WORKING WITH ME

I’m a documentary wedding photographer based in Middle Georgia. My style is very refined, with a touch of candid and photojournalistic. I adore natural light and have mastered over the years ways to manipulate it.

MY MISSION

Uptown &More wants to provide an enjoyable experience with excitement and energy and to capture the love in people’s lives through timeless images that you will treasure for a lifetime.

WHAT TO EXPECT

If you’re like every other couple, you’re probably a little nervous about being in front of the camera. Even *I* get nervous when I’m having photos done! It’s normal to feel this way, but I want to encourage you to relax and have a good time. I will give you all the direction, so you never feel like you don’t know what you’re doing. We’ll capture those timeless photos everyone loves while getting a little goofy and having fun.  Some prompts I give you both might seem a little silly at first, but trust me, they create some magic.

1. SCHEDULING A SESSION

Weddings are booked about a year or six months in advance, while engagement sessions are usually scheduled 4-6 months before your big day. The earlier you book, the more flexibility you have with scheduling!.

2. ENGAGEMENT OUTFIT IDEAS

Wear something that makes you feel comfortable and confident! Patterns, bold colors, and accessories photograph well. Check out our Pinterest page for more ideas: @UPTOWNANDMORE

3. EDITING IMAGES

Yes, we do. Every image we deliver is post-produced with our unique signature style of post-production. This involves color correction, exposure adjustment, selective black-and-white processing, clarity adjustments, and other disciplines.

4. FINAL DELIVERY

Uptown &More generally finishes the projects within 8-14 weeks following either the wedding date or the date the payment is received, whichever is later. However, the Vendor also reserves the right to adjust the completion date based on influx and order needs.

TIPS & TRICKS FOR SUCCESS

BE ON TIME: We typically plan your start time based on sunset. If you are late, it cuts into the sunlight we have available. No one wants dark photos, so arriving on time will ensure we have gorgeous light to work with for your whole shoot.

BRINGING THE DOG: I adore ALL the cute pups, so naturally, I love it when you bring them along! The best way to include them is to have someone else bring your dog during the last 15 minutes of your session or choose a session location that is less than 5 minutes away from your home. Contact me so we can work out the details.

CLEAN THE RING: Your ring will be a focal point of your photos, and I’d love to grab a few up-close shots of your ring while you change outfits. Cleaning it will ensure it’s nice and sparkly for photos!

EMPTY YOUR POCKETS: Especially for guys, make sure you don’t have anything in your pockets. I am more than happy to store phones and keys in my bag, or ladies, you can bring a little purse to keep everything in.

RELAX! You don’t have to be a pro at this! I will help you along the way, and it will be a blast. I don’t expect anything from you. Enjoy this time together and make a date out of it. Plan dinner before or afterward and celebrate!

GET YOUR NAILS DONE: Make sure your nails are freshly painted, or spoil yourself with a trip to the salon. Chipped nails will be noticeable in your photos. Neutral colors and pastels photograph beautifully and will match any outfit.

BRING COMFY SHOES: If you’re wearing heels, bring a pair of flip-flops or comfortable shoes to walk from spot to spot. Your feet will thank you later.

CHOOSING OUTFITS

HOW MANY OUTFITS? Most often, my couples like to have one casual (think: date night) and then one outfit that is dressy. This will give your shoot two totally different “looks.” I recommend beginning with the more casual outfit first, so by the time the sun sets, you are in your best dress with the best light.

PROFESSIONAL HAIR & MAKEUP: Ladies, I highly recommend doing your hair and makeup (even professionally) before your engagement session! This will not only ease the stress of you having to do it yourself, but you’ll get to see what the hair and makeup you want for your big day may actually look like in photos. If you aren’t doing a bridal session, use the engagement session as your trial hair and makeup run. Win-Win!

CHOOSING COLORS: When choosing colors for your outfits, I recommend selecting lighter tones and more muted shades. Avoiding ultra-bright, bold colors will help bring all the attention to your face and let the eye focus on how you feel about each other. Soft pinks, muted blues, and light neutrals like heather gray, creams, leather brown, and white all work wonderfully.

