Wedding Albums

In the nearly twenty years that I have been a professional photographer, wedding albums have gotten much more diverse. Traditional albums have leather covers and beautiful pages that mat each photo or grouping of photos. The album page has a decorative, reinforced border with double reinforcing at the corners--albums guaranteed to protect and creatively display your wedding memories for many decades.
Also available are Collage albums like the sample shown above. With literally thousands of design options, no two albums are alike. Each page is a photo collage, and is rigidly mounted to protect and preserve the integrity of the images.
Another option is having a wedding book created. Just like a hardcover photo book you might purchase at a store, your wedding images may become a book. The wedding book concept is especially popular for parents of the bride and groom. Brides also enjoy having one to easily take along to work or family events to show off her once-in-a-lifetime wedding, without the worry of mishandling the larger custom album. The books come in a variety of sizes and make treasured gifts for the wedding party as well.
Part of the personalized service that I provide to wedding couples is album design. The bride and groom simply choose their favorite images and I do the rest. Once the album design is completed and the couple has given their approval, images are ordered, albums are sent for binding, etc. Typically, within six weeks of their selection of wedding photo favorites, the newlyweds have their custom wedding album- to enjoy for generations to come.

History in the Making

What an election! Regardless of your political affiliation, you have to admit that this has been a history making year.

I spent the last two days photographing preschool students; three, four and five year old children. (The photos above are a few outtakes-just for fun.)

When I look at their beautiful faces, all I can see is the potential, promise and opportunity that their futures hold. At this point in their young lives, the children have no concept of the momentous election taking place. However, I hope one day their mom or dad will point at their preschool photo and tell them of the history in the making on the very day that photo was taken.

Kate

Two weeks ago I photographed Kate for her senior portraits, on the same afternoon that I photographed her entire family. We only did a few shots that day, with plans to get together for more later. Well, that day arrived with beautiful weather-no wind, blue sky and fall colors everywhere.

Kate's first outfit was a striking red formal dress. In keeping with her spontaneous personality, she did not want to wear any shoes with the formal, and went barefoot. She commented that she loved the falling leaves--all the red and golden colors.

Next we went to a friend's home with a lovely pond, and from there to a Wichita park. . . Thank you, Kate, I had a lot of fun and we got some fantastic shots!

Class of '63 Reunion

The East High School Class of 1963 enjoyed their 45th reunion this past weekend. It was wonderful to see them catching up with one another-it seemed there was constant hugging and smiles. The reunion dinner was held at Tallgrass Country Club-always an elegant choice for an event.

For the photos, we started with a group picture of the entire class of around 90 individuals. Then were the smaller classes from the various elementary and junior high schools. Following the many planned group photos, I captured candid moments of friends visiting, couples dancing and friends reminiscing.

The highlight of the evening, for me, was when a kind gentleman stopped for a quick chat after the group photos. He explained that he used to be a photographer and also had taught photography. He commented that my organizational and posing skills really showed up in arranging the large class photo, and that I made everyone feel relaxed and comfortable. He did offer an interesting insight, especially from a male perspective, saying,"I truly believe that women do a superior job as photographers. A woman is more attentive to details and (typically) has better communication skills". In concluding his observation he offered the finest compliment,"You have a PhD in photography psychology!"

Thank you, Class of '63!

Rita and kids

This past Saturday I got to photograph Rita and her son and daughter. They have a new home, so we started with pictures out in front of the house, then moved to their large backyard. Their house borders a natural wildlife area, so we got to do a little hiking in the fall grasses for some more unique photos. Even their two happy dogs were included in some of the images. (I have been the photographer for Rita and her children since 1994... Thank you, Rita!)

To smile or not to smile...

Typically parents want a photo of their child smiling. As we all know, though, sometimes children go through a stage of being more serious, solemn and somber. This past week I photographed a family with a little girl of two who simply stared at me and my camera, as if she were daring me to take her picture. After getting some traditional photos, I told her brother to "tickle Daddy" and finally we got a smile...this was one of my favorites from their portrait session.

Digital Negatives?

Isn't technology a funny thing? It seems to change and advance almost daily. (Remember the "latest and greatest" computer you bought-the one that was upstaged by a newer and better model before you even got it home?)

This is certainly true in photography. Some amazing cameras have been developed with extreme digital capabilities. Sometimes, though, what's new is actually old...case in point:

There are ads running in professional photography magazines for a company offering to create digital negatives from digital photo files. They assert, and it is true, that negatives are a stable format and will be around for many years to come. (Think eight track and VHS tapes: it's only a matter of time until CF and SD cards and image CDs will become dinosaurs, too.) Anyway, this company will copy digital images into archival negatives for longevity.

I am way ahead in this way of thinking. For every wedding that I photograph, I incorporate shooting with a medium format film camera alongside my digital cameras. The optics in my medium format Hasselblad camera are perfect, and the archival negatives will stand the test of time. Plus, there are some fun things that I can do with that camera that just can't be done the same way in PhotoShop-take a look at the double exposure (above) from the ordination of Father Michael earlier this year.

(On a side note: approximately 18 months after a wedding, the negative and digital files are sent to underground storage in Hutchinson, Kansas. The same place where the original Wizard of Oz, and other irreplaceable movies, medical and legal files, etc. are safely stored in optimum conditions. That way the bride and groom have their album, and the files are kept safe from tornados, hurricanes, and so on. All it takes is a phone call to retrieve the file if a photo is needed later-like for a 10th anniversary, or Christmas gift.)

Weddings are a once in a lifetime moment...I only offer the best to the brides and grooms that become clients of Wright Focus Photography.