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Why Your Photographer Won’t Hand Over RAW Files

1/19/2019

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Why Your Photographer Won’t Hand Over RAW Files
Almost every photographer has been asked for RAW files by their customers at one point or another.

For some, it can be hard to understand why their photographer has refused to part ways with their RAW files, but know that your photographer is not trying to be difficult. They have several good reasons why they don’t just hand over all the photos that were taken during your shoot.

When you’re working with a photographer during a shoot, you’ll notice that they’re constantly snapping away. This is because not all of the images come out perfectly. Sometimes a specific pose or scenario needs to be shot multiple times just to get one good shot. A professional photographer spends a lot of time sorting through all of the images that were taken during a shoot to select the best shots.

Once the best photos have been chosen, they are brought to life through post process editing with professional editing software. This stage which takes a lot of time and results in the beautiful end product that is handed over to you. If your photographer had to give you the RAW files you wouldn’t be seeing the end result.

You’d also be surprised at how many people want the RAW files in order to alter the photos themselves. If that individual then chose to share those photos after making their own adjustments, the integrity of your photographer’s work is put at risk.

Something else to keep in mind is that RAW files are huge and you need a lot of memory to store them. You might also find that you don’t have the proper software available at home to view this type of file,  so again you would be sitting with megabytes of files that you can’t do anything with.
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When you hire a professional photographer you’re putting your trust in their abilities. You need to trust that the photos they hand over to you are a result of their hard work, experience and eye for the perfect shot. 
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What's the Basic Wedding Reception Timeline?

9/5/2017

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What's the Basic Wedding Reception Timeline?
Publish by The Knot
Q:
I'm not certain about the order of events at the wedding reception. Could you please give a rough timeline of the following events: receiving line, cocktail hour, first dance, champagne toast, best man's and maid of honor's speeches, dinner and cake cutting? I'm so clueless!


A:
Absolutely, good question! Here's the basic order of wedding reception events. How long each event lasts depends on your party—is it a simple cocktail wedding reception or a seated dinner? (The average reception with full meal lasts for about four hours.) Keep in mind that you're not orchestrating the wedding reception alone—your banquet manager, caterer, bandleader (who might act as MC) and other wedding professionals are old hands at this stuff, so they know what's supposed to happen when. Remember too, that nothing is set in stone—there are always options, and if the timing of one thing or the other doesn't suit your style, you can always mix it up.

Receiving Line
The line can form at the wedding ceremony site just after the wedding or at the reception site, depending on logistics. If you think your guests will get to the reception before you (if you and the wedding party will be taking pictures after the vows), you might want to have the line at the ceremony site. Another option is to hold the cocktail hour in a room other than the main reception room. You'll have plenty of time to get to the cocktail hour, and when the doors to the reception room open, you and your parents can form the receiving line as guests enter.

Cocktail Hour
The cocktail hour kicks off the wedding reception and can last for an hour or perhaps an hour and a half. Guests arrive, greet each other and you, and generally get into party mode.

First Dance
This moment can take place when you two are announced for the first time as husband and wife—just go directly to the dance floor. Alternatively, you can wait until after the salad course—it's entirely up to you.

Champagne Toast and Speeches
The toast generally happens after everyone is seated and the first course has been served. The best man starts the toast and gives his speech, followed by the maid of honor. The couple responds (the groom usually responds to the best man, but why not let the bride say something too?), and then parents and other guests can say a few words as well.

Dinner
Once cocktails are finished, the couple and wedding party have been announced, and the first dance is over (if you've chosen to dance before the meal), dinner should be served. Generally, not much more than half an hour should have passed since guests entered the main reception room.

Wedding Cake Cutting
The cake is usually cut during the last hour of the reception, which makes sense because it's time for dessert and coffee as the party is winding down. Also, the wedding cake cutting generally signals to guests that it's okay to leave soon, so don't cut the cake too early or things could start wrapping up before you're ready.
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Wedding Beauty Tips for The Bride

8/8/2017

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Pre-Wedding Beauty Tips for the Bride (383)

(NewsUSA) - You want everything to be picture perfect for your wedding, including your smile. But like everything else about your big day, that perfect smile could require some work ahead of time. In fact, experts suggest starting your entire beauty regimen six months before the wedding.

