Monthly Archives: March 2011
WTT! What is the Difference between a Lifestyle Photographer, Photojournalist, & a Traditional Portrature Photographer
For anyone who has searched the internet for a photographer recently, aside from the fact that there are probably twice the amount of photographers out there then there was 10 years ago, you have probably seen lots of lingo like “Lifestyle Portrait Photographer” & “Wedding Photojournalist“. Most of the time people would just look at the photographers work and decide whether or not the work appeals to them or not, but I think another bit of information that will help you decide what photographer is best for you is to know exactly what those terms mean.
A Lifestyle Photographer is defined as “re-creating “real” life situations in a controlled setting. Lifestyle photography is one of the most popular and consistent types of photography in the market today. Lighting is generally bright, airy and quite natural looking.” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lifestyle_photographer). The photographer might say they would come to your home to photograph your family in their natural setting. They are portraits that are real & natural portraits and reflect the client’s personality.
Photojournalism is: “a particular form of journalism (the collecting, editing, and presenting of news material for publication or broadcast) that creates images in order to tell a news story. Photojournalism is distinguished from other close branches of photography ,such as documentary photography, social documentary photography, street photography or celebrity photography) by the qualities of:
- Timeliness — the images have meaning in the context of a recently published record of events.
- Objectivity — the situation implied by the images is a fair and accurate representation of the events they depict in both content and tone.
- Narrative — the images combine with other news elements to make facts relate able to the viewer or reader on a cultural level.
(Wikipedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Photojournalist). A photojournalist is “a journalist who presents a story primarily through the use of photographs.” (Wiktionary). Photojournalism has worked its way into Wedding photography and Portrait Photography in recent years with many newspaper and news organization photojournalists venturing into wedding and portrait photography as a new career. Unfortunately the term Photojournalist is greatly overused when it comes to describing photographic style. A candid photograph is not necessarily photo-journalistic. A true Wedding Photojournalist is an observer of the day, recording the events as they unfold; telling the story of the day.
Traditional portraiture “is the capture by means of photography of the likeness of a person or a small group of people (a group portrait), in which the face and expression is predominant. The objective is to display the likeness, personality, and even the mood of the subject.” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portrait_photographer). This type of photography has been around since cameras were invented. Although there are many approaches to portraiture such as the constructionist, environmental, candid and creative approaches, most traditional portraiture is controlled by the photographer. They control lighting, placement of the subject, & surroundings to achieve the look they would like.
Each form of photography is beautiful in its own way and everyone has their own preference as to what they like. When searching for your wedding or portrait photographer go with the photographers work that really moves you. Remember that if you have to look at these photographs for the rest of your life and you only get ONE shot at a wedding. There are many wonderful photographer associations that make it easy for you to search for your next photographer:
PPA – Professional Photographers of America
WPJA- Wedding Photojournalist Association
ISPWP – International Society of Professional Wedding Photographers
Each one has standards by which their members have to abide by in order to be in each association so as to help you find the best possible fit for the style of photography that best suits you. This will help assure that the photographer that you hire for your next event will be EXACTLY what you’re looking for.
Filed under Uncategorized
Things to make you think on a Friday (I know I’m cruel to make you want to think on a Friday :)
“Imagination is more important than Knowledge.” ~~Albert Einstein
“Be who you are and say what you mean because those who mind don’t matter and those who matter don’t mind.” ~~Dr. Seuss
Ponder this: No word in the english language rhymes with – Month, Orange, Silver, or Purple (trust me on this one, don’t hurt yourself)
Happy Friday!!!
Filed under Quote of the Day
Kelly and Michael’s Wedding is Published!
Most of you that follow me on Facebook already know this but Kelly & Michael, who were married at Pine Lakes CC June 26th 2010, their wedding was published on The Kiss Wedding blog! So exciting for them and for me because it was my first National Publication of a wedding I have photographed. Kelly & Michael’s wedding had so many unique DIY elements with their Lemon & Lime Summer Citrus Theme. I was just informed yesterday by Susanna Miles of Kisswedding.com that Kelly & Michael’s Article on her blog has received more likes from Facebook than any other article on the blog!!! Obviously people like Lemons & Limes 
Thanks to Carolina Entertainment for the music, Greenskeeper Florist for the Bridal Bouquets, R Salon & Spa for hair & Makeup, Pine Lakes Country Club, & Croissants Bakery & Bistro for the fabulous Cake! And a Special thank you to Kelly & her family and friends for all the great details and handmade touches, such as the center pieces, aisle flowers and decorations, & the adorable cake topper, that really made this wedding unique.
So if you haven’t seen the article or your just looking for unique DIY ideas for your wedding, check out Kiss Wedding.com or find them on Facebook!
Filed under Wedding Tips, Weddings
WTT! – Not Just Your Everyday Engagement Shoot
Although Engagement Pictures are not done on the wedding day they are still a VERY important part of the experience of your wedding. I say this not just as a wedding photographer but from experience from my own wedding – I never had any done!!! I know, tragic right! I really wish I had. My wedding day went so fast and we got some great shots of me and my new hubby but we’re really pretty casual people so I really wish we had some fun casual shots.
