What you should really ask before hiring a wedding photographer

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You're engaged. You're on an emotional high from the excitement of what's to come. You've just shared the blissful news with all of your friends and social media connections when it hits you: there's a lot of work to do!

Finding the perfect match of venue and vendors for your wedding day is daunting for sure. If you dare ask for advice from your Facebook friends you're certain to be bombarded with personal anecdotes of who's the best (they can't all be right, right?). And when it comes to photography nowadays it seems everyone and their mother is a wedding photographer. I'm not being cynical, just honest. And another truth is there's a lot of talented, professional wedding photographers out there. But, there's also a lot of poor, inexperienced ones, too. So, how can you tell the difference? Unfortunately there's no licensing or master test photographers need to pass to declare themselves "pro" photographers, but you make an educated choice if you simply ask potential photographers these questions below.

1. What type of equipment do they have? It may sound sort of invasive but any wedding photographer worth their salt shouldn't bristle when asked what's in their camera bag. Professional photographers should have at least two camera bodies (you know the nice ones with interchangeable lenses) and a variety of lenses and flashes. Why is this important? For one thing, image quality does sometimes come down to optics. I'll be the first to say the most essential piece of equipment is the photographer's mind and creativity. I think I can do a pretty decent job with an iPhone when it comes to composition of a photograph. That being said, I would never pass on such a photo for commissioned work. If you want quality photographs you can display in your home your wedding photographer better have top-notch camera gear.

2. Do they have back-up camera equipment? On top of everything outlined above back-up cameras and lenses are a must because (gasp!) equipment fails. It's sort of a dirty little secret among wedding photographers that technology isn't perfect, especially when it comes to digital photography. Our pro cameras run on computer software and it's easy for something to go haywire. Lenses stop focusing, flashes get dropped. Plus, there's the never-ending array of technical glitches we've never seen before that usually pop up at the most critical moments of the day. Scared yet? You should be. If your wedding photographer doesn't carry back-up equipment they might be running off to a camera store while they should instead be capturing that precious moment as your mother fastens a set of pearls around your neck that has been worn by every bride in your family for five generations.

3. How experienced are they — really? It can be easy to get up in the energy of someone who's super excited about every detail of your wedding day, but how far will that passion take you when the scenario outlined above comes to fruition? I've been doing photography as my full-time occupation for more than 10 years and I can tell you equipment failures do happen, and probably much more often than you can imagine. It's the photographer's job to make things run as smoothly as possible so that you're none the wiser. When your centerpieces haven't arrived on time and your brother forgot to pick up uncle Bill for the ceremony do you really need to worry about the error code your wedding photographer just received on his viewfinder? I don't think so. A true pro will simply start using her back-up camera and figure out what the heck went wrong while commuting from the church to the reception site. Yes, this really happens.

4. What does a real wedding look like? Many wedding photographers can fool you with an impressive portfolio. Most decent photographers can look spectacular when they're showing you the best 12 images they've ever made. What's worse, many photographers, especially the up-and-comers, set up or even PAY to have style shoots. What's that you say? They recruit make-up artists, hairstylists, décor divas, florists, tailors, you name it to set up a faux wedding simply for beautiful pictures to put in their portfolio. So, when you see a gorgeously adorned rustic table replete with gold-leaf place settings nestled under a willow tree chances are it's not a real wedding. Who seats a full guest list of 8, am I right? Pictures like these are fine and they can show the photographer's artistic talents. However, it's not a real wedding. You should ask to see examples of what the photographer's full day of photography looks like. You might discover she's really great at those table-setting photos, but terrible when it comes to posing the photos of you with your family. Figure out what's most important to you and find the photographer who fits those needs.

5. Are they insured? Professional photographers treat their work as a business, and protect it as such. Don't be afraid to ask potential wedding photographers if they carry equipment and liability insurance. If your photographer is caught up in the moment, backs up into a lighting truss and sends it tumbling down on the children carousing around on the dance floor you don't want to be held accountable, do you?

