We always appreciate feedback and here’s a great way to give it and get a gift certificate in return! Just click this link to go to Wedding Wire and post your review.
And if you’re a newly engaged bride, Wedding Wire is a fantastic place to research wedding vendors as well…And we’re not just saying that because we’re Wedding Wire Rated for 2010!
Yep, Paul booked wedding #40 earlier this week so we don’t have any more room for additional weddings. Thank you to 40 great couples who asked us to be a part of their special celebration!
And, FYI, we have 20 bookings for 2011 so that’s booking up fast as well. Thank you for continuing to make us one of Pittsburgh’s most successful wedding photography studios!
Our couples are some of the most creative people out there. Don’t just take our word for it, check out the Trib’s article about couples who personalize their wedding. Hey, maybe I’m a little biased being a two-time Penn State grad myself!
Link to Tribune-Review website
One of our recent brides surprised us with some great news. Kelly – married in April of 2009 - was chosen to be a Maggie Bride and have one of her wedding photos on the Maggie Sottero website! Excellent!
Our Maggie Sottero Bride
My friends over at WhiteXChange.com have this announcement for you.
Get your 15 minutes of fame between these two TV opportunities:
PB&J Television is looking for cast members to star in a new TV series about bachelorette parties. If you are a bride or bridesmaid that is interested in or already planning a trip to Vegas in the month of March, email PB&J for additional information.
TLC is looking for future brides getting married in NY, NJ, CT, Philadelphia and Miami at the end of this month, in March or in the first half of April to be on their new show, “Four Weddings.” You and three other brides attend each others weddings and rank them in various categories. At the end, whoever receives the highest score gets an additional honeymoon trip! Email Kelly Brown by 7 PM EST on February 28th.
• TLC
Remember us when you’re famous!
We found out on Friday that one of Paul’s past brides has lost her battle with illness. Damiene was devoted to her family and our hearts go out to her husband Wesley, and her two young children, Eli and Karsten.
We will always remember Damiene’s beautiful hands. They graced our business cards and DVD labels for many years.
Damiene and Wesley
We’re extra excited this month! We found out that one of our great couples will appear in the Whirl Wedding Guide out on newsstands this month. Here’s a link to the floral section and our photo of Natalie’s bouquet (which really was exquisite!). And for your own beautiful bouquet, give April at Mocha Rose a call
Here are a few questions we hear on a regular basis:
How many years’ worth of experience do you have?
All together, we have over 30 years of experience behind the camera. Paul started out as a crime scene photographer during his career as a police officer. Cyndy officially joined Paul in 2002 and started her professional career in wedding photography. We have photographed over 200 weddings together! That number doesn’t even touch the weddings we’ve photographed separately. And add to that over 150 boudoir sessions Cyndy has captured and all the family, commercial, engagement and baby sessions Paul has photographed. That’s a lot of pictures.
What kind of equipment do you use?
Paul and Cyndy both use high end Nikon bodies. The lenses are all Nikkor fast glass of f1.4 and f2.8 quality, great for low light receptions. All together, there are 7 individual camera bodies at each wedding. Why use so many? Like individual paint brushes, each camera gives a different look to the photos it produces. We use the camera and lenses to create a signature look for your wedding. Even more importantly, having extra equipment means that we’re ready with backup cameras in case of emergency. Just something we do to put your mind at ease…
What is your payment policy?
At the time of booking, we collect a $200 retainer to reserve our services for your special day. This is fully refundable up to 30 days prior to your wedding. As the wedding gets closer, we require payment in full 14 days prior to the event. For non-wedding sessions, we require payment in full at the time of your session.
How do you protect the digital files?
Normally Cyndy will leave the wedding reception prior to the end of the night. This gives her a chance to begin the long process of downloading the digital files from that day’s wedding. By the time Paul returns home at the end of the wedding evening, there will be two full backups in place in a fireproof, waterproof safe. After your wedding images have been completely processed and finished, the digital files are again copied to a separate hard drive and a DVD backup. We are that serious about your data.
What happens after the wedding?
Sometimes the general public thinks that a pro photographer just presses a button and the photo is finished. So why a delay between the wedding day shooting and when those files are available for shooting? In reality, there is a lot of work spent at the computer tweaking the image files to make them look better than what happened in reality. Lots of things influence a photo file, such as the “color of the light” or getting the white balance correct, cropping to strengthen the focus of the image, noise reduction from low light photography, and sharpening the photo so edges are nice and defined. And since this is happening to over 1000 photo files, you can see that the time does add up. Our personal goal is to have your wedding images online for viewing approximately 2 weeks after your wedding.
Where are you located?
Our studio is in Zelienople, just north of Cranberry Township. And we’ve photographed weddings all over the Pittsburgh area. But we don’t stop there! We’ve covered a ton of places from Delaware to California, Minnesota to Texas. And if you want to take us to someplace tropical, we have our passports!
Do you contract out to other photographers?
Nope. When you book Paul Meyer, you get Paul Meyer. Period.
Recently there’s been a lot of buzz around the photography industry. It turns out that many photographers will use music without first securing the permission from the recording label and artist. Here’s an interesting article all about the subject. Through our professional associations we’ve heard of several photographers being sued over the illegal use of music. And since photographers are very well versed in copyright laws and infringement, there is no chance of claiming ignorance.
I wanted to reassure all of our customers that we only use music that we have purchased the rights to use. So are songs may not find playing time on MTV or top 40 radio stations, but we’re OK with that! At least we know that we’ll never end up in litigation with the record companies.
We received a great email this week… David Beckstead sends us a note saying he wants to come back to Pittsburgh and see more of our great city, models, and photographers. Who are we to say no?
So here is the official, hot of the presses, you heard it here first announcement for the return of Shoot with Beckstead! The workshop dates will be October 27th, 28th, and 29th.
“What’s this?” you say. “The workshop is for THREE days this time?” YES! David told me that he has refined and renewed his workshop to present all new material and add to our overall experience. He felt that 2 days just wasn’t enough time and wants to go for three!
To see examples of Paul & Cyndy’s images from David’s last workshop, visit www.PaulMeyerGalleries.com and look for the Shoot With Beckstead icon or just click here.
This workshop is a great way to add interesting and unusual photos to your portfolio and give you an edge with future brides and grooms. Especially important in this tough economy!
Interested in more information? Visit the official Shoot With Beckstead site for information on the itinerary, photo ideas, and a cool video showing David’s laid back personality and instructional style.
And we look forward to seeing you, feeding you, and hanging out with you in our new courtyard and renovated studio space!
