The Perfect Ten : 10/10/10 : The Coolest Contest Ever!

Oh yeah, this is BIG NEWS alright! To celebrate our 10th year of marriage (everybody say "aawww!") and the fact that we photographed our first wedding together ten years ago (Hi David and Angie Pointer - we love you guys!), we are having a contest to give away a wedding!! Well, not the whole she-bang. What, do you think we have the budget of NBC? ;) No, we're going to gift one lucky couple a $3000 photography package! And the even better news is that we've got some other great vendors to chip in with some awesome prizes too to bring the total value over $7500 (more on that in a minute)!!

Why are we doing this?
[Mushiness] Danielle and I can not believe that we've been married for ten years! It's not that we didn't think we would make it this far, it's just that it has flown by. In those ten short years we have started a successful business together, remodeled a house, and become parents to two amazing little girls.

We started out as a couple of young lovebirds with no real direction in life. Danielle was still in college and I was an underpaid newspaper photographer. But then things started to fall into place. Inspired by our own horrible wedding photos (we didn't know the first thing about wedding photography back then) we decided to photograph a friend's wedding. And then another. And another. The couples were thrilled with their photos and poor Danielle cried every time she worked on the proofs because their photos were so much better than ours.

The next thing we knew we were officially in business. We both worked full time jobs, but we dove head first into making the business work. With every wedding, we felt we got better and stronger. Before we knew it, we were talking family. And then remodeling the old shack we lived it. And then Madilynn came along. And man, did life get crazy. Danielle quit her job (she just couldn't leave the baby) and I started racking up 40 hours a week for Hope Photography on top of 40 hours a week at the paper. Something had to give.

Almost three years ago we took a huge leap of faith and I left the newspaper to focus on the business full time. Eighteen months ago, Danielle gave birth to our second terror, I mean angel, Amelia. We haven't looked back for one second. Life just keeps getting crazier and better.

Danielle and I realize that we are both so truly blessed. We get to work with our best friends every day (and yes, we mean each other). We see our girls constantly and have the most active role in their upbringing (which means it's all our faults when they behave poorly). We are our own bosses (she is sooo Michael Scott and I'm Jim Halpert, btw). We have the best clients and friends and family in the world! And we know that we wouldn't be here now if it weren't for you. So to share this love we have, for each other, for our business, and for our relationships with our clients, we wanted to give something back to the wedding world; give one lucky couple a shot at an awesome wedding. Karma can be a beautiful thing... and since we've been blessed, it's our turn to share those blessings with others (and by Karma, I'm talking the Earl Hickey kind, not the Buddha kind). [/Mushiness]

To honor our 10 years of marriage and 10 years of wedding photography, we are giving away a wedding on October 10, 2010. Yep, I know you're quick. That's 10/10/10!

The Details:
We are holding a contest to give away a wedding package consisting of photography, planning, videography, reception lighting, and a bridal bouqet/boutonnière combo. This package can only be applied to a wedding on 10/10/10 and has to be in the Knoxville area. The total value of the package is $7,670!

Who is giving what:
Hope Photography: $3000 photography package that includes two photographers (us), a coffee table book, an online gallery and a proofbook.

One Enchanted Evening: Princess Package including Pre-Wedding services, Day of Wedding services and After Ceremony services. ($2350)

Ambiance Light Design: Color wash and eight uplights ($1500)

Midnight Magic Studios: Video of the ceremony coverage ($655)

Lisa Foster: Bridal Bouquet and groom's boutonnière ($165)

How it will work:
We're going to try to keep this as simple as possible (which means it will be difficult... so pay attention!). Couples will email us with their name and contact information by January 31st.

We will then email them a questionnaire and a link to the official rules. The questionnaire will ask them to share some details about the couple (how they met, how he proposed, etc.).

We will then share those stories on our blog over the following week and a half.

We will open voting up on 2/10/10 by posting a new email address (just for this contest) and letting you all vote on your favorite story. You will be given ONE VOTE PER EMAIL ADDRESS. Danielle and I will keep a tally going until voting closes at 11:59 pm on 2/13/10. We will then announce the winner on 2/14/10!! Sound easy enough? It is (at least on paper)!

