Think for a moment about what it is you want to remember about your wedding day. Is it the way the hors d’oeuvres look on the tray as the service staff brings them to your guests? Is it the way the table dressings look as your guests see them for the first time? Is it the way the boutonnières hang on lapels of the men in your wedding? The way the dressing room looked while the girls were getting ready? My guess is that, yes, if you thought about it, you’d like to remember these things. That’s why we always make efforts to capture these little nuggets of wedding memories. But I’d also guess this isn’t exactly what you would have in mind when you hire a wedding photographer.

I suspect the things you really want to remember are are a lot more personal. The the way your guests will laugh and smile, reminiscing over old friendships and experiences as they enjoy those hors d’oeuvres. Your mom sitting and smiling, watching you take your first dance as a newly married couple, while she rests her cup of hot coffee on the table dressing she worked so hard to design. The men, jesting and smoking fine cigars, poignantly designated as the inner circle by those gracefully placed boutonnières. The way you laughed, and cried and waited patiently with your wedding party in the dressing room. These are the personal, special parts of a wedding whose value doesn’t fade. These moments are fleeting. When they’re gone, they’re gone. This is where a second photographer can make all the difference.

Unlike the details of your wedding, which for the most part, are unchanging throughout your wedding, the personal interactions happen only once. A second photographer makes it possible to capture them, even when one photographer is already occupied.

Capture images of your fiancé as you take your first steps down the isle. Capture images of your mother smiling during your first dance. Images of your father as you take your wedding vows. Images of clinking glasses following your best friend’s heartfelt toast—A second photographer makes this a very real possibility, without forfeiting images of the main event.

And now, here’s the really good news:

Two Photographers are now included in every wedding package!

We don’t have low end packages. We have different packages to meet different needs. But the quality should always be top notch. For this reason, we’ve decided that there’s no reason any wedding we shoot should only feature only one photographer.

There’s no fine print. No hidden fees. No bait and switch. Every wedding package, by default, will now include dual photographers to capture every special moment we can.

Take a moment and check out our new wedding packages for 2012. We still have availability this year, so don’t lose your date; give us a call!

Opteka Excursion Series C700 Camera Bag – $45

This bag is rugged, durable canvas, with pockets everywhere. The hardware is extremely high quality, made of brass. The zippers are also heavy duty. The bag comes with a weatherproof cover, and extremely well padded shoulder attachment.

The bag comfortably holds an SLR camera body, 2 or 3 additional lenses, a flash unit and lots of miscellaneous goodies. At $45 this bag performs just as well as much more expensive options and the classic look isn’t hurting anything either.

Canon or Nikon 50mm f/1.8 Prime Lens - $106 and $124 (respectively)

That last little number you see at the end of a lens’ name (in this case, 50mm f/1.8) is the Aperture of the lens. It is in part responsible for allowing light into the camera. The smaller that number, the more light it will let in. Practically speaking, a lens such as this one allows a photographer to shoot in lower light conditions, without needing to use a flash. With this lens, shooting around a dinner table, in a dim restaurant, the children’s bedroom or at the tail end of dusk, is within reach.

These lenses are highly rated for their price and quality. These aren’t the nicest lenses you can buy. In fact, they’re quite cheap. But the image quality is excellent and that’s what counts.

These are prime lenses, which means they do not zoom.

Lenspen – $10

The Lenspen is a lens cleaning tool. It’s compact, quick and works in the studio and in the field. The results are top notch.

One end of the pen is a retractable brush for removing debris like dust, while the other end is the carbon pen which is used to quickly polish off smudges on the glass. The carbon on the tip is quickly replenished inside the cap.

This is a tool that every photographer should have in his or her bag.

Coco Ring Flash Adapter – $50

This one is a little quirky. They will need to already own a good flash unit from Canon or Nikon.

This adapter fits over the end of the flash unit and extends the light down around the lens, creating a high end fashion photography look to the light. This is a cheap knock off of a much more expensive unit. But, at a quarter the price, it performs nearly identically to the official product.

This might be the perfect gift for the budding fashion photographer.

