Photo: Guests at a recent wedding fire their point-and-shoots and cell phone cameras at the wedding party.

1. Selective portfolio. You might like the portfolio a photographer puts before you, but keep in mind that it may encompass the best of a zillion photos taken over a decade of work. Ask the shooter to let you see all the shots from any given wedding.

2. Trend-happy shutterbugs. Beware of photogs who rely too much on Photoshop filters and the latest set-up shots. It’s about getting the shot – not about saturating colors that do not exist in nature, adding impossible blurs to focus your attention on any given area, or turning what used to be a photo into a sun-bleached Polaroid pic your iPhone’s Hipstamatic app could’ve done cheaper. Filter frenzy, heads getting cut off and an overabundance of shoe shots are also an indication that your shooter lacks creativity.

3. Poses and more poses. If all you’re seeing are posed or set-up shots in your shooter’s portfolio, it probably means there aren’t’ a whole lot of great shots taken on the fly. Ask your shooter where the real images are – not those constructed but captured.

4. Personality pushers. If your photog is all about explaining how great he’s going to get along with everyone, beware. If you want camaraderie or a date, invite your friends or hire an escort. If you want good shots, hire a good photographer.

5. Pricing structure. Look for hidden costs. Just because a photographer promises you a $1,999 fee for your wedding, ask him or her what the grand total is going to be after you get a DVD, an album, prints, more than four hours of work and post-production work – or if that photog is going to dump his assistant on you and bail out for a higher paying job that night.

A colleague of ours was recently offended that his client wanted to include her personal digital snapshots in her wedding album. The response was something like: “There’s no place for that crap in my beautiful album! I told her, ‘Absolutely not!’”

I just shrugged, agreeing that, of course, while the quality would pale to professional photos, personal shots from someone’s throwaway point-and-shoot or iPhone are no less important than the ones they pay the big bucks for to get from us.

“So, you put those shots in those books you do?” was our colleague’s question.

“Absolutely,” was, and is, our answer.

In constructing our last two wedding books, we included at least three double-page spreads of past photos – those taken over several years, dozens of locations and events. Why? Those photos are part of our couples’ history; and they are important.

Due to the disturbing trend in the overuse of sunbleached filters for that ’70s vintage film look, and chopping off people’s heads in wedding photos, I’ve decided to jump on the bandwagon as a self-styled photographic executioner.

“Off with their heads!” I say. “Let’s bleach ‘em down and soak them in a urine-colored hue, too.”

What bride and groom wouldn’t want to look through their treasured wedding album, five, 10, 50 years later, and see headless bridesmaids, best men, and, of course, the (assumed to be) happy headless couple?

It will require some work, not to frame my photos, but to lop off what has always been the most essential part of a image – someone’s face.

I bet I’ll get more clients. Maybe the trend-happy brides will think I’m really cool and book my services.  I can probably justify an increase in rates, too, since I’ll be doing an overabundance of cropping and that takes time. I’ll also have to purchase all those actions I’ve despised these many years, as a photography purist hell bent on retaining any sort of image resembling real life.

In fact, when I’m shooting boxing, i’m going to cut off heads, as well. I bet ESPN or Ring Magazine will love to see that! They’ll talk about how innovative I am. I’m going to chop off my dog’s head as well. My dogs will think I’m pretty nifty, too.

For those of you unable to make 37:60, a wedding photography workshop for brides, hosted by WriteShot and Artistic Imaging, over time, I am going to share the biggest “a-ha!” moments the brides in attendance experienced this past week.

I’ll be starting with Tip No. 1: Portrait photography, though showcased heavily in a wedding photographer’s portfolios, only accounts for a small percentage of your wedding day coverage.

I never really thought about the fact that couple’s portraits take up only 20-60 minutes of an entire wedding day . . .

While some people consider the couple’s portrait the crowning jewel of their wedding day, don’t forget that there is an entire story unfolding throughout the day – and  your photographer is responsible for capturing it.

In order to do so, your photographer will need to call on his photojournalism and commercial photography skills. He’ll need to deliver all the shots you expect, as well as capture moments that you were too busy to see happen. A good wedding photographer is part photojournalist, part portrait artist. On top of that, he’s got to capture your details on which you worked so hard.

How much emphasis a shooter places on photojournalism over portraiture, or vice versa, depends on that photographer’s vision and style.