Here's a complete pre-wedding beauty checklist.

* Lips: Get soft, kissable lips by brushing away flakes of dry skin with an infant toothbrush soaked in baking soda and water. Apply healing ointment, and in no time, your lips will be ready for that "kiss the bride" kiss.

* Teeth: A cosmetic dentist can often correct an imperfect smile with veneers. But if spending painful hours in the dentist's chair getting your teeth ground down sounds like it would put a damper on all the joyful planning, here's good news: Lumineers (www.lumineers.com) are now used by thousands of dentists nationwide and can be applied in two short, pain-free appointments.

Unlike other veneer procedures, Lumineers are so strong and thin that they don't require removal of sensitive tooth structure. The procedure is quick, painless and even reversible.

* Makeup: Women with warm skin tones look best in makeup with pink, coral, peach, amber, brown and red with yellow undertones. If you have a cool skin tone, choose pink, berry, lilac, mauve or red with blue undertones.

* Skin: Make your face glow with a good cleansing program. Use a cleanser that's appropriate for your skin type in the morning, makeup remover and cleanser at night and a daily moisturizer. Use a gentle facial scrub once a week.

* Hair: If you're planning to change your hairstyle or color, experiment several months before the wedding so you have time to correct any mistakes.

* Nails: If you're a nail-biter, get weekly manicures to keep your nails healthy. Plan your last manicure a couple of days before the big day. Choose a pretty pale pink or splurge on a French manicure, not just because it looks great, but because the chips won't show as much and are easy to fix. You'll have beautiful hands for the rehearsal dinner and any other festivities.

Don't forget, practice makes perfect. Schedule a trial run with your hair and makeup artists several days before your wedding, so there are no surprises the day of the ceremony.

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Free Wedding Planning Guide for Brides

8/14/2015

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A Simple Wedding Preparation and Planning Timeline for the Busy Bride


Wedding to-do lists, checklists, timelines, and even wedding planner binders - they all have the same thing in common and that is a ton of work. Kidding aside, wedding planning in these modern times have become such a complicated, long-term, gigantic feat which seems impossible to tackle alone yet might be too intricate when delegated to the wrong people.

Breaking down the wedding elements into smaller, manageable chunks might be more convenient for the busy brides-to-be, especially those with full-time jobs and multiple responsibilities at work and at home. Keep in mind that each wedding is different and each bride’s approach to the task might also be different as well.

12 months or more before the wedding. Tackle the basic details of the wedding day itself and all other important aspects.

  • Decide on the date that is realistic for everyone.

  • Agree on a budget, along with this discussion comes the topic of the number of guests, the wedding style or theme, and the venue or area of the ceremony and reception.

  • Look for vendors, should you hire a wedding planner? a videographer? a caterer?

  • Book the marriage officiant.

9 months before the wedding. Next elements are about the bridal party and the basic services needed for the wedding day.

  • Send out RSVP and inform the bridal party members.

  • Book all venues and wedding vendors.

  • Do the engagement shoot, if preferred.

6 months before the wedding. For the bride, it is her last chance to be able to experiment with her hair or try any experimental beauty treatments. Any unfortunate effects beyond this time might end up into the prized wedding portrait and further stress on her part.

  • Dive into building the wedding registry.

  • Finalize and send out the wedding stationery.

  • Tackle concerns regarding the honeymoon and the rehearsal dinner.

  • Visit the makeup artist and hair stylist to do test looks.

3 months before the wedding. Try to get as much details done as possible at this point as everything is still manageable, especially when talking about stress and cold feet.

  • Secure the transportation and book hotel rooms for the preparations.

  • Start writing thank you notes as the gifts start coming in.

1 month before the wedding. No looking back, this time is great for finalizing all vendors and finishing with all the legal and monetary concerns for the wedding day.

