Family sessions don't necessarily have to be just immediate family - especially when Grandma asks for some photos of her three kids and two grandkids altogether as her birthday gift! It was an honor to take these photos for such a thoughtful gift. Happy birthday to Grandma! 🎉
When I first started photographing weddings, a seasoned wedding photographer told me: “All weddings are literally the same. The only thing that changes are the people – but besides that, everything is the same from weekend to weekend.”
While the wedding day might have a similar set up or timeline with getting ready photos, followed by a first look or ceremony, followed by portraits, then a reception, after photographing 100+ weddings, I would argue that so many things change from weekend to weekend, making each wedding completely unique. The general, skeletal framework may remain – but things are always changing.
For one, the couple changes, which changes the vibe of the day itself. I might have a quiet, romantic, love-to-be-close-to-each-other couple one weekend, then an outgoing, silly, fun, crazy couple the next – which, consequently, changes the way I photograph them, always keeping me on my toes! Likewise, I might have a laid back wedding on a farm one weekend, and an upscale, black tie wedding the next.
You might be wondering, “but why does this matter?”
Because the aesthetic of each wedding is so different – from the couple themselves, to the venue, to the theme, to the styling and décor – I’ve found that weddings can start to feel the same when I’m unaware of what makes each wedding unique.
Now, there are a few things I do in advance to get the general vibe of a wedding day. For example:
I always try and chat with the couple before they book to talk about their pending style and aesthetic (but I do know that a lot can change from when you start wedding planning to when the wedding actually happens!)
Which is why I send a follow up questionnaire a few months before the wedding day to get some of the more solid details, like the colors, theme, and other specific details.
I also check out the venues and photo locations beforehand. Most venues each have a personality all their own! A wedding that takes place on a farm in a barn has a much different feel than one that takes place in a historical hotel in downtown Pittsburgh.
When I know in advance what makes a wedding unique, I can plan. (And boy do I love planning! No, that’s not sarcasm! ;) ). From the portraits, to the details, to everything in between, knowing the vision, aesthetic, and style behind a wedding helps me come prepared from the get go. Your photographer can gather a lot of things from who you are and from the locations you choose, but there are some things that can only be communicated by you: like the theme, style, and aesthetic. And communicating these things in advance to your photographer can actually give you better images!
Let me share a few of my favorite examples:
This wedding is by far one of my favorite examples of communicating style and aesthetic beforehand, and how it can have a profound impact on your wedding day!
When Lyndsay (the bride) first started the conversation with me about her wedding day, she had a true vision: bright, colorful, laid back, classy barn elegance. She painted a vision of colorful florals and eclectic details, which made it easy for me to make style based decisions on their wedding day.
PORTRAITS
While we had a few portrait locations planned for Lyndsay and Justin’s wedding day, and all of them were nature focused. But before this shot - none of them had a ton of bright, bold color, like she had talked about during our numerous emails, phone calls, and final planning meeting. When I showed up the day of the wedding, I knew that to create cohesion between the bridal details, reception details, and portraits, it would be helpful to include some portraits with bright color! The scene in the photo above stood out to me as THE perfect spot to bridge the style gap in their day, and to make some of their portraits cohesive with the bright, bold style of their details!
BRIDAL DETAILS
And - speaking of details - knowing the vision and style of the wedding before I showed up on their wedding day helped me make styling choices cohesive with the vision of the wedding. For example, you’ll notice that the invitation below is very simple (and gorgeous - designed by the bride!). I knew when I saw it that I wanted to bring something bright and colorful into the frame in order to really make the shot “pop” and match the style of the wedding. Lucky for me, Shady Elms Farm does all of the floral arrangements for their weddings, so I was able to simply ask them for a few extra flowers to frame the invitation with. I also chose a bright yellow ring box to compliment the vibrant color palette, creating a photo of the invitation that complimented the style of the rest of the wedding day!
Knowing that Lyndsay was planning on having lots of eclectic details at the wedding also gave me the understanding that I could fill my background a bit more with different textures and details. Also, when I think of a farm, I think of overgrowth, flowers, plants, etc., a vibe which I feel was matched through the way the details were photographed!
