Congratulations!

The Knot Best of Weddings polled 20,000 brides, who named Details Details Event Planning the best wedding professional 2010!

Watching my clients becoming masters of their trade...

Nothing makes me more proud than seeing my former clients reach their goals, and become a leader in their trade. I think back and can recall specific moments of "genius in the making", and think to myself... my god, a star is being born and I'm part of it..

Here's a good example, the first fashion photo shoot by master photographer Mike Colon. Watching Mike at this shoot I developed for MMM Jewelry Designs in 2004, I just knew this guy was destine for greatness. Here's a brief look..

By: Mike Colon

By: Mike Colon

By: Mike Colon

By: Mike Colon

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I'm sure you have noticed, this month blogging has slowed down to once a week. After the hustle and bustle of the holidays I'll be back to the regular schedule. I hope youre having a wonderful holiday season! Joy - Love - Peace

The culture of wedding magazines

I feel the need to address the topic of wedding magazines. The disappearance of 3 national wedding magazines (Elegant Bride, InStyle Weddings, Modern Bride) illustrates the effects of the declining economy on the publishing industry. As a result, the wave of online media has become attractive to the industry and to people in general as more cost efficient, accessible, user friendly, etc.. This development should not be interpreted, however, as the death of wedding magazines. Times are tough for sure but you will see the strong survive, and at some point there will be a new crop of publications, and some older ones will try to reinvent themselves.

Bridal magazines are part of our wedding culture. It is a past time for brides to collect magazines and big, glossy magazine sheets and run off to appointments to plan their weddings. This is something the computer just cant provide as well. It's part of the wedding planning experience, nicely illustrated in this photo from the movie Bride Wars. Kate Hudson and Anne Hathaway armed with wedding magazines, off to meet their wedding planner!

From: about.com; Bride Wars

Update!

What's new you ask? Hermes & Associates will be offering consulting to a select group of wedding photographers on a year to year basis. It is intended for those who want to learn what the "Wedding Publicist" has been doing all these years for photography greats like Joe Photo, Jon Barber, Mike Colon, Jasmine Star, etc.. and learn how to apply it to your own business!

Drop me an email (RHermes@aol.com) for information and please include your website, phone, and business address. I look forward to hearing from you!

Stellar Image of the Month, December

I love the holidays, and I cant think of a better way to start off this month, than to announce the latest addition to the Stellar Images.

This is the coolest shot, I love how the couple is almost camouflaged in the lighting effects. Jennifer Lindberg's creative eye and attention to detail is what keeps me wanting more!

From Wedding Publicist Post

The gift of shooting fashion

A photographer who can shoot fashion, is gifted in my book. It's a skill that adds so much to a professionals portfolio, and has many benefits. The work of those with the gift usually looks effortless, instinctive.. Photo by master photographer, Elizabeth Messina.

From Elisabeth Messina Photography

"Best of ... The Knot"

Congratulations Jennifer Lindberg for being chosen one of the top photographers in Texas by THE KNOT!

From The Knot magazine

Submission etiquette

I read about this little mishap over the use of a photo of Sarah Palin in Newsweek magazine which illustrates a fundamental point of mine called submission etiquette, and reason for use of a publicist. Read the article below by dailyfinance.com

Palin photographer breached contract with sale to Newsweek

From DailyFinance.com, photo by Brian Adams

What on earth was Sarah Palin thinking when she posed in a pair of teeny-tiny gym shorts for a photograph that ended up on the cover of Newsweek -- a cover she has called "sexist"? Perhaps she was thinking that her image would only appear in the magazine she was posing for, Runner's World, and nowhere else, at least not for months and months. If so, she had good reason -- since, as DailyFinance has learned, the photographer who shot the picture violated his contract by reselling them to Newsweek.That photographer, Brian Adams, could not immediately be reached, and his agent, Kelly Price, declined to comment, saying, "I keep all of my clients' business private." But a spokeswoman for Runner's World confirms that Adams's contract contained a clause stipulating that his photos of Palin would be under embargo for a period of one year following publication -- meaning until August 2010. "Runner's World did not provide Newsweek with its cover image," the spokeswoman said. "It was provided to Newsweek by the photographer's stock agency, without Runner's World's knowledge or permission." The spokeswoman declined to say whether Runner's World intends to respond to Adams's breach of contract with legal action.
But while Newsweek's use of the photo violated the embargo, it's not clear to what extent Adams is at fault. A source with knowledge of the situation says multiple outlets, including Time, approached Runner's World after the photos first appeared on its website in July to inquire about obtaining the reuse rights. Those who inquired were forwarded to Adams. Editors at the magazine were aware of negotiations to resell the pictures, and were primarily concerned to see that Runner's World received prominent credit, says the source. In the event, Newsweek credited Runner's World right on its cover. Another source says there is some disagreement over whether the exclusivity clause in Adams's contract is meant to cover all magazines or only titles that compete with Runner's World. Meanwhile, a post on Adams's blog seems to suggest he didn't know about the resale to Newsweek until after Price concluded it.

That leaves the questions of whether anyone at Newsweek knew that Adams was not contractually free to sell the photo, and whether the promised embargo was a factor in Palin's decision to pose for Runner's World. Spokespersons for Palin and Newsweek have not yet responded to inquiries from DailyFinance. Update: A Newsweek spokesman says, "We purchased the photo from an agency and were not aware of any issues with it."

CONFESSIONS OF A BRIDE

When a bride has something to say, after all is said and the "I do's" are done, it's important to us (the wedding industry community and future brides) to hear her out. After all, what she has to say is sound advice and the best feedback one could ask for.

