In between our fall bookings, we found time to shoot pro boxer Jessie Vargas at Floyd Mayweather’s Gym in Las Vegas. Unpacking our “studio in a bag,” we set up shop alongside one of Floyd’s two rings and got to work on Jessie, who will be fighting Sept. 17 on the Mayweather vs. Ortiz card in Las Vegas.

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

Don’t blame us – blame our new friend on the right.

After spending several nights and early, early mornings trying to win over a stray dog at a local park, we finally got close enough to entice our new pal to follow us home. We plan on fostering the new addition only until we can find a new home for her.

Anyone want a blue heeler? She’s about a year old, quite housebroken and super sweet. She also has no microchip in her ear so it’s doubtful we’re going to find her past owner – we suspect she was dumped in the park.

If you’re in the Las Vegas area, give us a call if you’re interested!

UPDATE: “Vilda” has since found a new home in Summerlin, Las Vegas! Thanks for all your emails of support!

Photo: The mists of high country in Maui, Hawaii. WriteShot recently shot a wedding there – we’re working on a return trip by next year.

We’re not suggesting you replace us with iPhone photos, but we can’t help but give a thumbs-up to Hipstamatic’s app. Want your cell phone shots to look old, beat-up, vintage or like Grandma’s old film snapshots? Give it a shot.

We’re not ashamed to admit, while keeping our Hipstamatic app off during jobs, use it quite freely – it weighs a lot less than our Nikon D3s – it’s a bit cheaper, too.

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.

Additional Creative Partners, include:

Johnny Gonzalez, Stylist

The Cake Artist

Naakiti Floral

Sight and Sound Events

Jalan Arnold, Wynn Wedding Salon

Kassi Weist, Encore at Wynn, Las Vegas

Reverend Richard Walters (no link available)