How To Protect Your Photos When Disaster Strikes Part I

It is amazing to see how quickly someone can go from having a normal day, to having everything washed away. In this instance, that was literally the case. My wife’s grandparents live in a quiet neighborhood, near a typically quiet creek. However, a week ago today, during the intense rain storm brought on by Tropical Storm Hermine, this gentle creek became a rushing river. The river flash flooded a nearby park in addition to flooding 25 homes and 100 condos in the area at various depths.

Some homes, like my wife’s aunt and uncle’s home, which is nearby, saw a depth of about 4-5 inches rush through their home, while the grandparents had to brave four feet of water swirling them and all of their possessions around like toys. Thankfully they have a wonderful caregiver named Frankie Donison who was able to help get the grandparents out of the house within minutes of disaster. You may have even seen her grandmother Florence, who was pictured all over the U.S. being rescued from her home in her wheelchair. She was wheeled out of her home with water up to her neck!

All in all, it was a very scary situation, and is unbelievable as we stand back and look at the devastation. They had their home gutted of all the carpet, furniture and appliances, which were ruined, and had the walls taken back to the studs four feet up.

Their car and caregiver’s car were both totaled, and they will not be able to move back into their home for about the next 45 days as massive repairs are made.

Last Wednesday when the flooding occured I was not able to go out to the home initially due to my shooting schedule. However, I had Aynsley go out and take tons of pictures to document this devistating event.

To read more about archiving from Dallas wedding photographer, Jason Kindig, please check out his Dallas Photography blog.

Wedding Photography, Whats On Your Menu

You ever had that kind of week where everything feels like a blur? Well, to be honest the past several months have felt that way. I am sure many of you can understand. Now summer is coming a close and everyone is trying to gear up for the school year that is literally right around the corner.

Well, I say all of this because in our busy week of various shoots, we were unable to mention a particular blog that featured some of Jason’s food photography. On Wednesday, August 18, Jason’s work was featured on Dallas Wedding Planner Blog. The article entitled “What’s for Dinner? Current Wedding Food Trends ~ Part 2” discussed the latest wedding food trends. So, check out this blog to get great ideas on what to serve for your wedding.

The wedding menu is a big deal. Couples spend a lot of time coming up with what they want to serve their guests that not only tastes great but also captures their personalities. Lately, the wedding menu has gotten more creative, fun and exciting.

To read more of this blog please visit the Jason Kindig Photography Blog. To view Jason's food photography please click here.

Wedding Photography, A Warning to All of You Brides to Be

This morning started off like any other. I woke up and got on my computer to catch up on the day’s events. While looking over the headlines the words “frustrated brides” caught my eye. The article was talking about a bride’s worst nightmare: Never receiving her wedding photography.

When I read this I just got upset. As a recent bride myself, I cannot imagine never receiving my wedding pictures. All of the moments captured at weddings are irreplaceable. There are the images of the bride with her girls prior to her walk down the aisle. There of course is the sweetest of all kisses at the altar with the man she loves. And then there is the party afterwards celebrating this beautiful new marriage. Through these images brides are able to go back to that special day where they married the man of their dreams. Photographs help us remember all the special events in our lives, and no event is more precious than your wedding day.

The article talks about how a wedding photographer will not give her client(s) any of her wedding pictures. The client paid for the photography upfront, but once the wedding was over the photographer disappeared. Unfortunately this is not isolated incident. Of course now the bride is extremely upset, betrayed, and angry. Yes, she is frustrated about the money she paid up front, but more importantly are her images which are priceless. She has tried consistently to contact the photographer about her images. As of now, she still has received no images from her beautiful wedding day.

When I read this article it was a reminder yet again of how important the decision is when it comes to choosing the right wedding photographer. When you are looking for your wedding photographer consider the following:

To read more about questions to ask your potential wedding photographers, please click here.

Wedding Photography, What Style Fits You?

We are all individuals. People may seem similar in some ways, but no two are ever the same. We all have unique tastes and desires, which carry over into all aspects of our lives. For many women, one of the biggest ways they will ever express who they are and what they like is through a wedding. Though budgets differ across the board, every bride will figure out how to make a wedding uniquely hers, and will seek out vendors to help fulfill her particular vision. One of the most lasting outcomes of her style decisions will be in the wedding photographer, and the wedding photography they perform. To read more on this, please check out our full blog, and to see more wedding photography, you may visit my site here. Thanks!

Here's Savannah!