Why such a convoluted way of voting? We've seen too many online polls be skewed by people who knew how to skirt the system. While our system is going to be a pain in the booty for us (counting each vote, making sure only one vote per email address), it's the only way we could come up with that would be fair for all the couples who enter.

The Basic Rules (email us if you want see the full list of rules and regulations):
• The entrants CAN NOT be under contract with any other photographer (including Hope Photography), planner, or videographer. The last thing we want to do is take business away from someone else who has already been retained for their services.

• The wedding must take place in the Knoxville area and on October 10, 2010.

• Cheating will not be tolerated! In fact, we'll flog you and torture you with 84 straight hours of ShamWow! commercials if we catch you cheating.

• By entering, couples are granting permission for Hope Photography, and it's partners, to use their names and likenesses to promote this contest.

Ready to Enter?
If you're reading this, then the contest is officially open!! Send your name, phone number and email address to: info@hope-photo.com

Deadline for entries: January 31, 11:59 pm EST (No more entries will be taken after that time.)

Questionnaires will be emailed in batches starting at the end of Day One to all entrants for that day. The sooner questionnaires are returned to Hope Photography, the sooner those entrants will be blogged (and the more people will read your story).

Questions or need more information? info@hope-photo.com or give us a call at 865-977-6483

Not getting married anytime soon or already married? Then pass the word! Everyone knows someone getting married. And if they don't have a photographer lined up already and want to get married on a unique wedding date, then they will love to hear about this contest.

So there you have it! Exciting, huh? And a little bit crazy; we do realize that. But we promise that we will devote as much energy and time to whoever wins this contest as we do our regular clients. We are looking forward to 2010 and have big plans for this to be the best year ever!

-Wes

The Digital Wedding Forum Convention in Nashville

Greetings everyone! As promised, today I wanted to share a little about our trip to Nashville last week. One of the coolest things about being a photographer is the constant opportunities to further our education. We are members of a group called the Digital Wedding Forum (if you're a wedding or portrait photographer, check it out) and this year they held their annual convention in Nashville. That's a no-brainer, huh? We HAD to go. We had been to one other DWFC in Tampa two years ago and had a blast (as evidenced by THREE blog posts back then... here, here, and here).

We had a great time this year and made a ton of new friends as well as partied with some old ones. Of course, we came back all stoked and ready for our next wedding. Too bad we have to wait about two more months! Anybody getting married next week and need a fired up pair of photographers? :)

Here are just a few of the many photos we took on the trip...

We'll start off with something way cool. We were contacted by the company that makes our sweet canvases, Simply Canvas, a couple months before the convention. They said they wanted to show off some of our work in Nashville so they asked me to send them one or two files. I was so excited that I sent six!

And this is what they chose. We were ecstatic (as you can tell)! Thanks Simply Canvas!


This has nothing to do with the convention. We walked around the outside of the hotel and I saw this and liked it. :)


Our buddy Jason Davis tagged along again this year. Well, he drove, so I guess *we* tagged along with him.


It wouldn't be a trip for us if we didn't find time to play, I mean, experiment.


Jason tried to play hide and seek.


Apparently Knoxville photographers are pretty antisocial. The night of the big party, we all kind of hung by ourselves and had our own get-together. There's our pal Tara and hubby, Brian from Dixie Pixel, Jason, Matt Browne (far right), and Bill Waldorf.


So the album company, Finao, that we added to our lineup last year, held a contest for the King and Queen of the DWF Convention. And two really great photographers took home the title: David Getson, right, and Petra Hall smooch it up for the crowd (Petra posted some more photos of the event on her blog).


Feeling inspired to play so more after one of the seminars, Danielle, Jason, and I took to the creepy stairs at the hotel.


And we made some pretty cool images!


Jason getting all sniperish. Yep, I'm making up words.


We did a few of each other in front of this old ratty light and then I asked Jason to shoot Danielle and I. I think it's one of my more favorite images of the two of us together (well, there aren't that many).


After it was all over, we had dinner with some of our new friends before driving home. Erin and Justin Moulden, are a cool couple from Arkansas that we hit it off with right away and Ben Ramos, who is probably one of only a handful of guys at the convention that saw eye-to-eye with me. Literally (sorry, there aren't too many of us gentle giants out there in the world, so when we meet, there's an instant connection).