SKIP CASUAL CLOTHES: I know flip flops and graphic tees are *perfect* for everyday wear, but especially for the guys, long pants and closed-toe shoes look most masculine and photograph wonderfully! Trust me, it’s just for one hour… then you can go back to your most comfortable attire. Instead…

DRESS IT UP: Have you ever wanted to rock a sequin dress or a long flowy maxi dress? Maybe you’ve dreamed of wearing a floral crown or wearing a tulle skirt. This is your chance!  Ladies, especially for your dressy outfit, I typically recommend a long, flowy A-line dress that cinches at the waist. This is typically most flattering on all body types! For the guys, opt for a suit or nice pants and a suit jacket with a button-down for your fancy outfit.

FLATTER YOUR FEATURES: Ladies, remember which features you want to flatter and which features you want to hide when picking outfits! For example, if you want to hide your arms, choose a top with sleeves and skip the spaghetti straps. If you want to minimize your bust, choose a dress with a higher neckline and skip the strapless dress. If you opt for a low-cut dress, it will minimize the number of angles I can shoot.

SKIP THE SPRAY TAN: Even though it seems counterintuitive, I HIGHLY recommend skipping a spray tan altogether, even if it’s a few days out from your session. Spray tans tend to photograph more orange than they appear and will make you appear more orange than tan! Please trust me with this!

4 REASONS WHY MY ENGAGEMENT SESSIONS ARE COMPLIMENTARY!

When it comes to wedding photography, many factors can influence your overall wedding experience and make your special day that much BETTER! That is why I wanted to share the four reasons my engagement sessions are complimentary to my wedding package. I know that some wedding photographers can add this as an additional service, but I truly believe having an engagement session before the wedding day is a game changer! Having an engagement session before the big day makes your wedding day flow more accessible and, of course, provides you with even more AMAZING and genuine photographs than if you went without, and here’s why:

IT ALLOWS YOU TO GET COMFORTABLE IN FRONT OF THE CAMERA

Most of my couples are nervous about being photographed because they’ve never been professionally photographed. That is normal! It is a big reason I provide my couples with an engagement shoot prep guide before our session to help prepare you and give lots of instructions at your engagement session. After your engagement session, the wedding day feels so much more relaxing and at ease because you’ve done a lot of the posing before; you know what it’s like working with me, which then allows you to be calmer and feel so much more confident when it comes time to take your photographs.

GET TO KNOW HOW YOU TWO INTERACT

I know that most people I photograph have rarely, if ever, been photographed professionally. Being in from the camera can be intimating! This allows me to see how you are together and in front of the camera. This is super important because each couple acts differently with one another when being photographed, so it is vital to get a feel for each couple to ensure we capture some unique portraits on the wedding day.

ABILITY TO KNOW YOUR BEST POSES AND HOW TO PHOTOGRAPH YOU IN A GENUINE WAY

Because I’m shooting couples who are inexperienced in front of the camera, I can figure out the best poses for you, find your right angles, and learn how to bring out the genuine emotion in each person so that I can genuinely capture YOU. Like I said earlier, it’s my chance to get to know you two as a couple since everyone acts and will need to be photographed differently. People’s bone structure, height, weight, comfort level, ability to listen to instruction, personality, and overall natural interaction with each other, are things that make a difference and are factored into your engagement session. And when we get to practice together, this translates to better images on the wedding day, and who doesn’t want that?!

HEIGHTENS THE EXCITEMENT AND ANTICIPATION FOR YOUR BIG DAY

After the big proposal, the excitement over your wedding day tends to die down a bit because, let’s face it, there is a lot of information and exciting new things happening all the time. When you have a formal engagement session, you can share the excitement again! And then you also have amazing photographs to display at the bridal shower, on the save the dates, and on the wedding day!

As you can see, having an engagement session with your wedding photographer helps your overall wedding experience! I know some couples may not want to have one for various reasons, but the benefits of having one, in my experience, are vital. Wedding days flow much more smoothly, and my couples go into their wedding day more confidently. That is why this truly is a complimentary service in my wedding package because I want to ensure that my bride and grooms have the best experience working with me, and I genuinely have no regrets! If you desire natural photographs representing you as a couple, an engagement session helps ensure your pictures don’t look too stiff or posed. And as a friendly reminder, after your wedding day is all said and done, all you have left with you is your husband (or wife) and your photographs (and maybe a wedding video). Your wedding photos will carry on with you forever, and I want nothing more then for you to LOVE them and for your personalities to truly be reflected in them!