Crafting the Perfect Wedding Album
Happy Monday everyone! Today's blog is short but important. Today we are talking about picking the best images for your wedding album. Over the past 12 years of doing wedding photography Sarah and I have designed hundreds of wedding albums. After a time we started to develop a philosophy when it came to how these albums should be built. Similar to our business philosophy, which is to revolve everything we do around love, our photo album method is to tell a love story.
It is very easy to grab 30 or so of your favorite photos and drag them into a folder and hit the place order button. It’s fine to do that if that's what you want but realize that your photo album could be so much more. Your future granddaughter could pick this book off the shelf and see either a common book of old photos or they could be reading a fairy tale. The difference is that one book is made up of good photos and the other of course tells a story and has the potential to be a time machine!
When you're designing your book remember that you're weaving a narrative. Additionally not as many photos fit into a standard album as you might think. In my opinion that is a good thing. You might have 700 photos in your wedding album and have to narrow that down to 30-40. That means that only the cream of the crop are going to make the cut.
There are 5 main parts of a wedding day when it comes to photos.
Preparation ( getting ready shots. Make-up, getting into the dress, first look with bridesmaids etc… )
Couples and bridal ( Immediately after the first look if you have a first look. If you do not have a first look they will should be done immediately following the ceremony. )
Formals and bridal party (Bridal party shots followed by your more formal family posed shots )
Ceremony
Reception ( Cake cutting, dancing, speeches etc…)
I would recommend picking 4-5 photos from each part of the day and then fill the remainder of the book with couples shots as they are going to be the star of the show in this story book.
Personally I like to pick the photos which are the most expressive whether or not they are the best photos because they are the ones that tell the best story. As an example a grainy photo of your grandfather laughing and having a moment with your fiance is worth more than a perfectly lit and staged photo of your rings.
So, to sum this up I would say to keep the mindset of telling a story and imagine someone picking this book up in 30 years. Be in their shoes as you design and think about how they will read it. Will they be looking through old photos or will they be transported back to a special time and place in your life and in the history of your family.
Sarah and I are open for bookings in the Southern Ohio and Northern Kentucky area as well as traveling sessions. If you’re interested in possibly booking a session just hop over to the contact page and shoot us an email!
If you enjoyed this read, please leave a like and consider subscribing for more photo session advice. Follow us on Instagram at the link below to keep up with our most recent photo session samples and reels.
If you want to learn more about Sarah and I you can click the link below to check out our about us page and hop over to the contact page if your interested in setting up a shoot or a consultation!
Thanks for reading!
- Jordan Epperson
4 tips for perfect getting ready photos
4 crucial tips to getting great getting ready photos by Ohio wedding photographer Jordan Epperson.
Creating the perfect wedding day!
Mother of the bride zipping up her daughters gorgeous wedding dress!
Hello again, I hope you're having an amazing 2024 so far! Over the past 10+ years of doing wedding photography in Ohio and around the country I have done hundreds of weddings and taken getting ready photos with all types of people. Almost every wedding falls victim to the same issue and today I hope to help raise awareness to help you get the most out of your wedding photos.
Great getting ready photos don’t just happen naturally!
If you look online at getting ready photos you will see gorgeous well lit photos of the bridal party before the ceremony. Most people love these photos but don’t take the time to look into what they really love about them. If you notice the little things that make up the photo you will usually see the following.
The Dream.
Everyone is mostly dressed and in makeup already.
The room is well lit, preferably with natural light.
The room is clean!
People are happy and smiling
The Truth.
Most everyone is running behind.
The room is poorly lit due to small windows.
The room is full of trash from cosmetic wrappers, shoe boxes and half eaten food and coffee cups.
There is a lack of smiles due to the high tense rushed energy.
Don’t worry though, with a little planning these issues are simple to eliminate. For starters, everyone should have a decent breakfast! This cuts down on the need to eat during the getting ready phase of the day. This is extremely important as one of the biggest issues with photos is clutter from food rappers and also cuts down on the time that people are eating instead of focusing on the task at hand, which is make-up, hair and having a great time!
Wedding at Stone Valley Meadows in Franklin, Ohio.
Shot by Every Atom Photography.
I would be doing you a diservice if I didn’t take a time out to tell you about a great Ohio wedding venue in Franklin, Ohio. The above photo was shot at Stone Valley Meadows ( Link Below ) This venue offers a great getting ready space in the up stairs loft. Large double doors open to let in tons of natural light and the walls are painted a great shade of white which works with any color scheme. The above photo was taken on their patio which is covered perfectly to provide a well lit space while keeping the photos away from harsh unflattering sunlight. They also provide a great guest house for the guys to get ready which they call “The Guy’s Barn.”
