When and How To Book Your Wedding Photographer

April 14, 2014 Steve Vansak

A happy wedding party whoops it up on the bridge at Deep River County Park.

I wish I had a one size all answer to the question of when one should book their wedding photographer. I have a few openings for 2014, but at the same time, next year is booking fast. My general answer is that if you love the work that I do here I believe you should fill out the Contact Form right away and inquire about your date. I've had to turn away at least a dozen inquiries for 9/27 alone and June 14th has been off the charts too. If I have your wedding day open I will want to schedule a meeting with you so I can show you my work in person, hear all about your the day you have planned and have us get to know each other.

Here is an outline of how things usually work:

Determine your date and your venue.
Find a photographer that you love and find out if your date is available.
If your date is booked I will gladly help you find someone who is a qualified professional. I strongly urge you not to go with a family friend or Facebook photographer.
Ask lots of questions at our meeting. Do not be shy about being skeptical and please do ask to see an entire wedding that I have shot.
A signed contract + deposit will secure your date. This can be done with a variety of payment methods in person as well as online.
Stay in touch. I will add you to my mailing list not to spam you, but to help you stay in the loop as to what I am up to.
We will have a chance to touch base at your engagement session and once again at a pre-wedding meeting to go over the timeline of your day.

I don't have an online calendar here as it is a lot to maintain and they sometimes don't sync correctly, etc. I can tell you that most of 2014 is gone. I do have a large gap in July. If you are still in need for that month, please contact me now. There are two dates available in August, two in October and two in November.

2015: I have 8 weddings booked already with most of June already gone. The Fall months are usually next to go. Right now the bookings are spread out for 2015. Let's set up a meeting soon so you can make a sound decision and secure your date.

I'm all fired up for warm weather and lots of wedding and engagement photography. The season has already begun and it's only going to get busier. I look forward to meeting you soon.

A newly married couple kiss in front of the gazebo at Ellendale Farms in Crown Point, Indiana.

Why Are Wedding Photographers So Expensive?

March 10, 2014 Steve Vansak

For most photographers including myself, it's conventional wisdom to not discuss price. The idea is to have potential clients focus on your work. After all, these images are of a once in a lifetime event and are going to be passed on to future generations. We want you to value that important aspect and not think of your wedding photography as just another product. We want you to get to know us as well, the person(s) who will be spending this very important day with you. However, as someone who has never been conventional and who understands the pressures of bills and real life, I thought I'd tackle the subject today.

I recently showcased at a bridal show and heard several times "Why are wedding photographers so expensive?" and "What are your prices?", often before a single image was even looked at. This tells me it's a burning subject that needs to be addressed. Of course, I don't know what would be considered expensive by various clients either. I'm going to approach this article with an attempt to give you insight into a professional, full time photographer and assume that you are considering a professional because you value photography. So let's dig in...

One of the most common misconceptions is that your photographer is an hourly worker and that the "work day" is over after the last shutter press. I can understand this because people are used to cell phones and other digital cameras and the instant gratification they provide. Let's talk about this and other myths.

Example: photographer charges $2000 for a wedding and stays for 10 hours. This means he or she is getting paid $200 per hour, right?

On the surface this seems to add up, but a pro is going to keep working for you long after. I spend approximately 12 hours shooting the wedding, 30 hours editing the images after the wedding, 10 hours designing the album. Add on expenses for products of each wedding, cost of online gallery hosting and the time to upload the images and you see very quickly that the "hourly rate" has dropped dramatically.

The difficult part for you the client and one of the reasons I'm writing this is how varied things are from photographer to photographer. So, why is that?

The typical "Facebook photographer" probably does this on the side in addition to their day job. They may or may not have the skills to photograph your wedding. They may or may not be there on your big day. More than likely it's an extra money for the weekend type of situation. They aren't investing it back into their business, learning new techniques, replacing equipment, paying for insurance, etc. Your images are probably not going to be edited. They will typically charge a lot less.
Some pro photographers have additional expenses to cover such as a brick and mortar storefront, secretary and more. Perhaps they outsource the editing and book designing. They typically will charge a little more for seemingly the same service and quality.

Just like in anything, the wedding industry is also a haven for those who want to just make a quick buck. Many times these are service companies who are doing multiple weddings on the same night and sending out hired hands with few skills who are getting paid a minimum. These are companies that hurt the client as well as photographers such as myself. I'm often concerned that potential clients will mistake me for this type of company due to Region Weddings being a "generic name". I wanted the site to be helpful to brides and grooms and not just about my photography with articles such as this, so hence the name. Rest assured, you meet with me and I'm the one who will be showing up on wedding day.

Photo editing: This means you are fixing mistakes, right? After all, the image is already done. I just saw it on the back of the screen. So, how about skipping that part and bring this price down a bit?

Back in the day photographers shot on film and they sent the rolls to the darkroom and contrast was added, saturation, slight exposure adjustment, etc. and a photograph was made. In digital, it's exactly the same way. What happens on a cell phone or on the back of a DSLR is the computer in the device makes a guess and does this for you. However, any pro is going to shoot a digital negative and do all of this by hand. This takes time, effort and skill in the digital darkroom known as Photoshop. This ensures a higher quality image and no guessing from a machine. I do all of this myself, hence the additional 30 hours of work. Yep, we can do stuff like swap peoples heads, etc. but in reality, we are usually just doing the basics. The best thing is to capture a good image to start with and to not "fix it in Photoshop".

