Tag Archive for: photography

Two Cents from a Pittsburgh Wedding Photographer: Addressing your wedding invitations

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I’m not a Pittsburgh wedding planner, but as a photographer I do have some advice to share.  I learned a new tip from my local post office when I was mailing my Christmas cards the other day and I think it’s worth sharing, especially for anyone getting ready to send wedding invitations. The return address for cards and invitations should go on the front of any envelope at the upper left, just like it does for business mailings. This is contrary to what I was taught about how to address an envelope for friendly correspondence.

wedding invitation

So when I went to the post office with my Christmas cards with the return addresses on the backs of the envelopes, a mail carrier told me that because the mail is sorted by machine nowadays, that it could mistake the return address on the back as the destination address and your carrier could deliver your mail right back to you. And that could be very frustrating with timely mailings. It seems odd that this could happen given that your mail carrier could just flip the envelope over and know what to do, but she told me that it has happened and is likely to happen more frequently in the future as mail carriers will be less and less likely to check individual pieces since the machine sorting has changed the way they work.

After a few quick searches online, I didn’t find anything to back this up, but I think it’s worth changing how I address any friendly correspondence in the future. I already had my Christmas cards addressed when I dropped them off and so far none of them have come back to me. I can only imagine how frustrating that might be if they did – especially since I waited until the week before Christmas to send them. Anyway, as a wedding and portrait photographer in Pittsburgh, I figured I should share this in hopes that I can save someone out there from that frustration.

‘Tis the season for engagements and if you’re hoping for a ring and you’re anything like me, you probably already have an idea of what you’d like your wedding to be like. After my husband proposed, I was checking venues for dates within a week. Now that I’ve been in the wedding photography business for a few years, I’ve seen a lot of things that have worked really well and others that haven’t. If I could go back and change something about how I planned my wedding, my biggest regret is not hiring a wedding planner, but that’s a post for another day. In the next week, I’ll be looking though weddings over the past year and compiling a list of great ideas to share. So stay tuned!

Pittsburgh Engagement Photography at Raccoon Creek State Park

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Here’s another Pittsburgh engagement session from October. It’s a popular time for on-location photography as everyone anticipates the cold of winter. I met up with this couple at Raccoon Creek State Park. They’re very outdoorsy and actually met at a park – what a random and exciting encounter that must have been!

Anyway, they brought a couple of changes of clothes to mix up the looks a bit.

Pittsburgh engagement photography

This back road was a lovely setting for a slow dance.

engagement photographers session in Pittsburgh

I really love this next one and I can’t put my finger on why.

Pittsburgh photography for engaged couples

They are going to have some good looking children someday!

Pittsburgh photo for wedding save the date

Well, the sun sets early in October, so we played that up with a few more shots before wrapping up the shoot.

Engagement photography for a Pittsburgh couple

It’s so much fun to hang out with newly engaged couples. So in love!

Pittsburgh Engagement Photography Session at Mellon Park

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I love photographing engaged couples and I love Mellon Park in Pittsburgh, so an engagement session at Mellon Park during the summer is something I thoroughly enjoy. On this particular morning, the fog hadn’t lifted until well after we started the session. At first, I wasn’t sure what to think about it, the fog made everything appear to be muted. But once I got to editing the photos, I found that fog can be great in setting a mood. Anyway, Rebecca and Patrick are a lovely couple to work with. Here are a few favorites from their shoot:

Engaged couple in Pittsburgh

I love the look of this one because you really can’t tell where they are—maybe somewhere in Europe?

Engagement session at Mellon Park in Pittsburgh
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A Pittsburgh Wedding Photographer’s Goals for 2011: Part Two

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OK, I started blogging about my goals as a Pittsburgh wedding photographer yesterday and the post got to be too long to read in one setting. So I broke it up and this is part two of my goals for 2011. If you haven’t read the first part of this blog and think you might be interested, check it out here. It’ll probably make more sense in chronological order, if it makes sense at all! If you find you’ve read through both posts and have something you want to say, please do—I’d love to hear from you. Here are my running lists for business operation and equipment purchases:

Business:
Create a standard workflow outline
Create a tracking spreadsheet
Create a consultation checklist
Have a focus group meet about branding
Plan a charity event: family portraits, portraits in the park…
Offer an internship (opportunity for students to gain experience while helping with lights and gear)
Re-organize office space

I’ve developed a workflow for weddings and portrait sessions and it’s worked pretty well so far, but I think I can be smarter about my workflow and I want to come up with a standard workflow so that it’s easy to track between multiple projects at the same time. It’s amazing how anxiety creeps in when I’m working on lots of different projects and how it dissipates once I put everything on paper so I can see the big picture and know that my deadlines are achievable.

Yep, I know I’m behind in tracking leads and the clients who hire me. It’s just smart for marketing purposes and business planning, so I’m going to do that too. I’m going to break out an Excel spreadsheet and get to it.

When I have consultations with clients, there are so many things I need to communicate and I like my clients to be able to take control because they know what they need to know to tell if I’m their photographer, so it’s up to me to respond to their questions and provide an overview of Captivating Imagery’s services. So often I leave a meeting thinking, “oh, I should have told them about this or that…” What I think I’ll do to solve that problem is create a consultation checklist to memorize or bring with me so I know I’m covering all the bases.

I’m going to put together a focus group of upcoming and recent brides and we’ll get together over dinner and discuss what they want in their wedding photography experience and I’ll present a few concepts and get their reaction. If you’re interested in helping out with this, let me know and I’ll be sure to send you an invite.

