Take a look at our 10-minute Crash Course in photography:

"The 10-minute crash course totally changed the way my fiance and I looked at wedding photography and helped us define what was really important to us for our pictures. We didn't see a presentation like this at any other studio."
~ Kelly J.

There are 4 major elements that make an exceptional wedding album:
Lighting, Posing, Backdrops & Creativity.

We have visual examples of these four elements here on this page. Judge for yourself!

Lighting

Typical wedding lighting	Steve Rouch style

The picture on the left is lit with one light. This is the standard way of lighting wedding pictures that we have seen from other photographers. We use TWO lights on our wedding pictures and the picture on the right is the same bride, same location, same position.....same everything except for our special lighting. Look at how much detail is in her dress; how 3-d the picture looks; how much more color is in the picture and how round and rosy the bride's facial features are. The word photography means to"write with light." Our double and sometimes triple lighting helps us tell gorgeous visual stories about you and your wedding day! Just compare these two pictures!

Posing

Typical wedding pose	Steve Rouch style

How many times have you seen a group picture of a family or bridal group like the one on the left? Our guess would be all the time. This is what a lot of photographers do....they line people up and take their picture. We GROUP everyone into an elegant pose that helps you see the faces. We blend the tall, short, heavy and slender people into a pleasing array of faces of people you know and love. The picture on the left has too much floor and too much ceiling. It has tiny faces and a far away look. Posing can make a huge difference in your wedding album and how it turns out!

Backdrops

Typical wedding photo	Steve Rouch style

Most photographers simply take pictures of their clients where ever they may find them. That is why typical wedding pictures have ceilings, exit signs, candles, crosses and lots of "stuff" in the background of the pictures. This "stuff" makes it very hard for anyone to look into the expressions of the people in the pictures because the backgrounds are so distracting. The picture on the left is a perfect example. Another wedding was being held before this couple's wedding so they were stuck in the church basement. A horrible ceiling is their background. With Steve Rouch you always get an elegant backdrop to block out distracting objects behind your pictures. The picture on the right is a great example of how we can photograph you, your parents, grandparents and all those special people in your life! 

Creativity

Before	After

Creativity is one of the most overused words you will ever hear a photographer use. What do they mean by creativity? Here is an example of what WE mean. It was a rainy day. The bride and groom wanted outdoor pictures. My assistant and I found a side room in the church and opened up the curtains. We moved in potted plants for background. We set up our posing chairs and stools to create an elegant grouping. We set up our double lighting AT AN ANGLE to not have our flash in the windows. We metered the flash to balance with the outdoor exposure so the outside would look perfectly natural. Now our clients could have an "outdoor" looking set of portraits that would capture the feeling they wanted without going out in the rain! Creativity for us is LISTENING to our clients needs and coming up with solutions to challenges that inevitably come up at every wedding!

The picture on the left was for clients that wanted something special with the gazebo. It was harsh lighting of high noon when we got there. I went to the bottom of the hill  for a strong angle and used a super long telephoto lens with a soft focus filter and a edge darkening filter to create a painterly drama. My assistant and I both used flash to make the couple stand out even in bright sunlight. They loved their portrait. The picture on the right was seeing a shot that was not even asked for. The bride was heading up to the alter and I saw this incredible warm light. I used a wide angle lens to get her whole dress in. I used a warming filter to give it an old fashioned look and a soft focus filter to make it look like a painting. Creativity is MAKING pictures not taking pictures.

Creative solutions

No retouching	Studio Retouching

This incredibly handsome looking chap is very typical of what can happen a day before a wedding or portrait session. It's happened to me too! It is easy to "break out" before an important photo session and what is the creative solution? We offer expert retouching at a very nominal fee. It can save the wedding day portraits!

What if your favorite wedding picture of the whole day has a very special person in it that you certainly want, BUT you also want that same special shot of just the two of you. For a nominal fee we can digitally come to the rescue and give you both! Another creative solution!

Thanks for attending our crash course in photography.