6. Who owns the pictures after the wedding? This is a big one, and often controversial. Pro photographers know that the pictures made from your wedding day are in fact their own intellectual property. Ask your photographer if your wedding photography package includes the rights to print photos on your own. You may be able to negotiate printing photos on your own at a certain size, but in the end the photographer technically owns the images. A photographer who hands off the pictures to you — no questions asked — is most likely a weekend warrior, or a full-timer soon to go out of business. Photography is an art and what you're paying for is the skill of the artist, the years of experience that went into creating the wedding day photos of your dreams, not the actual time it took to press the shutter release on the camera.

7. What does their dream wedding day look like? That's right, the photographer. It sounds like sort of a funny question, but this is a quick and easy way to determine if you and a potential photographer are on the same page. You may realize you have a completely different vision and expectation for what the experience and finished product may look like. It may be that the photographer doesn't really like to do candid photos, or they want to do everything outdoors because they're not really comfortable using artificial lighting in a church. Conversely, you may discover they put a huge emphasis on family groupings and that's the most important to you, too.

Do you have great or insightful questions you've asked a wedding photographer? Please let us know in the comments below. Thanks for viewing!

St. Paul Wedding Photojournalism: Stacy and Miguel

Editor's note: Anthologie preserves couples' love stories through interviews and written stories in addition to documentary photography and archival book publishing. Contact us today at 952-232-5830 if you want to share your story with your children's children.

Miguel stays the course and lands the love of his life — Stacy

By Emily Zimmer  |  Photos by Dan Iverson  |  Anthologie

Location: The Gardens of Castle Rock

Miguel and Stacy met in the fall of 2006 at Winona State University. Miguel was doing homework in his dorm room when Stacy came bursting in. Stacy said friends had suggested she meet Miguel so she decided to drop in.

“I was being a good college student and studying,” Miguel said. “Stacy came back from a party and burst in my room and started bothering me.”

At Winona, Stacy worked as a resident advisor and Miguel has friends who were also RAs. Sharing a group of friends, Miguel and Stacy started to see each other often. Overtime the two found that they shared a similar sense of humor.

“Miguel’s infectious laugh, really drew me to him,” said Stacy.

Over the next three years, their friendship grew and the two started spending more time together, just the two of them.

Early on, Miguel said he was interested in being more than friends but Stacy didn’t want a boyfriend.

“I was the girl who never wanted to get married,” Stacy said.

Every now and again, Miguel would suggest they start dating but Stacy kept declining.

“It was a cat-and-mouse game. I was very hard to get,” Stacy explained.

Then one night, while out at for drinks, Stacy and Miguel kissed. While talking about the night makes them both blush, that kiss would lead to the start of their romance.

The kiss occurred shortly before summer break. That summer Stacy moved back to the Twin Cities to do her student teaching and Miguel traveled to visit her.

“When he came to visit, I realized he really did like me,” Stacy said.

After the kiss and his visit, Miguel said he felt like his persistence was paying off.

So one more time, Miguel asked Stacy if she wanted to start dating. This time Stacy said “maybe.”

For Miguel that maybe was as good as a yes.

“Her maybe was an ‘OK, I’m in,’” said Miguel.

After that the two became inseparable.

Travel Buddies

One thing Miguel and Stacy share in common is an adventurous spirit. Both like to travel and so it’s become part of their connection.

“We travel well together,” Stacy said.

Specifically, Miguel and Stacy enjoy taking road trips together.

“I used to hate road trips but with Miguel it’s different. I really love taking road trips with him,” said Stacy.

They like seeing the sites, listening to music and having the chance to enjoy each other’s company, Stacy said.

Not all their travels have gone smoothly, though. A few years back, the couple took a trip to the Grand Canyon over a long holiday weekend. Specifically, the couple wanted to drive Route 66.

“It’s so iconic, we just felt like we had to see it,” said Stacy.

Not sure how far they would get, the couple decided to wing it instead of making hotel reservations. That turned out to be a bad decision.

Finding a room in Flagstaff, Ariz., the town nearest the Grand Canyon, proved to be difficult and very expensive. The couple ended up paying more than $300 for a trashy room.

“We just both sat and cried and then we got a pizza and laughed about it,” Miguel said.

