Frequent Wedding Question #3

If you're surprised this is one of our most frequently asked questions by prospective couples, we are too:

"You don't show testimonials on your website - why not?"

A number of couples ask this question - we guess it's because most photographers show testimonials on their sites. The BlackBird Images site does not, for a couple of reasons. One, if wedding photographers shoot a number of weddings a year, you would certainly hope they could get at least a couple positive comments from their clients. But the fact that a few clients were happy doesn't mean you'll be happy.

We also think our work speaks for itself. When we meet with you, we don't just show our twenty best photographs and hope you'll be impressed - we show complete proof galleries so you can get a true sense of how we work and how your photographs may look. (The same is true if we're corresponding by e-mail; on request we'll provide login details for complete galleries.) Not only will you get to see how our online gallery tool works, but you'll get a much better feel for our style.

If you'd like to see a sample gallery that doesn't require a login and password, click here.

So, we don't list testimonials. The only thing you'll learn from (probably edited) testimonials is that some clients were happy. We will, if requested, provide references - then you can call past clients and ask specific questions about our skill, our professionalism, and our service. While testimonials are fine, the proof is in the photos.

Frequent Wedding Question #2

Today's question is an extension of yesterday's:

"We like 'atmosphere' photos - how can we make sure you include a few of those in our proofs?"

The short answer is to build in a little time. If you've booked us for four hours, for example, and you want an extensive list of pre-ceremony photos, a reasonable number of post-ceremony posed photos, and then we drive to your reception location for dinner and dancing... there isn't a lot of time for 'atmosphere' photos, since even with two photographers we'll stay very busy capturing all the moments and events. With that said, though, we still try to grab photos on the fly, like this one:

It only took a moment - the rings were available, the flowers were there... and in about 30 seconds we created a nice memory. No matter how tight our schedule is, as we move from shot to shot we always look for atmosphere photos we can include - but never at the risk of missing photos you've told us you want. It's a delicate balance to walk. At one wedding the groomsmen were dressing in a separate building, and on our way to the sanctuary we saw the minister strolling towards the church.

So, there are two answers to the question. One, we'll do our best to capture some of the atmosphere surrounding your wedding, no matter how tightly scheduled your events are. Two, if you want special photos of you or your wedding party, we'll need to factor in time for those in your overall schedule. Since each wedding is different, the only way we can establish a workable schedule is to discuss exactly what you're hoping for - then we can help you create a timeline that lets you get the photos you want.

Frequent Wedding Question #1

We receive more calls (and book more weddings) each January than in any other month. We thought it might be helpful to cover some of the more common questions people ask. We'll cover one question each day.

Today's question is:

"How much time should I allow for my post-ceremony bridal party photos?"

We led with this question because almost every couple wants some amount of posed photos after the ceremony. To answer the question, first think about how large your wedding is and how many different photos you'll want.

Common poses include the bride and groom with:

• Bridesmaids
• Groomsmen
• Bridesmaids and Groomsmen together
• Bride's parents (and another shot including siblings)
  
• Groom's parents (and another shot including siblings)
  
• Both sets of parents (plus a shot of all siblings)
  
• Separate shots with grandparents, siblings, and extended family

Then, most couples also want combinations of photos with the bride and her maid of honor, bridesmaids, and flower girl; then the groom with the best man, groomsmen, and ring bearers. As you can guess, the list can go on a lot longer. (We provide couples with a checklist of common poses so they can plan which photos they want ahead of time - we then use the checklist as our guide.)

So, with all that said: We work fairly quickly, and since we bring two photographers, we can make the post-ceremony photo session go faster and smoother than most photographers. The typical session takes 25 to 35 minutes, depending on how many different groupings you want. Then, if you and your spouse want to stick around for another 10 or 15 minutes, we can get a number of different photos of just the two of us.

The biggest variable, quite frankly, is how cooperative and attentive your friends and family are: If people drift away and have to be retrieved the session can take considerably longer. Some sessions have taken as long as an hour due to family members wandering away, although that's fairly rare. Because we work quickly and efficiently, most family members stay close by and try to help things move along quickly, too. (We try not to give anyone time to drift away.)

