Austynn's Newborn Portraits / Salem, OR Photographer

There's something so special about capturing the first days of a baby's life. Their sweet innocence, love for their mother and need to be cared for and nurtured is completely unique to their age.

So much life ahead of them, so much love behind them. When I met Austynn and her mommy Kira I could see such a beautiful bond of love and affection. She's definitely a mommy's girl.

I wonder if I look so peaceful when I sleep? (hahaha)

What You Should Know Before Choosing Your Wedding Vendors

Today's personal wedding entry is focused on searching for your ideal vendor, comparing one vendor's pricing and products to another's, and making your final selection. The pressure to find your best vendor can be very intimidating, I know I spent countless hours researching a location that was cute but within our little budget. It took way more time than I imagined, but in the end I was happy to know I had truly found the best location at a very reasonable price.


Isn't it so cute?!















Before I get lay out this process I have to say something very important. Choosing a vendor is so much more than who offers the best price and who has the the flashiest website. You're choosing someone who will not only supply a product that sets a tone for your wedding, you're choosing someone who you can rely on to be professional, timely, relaxed friendly, and courteous to you and your family. As a photographer I insist that a bride and groom schedule a free wedding consultation to meet me in person and be able to discuss my pricing, products, and style. This is very important that they get to know me as a person and I get to know them, which allows me to know what products and services to direct them to. When you leave the consultation you should see they have shown all the traits you find essential.

The last thing you need is to deal with a stressed unorganized vendor with bad people skills the day of your wedding. I can't say enough how important it is to sit down and talk face to face with vendors before making your final selection. It's easy these days with technology and social media to conduct all your communications through email, but anyone can sound friendly through in type. : ) You have to take the time to meet them in person and see if you like them not just because they have a good price and offer a nice product, but because you feel comfortable with them as a person.

Based on my experience, there are four stages to finding your wedding vendors.

1. First you begin your search for vendors, but how? Start by asking friends and family for recommendations, and see if there are any wedding professional in your circle of friends. You'll be amazed at how willing people are to offer their advice. There's almost nothing better than a good or bad referral to direct you to the right vendor, or away from the wrong one. Search online from Google Maps, search google with keywords such as wedding florist, Salem OR, look to wedding websites like weddingwire.com and Portland Style Unveiled, and visit bridal shows. Gather a list of a few vendors in each category of need by bookmarking their websites, saving clippings from magazines, etc. I personally created folders for each vendor; florist, invitation, ect, for easy reference.


2. Your Second step is to begin contacting businesses to check their availability and learn about their pricing, packages, and products. In my opinion this is the hardest part as it involves a lot of back and forth through email or phone, and a bazillion pricing sheets and contracts to decipher. As you start getting responses you'll be able to weed out those that simply aren't available and those that either aren't in your price range or don't offer products you are interested in. Or you may even get a bad vibe or not seen the level of customer service you expect through your initial communication. I've always had a high expectation for customer service and wouldn't settle for anyone that fell below that. After you've done your research and narrowed down your options to a few in each category, you're ready for step three.

3. The Third part is fun because you get to meet the wedding vendors and interview them. Yes, you should talk with your vendors face to face, and come prepared with good questions. Do a little research beforehand to be educated in good questions to ask. Bring a pad and paper. Here you really get to know the personality and professionalism of your vendors. Better to find out their personality at a coffee shop 6 months before than the day of your wedding when there's no turning back!

4. In most cases after meeting your potential vendors you will have a solid list of favorites to choose from. All that's left to do is make your final selection and make things official by contacting them and making your deposits and signing contracts. One last tip is to read through all the contracts and make sure you understand what you're signing!


Here is a list of my top recommendations for wedding vendors as a bride and a wedding professional myself:

Wedding Planner
Luxe Event Productions : ) Owner Misty is the sweetest gal you'll meet full of incredible ideas and practical advise.

Locations (close to Salem, Oregon)
Historic Deepwood Estates Very reasonably priced and simply stunning
Settlemier House Also very affordable and full of character
Green Villa Barn Unsurpassed setting. This was my top choice for location, it's just a little pricey for me.

Photographer
Ashley Sturm Photography It may be silly to recommend myself but I really believe in the product and experience I provide.

Invitations
Red Pearl Designs I can't recommend enough that you order your invitations through owner of RPD, Megan. With exceptional products and outstanding customer service you're to love RPD!

Florist
Bella Fleur Floral Design

Now that I've shared my recommendations, I want to know what YOURS are! Have you chosen any vendors you're particularly excited about? Do you have experiences you'd like to share, websites we simply HAVE TO go to, vendors we can't live without?

Photography Tip: Image Workflow / Salem, OR Photographer

Nerds Be-Ware - You're going to LOVE this blog!

