Archives for January 2012

A New Consultation Space

January 31, 2012

I’m working on a new project. Yup, they never end in the O’Brien/Faux’Brien household! For the past few weeks, I’ve been thinking about setting up an area in our house to hold consultations with couples. We were always hesitant on the past because our house is not a mansion. But we’ve put so much work into making it really cute and homey feeling. There was one thing standing in my way of wanting to invite people over, quite literally. A giant black recliner. Men, I understand your love of the recliner. They are comfortable, you can kick back and watch the game…and maybe even take a lil nappy. But when you only have so much space in an area, it’s [Read More…]

Wedding Priorities: Trying to Stay on Budget

January 24, 2012

I always said I’d just get married at a small destination wedding and then a ring was slipped on my finger and that all went out the window. All of a sudden, I did a 180 and wanted a real wedding where I could party until the wee hours of the morning with all my friends and family. That said, when I was suddenly bling blingin’ on my ring finger, I had 2 priorities in my head that were a MUST and I didn’t want to skimp on: the venue and photography. I wanted a tented, outdoor venue with an old feel to it and I found that perfectly with the Publick House. It was more than we originally had [Read More…]

Vegas: Here We Come

January 18, 2012

Next month, Pat and I are lucky enough to be going to WPPI again. It is the Wedding and Portrait Photographers convention that is held every year. We went last year for the first time and learned a ton with both photography and business. This year will be a little more focused now that we know what it’s all about. We definitely didn’t have a clear direction of classes we wanted to take and just took so many that our heads were spinning and our hands were about to fall off from note taking. This year we have specific goals of what we want to improve on. I know new lighting techniques is at the top of that list as [Read More…]

How Pat Proves Me Wrong, On a Daily Basis

January 12, 2012

I don’t even know why I’m writing this post. He’s just going to get a fat head. But it’s okay; it’s time to come clean. I like to refer to myself as a tornado but I’m going to make it sound so much better by just saying I’m a “free spirit”. I’m admittedly easy going, maybe even too easy to the point of where it’s a fault. Pat on the other hand, he likes things orderly and put together. Sometimes a little too much and it drives me nuts…but I also drive him to the brink of insanity with my “free spirit” ways. If you had to choose the person opposite of me, it would be Pat O’Brien. The problem [Read More…]

Creating a Wedding Day Timeline

January 11, 2012

Last week I talked about the benefits of a first look and how it can be both a great moment and a stress reliever when it comes you your timeline for the day. Coming up with a timeline for your wedding day can be a little confusing. You want things to run smooth and make everything fit in; especially with photography. Pat and I usually recommend 8 hours of coverage to get a glimpse of the entire day from getting ready to the groomsmen doing the worm on the dance floor later on. Now, this doesn’t mean that we have to be there as soon as everyone starts to get ready; which for the girls is always really early! We [Read More…]

The Importance of a Wedding Album

January 10, 2012

We’re definitely living in the digital age these days and its killed the enjoyment of printed, tangible photos. Wedding photography is definitely geared towards that disc of images now…and there’s nothing wrong with that. I know I want my disc of images for all of my wedding photos! I will look through that bad boy til the cows come home when I get mine….after Pat promptly backs them up to 5 secret locations. The thing I don’t want to get lost in the digital shuffle is the wedding album. I remember looking through my parents album on a regular basis all throughout my childhood. I don’t know why, but I really LOVED looking through it. Must have been the future bride and [Read More…]

My Life According to my Phone

January 9, 2012

I am obsessed with Instagram now. I thought it was just a photo app and didn’t realize that it’s a mini social network….without all of the annoyances of people complaining about life in general. Just a peek into people’s day everyday through photos and I really like that. Of course I searched high and low for a collage maker to share peeks into my everyday life according to my phone and put them up onto the blog. What I’ve been to this week: I got a new phone cover and I’m in love. It’s definitely by Lauren Conrad and I feel like a 16 year old “The Hills” fan girl buuuut I don’t even care. Cuteness trumps all. We got [Read More…]

The Benefits of a First Look

January 6, 2012

One of the more stressful parts of a wedding day is fitting all of the photography in! While the majority of the day Pat and I stay out of the bride and groom’s way, there’s times when we need to take the reins for pictures of the couple, wedding party shots and family photos. If you’ve ever been in a wedding, you know how hard it is to wrangle people in when they just want to be partying and having fun….and why wouldn’t they? That’s all I want to do! One of the best ways to fit everything in and leave more room for the fun stuff is a First look. A First Look is when the bride and groom [Read More…]

My 2012 Non-Resolution Resolutions

January 2, 2012

I have a lot I want to do in 2012, but I don’t want to call them resolutions because I always break them. They’re just things I’ve been thinking about for awhile that I haven’t put 100% effort into yet. So basically, they’re resolutions! 1. The most obvious – step up my working out and healthy eating. I got a little off track for the past couple of months on working out and eating right and my jeans like to remind me of it on a daily basis. Bridal diet is in full effect as of last week….minus this weekends chinese and dessert fest 2012. 2. Blog more! I used to blog around 3-4 times a week and now I’m [Read More…]