As a client, you have the rent or mortgage, car payments, insurance and more. I get it. Me too. Please don't take this as a defensive article either. I wrote this to simply give you a little bit of inside baseball and an understanding of how the process works. We as photographers are sometimes a bit secretive about this subject and I wanted to address it head on. When you sit down with me to discuss your wedding photography, feel free to ask the difficult or awkward questions. I'd be glad to answer them openly and honestly. By the way, my rates can be found here. I have a lot of 2014 booked, but various dates are available. Bookings for 2015 are well underway.

As I always say, I'd be glad to refer you to another photographer if I'm not right for you or if the date is booked. I feel that strongly about you getting super images and quality service. Hope this helps!!

Bride and groom dance their way across the bridge at Deep River County Park.

Introducing Wedding Wish Books

March 3, 2014 Steve Vansak

Page 1 and 2 from the Wedding Wish Book for guests to sign and write in.

I always tell my couples to be themselves for their engagement photos and to display them at the reception hall when guests arrive. Your family and friends are their to celebrate you, so show them who you are. I have a new way to display your engagement pictures and I'm excited to show it to you. I call it the Wedding Wish Book. It's awesome. Remind me to show it to you at our meeting.

I designed it so that a good amount of images fits into the 20 pages along with sections where guests can write their own messages. The pages above has space for Best Wishes with my clients Rachel and Dustin's Fall engagement photos on the opposite side. The image below is a two page spread with romantic engagement pictures on the bottom and an area for remembrances above.

Two page spread of wedding day remembrances.

The book is 12x12 in size and the pages comes uncoated so a ball point pen will not smear as family and friends write into it. I believe it's a fantastic keepsake to look back on in years to come and pass on to future generations.

Two page spread featuring a Favorite Memories section with engagement pictures on the opposite side.

The book just arrived last week so it's literally hot off the press. By the way, these Fall engagement photos were taken at Lemon Lake Park if you are looking for that Autumn, outdoor look. Any types of photos from a Chicago Session to a beach session can be featured.

Tips for falling love over and over again.

You have probably seen Wedding Guests Books that feature engagement photos and I have a book like that as well. It also is an uncoated, 20 page book with an area for attendees to your wedding to sign. It can act as a simple registry with 432 maximum signatures or 216 signatures with a message.

To celebrate the arrival of the Wedding Wish Book, both of these items are currently on sale in the Region Weddings store. If I already photographed your engagement session and you want to add this book to your wedding decorations on the big day, please order at least a month beforehand to give me time to put the book together and get it printed and bound. If we are doing your session later this year, definitely keep these books in mind. I think they are a great way to show yourselves off and your guests will surely enjoy contributing to your wedding day with their best wishes and advice.

What do you admire most about us as a couple?

Decorating Ideas for the Wedding Reception

December 26, 2013 Steve Vansak

A table of green apple martinis greet guests at a winter wedding reception at The Patrician in Schererville, Indiana.

I very often go back to the same Northwest Indiana and Illinois reception halls over and over again. People ask me if I get bored by visiting the same banquet halls. The answer is no. This is because every couple brings their own little bit of flavor to the mix. I'm always excited to see what my clients are going to do in terms of table decorations, cake toppers and more.

I could probably spotlight every wedding I've shot in 2013, but for space I will showcase three different weddings at two different halls. The prominent trends I saw throughout the year were candy buffets along with an emphasis on family photographs throughout the years. As I was photographing all this decor, I often found myself studying these snapshots and admiring the strong family ties that were now coming together on this big day.

Greg and Kristen recently had their reception at The Patrician in Schererville, Indiana. It was a rocking good time at the reception and a glorious ceremony that was recently feature here, so go check out that article too. When guests arrived at the hall, tables of decor that featured family photos greeted the guests. Among the usual guest book were wish cards to be filled out for the couple to read later. The inside was awash in the newlywed's colors of green, black and silver. The candy buffet from How Sweet It Is Events was a big hit and featured the initials of the couple in big, green candy coated letter blocks - very cool.

Green, silver and black wedding decorations at The Patrician banquet hall.

This past summer I photographed Evan and Stephanie's reception at Aberdeen Manor in Valparaiso, Indiana. They also had a candy buffet, but hot pink was the color of choice. I have featured their cake here a number of times as it looked fantastic set against the gorgeous uplighting of the room.

A gorgeous wedding cake with a pink topper sits inside the ballroom at Aberdeen Manor in Valparaiso, Indiana.

The couple adopted another popular trend I saw this year - the signature drink. Here is a great article with recipes for you to develop your very own drink that you can then ask your reception hall vendor to serve for you, complete with your own custom name of course. Cigars in decorative packaging were also spotted quite often this past year.

A collection of wedding reception decorations featuring the color pink.

Fall weddings often get extra emphasis on decor. One of the most impressive items on display at Ryan and Jamie's Fall wedding at The Patrician were the table cards made by the bride's father. The hand carved flat logs of tree bark were decorated with burnt orange with an attached guest name. It was very impressive and one of my favorites of the year. The retro film camera on every table is a classic and the owl kept an eye on guests as they filled out cards to attach to the wishing tree.

A collection of rustic wedding decorations in Autumn colors.

As you plan your 2014 and 2015 wedding, take some of these ideas with you and add your own flavor as well. I can't wait to see what you come up with so I can capture if forever with my camera. Have fun!!