For more Frequently Asked Questions, visit the BlackBird Images website and our FAQ section.

December Weddings

While the winter weather doesn't always cooperate, sometimes - like last weekend - we're able to take bridal parties outside for photos, even in December. BlackBird Images photographed a wedding just outside Harrisonburg and were able to take pre-ceremony and post-ceremony photos outdoors. Light in the winter is typically softer than in the summer, and with a little care we can easily create a nice "glow" in the photos. Here's the bride before the ceremony on the steps outside the church.

We took some post-ceremony bridal party photos inside as well (as we normally always do, if for no other reason than to create a greater variety of proofs for the couple to choose from), but we welcomed the chance to go outside. We always come prepared to work outside, even in the winter. (Click here to visit our website for more info on Our Approach.)

And as you can see, the results were great. If you're planning a winter wedding, take the opportunity to slip outside, even if it's just for a few quick photographs.

Tour of Virginia

Congratulations to the Tour of Shenandoah organizers - in 2007 they're the Tour of Virginia. The scope of the race has been expanded: The six-day tour, running April 24-29, branches out of the Valley into two new cities, Lynchburg and Charlottesville.

Last year BlackBird Images photographed some of the stages, and we plan to do so again this year. (To see a gallery of images from last year's race, click here.) Tour Director Matthew Butterman says he expects the number of cyclists to grow from about 90 last year to 150 in 2007, which is the maximum number of riders allowed. If you get a chance, check out the race if it comes through your area.

Magazine Style Wedding Albums

Magazine style wedding albums have become much more popular in recent years. All of our wedding packages include leather slip-in albums, and you also have the option of upgrading to a magazine-style album. If you've never seen a magazine-style album, here's a relatively simple example of a 2-page spread.

In effect your wedding album looks like a magazine; each page can have a number of photos in virtually any layout you choose. In the photo above, each "half" of the page is an 8 x 10 photo (pretend the gutter of the album runs down the center.)

We're happy to lay out and design your album, but unlike many wedding photographers we welcome your input and guidance. (After all, it is your album, so what's most important is that you love it.) Many of our couples go so far as to create PowerPoint mockup designs for us to use, while others simply write down the photos they want for each page.

We've created pages with over twenty photographs per page - the layout and design possibilities are limited only by your creativity. If you'd like to see a few other examples of magazine-style pages, click here to visit our Albums and Folders page at BlackBird Images.

Wedding Planning Resources

In the last months we've received a number of requests for wedding planning tips. (Since we've been to a ton of weddings, and we're not wedding planners, we assume the interest in our opinions stems from the fact we have no vested interest in any particular product or service.)


So, we've created a Resources section at BlackBird Images. There are three main categories: Wedding Planning Tips, Recommended Providers, and Photography Resources. The Wedding Planning Tips contains articles on Initial Steps, Ceremony Planning, and Reception Planning. The Recommended Providers page includes links to providers we have experience with and can wholeheartedly recommend. (We have no business or financial relationship with these providers - we were just impressed by them.) The Photography Resources page will contain articles on photographic techniques and equipment - when we get the time to write them.

If you want information on a particular topic, let us know - we'll be happy to provide our advice by phone or e-mail, and if it's on a topic with broad enough interest we may write an article to include in the Resources section.

Wedding Cakes (Again)

We've seen a lot of pretty wedding cakes lately; the one below is a definite favorite. Many couples choose to decorate their cakes with real flowers for spectacular results.


In this instance the cake was made by Chandler's Bakery in Charlottesville, VA, with flowers from Artistic Florist in Harrisonburg, VA. In our opinion, natural flowers are some of the prettiest decorations possible for a wedding cake - while you may have to place the flowers yourself, it's definitely worth a little effort.

Color, Black and White, or Sepia?

All BlackBird Images photographers shoot digitally, which by default means in color - that way we can convert any image to black and white, sepia, or any other tone our wedding photography clients request. (Sepia is a brown tone meant to approximate old-fashioned photos.)

