Chicago Wedding Photography

The Business SideLet me first preface this article with the following, what I say may or may not apply to you and your circumstances nor to your state's laws. Look into it for yourself. This should serve as a rough guideline though. Some small business owners when they first begin forget that they are moving away from doing something as a hobby to doing it for a living. When you enter this arena the rules change and you have to be prepared to act as a business owner and not just a hobbyist.The Wedding Photographer's GeicoWhen I first started as a wedding photographer I had no idea that I needed insurance. I backed up all my camera gear, images, workstations, and even had a backup photographer so why would I need one. The thing is it's for all of the things you can't plan for. There are two primary types you need to worry about, liability and malpractice. One covers your rear in case you somehow fail in your normal duties and are sued. The other covers you in case you injure someone on the job and covers your gear in case it is damaged. Both are covered through PPA which to be honest is a great community for photographers.Death and TaxesA lot of wedding photographers and home based businesses do not pay taxes. This does not make it OK for one more person to not pay taxes. If you are caught the fines and penalties can be extremely stiff. Do the right thing and pay your taxes. Just put aside a given amount for each wedding into a savings account specifically for your taxes.You'll be surprised at the number of legitimate tax write offs a small home based business has. If you use a certain percentage of your home as a home office then part of your rent and utilities are able to be written off. Purchases for your business, travel expenses, meals at client meetings, and so on are all tax deductible under most circumstances.Read up on it and find a certified CPA to help you out. It's not as bad as most people make it out to be. In most cases most small businesses are not considered profitable for the first couple of years anyway so you will probably not end up owing much, but even if you do it's your responsibility to pay those taxes. How else would our government be able to function?License to ILL

Something that many couples don't consider until they are prompted to by their newly chosen wedding photographer, is what photographs they actually want to be taken. There is an assumption that photographers have a standard set of pre-wedding, couple, family and group photos, and the couple themselves don't need to think about it. Unsurprisingly this is not the case - you know your family and friends much better than your photographer (unless they are a member of your family!), and so only you will know which shots and which are the groupings you will want.Pre-wedding PhotographsIf your wedding photographer is going to be there while you get ready, do you mind having photos taken in your dressing gown with rollers in your hair? Or do you want to look perfectly put together in all your photos? You may want photographs taken of certain details of your wedding dress before you put it on; perhaps the laces at the back, or your bridal shoes. Once you are in your dress, do you want some pre-wedding shots of you and your bridesmaids, or your parents?Couple PhotographsThere is a new trend to have some couple shots taken before the wedding, but don't worry, you don't need to see each other before the wedding! You can reach round a door or the corner of a building to hold hands without ever seeing each other. After the wedding you may choose to have some photographs taken in front of your wedding car, or in a certain part of the venue's grounds.Family PhotographsYour photographer will probably have some suggestions, which will probably be much the same as the 'standard' groups which are;
the bride and groom with their bridesmaids and groomsmen
with the bride's parents
with the bride's family
with the groom's parents
with the groom's family
with the bride's siblings
with the groom's siblings

One of the busiest and most crowded fairs you can visit is a wedding fair. This fair is always crawling with brides and grooms looking for new ideas, hiring the best wedding planners, getting the best designers and more. If you are in the business of wedding events then this is your home: the one chance you will get all year to really make a name for yourself and book a couple of clients.The sad part is despite paying thousands of dollars to book a stall in a successful wedding fair and actually having the potential crowd anxious to spend money, a lot of people are still unable to profit out of it. This is because they are unprepared on what to do in a wedding fair and how to engage potential clients.Preparing For The CrowdThere are a lot of people in the crowd during a wedding fair. Most of the crowd consists of freshly engaged couples, whereas the rest are simple surveyors. Even so they can lead to you to potential clients. The first thing you need is enough people in your stall so that you can engage as many clients as possible. Two to three representatives are a must in these crowded fairs.Secondly prepare a short, 2 min presentation for all customers. This presentation can be in any form, a constant slide show/video playing on a loop about the kind of a business you are and what you can offer. You can pitch the business yourself whenever a visitor comes by your stall and seems interested. The key is to appear confident and know more about weddings then the couples having one.The next thing you need to prepare yourself for is your body language. A simple frown on the face or sitting upright with your arms crossed can make visitors avoid your booth. In such cases you would not get much interaction with the crowd and your efforts in the fair will be pointless. So always seem interested and engage the visitors in the crowd. Always keep a friendly expression so as to attract more visitors. Engage with a friendly "Hi, how are you?" statement and tell them about your business in weddings.Be careful not to waste too much time on couples that already have their matters sorted out. For example, if you are a wedding photographer, go by and ask "Hi, Have you hired a wedding photographer for your wedding?" if the answer is a no then you engage further, but if they quickly answer "Yes" or seem in a hurry, they are not interested and hence your efforts to engage them are useless.Registering Clients And Finding LeadsIt is always a good idea to set up early during the fair. Your goal should be to have interacted with all the visitors of the fair. A good idea would be to have a registration sheet at your booth so that you have a record of anyone interested in your booth. Visitors are always lazy to sign the registration sheet themselves so maybe just leaving out a bowl for them to drop their business cards or registering them yourselves may look much easier to them. This way even after the fair is over, you can personally make a call back to all the visitors and maybe sign a few clients. If not they may lead you to their friends and family that may want to sign up with you.