While the experience was stressful, Miguel said the trip proved to be a good bonding moment for he and Stacy. Specifically, he said being able to find humor in less-than-desirable situations is what makes them work as a couple.

A life-changing trip

Stacy and Miguel’s travels have brought them closer together throughout their years of courtship and it is central to their engagement story.

For the couple’s four-year anniversary, Miguel surprised Stacy with a trip to Chicago. Little did Stacy know, Miguel had also asked for her parents’ blessing to propose.

“Miguel asked for my dad’s blessing. That was a big deal for my mom and dad,” said Stacy.

On the plane ride to Chicago, Stacy said Miguel seemed out of sorts but she didn’t give it much thought because they had experienced some bad flights recently. The first night in Chicago, Stacy and Miguel did some sightseeing and called it an early night.

The next morning, Miguel gave Stacy a gift. It was a small picture book with photographs of the two throughout their relationship and little written messages.

After Stacy finished reading the book, Miguel asked her to go back to each page and read the first letter. When put together the letters spelled out ‘Marry Me.’

Miguel then got down on one knee and formally proposed. Obviously, Stacy said “yes” and the couple called their families to announce the good news.

The book itself has become a treasure for the couple. The idea for the picture book organically came to Miguel. He had been researching ways to propose and didn’t see anything he thought was fitting. Then one day, the idea to do the picture book just came to him. Down the road, Stacy said it’s something they will show to their kids.

Lakeville MN Documentary Photographer: Little Adventure Photos

50 little adventures all children should experience before they grow up

Do you remember dancing in the rain, building forts in the woods, swimming with your clothes on or catching snowflakes on your tongue with your best friend? Do you remember waking up and running to your best friend’s house to discuss what you want to do that day ... almost like checking items off your childhood bucket list? Our childhood memories may fade as we get older, but they never leave us! When reflecting on these memories it often brings a smile to our face and a wistful feeling in our hearts.

Now you can remember these simple joys always with Anthologie’s Childhood Bucket List photography collections. These collections are created to chronicle a year in the life of your little ones at a fantastic value.

So, how does it work? Simple. We want to capture all of the simple joys of childhood for you and your family. We've even made this handy list (at right) that you can use as inspiration. Think about 4 times of the year you'd love to have professional photos of your kids, and (gasp!) not have to worry about taking the photos yourself.

That right. Finally, you, the busy parent trying to wield a camera while feeding a newborn and disciplining a toddler with boundless energy can finally be in the pictures, too! We specialize in letting you naturally interact with a fun activity while we create stunning pictures of those meaningful moments together.

That’s it! We’ll do the work while you have the fun! Call us today at 952-232-5830 and simply let us know what four little adventures you’d like to capture over the next year so you can always remember this special time for your family.

Included in  your Childhood Bucket List Photography Collection:

• (4) 1-hour documentary style photography sessions on location • A creative post processing of all of your best pictures • Password-protected proofing website for photo sharing and convenient online ordering • 5x7 copyright release to all photos from the year

Session: $175 each

Why your digital photos aren't as safe as you think

It will never happen to me. That's what I thought. I had heard anecdotes through social media about parents loosing pictures of their young children — some times even their entire libraries of baby photos gone with one fell swoop of a ticking hard drive. As a photographer, and someone who makes a living selling and preserving my work I figured I would never experience such a calamity. I was wrong. Well, at least partly wrong.

My wakeup call came a few months back when I went to retrieve one of my favorite photos of my son. I photographed him just before the Fourth of July holiday last year dashing from the beach and into an area lake without a care in the world for the summer wardrobe he was wearing. To me it's perfect. It exemplifies childhood. And best of all, he's completely unaware of the camera (a rarity in our household). As I searched through my external hard drive my finder window revealed the unmistakeable sight of a once perfect photo now rendered useless as a few fragmented strips of pixels. The digital file was corrupt. My heart sank.