There are sooo many others that we met and partied with... it would take me a week to list them all. But Danielle and I do want to take a second to say an extra special thanks to John and Dalisa Cooper, who are the amazing duo behind altF. They took a few minutes out of their hectic schedules to sit with us and help us wrap our brains around some business issues we were having and they really opened some windows for us. They didn't have to do this; they didn't know us, but they exemplify one of the greatest things about our business. And that's the giving attitude and the willingness to help others that a lot of great photographers have. So THANK YOU AGAIN, Dalisa and John!! And if some of you haven't had the chance to be blown away by their work yet, head straight to the link above and prepare to have your world rocked!

In other big news for us, we finally took a few minutes to set up a fan page over on everyone's favorite daily distraction, Facebook! Check us out:

Our Facebook Fan Page.
If you haven't joined in yet, what the deuce are you waiting for? :) I am completely blown away by the fact that we have over 500 fans already and I just set the thing up less than a week ago! What's going down on the fan page? We'll keep in touch daily with updates and links and promotions and photos and general revelry. It should be fun!

AND (won't this guy shut up already!) if you're engaged or know someone who is engaged and you don't have a photographer yet... check back tomorrow afternoon for a HUGE announcement!! This is going to be bigger than BIG, trust me!

-Wes

Coming tomorrow: We announce something so epic it will make you slap your momma. Well, not really slap her, but it is something EXTRAORDINARY!

KNOXVILLE WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY - Lynne + Mike 12.27.09

Hello everyone, we hope you all are having a wonderful New Year! It's crazy to think that January is almost over already. We kind of thought things would slow down a little after the holidays, but we've been super busy finishing the last wedding of 2009, attending an awesome photography conference, working on updating the website with new images, AND coming up with the details to an AMAZING contest that Danielle and I will hopefully announce this week (hint: go ahead and tell all of your newly engaged friends to start checking our blog this week for updates. Spread the word, this is going to be Legen... wait for it... DARY!).

On to the last wedding of 2009! Lynne and Mike (with the help of Lynne's sister Cecilia (aka "wedding planner extraordinaire") had planned a very beautiful ceremony for the Sunday after Christmas at Erin Presbyterian Church and Bearden Banquet Hall. We always enjoy a nice Christmas wedding because they are so pretty! Lynne and Mike have been together for a while and are super sweet couple. Wes and I truly enjoyed working with them at their wedding.

Here are a few of our favorites from their day...


We love finding little gems like this when a bride gets ready in a Sunday School room of the church.


Wes jokingly accused me of being "artsy" with the photo on the left. It's a real moment, I swear! I just went for a different angle. :)


Another beautiful bouquet by Lisa Foster. And Wes really dug this cross shadow.


The beautiful bride.


And the handsome groom.


I wonder what she's thinking?


Lynne and her stepfather before walking down the aisle.






What a happy couple.


Wes called me a photo sniper and for hiding in the poinsettias during the portraits.


Classic.




It was a bit too cold and windy to do too much outside, but Wes still got them to play along for a few minutes.


And again, here I am hiding behind vegetation to get the photo. The things I do for our couples!


Bling, bling!


This groomsman was all over the place with his iPhone snapping photos. I wonder if he ended up shooting more than us. ;)




The bubbles disappeared pretty quick thanks to the wind, but I promise, there were bubbles!

Thanks again Lynne and Mike! We hope you had a wonderful honeymoon!

-Danielle

Coming next: Wes is hoping to throw together a blog post about our trip last week to Nashville for the Digital Wedding Forum Convention.

Hope Photography - The Best of 2009!

Happy New Year everyone! It's hard to believe that 2009 has come and gone. Even harder to believe that the first decade of the new century has already passed. Time flies when you're having fun right? We have had a great year thanks to all of you, our clients and friends. Thank you!!

I'm usually not big on doing year in review type posts and not because I don't think they're a great idea. It's just that I have a hard time picking my favorites AND by the time I finally have the opportunity, it's already two or three weeks into the new year. But this year, I wanted to try something different. Here's the backstory:

Earlier this year, one of our past brides mentioned in casual conversation her favorite photo from her wedding. I had to stop her because I wanted to know more. See, her favorite wasn't what I would have thought was her favorite. She explained that the image she and her new hubby loved the most was a photo I took of them dancing during the reception. I don't even think it was the first dance; just some dancing later on in the night.

