Makeup…what to wear!
exits
One would think that a bride not dare walk out of the house without makeup. If one thinks this then one is dead wrong! One of the great things about being an experienced photographer is that I get the opportunity to work with brides of all ages, types and personalities. How much or how little makeup they wear has nothing to do with age but sometimes it must. There is a short window in our lives that we can go “bare” when it comes to makeup. Unfortunately that time rarely ever coincides with our wedding day. Years ago I had a bride who was older and not a naturally radiant bride. She was a very stressed individual and it showed. On her wedding day, I walked into the room where she was getting ready. Assuming that she was just running behind I said “when you get your makeup on we can do your portrait.” She, to my amazement said “I am not going to wear makeup.” I was shocked to say the least. She was in her late thirties with a very blotchy skin and a very red nose. Yes a red nose! Had I had the guts then that I have now I would have said over my dead body am I taking pictures of you with no makeup as nicely as possible. Instead the only words that I could stutter out were “Are you sure?” You can imagine her blotchy face and her zit in her otherwise beautiful photographs. After that, I was bound and determined never to let a bride so that to me again. You may be asking why should you care it is her wedding?. It maybe her wedding but they are my pictures with my name on it. I would have to retouch every picture. After that I realized I could not let that happen ever again. Years later I got a phone call from a bride who described herself as the Anti-Bride who was having a winter wedding. As I do with all by brides, said “make sure that you get your makeup done first because our light will be falling and we need to make sure that we have light to do your portrait”. To my horror she said “Oh I am not wearing makeup, that is just who I am I just don’t wear makeup.” I stopped speaking so long that the bride asked if I was okay. I explained that yes I was okay and she should consider wearing makeup because everyone needed something to even out skin tones. She said no she was confident that she would be okay with out. She had olive skin and she was really confident in her appearance. All I could do was try to politely convince her in other telephone meetings. To my relief on the day of her wedding she came running in wearing makeup. This was the first time that I had ever seen her face to face. Her first words to me were “Hi Tara so nice to meet you…LOOK I am wearing makeup! Aren’t you glad?” I was so glad she had listened. I also need to give you all a bit of info about me. I NEVER wear makeup, like never. I realize though that there are times in our lives that we need to step outside our usual boundaries because we do not always know best. Something as small as foundation and a little lipstick makes us look alive in photos. You maybe asking what is the big deal who cares if a bride chooses to wear makeup or not. What does a bride win or loose by not wearing makeup? Well a bride really only wins on a hot day. They do not experience the pleasure of makeup sweating off their face. Anything else? no not really A bride looses in many ways. 1. She may not look as fresh or energetic. 2. All of her flaws will be out in the open for friend and family to see. 3. Oh my God if her groom never saw her first thing in the morning the wedding is not the time to plant that picture in his head. 4. Don’t blame your photographer for those bags underneath your eyes…most of that is not his/her fault. 5. By wearing makeup you will save photo-retouching which equals money. On the same note a bride can wear too much. From a professional photographer’s paper to your ears if anyone tells you you need to wear extra think eyeliner so you look like a heroine addict they are wrong. The truth is that you need to wear a little more makeup than usual. You still want to look like yourself. I have come across many brides who did not like their make up. Some have even started over from scratch when the makeup artist leaves. I have also had brides that were forced to wear make up that they were not comfortable in for their entire wedding. There is something wrong with that. The point of makeup is to help add to your confidence emotionally, make you more radiant than you already are and to hide a few minor flaws. I must admit I have even told minor fibs to brides running late who ask “Do I have too much eyeliner on?” What most brides do not know is that they should receive a complementary dry run with their make up. The time to test how you like your hair and makeup is before the wedding not the day of when everyone is running late. Honestly you are just wasting money by running late. If your ceremony is 30 min late you have lost money on your photographer, musicians, minister or person performing the ceremony and gelato guy-the gelato is forming ice crystals (not good). Keep in mind that some vendors do more than one wedding a day and they may not be able to stay the extra time. While I say don’t worry the wedding will not start without you, you are paying people good money. So while 30 min should be in every vendors fudge time they may not be able to wait 45 min to an hour. If your ordained minister is doing another ceremony an hour can be the difference between you getting married or not. On another note, if you are someone who always wears a lot of makeup, keep in mind make up is a comfort zone issue. I have had brides who only feel comfortable wearing a thick layer. If that is your comfort okay, but if you are trying to hide flaws sometimes too much can make it worse. Sometimes with makeup less is more. So when hiring a makeup artist hire one who has experience and one whom you are confident in. Tell then what you see as wrong with your face ask them how they plain to cope with it. Also all makeup products are not the same. Realizing this now will save you a lot of time and money in the future. No all good ones do not cost an arm and leg. Some of my tips to make sure all is well with make up are… These are also tips from Leslie Moore who can be contacted at http://www.mooremakeup.com 1. Do a trial run well before. 2. Make sure your makeup is done first, your makeup person can leave stuff for touch up later. 3. If you have a large wedding party, you need to have more than one makeup artist. 4. Figure out ahead of time who is getting made up to insure that you are giving your makeup vendor enough time-tell them as soon as possible so they can book clients appropriately. Include both the mother of the bride and the mother of the groom. 5. Don’t use makeup with sun screen on your wedding day. Sun screen is reflective and when combined with a flash from a camera can cause you to look pale or whiter than usual.
See Moore Makeup at http://www.mooremakeup.com
Filed under Special posts | Comment (0)Who’s Wedding is it Anyway?
