If you have ever considered a photo booth but you thought they were to big, bulky and ugly, then you haven’t seen this.

Picture this Nashville is the photobooth with out the booth. Instead the system uses 21″ touch screen iMac computers specially created for Picture This.

I could tell you about this until I am blue in the face, but until you play with one you just won’t get it. I had so much fun at last Sunday’s bridal show, I kept grabbing friends and dragging them to the booth.

To find out more, vist their website. Go to their Facebook page to see a whole bunch of fun images from the booth (including yours truly) AND find out where they will be so you can see this set up for yourself.

You can try it out at the Put a Ring On It Bridal Show on Sept.25th

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To hear Jerry tell it, “I just do what I do.”  Um,did I say humble? Heck, he won’t even post his many award winning images on his website!  Uh, no my friend, what you do is fine art photography meets fashion photography like I haven’t seen before.

Take a look for yourself. All of the images are linked to the original post on Jerry’s blog. Check it out and send him some Dish love.

This is from the wedding that Jerry shot for the VH-1 reality series, “My Big Friggin’ Wedding!”

This is also from Alyssa & Tyler’s VH1 wedding. I love what this image says about the couple.

This is perhaps my favorite wedding image of all time. It just screams, “Anna Karenina”The size limitations of this blog don’t do it justice. Click the image to see it on Jerry’s blog.

Jerry isn’t for the couple that just want a record of their wedding. His is the bride that sees the art in the finest photography and understand that to capture it on this one day, that is all that matters. You can view Jerry’s website at Gerard Tomko.com.

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First up in this series are the photographers. It seems that the top issue they keep running into over and over is time. Time to capture your beautiful day, time to process and edit your images, time to design a fabulous album for you. Today’s professional photographers do more than just capture a moment in time. They create art.

As wedding photographers, something that is always on their mind is that unlike other types of photography, there are no do-overs. This is one day, one time that their work must be perfect. As professionals, they know that. That is why they want the time needed on your wedding day to make doubly sure it is a perfect as they can make it. This unique understanding of what you have entrusted them with is but one of the many reason why you owe it to your memories to hire the best professional photographer you can.

Here are just a few of the comments from the thread. You can read all of it be joining the group; Wedding Dish on Facebook.

As a photographer, I wish that the bride understood that photography is not simply ‘click/download/print’. Capturing images and portraits is a creative process, and it takes time. Also, after a wedding is over, at least 40hrs of post processing is required until final delivery. So, a bride should understand that amazing images can be taken when they allot the time for them. The 2nd thing I want brides to understand is that when they wonder why we charge what we do, it is because on a wdg day, we serve as a portrait/fashion/architectural/food/floral/product photog, as well as a photojournalist, and, on top of it, because it’s a wedding, we don’t have the luxury of a repeat (unlike a fashion photog or other), as well as post process/album design, corrections for enlargements etc. Time is money
–Aali Qureshi

I wish brides could see exactly what goes into their photos.
I also wish that they would allow time for their photos, for groups and for themselves alone away from everyone else. If they do not understand they need time away from everyone for their photos they will not get the photos that they see when they look at photographers work.
I wish they could see the whole process they will then see we don’t just point click take to the supermarket and print. I spend a lot of time processing the photos, and even longer on album layouts, and understand they they will not have their pictures the next day!.
I want brides to understand, that if they turn up over an hour late for the wedding and we loose over 2 hours time for photographs and she would rather spend all her time talking to her friends rather than having the photos done, she is not going to get as many pictures as she wants. And if she asks me to so her photos at 10pm as I am packing up and leaving I will not be a happy person. (speaking from experience!)
¬¬–Theresa  Mount

Me it is simple, as a bride, better customer service and communication. I am having a hard time getting calls back and questions answered!
As a professional photographer, pretty much ditto what was said above. I would like brides to realize that wedding photography, now, is not just one day of work on the day of the wedding. It is at least two weeks worth of full time hours!
When I shot film, it was one day of shooting and then about two hours of work after that. Shoot, drop of film, fill an album. Order came in it was mark negatives, drop off film, fill an album. Nothing more because the lab did all the colour correcting and brides didn’t want to be thinned down, pimples and wrinkles removed, exit sign taken out, change my brothers face, open my husbands eyes etc…
–Jolene Mills

This is also something you may want to think about when you are deciding on whether you need to hire a coordinator.