I looked up the photo and I was puzzled. It was a nice photo, for sure. But to me it was a standard photo of a couple dancing. The bride did have a sweet giggle-smile, the light and composition were nice, but other than that it was pretty unremarkable to me. I began to wonder if she was thinking of the same image I was looking at. Danielle and I took some great portraits that day and captured some wonderful moments. I would have picked 100 different photos that I would have thought would have been the couples' favorite image before this one. Curious, I asked for an explanation and she gave me the skinny... that was their favorite because the groom had just said something to the bride and it made her laugh. It wasn't a big guffaw, but it brought a smile and a giggle to the surface. And the instant they saw that photo, they remembered exactly what he said and they both laughed again. She said that every time they look at the photo now, they smile. And that was why it was their favorite.

What was said? I don't know; I didn't want to pry. What fresh newlyweds discuss while embraced during their reception stays between the newlyweds. :) But this whole scenario was a wake-up call for me. I'll admit, like most artists, I probably tend to be somewhat self-centered when it comes to my work. I have my favorites and I expect everyone else loves the same images I do. I don't know why that is, but I have a lot of photography friends and I bet you it's the same with them. I'm sure some psychiatrist has written a book about artists and their egos, but I think it simply comes from a pride in our work. We pour our hearts and souls into our work and we become emotionally attached to an image for our own reasons. We like the lighting, the composition, the post processing (aka, the funkiness), the moment, the whatever it is that we think sets that image apart from the millions of photos out there. But we have to remember that each image is highly subjective. What's the saying, "one man's trash is another man's treasure"? That over simplifies it, but you get my point (and no, I'm not calling any of our images trash. ;) ). We, as photographers, have to remember that our subjects have a completely different experience from a wedding or portrait session than we do. And it's our responsibility to honor those experiences and deliver the best images we can.

I know, that's all kind of deep for a new year (I applaud you for making this far if you're still reading). I guess it's the whole "time to be reflective and introspective" thing about the passing of a year. So having waxed on and toyed around with the closet philosopher in me, let me get on with it... It's time to share some favorites!! But unlike all the other posts we do from each session showing you *our* favorites, this post is dedicated to our clients' favorite images that we made of them in 2009.


Rachel and Hugh Austin, wedding: "We love this photo because it captures the romantic and nostalgic spirit we had envisioned for our wedding. Plus, we think we look great in the picture! It's fabulous!"


Becky and Medardo Ambriz, portrait session: "I have a lot of favorites, but this image is my "favorite" I guess because of the pose and the background, a little different. I like the way I'm leaning into Mac but still looking at the camera."


Caroline Klotzbach, senior portrait session: "In the past, I have always hated my picture being taken, but this was the best experience with photos that I have ever had.  I believe I look relaxed and not posed, the angles and lighting Wes and Danielle caught are amazing.  Thank you for a great experience with my Senior pictures."


Betsy Cox, family portrait: "Who knew this beautiful stone wall was tucked away at the Greenbelt in 
Maryville?  My kids say this looks like an album cover."


Curt and Dawn Davis, wedding: "Wes and Danielle took some amazing images that day. It was hard to pick a favorite, but we both agreed we loved this particular one.  Nothing about it was forced or posed, it was simply a very natural, beautiful moment that they captured in their lens."


Karen and Darren Dunlap, wedding: "I love the light and colors of that photo."


Elizabeth and David, engagement session: "Our favorite pic is this one because of the heart. It's unique and shows our looooooove. :)"


Amanda Bishop, one-year portrait session: "This is our favorite because it captured Ellie Kate's sweet face perfectly and it reminds us that she wasn't quite walking on her own yet :-)"


Raven and Jeff French, wedding: "It's our favorite because the sky in the background makes it even more gorgeous.  And it shows how much we love each other and maybe a little of how relieved we were just to have the wedding planning over with!"


Sara and Neal Guthe, wedding: "We love it because it captures us in the moment on our big day. It is a candid shot and shows exactly how we were feeling."


