Thoughtful Thursday- Why invest?- Sacramento Wedding Photographer

Okay is it just me, or do weddings seem to cost an arm and a leg these days? Did you know the average wedding cost over $20,000 and there are many couples who spend more than that?! For me, that number makes my head spin, especially when I think about how that is for one day. Granted, it's your wedding day, one of the most IMPORTANT days of your life, but still one day. I think there are many ways to cut costs and still have an amazing wedding, but there is one area in particular that I think a couple should NEVER compromise on, the photographer! Now I'm not just saying this because I am one, honestly I think the photographer is one of the most important behind the scene elements of your wedding day. Want to know why? The photographs will most likely be the ONLY thing you keep from your wedding day for the REST of your life! Okay, maybe your spouse, but that's besides the point!
Think about it, when someone gets married, what is the first thing you want to see afterwards? The photographs, right?! When you're wanting to go down memory lane, what helps you bring those memories to the surface? Photographs! Brides today truly pour their heart and soul's in to their weddings and want to be able to remember their wedding exactly how it was. In order to do that, you want someone who can capture your wedding in it's truest form, right? Someone with experience and knowledge of what's important to capture on that amazing day.  Someone who knows how to capture candid, in the moment, pure emotion, photographs.
A wedding is one day, which means you have ONE chance to capture it. Do you really want to be an experiment for an inexperienced photographer, have your family member or friend that has a nice camera capture it, because they won't cost you very much? Or do you want someone you know will deliver you quality images that will take you back to your wedding day and bring memories flooding back, but the cost is higher than you thought you wanted to spend? Which cost are you willing to sacrifice?
I was talking to a bride last week about possibly shooting her 2014 wedding and I was explaining to her why I believe my job is so important. Everything else from a wedding, the flowers, the decorations, the cake and food, they all are tossed out or given away after a wedding. You pay to have them for that one day, and one day only. Granted you could keep some of your decorations, but most people don't. Your photographs on the other hand, you pay to keep them forever. I have heard it time and again, couples wishing they had invested in a photographer because the cheaper photographer didn't give them what they wanted. I have also heard it said to me that clients were so happy they went with me because the quality of my work and my way I captured their wedding was more than they hoped for. I recently got a message from a groom of a wedding I shot almost two years ago. He said, "Every time I look at the pictures of my wedding on the wall I remember how much fun you made the picture taking. You especially had my groomsmen laughing and in an unusually jolly mood during picture taking!" It's amazing to me that I can still touch someone's life with my photographs long after their wedding! A wedding is one day but the photographs go beyond that! The important thing is to find a photographer you love and you know will deliver you photographs that you can reflect upon for years to come! Enjoy some of my favorite wedding shots to date! Can't wait for all my future weddings! If you would like to book me for your wedding email me at jhallphotograph@gmail.com

Thoughtful Thursday- My Epiphany

In January I decided that for the year 2013 I really wanted to start gearing my business towards the photo sessions that I really love. These include engagements/weddings and maternity/newborns. Although I do enjoy family sessions, seniors sessions and so on, these are the sessions I really love! So far this year it has gone mostly that way which makes me so excited. Well, last weekend I had a chance to work with an awesome girl named Karissa. She's kind of my go-to girl when I have an idea in my head for a session. We started in her bedroom and moved out to the living room. We then left and headed out to an open field right by her house. We finished right as we the sun dropped behind the buildings in the distance. As I was driving home I just felt so inspired and renewed in my photography. As I began editing the photos I came to a realization that I absolutely just loved everything about the session we had done. I kept going on and on about to my husband, my other photographer friends and some of my family members. I JUST LOVED OUR SESSION! I realized this was another love of mine, modeling sessions. It's been almost a week since our session and I'm still so excited about it. I really think that I am going to pursue modeling as well. So if you know anyone needing photographs, own a clothing company and need an AWESOME photographer ;) I'm your gal! I'm so excited for this part of my adventure to start, I just had to share with you all! Here are a few samples from our session!