Wedding wishes quote are applicable in creating inspirational messages for the wedding couple. The best man and maids of honor would require very relevant quotes and wishes that create and convey the correct message to the couple and to the entire witnessing audience. The wishes and quotes are attached for use in wedding cards while some would choose to have them printed out and fixed on some beautiful frames. Ideal wedding wishes quote can be played in music in the wedding ceremony or echoed in applause. Toronto weddings have a characteristic of love messages relevant to the occasions. The wedding quotes mostly feature in invitational cards and wedding photos in Toronto and Ontario weddings.For the best wedding wishes quote, the couples or coordinators identify the best wedding photographers for real and attractive images. Toronto weddings have professional camera operators for quality images meant for posterity. These services spread to other parts of smaller regions of Mississauga weddings. In the cases where regions occur outside Toronto, one would find it more of more convenience to obtain the services of a Mississauga photographer. Weddings have the identity of detailed photography to depict the main quotes and wishes for a particular wedding. They revolve around love between the wedding couples and the responsibility of the entire community in supporting the marital union. A wedding photographer should ensure that the underlying theme relies on the wedding wishes quote. Some quotes are inscriptions attached to the wedding pictures and animated beneath the photos, behind, or as continuous frame patterns.A wedding videographer will skillfully capture video as they cover a Toronto or Ontario wedding. This would serve to place the quotes or wishes at the start of the video clips or as a background for the video. Wedding wishes quote in a video or film gives the perspective of the couple's beliefs and underlying inspiration in tandem with the event. They would love to get a reminder of their objectives and duties in attaining the meaning of the quotes. It is lively when a professional and skilled videographer presents an attractive documentary on the wedding wishes quote in the clips for viewing and sharing among wedding attendants. These facilities are available for clients and according to the respective tastes of the wedding planners and organizers. They are found in Mississauga weddings as well. One should seek the assistance of qualified persons and organizations that offer a wide variety of formats.Wedding wishes quotes are important to for a couple right from the time of preparations to the wedding day and thereafter. Having a wedding limousine adorned with the elements of quotes is creative. One can decide to make the interior of the limousine bear the wishes. The chauffeur could play the music loaded with the wedding wishes quote for the couple as they enjoy the most memorable time of their lives. With the climax of the wedding moving towards the fête, a professional wedding DJ could ensure that the music played during the ceremony is appropriately themed.