Tip: Before you hire a photographer, take the time to review images from an entire wedding day so that you can see firsthand, that photographer’s style. Then, ask the  photographer how he sees your story unfolding. Share your vision and see if his vision is a strong match.

This is just one of the topics covered in our workshop. Send us an email, if you’d like to attend the next session and we’ll save you a spot.

Join WriteShot and Artistic Imaging in a free workshop designed to help brides maximize value, save time and money when it comes to their wedding photography. Call 702-465-5700 to register, as space is limited. Interested brides: Please call to register and receive the location information.

The biggest decision a bride makes is who to marry. The second biggest decision she makes is who to hire as her wedding photographer. Fortunately, Vegas has many options, when it comes to wedding photographers. Unfortunately, brides often feel overwhelmed and frustrated as they try figure out who to hire and why.

Enter 37/60, the only free wedding photography workshop of its kind.  Offered by WriteShot, who has teamed up with Artistic Imaging, 37/60 an is amazing opportunity for brides to get their wedding photography questions answered.

“The Millennium bride is smart, says Natasha Chornesky, WriteShot. She’s looking for value, regardless of her budget. She’s looking to learn as much as she can about maximizing that value before committing to any particular wedding vendor, especially her photographer. She considers saving time as important as saving money.”

This workshop addresses the three things the Millennium bride wants to do most: save money; save time; and maximize value.

Any bride, regardless of who she hires as her photographer, will benefit. There is no sales pitch and there is no discussion of specific professionals in the industry. However, there is a lot of information packed into one hour.

Vegas has many talented wedding photographers. 37/60 is designed to benefit brides in all budgets, regardless of whom they eventually hire as their wedding photographer.

“We’re reaching out to empower brides with real information, so each one can make decisions that best suit her distinct needs,” says Natasha.

The workshop gets it’s name from the 37 topics covered in only 60 minutes.

37/60 is free, but registration is required. Session one is offered Tuesday, August 24th, from 6-7 pm and session two is offered Saturday, August 28th, from 10-11 am.

For additional information or to register, call 702-465-5700. Space is limited to ten participants for each session.

Both WriteShot (booth 614) and Artistic Imaging (booth 604) will be at the Bridal Spectacular Show, August 20-21, held at Cashman Center, Las Vegas.

Press Release here.

WriteShot brides have been asking for archival quality image albums and proof boxes in addition to our one-of-a-kind books and custom fine art prints. There are a million wedding album companies out there, but most of them didn’t pass muster.

We looked for a company that builds by hand each album and box. A company that is as dedicated to craftsmanship as it is dedicated to the same archival quality of WriteShot’s existing line of books, fine art prints, book jackets and other products.

Enter, Cypress Handmade Albums and Boxes. Each WriteShot Cypress album or box is custom-crafted by hand in French silk, accented by Swiss ribbons in colors of the bride’s choice.

WriteShot is especially excited to debut a Cypress box containing a brand new iPad loaded with a couple’s entire wedding photograph collection and their WriteShot book.

For our DIY brides, WriteShot is happy to make available Cypress’ self-mount albums, which feature the same sophisticated elegance, while accommodating any budget.

You can see the iPad, the Cypress iPad box, with custom matted prints, and other products at Writeshot‘s  Bridal Spectacular booth, this Friday and Saturday at Cashman Center in Las Vegas. Or you can call 800.857.7550 and arrange an appointment at your convenience.

Photos courtesy Cypress Albums and Avery House Photography.

A long time ago, I promised to walk you through our Houston couple’s – Lauren and John’s – engagement shoot. Finally, here is part two . . .

Chris and I met up with the happy couple at John’s place, where we snacked on breakfast, sipped Mimosas and conducted our first interview. In a room off of the kitchen, we could see piles of clothes and shopping bags.

“My engagement shoot dress was, ahhhh, unavailable,” Lauren explained. Read the rest of this entry …

Brides and grooms can put a lot of pressure on themselves when it comes to an engagement photo shoot. After spending countless hours pouring over images in wedding blogs and magazines, they happily arrive at the conclusion that they either need or want their photos to look a certain way; that they need to wear a certain type of outfit or be shot in their city’s trendiest locations.

Couples plan extensively, and even though they are trying to relax about the shoot, they want everything to be absolutely perfect – just how they pictured it in their minds, and how they saw it on the blogs. That’s when things get stressful – when they don’t have to be.

Read the rest of this entry …