Jenna and Josh Bryant, engagement session: "Well, it is impossible to pick a favorite out of the wedding photos since I love different ones for different reasons. So, I chose an engagement photo. This is my favorite picture because it looks so romantic and I love the way the sky looks. It is also a very sentimental location since we went there alot when we first started dating.


Rebecca and Wes Jones, wedding: "It's just a great picture. It's simple and just captures the happiness of that day. And Wes likes the use of negative space!"


Katie and Will, engagement:"First, I just want to say that Will and I are so happy with our pictures. We have shared them with our friends and family and have received tons of compliments! And we love so many that it has been really hard to narrow it down! But we have decided on this photo and here's why... Will and I love nothing more that just being together and being silly. This photo captures our carefree attitudes and the fun we always have together."


Kristal and Charles, engagement session: "It was so hard to pick a favorite! But we finally decided on this photo. It's one of our favorites because it shows the beauty of the Great Smoky Mountains that we both love so much! And because we look incredible thanks to your awesome skills."


Jay Bernard, toddler portrait: "I'm going to go with the close up of Lily on the swing set with her eyes wide open, cheek next to her hand on the swing, looking right through whomever is looking at the picture.  You guys did this one in a big, black and white box photo for us, and we love it. WHY? It's the epitome of a little girl who is secure and happy, innocent on her swing, knowing not and caring not what's going on in the sordid world of golf these days."


Shannon McCloud, family portrait: "It's our favorite because it is rare that we get a really great picture of the two of them together.  Also, we have a similar picture of them together that was taken 4 years ago and it's nice to see the progression.  Even though they act like they can't stand each other, I know they will really appreciate these photos when they get older."


Carrie Myers, family portrait: "This photo is my favorite because it reminds me of how blessed I am to have a such a wonderful family. Thanks again for the wonderful treasures you provided us with!"


Misty and Matt Richards, wedding: "How fun!!! Neat idea. We love this photo because it combines elegant and rugged while throwing in the playfulness of romance and still leaving a little mystery to the story."


Robinella Bailey, family portait: "It's my favorite cowboy and baby Beau!"


Amanda and Jason Shockley, wedding: "This is one of our favorites because it really shows off our personalities. We found it interesting that Jason's friends are jumping all crazy (boys will be boys) and all of mine look exactly the same. We wanted our friends to have a great time on our special day and this shows it off!"


Nikki and Andrew Tuft, wedding: "Wow. This is tough. I wouldn't have said this a few months ago, but I think this is my favorite. I love how it captures the lights in the Foundry and I love the emotions you captured on my face. There really are so many that I could pick, but that is the one I am feeling today :)"


Amy Whaley, family portrait: "We LOVED the one you guys took on the bridge of Colton and Dillon looking down at the water. That was one of our favorites because it just screams, "BROTHERS". One of these days when we're old and they're grown, we'll look back at that picture and remember when they were our little fellas who loved watching that water. :-) Ok, I was just instructed by Jeremy to change our favorite pic to the one of them sitting on the steps leaned over on each other smiling facing the camera... We loved so many of those pictures, it's hard to pick just one!" (I chose to include both to prevent marital strife in the Whaley household. ;) )


Brittany Conner, family portrait: "We love the colors of the fall leaves and Wyatt's expression."

And the client I love the most (but who never buys anything!), Danielle, wanted to share two of her favorites of our girls...

"I LOVE it because it is so dreamy.  It just exudes little girl and the light makes her seem like she is in some kind of magical Wonderland!"


"Also, I love this shot of the two of them because I think it says "sisters" and it makes me see a bond in them that I have never been able to feel being an only child and it makes me feel so blessed and happy that we have been able to give them that kind of relationship to share with one another!"


So there you go folks, some of our clients' favorite images from 2009! Danielle and I have had an amazing year thanks to all of you! We are deeply indebted to each and every one of you who have chosen us to photograph you and your families. We are blessed with a wonderful business, great friends, an awesome family, and the best clients in the world. The relationships we've been a part of this year have changed us for the good!

We have some big plans for this year. Next week we head to Nashville for one of the coolest wedding photography conventions around. We're planning a big contest to celebrate our 10th wedding anniversary. And there's so much more. Here's hoping 2010 kicks as much booty as '09!!

Happy New Year!!
Wes