Check out 'What to Expect From Your Photographer' a great interview with Melissa Jill on the Blue Orchid Blog.  In addition to being an amazing photographer, Melissa is always incredibly open about her approach and success.  She is an inspiration to photographers across the country!  Check out her advice on this subject.

Posted by Adrienne

melanie and i both have a love for all things silly.  we have a bazillion photos of each other making crazy faces as we stand in for each others test shots.  we are also huge fans of any excuse to dress in costume.  we love it when we team up with a bride and groom that has the same sense of humor. 

your wedding day is one of the most important days of your life.  it is the day that you make a vow to your other half before your family, your friends, your god.  however, i do think that it is very easy for a bride to get stressed out and waaaay to serious on her wedding day.  take a cue from some of our fab couples and kick back, have fun, and ENJOY your wedding day!

sara from whitebox 

melanie and i just so happened to have a pack of mustaches for everyday of the week in our car.   

the groom doing the humpty dance for the bride! 

you know it is a fun wedding when the groom is doing the worm! 

by Adrienne Maples

We see a ton of different ideas every weekend & we're slowly chronicling them for the readers out there.  But I wanted to address a fun idea I shot last weekend- Dogs in Tuxedos.

Craziness... YES!! However the plethora of great shots can make this an award winning idea- (at least we hope!)

The Bride & Groom wanted to include their three pups  in the wedding day celebration.  I've seen dogs as ring bearers before but never adorned in dog sized tuxedos!  While these dogs didn't actually have a task in the wedding ceremony- but they did make an appearance for photographs.  All of the children involved in the celebration were so excited to see pooch's decked in wedding attire!!  This made for great shots & plenty of unexpected moments! 

What I learned?

1) Bring treats when dealing with clients of the four legged furry variety. 

2) Animals are most curious when first introduced to the camera.  Be ready for them with a new card & fresh batteries. Typically you only have their attention for a few moments to get the shot.

3) Specifically, managing more than one animal can be a difficult task.  Three dogs = 3 times the fun wrangling!  I was only able to obtain a shot of all three facing the camera when the door was opened & cool air poured out.  All three pups were all eager to stick their faces into the cooler air!

4) Have a babysitter to handle the animals! 

Other thoughts/ideas!  We'd love to hear your experiences with animals! 

by Adrienne Maples 

We Photogirls discuss interesting topics by email every week (you should see our inbox- flooded with fun girl mail!)  The one I found most poignant this week was our discussion about amateur photographers at weddings.  It seems this problem becomes worse every season & this year is already bringing wannabe photographers out in droves!

We all know everyone brings a camera to a wedding...  in ALL sizes.  This wasn't a problem when only a few cameras appeared but now I find myself fighting for the best shot with people who don't know how to really use their equipment!  In most instances, the shots any amateur takes will not hold the same quality your professional will deliver.  Last weekend, I had a guy go BEHIND the alter to shoot the bride & groom!!  I had to change positions to remove him from my frame & it wasn't easy.  My groom even commented to me how much this bothered him but the shooter belonged to the bride's family.

The point & shoot cameras are no big deal.  Most people behind this small lens aren't too pushy & they usually stay out of the way.  Except when their red focus beam hits the bride in the face & creates a 'odd red glow' in my photo- but that's a minor inconvenience.

The SLR (detachable lens) are a bigger concern.   I had a bridesmaid at a recent wedding who refused to put down her Canon Rebel.  She was shooting during all of the intimate moments & when the bride embraced her tearful mother- the moment was ruined by a pushy bridesmaid shooting ferociously in the background.

I wish these ambitious amateurs would simply pay attention & attempt to remain out of our shots.  Instead we must work AROUND this inconvenience.   I believe in working around anything or anyone to get the shot; however this epidemic is making my job more difficult by the week.  We already have to work around videographers (this is a whole other blog post!)

I love being creative with my camera but when I show up to a wedding as a guest, I leave my camera at home.  I know the bride & groom have paid someone they trust to capture their day.

MY ADVICE::

1- Inform guests to leave their SLR's at home. If this isn't possible, see number 2!

2- If you know they won't leave their SLR on the shelf, direct any photographer in the family to shoot where the hired photographer is NOT shooting.  This means you actually get photos of different moments!  When they are shooting the same moments we end up competing for the best shot.    

3- Every family has a bulldog!  Designate this person to keep their eye open for indiscreet shooters that may become a problem. 

