So for this blog post, instead of showing you photos from previous weddings or portrait sessions I have decided to write to all couples who are looking for a wedding photographer. Most of the time when a couple meets with the photographer, he or she will be asking most of the questions to the couple but rarely does a couple ask questions that are so important to figure out if the photographer will be the right fit for them. So here are some of the questions that every couple should atleast ask the photographer to get to know him or her before making the final decision.

1 – I would like to know as much as possible about you. What do you like and dislike?

This is obvious and quite simple to understand. You’re likely to get the photos you desire if you really know your photographer. Ask questions and then really listen to the answers from the photographer. Let the photographer talk and pay attention. If the conversation is all about you (the client) then its good but if you don’t know your photographer then you will not know the characteristics of the photographer and he or she might not be the right fit for your wedding. “What do you prefer: outside wedding or inside, how do you feel if the wedding goes off the timeline, what are your favorite moments of the wedding to capture?”

2 – Why are you shooting in the style of photography that you do?

At times most blogs say that you should follow your heart and find the photographer in the style you like. But sometimes the style of the photographer changes due to trends or because the photographer is trying something new. As for me I like to experiment and blend photography styles in the wedding day. For example, nature light and studio lights. But every client should know why and when it should be used not just to keep up the conversations but also to get inside of why. Maybe the photographer is trying to branch out to lets say film photography and the photos do look different but maybe he or she is just trying to fit it and please the crowd or be different. Sometime the photographers just do what they think is right and that does take time during the wedding so know why the photographer is doing it and maybe you will be willing to give that extra hour for something different. Yet ask for examples when you meet with the photographer.

3 – How do you feel about wedding planners? (And this question is a must if you have a wedding planner.)

This is big, at least for me. There are photographers that work great with wedding planners and some they just don’t like wedding planners. There are plenty of reasons why but for most part even though wedding planners are there to help in organizing a wedding they do think as only as wedding planner not photographer. In the past for me I worked with great wedding planner and not so great. Sometimes the couple would come to me and say that the wedding planner informed them to have certain kinds of photos or style, I will not go into what or why but wedding planners are not photographers. The wedding planners do think they know it all but in reality. But for the sake of this blog I will mention that one time a couple after engagement session contacted me and said that their wedding planner (many years of experience) told them that all photographers give out digital images to the couple for their “Save The Date” card for free. I had a long conversation with the couple and tried to explain the situation that I have also done this for some time and never heard of this. Another example of how one wedding planner was just trying to sell to the couple that they have to do the first look even though they wanted to go more traditional way. In the end when I meet them they were telling me that they need to do first look but after talking with the couple I did notice that they still didn’t want to do the first look even if the wedding planner said that this is the best thing for their timeline. But not all wedding planners are like that some that I have worked with give lots of freedom to couples but still guide them in the right direction working with every vendor from the wedding trying to make sure everything runs as much smoothly as possible. So talk to your photographer and see how they feel about wedding planners and why.

4 – We are still looking for a photographer and why should we hire you?

Be honest with your photographer, I will only speak for myself on this but you will not hurt my feelings if you tell me you are meeting with other photographers. Now some photographers will or can take offense to this but in reality this is why good photographers filter out from bad photographer. If you notice that the photographer you are meeting with is starting to get nervous, or offensive you should not hire that photographer. There could be many reasons why they could get nervous, because of jealousy, pride or they will try to give you a super discount if you hire them on the spot even though it will hurt their budget over time. So talk about why you have considered the photographer you are meeting with and why you are considering to meet with other photographers (even if its the cost you are thinking about).

5 – Do you work with the plan (timeline) that we create or do you make your own timeline for us?

Some photographer are and I want to say free spirited and will work with anything you give them (and still produce great images). Yet some photographers that prefer to create a detailed plan of the wedding to know what to expect. Both cases are good and some photographer prefer one way and some the other way. Know your photographer and ask what they like. This also can give you a heads up if the photographer can capture a special moment with knowing what is going to happen or just by random trying to capture everything not to miss anything.

6 – Why do you like to photograph weddings?

Many clients think that if the photographer is photographing weddings they love what they do. Yes it is true because if they didn’t they would not photograph weddings. But what most clients don’t know is why. See if the photographer matches your expectations and has passion for weddings not just because they get paid. This is kind of going back to the first question of likes and dislikes.

7 – Have you photographed a wedding at my location?