Think Tank Memory Card Wallet – $19

Photographers are always juggling memory cards. Professionals often have dozens, if not hundreds of them. Keeping track of them can be challenging and finding a memory card holder that keeps lots of cards in one place, while still being compact enough to throw in the camera bag, can be challenging.

Think Tank’s offering is durable, but lightweight, and comfortably holds 10 Compact Flash Cards—or probably a lot more SDHC cards.

iTunes Gift Cards – $15, $25, $50, $100

The iPod Touch, the iPhone and the iPad have proven themselves to be indispensible tools for photographers. Apps for photographers are overflowing from the Apple App Store. You can find apps for calculating the suns position, calculating exposure settings, learning new photography styles, even learn and design studio lighting set ups on the fly.

If the photographer in your life is an Apple user, the iTunes gift card might be the most versatile gift you could give them (without just cheating and giving them cash).

We do not recommend setting up your session within Washington, DC city limits. However, if there is a location in Washington, DC that is very important to you and you would like to attempt to schedule anyway, there are some things you’ll want to keep in mind.

Traffic

Traffic in Washington, DC can be very challenging to predict. Unforeseen circumstances usually complicate the schedule. Due to traffic concerns we only shoot midday in the city. We cannot schedule an early morning or late afternoon session. Sessions in Washington DC must take place between 11:00am and 2:00pm in order to avoid the predictable rush hour traffic in the city.

Construction, accidents and events can, and do, create traffic at other times of the day and this may represent an unreasonable challenge in conducting your session. If you are advised against a shoot in DC, because we deem the risks of these problems too high, your session cannot be rescheduled and no refunds will be provided.

Parking

Some areas of Washington, DC have ample street parking in close proximity to the location you’ve requested. Others, particularly those near the Capitol and Monuments, virtually never offer parking within a reasonable distance. Where paid and commercial parking is available for a fee, you will be responsible for these charges.

These locations will also require an $80 fee which covers these and other potential complications. When discussing your location, we will determine whether the location will require this charge.

Laws & Regulations

Washington, DC also has a slew of laws and regulations which can make portrait and wedding photography especially complicated. If you wish to shoot in Washington, DC, you are responsible for obtaining and paying for any permits that are necessary.

Tips For Choosing a Washington, DC Location

We strongly recommend against choosing locations near the Capitol and Monuments. In order to avoid additional charges associated with the city, we suggest choosing a residential area, or a lesser known park—of which there are many.

Here are a selection of locations which are generally safe for booking, and under most circumstances are not affected by our 11am to 2pm booking restriction:

Georgetown – Georgetown offers a unique and interesting old-world city experience. Because much of Georgetown is residential, this is generally an easy location to get to and from and in most cases offers ample free parking. Some parts of Georgetown are outside of our service area and will require a $24 travel fee. If this is the case, we will discuss this with you beforehand.

The National Arboretum – A gigantic, and beautifully landscaped garden. Photography, under most circumstances, is permitted. Free parking is plentiful and this location is never subject to our 11am to 2pm booking restriction.

Our engagement session with Beth & Vinnie was featured yesterday on A Lowcountry Wedding’s blog! We will be capturing Beth & Vinnie’s wedding on June 23rd, 2012. Check out our Facebook page the following day for some previews and highlights!

We’re always looking for ways that we can fit more conveniently into your lifestyle, real-life as well as digital. That’s why we’ve scrapped the classic DVD for the more convenient USB thumb drive to deliver digital files after your wedding. Unlike a DVD, which can be scratched and easily lost amongst a pile of other impromptu table coaster, our USB thumb drives come will come in a custom designed box, making it a little harder to lose.

However, neither a DVD nor a USB thumb drive is sufficient for protecting your images in the long run. Here are a few things you can do to backup and protect your images from future mistakes and forgetfulness.

1. Always backup your images. When you plug your USB flash drive in, immediately copy your files to your local hard drive.

2. Set up a System Backup for your computer. On an Apple computer, backup utilities, such as Time Machine, are included. On a PC, third party utilities are available for a nominal fee.

3. Upload your images to off-site backup. Cloud backup services are available from Google, Apple and Amazon.

4. Put your USB thumb drive in your safe-deposit box. Once you have transferred your images to your local hard drive for immediate viewing you don’t need your USB Flash drive, except in the case that your local hard drive is damaged. So store your flash drive in a safe deposit box, or some other safe location and only retrieve it in the event of data loss from your local drive.