Alright, back to it!
Second, if you have not yet picked a location to get ready I highly recommend, if at all possible, to pick a location with big windows which let in a flood of natural light. It’s very common that we end up doing prep photos in a hotel with everyone crammed into a room with one window. Any photographer worth their salt will bring good lighting equipment so they will make it work as we do, but no amount of flash will compare to natural window light. A nice Air-bnb or a venu with a large bridal suite is a great place to start. Having a space with a nice outdoor area helps as well. That way “weather permitting” your photographer has the option of taking the party outside for photos of the girls in their robes or the first look with the bridesmaids. Also I should mention that most people don’t usually realize that an air-bnb is close to the same price as a hotel when all is said and done.
Thirdly, let’s talk about clutter. Believe it or not the morning of most weddings is a hot mess. Everyone is both excited and busy. Cleaning the bridal suite is not on their radar. The floor will likely be littered with things like catering boxes, shoe boxes, cosmetic cases, and boob tape while the table tops will be covered in used starbucks cups and water bottles. The best solution to this is to first, make everyone aware of your wish to keep the space tidy for photos. Second, designate one or two people to keep an eye out for clutter and periodically go around and tidy up. Don’t feel bad, remember these are your friends and family. They are there to celebrate your love and are eager to help make your day perfect!
Lastly, let's talk about smiles. I write about stress all the time on this blog as weddings can be stressful for all involved. Like I say all the time “ stress kills creativity” but also stress kills that positive mimosa energy we all want on the morning of our wedding. As always the solution to this is planning and buffer room. However much time you think you will need, add at least an hour. The reason the morning of a wedding can be unpleasant is almost always a time issue. Rushing. Driving home to pick up something that was forgotten, no one had breakfast so everyone needs to eat first, everyone is moving slow ( maybe from a long night. ) The list of things that cause prep to run late is endless and totally unpredictable but leaving buffer time for things to go wrong is incredibly freeing on such a busy day. On your wedding day, time is your best friend! And if everything goes well you end up with extra time to enjoy yourself and relax a bit before the eventful and exciting day ahead.
I hope this article Serves you well in your planning and helps to make your wedding day and wedding photography a little bit better.
Let’s sum it up.
Eat a big healthy breakfast!
Book a space with plenty of natural light.
3. Make your party aware of your desire for clean and tidy photos.
4. Designate someone to periodically tidy up.
5. Give yourself plenty of extra time.
Sarah and I are open for bookings in the Southern Ohio and Northern Kentucky area as well as traveling sessions. If you’re interested in possibly booking a session just hop over to the contact page and shoot us an email!
If you enjoyed this read, please leave a like and consider subscribing for more photo session advice. Follow us on Instagram at the link below to keep up with our most recent photo session samples and reels.
Thanks for reading!
- Jordan Epperson
4 Pros and cons to doing a first look
Hello again! Today I’m excited to talk about a subject that many couples spend months stewing over before finally making up their minds. It seems like it should be simple, but the more it works its way into your head the more it becomes an enormous overblown thing that it really doesn’t need to be. Hopefully this article will help to condense this big knot of mental Christmas lights into a few simple things to consider. After reading this I hope you will be more than a step closer to your decision to have a first look, or to opt for the more traditional route!
So, it's been years now since the idea of the first look hit the wedding scene. It has officially proved itself to be more than a fad and for good reason. It’s romantic, modern and intimate to name a few reasons. Oh, and also the pictures from a first look are precious and beautiful if done right. As photographers, Sarah and I love first looks for a few main reasons.
The Pros.
Goodbye to Nervousness.
First, on a wedding day it can feel like there is a lot of pressure on the bride and groom to keep things running smoothly. Think about this. In a stressful situation who is the one person who makes you feel like you can do anything? I hope you answered your partner! I mean, that’s why you're getting married right? My number one reason I love first looks is that when the bride and groom come together early on a wedding day you can actually feel their tension melt away. Not only the nervousness about seeing each other that was hanging over their heads. But the subconscious feeling of doing this alone vanishes.
Photos done early.
When researching for this article I saw tons of writers saying that couples photos might not be as special to you on the wedding day if you aren’t actually married yet. Well… Fine, that’s fair. However, We aren’t necessarily talking about couples photos. Yes we can do some of those after the first look and we almost always do, but a huge chunk of our couples photos will be done around sunset. Long after the ceremony when the light is right! Now we are talking mainly about family photos and bridal party photos. These photos take a lot of time and when we do them all after the ceremony we often find ourselves trying to squeeze everything in as fast as possible. This is not only stressful for everyone “Stress is the enemy of good wedding vibes” but it cuts into precious couples photos time!
