Today’s post is a just a small bit of information about us!  If you have checked out our web site, then you know we are a husband and wife photography team located near fabulous Louisville.  And yes–we love working together!

But I just also wanted to post a little blurb about us as photographers.  So, enjoy!

About us…

Every photography studio you meet has a special story to tell–not only about their work and art, but about YOUR priceless moments. We are so in love with this aspect of photography!  Not only do we get to show our craft, but we get to document the most incredible moments in our clients’ lives!  Everlasting memories through high-quality photographic images.

The perspective, the emotions, the importance of the relationships all get molded into a final picture of your life.  It is incredibly important to find a photographer that you connect with, respect, trust, and have full confidence in when it comes to the moments you will never get back–we know this and we appreciate it so much.  We are caring, creative, and always in the moment for you!

With Monarch Photography, you have two photographers who allow you to be yourself.  Whether it’s your HS senior portrait session, engagement session, Boudoir Glam session, family, or any other event, we take the time to get to know you.  We capture your relationships, moments, and all of the emotions of you and yours.  We look for the simple things that make you, well, YOU!
We have fun with our clients and love love LOVE spending time with them!  That’s why our wedding couples receive one complimentary session a year!  We want to get to know them.  We want to see the babies, the families, and the love grow with time!  And we feel so lucky to have been a part of the day that started it all!

We love photographing HS Seniors, too–you are only a senior once and it is truly a special time for families.  And speaking of family sessions–so important!  Children grow up and move away, so you want some relationship portraiture to capture those times.  You have those forever.
If you are looking for a very traditional photographer who will pose and set up every moment, we may not be the one for you.  Although we LOVE classic portraiture, we also love capturing the candid moments, details, smiles, and tears from our clients.  Those are the special moments you will treasure for a lifetime.

When you are ready to have fun, to capture that image that no one else has, to enjoy a photography session like you never thought possible, let us know!  Enjoy the MONARCH DIFFERENCE!

We love what we do and it shows!

So take the journey of your photographic memories with us.  Passion, skilled creativity, professionalism, and the feeling of family–that’s how we do it…

And lilies, gerbera daisies, hydrangea, tulips, sunflowers, berries, and much more!

I love flowers–and so it’s a no-brainer that I love photographing them, particularly bridal bouquets!  I always adore seeing the lovely floral creations that our brides carry on their special day, so I wanted to feature some over the past few weddings!

If you see a bouquet you like and want more information, just shoot us an e-mail!  I keep a list of all of the vendors our couples use for their weddings and receptions so that I can pass on awesome recommendations!

Enjoy!  Doesn’t this make you yearn for cool spring weather?  It sure does for me–especially since it has been 90-plus degrees every day here in Kentucky for the past few weeks!

Lovely!

Lovely, too!

I am a bit late wishing this wonderful couple a Happy One-Year Anniversary, but it has been a crazy summer!  Ashley and Cody celebrated their lovely summer wedding in Illinois on July 18, 2009 and we love every moment of it!  From the lovely shade of blue to the personal details on their big day, it was fabulous from start to finish!

They are an incredibly spiritual couple and it is so evident that they are truly blessed with a beautiful marriage!  We wish you many years of love and laughter!

Here are some of my favorites from their day–

Details.

Moments.

Lovely portraits.

I am up to my eyeballs in editing images, but I couldn’t neglect the lovely blog!

So, here is an image that I love–it is simple and classic.  Truly timeless.  There is a story to tell about this image, but I have to head out for a run and then back home to work on images some more!

Enjoy this one, though!  I love it!

Today’s post will be short and sweet since I did two yesterday!  We have lots of work and sessions to get through today in the crazy Kentucky heat, so I have to get started!

I wanted to post one lovely image for today–it’s romantic, beautiful, and just really is one of my favorites–and it’s the featured opening image on our web site!

It is from Tracy and Wes’ wedding earlier this year and is just so lovely…enjoy!

Isn't it romantic?

I can’t believe it has already been a week since we had a lovely sunset river cruise for Josh and Jennifer’s rehearsal dinner!  We were so thrilled to be a part of it, so I wanted to share a few images from the trip down the Ohio River to downtown Louisville.  The weather was warm, the food was fantastic, and everyone had a perfect time sailing down the river and back to Captain’s Quarters on the CQ Princess!  And a special shout-out to Captain Todd for his mad skills at steering us safely home!

Josh and Jennifer are so special and so in love–you will see in the collages the beautiful personalized Bible she gave him and the gorgeous pearl jewelry he gave her!  And the families–love them!  We photographed Jared (Josh’s brother) and Amanda’s wedding a few years ago, so it was so nice to see the family again!

Here are some highlights from their evening–and of course, more to come when I post a sneak peek of their beautiful wedding day!  Congrats, you two!

So lovely.

Fun!

Everyone had an awesome time!

The sunset was amazing!

That's our past couple Amanda and Jared on the bottom left!

Romance...

So pretty!

Happy Friday, everyone!

Today, I wanted to feature another 2011 HS Senior!  This is Dominic–or Dom, for short!  He is such a talented, wonderful, and awesomely spiritual young man.  He is really going to make his mark on this world and we absolutely loved his portrait session images!

