So everyone searches the Internet and finds a list of questions to ask their potential photographers.  There are so many important aspects of photographing a wedding and trying to pick the best match for you from a list of questions can be very tough.  Today's top photographers are producing images that are very similar.  There is then a big drop off to the next tier of photographers and they are all producing similar images.  The rapid development of new equipment and the cost of the equipment dropping has allowed the market to open up and allow many start-up photographers in.

What this means to you is that once you find a group of photographers with styles you like, you need to meet with them and make sure the chemistry is there.  The most important part of hiring your photographer is knowing that you can spend the day with them.  Personalities have to match up or you may find conflict with your photographer on the wedding day. To help your meeting be more about personalities and details than about asking these questions we have taken the photographer question list from weddings.about.com and given you our answers below.  

1. What’s your primary style? Posed and formal, relaxed, photojournalistic, creative, artistic, candid, traditional? While Ashley and I encompass many different styles during a wedding shoot, we are most likely to be shooting in a relaxed and photo-journalistic style.  The idea is to capture the story of your wedding day without being a part of your wedding day.  We should act as guests all the while not compromising the quality or creativity of your photos.
   
   
2. Do you shoot in color or black and white? Or both? Do you shoot in a digital format that can create both color and b/w versions of the same picture? Ashley and I shoot everything digital...people still use film?  I joke.  Film still has it's place.  With everything being shot digital we can do pretty much endless editing afterwards with the ability to convert any photo to black and white or sepia or etc...  The reality is though that some photos just make better b&w versions than others.  As Ashley edits the photos she makes the determinations and creates the versions as she goes.
   
   
3. What kind of input can we have on the direction of the shots? Can we give you a shot list to work from? This is a great question.  The answer is ALWAYS a ton and YES.  While you have hired us to be there and shoot your wedding you have also given us the creative freedom to put our personal touch on your wedding photos.  This does not mean that we dictate every photo taken.  We know what we normally get (during formals) but are always wanting to know exactly what you want.
   
   
4. Are you the wedding photographer who will actually take our pictures? If not, can we meet the person who will be? One of my favorite questions to answer.  Ashley and I ARE Nuzum Photo.  So yes.  While sometimes one of us may not be able to make a wedding you will always have one of us at your wedding.  Because we always shoot with two photographers we then bring along a second photographer.  In 2009 we both shot every wedding.  36 total.
   
   
5. Can we meet any assistants who will also be taking pictures? As mentioned in the above question, Ashley and I shoot the majority of weddings.  The only occasions where she would miss are unforeseen events.  So the likely hood of being able to meet that second photographer so close to your wedding would be unlikely.  We'd like to think that you'd trust our judgment in who we bring along.
   
   
6. How many times have you worked specifically as a wedding photographer? How many were similar to the size and formality of our wedding? To answer part one...as of today, 02.04.10, Ashley and I have shot 70 weddings (nice round number, 71 as of this Saturday...early congratulations Lisa and Jeremy!) The second part is a wedding by wedding answer.  But to give you an idea we have shot weddings with as many as 28 in the wedding party and some with just the bride and groom.
   
   
7. How many other events will you also photograph that weekend? Another of my favorite questions to answer.  We only book one wedding or event on a day.  That allows us to focus on one couple and give them our full attention.  How can anyone focus on you and your big day if they are thinking about the wedding they have to go to later or were at earlier?  With Ashley and I it's all about you.
   
   
8. What kind of equipment will you bring with you? How intrusive will lighting, tripods, other equipment or assistants be? For the equipment we use see this blog post. As mentioned Ashley and I want to be as invisible as possible, but we do bring lighting with us.  We rarely use tripods and only use off camera lighting during the formal photos.  We typically have one big chest that carries our light stands and lights and two backpacks with camera gear.  The light stands and the chest they come in disappear after we finish formal photos.
   
   
9. Do you develop your own film? No (were all digital), but Ashley does all of the editing of the photos. 
   
   
10. Can we buy the negatives from you? The best answer to give yet...All of our wedding packages come with ALL of the full-resolution digital negatives.  How great is that?
    

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This article is for the fellow photographers out there. Non-photographer?  Read on anyway. 

