2022 RECAP

Not the “Best of 2022” but rather the best of “ALL” the weddings and other session I was blessed with in 2022.

This year was definitely a big win for me especially as a creative entrepreneur. Probably the busiest year in my entire 15 year career as a wedding photographer.

Although I wasn’t published nor got any awards this year, I ever really considered being published and winning some awards a few years ago as a big accomplishment. It did not do much for my business other than gain a few more followers that was never even my target market. I really think those are superficial sense of achievement. However I think my milestone achievement as a creative entrepreneur is that I survived and thrived through the pandemic. That is something I’m really proud of. So if you’re still around and thriving, pat your self in the back and be proud. You’ve made it this far and that has far more value than any features and awards.

Heres a quick 2022 recap, Cheers to us!

Outfit guide for your engagement session

As your Big Day draws nearer, one more thing to keep in mind is planning the perfect outfit for your engagement session. Taking your engagement photos is supposed to be a light-hearted but meaningful break from the more serious parts of wedding planning, to capture this exciting time in your relationship. Engagement photos are meant to celebrate your love as a 

That being said, here are some tips to choose outfits for your engagement session.

Autumn and Winter 

If you have an autumn engagement session, wear cozy layers in neutrals, warm tones, or jewel tones that complement or contrast against the color of the turning leaves. For winter shoots, wear comfy fleece-lined pants and boots, and stylish but cozy jackets and headgear that will look good against the whiteness of the snow.

Spring and Summer

During warmer seasons, choose light and comfy fabrics like linen for your engagement shoot. If you have a beach photo shoot, you can opt for a fun floral dress and sandals, or even go barefoot! For the men, a light button-up shirt and linen pants or shorts will do. For a casual spring look, a denim jacket over a flowy maxi dress will be a fun, timeless option.

Things You Need To Know About Wedding Timelines  

Let’s face it: planning a wedding can be stressful. This is why it’s important that you hire the right professionals to help ensure your Big Day goes perfectly. It might seem more practical to DIY your entire wedding timeline, but getting advice from seasoned wedding professionals on how to plan your wedding can definitely help you avoid any snags along the way.

What Is The Right Wedding Timeline For Me?

That being said, here are some tips to help you figure out how to properly plan a wedding timeline!

• The number of bridesmaids and groomsmen, if any
• If you plan to do a First Look or not
• The number of people on both sides of the family, and how many photos with those people
• The time and length of the actual ceremony (Morning, afternoon, or evening? A 30 minute or hour-long ceremony?)
• Key locations (ex. Where you’ll get ready, the ceremony, the reception)
• The parking situation at your wedding venue/s
• If you’ll be doing a send-off

These points are crucial factors for the wedding photographer, so they can formulate an efficient wedding day timeline.

A wedding planner is in charge of knowing what happens during the wedding day, and the photographer is responsible for keeping track of the time constraints for the important parts of the actual day. Close coordination between the wedding planner and photographer is so, so important for your Big Day!

Here’s what the responsibilities of the wedding photographer look like:

• The photographer gathers information from the couple in order to create an unofficial draft of the wedding timeline.
• The couple or the photographer sends the initial draft to the wedding planner.
• The planner gives input on the timeline and sends it back to the photographer.
• The photographer studies the feedback and gives comments on timing adjustments to the wedding planner. Usually, wedding planners are flexible when it comes to timing.

It’s important to avoid “hogging” the couple on their wedding day, so they have room to meet and socialize with their guests.

Worth nothing: Other vendors that also have a say on wedding timelines are the catering service and the DJ. The caterers are responsible for planning out the multiple-course wedding meals, which ultimately determines the flow of the reception. The DJ and planner can help the caterers with this aspect of planning, especially when it comes to crucial milestones like the wedding speech, or the first dance.

• Getting ready: 2-3 hours
• First Look – 30 minutes
• Bridal Party – 30 minutes
• Ceremony:
  • For non religious Ceremony – 30 minutes
  • For religious ceremony – up to 1hr
  • Allot some cushion time before the ceremony itself! This is when the photographer can take detailed pictures of the bride and groom at the wedding venue

• Formal Family Portraits – Up to 30 minutes, depending on how big the family is.
• Sunset Portraits – 30 minutes
• Wedding Reception – Allow at least 4 hours to photograph the couple’s reception, to capture all the milestones (the entrance, the first dance, parent dances, speeches, dinner, cake cutting, dancing, etc).

Have any more questions? Don’t hesitate to message us. We’d love to work with you on your wedding day!

Dear wedding couples,

Invest on an experienced wedding photographer. 

That one person who got gifted a nice fancy camera last Christmas is now calling himself a pro. In this day and age, anyone can literally become a photographer. But it takes experience to become an effective one. With today’s technology, anyone can take 10 or even 20 great photos in a whole wedding day but it takes experience to consistently produce amazing images all through out the day. And you’re not paying thousands of $$$$ for a few good images. Photos (and videos) are the only thing you will take home out of all the $$$$ you will be spending on your wedding day so make sure to make it count. 

• Ask for full (real) wedding galleries

Instagram, Facebook and Website photos are one thing, but the actual delivery is another thing. Public online portfolio will always look great (and in some occasions, those are stolen images from other photographers) but the actual delivery will speak for their actual skills and experience. ASK FOR REAL WEDDINGS, nowadays, people will create portfolio by hiring models or asking their good looking friends to pose as a wedding couple for them to have portfolio, that doesn’t count as an experience, make sure to ask for real weddings, look for guests photos and family photos. I personally think that if the actual delivery is not consistent with their online portfolio, its a RED FLAG 🚩🚩🚩

• Research and do a price check

Experienced photographers will never come cheap. Because they know how much it costs to keep the business afloat. The gears, softwares, subscriptions, marketing costs and knowledge used to give you the best service will also costs $$$$ on our end.  It takes an average of 48hrs to edit a whole wedding plus the hours of services rendered on the wedding day itself. Try to do your Math, that person charging below the current market value of services is making X amount of dollars per hour. Ask yourself, would you want to invest tens of thousands of $$$$$ and get paid that much per hour?

•  Look for a photographer that actually cares

Your wedding is very personal and it should be about you. Your photos should celebrate you and the most important people in your big day. I would personally avoid an ADD TO CART-CHECK OUT, kind of service where a photographer will just give you a list of packages to choose from, take your money and will never hear from them until your wedding day. Creating images that celebrates you takes more than just an invoice. The photographer needs to know more about you, and what kind of photos you like and what you don’t like. A photographer that cares will always want to know more about you and your big day before talking about the numbers. I’ve seen a lot of photographers arrive on the wedding day not knowing anything about the couple, and camera click away the day and produce images that celebrates them, their skills and gadgets instead of the couple. YOUR WEDDING IS NOT ABOUT THEM, IT SHOULD BE ABOUT YOU AND YOUR PHOTOS SHOULD CELEBRATE YOU.

Overall, look for experience instead of deals. Because like i said above, your photos will be the only thing you will take home out of all the $$$$ you’ll be spending for your wedding day. Being able to produce great images in a very unpredictable wedding day requires experience, wedding photography is just a different ball game.

So far the three most common complaints I’ve seen all across social media when hiring an inexperienced (and usually lower priced) photographer are these:

1. The photos they received are very amateur looking and it does not look like any of their portfolio
2.  They got canceled last minute because of some reason. But in reality, the photographer found a higher paying gig.
3. The photos takes close to a year or more to get delivered if it ever gets delivered.

Im not saying that all the newer photographers are not good, there are actually some good ones out there. But its a hit or miss and i don’t think your wedding photos are worth the risk.