  • Process all legal paperwork such as marriage license, change of name and of address.

  • Get the final guest count and confirm the number with all vendors involved.

  • Send the final payments to all wedding vendors and services.

  • Make a seating chart or seating plan, if needed.

  • Last chance for the bride’s hair trim and hair color.

1 week before the wedding. The main objective is to keep everyone informed and to make sure everything is in its place on the big day.

  • Confirm all details with vendors and take note of everyone’s arrival times.

  • Delegate small wedding tasks, like picking up the flowers, welcoming the out of town family members, keeping the rings, etc.

  • Meet with the bridal party and give them the wedding day timeline.

  • Prepare tips for the wedding vendors.

  • Pack for the honeymoon.

  • Book a spa treatment for the bride and groom for the day before the wedding.

Crystal Vandegrift is the owner of Crystal Image Photography a VA, D.C. and MD wedding photography provider. Contact us for more information about photographing your wedding.



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For Our Brides ~ Wedding Checklist

8/13/2015

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For CIP brides here you will find several links and wedding tips we have provided for you to help you with your upcoming wedding as well as info we as your photographer will need.

Wedding Photography Info SheetPlease Click Here  to download the CIP info sheet for your photographer. Please email or mail this form back to CIP at least 2 weeks before your wedding date!


 Wedding Photography Check List Here is a photography checklist to give you an idea of the types of wedding day photos you may want. Wedding Photography Check List

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For CIP Brides

11/13/2014

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Wedding Photography Info SheetPlease Click Here  to download the CIP info sheet for your photographer. Please email or mail this form back to CIP at least 2 weeks before your wedding date!

Wedding Photography Check ListHere is a checphotography  list to give you an idea of the types of wedding day photos you may want. Wedding Photography Check List

Wedding Photography ContractPlease download the cip contract and complete the form and mail back to Crystal Image Photography to book your wedding.

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    About Crystal

    Crystal Vandegrift is a wedding photographer covering Virginia, D.C. NC and Maryland.

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What Our Clients Are Saying

Crystal was a great photographer for our wedding! She's definitely LGBT friendly and has some cool rainbow umbrellas to use as props in your pictures - if that's your style. Our friends and family were all very impressed with the number of photos she took and shared with us - and they're all great shots! We would absolutely recommend her to others. - Kelsey and Shannon - Baltimore, Maryland



When I got engaged, I knew who I wanted to take our engagement pictures and also photograph our wedding. I contacted Crystal and asked her if she would be willing to come to Gettysburg, PA to take our engagement pictures and she was more than happy to drive 4 1/2 hours to our farm to capture my "farmer fiancé" and I in the cornfield, in our sunflower field and on our combine. On the day she drove up to take our pictures, it was a really hot and humid August day. She walked around the farm with us snapping pictures and was willing to do whatever we wanted. She did an amazing job capturing who we were and was patient with us when we changed outfits. We also hired Crystal to also photograph our wedding the following September. We filled out a questionnaire beforehand so she knew exactly what kinds of pictures we were wanting her to take. A few days before our wedding, she called and made sure everything was on schedule and letting us know what time we would expect her to arrive at the wedding. My fiancé and I did a "First Look" before the wedding and Crystal was so professional and everything went so smoothly. I can't begin to say how satisfied we are with our wedding pictures!! They were absolutely beautiful! She took pictures of all the little detailed things! I would highly recommend Crystal if you are looking for a photographer! - Chrissy and Dave - Gettysburg, PA



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Contact Us

  • Home
  • Meet Crystal
  • Galleries
    • Weddings
    • Engagement
    • H.S. Seniors
  • Pricing
    • Weddings >
      • Wedding Collections
      • Pros of a First Look
      • FAQ
      • Client Reviews
      • Vendors & Wedding Planning
      • The CIP Wedding Experience
      • How To Book
      • Wedding Albums
      • Bridal Portraits
    • Engagements
    • H.S. Seniors
  • FAQ
  • Client Login
  • Blog
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  • Contact
    • Privacy Policy
    • Return Policy