Now, we’ll contrast the farm wedding above with a classy black tie city wedding below! Next up: Janelle and Josh’s Embassy Suites Downtown Pittsburgh wedding!
I had a clear understanding of Janelle and Josh’s wedding from the emails we exchanged and the questionnaires they filled out - when I saw their wedding venue, I saw it to be the perfect match of everything she had described to me: a classy, modern, black tie city wedding. And knowing some of the more specific style details in advance helped me make location choices for both the portraits and for the details that were consistent with the overall feel of the wedding!
PORTRAITS
We’ll start with the portraits! Choosing locations for Janelle and Josh’s wedding was quite easy, knowing that 1) they were having a classy affair, and 2) they wanted to showcase the city. So when it came to their portraits, you’ll notice in the slideshow below portraits that showcase the city (on the street, with buildings in the background, in the iconic Pittsburgh Strawberry Way), and, since their wedding was so perfectly colored to match their reception venue, photos in the venue that provide that classy, upscale feel!
BRIDAL DETAILS
Sometimes I struggle with finding the perfect spot to photograph bridal details, because I want the backgrounds (including colors) of each detail shot to compliment the photos from the rest of the wedding. With Janelle and Josh’s wedding… I knew as soon as I walked into the hotel that their details had to be shot in the lobby! And lucky for me, since I had enough information style and aesthetic wise to know what they were looking for in advance, I was able to choose specific locations in the lobby I would use for their details photos beforehand. Which was so helpful the day of the wedding! I was able to work faster on the details because I had already formulated a plan!
In addition to knowing that elements in the lobby of the hotel would make excellent backdrops for their details, I was able to bring a few extra elements with me on the wedding day to use for styling, because I had an idea of what would compliment the details. For example, in the invitation suite photo below, the only elements that were from the bride were the shoes, the invitation suite, and the purse. The lace, gold box, leaves, and small flowers were items I brought with me to enhance the set up!
In summary, when a photographer knows the style and aesthetic of a wedding beforehand, they can…
Help recommend portrait locations that fit the style of the overall wedding, helping to create a cohesive gallery from the wedding day that tells the story of the day through each section of the day.
Be prepared to photograph bridal details by either choosing a location in advance, or bringing styling elements to help further compliment and tell the story of those details, and of the wedding as a whole.
Focus more on the couple, bridal party, and family members. At least, for me this is true! When I know more in advance, I prepare more in advance, which frees up some of my brain space to focus on the people immediately around me - rather than on trying to find the perfect spot to photograph the invitation suite!
If you’re a bride reading this, you might be wondering: what would be helpful to communicate to my photographer about my style and aesthetic beforehand? Below are a few pieces of information that are personally helpful for me to know before going into a wedding day!
What the invitation suite looks like. Even better if you can send me one beforehand!
Your wedding colors.
What your dress looks like. The bride’s dress tends to set the tone and style for the wedding as a whole!
What type and color of florals you’ll be using in your bouquets and boutonnieres.
So, the more of the story: don’t forget to communicate your style and aesthetic to your wedding photographer! In fact, make it a priority! For any couples who book their wedding with me, I send out a questionnaire a few months before the wedding with a few questions about style to get a better idea of the aesthetic beforehand so I can come prepared. That, along with checking out the reception and ceremony venue beforehand, give me a better understanding into each couple’s day, and the best way I can go about approaching the day and preparing beforehand.
But to any of my couples who might be reading this: never hesitate to over communicate on style and aesthetic to me! As someone who’s invested in your day, I love to be prepared for each and every wedding I photograph to the very best of my ability.
Ed reached out to me almost two months before he was planning on proposing to his then girlfriend, now fiancé, Meghan. The plans changed throughout the months, but after dating for a year and a half, one thing remained the same: Ed was so ready to pop the question and ask Meghan to embark on a new adventure: marriage!