From time to time we get emails asking what camera or lens we used on a shot or what we prefer to use.  My answer is usually the same.  "Regardless of gear, here is how I took the shot."  The reality is no matter what gear you use every photo starts with seeing an image and making a photo.  You have to be able to visualize the moment and capture it in the most unique and intriguing way.  The gear is just the tool you use to do it.  Some gear makes capturing photos easier or provides a wider range of flexibility in your work.  Either way, an images starts long before you get to what gear is being used.

Ashley and I use all Canon camera gear.  All of our cameras, lenses, and flashes are Canon.  No particular reason why.  It was just what we decided we liked best.  We used to have an old Minolta but that thing is a dinosaur now and can't even come close to the range of the Canon gear we use today. Using all Canon makes it easier to switch between one camera and the next.  Don't have to worry about which lenses are compatible with which cameras or flashes or anything else.  Everything is the Canon EOS system and can be used interchangeably.  

So what about Nikon.  The debate grows stronger as to whether or not Canon is better than Nikon or Nikon better than Canon.  Does it really matter?  Some argue that Canon is better for sports and Nikon better for portraits.  Does it really matter?  As I said before, the equipment is the last step before the image is captured.  Making the image and the photo starts early.  We don't know exactly how we started using Canon, but it was the decision we made. 

Here is a quick rundown of the gear we use:

Cameras:

Canon 7d

Canon 50d

Canon 30d

Canon 350d

4 x 2-Battery Grip (Model Varies by Camera)

Lenses:

Canon 15mm Fisheye

Canon 50mm f/1.8

Canon 85mm f/1.2

Canon 24-70mm f/2.8

Canon 70-200mm f/2.8

Flashes:

4 x Canon 580ex II

Use All Energizer Ultimate Lithium Batteries

Memory Cards:

4 x SanDisk 32GB Extreme

4 x SanDisk 16GB Extreme

Studio Equipment:

4 x Standard SL150 Strobes

4 x PocketWizard II

4 x 36" Shoot Thru Umbrellas

2 x 20"x30" Softboxes

1 x 46" Photek Softliter

Posted by Steve Nuzum at 01:42 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Ashley and I are in NO way wedding planners.  But we've certainly seen our fair share of weddings.  Starting today we have a new page up at nuzumphoto.com just for wedding planning.  This page will grow and change as time goes on.  We just wanted to give anyone a place where they can access wedding planning ideas and communities.  We are not affiliated with any of the information displayed or linked to from our site.  The page is designed to get you started or help get you motivated to power through the planning.  A lot of planning is done up front and then most people take a big break in the middle before finishing up the planning as the day gets closer.  Hopefully our page will send you to relevant and useful websites!  Let us know if you have any thoughts on how we can help improve the page for current and future brides. 

As of today, the page is just a Twitter feed of relevant Twitter accounts.  More is on the way...promise.

Visit the page at nuzumphoto.com/weddingplanning.

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Yes!  Harness the power of the Internet.  Here is a widget that we will be adding to the website VERY soon.  Check out some wedding planning related tweets below!

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Here is a slideshow of weddings from the last couple of years.  Watching this video really reminds me of why Ashley and I do what we do.  It stirs emotions inside me.  Each wedding is an incredible series of memories that I have.  When I watch this I start to relive each wedding we've done.  It is an amazing ride to watch this video...enjoy.

Sometimes its fun to see what kinds of things are happening behind the scenes.  Ashley and I tend to snap a lot of photos of each other as we work...it's digital right...not wasteful.  So we just wanted to share some of those various photos from weddings and other misc. photo shoots this year.  We have many more posted on our Facebook page.  View them here.  Read on for some quick stories behind these photos.

This first one is from Heather and Dan's wedding.  At times we are not only photographers but also conductors, maestros of the glass, and in need of a blow horn.  This was a group we were shooting in the warehouse area south of MLK in downtown Des Moines.  Check out all the guys doing what they do up against the wall.  Now....everyone else please....

This photo was taken by Ashley as our son Cole and I discussed using my cell phone to take pictures.  This was Cole's first time on a photo shoot...hey, someone has to keep this going when we are done. He actually hung out through two shoots and this was in between them.  He took some great shots with cell phone.  And some that had half a head in them.

Little ones are always interested in the big cameras and seeing themselves after we have taken a picture.  Here you see Ashley having a mini-session with a young girl at a recent wedding.  Kids make for the best photos.  They are cheesy and posey and always willing to be in front of the camera. 

