The thing I love most about working with Erica and Danny is that they are adventurous. There is something to be said for couples who are up for anything, and that is by definition, exactly what Erica and Danny are in to. We met these two last year and we were so excited to shoot with them during our Kaufman Kramer Photography weekend. They graciously agreed to shoot a “Trash the Dress” session with us in addition to their engagement session. Anything in the interest of great photography right? What I find to be wonderful about Erica and Danny is that they both have very strong personalities. Danny is very laid back, and really enjoys letting Erica run with her ideas. Erica is the strong-willed, adventurous type who knows exactly what she wants. (And the camera loves her)

When it comes to photography in general, I’ve always felt that it is the responsibility of the photographer to capture the personality of their subjects. I think in Erica and Danny’s case, their personality comes through in every photograph. One thing I’ve always enjoyed about shooting is the chance to meet cool people. We’ve been blessed as photographers to have nothing but great relationships with each of our clients. Through our many interactions, from the Trash the Dress, to the Engagement Session, to the Boudoir Shoot, to the Wedding Day, every experience we’ve had with Erica and Danny has been exciting, vibrant, and a great chance to produce awesome images.

One thing I always tell clients during my client consultations is that it is ESSENTIAL that we work together before the wedding day. Before the wedding, I had worked with Erica specifically 3 times, and going into the wedding day, we already had a great rapport built up. I think that’s what makes the difference between the photographer that shoots for the paycheck and the photographer that shoots for love of photography. We deal in relationships…we invest in people. I’ve been hearing many clients say that we’ll be their photographers for life. For me, there is no greater honor as a photographer to hear a client say that. If I can be included in the list of…My Doctor is…My Dentist is… My Photographer is… then my job is done.

I just wanted to say thank you to Erica and Danny for continuing to invest in our relationship and for being so awesome over this past year. I can’t wait to see what you think about your images, and I can’t wait for the next time we get to work together.

Congratulations from myself, and all of the Kaufman Kramer crew! You guys rock.

-Steve

On July 11th, Brad and I had a great time shooting Lindsay and Mike’s wedding in Medina, Ohio (my hometown!)  The day started looking pretty grey, and proceeded to absolutley pour down rain.  It just goes to show you that having a giant golf umbrella in your car is NEVER a bad thing.  I was able to keep the girls quite dry while getting into their cars.  Unfortunatley, I can’t quite say the same for myself (how’s that for customer service?)  The weather turned around and we ended up having wonderful cloud cover for the rest of the day, which softened my light and made it oh-so easy to create beautiful photos.

The bridal party was an absolute joy to work with, and everyone was so cooperative and seemed to have a great time throughout the entire day.  I think that had something to do with the ‘bridal party lounge’ that was set up at the Blair Center.  Poker, darts, snacks, soda, beer, and last but not least… two Nintendo Wiis attached to HDTVs.  I don’t think the guys could have asked for anything more.

Congratulations to Lindsay and Mike on their marriage, and for having a beautiful day.  I hope you all enjoy the video.

~Chris

Hey everyone. We’ve been excited for this wedding for a LONG time coming. When Chris and Brad first told me about meeting Jennifer and Bryce at the McBroom Wedding last year, I thought to myself, hmmm… ok, I really hope the book with us. As luck would have it, Jennifer and Bryce did book with us and we were able to produce one of the coolest engagement sessions to date for them. They are both huge Michigan State fans, and thus we traveled up to Lansing, Michigan to shoot on the MSU campus. We had so much fun and developed such a great relationship with them over the past year that when it came time to shoot their wedding, it seemed nothing short of bittersweet. On the one hand, we were so excited to shoot for them, and on the other, we were sad that we wouldn’t have them to look forward to. (I guess we’ll have to wait for them to pick us up for baby pictures…right?)

Jennifer and Bryce did a great job of allowing time for photography and Jen in particular had so many ideas of her own that we really couldn’t have asked for a more perfect situation with which to be creative. The hair salon, Salon Seventy Six, in Grosse Pointe Woods, Michigan was awesome. It was located on a picturesque downtown area with lots of shops and character…great for candids! The church was AMAZING. The reception hall was fantastic. It was just a great day with perfect weather and lots of great places to shoot. We couldn’t ask for more! The one thing that absolutely blew me away was that the song that we selected for their engagement session video “To Show You My Love” by Mike Schmid, wound up being the song they used for their first dance. I remember thinking, oh wow… that’s truly an honor for us, and that we really connected with our client on a whole other level.

Many of our couples check out our blog after the wedding day to see what we write, and I, as well as the Chris and Brad want to personally thank Jennifer and Bryce for allowing us to be apart of your special day. You guys were great to us, and your families were so much fun to work with. We hope you love the photography as much as we loved producing it. Enjoy!

-Steve

A little something extra for Jen and Bryce:

Ok. We’ve seen quite a few things shooting weddings… flower girls stopping mid aisle, and running back to the entrance of the church, photographers getting toppled over by other photographers… but we’ve NEVER seen a processional quite like this one that we found on YouTube:

(Thanks to Marie M. for spotting this one!)