After a few different ideas, Ed landed on a plan: dinner at Texas de Brazil at Station Square, then a walk along the riverwalk, where he would pretend to be taking photos of Meghan, have her turn around towards the skyline, pull out the ring, then have her look back at the camera, where he would be waiting, down on one knee (which was the perfect cover plan, since Ed is a photographer as well!). For two Pittsburgh lovers, the spot was PERFECT!
The week of the proposal, though, Pittsburgh threw us a curveball: flooding, severe thunderstorms, and tornadoes (oh my!). There were talks of potentially changing the date, but in the end, Ed was all in for keeping things as they were - regardless of the weather (like a true Pittsburgh champ!).
The day of the proposal came around, and Nick and I had made it to Station Square, even though 79 was partially shut down! Upon our arrival, we scoped out the scene, and then heard some loud beeping coming from our phones, signaling warnings for severe thunderstorms and tornadoes heading our way. We huddled under a covering and waited, wondering what the weather would look like when Ed and Meghan made their way out to the Station Square canopy overlooking the skyline!
It was raining rather hard when we first caught a glimpse of them. Thankfully, Nick was there to hold an umbrella for me, and we casually strolled around the fountain at Station Square, pretending to be tourists taking photos of the skyline (Meghan will have to tell us if we actually looked like tourists, though 😉). As soon as Ed turned Meghan towards the skyline, we ran over to catch the moment where she turned back around in utter shock and excitement! And then, not 30 seconds after Ed proposed, the sky completely cleared, and the sun came out. And it stayed that way for the remainder of the evening.
Ed and Meghan, it was an incredible honor to document this moment for you both. Congratulations on your engagement! 💛
Racquel is a senior whose week of high school was the week of her senior session! She is planning on attending WVU post-graduation for biology, with hopes of becoming an occupational therapist.
What better way to finish out the last week of senior year than with some senior photos? 💛 Congratulations on being finished with your senior year, Racquel! You are just the sweetest!
A girl (Megan) from Pennsylvania and a guy (Richard) from Wales meet in an online chat room for Paramore fans. They start talking, become friends, and then, years later, begin dating.
Mid-May, they celebrated their movie-like love story by exchanging rings and saying vows in the church where Megan's mom and Grandma both were married, years before. With so many details representing them both, along with their unique relationship, including: Disney music on the violin before the ceremony, the groomsmen walking in to the church to Lord of the Rings music, a small, white Bible with gold lettering carried down the aisle by Megan that was carried by her mother and grandmother before, lilies in the floral arrangements (the official flower of Whales), a sand ceremony utilizing sand from a beach and Whales and a park in Pennsylvania, and a cake topped with the word "cariad" (the Welsh word for "love") - their day was beautiful, romantic, and full of so much joy - and so incredibly personal to them!
Megan and Richard, it was an honor to be a part of your wedding day. Thank you for the incredible honor!
Vendors:
Ceremony: First Presbyterian Church (Beaver Falls)
Reception: Montour Heights Country Club
Florals: Patti’s Petals
Cake: Cakes by Brenda McGee
DJ: Steven Vance Entertainment
Makeup: Marie Miclot
Hair: Revelation Hair Designs
Bride’s Dress: Mary’s Bridal
Bridesmaid Dresses: David’s Bridal
Invitation Suite: Blake Pawelec
Decorating: Vintage Alley Rentals
Calligraphy: Simply Stated Lettering
Cupcakes: Batter and Dough
Room Blocks: Courtyard Marriott
Pittsburgh Wedding Photography: Jenna Hidinger Photography
A huge thank you to Taylor Dymond for being an amazing second shooter on this wedding day!
I read an excellent blog post by Pittsburgh wedding blog extraordinaire, Burgh Brides, titled “One Very Important Thing to Consider When Hiring a Wedding Photographer” not too long ago. As a wedding photographer myself, I was immediately curious as to what one thing could refer to. How could there be just one important thing to consider when hiring a wedding photographer?