We are currently booking 2011 HS Seniors, so be sure to e-mail me (Rosemary) today at Rosemary@monarch-photography.com or call the studio at 502.641.0744!  We do sessions all year long–so if you are interested in fall color, snowfall, or spring, check us out then, too!

And we have many levels of sessions to choose from to fit every budget and needs. And you can even purchase a DVD of your images so you can print what you like!

Check out more information on our HS Senior Sessions HERE!

To see all of his images, click on the video below.  Dom loved the song we used and so do I!

And here are some favorites of the very handsome Dom:

The many faces of Dom...

The camera loves him!

I love the in-studio shots, too!

That's Bruno on the bottom left--loved him!

Classic. Love it.

And a fun Polaroid frame!

Edgy texture--love this, too!

What a great session!

And Dom's favorite scripture--a personal touch.

I am SO in love with the keepsake wedding proof folio and box that we had recently started designing for our couples!  They have been a real hit with our brides and grooms because they are so lovely to keep on display and they are designed by yours truly!

We are firm believers in providing our couples a full set of gorgeous paper proofs that are theirs to keep!  One of the perks to being a Monarch couple!  And instead of just putting them in some generic book, we give our couples customized, personal proof packaging!

Here are some images of Shannon and Jared’s lovely proof book and folio in action!  LOVE THEM!

It’s all part of the Monarch Difference!

The side of the box with the magnetic closure...

The top of the box.

And the bottom of the box!

Isn't it adorable with all of the proofs in it?

The folio with personalization.

And the folio has a magnetic closure, too!

And the back of the folio...

And the inside with the pages...

And perfect craftsmanship!

What can I say?  I love-love-LOVE our guest books!  And I love that our clients love our guest books!  We have several different styles for our wedding couples and they are an awesome way to utilize their engagement images!

Many of our wedding collections include the guest book, but clients also have the option of adding one so that they can share their engagement images on the big day!

We offer two different styles–the classic leather-bound style cover and the contemporary glossy photo cover style.  I love both of them and I adore designing them with our couples’ personalities and styles in mind!

Our clients choose their favorite 40 or so images from their engagement session and then I design the guest book using their tastes in color, layout, etc.  Once the design is finished, we submit the sample to our couples for any changes and their final approval!  We love to personalize the books with song lyrics, scripture, or other wording that has sentimental value to our couples.

And by the way, we do the same thing for our wedding albums, too!  We work as a team with our couples and they truly appreciate being able to have the input–after all, they are the ones who are going to have the guest book and album as a part of their lives!  We aim to please!

These books are such a great way to have a keepsake of engagement images intermingled with the hand-written well-wishes of the wedding guests.  Each guest book comes fully bound with instructions and pens for the guest book attendant–simple and ready to go!

Most couples have the guest book attendant guide everyone on the signature process at the ceremony and then the book is also set out at the reception for more signatures and messages!  We ask the emcee of the evening to announce the guest book’s presence and everyone loves to sign…

So, let’s show off some of our latest guest books!

The 8×8 and 12×8 books are a contemporary style with a glossy photo hard cover and include 26 sides. Albums can be lined or unlined for signatures from guests or a combination of both!  Anything goes!

As I said before, the guest books come with many of our collections, but couples also have the option of adding an engagement session and/or guest book to suit their needs!

Engagements sessions are $200 and include proofs!  And here are ala carte prices for our guest books:

8X8 Contemporary Guest Book $150

12X8 Contemporary Guest Book $175

8×8 or 10X10 Leather Cover Guest Book $275

Below is the 8×8 Contemporary Glossy Photo Cover Guest Book–it has 26 pages and is really fun!

This is Ashley and Cody's from July 18, 2009

It was a big hit!

A really popular size is the new Contemporary 12×8 slim line design with a glossy photo cover!  I have done several designs for our 2009 clients and the books have been a huge hit at the weddings!  Here are few from the past few months–

Courtney and Jamie's from July 17, 2009

At work...

For Courtney and Jamie's we put these really awesome questions--check out the answer! Love the black, lime, and raspberry color scheme!

Brittany and Bennett's from June 13...

Kara and Jason's from April...

We did a kicky little pink textured background on Kara and Jason's...

Terra and Mike wanted the first few pages of their lined--so we did it!

Brittany and Brandon wanted theirs lined as well...

Tiffany and Mark were our first couple to get the new slim-line book! I love the quotes they put in it!

A sweet little note...

And the cover of the book was from their pre-wedding fashion shoot that we did for them at the Rivue Restaurant.

The 8×8 and 10×10 leather-bound guest books are a little different from the contemporary style.  The cover comes in black, chocolate, navy, or red and is embossed with our couple’s choice of names, date, monogram, etc.  These albums come in a square size and have 20 pages!  Some of our couples want the more classic look with their guest book, so they tend to gravitate toward the leather-bound album!

Here are some of our latest designs with the leather-bound albums…

Front cover...

Meredith and Frank went with black pages and silver signatures...

Meredith chose romantic quotations from great writers on their pages...

Last summer, Sarah and Jason wanted everything full lined...

