Wedding Contract {Paparazzi Wedding Guests}

Hey everyone!

Today we have a blog that's a little more 'special' in that it takes a really CLOSE look at a few things on our Wedding Contract! Yes, we have a contract, as should all professional photographers. If you book a photographer without signing a contract, you might want to double-check their credibility! Really!

There are a few things on our contract that are just fun to talk about, and I feel like talking today (as usual). Im not going to cover every specific item, but just a few that maybe you didn't think would be on our contract!

So, lets talk about those Paparazzi Wedding Guests! You've just got to love 'em, right!? I think it's every photographers nightmare when Great Aunt Sally-Sue and all of her thirteen child show up with their point-and-shoot cameras, and all of THEIR children come with iPhones, iPads and other electronics wanting to take pictures too! We DO understand that everyone wants to take pictures! We get it! We really do! However, in the spirit of cheerful cooperation the Bride and Groom agree in our contract to give us (the professionals) precedence over the guests in order to take the photographs required for the wedding services agreed upon!

We have politely asked, many times, for a family member to step to the side so we can get a shot. It has never been an issue, and we do not foresee it becoming one! We will never be rude. We are having just as much fun taking pictures as Great Aunt Sally-Sue and her thirteen children, but we are doing it with a much more professional eye, much better equipment and a consideration of the bride and grooms specific needs!

However, there's always one at every wedding... the family friend who brings an iPad. Kathryn and I can spot these kinds of people from a mile away!

The sweet lady in the picture below was so adamant about her iPad pictures. I quietly walked up and just asked her to please remain in her seat until the ceremony was over and she was totally cool with that! If she wasn't in the dead middle of the middle isle it wouldn't have been that huge of a deal! Sometimes we can shoot around guests and still get the creative interpretation we need!

See? If this was your wedding, wouldn't you appreciate your pictures free of paparazzi!? (Gorgeous wedding at The Barn at Twin Oaks Ranch, by the way! They never fail us, that Barn!)

And the 'isle leaners' are always unpredictable too! 

Well, this blog ended up being a little bit longer than I expected, so I think we will just stop here. You probably never thought that 'Paparazzi Wedding Guests' would be on our contract, but its very important that we feel okay with asking your tests to politely move to the side so that you can have the best wedding day photos possible! It's our job and you paying us big bucks for professional images so we take it very very seriously! 

"Paparazzi Wedding Guests: In all likelihood, all your guests will have camera and all your guests will want to photograph the CLIENTS. In the spirit of cheerful cooperation the CLIENTS agree to give the PHOTOGRAPHERS precedence over the guests in order to take the photographs required for the wedding service described above. We cannot be held liable for a lack of wedding photos if guests taking their own photos of the CLIENTS continually interrupt the PHOTOGRAPHER'S work."

There it is! All wrapped up in a nut shell! 

Happy Wednesday!

#ShingleurstakeDallas

Hey everyone!

As most of you know, we do all of our work out of our home office! The convenience of having everything right under your nose is unbeatable! However, it will make for some long work days if we aren't careful! We are the kind of people that will work for 10-15 hours straight without even realizing it... The editing, the paperwork, the blogging, marketing, packaging, mailing and the list goes on and on and on! If we get an email at 11:00 at night, and are still awake, I'll probably just go ahead and respond to the email. It's just how we roll!

You can probably see how it could get tiering feeling like you're never actually at 'home', but always at work! So, when we get an opportunity to unplug, we run with it!

This past weekend we decided (last minute) to road trip to Dallas! We called a good friend to come stay and house-sit for us and take care of our fur babies! We left Saturday afternoon and returned on Monday. I guess I'm just weird and can't turn my phone off unless I go out of country. I was still responding to emails and texts all weekend, but it didn't feel like 'business'. If that even makes sense. I mean, who wants to come home to a ton of emails? PLUS, we love our clients and brides and want to take the best care of them possible! There's just something about getting AWAY from my home office that does something for me!

We DID take our camera. We don't go anywhere without it! You never know when your going to feel like having a random spontaneous unplanned photo shoot! Shingleur Photography started a LONG time ago when it was a hobby of mine and Kat's to go out and take pictures of each other. Of course, it wasn't anything professional, but it was what we liked to call 'fun'! So, we decided to relive our teenage years for a little bit while we were in Dallas and do a quick little shoot!

In the picture above, I wadded up my flannel shirt and sat my camera on it. Set the self-timer, and DONE! One take! 

And a little selfie for the books...

Dallas treated us well! We will definitely be returning!

Happy Friday!

Meagan | Steven {Russellville, AR Wedding}

Hello everyone!

We have a very special wedding to share with you today! Meagan and Steven were married two weeks ago on a cold, rainy January day, but the atmosphere was anything but cold! We had such a great time with this adorable couple and their family and friends all day long!