I have heard of many brides who walked into their wedding and they felt like the wedding just didn’t fit who they were. It begs the questions who’s wedding is it anyway?
The truth is that it is yours, it is your day. Does that mean that if you want a diamond studded affair that may happen? Well no but it does mean that is should fit who you are. If you are small ceremony at the beach with windblown hair than that is what you should have.
Vendors can sometimes make a bride feel that their wedding is not their own. Wedding coordinators, floral designers and yes photographers can make a bride feel this way. If you meet with a vendor and you get the feeling that that vendor is thinking of your wedding as their own canvas maybe you should set some ground rules or find someone who recognizes that this is your time.
I pose this issue because I think that it is easy for brides once they have hired vendors to just go along without saying anything then feel upset later on.
I feel that your wedding is just that. I feel that I can make suggestions but once I get the vibe that you are not feeling my vision I change it until it is something that you like. We get many brides who say just do whatever you want but I always tell them what I am doing so that they know I have their best wishes at heart. For me I take the opportunity to photograph weddings as a change to capture wonderful people going through many emotions through my artistic eye.
Does this mean that you should not take the advice from other vendors…no. Chances are your vendors have a lot of experience and they know what to expect and how to handle a variety of situations that will come up. It’s important to listen and weigh their advice as they have been through these situations before and can not only save you time and money but possible heartache from expectations that may not have been meet.
Filed under Special posts | Comment (0)Event Insurance
When tropical storm Barry came to visit us in Charleston, it ruined every out door wedding in the city. On the beaches power went out, the wind howled and it poured.
Having a wedding on the beach is risky. And should something happen on your big day you will be upset or disapointed at the least.
When the storm came, one of our bride had no backup plan and was forced to make due. She was lucky she had an event planner to hold down the fort but others on that day were not so lucky. The key is to have a crew that is well adapt for any emergencies.
You may think that I am going to talk to you about back up plans…No.
I am going to talk to you about event insurance. Event Insurance you are now asking yourself what is it? You can purchase event insurance and in the event of bad weather, airplanes downed or some other major issue you can recoup most if not all of the money that you payed out for your event that didn’t turn out like you had expected. I first heard about event insurance from a friend who was a promoter. We were doing a Rock the Beach event and she was praying for rain. Turns out it only had to rain a small percentage at the airport and she was going to recoup her money.
This bride was fortunate to have vendors that were able to make her day better, this comes from experience as well as a sense of caring from her vendors. Her wedding was intimate, many guests did not come due to the weather but everyone danced to music when all the power on the beach went out the music was still playing and they were still dancing. A few days after we took the couple to the beach and spent sometime photographing them on the beach-so they still got those beach pictures that they were thinking of.
Had the bride had event insurance she would have recouped the money that she spent. My suggestion is that if you are getting married in an area that is prone to bad weather that may ruin your wedding you should purchase event insurance. For the few hundred dollars that it will cost you are insuring that you recoup any losses that could occur.
please visit one of he following links to learn more..trust me this peace of mind would be worth it.
http://www.privateeventinsurance.com/
Filed under Special posts | Comment (0)Bridal portraits are important!
I almost always photograph my friends weddings, something that I always recommend against. Why? you may ask. Well come now… how many armature photographers do you know that say they photograph weddings or someone who is a friend of the family. It is hard to turn down a friend though so brides are temped to say okay sure. Even Nancy though had her reservations when she asked me to photograph her wedding. I found out why later.
She had no clue what she was shopping for in a photographer and she was just unsure about everything. Her wedding was very small but wonderful. They didn’t want to spend a ton of money on it. So hiring a good photographer saved the memories. At her bachelorette party I brought a point and shot leica…not shabby but she leaned over to me and said, “you are going to bring a bigger one to the wedding right?”
Well I begged her to do a bridal portrait before hand so that we would have time to do something extra special. A bridal portrait ahead of time allows the bride to do the following:
1. Check out the make artist and try it out ahead of time (this should be free)
2. Trial bouquet (negotiate this with your floral order)
3. Improve personal connection with your wedding planner/designer
4. Sync with your photographer stylistically
5. Have more time on your wedding day to party and spend with your family
A great bridal portrait takes time so by doing it before hand your wedding day will be less stressful. Try to do it a few weeks before your wedding if you choose an environmental portrait in case you need to dry clean the dress.
Filed under Special posts | Comment (0)Delegation is the Key to bridal sanity
Keyhole wedding ceremony
A Few wedding tips
Kids always make us laugh
I wanted to give you all a few tips today to survive your wedding.
You can take the same parent concept and apply it to your groom’s parents. Inviting your soon to be in-laws in on the action, is a great relationship builder.
Occasionally in-laws and parents show no interest in the planning. Ask them if they would like to know the skinny or be involved in a certain aspect. Pick your aspect carefully; make a suggestion like the rehearsal dinner. Do not leave them an open-ended invite to the planning process.
Small alterations by a few vendors can play a big part in the emotions of key guests and make your wedding be a little less stressful.
Take a few spa days before the wedding and during the planning process especially when things begin to feel overwhelming.
Filed under wedding tips | Comment (0)About the photojournalist
Tara Lowry is a professional commercial and editoral wedding photographer. Her approach to weddings is photojournalistic. She and her partner Rick Mckee choose to capture couples in an unobtrusive style using fluid movement suggestions not poses.
I hope that you enjoy this blog and visit it often.
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