As a photographer, I want to be able to focus on taking pictures. Therefore it’s nice when brides realize that getting someone to help to round up people for the group photos is going to mean I can take more photos, instead of trying to find Auntie Clara, who I wouldn’t even recognize if I saw her! My request for help isn’t because I think that herding people is beneath me; it’s because it’s not the best use of my time.
–Steve Roberts

Next up is what the wedding planners had to say. I think you will find that interesting.

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First up, Bad Bouquet.
Sadly this came from a Martha Stewart post. I’m sorry but just ripping a bit of shrubbery out of the garden is not a suitable substitute for a bouquet.

Giant Bride.
I ran across this one while setting up a site for a bridal salon. This was actually on the gown manufacturer’s website. Take a good look. How tall is this bride? 14’ or 15’ tall? Or is it just a miniature landscape.

Bad Cake
This was sent to me by a fellow cake designer. Click through the photo to read the comments they really are the best part. Just be sure to put your coffee down first or you risk spitting all over your monitor from laughing so hard.

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Zach & Jody Gray

Jody and Zach Gray not only have amazing talent behind the lens but are just a lot of fun to be around. If you want to help insure that you have fun and laugh through your wedding day take these tips from Jody to heart.

How to Choose a Photographer(s)

by Jody Gray

Have you ever been a part of a wedding and you’ve seen this guy as the photographer?

What Not to Hire!

First few thoughts that come to mind:
Scary
Mean
No Fun
These photos are going to stink
This is going to be the worst and longest day of my life

Quite a few years back, I (Jody) remember being in a wedding where everyone was on edge and tense all because of one person who was making the day quite unbearable… I’m sure you can guess the role the person had at this wedding – The Photographer!

Sometimes a bride underestimates the importance of having her wedding photographer be one who she “clicks” with (pun fully intended). A wedding is the one of the most special and personal days of your life, and the last person a bride wants capturing her day is Mr. Crabby-Photographer-I-Yell-At-Everyone-All-Day.

Let us, as photographers give you one word of advice – Make sure you click with your photographers!!

Yes, it is VERY important that you like their shooting style, and that they can actually shoot a wedding, but please do not forget about liking them as a person! Your photographer (or photographers in our case )will be with you at the most intimate and emotional times of your wedding day, and the last thing a bride wants to feel is uncomfortable because her creepy photographer is well, creepy, and mean as well.

Let your wedding be fun and a joy, and by choosing a photographer who you click with, you’ll feel as if you have your friends right along with you capturing your day, and the images will be all the much better!
Questions to Ask Yourself to Find the Photographer(s) to ‘Click’ With

1. Do they have a creep factor?
2. Is this someone I can see myself hanging out with and sharing my wedding day with?
3. Have they shown an interest in me as a person and not just asked questions about our budget?

Tip:
Ask for a few bride/coordinator references to get the real down-low of how the photographer was their wedding day

*Please keep in mind that we are not saying you have to find a photographer who has to be Best Friend Potential… simply someone you feel comfortable with!

Brides are really fortunate these days to have a many wedding photographers available for them to choose from. As a bride, don’t be afraid to have high expectations and to really go after what you are wanting. Let the picking process begin!

Love Your Photographer

Be sure to check out Zach and Jody’s website and for more tips on your wedding read thier blog. Here at the Dish we just love Jody’s sense of humor so hopefully she will keep guest blogging.

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Guest blogger Kathy Ziegler is back with more of her wonderful insight on photography for your wedding.

I’m always asked by my brides how to choose the images for their album. My suggestion is to make it about the story of your wedding day, make sure there are lots of pix of you & your new husband, not a collection of face forward family pictures; you can always put those in frames around the house. The way to do that is to choose the more candid, camera unaware pictures & use transitional images as you move from one part of your wedding day to another. We’ll help you get some of those more candid looks, even as we do posed pictures, no worries. And you know that’s your Mom, even if it’s the side of her face!