Surrounded with the myriad of ceremonies and traditions which mark an Indian Wedding ceremony, the task of a Wedding photographer becomes far more demanding and unpredictable. The variety with customs and events from one marriage ceremony to another creates a need to get familiar with the procedures of the wedding ceremony, so that you won't miss out on the key activities.Exactly how distinct is an Indian Wedding ceremony? Well, very different if it's not a Church ceremony. The Hindu wedding ceremony can last a few days or perhaps compacted into a several hours.Here are a number of tips to take into account when intending to photograph an Indian ceremony.If at all possible meet the couple.This may seem silly, however in many instances at Indian weddings you might find yourself getting together with the happy couple for the very first time on the same day as the wedding. A brief meeting proceeding the event can help established the objectives, plan the pictures with the couple and get them comfortable with being photographed by you. This certainly will make your job easier on the day of the ceremony and you'll be certain not to overlook that extremely important moment the couple want captured!Posed Shots verses Candid ShotsIt can be really hard to find private time with the bride and groom during the wedding ceremony for photos therefore you would need to obtain the majority of your shots as the event happens. Through the years I've discovered that when prepared properly you can get a window of about 30 minutes together with the couple to take your planned shots. Be sure to make good usage of it! Make certain to schedule the posed pictures prior to the wedding ceremony. Following the bustle of the Indian marriage ceremony, the happy couple won't be tremendously amused to pose for photographs.Designate a Photography CoordinatorSometime before the ceremony, ask the couple to appoint a member of family to assist you. Even in a modest Indian wedding, you can find yourself with countless close family members clinging to stay in proximity of the couple, consequently making a framing catastrophe. You certainly would want the photo coordinator introducing you to close members of the family who should be included in the photographs as well as assist in getting you to the couple at the time of the wedding ceremony. A coordinator is incredibly handy in managing the crowd while you will be occupied taking pictures.

Are you still hunting for a Chicago wedding photographer? Are you depending on a few local directories and some random Google searches? Instead of choosing the first photographer that comes to you, keep reading to learn how to broaden your selection and choose the photographer you really want.Chicago Bridal ShowsPop in at a local annual or seasonal bridal show and you'll be overwhelmed by the displays and booths set up by local Chicago wedding photographers. When touring the exhibits at a bridal show, you can meet multiple photographers in one location, conduct informal interviews and review portfolios as you make the rounds.In the Chicago area, there seems to be a bridal event every month - from the large scale Bridal Expo to smaller events like Gown and Down, an exclusive wine-tasting and gown viewing event.Chicago WebsitesIf you're looking for a Chicago wedding photographer, try perusing local bridal or wedding websites. Most service professionals will purchase advertising or listing space on these sites while including links to their online portfolios.Two popular Chicago bridal sites include Chicago Bridal and the Chicago Style Weddings' magazine website. Both sites have forums and message boards, so you can ask other brides-to-be or past brides for their opinions or insights.Word of MouthRather than depending on web listings, wedding directories or the yellow pages, try the old-fashioned route - word-of-mouth. Ask your friends and family for stories about their experiences with their photographers and check around for recommendations.

The prime lighting situation for a photographer is the hour after sunrise and the hour before sunset. These specific times of the day are both referred to as the golden or magic hour by photographers. The lighting conditions attained through magic hour is dramatically diffused with very mellowed highlights and shadows which is in contrast to the lighting conditions that can be found during the middle of the day. The subject of the photograph will portray highly saturated and warm colors. Here are a few tips on successfully shooting during the golden hour:
Shoot with the sun in the background, making your subject a silhouette.
Avoid using the flash; flash photography during magic hour defeats the purpose of magic hour.
Try experimenting with the manual mode on your camera and use the fastest available aperture (use the 'f' closest to zero).
Golden hour is the perfect time for landscape shots and even more so for portrait photography. Since there are no harsh shadows, especially under the eyes, the warm tones offers a flattering opportunity.
It's also a good time to experiment with shadows. During the golden hour, shadows appear elongated.
If your shots come out with too much blurring try using a tripod.
Take your time, practice makes perfect.

