Miss Toula and her Mama, Amanda

Don't let Toula, this fluffy, well-groomed Shih Tzu fool you, she can rough it in the woods with the best of 'em! Thanks for being such a dignified model, Toots! Amanda, you did great too... And, just in case you're wondering what's going on in the 5th picture, Toula is showing off her squirrel squeak toy for the camera. Yep, that's right, we like to include the whole family.

Kane and Jamie, with a side of "Ham"

I love photo shoots with puppies! Okay, okay, Jamie and Kane were fun too! It's true what they say about photographers losing all pride during shoots with babies and dogs, the faces and funny sounds we make to get them to smile I'm sure are hilarious. Jamie and Kane's puggle (Pug & Beagle mix) "Hamilton" smiled and did those adorable little head tilts right on cue with my squalks and squeeks and promises of "treats," "walks," and "rides in the car." Here are some of the best:

Melissa & Chris in the Garden

I'm very excited to be shooting Chris and Melissa's wedding at the Swan Coach House and Atlanta History Center in May. Wanting to have some great fall color in their engagement photos, we chose to do their engagement photos now before any more of the beautiful leaves fell off the trees. I always love getting to know my brides and grooms better before the big day so portrait shoots are a fun way for us to work together and to get some great shots to commemorate their engagement. We couldn't have asked for a better afternoon. Here are some of my favorites!

Wedding Alliance of North Georgia Bridal Show

Thanks to everyone who came out to the Wedding Alliance of North Georgia Bridal Show at The Manor Golf & Country Club. We met some really fun girls who are planning some of the most creative weddings I've ever heard of. We're looking forward to working with ALL of you girls soon (wink, wink). I had some fun playing dress-up with the models and for the record, I don't care what ANYONE says, ice sculptures are the coolest. Here are a few photos from the day!

10 Questions to Ask When Interviewing Your Wedding Photographer

So....you have the ring, you have the perfect fiancé, Congratulations! Now the work begins: finding the perfect dress, picking out your flowers AND before you know it it's time to start interviewing photographers. I wanted to share with everyone a list of 10 Questions that I think are essential to review before hiring your photographer, preferably at the very first meeting. As much as I'd like to think that everyone of you will be hiring PhotoSynthesis for your photos and going over these questions at our first consult, I'm going to be realistic and understand that we can't shoot every wedding and our style isn't going to match everyone else's. So that being said, I'm going to share our list because I think it's important and I don't want any of you to get screwed over because you don't know what to look for and what to avoid. Here goes:

1. Will you have other events the day of my wedding?
2. How much is overtime? (Make sure the cost of extra time is in the contract, even if you don't think you'll go over on time)
3. What will you wear? (Believe it or not, I've attended weddings as a guest and their photographer showed up, to their EXTREMELY formal wedding, in jeans. Yeah...)
4. How do you feel about guests taking photos?
5. What is your primary style?
6. Will you be the photographer?
7. What training/experience do the assistant photographers have?
8. Have you shot at our venue before?
9. How long will it take to see the proofs?
10. Can I see a sample contract?

While some of those may seem like "no-brainers," some of them you may not think about until it's too late, like when you're photog is sporting his new converse on your custom monogramed aisle runner. It's often smart to go to your first meeting with a list. Many of us have never been in a position where we've had to conduct an interview and having typed out questions can make sure we don't leave anything out. Remember, any respectable photographer (or any vendor for that matter) will not be offended if you have a lot of questions. After all, this is your wedding and it's more important to know all the facts up front and know what you're signing. Happy Hunting!