantly tying and untying a dog or trying to get the dog to look at the camera, it kinda ruins the vibe.  If we’re shooting close to your home, maybe we can do a halfsies session part with and part without the dogs – that is my ideal scenario.

What if we book you for an engagement session and then want to hire you for our wedding?

Um… awesome!  So you’re not ready to book a wedding photographer yet, but you want to get your engagement session on.  And then you love me (because that is what happens, y’all) – do you get a discount?  My answer is: of course.  I always have special portrait/engagement pricing for wedding clients and I’ll deduct the difference between a “wedding client” engagement session and a “regular” engagement session.

I have another question!

Ask, ask!  Feel free to ask any other questions direct to me or in the comments – I’d be happy to speak to any other queries/concerns.  Hope to hear from you soon!

Yo! I'm a wedding and portrait photographer based in Arlington, VA. It's kind of awesome. You can read this post on my blog right here: Engagement Session FAQs.
And if you want to be my facebook friend, friend me.
And if you want to read my tweets, read them.

I’ll be back with your regularly scheduled programming of weddings, engagements and all manner of random life stuff shortly!

Yo! I'm a wedding and portrait photographer based in Arlington, VA. It's kind of awesome. You can read this post on my blog right here: I have a new website!.
And if you want to be my facebook friend, friend me.
And if you want to read my tweets, read them.

Fer Juaristi is a wedding photographer. And he would never say those last two sentences to his couples. His work is weird, and I don’t think he would mind me saying so. He continually pushes the limits and makes unusual art for his clients. A few weeks ago, he held a workshop in Rockville to show us how he does it. And though some of the techniques we learned wouldn’t jive with my clients, it is incredibly helpful to learn from another photographer to see what they see and how they approach a scene. Another tool in the box, so to speak.

Here are a few images I took at the workshop.

A little “behind the scenes” action. That’s Fer at the end of the maroon car.

Though I’ve spoken with scads of wedding photographers about everything from accounting to composition, this was the first live workshop I’d attended. It was fascinating to see another photographer work, especially someone with an eye like Fer. All of these photos were literally taken within a 50-foot radius from the studio where the workshop was held – in a completely nondescript industrial area. We’re talking parking lot, square brick buildings, lots of trucks. The kind of place most photographers would run away from. But Fer loved it and eked out some incredible scenes from the area. For any photographers considering a workshop (he seems to be criss-crossing the country touching on just about everywhere), I would highly recommend!

Yo! I'm a wedding and portrait photographer based in Arlington, VA. It's kind of awesome. You can read this post on my blog right here: Fershop.
And if you want to be my facebook friend, friend me.
And if you want to read my tweets, read them.

Oh that? That’s just the original Birth of Venus by Botticelli. It’s in the Uffizi. I realized about halfway through the museum that you’re not supposed to take pictures. Oops. Below here we have the Duomo – an enormous crazy-looking cathedral in the middle of Florence. We paid to go up in the dome and it was one of the coolest things we did.

It’s also the only place I handed my camera to a stranger to try to get a photo of me and George together. Take #1. No, I’m not sneezing – I just look like that.

Yeah, great. Take #2: success! After the disheartening take #1, I had the girl stand where she was going to be for the photo, focused on her then set it on manual so we’d at least be mostly in focus. It worked! Here we are at the top of the Duomo.

Here’s what the outside of the Duomo looks like. Crazy, right? And this is a side-part. The facade was even more impressive.

Okay so we were in Florence for five days. So we had a steak. But also we learned all about the Medici family, who seem to singlehandedly have funded the Renaissance. Michelangelo, Galileo and lots of other super-famous dudes were funded by these guys, who basically ruled Florence. They ended up as Popes, too. This bridge connected their two palaces – they didn’t want to have to walk amongst the common people so they had a higher-level walkway built. But they were annoyed that they had to smell all the bridge businesses – fishermen, butchers, etc. – so they declared that the only businesses that could set up shop under their walkway were jewelers! This is the jewelry district to this day.

Pisa. Because, well, we were only an hour’s train ride and I figured we had to go freakin’ see Pisa.

And also George inside St. Peter’s (which, yes, is completely out of chronological order but you can deal.)

Back in Florence.

Florence has art everywhere. Seriously, everywhere – it’s those Medici people! Right next to one of their earlier palaces is an arcade – just a covered patio – chock-full of original sculptures by super-famous sculptor-people. Just because the Medicis were thinking “hey, let’s put some art up for people to look at.” Yeah, they were super-loaded.

