Wedding Album
Houston Bat Mitzvah: The Courtyard On St. James Place
Professional Photographer
2012 President PPGH
The McCants Wedding
Houston Wedding Facility: The Tuscany Villa
Professional Photographer
2012 President PPGH
Houston Reception Location: The Hotel ZaZa
Photographers, please notice a combination of natural light as well as on and off camera flash for this wedding.
Professional Photographer
2012 President PPGH
Houston Ceremony Location: Fellowship Of The Woodlands
Houston Reception Location: Vic & Anthony’s
Professional Photographer
2012 President PPGH
Houston Ceremony and Reception Location: The Courtyard on St. James Place
Professional Photographer
2012 President PPGH
Houston Wedding Reception Hall: Rockefeller Hall
Professional Photographer
2012 President PPGH
If you are a bride-to-be more than likely you are devoting a serious amount of time into educating yourself about how to plan your wedding, and at some point you will begin researching professional photographers.
Any local or national magazine on wedding planning is going to provide you a list of questions to ask potential wedding photographers. Some of these questions are basic fluff and more than likely can be answered on the photography studios website, while others can provide you with the level of competency of the photographer you are interviewing.
What I want to provide you with are 10 things you can do to ensure good wedding photography at your wedding. But when I say good wedding photography, that means a hassle free experience with your wedding photographer as well as great images!
Here we go!
Item Number One. Make sure to interview your photographer in person, and not just over the phone. If you can’t interview your photographer in person, then at the very least ask for references or check if there have been any complaints filed with the Better Business Bureau.
Interviewing with your photographer in person is going to give you a good idea of whether or not you are compatible on a personal level. Keep in mind that your photographer is going to be with you and your family on one of the most important days of your life, so it’s important that you get along with a photographer you choose.
How did they dress during the interview? Were they professional and respectful? Were they on time to the interview? Do you think that they will be on time to your wedding?
Interviewing with a photographer will also give you a good idea of the quality of their wedding albums. Trying to describe the different design styles we offer over the phone is not an easy thing to do. However, handing a potential client one of our sample albums, or better yet, showing a wedding album waiting to be picked up is truly the ultimate way to communicate the level of quality of the products we offer.
A wedding photographer is only as good as their last wedding album.
Do you have a wedding album waiting to be picked up by one of your customers that I might be able to look at?
If the photographer does present you with an album waiting to be picked up by a client, do not handle the album your self, and do not turn the pages yourself. Allow the photographer to turn the pages for you.
Item Number Two. Try to get a feel for how important continuing education is to the photographer you are interviewing. Do they attend any annual trade conventions? What trade conventions have they attended in the past, and which ones do they plan on attending in the near future?
Item Number Three. Most photographers are going to have a website to display their work, but how do you know that the work being displayed is something that was created recently? If the work being displayed on the website was not created recently, then how do you know if their website is a true representation of what they can create for you today?
Check to see if the photographer’s website also contains a blog. A passionate photographer will be updating their blog regularly. If you find a blog that has not been updated for some time, then perhaps during your initial interview a good question to ask might be why the blog has not been updated for sometime. Do you have some recent work that you can show me?
Item Number Four. Churches in the Houston Texas area are very passionate about preserving the sanctity of a wedding ceremony. Most churches have restrictions that they place on the photographers photographing weddings. In Houston, photographers are not allowed to use their flash during the ceremony. Additionally, photographers may be restricted as to areas of the Church that they can photograph from.
Make sure to ask your church well in advance of your wedding date if they have restrictions for professional photographers. If they do have restrictions, make sure to get this information to your photographer so they can be aware of the church’s rules.
Item Number Five Find out if the photographer is a member of a local professional photographic organization.
Have the photographer ever sat on the board of directors of this organization? Do they attend their monthly meetings regularly?
In Houston, the top professional photographic group is The Professional Photographers Guild of Houston.
These questions are important because the’re going to give you some insight into how serious this photographer is professionally. Any professional photography group is going to have a code of ethics, and more than likely a member of the organization, and especially a member of the Board of Directors will respect those ethics.
These questions are also important as the answer can protect you should your photographer fail to deliver on the promise that was guaranteed in their contract. If after your wedding you find that your photographer has not delivered their product within the time frame that was promised, then with a little research you can contact a board member of the professional organization with your concerns. This of course should only be done after discussing your concerns with your photographer first.
Item Number Six. Does the photographer compete locally or nationally with their photography? What awards have they won from their local professional organization?
The answer to these questions will tell you not just if you’re photographer is ambitious, but if the photographer you are interviewing is excited about improving their work! When a photographer enters their photography to be judged by their peers, what he or she is really saying is that they want to be educated on how they can improve their work, even if the work being entered is already of outstanding quality.
Item Number Seven. Make sure that your photographer accepts credit cards.