Still riding on the train of that Alexander McQueen lace dress worn by Katherine Middleton during the Royal Wedding, Atlanta is buzzing with the hottest wedding trends for the summer. And as the weather heats up, this popular city becomes an ideal wedding destination as the hub of the South. Trending on the wedding front this summer, is all about brides getting back to basics and thinking just slightly out-of-the-box to create something that makes their guests feel more at home than in a stuffy ceremony.The FrillsConcerning the cake and flowers, the frills are no longer necessary. Cakes have gone from giant cupcake displays and candy bars back to the simple tiered wedding cake with white butter cream frosting. In Atlanta, Perfect Wedding Cakes creates flawless one-of-a-kind cakes that are pieces of art but they don't steal the show. The secret to making it special is to compliment the couple's style with the topper, something significant to the two getting married, or use an old family heirloom, signifying another addition to the family tree. Flowers need a special touch as well, no more classic roses or lilies. The latest trend is fresh cut flowers that could have come out of your southern garden that morning, grouped together in a container that matches the theme like vintage vases or small unique planters.The ThemeIt's the theme that drives a customizable wedding and the photos can carry it on. Don't settle for the boring line up when the wedding theme is anything but. Props and exciting back drops can compliment all the attention to detail involved. And as far as photos during the wedding, the photo booth is a trend that's here to stay. WOW Photo Booths in Atlanta create the old fashion photo strip with an inset message specific to the bride and groom. But the rented booths can be pricy, set up a booth of your own by creating a back drop with fabric or wood, decorate it to match the wedding and set up a camera. Or invite guests to cozy up on a chair and take a picture of themselves. Your photographer will catch them when they're not looking but why not give them a chance to smile just for you?The Food and VenueThe awkward all-you-can-eat buffet is also on the way out. Classy, seated dinners encourage guests to connect over the dinner table as each delicious course is served. Classic southern faire is the most inviting, guests will feel right at home with the dishes they would have at a dinner party in someone's home. The venue is no longer the focus of the event as the special theme, good food and personal touches create the experience. Backyard relaxed weddings are catching on as well as the ever classic hotel reception that can be customized to fit each whim of the couple.The PlanningHotels are beginning to pick up on the customizable wedding themes and are offering options that make planning each detail that much easier in a bundle. And of course, hotel's are the best and least stressful way to house out-of-town guests, offering room block discounts for wedding attendees. A wedding planner that can cover it all is in high-demand, brides today aren't looking to spend their busy days calling florists and cutting checks, they leave that to the professionals. Some hotels provide a preferred vendors list so the couple-to-be has access to every phone number any planner would, making it easier on everyone.?

Weddings are indeed one of the happiest moments a person can have in his or her life. Of course, walking down the aisle with the man you love is just one happy moment, with all the friends and families gathered together to celebrate and for sure, you would want your pictures to be of best quality to make the event much lovelier to remember.However, it is a fact that we don't have the control of what our wedding pictures may come out in the end. You probably want some background eliminated, or you want to enhance the colors of your pictures or you want the color of your bouquet pop up in the photo like it is real, you can always find for a wedding photo editing. What is nicer is that, you can actually do it at home.One of the most popular programs to help you glamour up your photos is Adobe Photoshop, and you can actually learn it at home. If you really want to save more cost in hiring a Photoshop expert, you can easily learn photo editing at home. Here are some ideas that you might want to do with your wedding photos and make them glamorous.- Stick to simple editing. When it comes to wedding photo editing, the simpler it is, the better. You don't have to change the background to a more sophisticated one that guests won't recognize. It is also wise to stick with the background but you can blur it a little if you really don't like the background messing up your wedding kiss. You may also want to airbrush some distractions at the back but always stick to simple editing that will enhance the pictures and not make it something like a ad poster.- In wedding photo editing, the most common styles and effects that add glamour and beauty to your photos are turning your pictures into black and white or sepia which adds drama to your photos and fixing the focus of your photos. If you had a picture that is focused on the background rather than the subject, you can make use of the Gaussian blur menu on Photoshop and blur the background a little more to make the subject pop up in the picture.You may also add a little dreamy effect on the subject to make the photo more elegant, but remember not to overdo the blurring, as it may not also come out nice.- The vignette is also another effect that can be done in wedding photo editing. It is helpful in drawing the attention of the viewer to the subject by lightening the edges of the photo - which is a good effect if you want to get the viewer's attention to the newlyweds in a wedding photo.You can also turn a photo into black and white and retain a portion colored. A reception table adorned with beautiful centerpieces and floral arrangement, for example, can be turned into as black and white retaining the centerpieces colored to make its color pop out of the picture.Indeed, there are many possibilities to make your wedding photos glamorous and you can do it by yourself also. Of course, by learning how to make use of some simple tools in Adobe Photoshop. 

Brides are encouraged to use many fun props to enhance their wedding photography.Wedding Props Adding props to your wedding photography or engagement photos can help your personality shine and add a unique style to your photo shoot. Anything that has sentimental value to is a good prop to bring! Choose props that relate to your personality, occupation, likes, dislikes and hobbies.Vintage vintage props are a timeless way to make a dramatic setting for wedding photos. Below are some great vintage wedding ideas to make your wedding something unique.
masquerade masks
vintage,
antique furniture
Old bikes
Antique mirrors
fans, parasols (feather, oriental, paper etc)