Which should you choose? That's up to you. Here are three examples of the same photo to give you an idea of the difference in each format. (We used it in a previous post since many people commented how they liked its natural and unposed look - which makes sense, since it was in fact unposed.)




The photo above is a fairly strong sepia - it works well with her natural skin tone If you have a darker complexion, depending on the contrast in the photo a weaker sepia tone may be a better option.

Which is the best version? Any of the three - it depends on your tastes.

Choosing a Wedding Photographer

We're often asked for advice on how to choose a wedding photographer - which you have to admit is a little odd, since in theory any advice we give should lead you through a process that causes you to choose... well, us.


What do we say? Instead of giving advice, we discuss how we explain our services to clients. For example, most wedding photographers have an album of their best photos, or display their best photos on their website. If you've done more than a couple weddings, and you're any good at all, you better have ten or twenty great photos or you shouldn't be in the business. Anyone can show you their best work.


At BlackBird Images we take a different approach: When possible we show prospective clients all the proofs from a recent wedding. (If we wanted to get a feel for the photographer's skill, that's what we would ask for.) While we can't show photos from every wedding we shoot, since galleries are confidential, some couples give us permission to share their photos with clients. We let our potential clients look at as many photos as they like - because that's the only way to truly judge a wedding photographer's skill and style.

Virginia Horse Center - Wedding Reception

If you read the title of this post and were intrigued, you're not alone. BlackBird Images has photographed weddings and receptions at a number of "unusual" places, but we have to admit when we were told the reception for wedding we recently photographed was to be held at the Virginia Horse Center in Lexington, VA, we were surprised... and a little dubious.
For no reason. The Horse Center is a state of the art boarding and training facility, but it also has first-class banquet and reception facilities. We enjoyed the venue almost as much as this little guy.


One entire wall of the very large room was made entirely of glass and looked down into the arena. There was easy access for caterers, a nice layout for seating around 150 guests, plenty of space for a dance floor, and even elevator access. While there wasn't a horse show going on, you could see riders training jumping horses. We have no idea what the venue costs to rent, and availability is probably limited during major events, so contact the folks at the Virginia Horse Center for more details. It's just off Interstate64, about 3 miles from Interstate 81, and is definitely worth checking out if you're getting married near Lexington.

"Cupcake Tree" Wedding Cake

Recently BlackBird Images photographed a wedding where the couple choose a non-traditional type of cake. We called it a "cupcake tree" for want of a better way to describe it. As you'll see in the photo below, the top level is a "standard" cake the couple used for the cake-cutting ceremony; the cupcakes were for guests. It was very pretty, eliminated the effort of cutting and serving cake, and made it easy to provide guests with a variety of cake and icing choices.


As cupcakes were removed,the tree was re-stocked. We thought it was a great idea and was a fun way to avoid cutting (and wasting) a lot of cake; we heard the couple donated the "leftovers" to a church pot luck dinner held the next day. While evidently not everyone has seen a cupcake tree before...
... that doesn't mean you shouldn't consider one for your wedding.

BlackBird in the News

The president of our parent company, BlackBird Media, was quoted in two different news articles recently: an article in the Fredericksburg Free Lance-Star about business outsourcing and ghostwriting, which you can read by clicking here, and an article in the Harrisonburg Daily-News Record about recent trends in the website development industry, which you can read by clicking here.
Why were we contacted for interviews? BlackBird Media is a full-service advertising and media strategy corporation providing site design, navigation structure, text, graphics, photos, and e-commerce solutions. In addition, Jeff has ghostwritten over a dozen books and hundreds of articles on subjects ranging from real estate and investing to pregnancy and breastfeeding (his lack of personal experience in those last two areas notwithstanding).

Bouquet Tossing Isn't Obsolete

BlackBird Images photographers haven't witnessed this personally, but other photographers we've talked to recently say that many couples are choosing to eliminate the bouquet toss from their ceremonies. While we feel strongly that each wedding should be unique to each couple's desires (after all - it's your wedding, and it should be the way you want it to be), we really enjoy watching and photographing the bouquet toss. It's a neat tradition and while at every wedding some of thesingle women have to be coaxed into participating, the toss is usually a source of a lot of laughter. And some people still really want to catch the bouquet. Here's a photo of the bride at a recent wedding ...