What I love so much about this article is that in it, Victoria (Burgh Brides creator) talks about how important it is to know how much coverage you’re going to need on your wedding day, and therefore, how many hours you’ll need to book with your photographer, based on your preliminary timeline. It might seem like a far stretch to try and think through your timeline a year to two years before your wedding day actually happens, but having a general idea of when things will be happening will help you make a more educated decision when it comes to the number of hours you’ll actually need! Or, as Victoria puts it:
“When you’re just starting to plan your wedding, a certain number of hours of coverage may seem like enough. Later down the road though, when times are more finalized, you may quickly realize that the package you booked won’t allow for photos of some moments, like your hair and makeup being done or the last dance of the night.”
Thinking about the important points of the day ahead of time - the beginning of the day, the ceremony, and the end of the night - is so important! Below are a few questions I put together to help couples who might be unsure of how much coverage to book get the ball rolling on figuring out a preliminary timeline:
When will the ceremony take place, and how long will it be? This will be the starting point for figuring out how many hours of coverage before and after the ceremony you’ll need! You might need additional coverage if you’re having a longer ceremony (like a full Catholic mass) opposed to a quick 15 minute outdoor ceremony.
Do we want to have a “send off” at the end of the reception, and do we want it photographed?
Will we have a first look? You’ll need more time before the ceremony if you do!
…or will we opt to have our photos taken during cocktail hour? Make sure you leave enough time for photos during your cocktail hour if you opt to go this route!
Will we be traveling a lot on the wedding day? More time in the car = less time photo taking time, which means you might have to book additional coverage! For example, if you book 8 hours of coverage with your photographer, but the ride from your getting ready location to the ceremony is 30 minutes, then the ride from your ceremony to your reception is another 30 minutes, that’s a whole hour that your photographer will be driving and not taking photos. So you actually only have 7 hours of coverage, not 8, and might want to consider booking another hour (or two!).
What is most important to us when it comes to our wedding photos? Maybe it’s portraits of the two of you. Maybe it’s you and your girls getting ready. Maybe it’s your grandma dancing at your reception! Or maybe you really want to make sure you have epic detail photos of your dress, invitation suite, and rings. Know what’s important to you, and then ask your photographer how much time they think they’ll need to capture those important parts of your day! Here’s a sample timeline I made for my couples to help them figure out how much time to allot for each part of their day!
With all of that in mind, check out one of the best timeline graphics I have ever seen (thank you SRW Joyce)! This graphic lays out the typical events of the wedding day, along with an estimate to the left of the events of how much coverage you’ll typically need to capture those consecutive parts of the day.
Graphic representation thanks to SRW Joyce
And if you’re looking for an estimate of what the majority of couples choose for their coverage, based on the weddings I’ve photographed, most couples choose packages with 8 to 10 hours of consecutive coverage. Most couples who choose 8 hours are not traveling between different locations on their wedding day. Couples who are traveling between different locations (getting ready to ceremony, or ceremony to reception, or ceremony to a photo location, or all of the above) almost always end up booking at least 9 to 10 hours of coverage!
If you’re a bride who’s unsure of how many hours of coverage you should book, or a bride thinks she might need a few extra hours of coverage, I’d be happy to help! Feel free to reach out to me directly at jhidingerphotography@gmail.com (or via the contact tab in the top navigation) for a second opinion!
A huge thanks to Victoria from Burgh Brides for writing such an epic article! 💛 If you’re a bride in the Pittsburgh area looking for wedding inspiration, I highly recommend checking out the Burgh Brides blog!
And until next time - happy planning!
Robbie and Jordan first met in 7th grade, when he proclaimed his "undying love" for Jordan in front of the entire class. After that, Jordan put Robbie in the friend-zone until 10th grade, when they finally started dating. This past Thanksgiving, Robbie asked Jordan to marry him in Venice, Italy, where they met up while were both studying abroad in Europe 💛
What's equally impressive about these two, along with their fairytale story, is their immense love for each other, and the joy they both radiate, inside and out. Love can be challenging, but they make it look easy, and that sort of love is the kind that comes from a different source outside of themselves.