Engagement shoots are probably my favorite part of your wedding experience (besides the big day of course . There is no wedding day pressure, it’s casual and fun, just you and your photographer. It’s such a fabulous time to be creative and get some great shots of you and the one you love. So why just find some spot and take some pix – NO! Tell your photographer what makes you tick. What is it that you and your Fiance like to do? integrate that into your engagement pictures. Do you like to picnic? FABULOUS – bring your favorite picnic blanket and basket and goof it up! You got engaged at the Local state park – GREAT! Go there and recreate the big moment just for fun! If your wedding has a vintage them to it, maybe your engagement pictures should too! That way when your photographer puts together your photo guest book your engagement pictures will go along with the them of your wedding. The ideas are limitless! And remember, props aren’t bad ( I have to tell myself this sometimes , as long as they are personal and mean something to you. The favorite picnic basket I mentioned earlier, it’s a part of your life so it will mean so much more in those portraits.
Your photography should be one of the most fun elements of your wedding experience. Start that out right with fun engagement portraits that express who you are! For some great ideas check out blogs like Wedding Wire.com Blog and The Wedding Row Blog
Filed under Engagements, Wedding Tips, Weddings, WTT
WTT! “Alright Everyone – Just Relax!!!”
For those of us who have ever planned, attended, or worked at a wedding you know how stressful it can be. There are vendors to confirm details with, chairs and flowers to arrange, and of course the Bride must get herself ready! If the Bride is doing a lot of organizing herself it will be all she can do not to PULL HER HAIR OUT!!!
Relax . . . your wedding day is supposed to be enjoyable. You do not want all your memories to be of you running around like a chicken with your head cut off. Former Bride Sarah Hemp Wilson says, “I think the most important piece of advice I got is to do all your worrying and nit-picking during the planning process, but on THE DAY, forget about everything and just enjoy it. Things are going to go wrong, but enjoying every single moment is the most important thing.” Couldn’t have said it better myself!
Former Bride Kimberly Grant even takes it a step further, “I say, even during the planning process don’t freak out if something goes wrong. Let as many people help as possible & don’t be a control freak. Even if nothing goes right you will still enjoy the day because it is *YOUR* day and you are marrying your best friend. In the end that is all that matters “
The day of the wedding there are going to be things that go wrong, sorry Ladies you can’t avoid them. It might rain, or the flowers might not be correct, or the Minister might run late but if you just believe that you have done everything you can and just relax and enjoy the fruit of your labor everything will work out. There are a few things that you can do in the days and weeks before that can help ease some of your stress:
- Hire a wedding planner – Either for the whole process or even just for the day of to help organize everything so that you can get pampered and enjoy the day. Leslie Menich of Memorable Moments Event Planning is one of the vendors that we work with who does Full service event planning or day of planning to help your wedding day go off without a hitch. The common misconception is that wedding planners cost too much and you probably wouldn’t be able to fit one in your budget. Give Leslie a call and you might be surprised. I always ask, “How much is my sanity worth?”
- Set up meetings and talk personally with ALL of your vendors, or if you are doing a destination wedding call them, and confirm all the details at least a week before the day. If balances are due, go ahead and pay them, then you don’t have to worry about doing any business the day of your wedding. Who wants to be shelling out any more money when your supposed to be cuttin’ a rug on the dance floor!
- Make sure that you give yourself plenty of time in the morning the day of for a relaxing session with your hair dresser and Makeup artist. It’s not everyday that you get have people falling all over you to make you look beautiful.
I think with all the media coverage of weddings lately with David Tutera on every channel putting together $100,000 dream weddings for brides and Say Yes to the Dress on TLC with their $24,000 gowns (LOVE this show by the way I think that we forget sometimes that when it all comes down to it, it’s about you and your best friend (thank you Kimberly spending the rest of your life together. If your run short of the cute little favors that you spent HOURS putting together, or if the flowers (like at my wedding) show up without the correct number of bouquets for the bridesmaids, then it’s ok!
Or if all else fails, have plenty of Mimosa’s!
Filed under Wedding Tips, Weddings, WTT
Welcome to the 1st WTT: Wedding Tip Tuesday!
Hello All!
So excited about the very first WTT or Wedding Tip Tuesday! Each and every Tuesday we’ll be sharing Tips and Tricks to help make your wedding Super Awesome! Our Tips will come from vendors that are in the industry and have great advice on everything wedding as well as from our past brides who have the best tips having lived their own wedding experience.
Also, If you have a tip that you would love to share with future brides please email us at gillian@carolinaphotostudios.com and let us know. If we publish your tip we’ll let you know. It can be about anything from Photo’s to Flowers, engagement to after party.
WTT: 5 Basic Rules for your Wedding
1: Do your Homework! Gather referrals from recent brides-find them through friends, coworkers, family and even other vendors. Then read customer reviews at TheKnot.com/local and the Better Business Bureau (bbb.org).
2: Know your numbers. You must have an idea of the number of guests and a tentative budget before you start reaching out to vendors.
3: Don’t be afraid to negotiate. If you find yourself over budge, ask your vendors what you can do to cut costs.
4: Be an adult. Come to meetings prepared with ideas and concerns, and dress professionally.
5: Ask Questions-LOTS of them. Don’t forget to write down all their answers. While you’re at it, write down, print and track all correspondence for your records.
(5 Basic Rues for your wedding comes from The Knot Magazine Winter 2010)
Filed under Boudoir, Bridals, Engagements, Wedding Tips, Weddings, WTT