Their wedding was the PERFECT winter wedding color scheme of light blue and silver. Personal touches of bling (yes, bling is a color, haha) and white were placed throughout the ceremony location as well as their reception. Of course you can't go wrong with a hot cocoa bar! The whole day ran without a hitch and it was filled with many, many sweet moments. We get to see tons of weddings each year and the sentimental ones are our favorites. :) Just see for yourself:

Ok, so here's the story behind these special photos. We were just starting the "dreaded" family formals and typically the first shot is with the bride and her parents. We set everyone up for the shot and then it hit all three of them, their baby is getting married. Meagan's father needed to step out for a bit to get some fresh air and her mother followed leaving Meagan behind. Meagan, not wanting to stop pictures, sort of stood there. I just signaled to her that she needed to go follow them. Posed, starchy family photos could wait. I'm so glad I snuck out there with them to grab these in the moment shots. So sweet, so unrehearsed, so raw. This is what weddings are for, folks! 

When Meagan and her father stopped at the end of the aisle he proceeded to sing her the most beautiful song that he wrote himself. I'm pretty sure there wasn't a dry eye in the house! 

Steven is a HUGE Bulls Fan so as a surprise, Steven's dad had the intro music cued up and introduced the wedding party, as well as the bride and groom into the reception. It was SO fun! 

Congrats guys! We hope you had a BLAST in Mexico! 

Happy, Happy Saturday!

How It All Started {A Success Story}

Hey Everyone!

I was laying in bed early this morning planning out today in my mind and was thinking about how blessed we are at Shingleur Photography. I decided that I want to share our success story with you to inspire you and encourage you! We had a very interesting start to our photography business.

Have you ever felt like your destiny just dropped into your lap and all you had to do was accept it and run with it? Thats basically what happened. I'll try to keep this short.

When Kathryn and I were kids, one of our favorite things to do was to take pictures of each other! (For those of you who aren't totally aware of mine and Kathryn's relationship, it goes all the way back to fourth grade, and we've been inseparable every since!) When we had a free afternoon, we would meet up and just go take pictures of each other! Obviously, it was nothing professional and probably something more along the lines of 'jump in that pile of leaves and i'll catch you mid-air' kind of photography. Just fun. All the way though high school we took pictures. Things got real serious when we needed new profile pictures on Facebook! Haha!

Moving on to college, I was an Art Major-- Kathryn an Early Childhood Major. I always knew my niche was in the arts, I just couldn't figure out where! A close family friend of ours was getting married and they asked us if we would want to shoot their engagement, bridals, and wedding day. Being the 'unprofessionals' that we were, we were hesitant. Real hesitant! We said yes, and warned them that it might no be what they're wanting! They proceeded to want to use us! So, Kathryn and I decided that we would NOT be another one of those 'family friend photographers' that knew nothing about what they were doing, so the research began. We made notes, took screen shots, practiced posing in the mirror, you name it-- we did it.

We showed up to their engagement session with all these ideas in mind, iPad on hand, and camera ready to shoot! The session went as smooth as butter. However, it was about a 3 hour shoot! The couple was worn out, Kathryn and I were worn out and about 2000 images later, my camera was ready to be turned OFF! We purchased Photoshop Lightroom and developed and delivered their images. They were pleased... and for being such amateurs, I still think some of their shots were exceptional!

The brides Bridal Portrait session went the same way. Super smooth.

Wedding day. Nervous as can be, we show up expecting the worst! You know... like bridezilla, bossy bridesmaids, groomsmen who don't cooperate, the whole nine yards.  However it was the total opposite! We had such and amazing time all day long with the bride, groom, bridal party and their families! About a week later, we posted all the wedding pictures to our Facebook page. From there, it was history. We started getting phone calls, emails, texts, private messages... all wanting to book us. We couldn't say no.

It was at this point that I knew. I knew professional photography was it. With just a few semesters of college left I prayerfully decided to stop being a student and pursue photography. We were at the point where we were so incredibly busy that I couldn't maintain our photography business AND school. I was major in Graphic Design. (And yes mom, I still plan to go back and finish. Some day.)

That first year of photography was scary, but with a little bit of faith and a whole lot of marketing strategies, we have come out on top!

Our love for weddings is a very complex thing. It's a beautiful thing to witness love on a week-to-week basis. It's a beautiful thing to see how much a couple can fall in love from the time of their engagement session to that of their wedding day. It's a nerve-wracking thing to be totally responsible for capturing a day that will only happen one time and will never be able to be duplicated. However, when two families are merged together, the drama of that perfect dress, when your new husband's face breaks an expression that you'll remember forever, when your dad is gently crying you down the isle-- this is why we are wedding photographers. Its our job and our privilege to capture these moments so you really can cherish them forever. We strive to capture you life as a photograph. Every detail.

When destiny falls into your lap, run with it. As fast as you can.

Happy Friday!