I'm curious to know how many photographers or aspiring photographers read my blog. For anyone who's tech savvy, into digital photography, or is simply interested in what happens in between me taking a photograph and you receiving a print, read on! Today's entry is about my work-flow. Does it make me a nerd that I'm excited to share what I feel is an efficient, smart work-flow? It seems to work well and save on time, despite my sloooow laptop. I'm hoping to upgrade to the 21 or 72 inch iMac sometime this year....oh what delight!

I would love to be a source of information to others and share some tips I've learned along the way. I'm so thankful for all I've learned and hope to share some advice to make someone else's process easier.

OK, here's my process from capture to final backup. I've included plenty of screenshots for those of you who are visual like me. : )

1. Import RAW images into Lightroom, checking the following menu options:

a. File Handling: Copy photos to a new location and add to catalog.
b. Copy to: (Here's the filing system I use): External Hard-drive/Ashley Sturm Photography/Images/Work-Portraits/2010/03-19 Client Name, Shoot Type. (This really keeps everything nice and organized!).
c. Organize: Into one folder.
d. Backup: I do one backup to my 1TB external hard-drive, using the same filing system as above. The other backup is on my CF card for a few days.
e. File Name: leave as original.
f. Information to apply: Under Keywords I input relevant keywords.

2. In Library mode do culling (The act of culling; The process of selecting for acceptance or removal). Choose collection to show clients using the filter options by staring with "1". Select 10-20 for BLOG and Facebook and mark red. Delete remaining from disk.

3. Color Correct all images stared "1", sync develop settings as possible. After color correct is complete, 'select all', and hit Apple+S, or on the menu, Metedata, Save metedata to file. This saves an XMP alongside the RAW file. Based on my research an XMP is a small file that retains all your Lightroom adjustments alongside your RAW file, referred to as a sidecar file.

4. Export Files For Client Gallery. I've been using Zenfolio, and found a plugin called Jeffrey Friendl's 'Export to Zenfolio' Plugin. It exports web-formatted JPGs and uploads them to a new gallery folder which I create, all in one step. It takes a while but you can just walk away from your computer or do something else in the meantime. Easy.

a. I create a gallery name that lands on the Home Page, and select to sort gallery by date taken.

I have to make a side note. Any export settings I use often, say exporting for blog, for editing, for zenfolio, for print, ect I save. I do this by making all my export selections and clicking Add under the Presets section on the left of the Export menu. Saves lots of time!

5. Edit Favorites in Photoshop for Blog, Website, and Facebook. I select all my red marked images and use my custom Photoshop preset to export:

a. Export To: Same folder as original photo.
b. Check Add to This Catalog & Stack with Original. This will automatically add the file to your catalog and place it right next to the original RAW file.
c. I keep the file name the same.
d. File Setting: 100% quality JPG, AdobeRGB (1998).
e. I don't check anything else. Make sure it's all full resolution.

6. Open files in Photoshop, edit (I use Jesh De Rox Colorshift actions which I love!) After I'm done I flatten, save as JPG, and close. When you jump back over to Lightroom you'll see all your adjustments from Photoshop.

7. Export for web using my preset for Blog or Website.

8. Make all adjustments and preparations for print order.

9. Final backup to external hard-drive and DVD. I use Toast as my burning software. It's easy to use with a thorough set of menu options.

And that completes my digital workflow! Now comes the best part, share what your favorite editing tricks are, what you learned, or how I could improve my process. I love your feedback and hope this can be like a forum of inspiration, information, and daily doses of happiness.

Have a wonderful weekend, enjoy some sun, and I'll see ya bright and early Monday!

Ashley Sturm Photography Joins Luxe's NW 7 Photographers

Hey Family & Friends! I've now been selected to join the ranks of Luxe Event Productions Exclusive NW-7, a group of the Northwest's top Seven Wedding Photographers! I had the pleasure of connecting with Misty, Luxe's owner after noticing and commenting on her blog which features real weddings, DIY tips, local vendors and event ideas. We started emailing and within short order were sharing ideas, talking about MY wedding, and arranging coffee outings to scheme about networking our businesses. I'm so glad we did! Not only is she helping me plan my wedding, she's got me guest blogging every other Friday to share my wedding planning experiences. In fact, tomorrow I will be posting about finding your vendors, be sure to stop by her blog!

When Misty approached me about being part of Luxe's NW7 I was so excited and flattered to be included in this exclusive group of fabulous local wedding photographers. I hope you'll take a moment to stop by her blog and see my feature, it's pretty snazzy! Thank you all for your support and encouragement as I continue to grow and nurture my business!

Luxe Event Productions provides a care-free wedding planning experience sure to make each bride feel pampered, relaxed and in-the-know. Misty ability to work with any budget pulling from affordable resources such as Ebay, Craft Warehouse, Costco, amongst many others makes her advice and knowledge valuable to any bride with a budget to please. I've been so thankful to have her guidance and help as I navigate the ups and down of wedding planning. Her experience, personality, and love for her job makes me a firm believer in her business, Luxe Event Productions and I advise any Bride to visit her website and see what wonderful ways she can help YOU!