Every couple who books with me gets a little questionnaire, so I can get to know the two of them and their relationship a little better before working together. There was one answer on Jordan and Robbie’s questionnaire that jumped right off my screen: Jordan’s biggest dream is to have a God-centered marriage, and to raise kids that love the Lord. I so admire you both, Jordan and Robbie, for so intentionally focusing on how your lives and your relationship will impact your legacy, and how your choices and actions will reverberate throughout eternity. I couldn’t be more excited and honored to be photographing your beautiful wedding day! 💛
I love all of my couples and engagement sessions, but this session in particular was one I’ve been looking forward to for quite some time!
Brielle is the daughter of one of my dad's best friends, and I took both Brielle and Stephen's senior photos in 2013 and 2014 when I was first starting my business. I couldn't be more thankful that they trusted me as I was just starting this journey, and I'm so excited to be the one documenting this new adventure of becoming husband and wife!
For their engagement session, we hit some of my favorite outdoor locations, including McConnell’s Mill, Cleland Rock, and Moraine State Park - and we had the most BEAUTIFUL day with gorgeous, sunny weather, which is always a gamble in Pittsburgh!
Brielle and Stephen, we couldn’t be more excited to celebrate your marriage next year! 🎉 Congratulations again on your engagement! We love you guys!
A few weeks ago, my dad texted me out of the blue about a personality test he had recently taken, called the “Human Needs Test.” And before you think not another one of those personality tests (or maybe that’s just me? 😉 ), let me tell you something: I’ve never in my life taken a test that pinpointed me so accurately as this one did.
It might just be me, or just my results – but I was literally astounded when I finished the test and read my results. And this isn’t one of those super well known tests, either, like the Myers-Briggs (INFJ here!) or the Enneagram (type 3 here!), which was another reason why I was cynical. And yet, I would venture to say that I learned more about myself from the Human Needs Test than from both of those tests combined, possibly because it pinpointed an inner conflict of mine that I haven’t been able to nail down before!
This test takes you through a series of 84 quick questions, designed to pinpoint your top two human needs (the needs that drive your decision making, or as their website says, the “needs that form the basis of every decision we make in life”) out of six: certainty, variety, significance, love & connection, growth, and contribution. Below is a quick explanation (directly from their website) that outlines each need:
· Certainty – the need for safety, stability, security, comfort, order, predictability, control and consistency
· Variety – the need for surprise, challenges, excitement, chaos, adventure and change
· Significance – the need to have meaning, be special, take pride, be needed & wanted, have a sense of importance and worthy of love
· Love & connection – the need for communication, to be unified, feel connected, intimate and loved by others
· Growth – the need for constant emotional, intellectual and spiritual development
· Contribution – the need to give beyond ourselves and to care, protect and serve others
With over 620 potential pairings from these six needs, you’re bound to get a pretty accurate “needs” profile! And mine was exactly that.
Out of the 620 possible combinations, my test results showed that my top two human needs that drive my decision making are: certainty and growth, with contribution coming in as a close third. Knowing myself and having taken lots of these personality tests before, this wasn’t too surprising to me… I didn’t necessarily again anything “new” from simply knowing my two top needs. But it’s the results of this combination that blew me away and helped me learn so much about myself! Here’s a small excerpt of my results:
“Because your top need is for certainty and your second need is for growth, your inner conflict is that you want to feel comfortable, safe and secure. You need a predictable environment and you don’t want to take risks. Yet to grow, you need to put yourself out there, take risks, extend the limits of your comfort and stretch yourself. To satisfy your need for certainty, you prefer to avoid new people and new situations. To satisfy your need for growth you need to become involved with new people and new situations. This inner conflict preoccupies you and makes it difficult for people to help you to satisfy your needs, since they don’t know whether certainty or growth are more important to you. One way you can resolve this dilemma is that you can always be certain that you can grow, because there are always new things to learn and new skills to be developed and the way to resolve your conflict is to satisfy your need for certainty by always growing. You might have difficulties at work if you don’t feel that you are growing and, at the same time, that you are in a comfortable, organized, predictable environment.”