We ate more gelato than you can comprehend.

The Palazzo Pitti – a really cool collection of museums and crazy gardens. This is the place some Medici wife had built because the previous palace was too small.

On our last day in Florence, George wanted to go to the Museum of Galileo, which serves as a repository for cool old scientific instruments and things. Galileo’s telescopes and all other manner of thing were there. Here, he’s explaining something or other to me and I wanted to photograph all his facial expressions.

This doesn’t show off Italy at all, really, but look how sexy my freakin’ husband is. I have to admit the beard is working for him. Yes, it really is.

And then we were in Bologna! And I do believe Bologna was my favorite city. Of everywhere we went, it was the place that cared the least about tourists. Even (dirty, graffiti-covered) Naples had tourist buses and file-em-through restaurants. Bologna was much more concerned with the locals and with the university population and that is totally 100% fine by me. We went to Eataly and bought snacks and then we went just about everywhere else in the foodie district and bought all other manner of thing. I have a 1.5 pound block of parmesan cheese waiting for me to attack it. Bologna was just a hip, nice place to hang out. And they have not one but two! leaning towers to check out but you’ve never heard of them… because Pisa has a better marketing department?

So one of the coolest things about Bologna is that all the buildings around downtown used to be crazy palaces and mansions and things. Maybe it’s the same everywhere else in the Old World, but in Bologna they were all marked. Each apartment building had a little placard explaining (in Italian) who used to live there – and that’s about the most I could get out of the language. You could walk into the central courtyards of some of them and see that there were still painted ceilings and crazy sweet frescoes. How awesome to live in a place like that. And they have amazing door knockers.

Also in Bologna, we took a pasta-making class. I didn’t take any photos because I was making pasta the whole time, but it was pretty neat. The lady teaches the classes out of her kitchen so we got to see a real Italian house. It looked a lot like a real American house, aside from the bidet. Pasta, by the way, is really hard to make and I probably won’t ever do it again.

This is a testament to my husband’s ingenuity and craftiness. In Bologna, we stayed at a lovely little place way the hell up on the “fourth” (something like 6 staircases’ worth of) floor but for whatever reason were the only guests around. I was really excited to see a bathtub, until I got all my things together and went to put the plug in… and there wasn’t one. George and I brainstormed for a bit and then he rigged up this contraption. It is an *apple* cut down to approximately plug-size, then wrapped in a plastic bag and crammed into the space. Folks, this contraption actually kept my bath from going down the drain for long enough for me to take an actual normal-length bath. My husband is amazing.

I’m ashamed to say that this is the only “making like the” set of photos I have from the trip. There were so many good places for it but I – god strike me down – forgot that I love these images. But thank goodness I got one good one of both me and George. He’s standing in front of the “George slays the dragon” by someone or other.

Aaaaand then we were back in Rome. On our very last day in Italy, we finally made it to the Vatican Museums to check out all the crazy-ass art and also to see the Sistine Chapel. It was a pretty good time, but George got outrageously sick almost immediately afterward.

And finally, Nutella. Italians cannot get enough of Nutella – I swear to you, it was everywhere.

Well guys, that is it! I have no more pictures to show. Italy was a crazy whirlwind trip. And it got George and me started on what I hope will be a lifetime of travel together. We learned a lot about what we need/want in a travel companion and in a trip and I know our next one will have fewer hiccups. We’re thinking Greece… or Thailand… or China… until next time – arrivederci!

Yo! I'm a wedding and portrait photographer based in Arlington, VA. It's kind of awesome. You can read this post on my blog right here: Italy | Florence back to Rome.
And if you want to be my facebook friend, friend me.
And if you want to read my tweets, read them.

These two are outrageously cute.

Congratulations, guys! Rock on in Ohio!

Yo! I'm a wedding and portrait photographer based in Arlington, VA. It's kind of awesome. You can read this post on my blog right here: Tara & Dustin | National Mall engagement.
And if you want to be my facebook friend, friend me.
And if you want to read my tweets, read them.

I have so much coming up for you in the near future – two engagement sessions, a second Italy post, a handful of weddings and engagements from way back when I haven’t gotten around to blogging yet and a couple of funky images from a workshop last week. In the meantime, I hope you’re rocking out 2012.

Yo! I'm a wedding and portrait photographer based in Arlington, VA. It's kind of awesome. You can read this post on my blog right here: Random black and whites.
And if you want to be my facebook friend, friend me.
And if you want to read my tweets, read them.