Recently I had the chance to work on engagement photos with Katie and Josh.
One of my favorites from the day was in the old barn.
Being an animal love I of course love working their dogs into a few shots.
of course once they caught the scent of something in the bushes they had ideas of their own.
For the most part on your wedding day you don’t have to worry too much about the pictures, if you’ve hired a professional wedding photographer they they’ll do their job and you’ll have wonderful images. But for one important picture there’s one simple thing you as a couple can do to help your photographer along.
The crescendo of the wedding ceremony is often, The Kiss. This is the moment where every aunt, uncle and cousin is firing their cameras. Now to help those pictures come out here’s a simple tip, don’t rush it. That’s right just savor the moment, that first kiss as husband and wife.
I’ve seen a couple or two over the years just peck each other, snap – it’s gone. Granted I still get my shot but I don’t have the luxury of a few shots to choose from and of course if your mom has a point and shoot she’ll never get it to focus and fire that quick.
So it’s your moment, just enjoy it, and don’t rush it.
Until next time,
Mark
View my portfolio site | Contact Mark Hayes for your upcoming wedding
Just wanted to post something cute and colorful for heading into the weekend. A little side capture during the formal photos from Joe and Audrey’s recent wedding at Phipps Mansion. The flower gardens on the grounds are just breathtaking there and made for a magnificent backdrop to the days formals.
Here a young flower girl, in the Phipps mansion flower gardens, is caught looking at the world through the white gauze fabric of the bow on her dress, probably imagining the veil of her dress on her own wedding day.
Honestly shots like this that are happening either on the side or in between the big formal shots are usually my favorite.
Until next time,
Mark
View my portfolio site | Contact Mark Hayes for your upcoming wedding
When it comes to the formal photos this is an area that can suck time (and sometimes the life) out of your wedding day.
The timing on these photos typically depends on if the couple is seeing each other before the service or not. If seeing each other before the service then many of the formal setups, along with a “first look” set of photos, can be taken before most the guests start arriving for the service. This is a great opportunity to knock these out of the way early and thus free up time between the ceremony and reception.
A few benefits of seeing each other early and doing the formals before the ceremony:
Typically for family and wedding party photos regardless of before or after the ceremony I’ll go for the basics such as:
Those are the core I alway try and knock out right away. When schedules are tight these can be handled in usually under 15-20 minutes.
If there are requests and time available we then work on other combos, Groom and his dad, groom and best man, bride and her mom, bride and maid of honor, etc.
The key to making photos before the ceremony work however is having everyone at the location early enough to do these photos. If doing family photos early don’t tell you brother it’s ok to show up just before the ceremony. All it takes is one person not showing up until just before the ceremony to relegate an entire block of photos to after the ceremony and loosing some of the benefit of seeing each other early and knocking out the formals ahead of the rest of the activities.
Until next time,
Mark
View my portfolio site | Contact Mark Hayes for your upcoming wedding
Having live in Colorado almost my entire life I tend to take a few things for granted, the effect the altitude can have on people being one of them, and another being that Colorado is a wonderful spot for destination weddings. While the bulk of my wedding photography work is in and around Denver, with places like Estes Park, Winter Park, Vail, Aspen, Steamboat Springs for example just hours outside of town there’s a lot of people coming into the state just for a family or friends wedding.
Many of these Colorado wedding destinations are much higher in elevation than Denver as well. If a guest is feeling winded scurry around DIA gather luggage they will need to pace themselves carefully if at the summit of the mountains at the Vail wedding deck.
Since I had helped a few brides pull together info this season for their sea level guests I figured this would be an excellent topic for a Tips post, and besides it would save me time looking for the info next time I was asked. Now of course not wanting to re-invent the wheel when asked about what precautions to give their guests the first thing I do is hit the web and quickly found just what I was looking for.
Nilufer Soucek, a Colorado Wedding Planner runs Two Doves Wedding Consulting, and has very nice and simple “High Altitude information for Guests” page on her site. I contacted Nil and she was gracious enough to allow me to reprint the document here.
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Adjusting to High Altitude
Welcome to Colorado! We’re so happy you could join us as we begin our future together. We want to make sure that your stay in Colorado is as enjoyable as possible. We are currently at a higher elevation than many other parts of the U.S., which can adversely affect some people. Please keep the following in mind during your stay.
Altitude Sickness: Symptoms include fatigue, decreased appetite, shortness of breath with minimal exertion, nausea, headache, and sleep disturbances. Rest and drinking water is the key to treating mild cases. If you feel ill at any time, please treat it seriously.
To avoid altitude sickness:
1. Stay Properly Hydrated: Acclimatization is often accompanied by fluid loss, so drink lots of fluids (at least 3-4 quarts per day). Please don’t wait until your thirsty to drink fluids.
2. Avoid tobacco and alcohol and other depressant drugs during acclimation.
3. Light activity during the day is better than sleeping because respiration decreases during sleep.
Sunburn: Because of the thinner atmosphere, you can sunburn easily. Be sure to protect your skin with sunscreen (at least 15 SPF) and protect your eyes with sunglasses.
Proper Clothing: Be prepared for sudden weather changes. It’s best to dress in layers or bring along a jacket – just in case.
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Just communicate with your out of state guests before hand to pace themselves and it will help make sure your wedding day is memorable for all the amazing moments, and not because Uncle Bob passed out.
Until next time,
Mark - Contact Me!