Privacy
If you are anything like me you appreciate your privacy. At my ceremony I felt very on the spot and I was uncomfortable at first. That may sound crazy to you but I bet a ton readers know exactly what I’m talking about. I am glad I had my first look with Sarah because I was able to soak it in in privacy and not during an anxious moment in my life with everyone watching. Social anxiety. Yes, I have it too!
Less wedding day pressure
After your first look you tackle those family, and bridal party shots and then you find that your wedding day schedule is suddenly less full, less rushed and more relaxed. That is a key ingredient to a special, fun and romantic wedding day that you remember fondly. Unfortunately over the past 10+ years we have been wedding photographers, we've seen our share of brides and grooms not enjoying their wedding day. Sweating, sour faced, snippy or even arguing… Of course we can’t stand seeing this on someone's special day. When this happens we do everything we possibly can to help. Especially Sarah. She is a master when it comes to wedding planning and positive vibes. There is one commonality between every one of these weddings. The bride and groom had planned too much into a day to not have a first look. Please don’t take that the wrong way. That does not mean that a first look is something you need to do to have an amazing wedding day. Not at all, what it means is if your not doing a first look make sure you're not planning too much after the ceremony. You will most likely find that you didn’t have time to actually enjoy your wedding and the time with the people you love the most on this special day.
Cocktail hour
Speaking of enjoying time with your loved ones. Soon after the ceremony they will all head to your cocktail hour to mingle, laugh, drink and celebrate together. Tradition dictates that the bride and groom aren’t there. But why not? We love when brides and grooms are present for cocktail hour. They have so much fun. Shake off the remaining wedding day jitters and we get to capture some candid photos of them with the guests. The ceremony is still so fresh in everyone’s minds and they are so ready to hug, squeeze and congratulate you!
There is so much more to say but I could literally be here all day and I told you I would make this simple and condensed! Some people prefer the traditional route. I have huge respect for this. Tradition is deep, meaningful and extremely charming. Especially at a formal event like a wedding day. Here are the cons. The reasons you might not want to have a first look.
The cons
Loss of tradition.
Maybe you are a traditionalist, or maybe you highly respect your Mother or Grandmother's opinion and want to take their advice. When you have a first look you are breaking a cultural tradition of not seeing each other before the ceremony. I won’t harp on that for too long because I know that you knew that before clicking on this blog!
Ceremony photos less expressive
There is a theory amongst photographers that if you do a first look, the emotions might be less present at the ceremony. This is both true and not untrue. I’ll elaborate. If you opt not to do a first look, you might find yourself very emotional at the ceremony in the way of joyful tears and a deeply romantic vibe. If you go for the first look you will likely have a different experience. With most of the tension gone you will find yourself more relaxed and likely be more outwardly happy and excited. You will have less tears in the audience and more smiles and joyful laughs and an excited energy from your partner. It will be just as emotional but it will be a different flavor of energy, which leads to a different experience. Whichever you prefer is the correct choice for you!
You’re having an early Mass
A common thought is that you're having an early Mass and so you will have a jump start on your wedding day events. Awesome, In these scenarios we agree. A first look doesn’t yield much in the way of wedding schedule efficiency. It does still offer the relief of ceremony pressure. However, I’m betting that if you are having a Mass you are a person who respects tradition and are willing to deal with that to uphold in what you believe in. That is awesome and I love and respect that, but what are you doing reading this! You already know what you want. Stop second guessing yourself and go confidently into your dream wedding!
In closing
All things considered, it’s up to you to choose. I know that probably not what you want to hear but what I offer is advice.
If you are not having a first look, please consider not overcrowding your wedding plans. Leave time in the schedule between each event to get something to drink, a snack, or just take a breather. Leave time to have fun and not be stressed!
If you are having a first look, make sure that you leave some time to have couples photos done later in that golden hour light! Have a great time but please remember, you’re getting photos done later. Don’t party too hard, you have to keep that hair and makeup on point!
Thank you so much for taking the time to read. I hope this article helped you on your wedding planning journey.
Sarah and I are open for bookings in the Southern Ohio and Northern Kentucky area as well as traveling sessions. If you’re interested in possibly booking a session just hop over to the contact page and shoot us an email!
If you enjoyed this read, please leave a like and consider subscribing for more photo session advice. Follow us on Instagram at the link below to keep up with our most recent photo session samples and reels.
Thanks for reading!
- Jordan Epperson