"A nightmare, I never thought professionals could be so unprofessional" a bride from Aliso Viejo, California describes her experience dealing with the Video/Photo service she had hired for her wedding. This bride wants to set the record straight. She had a wedding of 400 guests, and hired a coordinator for the day-of-the-wedding only. As a result, she felt overloaded with all the planning and prep work involved. She relied on advice and recommendations from family, friends, and previous brides. “Our wedding was so big and costly, my husband and I ended up having to do a lot of the work ourselves.” she says.

"I hired a video service in San Diego that hooked me up with a photographer as a package deal. Because our photographer was through the video service, I was constantly calling the videographer to confirm our photography arrangements. Three weeks before our wedding, the video person informed us he was switching us to a different photographer claiming an over- booking mix-up. Interestingly, we discovered he was pulling the same excuse with my sister, who was also planning an event. The mistake I made was not getting the name of the original photographer into the contract. I thought his verbal promise was reliable. The video service tried to push a lesser quality photographer to do our wedding, claiming our contract did not promise a specific photographer.”

At that point, the bride and her fiance drove to San Diego to confront the videographer threatening to pull out of the contract even if it meant losing the deposit. The meeting made the videographer understand their seriousness as they began discussing other options. In the end, the video person bent over backwards by arranging a good photographer, one even better than the original one. I think he finally realized that unhappy clients = negative press.

Photography and Nature

Yes, the photography of a wedding held outdoors versus indoors is always more appealing. Natural lighting does wonders as all photographers knows. But it takes a true pro to know how to "work" mother nature to your camera's advantage. Tim Halberg's work blows me away, especially when I see him create magic in the midst of nature.

From Wedding Publicist Post

Stellar Image of the Month, November

It's time to unveil the latest gem I found! There are a select group of wedding photographers who have a way about them, and the way they shoot. They possess a creativity in their work, that you just have a hard time comparing it to other wedding photographers, because there's no one else like it! This is the work of Samuel Lippke.

I love the way Samuel describes this... "It's gritty and fashionable.. I love working with motion blur and pushing the sexy aspect of a wedding day."

From Wedding Publicist Post

The beauty of...

... a kiss that's almost there.. a beautiful thing to see as it's happening..

From Wedding Publicist Post

A nice example from Joe Latter of romance in motion..

Halloween for the dogs..

Halloween being around the corner, I thought it would be fun to reminisce about the holiday. These are pictures from Scotty's first Halloween party at his favorite place, Three Dog Bakery. In this first picture, Scotty at 6 months old, is sitting in between the announcers feet. My mom is explaining to the guy that Scotty was so small, no costume would fit him!

From Wedding Publicist Post

From Wedding Publicist Post

From Wedding Publicist Post

From Wedding Publicist Post

From Wedding Publicist Post

It makes me smile. It makes me laugh. It's just a memorable shot.

I love a photographer who can really pull the personality of people out there, and capture it in creative ways. TripleCord Photography does an awesome job of that.

I've seen many bridal party and group shots that appear typical and boring... I think this is an image, you would never forget!

Photo by: TripleCord Photography

Capturing the details...

Capturing the details do make a difference! It says you are a photographer that doesn't let anything go unnoticed. A perfect example here from one of my graduates, Barber Photography.

A photographer making her mark...

Photographer Jennifer Lindberg scores a feature in Modern Bride, and shows why she's a talent to reckon with... Check out her full feature in the Dec/Jan issue!

From Wedding Publicist Post

Sick as a dog...

I have had a terrible virus for the past 4 days. I was not even able to attend a wedding I was invited to this weekend. I've been in bed, and couldn't even look in the direction of my computer till now. Just so you know I'm not mad at my blog :)

This post is a quick note about the STELLAR IMAGE OF THE MONTH post I did recently. I've had a couple inquires about it, and yes, anyone is free to email me (RHermes@aol.com) photos to consider. Please make sure it's at least 4x6 size, and include your website address/how you wish to be credited.

A fond farewell

I couldn't believe it, 2 major, and well respected national bridal publications, gone just like that. Publishing giant Conde Nast has scratched Elegant Bride and Modern Bride magazines off its list I'm sad to say. If you were a bride with a portrait or wedding featured in an issue, treasure it, it's a collectors item now!

From Brides

STELLAR IMAGE OF THE MONTH

Once a month I will feature an inspiring image that deserves recognition. It can be something I stumble upon, or even an image that was emailed to me. However it finds it's way to me, if it evokes a special feeling, a sense of creativity... it will be deemed "Stellar Image the Month".

The very first STELLAR IMAGE, is by a photography enthusiast, not a studio or business. This beautiful image, taken by Sami R. Hermes, (no relation) is dark and offers no glimpse of the bride's face, but has a mysterious and romantic quality to it. I love the way the car headlights hit her dress, and the street lamp shine in the background, but doesn't take focus away from the bride.

Photo by: Sami R. Hermes

My favorite wedding by the waves...

This wedding, shot by the rock star Joe Photo, is one for the hall of fame to me. Jeannie Savage, of Details Details planned this one to perfection. It's no surprise this wedding was a prominent feature in an issue of Grace Ormonde Wedding Style magazine.

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A gift to inspire...

This is not a typical post, but a cute bride emailed me about the custom gifts she gave her bridesmaids, and I just thought it was so unique I had to share.. Gigi Wine Glasses custom designs glasses as gifts, there's even a set of bride and groom... too fabulous!!

Now this, is what I would love...

Well Hoffmann is at it again, always shooting the coolest events! Now THIS is my idea of a wedding... Intimate gathering of those dearest, a private yet beautiful setting, with great food and great conversation...














All images by: Hoffmann Photographer