For me, finding a creative way to deliver our albums has always satisfied some creative itch that’s somehow unrelated to photography. In this case, I designed a delivery package around the iPad, borrowing colors (on the box) from the wedding itself, and a black velvet casing inside that looked great with the glossy display of the iPad. To top it off, I set up a custom slide-show in the iPad which was already playing when Shanel and Travis opened the box for the first time.

I love my job.

The web is full of great questions to ask you potential wedding photographer. And they really can help you decide who to pick. But, they’re also sometimes overly specific. And sometimes technical. For example, it’s a good idea to ask your potential wedding photographer whether he has backups of his important equipment, whether he’ll be making backups of your digital images, and how many weddings he’s done in the past. These will help to give you insight into whether your photographer is really up to the task of shooting your wedding.

But, there are many, many photographers who are qualified to shoot your wedding, but not all of them should.

Get to know your photographer a little bit more intimately before booking your wedding with them. Become confident that they’re not only a quality photographer, but a quality photographer that’s just right for your specific wedding. Try out these three simple, yet challenging questions.

Can I see a full set of images from a wedding you did recently?

When we meet with a client who’s considering using us for their wedding photography, we almost always have a full set of images from a recent wedding ready to show off. Even if the images aren’t our favorites, we’ll volunteer to let them take a look.  Not all photographers do this by default, but a great photographer, and a true professional, shouldn’t have any hesitation showing you a full set of images.

Many people forget to ask for this, but in today’s climate it’s crucial to see whether or not your potential photographer can really capture a full wedding with great quality, or whether the good images they do captured are just a few out of many, many mediocre or even bad ones.

Don’t be shy. Just ask. Their contract with their wedding clients may require them to get permission before showing you the images. But to win your business, this shouldn’t be too much to ask. Keep in mind, however, if you’re dealing with a photographer over email, they may be hesitant to show you these images right away. This may be a good question to ask when you feel good about a potential photographer and just want a little extra piece of mind. If, however, they say ‘no’ outright, you may just want to move on.

What are your favorite things to photograph at a wedding?

Not every photographer is right for every wedding. It’s happened more than a couple of times. After meeting, getting to know each other a bit and discussing their wedding, we’ve told a client that we’re probably not right for their wedding and made some other local recommendations for photographers who may be a better fit. Unfortunately, not every photographer will be this up front. Especially in a down economy.

So, rather than telling your potential photographer what kind of images you like, start by asking them what kind of images they like–ask what their favorite wedding photos are. You may find they have a very different slant than you do. If you’re mostly interested in hands-off candids, but your potential photographer mostly enjoys doing formals where there is a lot of control over the image, you may be at a mismatch.

Before booking, discuss with them that you think could be a mismatch and see what they have to say. You may find that they’re just not the right photographer for you and that’s okay. They will find a better match, and so will you.

Can I speak to a bride who’s wedding you shot recently?

When we work on a wedding for someone, there’s almost always a deeper, more personal bond that’s formed. They enjoy our presence and we enjoy theirs. This is why, when necessary, we won’t hesitate to offer a bride the chance to speak to one of our past clients.

If even just for peace of mind, ask your potential photographer if you can speak to one of the brides from a recent wedding. If he’s developing good relationships with his clients, he should be able to ask one of them if they would be willing to speak with you, and in most cases they will be more than happy to.

If you’re photographer can’t offer you anything like this, you may want to look more closely before booking.

I spent the entire day, sun up to sun down, at my sister’s home near Olney, MD, along with the rest of the Petruzzo Family. Running miscellaneous errands for my sister and the midwives, and keeping track of the small, but growing uprising of nieces and nephews. (“Vive la Revolution!” They say. Children say some funny things!) Of course, our cameras were there also, but we’re going to keep most of those private.

After about 16 grueling hours of labor, my sister finally gave birth to her second child, Andrew. Born 8.5lbs and 21 inches long. Welcome to the world, Little Guy.

Special thanks to all of you who wished my sister and our family well!

