I had so much fun photographing Morgan for her high school senior session. She was excited to share some ideas she had and was up for any suggestions I had. Her enthusiasm for our locations delighted me! We had a beautiful day to walk around downtown and were able to use spots as we found them. Being able to discover neat, little areas to photograph without having a checklist of places we “had” to get to made the whole session laid back, easy and fun. And, best of all, we got some amazing shots!

We spent the evening at the National Czech & Slovak Museum & Library, mingling with area wedding professionals. We thought it was nice that they asked us to capture a few images from the night. Chris was obsessed with the chandelier. He was amazed that there haven’t yet been any wedding couples to hold their dance out in the hall, under the chandelier. He’s already hoping to photograph a “first dance” with it in the background.

Bre and Steve had really been hoping for snow for their engagement session. But, as anyone who lives in the midwest knows, you can’t really count on the weather to do what you want. We had a nice, warm January day for their session instead of snow. (Plenty of snow came later!)

I’m sure you have heard of Kickstarter, the website that helps people with ideas get in touch with people that have money. The idea isn’t for big corporations to throw money at these projects, but regular people like us that believe in the ideas to support them.

And after the success of that guy who was funded to make potato salad last year, I’m sure you were like me, wishing you had come up with your own Kickstarter, right?

Well, maybe better is to be able to tell people you are a Kickstarter backer. And you should start with the Prynt Kickstarter.

(And not just because I don’t recommend you eat potato salad made by a guy named “Zack Danger Brown.”)

Prynt is a cool little camera case that prints photos right from your phone. It’s like turning your iPhone (or Android) into a Polaroid camera. You can print photos that you take with the case or from your camera roll saved on your phone. Go read up on the techy features, like no wifi, ink or batteries needed.

And then we can talk about the amazing “Harry Potter-style” moving images. Yes, Prynt will make your photos *magical*.

They plan to have these little camera/printer combos in stores in time for Christmas, so you can certainly wait til then to buy one. But, I’m a backer, so I’ll have mine before you do. Unless you become a backer, too. Then in that case, we should go do a photo shoot together. 🙂

I know what you’re thinking. “Photographers are telling me how to do it myself???”

And the answer is YES!

While we firmly believe a professional wedding photographer is essential for those key moments during the day, we also know there are some “happenings” better captured by your guests (and maybe left out of your wedding album).

Like most professional photographers, we stay long enough to get the beginning of the dance. A little DIY wedding reception photography will supplement your professional photographs and get your family and friends in on the action.

Most of your guests will have their smart phones at your wedding and will be using them to take photos. The quality of the photographs are sure to be better than those old “disposable” cameras couples used to leave on tables. Even better, photo-sharing apps will encourage your guests to share their photos with you. (No more chasing after photos on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram!)

I have done a round-up of some DIY options that you should check out:

Wedpics and Eversnap are apps that allow your guests to upload photos from their phones or a website if they use a digital camera. Eversnap takes it a step further and offers a live moderated slideshow (to make sure that all the photos shown on the screen are appropriate-  a huge PLUS if you have crazy friends and grandma is still at the party!) that can be shown during your reception, even collecting hashtagged Twitter and Instagram photos to add to your album.

• Wedpics https://www.wedpics.com
• Eversnap (formerly Weddingsnap) http://www.geteversnap.com

Many couples like to create wedding websites. These are useful for sharing information that guests may need to know about before the wedding, such as area hotels, maps and registries. Both Appy Couple and Wedding Party combine the wedding website with a matching app for guests to share wedding photos.

• Appy Couple http://www.appycouple.com
• Wedding Party https://www.weddingpartyapp.com

Truly tech-savvy couples may prefer to fully customize their wedding app. Yapp will let you build your own, adding features that are important to you.

• Yapp https://www.yapp.us

Are you already on Instagram and want to keep all your photos together there? Create your own hashtag (check to make sure no one else is using it). Ask guests to use your hashtag when they post (but remember that they need an Instagram account, too). Using the website Evenstagram, you can create a slideshow to project all those hashtagged photos during the reception.

• Instagram http://instagram.com
• Evenstagram http://eventstagr.am

Once the wedding is done, you get to sit back and enjoy all the fun photos from the night. I’m sure there will be a few “blackmail” photos in there, too…

Forced vacation from running.

I want to give huge hugs to my wedding couple, Tricia & Corey, for the amazing review! Thank you SO much for the kind words. We have the best clients!

New Review on The Knot:

“Chris and Becky are the absolute BEST at what they do! We could not have picked a better duo than these two.

From the planning process up to the big day, they were there every single step of the way. They always made us confident that we wouldn’t have to worry on the wedding day. They are extremely organized, prompt, and professional. Having 2 photographers really is the best way to go- Becky was able to get amazing shots of the girls, while Chris was with the guys. They were also able to get many different camera angles that one photographer could not get alone.

They also did our engagement photos, which was the perfect “dress rehearsal”. I am a control freak, so I imagined myself frantically running around on my wedding day, telling people what to do. It’s something that just comes naturally to me. But when the big day came, I didn’t even think about it! Chris and Becky were already 2 steps ahead of me, for every single shot. They knew exactly what I wanted, and made it a reality.

Thanks to them, my wedding was a dream come true. I highly recommend the Appleby’s to anyone looking for the perfect dream team of photographers!”

Thank you, Tricia and Corey!!!