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

Find a photographer who you resonate with

Yesterday evening Sarah and I had a phone consultation with a woman who had inquired about wedding photography the night before. She was kind and sweet. Most importantly she had taken the time to look through our portfolio, and like I have talked about many times before on this blog, she made sure she had a connection to our work. 

Something about our work resonated with her and her personal taste. In the middle of the consultation while we were going through the wedding day timeline and discussing first looks and family photos etc.. I stopped the conversation and asked a question. I asked her what about our work made her reach out to us over all of the other wedding photographers in Ohio. She mentioned one session in particular that she described in a very interesting way. She Talked about the gallery of Abigail and Peyton. (link below) This session takes place mostly in the forest at Timeless Charm in Camden, Ohio. She said that the bride and groom looked beautiful and that the location was great but she said what really stood out to her was the way that the photographs captured how the bride and groom “ interacted with the environment. ” 

Timeless Charm in Camden, Ohio.

What an interesting way to describe what she sees. A description like that is up for interpretation of course. I take that as a serious complement. It’s a goal that I strive to achieve. Abigail and Peyton look natural and comfortable in the forest. They seem at home there as opposed to looking like a glamorous couple placed in the forest for a photo and then sent back to the ballroom. 

The barebones photography style we use is simple, fun to perform and low stress for the bride and groom. It has always been a goal of ours and over the past 11 years we have it down so well that sometimes we don’t even realize we are using it. In fact, until she had said that I hadn’t realized how well that feeling of simple belonging had soaked into every aspect of our work. When you work as hard as we do and take thousands of photos a year, artistic growth tends to happen without you being conscious of it. Then, when someone points it out to you it brings an unexpected sense of pride and accomplishment. 

This morning that bride and groom officially booked with us for our 2024 wedding season. We are thrilled to have another couple to work with who truly appreciate our vision and we can’t wait to create some beautiful unique wedding photography together.  

You can view the gallery that inspired our new client by clicking the link below! Thank you so much for reading and have an amazing 2024!

 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

My Journey as an Artist - Jordan Epperson

This blog post will help you get to know me. It focuses on my artistic journey and what inspires me as an artist.

Jordan Epperson Photo by Sixteen Fourteen Photography

Wedding and family photography gets a bad rap in the art community. It’s not chic enough. Its not unique. It’s shallow or “basic”. These stereotypes can be true. But let me be the first to tell you that they can be true of any form of art. Just turn on the radio and you will hear a plethora of shallow basic pop music. Or go to the city and visit an art gallery. There will be a few great pieces there but you will likely also see piece after piece of mediocre art that imitates the greats but has no heart behind it. There is a difference between hiring a photographer and commissioning an artist.

An elegant Bride: Jordan Epperson. Rolling Meadows Ranch, Lebanon, Ohio.

 When I was a boy I quickly learned that I was happiest when I was telling stories. My first medium was puppets. I would make up a funny scenario and then put my little brother and sister to work acting out whatever funny or scary ideas popped into my head. 

Next came writing. I had dyslexia and wasn’t able to read or write until I was 11. My mother would sit with me for hours and transcribe my endless stream of thoughts. She was a saint. 

My need to be able to tell these stories myself is what gave me the drive to overcome my disability. Writing was a tool that I had to have in my arsenal. I may have never mastered it to the level I aspire to but what I have gets the job done! 

When I was about 9 the biggest event in my life as an artist occurred. My dad came home with an enormous used VHS camera that my grandfather had given him. This was the 90’s so having one of these was still a big deal. That camera might as well have been duct taped to my hands.

At the same time that I was falling in love with film I was able to imitate the artists who were producing them. With that camera and a VCR I began shooting and editing. My friends and family became my cast and crew. 

My mother around that time, had taken up photography and had gotten good enough that she was even taking some paid sessions. She was a painter as well and the best hair stylist I have ever encountered. I am proud of her and I attribute my creative side to her.

