I don’t normally share emails from my clients, however this one I couldn’t resist.  I woke up, headed into the office, turned on the computer and then started reading my email.  It’s no hidden secret that I love my jobs and my clients.  It just gives me warm fuzzies to know when my clients love me and the job I did for them.

“Van Buren Photography met and exceeded all of our expectations! We could not have been more pleased with our wedding pictures, and every family member and friend who has seen them is blown away by the creativity and professionalism of the pictures . . . in fact, most of our friends have been jealous because their wedding pictures paled in comparison! Both Katie and Emily were a pure pleasure to work with throughout the entirety of our relationship – from our initial consultation to post-wedding correspondence. At the actual wedding and reception, they were somehow always in the perfect position to get the perfect shot, and they captured the intimacy and excitement of our wedding better than we could have imagined. If you’ve encountered Van Buren Photography and are reading this testimonial, then please, look no further: wedding photos will become your memories of your special day, and trusting Katie to help capture those memories is one of the best decisions we made regarding our wedding. She is truly an artist. All the best, Sean and Alison.”

I decided to post a few more images from their wedding day.  They had a beautiful wedding at The Oxford Hotel in downtown Denver.  It was a perfect holiday, Colorado Wedding!

Blue Bridal Couture

I recently made a trip down to Blue Bridal Couture.  Their bridal boutique is one of a kind.  They specialize in personalized service for their clients along with stunning bridal gowns.  I can only imagine that every bride must feel like a princess in a dress from Blue Bridal Couture.  Their designers include La Sposa, Casablanca Couture, Tara Keely, White One, Simone Carvalli and Impression. I started taking pictures before the shop opened.  I stayed for a little after a few clients came in.  It made me want to shop for a wedding dress all over again.  They have dresses for every occasion.  If you are a bride looking for an elegant wedding gown or a fun destination wedding dress they have it all.

Last Thursday I had the opportunity to give back to my community.  I participated in volunteering my time to Flat Irons Community Church to photograph an event called Shine.  It was one of the most moving and inspirational nights of my career.   It was a event where the proud got humbled and the humble got elevated.   The idea was to throw a prom for disabled people in the community.  It was a prom for those people that weren’t invited or able to go to their own prom.  The age range was from 18-88 and they had 400 people come to the event.  I was blown away by the preparation that went into this event.  Everything was donated including the food, decor, photography, attire for guests, carnival games and so much more!  To view a small video clip of this event you can click on this SLIDESHOW link.  Most of the night I worked a portrait station with Sarah and Pilar.  The best part was making the guests feel special, loved and honored.  My portrait team girls were so sweet.  I did run out to the dance floor for a few candid shots.

My portrait team with Sarah, Pilar and I.

The entire photo crew!

My wonderful friends down at Living The Sweet Life have monthly tastings.  I would love to invite you to one of their tastings over the next few months.  The delicious treats will melt in your mouth and make you want to keep coming back for more!

We are hosting special guest Mike Larson this month, here are the details:

LOCATION UPDATED and TIME CHANGED PLEASE READ BELOW!

Who’s Invited:  Anyone and everyone.  The presentation is open to all photographers in Colorado.  We would love to see you there.  As usual please RSVP so we can have enough seats for everyone. Don’t worry if you don’t have a studio ID just leave that field blank if you don’t have one or can’t remember it.

Mike will be doing a Live Night shoot Demo & Innovative talk: Excelling in client relationships, Trust, 100% referral biz, UN-commoditizing yourself, Mastering your art, Excellent times.

Details: We’ll do a LIVE Night (flash) shoot of a couple going over practical examples of how to relate to clients and get amazing images during a casual portrait shoot OR a wedding. Mike will share how he relates to clients to build trust, and confidence with your clients and yourself to separate YOU from other photographers. Its important to know where you stand in comparison from the rest of the industry Are you a commodity or a highly desired artist? How to become that unique artist you want to be. Then a final inspirational slideshow & stories with open Q&A

Mike’s Bio: Developing his style from an editorial/catalogue photographer, and shooting surfing & lifestyle, Mike had the opportunity to work with multi million dollar ad campaigns which gave him a perspective on quality, mastering his craft, and real world marketing. Big clients such as Roxy, Bodyglove and Swell.com like these, don’t accept anything less than perfect. Shooting slides for immediate editorial demanded shooting right the 1st time. Traveling the Globe and getting things done required excellent management, and closing leads and maintaining excited clients became his number one job. in 2004 Mike jumped back into weddings with both feet and within 2 years had shot 80 weddings. His mindset to fast track and develop a big client base in 2 years paid off.

