MESSAGE TO THE BRIDE

Finally... Wedding Photographs that are worth more than the paper they're printed on! You've selected the most beautiful gown, gorgeous flowers, the perfect spot for your Wedding. Now who can you trust to create portraits filled with your precious Wedding memories?

Dear Bride,

You already know how much time and energy you and your Wedding committee spent
planning the special day.  You want everything from the invitations you send, to the napkins on the table to be absolutely perfect.

Selecting a photographer to capture all of your special moments can be especially difficult. After all, this is the person you are entrusting to record the most important day in your entire life. How can you possibly choose?

That's why I've put this letter (O.K. small book) together:  To give you some tips on choosing the perfect photographer for you and to shamelessly explain the many benefits Papier Photographic Studios has to offer you.

When you select Papier Photographic Studios,   I guarantee you'll be thrilled. 
Any qualified professional photographer should be willing and able to answer the following questions without hesitation.  As the commercial goes
"You've Got Questions; We've Got Answers"

One of the first questions you may ask is "A friend of mine has a great Digital camera and has taken some fantastic pictures. Why shouldn't I just ask her to photograph my wedding?"

 In other words:  "Why even bother hiring a  professional photographer?"

Photography is typically high on everyone's priority list, and it's no wonder -- the portraits are all you  have left after the Wedding (besides a wonderful party, of course!)  Trying to save money on the  Wedding portraits is tempting, but it's wise to resist the urge.

Well-meaning friends and relatives who are amateur photographers often bite off more than they can chew when they shoot a Wedding.  Adverse lighting conditions and technological challenges, such as a malfunctioning camera or flash, can be the downfall of even the most talented amateurs.

But it's not enough to just have a professional photographer.  You also want to make sure you get the right kind of professional photographer.

"What, there's more than one kind of  professional photographer?"

Afraid so.  Just like doctors, photographers specialize.  Although there are lots of specialities, the two most common are commercial and portrait photographers.

While commercial photographers work for advertising agencies and other industrial clients (working with mostly inanimate objects); portrait photographers concentrate on Weddings, special occasions, and (of course) portraits.  Papier Photographic Studios is a portrait studio - my subjects are the living and breathing kind.

But wait.  There's still something else to check out.  Once you find a portrait photographer, make sure you check out his equipment - (no, not that equipment, his photography equipment!) You've got enough to think about.  Worrying if your photographer's camera is O.K.  Shouldn't be one of your concerns?  Have I ever had a camera break during a wedding?  Of course I have!  I'd  be lying if I told you otherwise.  But with my back up equipment my clients have never known.

"Don't you use a flash?"

Your Wedding portraits will be taken with studio lighting that that helps smooth the complexion.  When I use a flash (mostly for group photographs at the reception), the special flash I use is a Lumdyne with several special diffusers and light bouncers.

It's an extremely versatile flash that produces a very flattering light that shows off every detail in your Wedding  gown as well as his tuxedo, without producing the dreaded "red eye" affect in you or your guests.  And yes, I use two of those too.

The second flash is not attached to the second camera body.  It's attached to the second human body I bring with me. An assistant is with me at all times to help me pose the formal portraits and to help create beautiful special lighting effects that can't be produced with a single on-camera flash.

"What else does your assistant do?"

My assistant does a lot more than just help out with lighting.  I like to think of him as a quality control person for your Wedding.  He's there to help you out at any time whether it's getting important messages to key people; pinning flowers on the guys (there's a right way and a wrong way).

He also acts as my second pair of eyes to make sure even the smallest detail is covered.  With his help, I can deliver the quality portraits you're looking for, yet take as little time as possible getting them.  After all, you have a ton of celebrating to do.  You don't want to be standing around all day taking formal photographs.

Check with the photographers you're considering. Ask them if they use an assistant. Photographing a Wedding can be done without one, but it would be kind of like a doctor working without a nurse.

"Impressive equipment; great assistant; but do you know how to make it all work?"

Listen to what our brides and grooms have to say about us:

 " Thank you so much for doing such a lovely job at our wedding.  The photographs are breathtaking.  We have received a million and one compliments on them!  We are recommending you to everyone." 
- Meg and Bill Dermody

· "I just wanted to formally thank you for all of your help during our wedding.  The pictures are wonderful and the albums are even better! But to top it all off, you really did the fabulous job of managing each step of the way.  You made it also easy for me and made the 'whole photographic experience' very enjoyable." 
- Pamela  and Larry Handel

· "Thank you for your professional photography service for our wedding.  The pictures turned out to our utmost  liking.  We have received endless compliments on them.  We will recommend you to our friends.  Thanks." - Gwen and Raul Torrens

· "Your professionalism is surpassed only by the quality of your work, which is truly outstanding." 
- Wendy and Edward Iannone

· Thank you for doing an incredible job of photographing our wedding.  We were impressed with the proofs.  As important as wedding day was to us, our ability to remember it via photographs, was perhaps the most vital aspect of the day.  Your talent and professionalism were invaluable to us." 
- Katrima and Kevin Harmon

"What kind of equipment will you use to photograph my Wedding?"