Around 11 years old I started writing music and teaching myself to play guitar. This, like all other art, became an obsession and added to my films in a unique way. At 12 my parents got a divorce. This is when My art started to reflect more darkness. I wrote more horror stories than comedy and switched from colored pencils to charcoal. I listened to less of the Who and more of Nirvana.

At 14 Sarah and I got together. This was a bombshell and changed everything. She was a ray of sunshine in my life and continues to be over 20 years later. She was also, a creative. She was an abstract painter and sculptor. She was more into photography than video and showed me darkroom work she had done with a camera she built herself out of a box. What a girl.

This grabbed me. I was so used to telling stories in video at 24 frames a second. The challenge of telling a story in one frame was exciting. I started to notice photography more. Especially fashion magazines. I noticed how there were plenty of magazines with a smiling model on the cover showing a piece of clothing. It was flattering and made the dress or pants look good, but the magazine covers that really stood out to me were the ones where the focus wasn’t on the clothes. It was on the model. Their eyes and expressions were clear and made you feel something. If they looked mysterious that made me feel mysterious. Sometimes the shots would be totally out of focus and very artistic. This made me want to be artistic. I realized that by not focusing on the clothing and instead focusing on the emotional impact of the model, the photographer was selling a feeling. People wanted to feel like that and that's what sold the clothing. That was what made this work high fashion. You don’t really want the jeans. You want to feel cool, or sexy or confident. This was incredible to me. 

This is where my photography method evolved from. If I am doing bridal photography my goal is to capture the way the bride feels on that day. The magic you feel in your heart on your wedding day. The target is to create images that the bride and her family can look at in 30 years and feel what she felt on that day. To me that's the difference between a wedding photographer and an artist. This applies for any session. A family photograph should do more than just show a family standing in front of the camera. That documents who is in the family and what age they were, but it does little else. A family photograph of mom and dad playing and tickling their laughing children shows a special time that for most people only lives in our memories. 

Any artistic endeavors can become stale if you're repeating the same thing over and over. This is where fresh inspiration comes in. I am constantly reading and searching for inspiration. In today's world it is absolutely everywhere. But the best place to find it ( for me atleast ) is in books. Reading from inspiring people or going to the library and flipping through the books from fashion and street photographers of the past.

Reception Hora Dance in Cincinnati, Ohio. By: Jordan Epperson

I have plenty of names to drop from my biggest influences but I want to drop 2 names here for now. The first is Richard Avedon. He was an astounding portrait and fashion photographer who changed my artistic life with one image. The April 1965 cover of Harper's Bazaar Magazine. I can’t post it here because of copyright but I am linking it below and if you're at all interested in my artistic journey and have enjoyed this post so far you should give it a look.

My second name drop is M.K Sadler. Unlike Richard Avedon, M.K Sadler is currently working and still in the early stages of an incredible career. She shoots fashion and portrait photography and has managed to infuse her talents in that area into her wedding photography in such a unique way.  I found her a couple of years ago through her popular instagram account. She caught my attention immediately and I had to start following her. She is everything I love about photography and if you want to learn more about my tastes you can check her out below. 

Instagram - @mksadler

Instagram for wedding work - @mksadlerwed

Websites

This post has been very personal to me and I am thrilled that you have taken the time to read it. I get questions about my story and inspirations a lot. I am not the best at sharing in person so it has been extremely helpful and even therapeutic to write all of this out for the first time. 

My advice to you would be to look carefully through the portfolio of any photographer that you are considering working with. See what Images stand out to you. Take note of how they make you feel inside. Are they simply pretty or do they evoke something deeper in you? 

 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

Giving Thanks

Happy Thanksgiving! The holidays are officially in full swing. I am heating up my smoker and seasoning a turkey. Thanksgiving marks the end of our Fall photography season. We are thankful for so much this year when it comes to family and friends and great opportunities and experiences. But we can’t get over how thankful we are for this INCREDIBLE photography season!

Over the past decade we have had countless gorgeous photo sessions and weddings, but this Fall was really something special and a new high for our business both on the artistic and business side. Back to back sessions of creative photo session ideas, fashion and loving couples and families. We met so many new people who we vibe so well with. 

