Bella Vita Studios

"We offer 10% off for active military!"

We offer 10% off for active military couples. Thank you so much for your service and commitment.

We also offer 5% off for full time certified teachers, firefighters, and police. Your service and commitment to our communities is valued!

Plus, any weddings that I have ever done for military, teacher, firefighter, or police officers just ran like clockwork- making my job more comfortable too!

Call us today to discuss the perfect amount of coverage and products for your special day. We do everything from tiny garden weddings starting at $750-- to huge, out of state, multiple photographers, several day long wedding coverage with multiple albums and fine art canvas for just under $7,000, and just about anything in between!

One of our most popular package has ten hours of coverage, proof album, custom designed album, engagement session, all full size and full resolution digital negatives for right at $3000. However, you can build your own package at a la carte prices and we will deduct 20% to make it into a custom package price!

Every wedding day is unique and special. How can we help you tell your story in beautiful, emotional, and vivid detail?

"Biltmore Wedding Slideshow- LARGE"

Biltmore Wedding Slideshow- LARGE

http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=64434489443

"Biltmore Wedding Slideshow"

Biltmore Wedding Slideshow

http://vimeo.com/3913624

"Biltmore Estate destination wedding was so much fun!"

I just returned from photographing a destination wedding at the Biltmore Estate in Asheville, North Carolina this past week. It was so much fun! The service was amazing and the estate was nothing short of absolutely spectacular. I don't show the images until the couple gets to see them for the first time, so maybe by this next weekend I'll have them on my website at:

http://www.bellavitastudios.net

Kristi Gay, Owner and Lead Photographer

Bella Vita Studios

260-220-0603

bellavitastudios@gmail.com

"Wedding Photojournalism: How do you know if it's really photojournalism or random candids?"

A lot of photographers say they are photojournalists because it sounds artsy. To be a true photojournalist, you have to learn how to not only be a "people watcher extraordinaire" but to also ANTICIPATE the moment and get your in camera settings just right so when the moment happens, you capture it with incredible lighting and color. This doesn't happen by accident and it's more than just crazy tilted photos or some happy hug snapshots.

True wedding photojournalism is an art unto itself. It takes YEARS of practice. I'm talking steady, working at it every weekend in the trenches until your hand cramps up and your arms hurt kind of practice.

I can tell you what it's NOT. You know, this is going to sound cranky but really it's just years of experience talking. I don't want wedding photojournalism to get a bad name. Photojournalism is not hiding behind a bush and taking photos of people from afar. Photojournalism is not funky angled photos everywhere that make you wonder if the photographer was too intoxicated to hold the camera straight all day. Photojournalism is not photos of the bride where her dress is one big white blob and the groom's tux is solid black with no buttons, lapels, etc. showing. Think about this one for a moment: Have you ever seen a bride that looked like Casper the friendly ghost in her dress because it is so BRIGHT WHITE that there is no detail in the lace, beading, or the folds of the fabric? That's because the photographer did not THINK about the settings before creating the photograph. Or the photographer did not KNOW how to balance the light that was around the bride with their flash. Either way, not good. Photojournalism is not being snooty, claiming to be an "artiste," or raising prices above the photographer's real skill set because of some fancy wording on their website either.

New photographers who have very little experience use the word loosely. Too loosely in my opinion. To be a photojournalist is an extra specialty on top of already being a good photographer. It's a different skill set that compliments your photography work.

So what is photojournalism then? And how do you know if the photographers that you are considering really have the photojournalist skills that you are looking for? Don't be fooled by photographers that SAY they shoot in a photojournalist style. Look at their work with a critical eye. This is going to take some careful shopping on your part to really compare what you are seeing.

You should look for candid, unstaged moments and subjects who are blissfully unaware of the camera in their photographs. You should also look for consistently BEAUTIFUL lighting and exposures (how bright/dark/colorful the photos are) with lighting that matches exactly what the venue looked like at that moment. Lastly, you should look for a wide variety of details that compliment and supplement the story of the wedding day. Basically, you should get a sense of BEING THERE. The brightness, darkness, and the bold or saturated colors should not take away from the photos. Look at the photos closely. It may be a nice smile but is the subject aware of the camera all the time in the photos? It may be a nice gallery of photos but are they really bright whites and shadowy blacks? Is the dress a big white blob or can you see the details? Are there outbursts of joy, laughter and tears that are caught in the photos too?

Why? This tells you that the photographer is THINKING AHEAD of the action, ANTICIPATING THE MOMENT, and adjusting their camera settings, lens use, and flash power or placement on the fly. It also tells you that the photographer cares enough to THINK about the settings that he or she is using to make the photos match exactly what the human eye sees from that day. This is easier said than done! The human eye is pretty sophisticated equipment! A camera sees much less light than the human eye. Therefore the photographer has to go to great lengths to make the photos match what we remember as far as the lighting, color, direction of light, etc.

Another good test when shopping for a photojournalist type of photographer is to ask them how many camera bodies, how many lenses, and how many flashes they carry with them the day of the wedding. If they say one camera body, RUN AWAY- they are a beginner! If they say two, they care only enough to have the bare minimum to do the job. A real wedding photojournalist has been in the trenches long enough to know that ALL electronics eventually do malfunction and it really does take MORE than two of everything to do the job right. There are no DO OVERS in weddings. A professional wedding photojournalist not only anticipates the moments and uses the right equipment settings to capture them with style but also anticipates equipment malfunction enough to keep on working right through it so you never miss anything being captured on your precious wedding day.

I personally carry three camera bodies, eight lenses, three flashes, two large battery packs, twelve batteries, 40gb of memory cards, video light, studio lights, wireless radio triggers, a portable hard drive viewer and my laptop with me to every wedding. I also have a smaller set of equipment for my associate photographer which is two camera bodies, fourlenses, two flashes, six batteries, 20gb of memory cards, wireless radio triggers, and a few other odds and ends. No matter if one or both of us has a camera, flash, lens AND memory cards fail, we can continue working with the amount of equipment that we have there with us for the day.

A photographer that can capture candid moments full of emotion, fun, and tenderness without disrupting the subject's attention AND create a beautifully lit image is a true photojournalist. If the photos look like you were there and the photographer can make you believe that even though you weren't really there, that's a good sign.

For more information on wedding photography, including information on my company Bella Vita Studios or any of my wedding photography workshops, visit my website at:

http://www.bellavitastudios.net

Kris Gay, Owner and Lead Photographer personally photographers every Bella Vita Wedding!

Bella Vita Studios

bellavitastudios@gmail.com

260-220-0603

"New website with hundreds of example images!!!"

I'm so excited about my new website. I have hundreds of individual wedding photography examples as well as several full weddings for potential clients to view. Everything is so much more organized with the new website. I have a ton of text pages that explain all the various types of photography that I do, sessions, packages, etc.!

Stop by the new website and let me know what you think!

http://www.bellavitastudios.net

Email me if you have any questions or would like to discuss wedding photography...

bellavitastudios@gmail.com

Or give me a call at 260-220-0603!

I will be out of the office from March 18-22 for a destination wedding at the Biltmore Estate in North Carolina. Please leave a message on the studio phone number and I'll get back to you. I do check messages while I am out of the office. Generally, when I return phone calls while out of the office, I do so first thing in the morning before I get busy with the day's shoot. Nothing like talking to some fast talkin' redhead at 8am!