Engagement Portraits at The Royal Palms

I think I could spend a lifetime shooting at my favorite AZ venue and only fall further in love with it.  Even in the heat of August.  The elegant backdrops of beautiful architecture, rich tones and textures and perfect landscaping bring me new inspiration every time.  Add an awesome couple like Dana and Jeremy and what could be better?  Though their 4 dogs weren't able to attend our shoot as originally planned, we had a great time.  Can't wait for the wedding.

Under Fire

I've been hiding out a bit this summer in Northern AZ to cool off and recharge the batteries.  Not much shooting but a lot of family time, biking and margaritas.  One of the shoots that did bring me back down to the Phoenix heat was a grant event for the El Mirage Fire Dept.  Ironic, I think.  New environments always present new challenges and a only a few minutes, if I'm lucky, to fall back on experience and overcome them.  Lighting, tight spaces, changes in timelines, heat and pit bulls (I thought firemen had Dalmatians... cute, cuddly Dalmatians) where a few of the problems this day.  While the latter might not sneak up on me at a wedding, the other obstacles most certainly will.  And, they'll bring some of their friends along like rain, dead batteries, stolen camera, grandma breaking her hip and, my favorite, gymnasium reception.

Which is why I decided to use this example for my new post.  While my reputation and an eternity of family memories weren't at stake, those challenges are frequent at weddings and many of them are actually expected.  I do have a great time as a wedding photographer and I think that's essential to creating beautiful pictures.  But I don't take the responsibility that goes with it lightly.  My performance has to be exceptional under any circumstances.  A wedding photographer is always under fire (no pun intended) and the inexperienced might not know how to handle it.   

So, to all newly engaged couples planning their wedding, think about the future and the fact that your children will be passing on those pictures to their children.  It's not just a service you get for that one day so hire the best photographer you can, not the best package.  It won't matter what you paid or how many products are included if the pictures aren't good.  Not even these guys could save that disaster.