I think this was hilarious! So, I challenge any bride to come on down the aisle just like this!

Any takers? (wink)

-Steve

Hi everyone! David and I got a chance to shoot with a really cool couple, Tausha and Luke and we wanted to share some of the photos from their engagement session. This was an especially fun shoot for us because I got a chance to work with David, (a really good friend of KKP’s.) David (also known as the guy who waves his hands at the camera in EVERY blog post) started shooting with us a little over a year ago and he’s really been producing some great stuff. I’ll have some blog posts in the coming weeks that showcase some of his work. I think it’s important to work with different shooters on occasion just to mix things up a bit and to provide another critical eye.

Tausha and Luke were very easy to work with and after we loosened them up a bit, (mainly by David and I just making fun of each other) the photos really started to take off. I always stress with our clients the importance of working with their wedding photographer before wedding day. There’s just something about building rapport and knowing what to expect that helps put minds at ease on wedding day. When we first started KKP (almost 4 years ago…) we didn’t offer engagement sessions right off the bat, and I think it impacts your ability to engage with a client on wedding day. It’s nice to experience something familiar, and as stressful as wedding day is, the one thing you don’t want to worry about is whether or not your photographer is going to produce for you. The KKP engagement sessions are really one of our strongest attributes, because we’re always traveling to locations we don’t know, and we’re forced to think outside the box. I think that’s one of the huge draws for me personally when I decided to become a photographer. Always new. Not just sitting in a cubicle with the same old monotonous tasks to complete.

This was a great engagement session, and I hope you enjoy the video!

-Steve K.

Christine and Daniel approached us this past winter to shoot their wedding in June. I must say, this was one of those couples that just followed the classic love story. Christine and Daniel met online, and after getting to know each other, they wound up canceling their online accounts and decided to get engaged. From the moment we sat down to speak with them about their wedding, it just seemed like this couple would be different. Christine had lots of great ideas of what she wanted her special day to be, the dress, the look, everything.

It was a lot of fun to discuss ideas back and forth with these two because I think they had an idea of what they wanted, but they weren’t sure of what their photographer could bring to the table. After all, when you hire a photographer, all you’re really doing is hiring them based on the promise that they’ll take good pictures on your special day. The great thing about our relationship with our clients, and especially with Christine and Daniel, is that we always strive to push ourselves outside of our comfort zone and to explore new styles and techniques. Christine and Daniel made it so easy for us to produce great photography because they were up for anything. We got a chance to shoot at some of my favorite locations around Columbus, as well as mix it up downtown in the arena district.

One thing that really stood out to me was how wonderful both families were. Daniel in particular, was in short, courageous. Daniel lost his mother a few months ago, and to capture the emotions that he, and is family were experiencing was so powerful and overwhelming. It really resonated with me. Christine placed a single red rose in her white bouquet to represent his mother and I found that the little touches here and there really helped the families celebrate her life and to make her apart of their memories that day. It’s times like that where a photographer has to pay particular attention to the details. Every little thing that Christine and Daniel spent time picking out, arranging, etc… was extremely significant to their day, and not capturing those details would have been unacceptable. James McBride, a famous author was quoted as saying, “As a journalist, the details always tell the story.” How true… especially in this case.

The photos turned out amazing and I am so excited to share some of them with all of you. Christine and Daniel did a great job of allowing us the time to get creative with their images and I am thankful that we had the honor of shooting their wedding. Congratulations you two!

I have their engagement session as well as their wedding videos here, so feel free to check them both out!

-Steve

Engagement Session

Wedding

Hi everyone! I wanted to share one of our latest couples with all of you…Jillian and Walter. This was a very cool wedding. The wedding took place on May 30th in Akron at a place called Stan Hywet Hall & Gardens. I must say, this location was absolutely beautiful. Lots of old-English buildings, tea garden, flower gardens, and little nooks and crannies that provided us with tons of great setups for photography. It was interesting being at such a huge property because this location can actually accommodate 2-3 weddings simultaneously, and thus the staff there coordinate to keep the brides from seeing each other.

It was cool to turn the corner and see another wedding party. The funny thing was that I think that the photographers sized each other up as much as the brides did. “Oh…he’s a Canon shooter…Oh… he’s got a Nikon”. I always try to be friendly towards everyone we meet, because hey, we’re all in this together right? Let that be a lesson to other photographers who may just be starting out. Don’t nay-say the competition, it reflects poorly on you, and you wouldn’t want other photographers doing it to you.

Jillian had one of the coolest bouquets I’ve ever seen. Each rose in her bouquet was made of wood. Each one was hand-painted and looked so real that you literally couldn’t tell they were wood unless you tried to smell them. The best thing about it is that she can keep her bouquet forever! Very different, and very beautiful. Overall, it was a a great ceremony, and the weather was perfect. Enjoy!

-Steve