Starting today, all of our wedding packages now include an engagement session at no additional charge. Why did we make this change, rather than continuing to offer it as an add-on? Allow me to answer that for you in the easiest way that I can.

The better our relationship with a client, the better the images tend to turn out.

We’re thoroughly committed to delivering outstanding images every time. From the past, we can see a clear trend: When we have the opportunity to get to know a client, even develop a good friendship, the images we’re able to capture during the wedding improve. When you’re more comfortable with us, your more comfortable with the camera we’re pointing at you. Getting together before your wedding day to shoot engagement photos is a great way to spend a little time with each other before the wedding, and everyone gets a little more comfortable.

We consider this opportunity to get together before the wedding to be an invaluable opportunity that has a clear benefit to the total wedding photography experience we aim to deliver. For this reason, we’ve decided to include this feature as a part of every wedding package including 4 or more hours of coverage.

Some restrictions apply.

This is a great value and something many of our competitors don’t offer. However, there are a few limitations.

1. The engagement session must be used Monday through Thursday, before the wedding date.

2. The engagement session is non-transferrable. In other words, the photos must be of the Bride and Groom.

Many parent’s have nightmare stories from their many attempts to get great images of their children, whether that be at a portrait session or in their living room with their digital camera. No doubt, capturing great images of children can be challenging and mystifying. They’re fickle, they can’t always tell us what’s wrong and they’re constantly on the move.

In this short article, I’d like to tackle the topic of getting great images of children, whether your out on a shoot with us, or taking pictures for yourself.

On a Petruzzo Photography Portrait Session

We approach portrait photography differently than many others. We’ll gladly trade picture perfection of something real and natural almost any day. And this creates a better part of our approach to photographing children.

Rather than attempt to capture what we want, we generally let a child show us what he or she wants to show us. Sometimes that means wandering around the back yard looking for bugs. Or in the play room looking at their favorite toys. Or maybe wrestling with mom and dad on the living room floor. Whatever the circumstance, we avoid the ‘do this, do that’ approach and instead look for the beautiful images that happen naturally when we interact with a child (or when you interact with your child).

What does this mean for you? Believe it or not, it can mean quite a lot. It means that you don’t want to treat your portrait session like a chore. The more fun a child is having, typically the better the images turn out.  Here’s a few simple guidelines you can follow to help us get the best images we can of your child:

1. While there will be some images where the child needs to stay and sit with mom and dad, or siblings, the majority of the time you should let them play. Don’t worry about any stress it may be causing us, if we need a little extra help, we’ll ask. So if it seems your child is running wild, don’t worry about it. We’ll let you know.

2. Avoid distributing punishments during your photoshoot. If the child isn’t cooperating, be sure that their ill-cooperation is actually causing problems before taking a stern tone. Dishing out a punishment at this time will almost certainly have negative affects on the quality of your images.

3. If your child is especially clingy, you may want to make yourself scarce so that the child can become more comfortable and opens up for the photographer a bit more. This is also typically true of teenagers. Sometimes a little independence goes a long way.

4. Don’t over-dress your child for the photoshoot. You may want to gussy them up a bit, but over-dressing may make them feel tense and less likely to get comfortable during the shoot. Think business-casual, but for children.

When You’re the Photographer

Of course, it’s not always feasible for you to pay us to capture great images for you. So, when you’re rolling up your sleeves to take some pictures of the little ones yourself, here are a few tips that will stand to instantly improve your images.

1. Photograph children from their eye line. Many people have a tendency to take photographs from where they stand. But you will capture more intimate photographs if you’re capturing them from the child’s own altitude.

2. If you don’t already have a digital camera, or are in the market for a new one, consider a digital SLR. These cameras have almost no delay between when the button is pressed and when the image is captured, making them perfect for children (or anything that doesn’t stay put for very long).

3. Try to take your picture when the child doesn’t see it coming. When they’re playing alone in the backyard, or while they’re completely pre-occupied with McDonald’s PlayPlace. This will help you capture something more natural, as well as avoid the full-on cheese smiles.

4. Let the child take some pictures. This will help them get familiar with what your doing. It also tends to smooth out camera-shyness.