Now in the last 2 years Mike’s business has grown and so has his outlook on business & life. He has a team of 6 photographers who photograph 80+ weddings per year. Their volume has given them the freedom to grow and pursue exciting opportunities. His business has allowed him to travel the world. Using his business growth and buzz he built a brand new studio on the coast of California.

He maintains an amazingly blessed marriage with his sweet wife Rachel. Striving to always be learning, reading, sharing & encouraging others. He believes that one’s business should be a vehicle for a more abundant life. Have your business support your ideal lifestyle. Recently he has photographed weddings in Singapore, Brazil, Italy, Ireland, Hawaii & the West Indies as well as having a recent wedding published in InStyle Weddings and another upcoming feature on Style me Pretty.

“Business success & profits should be just scalable as your freedom in life”

My chance to give back…..A couple months ago I got a call from a close friend of mine, Sara France.  She had just received a call from Joanna Bailey, an incredible coordinator in Colorado.  I have worked with Joanna Bailey before and Sara and I have always wanted to shoot together.  She told me all about Joanna Bailey’s great idea she had to give a military couple their dream wedding. I was thrilled!  Sara was the lead photographer and she asked me to shoot with her.  In November we photographed the wedding of Active Duty Marine Corporal Curtis Evans and Fiance Kendra Johnson, both from North Carolina!

It was overwhelming to see the generosity of so many people and businesses.  The gifts and donations for the wedding were around $80,000.  Wow!  I appreciated Sara and Joanna inviting me to have the opportunity to give back.  Please enjoy a slideshow from their wedding.

If you want to do something for this couple you can support the companies and people who are making it happen.

Joanna Bailey Weddings –  Made In Multiples of South Carolina

Sara France Photography of California –   Anna Bé of Colorado

The Perfect Petal of Colorado –  Bella Bridesmaid of Colorado

Three Tomatoes Catering of Colorado –  Lavish Day Spa of Colorado

The Makery of Colorado –  RobinLee Accessories of South Carolina

Lula Kate Bridal of South Carolina –  Socialite Studios of South Carolina

Linen Hero –  Face F/X of Colorado –  RedLine –  Hotel Monaco

Ambassador Rolls Royce of Colorado –  Shoot Dot Edit

Van Buren Photography of Colorado

There is a picture of the couple and a little more about the wedding in this article from The Stokes News.

Get Your Vote On!

The People’s Choice voting for Confetti’s Magazine’s ICON awards is underway.  Check out the link to vote.  Once you register on the site, you will receive an email giving you access to the entries.  Please vote for Van Buren Photography’s entries – #708 in the Best Wedding under $75K Category and #1412 in the Best Photography.  Voting ends February 1, 2010.

http://www.coloradoexpression.com/pca/

Twinkling holiday lights, freezing cold temperatures and one rockin’ band can only mean one thing…Sean and Alison’s wedding was a huge celebration.  Not only did Alison look stunning, she had fun with the details.  I loved how she tied in red flowers, red lipstick and red shoes.  The opted to see each other before the ceremony to allowed them to enjoy every minute of the cocktail hour and reception with their guests.  The band called Sticks and Stones flew in from Austin and rocked the dance floor all night.  This was a winter wedding to remember.  Click here to view their slideshow

Wedding and Reception: The Oxford Hotel

Hotel Coordinator: Erin Browning

Flowers: Plum Sage –   Cake: Das Meyer

I love country music, western themes and blue jeans.  So, it comes as no surprise that I loved everything about Neisa and Cody’s wedding.  They had a horse and carriage pick them up after they said their wedding vows.  Luck was on our side because we had 40+ degree weather in the middle of December.  Neisa dreamed of a outdoor wedding and she got it.   The huge towering outdoor fireplace was a nice addition to keeping warm.  Spruce Mountain Ranch is a wedding photographers dream.  There was not a detail missed inside or out.  This was a very beautiful intimate wedding surrounding Cody and Neisa with all the love in their hearts.