This shot is from Melissa's Trash the Dress session this year.  TTD sessions are fun, unique, and  creative.  We get the opportunity to put a bride in all those locations we wouldn't dare put them on their wedding day, but know that they will turn out great photos.  Here Ashley is shooting photos of Melissa in an alley in downtown Ames.

This photo was taken at a local hot spot for photographers.  Whenever we shoot there it is typically a line waiting to get some space to shoot.  It's a secret location (north of the Science Center and south of the Hessen Haus.) We were hanging out waiting for a shoot to start and just having fun.

 These last two photos come from Maddie and Kyle's wedding.  After a long day of standing and shooting and squatting and shooting and laying on a gravel driveway and shooting and ..... you get the point.  It is nice to take a minute and relax.  So I sat for a while.  Nothing to uncommon.  Sometimes it may be the best angle for lighting anyway.  Double win.  But as you can see, back up and at it right away.

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This final set of Behind the Photos 2009 come from 3 weddings.  Some of these are more telling of what we do as photographers than what was actually happening in the photo.  These are a great set...read on.

Photo 1 comes from Toni and Shaun's April wedding.  The wedding was at Capital Lutheran church near the state capital in downtown Des Moines. This is a quite moment where Shaun was relaxing and grabbing something to eat before the ceremony.  In this case I am trying to capture this quick moment that was taking place right before the ceremony.  But as a photographer and an intruder to the natural flow of events, I have remain hidden and quite.  I shot this down a hallway and away from what was happening in that room.  Shaun may have known I was there...I'm the one with all the big cameras...but it was a great capture.

This 2nd photo also comes with Toni and Shaun's wedding.  This composite photo includes a photo that I took and one that Ashley took.  The great thing about this photo is it captures Toni and Shaun when they don't necessarily know what Ashley and I are up to.   The photo on the left is the photo I was taking with Toni and Shaun's rings in Shaun's hand.  While I was shooting that photo, Ashley was taking the other photo.  Which they didn't know Ashley was up to until Toni looked up at Ashley.  This was a great moment where these two were just enjoying their big day and showing the connection that they have for each other.  One of those things we do when no one else is looking...and I would say it says a lot about their relationship with one another.

Our third photo comes from Mirsada and Aldin's late April wedding.  As they say April showers bring May flowers.  April showers also test sensitive camera equipment.  Mirsada and Aldin's big day started with a traditional Svatove.  The groom's family meets at one location while the bride's family meets in another.  The woman wait inside and the men wait outside at the bride's location.  Ashley was inside with the ladies while I was outside with the men.  It was a wet day.  Not a downpour but a good steady rain.  So I spent a couple hours outside with the guys as they waited for Aldin's family to bring him to the Bride's location.  This photo is of a young man holding an umbrella over the accordion player. As Mirsada is about to come outside.  It was a new and unique wedding for Ashley and I.  We are glad that we were able to be a part of their big day.

Our final two photos come from the same wedding.  Brandy and Teague were married June of 2009.  This first photo is one of my favorites of someone expressing their joy in the union of the newly married couple.  This is Brandy's brother as he claps following the presenting of Brandy and Teague as man and wife.  The cool part about this photo is that the wedding was in the backyard of the family's house.  With a hand built chapel and seating platform to boot.   Awesome.

The final photo was shot inside the house at the location of Brandy and Teague's wedding from an upstairs balcony.  What made this shot work so well is the rounded balcony actually controlled the direction of the flash so that it almost spotlighted them right where they were.  What you can't see in this photo is that the house was under heavy remodeling.  This spot turned out great and was one of our favorites from 2009.

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Below are the first of 11 photos selected for a 2009 Behind the Photos story.  These are the first 5.  Next 6 to follow soon...

This first photo comes from Sara and Mark's wedding in October.  As you will see there are two photos in this one.  The first on the left is a photo of their cake topper...the second on the right is from their engagement session.....see anything.  Sara and Mark's cake topper was custom made and matched this engagement photo that we took.  The engagement photo has it's own great story.  We asked Mark to give Sara a piggy back ride and they asked why not Sara give Mark a ride.  And she did.  Definitely one of my favorites from 2009.