Hello all,
I wanted to take a minute and share some images that we took of Savannah a little while back. She is a very talented singer (who could model just as easily I might add), who needed some fresh and interesting portraits to take with her for auditions. If you check out my site, you can see I shoot shoot a very wide range of portraits; doctors to brides; fashion, seniors, businessmen and women, and so much more. Portrait photography is one of my favorite things to do as a photographer; I love working with people to make them look their best.

For Savannah’s portrait session, she wanted to do a shoot that was interesting and different, and create images that would really grab your attention. To go see the rest of the story and images, please go check out my new blog here. Thanks!

Go Formal Wedding Portraits!

Family Portraits: The soon-to-be newlywed’s guide to herding those unruly relatives for a quick photography session.

There’s nothing like it. The beautiful wedding ceremony, with tears and emotions flowing, is one beautiful moment after another as the couple declares their lifelong dedication. It’s one of those times when you get to see pure joy on a person’s face. Then come the family portraits. This is the part where tears may be flowing more out of frustration than anything. Any time you get together a large group that is stressed out and ready to go party, things are going to get tough.

Though some people may enjoy this mad dash to get as many portraits possible of their entire family in a half hour, most couples would rather spend this time together, or heading off to the reception. Additionally, many churches have time limits imposed for family portraits, usually around thirty minutes. So, to keep things moving along so that you can get to the party (and maybe even have a little alone time!), here is a quick guide to shooting the family portraits. By following this, you will have a better chance of getting all the shots you need and/or want, without squeezing someone out or compromising quality. After all, this is the greatest day of your life, but also one of the most hectic. You don’t want to figure out who needs to be photographed and how during the session.

Develop a Strategy

This is the most integral part of the process. Before getting a plan together, talk to your wedding photographer and see if they have any advice for you, or have a method to shooting the portraits. If they are an experienced wedding photographer, they may have a plan to help you along. If not, you will need to make a list of whom you would like included.

Start with the basics, such as the wedding party and immediate family, i.e., siblings, parents and grandparents. From there you may add in as many or as few relatives you would like. (*Quick Note* When creating your list, organize for one family at a time, do not mix shots of either side together until you want a shot of everyone together. This keeps things flowing more smoothly, and will save you a considerable amount of time).

You may want to have pictures with certain relatives by themselves, gradually build groups together, or do certain groups all at once. Remember, it is up to you. As your list grows, it will also help to jog your memory and remind you of some people you would have forgotten to include otherwise.

Tell The Masses

Before the wedding day, make sure to inform the people on your list that they need to remain behind for portraits after the ceremony. Immediate family should know this, but some people outside of this may not be aware. If you want them photographed, let them know!

See It In Writing

Something else that may help you is to take your list, and print copies of it for everyone. This clears any confusion about the process and gives them a clear order, and can also help your family to organize themselves for maximum efficiency.

Someone To Herd The Cats

Finally, appoint someone in the family who is outspoken and doesn’t have problems giving orders. From our experience there is always someone in the family who is perfect for this. The wedding photographer is often distracted in making images, so if there is a person dedicated to calling out names and rounding people up, it will make the process much easier on everyone.

Best of luck to all you beautiful brides and grooms tying this knot in 2010!

Food's Always Good!

There is something about shooting food. It is always a challenge, a puzzle, to make all the elements of a dish line up, and get it to look as tantalizing as possible, while making it believable at the same time. This is why I have tremendous respect for the work that food stylists do. Unfortunately, I do not get to work with one very often, so it is usually up to me to make sure everything looks right. Take the chili from Tolbert's in Grapevine, for example. They have been photographed multiple times in national magazines, so it was a bit intimidating to make something that could compete. However, after working with the chili, and figuring a few things out, I managed to style it to my satisfaction. Then eat it. Delicious.


The fun part about the next two images is that I shot them back to back, going from one culinary extreme to another. It is an experience to drive all the way to Mary's Cafe in Strawn, TX, which I had never heard of before this shoot, the town or the restaurant. In either case, it was amazing. I was hungry when I got there, and she fed me a medium chicken fried steak, which I absolutely could not finish and was stuffed beyond belief. Then she brought out the large. As you can see, it is bigger than the platter it comes on. And I do mean platter, not plate. That is a Texas-sized dish. And boy did it taste good. Next to shoot was the Magret du Canard at St. Emilion Restaurant in Fort Worth, TX. For those of you who are not well-versed in French, it is duck breast. So, in a day's time I was able to shoot the biggest CFS I have ever seen, then experience beautiful French cuisine. Lovely. This is why I love what I do so much, I seriously never know what I will be up to next.