Ruth Silver Photography

We love our clients and love even more when they refer us to their friends, family, coworkers and neighbors getting married!  As a thank you for referring us, when they book (sign a contract and pay their retainer), you will be rewarded with a special gift!  Gifts increase in value based on the number of referrals.  Our current list of gifts include: Fine Art Prints, Acrylic Prints, Canvas Gallery Wrap and Bamboo Prints. Be sure to check out the details and specific rewards in our Wedding Referrals Program.  One referral per client please.  Your gift may be used on your wedding portraits or on a future photo session!

Your wedding photograph are important.  Imagine if your grandparents or great grandparents had the ability to share their wedding photographs with you.  Would you even have the technology to read it?  Technology is always changing.  What was once common is now obsolete.  While we provide the latest in technology (Flash Drives) for your wedding photographs, we always encourage you to back up your images in other sources.  What happens when your disk drive, flash drive, or DVD fails?  With time bit rot is quite common on CD and DVD’s.  Even flash drives (especially if they’re not removed properly)  can become unreadable.  Hard drives are the most common place to store images but what happens when your drive fails?  Will you be prepared or will you lose all your wedding photographs?

We offer Canvas, Prints and Albums all rated to last at least 100 years (prints & albums 200 years in dark storage).  This is a great opportunity to share your photographs with your family and the many generations to come.  Rest assured that your professional prints won’t fade.  Your Canvas is UV protected and your wedding album with proper handling will last over 100 years.

 

You’re recently married and your photographer did a fabulous job of capturing your wedding day.  You don’t want your new home to look like a wedding shrine so what exactly do you do with your new wedding photographs?

Here’s a few suggestions from photographer, Ruth Silver.

Wedding Album

If your photography package (like ours do) come with a wedding album then you have a great display in your home already to share your recent pictures with your friends and family.  It also gives you an opportunity to enjoy looking them over and rest assured that should something happen to that disc of images, your album will always be a reminder of your wedding day.  If your photographer didn’t include an album or if you didn’t hire a professional for your wedding day, it’s not too late to purchase an album.  There are many reasonable options out there (that are still better than the DIY press printed books you buy online).  Professional photographers have access to high quality print labs (even our press printed books are flush mount!)

FRAMES

Framing a few wedding pictures seems like the obvious choice.  Depending on your style and taste you can frame your favorite wedding photographs as cheaply as you want by going to second hand stores and refinishing old wood frames.  If you’d like something more modern or concerned about it holding up there are many frames to choose from anywhere from your photographer to a craft store or department store.

Perhaps you want something a little less ordinary?  You can also purchase (from a professional photographer) an LED Backlit Frame.  It uses special photographic paper and the light shines through making an exquisite print.

Thank You Cards

Following your wedding you’re probably thinking about sending out cards to thank you guests for attending and for the nice gifts they’ve given you both.  Since you have a year to send out thank you cards, it’s a great idea to send out ones with your fabulous wedding pictures on them.  Our lab allows you to design your own cards with your favorite wedding picture and a message to your guests.  It’s a great way to share your wedding one more time with your friends and family!

 

Wall Art

A few of our favorite items include Canvas Prints, Acrylic Prints, Metal Prints, Fine Art Prints and Bamboo Prints.  Depending on your budget you can spend $100 on an 8×10 Fine Art Print or over $1000 on a 40×60 Canvas Print.  Remember using a higher quality professional photo lab will ensure not only the print is color corrected and calibrated to the lab but also the longevity of it’s life on your wall.

Facebook/Pinterest/Blog

With your photographers permission of course, you can also share your favorite photographs from you wedding on Facebook, Pinterest and your personal or wedding blog.  Many photographers (Ruth Silver Photography included) will provide you with an online gallery for three months after your wedding.  It’s an easy way to share your pictures without the hassle of uploading all of them online!  It’s also a nice way to let your photographer handle print orders so you don’t have to!

Holiday Gifts

When the holidays roll around (whether it’s in 2 months or 11 months) you can easily give the perfect gift to your family and friends.  Did your father walk you down the aisle?  Provide him with a framed print and he will absolutely love it!  Did your photographer capture your grandparents dancing?  Send them a Fine Art Print!  Other great gift ideas include Calendars, Wall Art, Digital Frame, Keychain, Accordian Books, Buttons, Magnets and Stickers.

Choosing whether to go with a large ‘box’ studio or a smaller wedding studio comes in many cases down to the cost.  Couples always have a budget and trying to maintain it for a wedding can be quite tough at times.  Quite often I receive phone calls from clients that they’ve looked at studio x and as much as they love their price, they’re unsure if they want to hire them because they won’t meet their photographer until the day of their wedding and they won’t see their portfolio ever!

That is very common for the large chain studios.  They hire multiple photographers, pay them a day rate (which is typically below industry average) and book out your wedding with one that is available.  The large ‘box’ studio makes money on booking tons of weddings — quantity over quality.  Think of any of the large scale stores that have photography studios (Walmart, Target, etc).  You don’t know who your photographer is when you go in, you don’t know how many sessions they’ve done or what experience they have but you’re going there strictly because of the price.  You’re paying for a set of pictures for usually quite cheap not for the quality of the portraits.  For some people that’s exactly what they want because of the value they’re putting on their portraits.  They intend on replacing those pictures the following year as their children get older.

Weddings are different.  You won’t be replacing your wedding pictures every year with new ones.  Your wedding photographs are ones to be cherished for a lifetime.  Suppose on your wedding day you meet your studio x photographer for the first time and they have a personality you don’t get along.  Perhaps they’re not understanding or listening to the types of photographs you want, the style you envision for your wedding day or are overly obtrusive.  Maybe they’re inexperienced and it’s their first wedding, unsure where to stand, what to do, what comes next and they miss the first kiss.  You haven’t seen their portfolio and you don’t know how the photographs will come out.  Is that what you want to think about on your wedding day?  Sometimes the difference between a large ‘box’ studio is a few hundred dollars, other times over a thousand.  How much are you investing already into your wedding day?

What large ‘box’ studios lack, smaller studios makeup for.  Yes the price is sometimes significantly higher but you’re paying for quality, expertise and exceptional customer service.  Not only will you meet with your photographer prior to your wedding but you will be able to view their personal portfolio, knowing exactly how your photographs will turn out on your wedding day.  You will often meet with your photographer at a consultation prior to booking your wedding.  In fact meeting them before you sign will ensure you’ll know you’re hiring someone you love.  Smaller studios pride themselves in referrals and will go above and beyond to ensure you’re happy with your wedding pictures and the quality of service before and after your wedding.  They accept a limited number of bookings per year and as such tend to have their calendars booked months in advance.  This is how our studio is run.

We are a small wedding studio that focuses on our clients needs and desires.  We work individually with each couple, going over expectations, our personal portfolio, album samples and even request your input on the style of your pictures (we use Pinterest to see what inspires you!)  You meet with your photographer at a free in-studio consultation.  No need to sign and book before meeting your photographer!  In fact whenever you call, you talk directly with your wedding photographer.  There is no sales team.  Our studio is solely about YOU.  This is YOUR wedding and we want you to fall in love with your pictures.