Ask Anything :: Have you worked at our venue?

It’s time for another installment of Ask Anything! Today we’re answering the question “Have you photographed a wedding at our venue before?” This falls into the category of “things the internet tells you to worry about when planning your wedding” and we’re here today to help explain why this can be an important discussion to have with your photographer, but why for most seasoned photographers this is a non issue.

We’re asked this question a lot actually, and sometimes our answer is “Yes! We’ve photographed ___ number of weddings at that venue and we love it!” however sometimes our answer is “No we’ve never had the opportunity to photograph a wedding at that venue, but it’s one we look forward to working at!”

Typically we’re covering over a 100 mile radius worth of venues. Our coverage area is pretty big taking us from Southern Maryland, to DC, Virginia and the outskirts as well. There are a few very popular venues that we have spent a lot of time at as photographers, and we love the relationships we’ve built with the owners and staff, but they only make up a small portion of the venues we work at. More than half of our weddings take place in venues that are new to us. Most of the time we find ourselves spread out between classic downtown DC weddings with endless options for venues, or in the outlying areas with even more options like barns, vineyards, manor homes and historic properties. Simply put, we’re all over the place weekend to weekend and we love it. Of course because we find ourselves in so many different locations, it’s hard to run into the same venue numerous times. Very often we have never photographed at a particular venue, and it could be years before we run into that venue again. This is something we love about our job!

 

For us, shooting in new spaces is where we find inspiration. Everything is fresh, our eyes were open and we are ready to find exciting and unique opportunities for photos. Finding that level of excitement and creative ingenuity becomes harder to do when it’s our 12th, 15th or 20th wedding at a particular venue. When we work at new venues for the first time, our comfort level isn’t so laid back that we fall back into old, stale photo opportunities. Instead we find the light and backgrounds with fresh eyes and really enjoy the atmosphere. When we work at venues that we’re very accustomed to, we’re so in tune with the space that everything comes as second nature, but keeping ourselves from leaning back into the old standard way of shooting becomes the new challenge.

So, more often than not, our answer will be “no we haven’t photographed at that venue before” and that’s a wonderful thing. That’s where we find inspiration, excitement and to be honest, when we shoot some of our best work. Don’t be afraid of a venue that’s new to your photographer, but do be cautious of photographers who lack the experience and skill set to adapt to any situation a new venue could throw their way. Only in those situations would it be beneficial for your photographer, still gaining their footing in the field, to have experience at your venue.