This next image comes from Maddie and Kyle's wedding in September.  What made this wedding so great was the location.  It took place at Maddie's parent's farm near Deep River, IA.  The wedding was held on top a wide open area over looking some of Iowa's famous rolling plains.  With light clouds dotting the sky it made for a picture perfect wedding.  This particular shot was taking with all natural light inside of a barn on the property.  We shot an entire series inside of this barn, but the flood lights are what made this such a cool shot. 

 Our next images is one of the more fun images of the year and one that Ashley and I had no prior knowledge of before we started shooting.  This one comes from Jetta and Joseph's wedding in September.  During the reception and shortly before Ashley and I headed out, Joseph grabbed a bag from under the DJ's table that he'd been carry with him for most of the day.  I assumed he was just carrying it around with his stuff in it.  Wrong.  Joseph proceeded to bust out his best Michael Jackson moves in front of all the guests at the reception.  We would later find out that Joseph had always done this when he was younger.  This was to be his final performance on his biggest stage.  It was an awesome moment.

Our next photo is from Robin and Cale's wedding in August.  This one was chosen simply because it was easily my favorite cake of the year.   The colors were so vibrant and the design was so much fun.  Robin and Cale were a truly incredible couple and without confirmation I think their goal was to make sure their guests had as much fun as possible at their wedding.  Complete with guests tables dressed with Monkey's in a Barrel, Hungry Hippos, and various other games and toys.  I know that we had a great time and even found a few moments to play with the Monkeys in a Barrel ourselves.

 This fifth and final photo of part 2 comes from Laura and Steve's August wedding.  This shot was taken downtown after the group had spent some time at Mickey's in Clive and on the party bus.  Ashley rode along as they relaxed and enjoyed the day.  Ashley caught this quite moment of the two of them together.  Small moments like this are usually tough to capture and shows the two of them together and away from all the busy things that happen through out a wedding day.

Part 3 to follow....

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So here they are...starting with the engagement photos.  These are 5 photos that I selected to tell the stories behind.  It was not easy to pick just five, but these are the ones for 2009 in no particular order...

This first photo is of Stephanie and Scott.  We shot some photos downtown at the new sculpture garden.  This photo only happened because I vandalized some stuff....on accident.  The giant Nomade sculpture to be exact.  This "Please Do Not Touch" sign was affixed to the concrete directly in front of the statue.  I accidentally kicked it and it flew across the ground.  We decided to have some fun with it and this photo is one that we took.  Technically the sign did say "please".....

 This next one comes from Micci and Devon's engagement shoot.  This is one of my favorites because it shows something that you wouldn't have seen normally from the shoot.  We shot most of their engagement photos in Downtown Ames on rather warm September 13.  The sun was shining and although we were hiding in the shadows and the alleys it was tough not to sweat a little.  So, kinda gross, but this is the sweat towel.  Something that tends to appear at a lot of engagement sessions and other photo shoots shot in the summer.  We do not have one that we carry around for everyone....uh, gross....but everyone tends to bring one when it's that hot.  It's a good idea.  With real close ups you would definitely see all the sweaty detail.  Not with these two.

 This photo was NOT taken by Nuzum Photo.  It deserves it's correct photo credits.  This photo is copyright Nikki.  Nikki was the self-proclaimed best self shooter.  Everyone these days is holding their camera out away from their face and snapping away.  A tripod isn't always available but you have to snap that shot with you and your friends.  In this case we put Nikki to the test.  Using our 15mm fisheye lens she snapped this shot....perfect....the 2010 Self Shooter Championships have a favorite.

 A photographer loves a new playground.  An Iowa farm is an excellent playground.  This photo comes from Kellie and Brian's engagement photos shot on Brian's family farm.  We wondered around across years of history and every location we could think of.  This one came late in the shoot as we were just about to wrap up.  They thought it would be pretty cool to get a shot with one of the old pick-up trucks on the property.  I thought it would be cool to take this one.  We took both. 

The final photo that I chose comes from Nicole and Josh's second engagement shoot.  We split their shoot into two so they could do some inside in the winter and then some outside once it got nicer out.  As you can tell it was a pretty nice day...they did end up in the water.  We shot this photo at Saylorville Lake.  We headed down to the Cherry Glen area and started shooting.  These two were up for pretty much anything.  Josh was really adventurous and suggest jumping in the water.  I won't force anyone to do anything on a shot, but this was awesome for me.  They had a great time and were having a ton of fun...as you can see. 

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