This can be a question that can help you know what to expect. I do understand that there is a trend now a days to do backyard weddings and the photographer will never be able to photograph a wedding at your backyard in the past but do ask if they have done this before and ask for examples. I have been asked with this question before and my answer is yes if I have shot at the location and if not I will check it out (and first I show them simural weddings) or if its at someones backyard, I do ask if I am able to stop by to see what to expect. This not only gives assurance to my clients but also gives me an idea if we need to plan where the ceremony should be for the best photos and so on.

I hope this would help every couple out there to get to know their photographer but I do want to say that if you are meeting with the photographer ask questions to get to know him or her. Think about it you will be working with the photographer all day during your wedding and knowing that the photographer has the right attitude, knows what he or she is doing, and can connect with you and your guests is very important. Yes I know that photos speak for themselves but you will have to make sure that not only does photos look good in photographers portfolio but also the person whom you are hiring has the right vision, personality, and attitude towards you and your wedding.

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Looking for Sacramento Wedding Photographer or Denver Wedding Photographer? Want to see more photos? Visit my homepage for more Sacramento Wedding Photography and Denver Wedding Photography images and contacts me via email info@shutteravenue.com or through my homepage to get more info.

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Few months ago I have photographed Matt and Alex engagement photos in Hidden Falls Regional Park in Auburn California. Now I have meet Matt and Alex at the bridal show in the beginning of 2014 and they have won the free engagement session. After some time in planning when to do the engagement session (which does make a difference) and postponing it due to bad weather we finally meet again at Hidden Falls Regional Park. I do want to mention one thing before I get into the photos from their engagement is that planning engagement session does need to be taken into the account. From my experience, if planning an engagement session way to early or late in the year (meaning very late fall, winter, early spring) the scenery does matter. The trees might look naked and the feels might not have green grass yet. For California this means best time to do engagement session is sometime mid-spring or mid-fall when the colors are turning yellow, red, and orange. Also the weather is not hot as well which makes the couple not sweat as much as when its close to 100 degrees outside. Yet with all that said if the photographing in Bay Area this can change as well as if the couple want photos in more urban setting. This is why you should talk to your photographer and plan it out instead of just saying “lets do our engagement session next week”.

But coming back to Matt and Alex photos, we started of just the basic to get them loose. As for me I know when people are a bit shy of camera maybe especially when they know that this is more than just iPhone pictures. So I didn’t ask them to post or do something crazy, by the end of the session they loosened up and this does show in the photos. Best way to do loosen up is ask questions and have a conversation. A lot of photographer do forget to do this and then the photos show that because the client is either bored after 20 mins or still nervous because they are not getting clear directions from the photographer. One way to avoid this is to know your photographer and meet with him or her prior to the photo shoot.

Matt and Alex are a great couple and were fun for me to photograph because not only did they have fun as well, but because you can see the love for eachother. They are love birds that can’t wait to get married and spend the rest of their lives together. During the photo session we joked and talked and I tried to captured the emotions they have for eachother. I love the photos that were captured for them and they loved it as well when we meet for post engagement session and saw the photos for the first time.

Photos Provided by Shutter Avenue Photography

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Enjoy this post by Denver wedding photographer provided by Shutter Avenue Photography, offering Denver wedding photography in the Denver metro area.

Shutter Avenue Photography is not your regular Denver wedding and portrait photographer. Every portrait session and wedding that Shutter Avenue Photography photographs is treated with care and creativity not found with any other Denver wedding photography studio. Shutter Avenue Photography captures your wedding day and your engagement session in a unique photography style in the Denver, Sacramento and Bay Area.

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In the beginning of June I had an opportunity to photograph very cute couple in Sausalito in Bay Area. Even though we were going for the San Francisco backdrop but sometimes the weather does not play nice and there was huge fog that rolled in. So there was no San Francisco view but with the Bay Area fog its very unpredictable, yet it didn’t stop us from having fun and creating beautiful images that capture the love and connection between Victor and Nastya.

I have meet Nastya from some time ago but didn’t expect that she was engaged to Victor whom I knew long time a go. We have reconnected at a wedding in Bay Area and had small but good chat and thats when they proposed I would photograph their engagement session. After few emails back and forth we have settle on the location of Sausalito which is a great small town not far from San Francisco. Sausalito is great place for engagement photos, not only because its very tourist location but because there are lots of great places to be photographed. Victor and Nastya decided to have more of an evening photos because they have seen other photos that I have from engagement session at dusk/night photography.