One size does not fit all. 
There are three basic format camera sizes: small (i.e. 35mm), medium (i.e. 2 1/4 x 2 1/4), and large (4x5 & 8x10 the ones seen in old movies).

Too little
Small format cameras are fast and are great at capturing spontaneous actions.  Unfortunately, they produce pictures that lack the richer depth, warmer tones, and sharper contrast of the large format cameras.

Too big
Large format cameras are unsurpassed in the quality of their prints, but unless you're built like Sylvester Stallone, you don't want to try to capture spontaneous moments with them.

Just right
The medium format camera is the perfect solution and compromise between the two.  It's small enough to be handled quickly, and large enough to produce portraits with sharp contrast, warm tones, and beautiful depth.

Just one is never enough
I use a Hasselblad medium format camera. In fact I use two. I always have a backup one on hand.  I'm a firm believer in one of Murphy's laws: "If it can break, it will, and at the worst possible time".

I bring way too much equipment with me, several lenses, camera backs, bodies, and multiple flashes and batteries.  My accountant may not be too fond of all the money I spend on duplicate equipment, but when you're photographing a once-in-a-lifetime event one can never be over prepared.

"If you're so good, why haven't I seen any of your ads or heard of you before?"

As humbling as it is to admit, you may not have heard of Papier Photographic Studios even though I've been around since 1989.  I don't use a huge display ad in the yellow pages.  I don't advertise on the radio, the TV, in the newspaper, or in any wedding publications.  Why?
I feel word of mouth advertising is much more valuable.  That's how I fill three quarters of our bookings.  I appreciate the fact my present clients keep me pretty busy.  Speaking of word of mouth, a qualified photographer will be willing to give you several references from recent clients.  I'll be happy to give you a list.
Not spending a lot on ads is also one way I do what I can to keep your costs down so that more of what you spend goes toward your portraits, not my ad campaign. 

"Can we come take a look at your work?"

You bet!  Never hire a photographer without seeing his work and talking with him in person.  I would strongly discourage you from booking Papier Photographic Studios before we had a chance to meet and discuss your Wedding plans.  Please remember your visit (some call it a consultation, you say potato, I say...) is just that a visit.  There are no strings attached and no costs involved.

"How long will it take before we see our portraits?"

You'll receive your Wedding photographs about two weeks  after your Wedding.   You shouldn't have to wait until your first anniversary to show off your wedding album.

 "When should we book our photographer?"

A good suggestion is that you book a photographer as soon as you have a Wedding site confirmed.  Unfortunately, photographing only one Wedding per day means we can only take on a limited number of Weddings. In fact, we limit the number of Weddings  we do even more, because you deserve the same excellent quality of service whether your Wedding is in May, June or November. I'll be excited and enthused, not burned out and tired from all of the other Weddings I tried to cram into my schedule.

"What happens if you get hit by a bus?"

I would have a very bad day. Life is unpredictable.  Fortunately, in all of the years I've been  photographing Weddings, I've never had something keep me from working.  I can only hope (knock wood) that this trend will continue. But if something unforeseen should happen, and I couldn't be there for you, I would make sure you were taken care of.

"Can you be more specific about what's included?"

As you may have already guessed by now, no one has ever accused me of being vague.  Any photographer you interview should be direct and very up front about what you get and what you don't get.

You deserve to know exactly what you'll be getting for your money.  Speaking of being specific, the  Wedding packages at Papier Photographic Studios begin at  $1695.00. 

In addition, I guarantee that:

We will not only be on time for your Wedding, we will be there early so that we don't waste your time while we set up.

 "What happens to the negatives?"

After we deliver your Wedding photographs, your negatives are packaged and put on file so that you will always be able to order more reprints at a later time.

“Are your final prints custom hand-enlarged or are they made on an hour-lab type machine?”

Who hasn't seen Hour Lab print machines?  Almost all wedding photographers send your negatives to a commercial bridal lab for printing your final prints. These prints come off the same machine that mass produces prints at Hour Labs.  We at Papier Photographic Studios have your final prints made at a  Custom Lab. Each and every one of your prints is custom hand-enlarged.  This consistently yields the best that is in your negative.  This way we control the outcome of your final print.  We know what the original scene looked like.  Your final print will capture it.  Our commercial clients demand custom lab hand-enlarged prints. We demand it too and deliver it to our brides. 

"What are your prices?"

Our packages start at $1695.00.

Interested?

If you made it through this entire letter and would like to come in for a visit, here's all you need to do: First:  Call (609)924-0560  (A.S.A.P.) to make your appointment. Then:   Relax, your Wedding plans are well under way!
Cordially,
            Paul Papier

P.S. I know I said I'm not into high pressure sales.  However, I should mention we only have a few dates available.  If you're interested, please don't hesitate to give me a call today.  I would hate to have you lose your date just because you waited one day too long to call.