Post from: caycecallaway.com. Copyright 2009 Cayce Callaway

Elegant, affordable Wedding Photography in Atlanta, Georgia - Elegant, affordable Wedding Photography in Atlanta, Georgia

Post from: caycecallaway.com. Copyright 2009 Cayce Callaway

Elegant, affordable Wedding Photography in Atlanta, Georgia - Elegant, affordable Wedding Photography in Atlanta, Georgia

In addition, Gail Johnson at Gail Johnson Weddings was the coordinator and Heather over at Stylish Stems provided the beautiful flowers.

Post from: caycecallaway.com. Copyright 2009 Cayce Callaway

Elegant, affordable Wedding Photography in Atlanta, Georgia - Elegant, affordable Wedding Photography in Atlanta, Georgia

Post from: caycecallaway.com. Copyright 2009 Cayce Callaway

Elegant, affordable Wedding Photography in Atlanta, Georgia - Elegant, affordable Wedding Photography in Atlanta, Georgia

Post from: caycecallaway.com. Copyright 2009 Cayce Callaway

Elegant, affordable Wedding Photography in Atlanta, Georgia - Elegant, affordable Wedding Photography in Atlanta, Georgia

Can I see at least two full wedding galleries from the last year?

It sounds really simple, but 99% of the time it’s neglected.  Why is that?  For one, if you’re getting married for the first time in the last 6-7 years, which will be most people having a big wedding, you might not really know what that means.  Most proofs (the edited images from your wedding) are delivered online these days.  You get a password protected gallery where you can view your images, make album choices, if your photographer allows that (I do), order prints and show your family and friends all of your wedding photos.  Most are up for a few months and can be extended if needed.  These are not the small galleries viewable on websites, with 15-30 images from the wedding.  These are galleries with hundreds of images from a single wedding – exactly what you will see after your own wedding images are completed.

Why is this so important?  Because you can tell everything you need to know about a photographer (apart from their personality and you can even tell a little bit of that) by viewing entire galleries.  This is what you should look for:

• Consistency throughout the day – Shooting in open shade or with great light coming through a window is a recipe for a good photo.  It’s easy to take and most people can do it.  But what happens if the sun is directly overhead, the ceremony is lit by candlelight or the DJ turns the lights down on the dance floor.  Do your afternoon ceremony photos come complete with blown out skies (totally white even when the sky is blue) or those notorious raccoon eye shadows under your carefully made up eyes?  Being a good photographer requires you to have the skill, talent and equipment to shoot at all times of the day and night and create excellent images throughout.  Study the different times of the day carefully and make sure all the photos look like you want your photos to look.
• Is everything you want covered?  Is there anything on your list (besides something unique to you that you would want to mention to your photographer) that you don’t see in these images?  Are all of the details covered?  Is there a great establishing shot of the venue?  Are the portrait poses to your liking?  Do you like the styling for the family photos?  Are there enough images throughout?
• How are the proofs processed?  If you are getting a disc of high res images from your wedding, an online gallery can tell you the level of product you’ll be receiving on that disc.  There are photographers out there that only finish the images that go into your album or onto their website or blog.  If you’re counting on being able to print from your disc, you want to make sure you’re getting photographs that don’t need a lot of extra work.
• Would I be happy if this was my wedding?  That’s the last thing you ask yourself.  Can you imagine your own day though the photographer’s eyes?  If you look through two galleries and can’t see your own images in there, you should keep looking.

Many photographers are master salespeople.  They know what to say and when to say it.  They work in the emotion business and are great at pulling the heart strings.  But they’re not all equally good behind the camera.  Fortunately, photography is the ultimate in wysiwyg – what you see is what you get.  But in order to see everything, you have to ask.  Photos on websites and in albums tell only half the story, if that.  Even bad photographers can usually pull 10-12 good images from a wedding.  But you can’t hide the overall quality of work when you’re looking at hundreds of images and if for some reason they don’t want to show you a few galleries, then major red flags should go up.

If a photographer balks at showing you entire galleries (not just self selected ones for their website), then keep looking.  It means they might have something to hide.  The most common excuse is, “I have to protect my client’s privacy and I’ll do the same for you.”  That sounds so noble it couldn’t possibly be a dodge.  But it likely is.  If you’re shooting 20-40 weddings a year, you’re sure to have many couples who are so thrilled with your work that they’re more than happy to show their galleries.  I’ve never had a former wedding client turn me down for that (I send galleries even though prospective clients haven’t asked and I counsel them to get the same from other photographers they’re considering).

While this tip will take you a little bit of extra time, you’ll have no surprises with your wedding day photos if you do it and can rest assured that your wedding photographer knows what they’re doing all through your day.  Bear in mind that hundreds of photos from other people’s weddings will not have the same emotional appeal that your own photos will have, which is why it’s important to see galleries from all of the photographers you’re considering, but it will help you imagine your own day.

Many people who lost their jobs in other industries or couldn’t get work right out of school, took their digital cameras out of the closet and hung a shingle to shoot weddings during the recession.  Many have enough talent to put together a decent website or sample album and use cool Photoshop tricks to appear to be unique, but many lack the experience and skill that is necessary to shoot an entire wedding – and doing it right takes a lot of both.  That doesn’t mean you have to hire the most expensive wedding photographer in your market, but you should use the tool I’ve given you above to choose the best one you can afford.

