Emma Weiss is not a new face on Engaged. We’ve not only featured her and her lovely images in a Vendor Spotlight, she’s also photographed a handful of Joy couples! (Her engagement photos are tops.) This Baltimore-based, coffee-loving wedding photographer answers your questions about wedding photography!
(P.s. If you have a question for a wedding vendor, here’s the place to ask…anything!)
1. What equipment will you bring?
Whew. Ready? I’ll bring my camera bodies, lenses, backups, flashes, tons of batteries and memory cards, laptop, an external hard drive and a backup external, a memory card reader, chargers, snack bars, water, aaaaaand myself!
2. Will you need us to provide anything?
For weddings over five hours I’ll request a vendor meal (which I’ll eat while you are eating, so I don’t miss any dances or reception events). During preparation time, I’ll also ask that you bring a full invitation suite and the rings so I can get some creative detail shots!
In the weeks leading up to your day I’ll also get in contact with you to finalize your timeline and create your family formats list, which I’ll need to make sure our family portrait time goes quickly and smoothly! I’ll recommend that you create your list with combinations from biggest to smallest, so it’s easy to dismiss people. You’ll also probably need to provide a handy friend or family member to locate people on the list for me!
Alma and Mike were also featured on Joy for their engagement! I love these two SO much. Alma’s only photo request was a confetti shot, and since it didn’t happen during the ceremony like she planned we made it happen at sunset! We had two guests throw confetti on them and I think it worked great!
3. How can we share our photos?
I deliver photos both physically on a USB and digitally through an online gallery that is easy to share access and share on social media, so any interested loved ones can access your gallery if you’d like! I can also work with you to order a selection of prints through a local photo lab I know and trust to ensure great quality.
As silly as it sounds, I absolutely love my time with the rings during preparations! The sun came out at just the right time and in just the right spot for this one.
4. Do you have a second photographer?
Currently I include second photographers as an optional addition to your package choice. If you choose to add one, I have a handful of amazing and talented photographers in the area that I’ll use to help me through the day! They can be extremely useful with large or long weddings and with getting different angles in the ceremony.
5. What was your most challenging wedding and why?
Sometimes weddings can be challenging from a photography standpoint when all of our portraits are scheduled for after the ceremony – basically when there’s no first look! Aside from being super cute and a great time to spend with your partner to take a moment before seeing your guests, it’s one of the reasons I always suggest scheduling in a first look.
It makes post-ceremony a lot less hectic, and you can enjoy some of your cocktail hour with your guests! However, a first look isn’t for everyone and I absolutely respect that – if you want to see your bride- or husband- to be for the first time down the aisle, that is beautiful and we will work together to schedule enough time for all family, bridal, and couple portraits after the ceremony!
Taken second shooting with my friend Erin Krespan — a greenhouse is a lot sweatier than you’d think but I was dying over how beautiful they look!