Over the years certain individuals have given wedding photographers a bad rap. They have taken people’s money and then never show up at the wedding or event. If you paid cash, then you have very little recourse for getting your money back other than going to court.
To protect yourself, pay for the photographer services with a credit card. This way the credit card provider can possibly act as a mediator, or they may possibly offer some form of purchase insurance which would allow you to get your money back.
Being asked to pay 100% of your balance by cash or check for a discount on your purchase can be a warning sign as to the stability of the vendor you are dealing with.
Weddings can be expensive, so you might as well use a credit card that gives you frequent flyer miles, and with any luck you will spend so much money with your wedding photographer that you and your fiancé can fly anywhere in the world for your honeymoon for free. 
Item Number Eight. At some point towards the beginning of your reception you will have your first dance as a married couple. It’s understandable that often times the couple can become a bit nervous. Sometimes I will find that the couple will begin to talk to each other during their entire first dance. While this is totally a natural way to break the tension of the moment, it doesn’t do much for good photography if all the photographs taken during the first dance are with the subjects mouths open in mid speech.
Embrace one another on the dance floor. Enjoy the moment. Just take it all in. Take this time to reflect on all the history that has brought you to this moment and what the future holds for you both. Don’t be afraid to let the emotion show.
Item Number Nine. You may decide to have a DJ at your wedding. Ask if your DJ has a wireless microphone opposed to a wired microphone.
When it comes time for the best man and the maid of honor to give their toasts, more than likely they will be provided a microphone from the DJ. If that microphone is tethered to the DJ booth, then the individual giving the toast will not be able to move to the center of the dance floor or away from the DJ booth during their toast. The photographer will then have to photograph the individual giving the toast with the DJ stand in the background.
By using a wireless microphone for the toast, an individual can move to the center of the dance floor or at least away from the DJ booth to give a better background for the image. When the toast is given in the center of the dance floor, it becomes very easy to place other guests in the background of the image.
Item Number Ten. Imagine now it’s the end of your reception. Everyone has gone outside to bid you both farewell and to wish you a good long and happy life together.
Give your photographer a few minutes to go outside before you make your departure. Often times in Houston, a photographer will go from inside an air-conditioned environment and step outside into the humidity. When this happens the photographer’s camera lens will fog up.
About three to five minutes of time is needed for the photographer’s camera to acclimate to temperature and de-fog.
Professional Photographer
2012 President PPGH
Ceremony Location: The Courtyard on St. James Place
Reception Location: The Courtyard on St. James Place
Professional Photographer
2012 President PPGH
It was my first time photographing at Beth Yeshurun. That tends to make clients a bit nervous when I have never photographed at their location before. Logically though there is/was a first time for every place I have ever shot in. My professionalism and skill never decreases though. Judi and Roger’s ceremony was perfect and went without a single glitch. Their reception was held at the Houston’s historic Rice Hotel in The Crystal Ballroom. Just breathtaking. 
Professional Photographer
2012 President PPGH
Every so often I take an image and I just know that it is going to be good. I took this last Saturday, and all weekend I have been chomping at the bit to get to work on it. Without a doubt I will be adding this to my website.
Normally, when a bride is walking down the isle and is on her way to the ceremony, I would only photograph the bride from the back to show the train. But this day, I wanted to find something a bit different. This was a bit of a risky shot because there is really only one spot the father and daughter could be in to make this composition truly work. It was a one shot deal. I knew however if I missed that I would still have time to get my normal composition of the back of the train.
I love all of the leading lines, and the red is so robust! The smiling bride, just far enough back to see her father’s smiling and proud face. I really could not have asked for more.
The more I look at it, the more I like it, and this image would not even exist if I were not willing to take the risk of breaking away from my normal routine.
As a bit of a side note, during the end of this absolutely fabulous wedding at Butler’s Courtyard, the couples limo was 50 minutes late! I would love to have the name of the company to make sure that I never refer them to any of my future inquiries.
Aric C. Hoek
The Master of Shadows
Houston Wedding Photographer
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Professional Photographer
2012 President PPGH
Hello all. I have been a bit slow in posting the past few days. My daughter, son, and wife are all sick so I am working overtime.
We just finished another fabulous wedding album design!
Aric C. Hoek
The Master of Shadows
Houston Wedding Photographer
Want to receive notification of updates to my blog? Look to the right of this post and subscribe.
Professional Photographer
2012 President PPGH
This story is a first for me….
Last Monday, we received a phone call from a gentlemen wanting us to photograph his proposal that was to take place on that Friday at one of Houston’s finest restaurants, Mark’s. After a few minutes on the phone, it was obvious that we would need to meet in order to go over all of the details.
