Where are you located? Do you travel?

Short answer is Corpus Christi and  yes I do travel for weddings, travel fee may apply.

I apologize for the mass confusion about my location. We recently relocated from Fort Worth to Corpus Christi, TX. We still have family and dear friends in Dallas/Fort Worth and travel back often. Currently there is no travel fee for weddings booked in the Dallas/Fort Worth area. I do not travel to DFW specifically for engagement and bridal sessions, however scheduling sessions for weddings has yet to be an issue because of my frequent travels.

What equipment will you have at the wedding? Do you have back-up gear?

Yes, of course I have back-up gear! If I have a second shooter at your wedding then I even have a back-up for my back-up. Below is my gear list. These things go with me to each and every wedding.

Camera Body: Canon 5D Markii (2)

Camera Lenses: (All Canon) 24mm 1.4 L, 35 mm 2.0, 50mm 1.2 L, 70-200mm 2.8 L, 100mm Macro 2.8, 45mm T/S 2.8

Lighting: (2) Canon 580 Speedlights, (1) 430 Canon Speedlight, 4 Pocket Wizards, (2) Cheeta Light Stands

Other Equipment: Mega-awesome tripod, Large Reflector, Small Reflector, Lens Hoods, UV Filters, Polarizers (rarely use for portrait use, mainly landscape), a slew of eneloop rechargeable batteries and extra camera batteries.

Expanding Studio

Due to an exciting influx of business and my (Kate) desire to keep my wedding numbers low as to maintain my sanity and quality of work, we have expanded to include associate photographers at a small discount. If you are on a lower budget or if I am unavailable for your wedding, this may be an option for you. All associates have trained with me for a significant period of time and I feel they are prepared to capture your wedding day with the highest quality and professionalism. For more information on our associates or to view full galleries from weddings they have photographed, shoot us your info via the contact form.

Do you sell the digital files? If so, does that mean I can print my own images? 

Basic edited JPG files are included with all portrait sessions and weddings. The digital files included with your session or wedding are delivered on either CD or DVD with a print release. However, it is strongly recommend that prints 8×10 or larger or a print that will be displayed for many years be printed through the studio. Reason being, anything printed through us (prints, canvases, albums etc…) is subject to a final edit. Here is an example of one image in three stage: SOOC (Straight Out Of Camera), Basic (Basic edit for color correction and contrast) & For Print (The final editing stage, photoshopped for skin smoothing, color popping and any additional tweaking we see fit).

If you are interested in having a few digital images edited “for print” to use in save the dates, newspaper announcements, thank you cards etc… you can purchase individual digital files that will be edited. It takes roughly 30 minutes per image to produce a “For Print” image. For this reason, all images in your online gallery are “Basic” edited, excluding the few images selected for the blog.

What is a flushmount album and how is that different form a photobook I can order?

Come stop by and see for yourself! The flushmount albums that we offer are the highest quality available in the industry currently and are not available for purchase directly to consumers. Albums are ordered via Forbeyon, a Dallas based company. Each album cover is custom designed according to your color taste and image choice. We carry any album offered by Forbeyon, including the Hinged and Linear Albums (recommended for engagement/signature books). Many couples choose to add albums to their wedding package because of the high quality and because I finalize and “For Print” edit every single image that goes into your album.

How many images will I receive with my portrait session? Wedding?

We do not limit the amount of images taken at portrait sessions or weddings. The longer the wedding, the more images. After going through a culling process and sorting through the images, most portrait sessions have around 50 images and weddings around 500.

How long is my online gallery avaliable?

Engagement & Bridal session galleries are online until the date of your wedding and are then re-posted with your wedding gallery. Wedding galleries are online for 6 months. Once the gallery has expired there is a $30 fee to re-post the gallery for another 30 days. All galleries are password protected and bridal galleries are posted privately until after the wedding.

Why are the 5×7 images that I ordered cropped? 

Your images are captured with a full frame camera and will print in ratios of 4×6. This means they will print at sizes: 4×6, 6×9, 8×12, 12×18, 24×34. You are probably use to sizes like 4×5, 5×7, 8×10 and 11×14. I can explain this best by using the current TV switch from STANDARD SCREEN to WIDESCREEN. Before people had widescreen televisions in their home, widescreen was the format that you watched movies in at the theatre and standard screen was the size that a general consumer watched a movie at home. When the movie was converted from widescreen to standard screen, movie detail was lost (the sides were cut off). This is similar to professional full frame cameras vs. the standard consumer’s camera. Our cameras are full frame. Professional print sizes differ from consumer print sizes. It is recommended to keep your images at their full frame, meaning order in sizes that are the ration 4×6. If you place an order for prints through me, I will remind you at the time of your order if you choose a size that will crop the image (such as 5×7 or 8×10). However, if you order on your own via our recommended printer (MPix.com) the full frame print sizes are available but so are standard sizes so make sure you choose wisely. If you choose to print at a standard size (5×7, 8×10) your images will be cropped.

What is first sight?

First sight is a time when the Bride and Groom see each other for the first time on their wedding day in their wedding attire. No one else is around for this moment except the Bride, Groom and wedding photographers. This can be done in the ceremony location or another specified location. Usually the Groom stands facing one direction and the Bride walks towards him and signals when she is near for him to turn and face her. It is a beautiful moment.

Benefits of First Sight:

• Bride and Groom get a few minutes alone without anyone else around

• Generally speaking, everyone is about 90% less stressed once the Bride and Groom have seen each other

• All formal pictures can be done ahead of time

• There is time for unique and creative shots outdoors in the beautiful, natural light.

• Your ceremony can start later (for those desiring an evening wedding) and you do not have to worry about having enough natural light for fun and creative wedding photos

• You can go straight to the reception after your ceremony

Most evening weddings which choose not to do first sight end up with a few flash pictures of the bride and groom together and the rest of the formal images are all indoor flash images. The reason most people hire me is because of the creative and fun images they want of their wedding day. In order to produce these images I need time and light.

When will my wedding images be ready?

Your wedding sneak peak will be posted on the blog within 3 weeks after your wedding date. Your full wedding gallery will be online for viewing and sharing within 6 weeks after your wedding date and the disc of with your digital images will be mailed soon after that.

Can we bring our dog to our engagement session?

Well, of course! I love dogs. Make sure you also bring a long leash, short leash, water dish, bottle of water, and possibly an extra person to take the dog for shots that the dog will not be included in.

What should I wear?

A few basics for wardrobe:

-Wear something that reflects who you are.

-Choose colors and fit wisely. Avoid overly tight clothing that may create undesired rolls or bulges.

-Coordinate. This doesn’t mean wear matching outfits, it just means wear coordinating color schemes and styles.

-Avoid extremely busy patterns. Darker colors are slimming.

A fellow photographer wrote an excellent article about how to dress for engagement sessions, Check out that article by clicking here.