Category: for photographers

How to Create Ambient Lighting at Your Wedding Reception | Allie Skylar Photography

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bride and groom dance their first dance under twinkling lights at stroudsmoor country inn

Ah, the wedding reception.  The hard part is over and it’s time to relax!  It’s time to dance, catch up with family and friends, and eat.  But chances are, at this time of the night, there will still be important moments that you want your wedding photographer to capture.  First dance, Father/Daughter, Mother/Son, cake cutting…. just to name a few.  The natural light is probably gone, and those iPhone photos just won’t cut it anymore.

So how exactly do photographers create those dreamy, natural looking reception photos?  And what can you do to help?

Ambient light, my friends, is all it is!  Photographers set their cameras to absorb (for want of better words) any natural light that is flooding the room.  The aide of one or more flash is most definite, but too much flash and too little ambient light can lend to a very 1980’s vibe.  Most venues have plenty of ambient light, yet some, usually those with outdoor dance floors, might be lacking.  So here are some tips to set the room and get the most dreamy reception photos possible!

tables decorated for a wedding at the ballroom at ellis preserve

  1. Sting lights-  It’s that easy!  And bonus- it’s Christmas time, so lights are everywhere!  Make sure and get white or warm- multi-colored lights will make your photographer cry.
  2. Candles- Not always possible, but candles add a warm glow around the tables and cut the shadows.
  3. DJ uplighting- Talk to your DJ/Band about the available uplighting they might have.  Be wary of those laser lights with multi-colored dots- they can be a nightmare!
  4. Chandeliers- It’s a give-in.  If your reception has them, keep them lit for the special dances!
  5. Lit walls- You know those blankets of twinkling lights?  So so dreamy!  If you are trying to dress up a more rustic space (think brick wall) and can’t install an chandelier, these lights could be the perfect backdrop to your dances!

couple dance in the Ballroom at Radnor Valley Country Club

For those outdoor receptions, I suggest stringing larger bulbed cafe lights across the dance floor and adding TONS of lighting around the dance floor in the form of candles, lanterns, lights, etc.

You can never have too much ambient light.  Keep it soft, keep it neutral, and keep it in line with your vision.  If your DJ and Venue plan to get the dancing going by turning off the lights, make sure and leave just a few twinkling.

bride and groom dance their first dance at Edel Haus Farms in NJ

 

How to Find Self Worth Apart From Your Small Business | Living Outside the Algorithm

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I curate my social media content to only show the best of the best from my life.  You see wedding photos from sprawling fields, sweet families laughing together, and newly engaged couples giggling to the point where their noses wrinkle.  You don’t see the stress of bills, the countless turn downs, the 2am editing sessions.  We are used to seeing the filtered lives of others, and yet we don’t even realize it.  It’s so easy to compare ourselves, our real, true, messy, hidden, selves, to the seemingly perfect lives of others.  And it isn’t healthy.  Sometimes I like to look at my Instagram of Facebook because it looks better than I know my real life is.  Owning a Small Business can be very tough on self worth since what we produce is very personal.  If people aren’t booking, it means we are not worthy.

Social Media is a necessary evil for small business owners as a platform for marketing.  But the line between marketing and self worth has begun to blur.  Likes and Shares become personal— your post only gets 100 likes, and someone else has 1000.  That clearly means your work is terrible.  If your work is terrible, you are terrible.  Do you see how dangerous this can become?

Deep down, we all know that multiple factors impact how many followers/likes/shares you get.  The ever changing Algorithm is possibly the most annoying.  Wherein exposure used to be organic, now what we see had been perfectly curated by computers so we see what technology thins we want to see (I searched for baby clothes ONCE for a friend and now every Facebook ad is about pregnancy, babies, and IVF…..Back off Facebook!).  If someone doesn’t like or comment in the first minute, your post won’t have much success.  On Facebook, 5% of my following seeing my post, yet I get a “free” $10 from Facebook to advertise each day (which I do not accept….because I know it’s a can of worms).

So ask yourself…. If you as a Small Business Owner put so much self worth in what you create, and an Algorithm determines the results (for good or bad), how can we create some distance and still feel fulfilled?  I love what I do and I feel fulfillment in what I create—- and I will not deny that it feels amazing when a post gets a positive response!  If I posted something because it was worthy to me, how can it remain that way despite social media feedback?  Keep reading, because I have some tools for you. Continue reading “How to Find Self Worth Apart From Your Small Business | Living Outside the Algorithm” →

Wedding Photography Checklist | Bloomsburg and Philadelphia Wedding Photographer

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wedding-photography-portrait-fishing-creek-bloomsburg

It’s one of the top questions I get asked during consults – “What do most other couples ask you?  I’m not sure where to begin!”