The queasiness factor jumped to earthquake proportions when the reality of the situation sunk in. As a professional photographer I create 10s of thousands of photos for my clients each year. I take pride in protecting those memories and take all of the necessary steps to ensure this doesn't happen. Right? And yet there I sat, staring at my laptop knowing I couldn't even keep safe one of my favorite photos from my own family. So, was I faced with the hard truth that my precious memory was gone forever? No. And here's why: I print my photos. Yep, I know it sounds strange in the digital age of 64GB memory cards and 40 mega-pixel camera phones, but making high-quality, physical copies of your favorite pictures is still one of the easiest ways to safeguard against bit rot and file corruption. So, safe in my living room was a beautiful 24x36-inch wall portrait of my son's little adventure at the beach.

OK, the business owner in me needs to tell you that I actually did have this photo backed up in a redundant archive, so I was also able to find a "safe" version of the digital file in question. But there's always room for improvement to the way I do things and this situation did force me to review the entire way I approach backing up data and my photography workflow as a whole. I even consulted with a computer security systems expert who was baffled by the amount of data I'm tasked with protecting. To paraphrase him: "Hard drives are like good steaks in the freezer. It's not a matter of if they'll go bad but when." 50,000 images could disappear in an instant. Gulp.

In an effort to help bring some of this unsettling information to light, and to show you it doesn't have to be so scary (or daunting) to protect your photos, I've created this handy infographic (on the right). I mainly hope it illustrates that while the specific data on hardware failure rates is widely varied (it often comes down to what different manufacturers say about their own products), the threat of loosing digital photos forever is very real. But don't worry. We can help.

We can create fantastic photo gifts, print archival photographs and produce gorgeous books that will last for hundreds of years. I'll be making some changes at Anthologie, too.

Digital photo retirement schedule: Most people are shocked to learn how long I really do hold on to digital photos for my clients. However, the review of my workflow has made me realize it's not feasible or secure to continue preserving 40,000 to 70,000 new photographs each year in redundant archives. While digital storage continues to get more affordable, each frame I produce is more than 100MB. Do the math : ) New schedules will be in place to permanently remove photos from my archives. Existing clients can expect to be contacted by me for larger projects, such as weddings or a child's first year, before the images are purged. You will have the opportunity to purchase full-resolution printing rights at greatly reduced rates before the photos are deleted. If you have specific questions about your project, please feel free to contact me at info (at) theanthologie.com or by calling 952-232-5830.

Photo sessions with more options for copyright releases and digital files: While I have always offered the ability to purchase full-resolution printing rights, most people tend to opt for what's already included in their photography collection simply due to the cost savings. However, I will be creating more collections with a "middle ground" so that clients can back up and preserve their own digital photos right away.

Please feel free to share this information with others, and let me know what you think. Thanks for viewing!

A gift for you! We're sharing the love for our anniversary

Time sure does fly when you're having fun. We're excited to share that Anthologie officially turned 5 years old today! We're celebrating with a gift for you. As a token of our gratitude for your years of support, we're offering a 16x20 wall portrait for every family or documentary photography session throughout the month of February.

With February being the month of love, we're asking: Who is in your heart?

Valentine's Day is just around the corner, and you don't want to be caught without something sweet for those you love, right? Well, we have the perfect way to show your love year round! This year, every family photo session or documentary photo project in February will include a 16x20 wall portrait (an $80 value) as our gift to you.

We know that love is a powerful emotion, but one that doesn't always have to be about romance. Your love for your niece, your grandfather or your family pet can be every bit as important as the bond between spouses. So, this month why not celebrate the relationship you have with those in your heart?

When your photo session is finished you can rest assured that those special moments won't be lost in the ether or relegated to a life in a hard drive. Instead those memories will make a BIG statement in your home. We will print your favorite image on the finest photographic papers around and present it to you to proudly display for years to come.

To get this wonderful gift for your sweetie simply follow these instructions:

• Contact us {952-232-5830 or info (at) theanthologie.com} to discuss your photo project
• Make sure your photo session takes place by Feb. 28, 2014
• All regularly priced family and documentary photo sessions are eligible
• After your photos are presented online just tell us your favorite
• That's it! We'll print the wall portrait for you and you look like a hero

Please feel free to share this post with others you think will enjoy it. Thanks so much for viewing!