Ali & Sam

I had thought that open communication was something we always had, and it was. What I didn’t realize was that it could be taken even further. The inspiration to start this photography blog was a blessing. The response to it has been so powerful. Being able to share photo session tips and fashion advice in a free form way for anyone to read has really opened my eyes. It has put into perspective the vision of what I see for our photography and for our business. People being able to read these posts freely has let them get to know us on a deeper level and I am so thankful for that. 

This past Fall we have seen our clients new and old open up and be creative. They have not only learned about our vision but shared their vision with us. The result has been a unique look to our photos and a growth for our style in a direction that I am in love with. It has been years since I have felt this level of pride in what we're doing. That is so refreshing because as we all know, any job can start to become monotonous after a few years and needs a breath of fresh air to reignite that flame. 

Michelle & John

All of this makes us ecstatic for 2024. I can’t even imagine where this business is going but I am ready to take the ride. We are thankful year round for the life we live together and for the people in our lives. Thanksgiving is the time to put a little extra emphasis on it and even announce what you're thankful for if you are comfortable with it. Take stock this time of year and appreciate all that you have! We appreciate you all so much for supporting us and we are thrilled to have you along on this journey. If you have questions for us or would like to inquire about a photo session or wedding in Ohio or another destination we would love to hear from you. We are still squeezing in a couple more weddings for 2024 and have begun filling dates for 2025 already!

Have a great Thanksgiving. We will be back with more blog posts after the holiday.

Our family

Happy thanksgiving from the Epperson Family!

The greatest complement

A few months ago we received an Instagram message from a woman named Michelle who was interested in our wedding photography. She had been leaving us likes and sweet comments on our photos for a while and we, in turn, we had been following her. We had enjoyed viewing her adorable pictures with her fiancé John and seeing their travels around the country. They seemed like adventurous and fun people and we were thrilled that they had reached out to us. 

   We moved forward with a phone consultation. Sarah and I sat in the yard by the chicken coop with a cup of tea and coffee on a beautiful morning (Our favorite way to do a consultation.) We were so excited to get to know a little bit more about her and John. We said our friendly hellos and before we could get any further she said

“ Before we start, I have to tell you the story of how we found you.” Sarah and I were intrigued and excited. She explained to us that while traveling the country she and her fiance had stopped at a brewery called Idletyme brewing in Vermont for a drink. While there, they had met a couple on their honeymoon who told them all about their amazing wedding and were over the moon about their photographers aka (us). They shared our information with Michelle and she fell in love with our work. 

  Let's stop for a minute to reflect on that. This meant so much to us for so many reasons. The obvious appreciation of our art and hard work. But moreover, the fact that the honeymooning couple hadn't seen one photo from their wedding sample yet, meant that the glowing review of Sarah and I had been sent hundreds of miles from Cincinnati, Ohio to Stowe, Vermont by little more than the couple's wedding day experience with us! This was the biggest complement of all. Making someone's wedding day as magical as possible is of course the biggest thing on our hearts. Writing this story brings that feeling of love for our couples and pride in our work rushing back. The couple at the bar by the way, are named Ashley and Justin and tomorrow, over a year after their wedding we will be in Yellow Springs, Ohio shooting their maternity photos as they prepare to welcome their new baby into the world! I will link their wedding sample below and you can expect a sample of this soon to be amazing maternity session to be up in the coming weeks!

Justin and Ashley (The couple at the bar in Stowe, Vermont.)

Michelle and John booked us on the spot after our call and we are so thrilled to be working with them. They will be having us travel to Philadelphia, PA for their wedding next year and just last weekend we traveled out to meet them in person and shoot their engagement session at Hunting Hill Mansion. Which was GORGEOUS by the way. What an awesome adventure that was for us! God has blessed us with an amazing life of love and adventure fueled by art and the love of others. We have the privilege of bringing positive energy to such a special time in people's lives and we don’t take that for granted. Not even for a second.