Set the scene with some getting ready images &/or your venue’s details, use images of you & your wedding party or parents walking places or getting in & out of cars or limos. Use the images that cause you to feel great emotion either because they are of the special people in your life giving you a hug or, it’s the most beautiful or fun picture you’ve ever had of yourself, or maybe it’s gorgeous lighting that draws you in. Be sure to include the pretty details you worked so hard on & make your last image have impact or the ahhhh factor.

This is why it’s important to avoid looking the camera but play to it as well; it makes for great, unobtrusive storytelling pictures to use. Read the last article about “Getting that Photojournalistic Look”. Your photographer is always willing to let you know the stunners you should probably not forget to include, take their advice for the best results.

Kathy Ziegler has been a successful wedding photographer for 12 happy years in San Diego. She recently moved East to enjoy the beauty of Mt Juliet Tennessee with her loveable husband of 19 years & her 2 dogs & 2 horses. Her work is fresh, fun, classy & timeless.

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I stumbled across the Wedding Photography Directory site through an announcement of their WPD 2007 Summer Creative Wedding Photography Contest. Out of over 1500 entries they have narrowed it down to the top 100 images and are asking you to vote on the winner. How better to decide than to get the opinion of the ultimate consumer instead of just a bunch of other photographers.

In addition to the contest, WPD has some well written articles on everything you want to know as you do you homework on the how, when, whats and whys of wedding photography. Unlike some of the large portal sites with four or five generic articles on the topic this site is jam packed with valuable, up to date information.

If like me you like to graze through the beautiful shots you can find a listing of their member’s blogs. Be warned, you could get lost on this site for hours and hours.

Disclaimer: I don’t know any of the photographers that they list in their directory you still have to do your own fact checking; but its still a fun graze.

Image by Alison Williams, Alison Rose Photography

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Today I found a post about Wedding Shadowboxes. It is a great idea to preserve the memorabilia of your wedding. I spent some time searching for some other examples and came to a conclusion. If you want a brilliant shadowbox you have to plan in advance.

The more I looked the more boring shadowboxes I found. What is great about the one Mrs. Bell Pepper did is the scope of objects she included.

If you like the idea of preserving and showing off the memories of all the hard work you have put in on planning your wedding you should start from the very beginning.

Keep a box and a note pad with your wedding planning stuff. Toss into the box any bits and bobs that you think might provoke memories. Not just the pretty things either. How about that hole punch that nearly drove you to insanity at 4 in the morning as you tried to finish your escort cards? This is as much about memories as it is about pretty.

Use the pad to write down things you want to remember to set aside from the day itself. For instance you may want someone to get a great shot of the signature cocktail you created or a label from the wine you chose, maybe the cork from the bottle of champagne you toasted with. It’s the little things that will bring back memories in years to come.

Have fun creating an heirloom that you can enjoy for all the years to come.

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I was at lunch last week with a friend looking at the proofs of her daughters wedding. This was the beautiful beach wedding from a few weeks back. Of course I was blown away by the images from David Wright but I was even more impresses by the presentation. Each image is presented on a 4”x 6” card with color, black & white and sepia tone proofs neatly arranged in presentation quality boxes.

This is the kind of things that set the really top notch vendors apart from the run off the mill or bargain basement providers. So as you are out there trying to decide who to trust with your wedding, look at the details. Chances are good that if they do a great job on the details the big parts will be spectacular.

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I had an interesting discussion with a wedding photographer friend of mine recently. Lesli Emmets of Divine Images was telling me about an album she had created purely for her own pleasure and self expression. As anyone that earns their living on the creative front will tell you the pieces we to for ourselves are often not the things that our client wants. Understood, that’s why we do it for ourselves. This album told a different story.

Lesli had left it on the table in her studio and the brides fell in love with the edgy, artistic style. Several brides booked her for their wedding because they wanted an album just like it. Here’s the kicker, when the time came to select the images for their album they were pulling the artistic images and putting in more traditional posed shots. For all the talk of hip edgy wedding pictures, when the rubber hits the road they are still picking more traditional shots! Very interesting.

If you are looking for something non-traditional, maybe you should consider it for your wedding portrait. Rather than a photographic record how about a unique work of art. You know I am a nut for fine arts photography. David Wright over at The Artist’s Eye has been playing with a technique called computerized fine art painting. The above image is what he has done with a picture he did recently for a bridal fashion shoot. Love it. Want it.

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