Hiring a wedding photographer, or any wedding vendor, can be overwhelming.  Some days it seems like you can throw a rock and hit a wedding photographer.  The somewhat over-saturated business can leave many couples feeling scammed by a photographer who wasn’t all they promised to be.  So what do most other couples ask me?  And where is a good place for you to start?  Here is my checklist!  Feel free to download and use/modify for all of your wedding vendor consults!

 

wedding photographer checklist

 

 

Pennsylvania Weddings | Kissing the Pose Goodbye | Why Un-posed is the Best

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windblown bride and groom in Selinsgrove PA at the river walk

I find relief and peace knowing that I am not the right photographer for everyone. It makes me feel incredibly lucky that the couples who have chosen me have done so due to a love for my product.  They don’t book me because I’m cheap (because I am not) or because I can teach wedding guests any and every dance of the times (Whip Nae Nae, Cupid Shuffle, Wobble- I got you), although I do list that under my skill set; but rather, they book me because of the photos I produce.

Now that seems so easy, right?  Nope.  Not even a little.  I cannot just take a lovely photo of someone and call it a day.  So much prep work goes into creating these photos, much of it started months if not a year beforehand.  I cannot get results unless I have a relationship with my clients- call me awkward, but I know myself. We chat, exchange emails, grab pizza, work together on their engagement session, and even exchange Christmas cards.  By the time we get to the wedding day, we have usually met in person twice and exchanged dozens of emails; 21st century pen-pals.

I know the style of photos I want, and I know that this is the same style of photos my client wants!  We want un-posed.  We want real.  We want emotional.  And honey, there ain’t no way to get that on a wedding day without a prior relationship—- and trust.

So why is this un-posed style the timeless favorite?  And what even is it?  Let me lay it all out for you- when I aim for un-posed, I am looking for the little fraction of a second shows true personality.  Maybe I have just told my couple to walk towards each other and embrace.  Awesome.  Lovely!  Beautiful photo.  But I don’t have what I want.  So I tell the groom to whisper sweet nothings into his bride’s ear– and I say it just like that!– and I get the most lovely, real life reaction of laughter and joy.  Because come on, did you ever expect your wedding photographer to say that?  So now I have the groom saying “ummm ummmmm” and the bride cracks a megawatt smile and pulls her face away, laughing with her twinkling eyes locked on her husband.  And that is it.  That’s the photo.  It’s the one that has captured the essence of a relationship.  And it’s the one that will bring all the feels.

This isn’t to say that every photo is laugh out loud funny, this was simply an example of how I work to capture the little in between moments— the ones my couples don’t expect me to capture!  And for the sake of this post, laughter is what I will focus on.

At it’s core, “un-posed posing” is a way of bringing photojournalism to portraits and it’s just about my favorite thing.It’s not everyone’s style…. and thank goodness!  I love variety.  If every photographer was a clone of me, 1) I would be out of a job and 2) photography would be so incredibly boring.  The way I see it, life is un-posed…. and it’s pretty great that way.

sunbury-vineyard-pennsylvania-wedding-photography-photo_3092peoples-light-pennsylvania-wedding-photography-photo_3137bride and groom walk in the raincelia and john pose on the front porch of their bloomsburg apartment during their engagement sessionwest chester wedding photography_1825bride and groom in a field at the barn at hidden acres in bloomsburg pa

wilmington-delaware-engagement-photography-photo_2832philadelphia engagement photography_1519merion tribute house wedding photography_1376bloomsburg engagement photography_1267

How to Use Rain on Your Wedding Day | Bloomsburg Wedding Photography

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Bride and groom kiss under an umbrella on their wedding day in Berwick Pennsylvania

This year has been particularly rainy on the weekends, and nearly half of my weddings have been shot in the rain.  I know it is a major fear and concern for any bride and groom, but in my opinion, rain is harshly judged.  It often alters our plans and forces us to reinvent the day, which can lead to moments we never would have discovered!  I always try and see things in the best light, so I will share with you some of the reasons I truly believe rain is a blessing and not a curse.  Now I am not talking about hurricane force rain, but your normal, everyday rain storm.  It definitely should not be cause to ruin your day, and here’s why;

Rain drops create amazing effects on lenses (BE CAREFUL!!!)

Clouds= diffusers from God.

Rain is romantic!

Rainy days make colors more vibrant

Rain often leads to fog which is stunning in photographs

Rain slows things down and helps create a quiet, peaceful atmosphere.

No wedding will EVER be perfect, and the imperfections are what make it special.  Don’t let rain cast a cloud on the memories of your day!  Embrace the challenges and the beauty.  It may be a little harder to see at first, but it’s still there. Continue reading “How to Use Rain on Your Wedding Day | Bloomsburg Wedding Photography” →