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Photography

Free photography by Kristin Spencer

One of my favorite New England wedding photographer, Kristin Spencer, is giving away a free photography coverage to one lucky Facebook fan.  Become a Kristin Spencer Photography fan on Facebook and once the number reaches 1000, one lucky winner will be chosen.  Click here for more information.

Free destination wedding photography

One+One Images is offering a free 8-hour destination wedding coverage to one lucky couple getting married between July 1, 2010 and July 1, 2011.  Travel fees are not included.

If you’re getting married between July 1, 2010 and July 1, 2011 at an AMAZING, EXOTIC location and want to win 8 hours of free destination wedding coverage and a gorgeous complimentary canvas gallery wrap, this is all you have to do… Simply send an e-mail to us at alicia@oneplusoneimages.com with all of the details of your big day. Tell us all about you as a couple. How did you meet? What is it about your wedding that you think will make it more unique than ANY other! And most importantly tell us about the incredibly exotic location where you are becoming man and wife, that will put stars in everyone’s eyes from pure unadulterated jealousy! The most original, unique and EXOTIC wedding(s) will win a FREE full day of coverage from One Plus One Images.

Click here for more information.

Film photography

Since I got my first digital camera, I never used another film camera again.  Digital was just easy, convenient and more affordable.  And with Photoshop, there are just so many possibilities.

Recently, I have come across many wedding photos captured on film and I can’t believe how I’ve forgotten how beautiful they can be.  They’re natural, magical, and the colors are very romantic.  I’m in-love!

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Elizabeth Messina

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Jonathan Canlas

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Jose Villa

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Lisa Lefkowitz

Collect your guests’ photos with Canditto

Canditto is a new and convenient way of getting copies of your guests’ photos of your wedding. A lot of guests carry digital cameras to weddings nowadays. And Canditto lets them easily share their photos with you right before they leave on your wedding day. No more waiting for them to send or upload them!

Aylee Bits readers get $50 off with promo code 752834429.

My first concern is that guests might be a little hesitant copying their photos into the machine even though it only copies photos taken for the past 8 hours. My second concern is the price. At $450 ($400 with the coupon) for a week rental, brides might just opt for the free online photo-sharing sites where guests can upload their photos.

Photographer booked!

Making decisions is the hardest part of wedding planning for me.  It took us months before deciding on our venue.  I’ve been back and forth on our wedding colors.  And as the planning progresses, I haven’t been looking forward to researching other vendors and deciding who to book.

Last weekend was another decision-making moment for us.  We met with a couple of photographers.  Fortunately, unlike our venue saga, we were able to decide within a day and book Melissa Robotti!

Not only are Melissa’s rates reasonable, she is adorable!  We knocked on her door and a cheery woman in her socks opened the door.  We were at ease with her right away.  I am confident that she is capable of making John (who hates getting his photos taken) feel comfortable.

What I love about her photography…

Read on…

Posted on ChattyBrides

Using your phone as a softbox

Photo by J.Baumung for Photojojo

Photo by J.Baumung for Photojojo

To create a touch of light on a subject you want to photograph, use your phone!  It won’t light up the whole setup, but it does create that cozy and mysterious effect on photographs.  Don’t you love it on portraits?

Use a cell phone, a game boy, or a laptop screen to softly light a face, hand, or anything that needs a bit of extra attention.

Works great in long exposures (think light painting), or when the light’s just fading away at twilight.

Click here to read the article from Photojojo.

I sure want to try it, but I still have to find my tripod!  I meant John’s tripod :P .

Shutter sounds to be mandated on phone cameras

Photo from SuperStock

Photo from SuperStock

A new bill has been introduced this year to require cellphone cameras to make a sound when taking photos.  The bill will also prohibit the cellphones to have the feature to disable or silence the sound.  The requirement will be considered a consumer product safety standard.

I take photos often with my phone especially when I shop.  I don’t like attracting attention to myself, so sometimes I silence my phone.  The shutter sound also annoys me a little bit.  But if this bill gets passed, I’ll be fine with it.  This bill will hopefully provide more safety and privacy to the public (e.g. from creeps who take photos for their personal satisfaction).  I wonder if Apple will create a new update of the iPhone OS to disable silencing of the shutter sound.

Do you use your phone’s camera?  Do you silence it or do you keep the shutter sound on?  What do you think of the proposed bill?

Fuji Instax Camera for your photo guestbook

Since Polaroid is almost out the door, why not try the Fuji Instax Camera for your photo guestbook?  The film is cheaper too!

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It is more personal and fun to have your guests’ photos on your guestbook than the traditional “sign your name” ones.  Add a Fuji Instax Camera or two on your guestbook table and you have created a more fun way for your guests to leave their mark at your wedding.

There are more ways to do photo guestbooks now.  Photobooths are my favorite, but they can be pretty expensive.  You can DIY your photobooth too, but it would need more work (setting up) and materials (camera, tripod, background, etc).  Whichever method you use, your guests will surely have a memorable time

That ring shot

081217ringshot1I don’t know why photographers still do this type of ring shot.  I don’t think it’s classy nor is it funny.  Even if it uses the ring finger, it can come across differently especially at first glance. There are a lot of other ways you can pose the bride’s hand to show her ring.  I’m actually contemplating on asking every photographer I will be interviewing what they think of this type of shot.  I blurred the bride’s face more and I chose not to mention the photographer who took the photo.

What do you think about this ring shot?

Photography giveaways

Photography services aren’t very cheap.  And with our current economy, it has become even less affordable.  Just in time for the holidays, photographers have come together to help.

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If you know someone who deserves custom photography but can’t afford it, nominate him/her at Giving Is Awesome for a chance to win custom photography.  There are now 380 photographers offering chances to win custom photography services worth more than $400,000 total!