Prior to your wedding day

Engagement Session: An engagement session provides you with professional images you can display in your home and share with friends and family to help announce your engagement. It also gives you the opportunity to work with us as a team, prior to your wedding day.

Wedding Timeline *Studio 3 Images recommends hiring a wedding planner, if feasible.One item couples often overlook is not allotting enough time for their photographer to create the ‘wow' images they are hoping for. Wehave become experts at working with our clients to develop wedding day timelines unique for each couple. The following are some important things to consider prior to our three week consultation meeting.

First Look: The majority of our brides are choosing to do a ‘first look’ because of the private and emotional images that can be captured. With the first look portraits out of the way, this allows you to mingle with and enjoy your guests during the cocktail hour. It also helps create a smoother timeline with considerably less stress. The biggest benefit is it provides ample time for wedding day portraits. If you do choose to go the traditional route of ‘no first look’, we will create beautiful images for you.

Sunset Portraits: Be cautious that planned activities don’t occur right around sunset. We recommend starting sunset portraits 20 minutes prior to sunset and ending 10 minutes after. We would suggest not scheduling your ceremony, grand entrance or dinner during those times.

Getting Permission: Please get the venue’s permission for access to any special areas where you may want to photograph that are considered ‘off limits’.

Photography Lists: To create the best timeline for you, we will need a complete list of any traditional images and groupings you may want, as well as any special requests. Traditional images include bridal party and family portraits. These can be in any combination, and as many as you would like, given the proper time allotment. Below are some examples of common lists and groupings.

Our Signature Style of Photography

You should feel an emotional connection when you view your portrait.  In this sense, there is no a right or wrong style of photography.  We also set you at ease during the session.  Feeling comfortable and at ease, knowing we’re taking care of you, is the first key ingredient in creating our signature style portraits.  Our photographic style is often described as more of a classic cinematic style, which allows the story of the images to convey mood and emotion, yet hold true to the traditional values of photography and portraiture.  We do not want your images to look trendy and dated.  We believe this timeless style of lighting, along with our creative process, helps create that emotional connection and gives your images that “wow” factor our clients have come to love and expect.

Although our signature style is identifiable, we continue to evolve and grow our artistry to craft beautiful images for our clients.

We identify with three styles of photography:

Cinematic: Incorporating dramatic lighting, architectural elements and color grading, these uniquely crafted images will make your friends jealous. These portraits are created with wall art in mind. We feel this style of photography is unique and helps set us apart. It is our signature look.  

Photojournalistic: The majority of your wedding images will consist of us documenting real moments that are intimate and filled with emotion. We anticipate these moments and prepare to capture them authentically, as they occur. These images will tell a majority of your story and are captured with an album in mind.

Natural Portraits: We tend to show more of the cinematic style of images in our portfolio, but a large majority of the images you receive will look natural. This style incorporates natural looking lighting, a bright vivid feel and natural posing.

Wedding Day

This is the day you have likely been dreaming about and planning for since you were young. We understand and want to make your day as memorable as possible by capturing images that will tell your story. By hiring Studio 3 Images, you understand we are professionals and will take great care of you on your wedding day. If something goes amiss, please know we are expert problem solvers and can adapt quickly, redirecting as needed, to keep your timeline flowing smoothly. Here are a few things to expect from us throughout your wedding day.

Arrival and End Time: We will arrive early to ensure we are ready to start on time. We will always say goodbye at the end of the wedding, we want to make sure we exceeded your expectations.

Getting Ready: We want to capture real emotions and stories while you’re getting ready. Do your best to imagine we are not there. We try to be as inconspicuous as possible, but there may be times we guide you into a spur of the moment idea.

Wedding Dress: Depending on the location, we may briefly borrow your dress to photograph it. We always take extreme care in handling it, but we do ask for a bridesmaid to assist and to help ensure the utmost care is taken.

Details: We always do our best to capture images of everything that is important to you, but sometimes things can be forgotten. We suggest letting us know prior to the wedding any details or mementos you would like photographed.

Locations to Photograph: We will scout the venue beforehand to identify a number of locations to capture some beautiful and unique portraits.

First look: We will take care of all the details, you do not need to plan anything. We will guide you to the location and explain exactly how it will work the day of the wedding.

Posing: We are masters in the art of posing and helping you look natural. We will direct you in every way so you will not need to think about it or practice prior to the wedding. Our approach is to use words and stories for you to naturally come together in a loving way. We will then fine tune the pose, so you look your best.

Camera and Lighting Equipment: We use professional grade gear, and we always carry backup equipment. Because of our style and frequent use of lighting, you will likely see us carrying around additional lighting equipment throughout the day.

Professionalism: We are professionals and that is reflected in our clothing, conversation and respect for the venue. We also like to joke, tell stories and have fun during the day to help keep the mood light and as stress free as possible.