“Since your top need is for certainty, you need to feel secure, safe and comfortable and you need to make sure that you will be secure, safe and comfortable in the future. Avoiding pain is very important to you as well. You can't be happy when you are uncertain about things.”
My first and third result (growth & contribution) explain exactly why I love writing blog posts like this (even though they might seem a bit random and out of place!).
But that last part above is really what got me: “You can’t be happy when you are uncertain about things.” I don’t think this necessarily means that I will never be happy when I’m feeling uncertain, but it’s just a lot harder for me to be happy when I’m uncertain about something. And that can be a problem, since life is literally FILLED with uncertainty.
To be honest, that part of my results kind of bothers me. I’ve always wondered why I tend to envy people who are willing to take risks without having 100% certainty… and now I realize that it’s because I value certainty above almost everything else.
What I think is the MOST interesting part about this test is how it applies to different areas of my life, like my marriage, friendships, and business.
Marriage? Easy! I’m certain about that, Nick and I are in it for the long haul – both of us. I don’t tend to worry as much when it comes to my marriage, since it’s something routine and stable.
Friendships? Maybe a bit trickier, since there’s nothing saying that someone has to stay your friend. They can get up and leave at any time they want! No wonder I’ve struggled with friendships – I tend to put people at an arm’s length if I feel like something is wrong in the relationship, because it feels uncertain and unstable.
Business? Possibly the trickiest out of the three. Maybe because I’m a small business owner who doesn’t necessarily know what jobs I’ll have in two months, six months, or two years. There’s a lot of uncertainty when it comes to bookings, and when it comes to things like locations and the types of clients I book, as well as the conditions I’ll be taking photos in. Will it rain? Will it snow? Will there be a huge wind storm?! (This might be especially true since I live in Pittsburgh - haha!)
You know what I REALLY find interesting, though? The fact that, even though we have these basic human needs that drive our decisions, that doesn’t mean we are controlled by them. It’s easy to take a test like this and put myself in a box of what I can and can’t do based on my results. If taken in an unhealthy way, these “needs” can quickly become excuses.
From personal experience, I think it’s easy to compare something like this to the extrovert/introvert concept. Let me explain: I used to think things like, “because I’m an introvert, I can never/will never/could never ___________ (fill in the blank with every excuse an introvert could use).” I will never run a business. I could never direct a group of people (hello tipsy bridal parties!). I could never start a random conversation with a stranger. Interesting, though, how I am currently doing all of those things and more, even though I’m an introvert.
So what’s the final thought, after all of that rambling? If you decide to take this test – great! I hope you do, and I hope you find it helpful and that it teaches you a little something about yourself. But I hope you don’t use any part of your results as an excuse for whether you should or shouldn’t do something. Because when we start making excuses and saying things like “it’s just the way I am!” We lose in so many ways. We lose in our marriage, in our friendships, in our business, and ultimately in our lives.
If you decide to take this test, I’d love to hear your results, and if you think they’re true to who you are!
Thanks for reading, friends!
Ever feel like you’re in a season where everyone you know is getting married? Or having babies? I’m currently in the latter, and I am loving seeing so many people I know become parents and enter a new season! It just so happens that two of those people are Laura and Josh, two good friends of mine and my husband, who are due to welcome their first son into the world in June!
Laura and Josh moved down to North Carolina last year (but since have moved back up to the ‘Burgh), and I remember Nick and I sitting down with them at First Watch for breakfast in October of 2018 (when they were visiting town) talking about our goals and desires for 2019. Specifically, I remember Laura saying something like “I want to have a baby. Who knows, I could be pregnant right now!” And the next day… she found out she was!
And now, fast forward to May 2019, and baby Hamilton is set to make his grand entrance in just a few short weeks. Laura and Josh, we are so excited to see you two become parents and to walk into this next season with you! Love you guys! 💛
And, of course, we had to celebrate this new season with some photos at one of my favorite spots: Hartwood Acres Mansion! You may even see Nick and I make an appearance towards the end 😉