... and here's proof some people still really want to catch the bouquet.

Again, your wedding should only include events you and your spouse want... but give it some thought before you decide to eliminate the bouquet toss. You may be tempted to assume it's a tradition that's become outdated, but you'll find it's a lot of fun.
And sometimes it can make one of your guests really happy.

Europe and Back

Each year BlackBird Images shuts down its offices for our staff-wide vacation period. This year we were contracted to handle still photography in support of a travel video shooting in Europe, so we incorporated a little business into our vacation period.
Our agreement was that all "official" photographs remain the property of our client, so we don't have a lot we can share... but we did take a few quick shots of major sights that are okay within the structure of our terms. Here's a quick snap of Big Ben in the early evening.

At BlackBird Images we feel great photographs can often look better than the "real thing," and in most cases, given time, preparation, and skill, that's true - but not always. Photos simply don't do justice to the Eiffel Tower at night, or the Tower of London, or Notre Dame, or the Colosseum, or the entire city of Venice... because being in those places isn't just a visual experience. It's a combination of sight, sound, "feel," and the sense that you're standing where hundreds and thousands of years of history took place.
Next time you're planning a vacation, forget taking a cruise or going to an island... go to Europe. Visit London or Paris or Rome or Venice or, really, anywhere in Europe - it's absolutely worth it.

Joshua Wilton House - Award of Excellence

Congratulations to the Joshua Wilton House Inn and Restaurant in Harrisonburg, VA, and in particular to their Wine Director, Sean Pugh, for receiving the Wine Spectator 2006 Award of Excellence. Out of thousands of restaurants, The Joshua Wilton was one of approximately 80 in Virginia to receive the award. Even better, Sean is one of only four Virginia wine director/sommeliers who were featured with an accompanying photograph (in Sean's case taken by BlackBird Images.) Here's the photograph we took of Sean that ran in the August issue of Wine Spectator.


The preceeding was the photo Sean chose to submit, but we also like this one.


The Joshua Wilton is a client of our parent company, BlackBird Media, and BlackBird Images has photographed a number of weddings at the Inn. We've developed a great relationship with Mark, Ann Marie, and Sean, the owners of the Joshua Wilton, and are happy to congratulate them for receiving national recognition from the country's leading wine magazine.

Oasis Winery & Vineyards Wedding

We photographed a wedding at Oasis Winery & Vineyards this weekend and have already been asked for our impression of the facilities. Since the bride and groom haven't seen their photos yet we'll only post a couple (at least for now).
The winery is located about 10 miles outside Front Royal, VA, a little over an hour's drive from Harrisonburg and no more than an hour from Northern Virginia. Here's a view of the lake as seen from the Pavilion with the vineyards in the background. The wedding BlackBird Images photographed was held just to the right of this photo, with the lake and fountain (and mountains in the distance) as a backdrop.


The winery offers tours and tastings on a regular basis and is frequently used for weddings and special events. It has a large tasting room, outdoor patios with tables and umbrellas, picnic tables scattered around the lawn, and a large pavilion for receptions and events. They also have an in-house limo service and have facilities suitable for caterers, bands, dancing... virtually anything you might need for your wedding.
From what we could see the winery can easily handle a large and complex wedding and reception. The staff was friendly, courteous, and professional, and was attentive to all the needs of the guests.
Each staff member wears a radio headset which allows them to instantly communicate with other staffers and make the event flow smoothly, a nice touch we rarely see. (During the posed photo session after the wedding we asked a staffer for a hand towel for the bride to use - it was 92 degrees at the time - and she radioed up the the main facility and towels and bottled water were brought down in less than a minute.)

