When planning a wedding, area photographers recommend finding someone who can capture the special moments, people and feelings of the big day.
Carrie Dinger Robbins of Captured by Carrie Photography, has been capturing weddings on film for 14 years.
“Weddings are probably my most enjoyable aspect of my business,” Robbins said. “It’s really a passion of mine. They’re a lot of hard work, but I just don’t seem to tire of it even after almost a decade and a half of shooting them. It’s always a happy day.”
She typically shoots 10 weddings a year and between five and eight engagement sessions. While many are close to her home near Mansfield, she’s ventured as far away as Orlando, Fla. to shoot one.
“Usually I see it being very busy in the fall. September, October are usually the busiest for me,” Robbins said. “Typically it’s usually every Saturday in September.”
If timing allows, Robbins can shoot two weddings a day and usually spends six hours at each wedding, although the bride and groom can book more or less time for their special day. It all starts with pre-planning.
Couple booking Walck Portraits of Coudersport get two photographers, husband and wife Tim and Megan Walck.
The couple opened Walck Photography in 2009. While the couple has shot upwards of 25-30 weddings in a year, now with a growing family, they have reduced the number to a handful.
When taking wedding photos, the Walcks’ goal is to capture the story not only of the wedding day, but also the couple’s relationship and feelings for one another.
Tim Walck developed a booklet after courses with the Professional Photographers of America. It outlines the wedding day timeline, suggestions, things to think about and even some advice on married life.
They also schedule a consultation with the bridal couple to discuss the process, answer questions and review pricing. They also want to make sure that it’s a good fit for both photographers and the engaged couple. That’s one reason they suggest engagement photos to familiarize the couple with the process of taking photos and the end product.
“When we talk with the bride and groom before on goals, we usually start with the end in mind,” said Tim Walck.
Most couples will book the photographer six to 12 months in advance. Every bride and groom receives a questionnaire that tells Robbins the number of guests, size of the wedding party, the venue and any special shots the couple wants to have. She also provides guidance to help the couple’s day run smoothly.
“I kind of guide them on scheduling throughout the day. If they have 250 guests and a 10-bridesmaid/10 groomsmen party, they need to allow enough time to grab wedding party photos,” she said. “The bigger the wedding is, you have to think about how long that will take people to go through the line and get food. You definitely plan on every aspect of the day based on the number of people involved.”
There’s no set number of photos provided by Robbins; each wedding is unique and her goal is to capture the images that reflect that. She takes photos of details like the invitation, shoes or boots, clothing and jewelry, floral arrangements, candid and posed photos of family and out-of-town guests, along with images at and of the venue. A couple booking her for six hours will receive between 800-1,200 images.
Walck Portraits offers an assortment of print packages, with many couples ordering albums or a large framed image for the wall.
“If they are planning to buy a large piece for a mantle or couch or collage up stairs, we know we want to get specific pictures,” he said. “If we’re doing a wedding album, we have to have a very specific storytelling set of images that make it through a wedding album.”
The Walcks work in tandem to offer a wide range of images for the couple.
“During the ceremony, we’ll do two different vantage points. She’s usually up close with a wide angle and I’m back with a telephoto lens,” Tim Walck said. “We’ll do something similar at the reception. We like to do table shots where we get all the guests at the wedding as much as possible. We try to get a bit of everything, trying to capture the day as well as possible.”
During the posed family photos, Megan will round up and arrange groups while Tim works the camera and lights.
“We try to work quickly and efficiently so we can get to reception as soon as possible,” he said.
Timing is also crucial for the Walcks, who stress the importance of planning with the wedding couple.
“People having unrealistic timelines. I always try to work with them on a timeline that is realistic and add padding and cushioning,” he said. “Hair and make-up always takes longer than they think it will. Every time. I don’t think I’ve ever experienced a wedding where we’re not in a time crunch.”
Finding and preserving the special moments is their job, said the photographers.
“The last question I always ask them is what are three to five things that are most important to you when thinking about your wedding day,” Robbins said.
She provides both color and black and white images.
“I want my images to last forever. I don’t do a lot of trendy editing. I like my images to be clear, colorful, bold,” she said. “I don’t want people to look back on their photos 30 years from now and think they’re outdated. I want them to still be bright, clear, colorful, and not a lot of distraction to it.
The Walcks like to schedule an “epic shot” at the end of the day. They’ll bring in studio lights, extra flashes, gels or liquid smokes to create a dramatic image that could be used as an album cover or wall art.
Robbins advises couples to plan ahead, take advice and tips from others, and, if the wedding and reception are outdoors, hope for the best but plan for the worst.
“I’d say just do a lot of planning and a lot of research and enjoy the planning process and the wedding day as much as you can.,” she said.
Most importantly, relax and enjoy the big day, he said.
“I always tell the bride don’t sweat it because they’re not going to start without you,” said Tim Walck. “I always tell them to try to find peace and quiet time away from the crowd on their own so the bride and groom can enjoy time on their own on the wedding day. When we plan an epic photo, that is one of the reasons why we do it. On their wedding day, the bride and groom get pulled in a hundred different directions. Sometimes it’s really nice to get outside or in a different room where we set up this amazing image we’re going to take and have some time as a couple.”
That, he added, is pretty good advice for marriage as well.
For more information, contact Captured by Carrie Photography at 570-463-1985 or Walck Portraits at www.walckportraits.com, 814-655-1070 or on Facebook.
