The time has come to say goodbye...

...to this old blog....

Stacy Richardson Photography Blog has a new hang out spot...

Please bookmark my new blog site

www.stacyrichardsonphotography.com/blog

Come on over and visit!

Stacy

Todd and Heather

This was a very special engagement session for me! Todd is one of our best friends. We met him when we lived in Colorado. Seth and Todd have been on a MANY fishing trips together and tied many flies together over at our house. Todd is like family to us. Actually, our daughter Grace calls him Uncle Todd. Well since we moved to Maryland 2 years ago, we have since introduced him to a FANTASTIC girl out here Heather. We of course cant take all the credit, but we did double date to introduce them :) NOW THEY ARE GETTING MARRIED! I am thrilled to be shooting their wedding in June, and my wonderful assistant Mandy will be shooting the reception for me so I can actually enjoy the big event with our dear friends. Congrats Todd and Heather we love ya~

5 months old

I think we are safe to say she has HAZEL GREEN eyes just like her mama! Her Dr said they probably wouldnt change at this point. Now I can really claim that I had something to do with this! Both my chillin' look like there Daddy.

Andrew and Jackie

Andrew and Jackie
Hyatt Regency Baltimore
Florist: Christine Rubin at Fleur de lis
Caterer: Prentice Pollard
Cake: Sugarbakers
DJ: Brandon Renninger @ Absolute Entertainment

This was my first wedding of the season and it was a beautiful day. Andrew and Jackie have been so sweet to work with. Congratulations!
Enjoy your mini slideshow!

Val and Care

I had the opportunity to expand my photography skills by shooting this duo. This is my first official Band shoot and it was loads of fun. It was high winds and very cold but these girls were troopers. Val sang at a wedding I shot and she has got some serious pipes. That girl can SING! Check them out she often opens for people at the Rams Head. Click on the photos to see them larger, I am working on having my blog display larger photos...so stay tuned, for now...just click

Painting Eggs

Easter Egg Hunt One year later....

Grandma

My Mom and Grandmother are here for a visit. It has really been special. My grandmother will be 90 years old in June. I pray that I am just like her one day when I am her age. She is one of my favorite people in the whole wide world!
Love you gram!

Grace & Abigail's Big Debut!

Something I don't get to do very often

Today I was a guest at a wedding instead of the photographer! It was really nice to be able to sit and watch 2 people get married and not have worry about making sure I am "getting all the shots" I did however bring my NEW TOY. I got a D300 and have loved the High ISO shooting. For those of you who are photography buffs, these were all shot with no flash, ISO 1600-3200. At 2000 ISO I was able to stop motion, no flash in a fairly dark ceremony. I am pretty thrilled with this new camera. Nikon you ROCK. Coupled with the 1.8 fast lens, I can not WAIT to see what kind of images we pull off this year! MY season kicks off on March 29th! Congrats to Heather and Mandy for your first Solo flight as well as most importantly Congrats to Matt and Emily and their new life together!

You can see from this shot that I was sitting in the way back, this is the preferred seating of a person with 2 children in attendance under the age of 4.

Emily looked GORGEOUS.  She looked fabulous in her dress...absolutely gorgeous!

I love the look on Matt's face here, pure, simplistic, joy.

I love this one even though it was really bright coming through the doorways. Matt is somewhat of a wise guy, he is really funny and has this great witty humor, I think I like this one because it looks like he just said something to his guys right as they were walking in...wonder what it was!

Brenna

WORKFLOW

It is so fun being a wedding photographer and I love my job, but a consistent thing that I hear from people when I tell them what I do is “Oh my how cool is that, you only work on Saturday for 8 hours”

Well this blog post is inspired by the misconception people have about wedding photographers. YES IT IS FUN, anyone who knows me knows that I love what I do, but I still have to work in order to insure that my clients get the highest quality product.

I have outlined for you what a typical workflow is for ONE WEDDING so as you read this keep in mind that in order to get a full picture of what I do multiple that by however many weddings per year (20-25).

You want to make sure when you are hiring someone that you are confident not only in their skills as a photographer, but also knows how to run and organize a business! It is important to have someone who is organized, efficient, and quick to respond to your needs on the wedding day as well as manage your files happily ever after!

WORK FLOW FOR ONE WEDDING

BOOKING PROCESS
Initial meeting with couple
Type information into a contract, scan contract, email it to clients
Sign returned contract and scan and send to client
Go to bank to deposit retainers

PRE WEDDING DAY PREP
Type up itineraries from Wedding Planning Worksheet
Email exchanges from bride and groom to finalize details
Charge batteries
Clean cameras and lenses (a trip to the camera store) prep and pack equipment
Print directions to all venues

WEDDING DAY
Drive time-leave early to factor in any traffic
Day of coverage (my average package is 8-10 hours)
Drive time home
BACK UP BACK UP BACK UP-download images when I get home to be sure I have 2 copies of everything before I go to bed, so in the wee hours of the am I am at my computer

EDITING PROCESS (after the wedding)
Organize into folders about 800 images
Delete images with eyes closed or out of focus shots
Photoshop, edit, rename files and burn to disc as well as backup on hard drive
Choose photos for a slideshow, download and host up on website
Upload images onto Collages.net

DEVELOPING PHOTOS
Upload to Printing company
Order proofs
Go through proofs once in house and organize into packaging
Package up images write a thank you card
Go to post office to mail and insure

ALBUM DESIGN
Design mock album (several hours)
Upload to host for viewing
Email back and forth with Bride and Groom re edits
Edit any changes to be made to layout
Order-upload to album printing company
Drop ship to client once completed

THE END ☺

The outline just shows the workflow for one wedding, it does not include the other things that I have to do like, return email inquiries, send out information packets, marketing, reprint orders, ordering supplies, keeping up my quickbooks accounting system, engagement sessions, children and family sessions and all the fun stuff that comes with each job.

The joy in all this is that the majority of my job I can do from home. Where I can take care of my 2 little bundles of joy that God has blessed us with! I wouldn’t trade that for the world. I also get to exercise the art of photography which is WHAT I LOVE. I get to practice my artistic expression on a weekly basis. It is kind of like a painter, getting to paint all the time, or a song writer writing for a living. I love this gift that I have been given… the ability to capture moments in time, in peoples lives, memories that are forever captured on film is priceless. For this I am THANKFUL!

I look forward to my “Season” starting at the end of March. Until then, its back to all the 5 albums I have in line to design…

Check it out...

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This is my husband and his brother and sister...hilarious...

Hat Head

Our sweet friend bought this for Abigail from Highland county VA. (The farm we went to last 4th of July) It is so sweet and has kept her little head very warm these past few cold days.
On a side note, I am thankful to say we are all feeling better :) Abby did NOT get sick...that in and of itself is a miracle! We are so thankful!

The Flu

Please pray for my sweet little Grace. She is sick with the Flu and has had very high temps all week. Please pray that my 3 month old does not get it! Mama is already starting to feel sick!
I may not respond to emails as quickly as I normally do. Hopefully we will be back in full swing soon! I HOPE!
Stacy