Post from: caycecallaway.com. Copyright 2009 Cayce Callaway

Elegant, affordable Wedding Photography in Atlanta, Georgia - Elegant, affordable Wedding Photography in Atlanta, Georgia

So I shoot a lot of boudoir photography, which has become increasingly popular.  But because it’s Georgia and because my blog automatically posts to facebook, I rarely blog about it.  I’ve had some wonderful clients who graciously allow me to use their photos for marketing purposes (Thanks so much!), but given the guidelines on FB, I’m just choosing a few a shots.  If you want to see more of my boudoir work, head on over to my website, www.caycecallawayboudoir.com and take a look.  I try to post new images monthly, but I really love a lot of them, so it’s hard to make myself take down past work.  As a result, I have like 83 images in my gallery.  But, honestly, I wish I could show you everything I shoot!  There are simply some amazing looking women in Atlanta and the surrounding areas and many of them definitely do not think of themselves as the typical boudoir type.  They come in all shapes and sizes and all age ranges.  And they all get a renewed sense of themselves after seeing their photos.  So, if you’re on the fence about doing a shoot, give me a call at 404.210.0879,
send me an email at info@caycecallaway.com or send me a fb message and I’ll be happy to tell you more about it.

Post from: caycecallaway.com. Copyright 2009 Cayce Callaway

Elegant, affordable Wedding Photography in Atlanta, Georgia - Elegant, affordable Wedding Photography in Atlanta, Georgia

Duane and Brianne and I met at Piedmont Park for their engagement session on an early spring day.  It was totally beautiful with the cherry blossoms just starting to make their appearance.  They are such a fun couple to work with – one of those couples that mesh so well with each other that you can’t help but enjoy being around them.  I felt that way from the first time I met them.  The engagement photos were no exception.  Easy and fun in front of the camera, we walked all over the park, making surreptitious outfit changes behind walls and towels (why don’t they keep the bathrooms at Piedmont open for longer hours?).  Enjoy the photos below and check back in July to see their wedding photos.  They’re getting married in the 755 Club at Turner Field and we’ll get to take some of their portraits down on the field!  Totally cool.  Chelsey and I are both really looking forward to that.  Duane and Brianne are both big Braves fans (like the kind that actually go to Spring training!) and my Dad played for the Crackers and was owned by the Braves in Milwaukee  in the late 50′s, so we had lots of things in common.  Check back in the summer to see their photos!

Post from: caycecallaway.com. Copyright 2009 Cayce Callaway

Elegant, affordable Wedding Photography in Atlanta, Georgia - Elegant, affordable Wedding Photography in Atlanta, Georgia

Oshea & Francisco had a beautiful wedding back earlier in the year (of course, I’m a little behind blogging). It was very cold, with a little bit of snow still on the ground. Both the bride and groom and her family are very active in their church, so the service was lovely and much longer than most weddings these days. They took what was most important in their lives and applied it to their wedding. It was quite lovely to see. Enjoy the photos!

Post from: caycecallaway.com. Copyright 2009 Cayce Callaway

Elegant, affordable Wedding Photography in Atlanta, Georgia - Elegant, affordable Wedding Photography in Atlanta, Georgia

So, as promised, I’m actually going to blog my weddings as they happen! Notice I didn’t say try or attempt – I’m not going to give myself that out. It’s hard to do when I’m busy, but I shoot so many beautiful weddings, that I really want to show them all. I wish I could blog my boudoir shoots, but I’ve very discreet in that arena and I completely understand why most women don’t want those shown online…

Back to this perfectly stunning wedding I shot in Savannah on 12/28 (and big thanks to Diana Daley who so graciously offered to second shoot and fill in for Chelsea, who was visiting her family for the holidays. I didn’t blog any of Diana’s shots, since she doesn’t shoot with me on a regular basis, but they were terrific and anyone down in Savannah would be very happy with her work). Ashley and Lance are both quite beautiful, inside and out. They were a dream to work with and their wedding was a perfect little jewel of a day. I know everyone can’t swing it and everyone doesn’t even want to (nor should they as many of my large weddings were totally stunning), but if you’re on the fence about having a small or a large wedding and are leaning toward a smaller one, then I would highly recommend it. It’s obviously a very different kind of day, but the intimacy at the smaller weddings is really nice and it gives the bride and groom a chance to spend time with each guest. And slipping off to a nearby destination wedding – like this on in Savannah or one I’m shooting in Chattanooga in May – allows you to keep the guest list small and save a little money on your catering costs.

Anyway, this day was lovely and the guest and families so warm and excited for Ashley and Lance. Ashley’s a teacher and Lance is in Pharmacy school at UGA. They’re both a lot of fun to be around and it was very clear after meeting their families and friends where all of that charm came from. So enjoy the photos from their wedding!

Post from: caycecallaway.com. Copyright 2009 Cayce Callaway

Elegant, affordable Wedding Photography in Atlanta, Georgia - Elegant, affordable Wedding Photography in Atlanta, Georgia