We had a great time, of walking around, catching up on how things are now (since last time I have seen Victor was more than 9 year ago) in Sausalito and photographing them. They are a great couple and I love the love and passion they have for each other. That is the most important thing in engagement session because if the couple is just there just because it becomes a regular portrait session but this time the love was in the air. Victor and Nastya love each other very deeply and had fun being photographed and not being shy of showing it in the photos.

I think this is my most favorite images because it just shows how much they love each other.

Victor and Nastya I just want to thank you for hiring me as your engagement photographer and hope your love will only grow even stronger throughout the years.

Photos Provided by Shutter Avenue Photography

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Looking for Sacramento Wedding Photographer? Want to see more photos? Visit my homepage for more Sacramento Wedding Photography images and contacts via email info@shutteravenue.com or through my homepage to get more info.

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Some time ago I was photographing engagement session of Haley and Chris in Redwood Regional Park not far from San Francisco. Even though I am based here in Sacramento and have lots of wedding photography here I still love to travel especially to Bay Area. There is something about Bay Area that always interests me, maybe its the sea in the air, or the variety of where to photograph in Bay Area, or even maybe its just the area and being close to San Francisco.

But this is not about me and why I love the Bay Area, this is about Haley and Chris and their engagement session. I have meet them at the bridal show and they loved my photography that they booked me on the spot. Haley and Chris are a great couple, I loved photographing their engagement session because they were willing to go Bay Area for their engagement session, as well as they did wanted more of forest look then just urban. We stayed for the first part of the session in the woods then migrated to open field not far from the woods. But the love and the passion they have for each other is fantastic. When a couple loves each other very deeply it shows in the photos.  As you will see in the images below. We had great time of walking around the woods, finding location for their photos and in the mean time had good laughs (this way they were loose and not so tense for the photos).

I just want to say thank you Haley and Chris for hiring me as your photographer and I can’t wait to photograph your wedding.

Photos Provided by Shutter Avenue Photography

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Enjoy this post Sacramento wedding photographer provided by Shutter Avenue Photography offering Sacramento wedding photography in the Sacramento metro area.

Shutter Avenue Photography is not your regular Sacramento wedding photographer. Every wedding that Shutter Avenue Photography photographs is treated with care and creativity not found with any other Sacramento wedding photography studio. Shutter Avenue Photography captures your wedding day in a unique photography style in the Sacramento area.

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In the past month I had a pleasure of photography a very beautiful wedding of Vitaliy and Vika which I was looking for. It was romantic, from the first look that they did to the end of the wedding. I really loved to see the great connection between Vitaliy and Vika, I don’t even think words like great connection does justice to it because seeing those two love birds seeing each other for the first time at the first look was magical. The expression on Vitaliy’s face when for the first time he saw Vika in her wedding dress almost made him speechless, and filled with joy. But isn’t that the whole point of the first look? =)

For the fun part, it was great photographing Vitaliy prep photos because him and his groomsmen were  just very layback to a point where they decided to mow the backyard just for the fun of the photos, and by the way they were wearing very fashionable clothes from Express which made it even more fun for photographs. Even though Vika didn’t mow the lawn she was still beautiful and also very layback and I just loved the photos which I have captured for her during girls prep time.

But throughout the creative photos which was planned ahead they went to Old Sacramento for carriage ride, and then to the State Capitol Park for final creatives. Though out all day they were great, the love between them was just shining with glow for each other, so photographing them was not only fun for them but for me as well.

After the wedding we decided to have more photos done at K Street in downtown Sacramento. It was was good time for photos because this would give them a different look from creatives comparing to day time photos. I loved how they would still be willing to pose and smile in the photos even though they had a long day at the wedding, so I appreciate them for giving me the time to do something different for them and the photos show it as well.

Something that I do want to mention is what they asked me to do after they came back from their honeymoon. A week later the called me and ask me if I was willing to go to San Francisco to capture some photos of them in their wedding clothes at a beach.  Hands down I said YES! I loved it every minute of it and even though Vika got her dress dirty in sand, ocean water, and by the way Vitaliy also was on board of getting wet for fun and creative photos.

Those two lovebirds will be very happy with each other and I want to say Thank You to them for hiring me as their wedding photographer.

Photos Provided by Shutter Avenue Photography

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Enjoy this post by Sacramento wedding photographer provided by Shutter Avenue Photography offering Sacramento wedding photography in the Sacramento metro area.

Shutter Avenue Photography is not your regular Sacramento wedding photographer. Every wedding that Shutter Avenue Photography photographs is treated with care and creativity not found with any other Sacramento wedding photography studio. Shutter Avenue Photography captures your wedding day in a unique photography style in the Sacramento area.

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