Vendors: We will work with all vendors present and be flexible to their needs. We are all on a team to serve you on your special day.

Image Requests: During the day, feel free to ask us for any image that hasn’t been previously discussed. If we can accommodate your request, we will.

Dinner and Alcohol: Please feed us. Preferably, at the same time and in the same room as you. If anything unexpected happens, we are then able to react and capture it. If a meal will not be provided, please let us know ahead of time, so we may plan accordingly. We simply do not drink alcoholic beverages while we are working.

Pre-Wedding Tips

Custom Hangers can be a fun and charming idea. Examples of custom hangers are easily found on Pinterest or Amazon. If you choose not to go with a custom hanger, you may want to look for a hanger that’s a little nicer than the one that typically comes with the dress.

Many couples forget to plan their grand exit transportation. If you are planning to enjoy alcoholic beverages during the reception, reserving a limo or choosing someone to be your designated driver is a good idea. 

All too often, we’ve seen precious time taken away from creating beautiful portraits because bridesmaids didn’t know how to lace up the dress. We recommend you have a practice run with whomever is helping you get into your dress. Also, familiarize yourself with how to attach your veil properly.

Have your rings cleaned prior to the wedding so they will sparkle nicely.

Often, men like to get their haircut the day before the wedding. We recommend getting a haircut about a week before the wedding soany visible tan lines have an opportunity to blend in.

Hair and makeup ALWAYS seem to run late. We recommend asking them to be finished 15-20 minutes sooner than they actually need to be finished.

If you are having hair and makeup done at a separate location, please arrange to have your wedding dress and shoes transported to the venue before you arrive. If, for whatever reason, you end up running late, we can recover some lost time by starting with detail pictures of the dress and shoes.

Designate someone to know how to put on boutonnieres correctly; we don’t want them falling off halfway through the ceremony. Although we know how to put them on, we’d rather be photographing someone else doing it.

Wedding Day Tips

Check traffic and travel times to ensure you arrive on time.

Keep the area where you’re getting ready as clean and tidy as possible. We don’t want your pictures to look messy, and we don’t wantyou to miss out on pictures because we needed to clean the area up.

Have your dress out of the bag and ready to be photographed.

Bring snacks and water, so you don’t get hangry.

Bug spray and sunscreen are good to have handy.

We suggest bringing a pair of comfortable shoes to wear later in the evening. Brides with blisters rarely look happy.

Designate someone to help pack up the gifts and decorations after the reception.

Designate someone to be in charge of the marriage license after it is signed. You don’t want it to get lost or crumpled.

When signing the marriage license, be sure to sign with your maiden name.

Don’t fret over guests using their cell phones during the ceremony, we love to incorporate them into our images.

If you are getting ready at a hotel, please leave our names at the front desk so that we will have permission to go to your room.

After Your Wedding Day

The day probably went quicker than you realize, but the good news is; when you return from your honeymoon, you will get to relive the memorable moments from your wedding day.

Turnaround time: We aim to have your images ready for viewing approximately three weeks after your wedding. Please touch base with us upon returning from your honeymoon to schedule your View, or you may pre-schedule your View for four weeks after your wedding.

How many images are selected and edited: Every wedding is unique and different, but we aim to deliver between 60 and 80 quality images per hour. Every image is edited and personally reviewed. Images that are used in an album, or for wall art, receive additional retouching to achieve our quality standards.

What to expect during your View: The best images will be presented to you on a large projector screen in high definition. If your package includes a custom slideshow, it will be included on the crystal USB that also contains your edited wedding images. The Crystal USB is what you take home that day.

Wall Art: We would love to create art for you to display in your home. We offer framed portraits, canvas gallery wraps and other quality products. Our wall art options begin at 11x14 inches, and go up from there. We also offer gift prints for your friends and families. Since you have invested in professional photographers to capture your special day, we recommend you also have your images printed professionally. You are not required to print through us. However, there is a distinct difference in quality between our lab and what you’ll likely receive from the local drugstore’s photo lab.

Album Design: An heirloom quality, fine art wedding album is a time honored way to display your wedding images and share your story. We will work closely with you to create the perfect custom design layout. Upon approving the final draft, it typically takes four weeks for album production.

Social Media: We love to see our couples share their beautiful images with the world. We ask that when you share images on social media, please give us a shout out and tag us with @Studio3images. As a courtesy to you, we wait to let you share on social media first.

Referral Program: We value our clients and know people value and appreciate referrals from friends and family members. For any Wedding, High School Senior or Family session you refer, we will say thank you by sending you $100, once your referred client has completed their View and Order session.

Reviews: Sharing your experience of working with Studio 3 Images helps other couples, like yourselves, find us. Allowing others the opportunity to read what it’s like to work with us is priceless. We always appreciate your Google, Yelp and/or Facebook reviews.