Compared to some of the venues we've visited recently the Oasis Winery is on the higher end of the price scale, but in return they offer excellent service and, if you like, a turn-key wedding package. (They even chauffered guests who were unable to walk down the hill to within yards of their seats.) The only problem we noticed was that the groom and his groomsmen had to use a storage room/office to get dressed - the space wasn't a problem in itself but the room wasn't air conditioned and on a 90 degree-plus day it was like a sauna.
The Oasis Winery is a beautiful spot for a wedding; address the issue of where your party will get dressed and your wedding will be perfect.

Weddings at the JMU Arboretum

First a disclaimer: BlackBird Images hasn't photographed a wedding at the James Madison University Arboretum in Harrisonburg, VA. (We've used it dozens of times for family and model photos, though.) With that said, if you're looking for a pretty - and convenient - location for an outdoor wedding, the Arboretum is hard to beat... albeit with a few caveats we'll discuss in a moment.
The most striking features of the Arboretum are the small pond and the wooden bridge. Here's a photo of one of our brides-to-be on the bridge. (The ducks may decide to crash your wedding.)

The lawn surrounding the pond provides a couple different spots where your ceremony can take place; which you choose will depend on how many guests you have and the time of day. If you're getting married in mid-summer make sure you pick a spot that provides the most shade.
The price is very reasonable: for $250 JMU lets you use the Arboretum and will set up/take down chairs and provide an arch as a backdrop.
While you won't use them for a wedding, there are also a number of paths and trails through the woods; one path leads to a very pretty terraced garden area. The photo below was taken on a path leading to the terraces.


There are a few things you should keep in mind if you use the JMU Arboretum for a wedding. One, it is a public facility, so even though you'll have plenty of room for your wedding there can and probably will be people nearby walking on the trails, sitting on benches, etc; if you want complete privacy it's unlikely you'll get it. A bigger problem is parking: the Arboretum parking lot has room for 15 to 20 cars at the most. If you have a number of guests, your best bet is probably to have them park in one of the large lots across the street next to the CISAT buildings and figure out a way to shuttle them over.
For the price, there are few settings prettier, and the minor inconveniences don't outweigh the value you get. To visit the main Arboretum site for general information and more photos, click here. To visit the Arboretum's wedding-specific page, click here.

Website Photography

BlackBird Images is frequently asked to create photos for commercial websites (especially since our parent company, BlackBird Media, designs and develops websites.) While photography is photography, web photography requires a different skillset and approach; instead of creating photographs intended to stand on their own, web images should be designed to fit seamlessly into the website's layout and structure.
For example, here's a photo of product emerging from a commercial dairy processing line shrink tunnel.

Granted, seen on its own it isn't particularly exciting... but now check it out in its natural habitat on the Bishop Firm website (the Bishop Firm is a client of BlackBird Media.)
Sometimes web photos can stand on their own, as is the case with this photo of a Bishop Firm engineer at a project site.

But again, check it out in place on the Bishop Firm website and you'll see it fits perfectly within the overall site design.... providing a more personal touch to an industrial website. Website images and graphics require a different discipline and approach - don't let your photographer create product, process, and personnel photos with no consideration for where and how they'll be used on your website.

Photojournalistic Wedding Photography

We received a flood of responses to our recent posting about wedding photography styles - in particular about photojournalistic wedding photography. If you're unfamiliar with the phrase, "photojournalistic" wedding photography is really just a multi-syllabic way of saying "candid" wedding photography.
Here's an example of an image in photojournalism style: it shows the bride-to-be getting emotional when she hugged her brother right before the wedding.


Here's a different view, seconds later, of the same moment photographed by the second BlackBird Images photographer at the wedding (we always send two photographers for just this reason.)


Every wedding photographer poses some photos... or at least they should. For example, among images we pose are the traditional post-service wedding party photographs; we also work with the bride and groom to pose and create specific photos they've requested. (We then work hard to make them feel comfortable - and it shows.) At BlackBird Images we provide our couples with a blend of posed and candid or photojournalistic photos; it means we take a lot of photos (we average 1,000 to 1,200 during a 3-hour shoot), but it also means our clients get photographs - like the one below - with genuine expressions no amount of posing could produce.