 

 

Thoughtful Thursday- Word & Spend

 When I was living in Chico I felt as if I was moving at a good rate and business was getting pretty steady. I still had a lot of room to grow but I could see my business moving forward. Since moving to Sacramento I have had to think of new ways to get my name out, new ways to spread the word. Honestly, it hasn't been easy. Mostly because I don't know many people and I don't have a regular babysitter during the day. Obviously It's not very professional to tote your kids around trying to promote your business. One thing I have been asked many times before is how I've gotten my name out there, where did all of my business come from. When I was in Chico, the only money I had put towards marketing was for business cards. That's it! Almost all of my business was from Facebook and word of mouth. It's amazing how much word of mouth can affect a business. Now that I am in Sacramento, it's a little different. Everything is so spread out and I hardly know anyone. It's hard to have people you know spread the word, when you don't really know anyone! So, I have to go in a different direction, at least right now. I've heard it many times, as I'm sure a lot of you have also, that you have to spend money to make money. I am understanding that concept more and more these days. Marketing plays such a huge roll in running a business. You need to understand who your market is, their age range, their wants or needs. Once you figure out who your potential market is, you have to decide what is the best way to attract them. There are so many different ways to advertise but it's a matter of deciding which way is best for your business. This year I have decided my goal for my business is trying to focus on the areas I am want to specialize in. I really want my main focus to be on weddings and engagements. One way I am going to market myself for this is being a vendor in an upcoming Bridal Show. This is a great way to advertise myself because I am specifically advertising to actual brides looking for services like mine, instead of just a general audience. Even though it's not cheap, it would be worth it even if I only booked one wedding from the show, but I'm hoping for more! Another way I plan on advertising is taking an ad out in one of the local Bridal Magazines. Sadly I missed this issues deadline, to focused on the wedding show, but the next time I will. The other areas I want to gear my business towards is maternity and newborns. I'm still thinking of ways I want to advertise for this area of my photography but I know there are plenty of ways! The good thing about being a wedding photographer, is it helps me somewhat in this area. For most couples, once the are married they begin to think of babies, either right away or not too far after. In today's market there are so many photographers but I believe it's still possible to have a successful business. It's all about word of mouth and spending money to make money!

Thoughtful Thursday- What to Expect!

In the past three years of my photography journey, I have heard more often than not, "We've never done this before, what do we do?" or " I'm not very photogenic so you'll have to really help me!" My answer to the first "Well, I have, so I know what to do!" and to the second "Most people are more photogenic than they think!" Want to know what makes someone "photogenic" in my opinion? PERSONALITY! Some of my favorite photos are ones that you can see the person's personality beaming right off the print, or screen I should really say! In the beginning of a session, things can be a little tense. This is completely normal. In a lot of cases this is the first time I am meeting everyone involved in the shoot, and like the question above, most people have never done a photo session before. This is when my job really starts. I believe it is my job to get photos that show each person's personality. Normally, I can be pretty timid when I'm first meeting someone, but at photo shoots, for some reason, I'm don't feel shy or timid. I think because I know my clients are usually unsure of what to do or how to pose/move and I just get so excited to photograph new people! I try and make my clients feel as comfortable and at ease as possible. We want natural relaxed photos, not stiff generic ones! Most of my sessions end in laughter and smiles, so that's a good sign right?

Now another thing I have been frantically asked on numerous occasions is, " What am I supposed to wear!?" Well, no need to worry, I can help you with that also! As I'm sure a lot of you already know, there is this awesome site, www.pinterest.com. There are so many amazing things you can find on pinterest. One of which is different outfit ideas! I have created an entire board filled with different ideas on what to wear. My board has many different outfit inspirations and color combination ideas. This new era of photography is not like the old. No more one color pallets or boring khakis! We, photographers LOVE when families come to a shoot in different color combinations and patterns that compliment each other. Key word here is "compliment", we don't want to go overboard! Every person in a session is an individual with an individual personality. Their clothing should reflect the who they are! One other thing I ask of my clients is to not where clothing that has characters or logos. I find these to be distracting and they take away from the photographs.

As of now that's all I can really think of, but if any of you have any questions concerning a photo session with me, please email me! I would love to answer any and all questions you may have. If you are interested in a session with me please email me at jhallphotograph@gmail.com. Here are a few ideas from previous sessions I have had! Also please feel free to follow my board!