 My disclaimer: I definitely encourage anyone interested in the craft of photography- it's a wonderful thing.  But just think before you shoot & try to avoid stepping in front of the guy hired to be there!

Hello our lovely readers... it's another greeting from the Pacific Northwest! 

 I'm Jena from Jena Murray Photography and I also hail from Bellingham, WA just like the lovely Misha Waite listed below... we even live just 3 blocks apart from one another!  Bellingham is an awesome little town situated between the North Cascade Mountains and the Pacific Ocean, a hop away from the San Juan Islands and the border into British Columbia, Canada.  This area is popular for destination weddings, but I also do a lot of my weddings in the Seattle and Portland areas as well as some traveling to other destinations.

Here's me (photo by Melissa Jill)...

My husband, Kevin, and I are proud parents of a 90 lbs yellow lab named Zephyr.  Even though he's the size of a 5th grader, he's still our little fur baby.  Zephyr has created a well worn path between my studio and Kevin's studio which is Incite Product Group.  "Take your Dog to Work Day" is... well, everyday for us! 

 I photograph mostly a mix of children and weddings throughout the year ~ I consider myself both a photographer and a storyteller, as I try to create photographs that tell some sort of story between individuals and their loved ones, whether it's at their home, a favorite spot, or on their wedding day.  I've been shooting professionally for just over 7 years and also have an new album company for wedding photographers, called Lush Albums. (If you like the look of these handmade letterpress albums, be sure to forward the link to your photographer, wink-wink!)

Here are some recent wedding photos to check out... If you are interested in seeing some of my children's work, please be sure to check out the website and blog.  Cheers!

-Jena Murray 

Introduction:
Arden Ward is a photojournalist who owns Arden Photography with her husband Brett Moore.

Arden attended school at New Mexico State University to pursue her passion for photography that documents life art. After studies at NMSU, the lens pointed toward Miami, Florida, where she used her photographic skills for fashion and celebrity lifestyle photography. Celebrities in her portfolio include Paula Deen, Mayor Rudy Giuliani, Nicole Richie, Taylor Hicks, George P. Bush, Barack Obama, Nancy Pelosi, Justin Tuck (a Super Bowl Winner in 2008), NFL Hall of Famers, and MLB alumni. She has also worked professionally throughout 13 countries.

When Brett & Arden decided to marry, they realized that they wanted to move back to her hometown of Birmingham. Soon after, they created the Arden Photography studio and photograph over 60 weddings per year combined.

In addition to the wedding and portrait business, her freelance photography career is buzzing. This past year alone, 7 books and 11 magazine titles have had Arden Photography images in them, including the cover of Paula Deen's memoirs, “It ain’t all about the Cookin.” She also has a consistent flow of images on the www.MSN.com home page and in the Lifestyles and Entertaining section. Arden has also received many awards in her career, her latest on being the AdFed’s PEAK New Comer of the Year.

Although the business is full of activity, Arden and Brett feel is a social duty to give back to the community. They regularly volunteer for organizations such as Kid One Transport and Children’s Hospital, and serve on the Jr. Board of Glenwood, The Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, Alabama Wildlife foundation, and The Birmingham Museum of Art.

In Arden’s free time you will most likely see her acting on her passion, obsession and addiction - photography.

Greetings from Nebraska! My name is Khara (rhymes with Sara) and I live in Lincoln, Nebraska with my husband (a hunky European... how'd I get so lucky?) and our two kids cats.

I love my job. I mean LOVE my job. 

When I'm not shooting, I can often be found teaching Photoshop (I'm a junkie... I can admit it) and other various photo related classes (sharing the photo love is so much fun!).

Swing by and visit me anytime. :)

Enjoy! 

mel + sara = whitebox weddings.

where we met:  photo school.

where we live:  we live in the beautiful north carolina countryside.  mel and her husband tim just bought the house across the road from me!

who we love:  mel's family is her sweet, music lovin' hubby and her wild hound dog jackson.  my family consists of my little ray of sunshine, eliza and her adoring "poppy" (my ever patient and supportive husband, brad).  we also share the house with our tennis ball obsessed doggies, iveydawg and maceo barker, and sabi the wondercat.

our motto:  together we are pretty smart! 

our style: fresh, vibrant, lovely. 

our favorite things:  slow food, old time music, the smell of fresh cut grass, blue skies, green living. 

check out our blog all of our recent adventures and our kid's website and our wedding website.

some of our favorite shots! 

-sara