Michelle & John at Hunting Hill Mansion. Outside of Philadelphia, PA.

Michelle & John at Hunting Hill Mansion. Just outside of Philadelphia, PA.

 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

How many hours of photography do you need?

  Odds are if you’re reading this then you are recently engaged or shopping around for a loved one. Either way congratulations! You have reached out to one or more photographers and received information on packages and pricing. There is a lot you need to think over and different packages come with different perks and options. There is a lot to unpack there but for now we will keep it simple and focus on the one thing that defines any wedding package. The hours of wedding day coverage. 

   It’s hard to tell when you have just started your wedding planning how many hours you might need. Especially when you have little or no experience when it comes to wedding planning. Hopefully this article can help you get at least a foot in the door with your final decision. I will base this article on the packages which Sarah and I offer but most other photographers are similar when it comes to hours they offer so this should be helpful across the board! 

The Hourly Option

Every photographer offers packages with a set amount of hours, you can find photographers who are willing to go by the hour or photographers who offer very short elopement packages. If you are looking for 3 or four hours of coverage this might be perfect for you. These packages are good for people who aren’t having big weddings. Just a small intimate ceremony and some couples photos. Maybe some family photos as well.  If you are wanting a full wedding day experience you will want to consider a longer package but please don’t make the mistake of thinking you can squeeze a day’s worth of events into this short amount of time. Not only will you find yourself incredibly tense trying to achieve this goal but your family will not have a good time and you likely lessen the quality of your photos as a whole due to rushing your photographer and leaving your family no time to offer up those cute candid moments that photographers watch for. 

Part of the Day

   Our packages start at 6 hours of coverage. This amount of time covers two thirds of an average wedding day. When I say a wedding day I’m referring to the time between preparation, (Hair, Make-up etc..) to the bride and groom's exit at the end of the reception. Typically when we schedule a 6 hour package we will arrive at the end of hair and make-up and exit after the first dance at the beginning of the reception. The Bride and Groom will have photos done that capture many important parts of the day but leave out the majority of the behind the scenes action and the celebration. 

A Full Story

   Our most commonly booked package is our 8 hour package. At this point we are talking about capturing a full story of your wedding day. This package ( in most cases ) captures a big picture story of the emotions and celebration of your love. We typically arrive closer to the beginning of the bride's hair and make-up session. We capture photos of not just the bride getting ready but also the bridesmaids and moms before moving over to the men in the bridal party. We spend the wedding day making beautiful art and have a blast capturing behind the scenes moments that the bride and groom might have missed all together if we hadn’t been there. As long as this package is, it still isn’t usually long enough to take us to the end of the reception. Typically if the bride and groom don’t want to add time for this we will bring up the option of doing a “mock exit” We will have the DJ announce that the guests line up around the exit and make a tunnel. The bride and groom will run out of the reception hall as all of the guests cheere and celebrate. At the end of the day we have a story that appears complete and we have helped create a family TREASURE!

The Definitive Full Story

  In this package we provide 10 hours of onsite coverage. This is no doubt the best option for a couple who is planning a big wedding and an exit at the end of the night. Nothing will have to be faked or reenacted. We arrive at the beginning of the preparation and leave after the big exit at the end of the night. The end product is not only gorgeous but priceless. As the years pass the decision to go this route becomes more and more valuable to your friends and family as a window into the past. We have only been photographing weddings for just over a decade and I can’t tell you how many clients have contacted us years down the line to tell us how something came up that required them to dive back into their wedding photos and they fell in love with them all over again. In 10 hours a good photographer can capture so many special moments and will have time to catch each one of your guests at your reception. 

In Closing

   Only you can know which package is right for you and there are many reasons aside from budget that will determine that decision. Sometimes wedding planning can change as the wedding approaches. This is why Sarah and I always offer the ability to edit your package or add hours when you need them. Even on a wedding day. Take your time most importantly make sure you pick the right photographer who understands you and your needs! 

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