Ok, I’ve been wanting to do a charity event or a fundraiser for a good cause. And I have grandiose ideas, but at the moment, not enough resources. So I’m going to start small and offer a family portrait day for families with no strings attached. This will be open to any family and it will be simple, one look for each family, and a disc to take away with permission to print their portrait for personal use. I will spread the word trough my church and local non-profits. I just feel a need to give back and serve others in Jesus’ name to help share His love and expand His kingdom. I’m so grateful at how He has blessed me and my family and I need to start somewhere by using the gifts He has given me. So stay tuned for an announcement about this event on my blog and feel free to tell friends. This could be a blessing for someone you know and I’m sure it will be encouraging for all involved.

Over the last season, I’ve been blessed to find a fabulous second shooter. It is so wonderful to know that I’ll be going into this coming season with a great photographer who is fun to work with. And on the other end of the spectrum, a couple of very helpful photography students have come along to help with lights and other gear in order to gain some experience and learn more about wedding photography. I’m hoping to keep that door open and would love to hear from any budding photographers who are looking to gain some experience.

And while I’m at it with these goals for 2011, I think I’ll need to re-organize my office. I think I can be more efficient and need to change the way I have my office set up. Plus, I want it to be a fun place to be since I spend a lot of time here. It’s funny how this is not an office job per se, but it comes with a whole lot of office work.

Equipment:
Get a new camera body, mid-range zoom lens, a couple of speedlights and light modifiers

Ok, last and definitely not least—I need some new equipment. I keep thinking to myself, “after this purchase, I’ll be all done for a while.” Ha! That’s never true as long as I don’t become complacent. I’ve learned a lot this past wedding season and I look forward to what the next season holds. I’ve got a lot of ideas and now I need to equip my business so I can take it to the next level.

If you’ve made it this far into this lengthy post, you must have some interest in running a photography business. If so, leave a comment and let me know if you have any ideas or questions. I’d love to get a conversation going.

A Pittsburgh Wedding Photographer’s Goals for 2011

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So now that the wedding season has slowed down, I’m making some time to brainstorm ways to improve my wedding photography business here in Pittsburgh as well as implement some of the ideas that I’ve been tossing around over the past year. Because it seems when I’m in the thick of it, I get a lot of great ideas, but I’m too busy to really stop and consider them. It may seem odd to blog about this, but I see it as a way of holding myself accountable. So here’s a running list and some of the thoughts behind it:

Web site:
Create new intro page, make logo more prominent in design
Create introductory video
New bio, new portrait
Update wedding and engagement galleries
Create portraits site and portfolio galleries
Get royalty-free music for sites

My website is the main way that clients find my business and I want to put my best foot forward when it comes to first impressions. There are lots of great wedding photographers in Pittsburgh and great web sites for that matter. I want mine to communicate my style and personality so I can attract clients who are a good fit – that way, it’s a win-win for everyone. So the design, video, bio, portrait, galleries and music all play a role in communicating my brand. Music is something I’ve held off on for a long time because it’s not recommended by web designers, but I’ve always loved combining different art forms for an experience that appeals to more than one sense. It can be so powerful, so I’m going to give it a try and see what kind of response it gets.

The way people communicate and gather information is changing so quickly, so I want to make my site more mobile-friendly. I heard the other day, that by 2013 most people will rely on their smart phones and personal computers will become less and less useful. That’s crazy, isn’t it? If not this year, I will definitely be looking into optimizing my site for mobile devices for 2012.

Marketing:
Blog three to five days a week
Use twitter and facebook more
Read a few marketing/small business books
Get published on blogs or in magazines
Create new print materials
Create new products: rehearsal dinner coverage, engagement guest books, gift certificates, etc.
Create incentives for referrals, reviews, comments on the blog, etc.

Ok, blogging so much will be a challenge, but maybe it’s like getting into a work-out routine where after a few weeks of consistency, it becomes second nature. At least I hope it’s that way. And after I get that routine down, I’m going to get back to exercising—I was doing so well until July…

Back to the way people communicate—I know social media is here to stay and it’s a great venue for marketing. My trouble has been putting myself and my business out there. I’m a bit shy, so I haven’t been making the most of social media and after attending a seminar by Jasmine Star, I decided that I’m going to put my big girl panties on and just do it.

I’m not a natural marketer and if I’m truthful, running a small business has been an eye-opener. I’ve learned a lot from making some mistakes along the way and I find inspiration from the people around me. I feel truly blessed to have a great network of people who are willing to share, listen and collaborate.

I want to put more effort into getting my work published. I’ve been fortunate enough to have photos on the covers of Expectant Mother’s Guide to Pittsburgh (2009 volume 2) and the Pittsburgh Filmmakers Summer 2010 Catalog, but those were pretty luck coincidences. I’m going to reach out to bridal web sites and local magazines with the coming wedding season, because I have some great clients lined up and it would be pretty exciting to see their weddings published.

I need to freshen up my print materials like the price sheet and general info about Captivating Imagery. I need to look through the latest weddings for photos to use in those pieces.

Ok, past, present and future clients out there: what products do you want to see? I get all kinds of requests and it’s hard to know what to offer. I’ve been thinking about offering rehearsal coverage, custom-designed guest books with images from engagement sessions, framed prints, canvases, and gift certificates that can be purchased online. The gift certificates could be nice for couples who would like to add additional items that weren’t included in their package after the wedding.

I also would love to set up a few incentives for referrals. I like to reward my clients when they spread the word about my business, but I never really formalized a plan for incentives.

Ok, it’s time for some chocolate to keep me motivated as I’m realizing this list is too long for one post. More to come about my goals for next year. If you have any ideas or experience with some of the things I’m planning to implement, please let me know. I’m all ears.