Today on The Forever Bride Show we are talking about how to pick the right photographer and why it’s like choosing the perfect third wheel with RKH Images!

Description of RKH Images:

[Kyle] Well we’ve been shooting weddings for about nine years now. I’ve been shooting photography my whole life. So I started when I was a kid. My mom and I we used to do trick photography with double exposure where I would stand in front of the house and she’d take a picture of me and then take another picture of the house. And then when I got developed I looked like a ghost. So I thought that was just amazing.

Picture posed below!

[Kyle] And so then from there when I was growing up I became a big music fan and I got enamored with concert photography. So as a kid I started sneaking cameras in to concerts and taking pictures and trying to get as close to the stage as possible.

[Kyle] And then when the 90s rolled around to get older I did photography in high school and then I worked for Kake magazine and then I shot for radio stations and then I took a break for a while and then in 2010 my wonderful wife here built me a web page and she said I needed an escape from the retail world. So I wanted to go do photos again. So then my buddy worked for 93X and I started getting into their shows and then I bought some gear and then we had a bill that was kind of very expensive. So like I was saying, I got this big camera annd we had to figure out how to pay for this. So what we did was we did a few weddings for free.

[Tracy] Well we actually only did one for free.

[Kyle] Yeah. Okay. And then they told us that they should have given us the money instead of the other photographers and we were like, “That’s good!”

[Kyle] And when I stepped into that first wedding it was sort of like we were terrified.

[Tracy] We didn’t know what we were getting into.

[Kyle] And when the day rolls along, I was like “Okay, I can do this.” You know I’ve been around crowds of people and doing concert photography and controlling people and all that. And then it just sort of snowballed. We decided to do it and everything just rolled and all of a sudden we got more and more weddings and then so much of it is just keeping people happy.

[Tracy] So then we started doing that and then we built the web page and then we started advertising and nine years later here lots and lots of wedding later, we are here weddings and now as of August this is our full time gig!

Tune in to hear how Tracy and Kyle first met!

What are some questions that a bride should come to the table with?

[Kyle] Some people are limited on what they do. So be sure to ask: how many photos are you going to get with the package? Do they all come in color and black and white? Or do you get one color?

[Tracy] One of the biggest questions I know I’ve kind of told people this inadvertently is ask you’re a photographer how they are with lighting. Lighting is huge in photography. And a lot of venues, like barns for example, is going to be kind of a nightmare if you don’t know whow to direct the lighting.

[Kyle] Definitely. That’s where my experience in concert and sport photography helps so much. So make sure your photographer knows what the proper lighting is going to be at your venue.

[Kyle] Also, find out f your photographer is insured. A lot of venues require that.

[Tracy] One think I always like to ask with brides and groom is, “What are the most important photos for you?” Understanding what you want and communicating that with your photographer is so helpful. There is no such thing as too much information or too much detail. Give your vendors as much information you possibly can.

[Kyle] Ask your photographer if they have a shot list. If they don’t, make up one. That way they know what they’re doing at the wedding and you’re not missing anything.

Let’s talk about timelines,

[Kyle] Yes. We need to know or figure out your timeline if you don’t already have one, because the day is easily set off, even by 5 minutes.

[Tracy]Yes, that’s another thing I want to make known. You may think that 30 minutes is enough time to do something, but it’s not. 30 minutes feels like 5 minutes at a wedding. Time flies, so if you think you don’t need 8 hour coverage, you probably do.

[Kyle] We always have a rough draft of a timeline in our head. So let your photographer know what you want to do/photograph and we can help put together an accurate timeline. We can figure out a schedule for everything,from if you’re doing a first look to wedding party photos to family photos to what you want us to do during cocktail hour, what do you want during the reception, etc.

[Kyle] We’ve even suggested, instead of doing a receivingline, have everyone come up to you to get a picture. That way everyone gets a good picture with the bride and groom, the backdrop is going to be something beautiful and not changing, and we can control the lighting.

Tune in to hear more about this amazing idea! I’m sure you’ll want to do it!

[Kyle] You have to be comfortable with your photographer.

[Tracy] We don’t want to force you to do something you don’t want to do. Everyone is different. Some people are like, “we aren’t that goofy, we don’t want to do that” or “we aren’t that serious, we don’t want to do that”

This is a perfect transition into why someone should do an engagement session.

[Tracy]The engagement shoots are fantastic on both ends, because we get to know the couple and you get to know us! In all honesty, I am just as nervous about working with our couples as they are about working with them! Because you don’t know the people you are working with and you want to make them happy. So through an engagement session you get to know them and figure out their photography style.

[Kyle] Yes, couples get really worked up about the engagement session.

[Ashley] Yeah, let’s blame Pinterest about that.

[Kyle] Definitely. The engagement shoot is supposed to be fun. Get relaxed in front of the camera. Play around with each other, Bring your dogs.

[Tracy]We’ve had people bring their cats, do cosplay, etc. They brought their swords! See picture below.

[Tracy]That’s what it (the engagement session, the wedding, all of it) should be about! It should be about you as a couple.

[Kyle] Yeah it’s pretty much always the same. The guy is always nervous or reluctant. And by the end he’s saying how it was so much more fun that he thought it was going to be. We tell this to every couple, “Pretend you really like each other” or “We are just here to get pictures of you guys making out.”

Talk to me about first looks, do it or don’t do it?

[Tracy] Well when we got married, there was no such thing as a first look. I wish there was, we definitely would have done it. Because I don’t do well in front of a huge crowd. So if we would’ve done a first look, we would have gotten a lot more pictures together and he would have calmed me down. It’s easy to run out of time after the ceremony, because you are doing family photos wedding party photos, etc. You can do whatever you want it, but there are a lot of pros to it.

[Kyle] Yeah, as soon as you see each other everything just washes away. We see it every weekend. You also get two looks for the guy, One where he sees you for the first time in your dress and one when you’re walking down the aisle, and they are two totally different looks.

[Tracy]A lot of people may not think so, because it’s like the groom has already seen you, but it is a totally different thing.

Tune in to hear about a bride who changed her mind last minute about a first look and how happy she was about it!

For more information on RKH Images and all that they do and how they capture couples’ specials moments, visit their website here!

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Check out this super fun cosplay engagement session they did HERE!