Mr. Vickrey and I met last Wednesday. After our meeting we then took a short field trip to Mark’s so I could scope out the restaurant, which I really didn’t need to do because my wife and I go there every year for our anniversary. While there, we meet with the manager and told him of our plan, and he was more than accommodating.
Friday night came, and I arrived at the restaurant dressed as a waiter so I would blend in. While I have never seen a waiter carrying around a camera, I wanted to do everything that I could think of to blend in so I would not ruin the surprise.
As it turns out, it worked like a charm, and the evening went off without a hitch.
If you would like to see the entire proposal as a slide show, visit our web site and click on the link marked VIEW YOUR PORTRAIT and enter in the password vickrey.
Aric C. Hoek
The Master of Shadows
Houston Wedding Photographer
Want to receive notification of updates to my blog? Look to the right of this post and subscribe.
Professional Photographer
2012 President PPGH
I decided to take Monday off with the rest of the country, and I needed it. But now it is time to continue on with my wedding album marathon! We are on day 5 of 10, and here is today’s wedding album.
Aric C. Hoek
The Master of Shadows
Houston Wedding Photographer
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This is day 4 of my “wedding album a day” 10 day marathon! Enjoy.
Aric C. Hoek
The Master of Shadows
Houston Wedding Photographer
Want to receive notification of updates to my blog? Look to the right of this post and subscribe.
Professional Photographer
2012 President PPGH
I just realized that the album I posted a few hours ago is already on my site as a sample album, so I tought I would post an additional album today. This album I was planning on posting tomorrow, but there is no time like the present.
A great wedding , and a fun reception. My parents actually got married in this church. Make sure to look at the cake! Each layer of the cake is placed at different angles giving it a very cool look.
Aric C. Hoek
The Master of Shadows
Houston Wedding Photographer
Want to receive notification of updates to my blog? Look to the right of this post and subscribe.
Professional Photographer
2012 President PPGH
Let me start by saying that this post should be the first post for 9/1, but for some reason it has shown up as the second.
Today I am continuing my marathon of a wedding album a day for 10 days! This is day three. Yesterday I posted two albums, realizing that one of the albums was already on my site, so that was cheating on my part and I made up for it by posting a second album. Today’s post marks the third album and third day.
The Hart Wedding….
Aric C. Hoek
The Master of Shadows
Houston Wedding Photographer
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Professional Photographer
2012 President PPGH
I really liked this wedding as it most definitely had some Texas flair to it. The final album will be arriving from the printers in about a week, and I am very excited to get it back.
Aric C. Hoek
The Master of Shadows
Houston Wedding Photographer
Want to receive notification of updates to my blog? Look to the right of this post and subscribe.
Professional Photographer
2012 President PPGH
It seems as of late I have been shooting nothing but bridal portraits, and I can’t put those up in fear of the fiancé seeing the images before the wedding.
Here are a few from last Saturdays wedding at The Parador. The wedding coordinator for this event was Schwarts and Woodward.
Aric C. Hoek
The Master of Shadows
Houston Wedding Photographer
Want to receive notification of updates to my blog? Look to the right of this post and subscribe.
Professional Photographer
2012 President PPGH
For a good time, visit nancy and Janice at Butler’s Courtyard.
There is a difference between a commercial photographer and an art photographer. 99.9% of all wedding photographers are commercial photographers, specialized in weddings. The commercial photographer produces photographs that are in focus, well lit, and capture a lot of detail. The commercial photographer is a flatterer. The Art photographer produces the kinds of photographs that are far more than simple information; they have attitude and context through the daring use of angle, depth, perspective, and light. Wedding photographs are art when people want a copy of them, even if they don’t know the bride and groom. I strive to become a better artist with every wedding I shoot.
I am an expert in the use of shadows in my photography, intentionally leading the viewer’s gaze to a predetermined destination in the image. My consistent and instinctual use of shadows in my photography is the signature element, and the underlying foundation, defining the easily identifiable style known as Solaris.
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Aric C. Hoek
The Master of Shadows
Houston Wedding Photographer
Professional Photographer
2012 President PPGH
The July heat in Houston is oppressive. So when Tamara booked me early in the year for her wedding this July, I was kind of surprised when she told me we would be walking from her home to the church, and then from the church to the reception in downtown Houston! Yikes!
But one second later, I knew she had a clear vision of what she wanted. Her fiancé walked from their loft to work in downtown Houston every morning, and he loved the esthetics created by buildings and overpasses. They both had a clear vision and a plan, and they had chosen me to make that plan come together.
This is my kind of customer. They drink my brand of cool aide! More, more, more, I say. I was hot, the bride and groom were hot, and my assistant could probably have killed me, but we all had a great time, and the images turned out fantastic!
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Aric C. Hoek
The Master of Shadows
Houston Wedding Photographer
Professional Photographer
2012 President PPGH