From this summer as well...

We did an apple red background with a heart theme to match their wedding day details...

Last page of Jessica and James' book...

Brooke and Nathan went for a super-simple design...

And Melissa and Nick wanted it neutral but lined...

And Ashley and Parker's from this past June...they chose some really lovely scriptures for their accents to the book.

And you can see the little viewing cards we set out for guests, too! Hope you enjoyed the book designs! We love them!

We all know that you have a wide array of wedding photographers to choose from when it comes to your big day. You want a studio that will provide you not only professional service, but also create images that suit your taste and style.  And of course you want to feel that you have made the right decision when it comes to your wedding photographer!

I could write all over this blog post that you should hire Monarch Photography, right?  Well, that would be silly!

The truth is, we are not the right photographers for everyone.  We want there to be a perfect fit.  It is so important because your wedding photographer will be closer to you than any other professional on your big day.

There are a LOT of photographers out there right now so how do you really go about finding the one that’s right for you?  Well, let’s chat about that, shall we?

There are many articles out there that will give you a long list of questions to ask your prospective photographer.  You can find them in wedding planner books, on web sites, through your coordinator, etc.

It is a no-brainer that you want to choose someone who is a true professional–reliable, business-minded, insured, experienced, and responsible.  And you want someone who provides high quality products.

When all is said and done, though, there are really three basic questions that need to be answered before you can decide if a photographer is right for you.

1.  Do you like the images that this particular photographer creates?

2.  Do you like the photographer’s personality?

3.  Does this photographer  fit your budget?

Do you like the images?

This should be obvious. But it’s not really as obvious when you look at it closely.  First of all, you should educate yourself a little about photography in general.  Look at lots of different wedding photographs.  Check out your friends wedding albums.  Search online for photographers websites and go carefully through their online galleries.  Think about what images inspire you and what type of photographs appeal to you.  Can you see yourself in that photographer’s image style?  Are you more attracted to light and airy images or more dramatic, low-key photographs?  And some photographers (like us) can even give you both!

You also need to see if this particular photographer’s style fits your needs.  Do you want strictly candid, photojournalistic work?  Do you tend to gravitate more toward the classic approach?  Or do you want both timeless portraiture and a documentation of those candid moments (like we provide)?  Think about it and choose a studio that is your style!

It’s also important to find out the basic meaning of GOOD photography.  You want images to be properly lit, in focus and well composed.  Professional photographers  go through years of school, read books, and attend professional workshops to get a good handle on their craft.  For your purposes, looking at a lot of different photographers can give you a better feel for what a good image can be.  You want a photograph to have detailed dark areas and detailed light areas.  You don’t want large areas of plain black or white anywhere in the picture because they do not print well.  Obviously you don’t want blurry photos.  You want to look for nice, crisp focus on most of the images in the galleries.  Composition is harder because it is mostly subjective.  If the images make you feel strongly, the composition is probably working for you.

Once you find out what you really like, you can start narrowing down your choices.  And remember to look outside your hometown, too, for the perfect studio to document your day.  Travel charges will apply, but photographers always love traveling for weddings!  Us included!

Do you like the photographers personality?

Photographers are the only wedding vendor, except maybe the videographer, who will be with you for the whole day. And they are with you during your most personal and emotional moments.  It is very important that you choose a person who makes you feel comfortable and relaxed. You should feel confident that they are capable professionals who can perform their jobs with little direction from you or your guests. They should also be people that you really like on a friendly level.  And you should also consider if there is more than one photographer so they can cover your wedding in a more fluid fashion.

The best way to find out if you truly like them is to tell them about yourself.  Let them know how you and your fiancé met. Let them in on your plans, even if you are just in the hoping and dreaming stage.  Many of our clients become friends because we connect on such a deep level.  If a photographer cares about you as a person, they are more likely to want to take extra special care of you throughout the process.

Do they fit your budget?

Now, before you meet you need to be sure that you can afford your favorite photographers. Some photographers list their prices on their websites or will send you pricing information as requested. It is probably a good idea to know at least what range of prices and packages the photographer offers before you meet with them so that there are no unpleasant surprises. You can go over the specifics at the meeting, but going in with some idea is always a good plan.

Make sure you understand exactly what is included in the price.  Is there an album?  How big is the album and what kind of options are available and do they cost extra?  Do the digital files come with the collection?  Are they available at all?  Is that important to you?  Just know what it is you want to get out of your wedding photography and make sure that it is part of the deal.  If you are someone who wants a large canvas print to display over your fireplace mantle but you really don’t care for an album, make sure you hire someone who either has those products in a collection or will allow you to add those to your package.  And be sure to find someone who keeps up with the trends, but provides you with images and products that will be a timeless documentation of the most important day of your lives!

OK, now you know the 3 most important things about finding a wedding photographer.  Ask your prospective wedding photographers specific questions that you want to know.  Any photographer worth your money is going to welcome you asking questions.  It gives them the chance to show you what they know and how together they are when it comes to providing you with professional and creative photographic memories.

Now, get out there and choose the perfect photographer for YOU!  And if that’s Monarch, call us today at 502.641.0744!