Wedding and Reception: Spruce Mountain Ranch

Flowers: Garden Path             DJ: Bill Carson

Click here to view their Slideshow

Today I was reading a friend of mine’s website (Christine Tremoulet) and loved something she had posted.  It was so good I thought I would put it up on my site too.  Christine so eloquently expressed what is behind the price of wedding photography.  I have copied what she said and modified it a bit to fit what was applicable to my studio and my clients.

Most of the time, the first thing anyone asks me about when they contact me is for my pricelist. How much will wedding photography cost. And sometimes, I know that the price tag that I put on our weddings causes a bit of sticker shock. I understand. I am not the perfect fit for everyone, and I know this. My feelings aren’t hurt.

I wanted to provide a breakdown of what goes into our costs though, because I think it is a really important thing to understand. Your wedding photography is one of the only thing that remains after your wedding. You have a spouse, a ring, a dress, maybe a few other mementos, and your wedding photography. Photographers are really the only vendors that you work with after your wedding day is over. So while it is easy to think that you’re hiring your photographer for just 8 hours of time on your wedding day, you’re not. You’re actually paying for:

- Wedding day coverage
- Second photographer for the wedding day
- Backing up of files (in my case, extensive backups)
- Processing and Editing of your photographs (roughly 2-3 hours for every hour of coverage, which is 16-20 hours per wedding)
- Posting photographs online
- Backing up the final edited files
- Preparing an initial album layout
- Album modifications
- Album printing and binding
- Other items such as DVDs, DVD cases, and so forth
- Preparation of files for printing, creative and artistic edits and other enhancements
- Archival quality prints of your wedding images
- Packaging in all archival quality products
- Engagement Sessions
- Proofing and placing engagement sessions online
- Anything else that a package might include

Then there are all the other things that go into running a proper business:
- Taxes
- Insurance
- Studio space (optional, but an option I choose to have so that I have a nice place for my clients to come to.)
- Paying employees
- Ongoing education – courses throughout the year both locally and across the country with some of the best photographers out there
- Marketing, magazines, research, blogging, posting on forums, and a long list of similar tasks

And the one I feel most passionate about?
- CAMERA GEAR – I use the top of the line that Canon has to offer to wedding photographers. I have backup equipment, and backups to my backups. From camera bodies, to lenses, to flashes. I have a lot of nice gear and have spent thousands of dollars on it because I want to capture the BEST photographs I possibly can, and I want to be prepared for any situation.

I know there are photographers out there that only charge $100 to $1500 to photograph your wedding. What you receive from them in the end varies wildly. Some of them hand you the photos straight from their camera, and you take them to a lab and print them yourself. Never mind if the color is off, you’re in shadows, or anything else. There is no enhancement at all to the image files in the digital darkroom. Some of them somehow manage to provide you with not only the photos on DVD, but an album at that price. I don’t know how they do it – they must have a weekday job to pay the bills, because there is simply no way that I can crunch the numbers and do the math to make it work. That means that the time they have to focus on you is limited. Most likely, they are not paying themselves. They have no backup gear in case anything happens to their camera on your wedding day. They don’t have insurance. They think that $1000 is great for 8 hours of time – and they ignore everything else that goes into taking care of you. They can’t afford quality gear to produce fantastic images* because they are not charging enough for their work.

You’re not just paying for 8 hours of photography. You’re paying for so much more than that. Hopefully, this page helps to clarify that. My commissions for wedding day coverage currently start at $3800. Please inquire for more details and to find out if I am available for your wedding day, as I take on a limited number of weddings each year. Prices are subject to change throughout the year, and are normally modified quarterly. Reserving your date now will lock you in at my current rates. Commissions are currently being taken for 2010 and 2011. Please contact me to learn more.

*Note: Part of the magic of taking great photographs is within the person holding the camera – I am not a gear snob. I know this. Having nice gear helps. Having a variety of lenses and knowing how each lens impacts the photograph that you envision inside your head helps even more in making that vision a reality. I love my camera and my lenses, and with them I can achieve any photograph I see in my mind.