GroovyDoodle Photography

As the preferred photographer at several Columbus wedding venues, we talk to a lot of bridal couples who are searching for a photographer to capture their big day. Sometimes it turns out that we’re not available for their date, but we usually go ahead meet with those couples anyway just to pass on some helpful tips on how to choose the right wedding photographer.

Why do we take the time to meet with bridal clients even if we know there’s no chance of us shooting their wedding? Pay attention here, brides and grooms… This is important. The photographer you choose for your wedding day will be with you on your special once-in-a-lifetime-fairytale day more than anyone… More than your mom, more than your friends, and more than your partner. If you find your photographer annoying, guess what? That irritation is going to be reflected in every picture from your wedding day!

So, with that in mind, here is a list of questions and tips that we offer to every bridal couple we meet with:

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Remember those evening engagement pics we tweeted about last week? Well here are our preliminary favorites. Needless to say, with their blended-tradition wedding in Canada right around the corner, we’re really excited that they chose us as their international wedding photographer!

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Here’s what the groom had to say about these first few:

We couldn’t be happier with your service!!! Thank you from the bottom of our hearts.

This weekend we traveled to Indiana to help Kent & Teresa celebrate their 25th wedding anniversary by capturing a few photos of the occasion.

Here are a few we think you’ll enjoy…

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We met this sweet and lovely bride and her groom last year at Brent & Lindsay’s wedding, and were super excited when they contacted us about doing their engagement pictures as well as the photography for their Columbus wedding this summer. After the ceremony, we stole away with them to the Franklin Park Conservatory where we were able to get a variety of both fun and poignant photos before heading back to the reception. Here is a preview of some of our favorites…

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(cc) WoodleyWonderWorks

While doing some research on how to reach more potential clients, I ran across some interesting internet search statistics. In the last 30 days, 90,500 people in and around Columbus have searched for keywords like “to sell house” or “house for selling” or even “sell house prayer”, not to mention the big hitters like “home sale”, which had over 20 million hits in the Columbus area alone last month. It’s obvious that people are searching for ways to differentiate their homes from the thousands of others available in this saturated market. Who doesn’t know someone who’s got a home for sale right now?

According to a 2008 NAR survey, 87% of home buyers use the internet to research their next home purchase. Of the buyers who used the internet, those surveyed rated photos as the single most useful element in their search for a home.

Being in the photo business, it was inevitable that a couple of our family photography clients would eventually approach us about doing real estate work for them. In the interest of serving our customers better, I started researching real estate photography around the country. One of the things I found was a fantastic article by Gar Benedick of RIS Media which explores some the reasons that real estate photos hold high value (at a very reasonable price) in the marketing of your home.

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Wanna be inspired? Check out this annual report we photographed for Volunteers of America of Greater Ohio – VOAGO. Read here about John and his son Joshua who says, “Volunteers of America is a ray of hope and sunshine in our lives. They taught me how to be a better parent and a better person.” Or, you can read about Tom, Cory or the McCloud family, all of whom touched our hearts as they shared their stories on picture day.

Download the PDF here: AR09-FINAL-for-web

We were recently asked, “Do you do house photography?” by one of our regular family photo clients. Of course we do! Here are a few of our favorites of her lovely Columbus-area home, including one of the super cool man-cave. To see more, check out the full listing.

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Update: Our client checked in on July 6th with an update on her listing. Her realtor is reporting a “big spike in showings this week”, just one week after we sent over the photos. Here’s what our client had to say…

… [W]e definitely increased viewings online, and we had our first showing since April…all because of the pictures.

We shot the first of what’s shaping up to be a busy wedding season this weekend. The event was at one of our favorite Columbus wedding venues – the lovely Bar of Modern Art (BoMA). While we have a ton of wedding photos to sort through, here is a sneak peak at Jen & Dan’s big day…

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It’ll be a few weeks before Jen & Dan’s photos from the event are ready, but the ones we took at their mini-studio and printed on-site for all their guests are just as fun to look at. Who needs a photo booth at their wedding reception when you can have a professional photography studio?

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These two cuties were back for their third photo shoot with us, this time at the Whetstone Park of Roses where we had a great time playing in the giant sandbox at the play ground. Here are the ones we just had to share!

Here’s what mom had to say the day after the photos were delivered…

I can’t express to you how much I LOVE the pics. So many people have complimented on them already. And I’ve past your info on to a few.

See you again in the late fall for another round!