Quinceanera for the Books

    2018 Mily's Mother contacted us to be a part of her daughters BIG day in 2019. We haven't been involved in a Quinceanera in a long time. It was Exciting. Being blessed enough to capture someone's daughter travel into womanhood in the presence of her closest family and friends is definitely one for the books.

What is a Quinceanera you ask?
        I'll explain...

   quin·ce·a·ñe·ra

[ˌkinsāənˈyerə]

NOUN

1. (in Latin America and among Latinos) a celebration of a girl's fifteenth birthday and her transition from childhood to adulthood, typically involving a mass followed by a party.

    Growing up in Southern California, Quinceanera's were a part of life as a Latin American. Normally in the United States, we hear about Sweet Sixteen parties. But if your Heritage is from a Latin Country every girl dreamed of having a Quince'. And every Father dreaded them.

    In history, 15 years old for a young girl is no longer a child but a woman and with a celebration, she will walk into the world as such.

    Just like a wedding, there are men and woman on each side of the birthday girl called: Damas & Chambelanes all dressed in formal attire. There is also a 'man of honor' who is by the birthday girls side throughout the process.

    Mass is first. There is a lot of history involving mass however, I won't get too much into that because the history has changed so much. Each family makes it their own based on their faith and country they originate from.

    After mass, the party begins. The Most important part of a Quince's after party is the 'change of shoes'. The father has the honors to change out normal everyday shoes to beautiful heels for the birthday girl to wear into the world. This signifies she is ready to be a woman. This is a very emotional time for the father, as he will soon be seeing his little girl married & with children of her own.

After the change of the shoes, the Party does a traditional choreographed Waltz as well as a special dance of their choosing throughout the night.

   There are so many Quinceanera traditions today it is really hard to keep track. But like I said before, This one was for the books. With Deep blues, whites & Silver, how could you be sad at this event? Although I have to admit I did hold back a tear or two during the night.

   Seeing such a beautiful young lady walk in a child and walk out a Woman is empowering & emotional. She is off to conquer the world now, and we wish her the best of luck.

Thank you to the family for letting us be part of this special day!

Good Luck in your Future Mily!

 
and as always, Thanks for reading.

www.emcphotographystudio.com

Things to tell your Wedding Photographer - Part 2

     Hello Again & Welcome back to my blog. Today we will be continuing our journey on

Things to tell your Wedding Photographer - Part 2

     Let's jump right in shall we 😍

Time Line

     Giving your Wedding Photographer a Time Line prior to the Wedding helps them understand the events and the order these events will be taking place. The reason for this is because if you have a Wedding Photographer that also does video they have enough time to set everything up prior to the video taking place. Without this timeline, your Photographer will be completely clueless about where to stand, what lens to use or what equipment to set up until it is too late. 

Crazy Reception Dance

     I can NOT stress this enough. Photographs of your dance to Thriller will not be the same as a video. I can speak from experience when I say: Please tell your photographer if you will be doing a dance that is not your 'normal run of the mill' dance.  This way your photographer is prepared to capture the moment with video. If you have a video guy that's Great. Let them know as well. (I know this kind of ties into the Time Line portion but think of it as section A of the subject) 

What are you most worried about?

     Okay, stay with me here. The reason I added this is because I personally ask my couples this very question. What are you most worried about regarding your photographs? Do you have braces, glasses, bad teeth, scars? The reason why I ask this is to make sure that I understand what is NOT to be captured on camera or control the situation in which you are worried about. We are here to make your photos beautiful, not for you to look at them years later and think, "dang I wish they would have asked me to take off my glasses". 

Group Shots

     Not a lot of individuals think about the equipment needed to take a great group shot. If you have a large family, a large party or just want everyone whos anyone in one photo, Tell your Photographer prior to your wedding. There are certain lenses we have to bring in order to make this possible. We have to scope out space prior to and expect the unexpected with lighting situations with large group shots. Here is what will happen if you spring it at the last min. Your Photographer will have to back up so far with his normal wedding lens that no one will be able to be seen in your photo. Your photo will not be crips OR the individuals on the ends will not be clear. Please, do your Photographer a solid & give them a heads up. 

Lastly

Why did you Contact Us?

     In this business, we have to be passionate about what we do. If your photographer is NOT passionate about their business or you, you need to start looking for one that is. I'm serious! It may be hard to give up on a photographer but if they don't love you, I'm sorry, you will NOT love your photos. So why did you Contact them? Was it just their photos? Was it an add you saw on social media that caught your eye? Was it a recommendation you received from someone else? This information is soo valuable to a Wedding Photographer because we desperately want to know if others are loving our work enough to recommend us. We work hard to be seen and to receive couples like you. Let us know. 

And there you have it. You have a total of 10 Most important things to Tell your Photographer. That wasn's so bad was it? Nah! 

Feel free to comment on this blog

What do you feel is the most important thing to tell your Wedding Photographer?

Thanks for reading. 

www.emcphotographystudio.com

Angelina & Melissa 1-14-2018

Angelina & Melissa 1-14-2018

Can I just say first this family is so AMAZING. They are close and connected. They are cordal and compassionate towards eachother. I couldn't have asked for a better family for my January Clients.

Angelina & Melissa are TWINS :) Their mother contacted me to be part of their Sweet 16 Party on January 14th, 2018.

Stepping away from the photos these two girls cracked me up. In December of 2017 I took their pre-photos at the Colorado River State Park which use to be called Yuma Quartermaster Depot State Historic Park in Yuma, Arizona.
http://www.visityuma.com/quartermaster-depot.html

They arrived in their white beautiful dresses and their hair and makeup done so beautifully. Automatically they started popping off jokes that were killing me. And of course what teenagers don't do the most popular dances of the season and complete it with a fabulous & Fashionable DAB.

This location was perfect for the type of dresses they wore. Stepping into the Park with their dresses flowing in the light breeze I knew automatically this would be one of my many favorite shoots of the year.

I snapped over 500 photos that day, and came home, plopped at my desk and started getting to work. Have you ever tried to edit 500 photos in just a few days? I pride myself in my turn over rate for any client. I always try my best to have their photos back to them asap.

Next was to pick the Favorite. I had the Twin's mother's help with this decision of course. What we planned to do is make two very large canvases to place outside of their party venue. I contacted so many companies and you would be surprized how many companies wont make 30x24 canvases and ship them. But in the end I found a company that was happy to accomidate my needs.
I received them 10 days later and I couldn't have been happier with the quality of these canvases. They were printed on Silk paper which means it is guarenteed to last up to 50 years. Of course if it is not in the heat or direct sunlight on the wall.

January 14th came so fast. Next thing I knew I was walking into this BEAUTIFUL Masquare Ball themed Party. It was located at the Holiday Inn & Suites in Yuma, AZ
https://www.ihg.com/holidayinn/hotels/us/en/yuma/yumaz/hoteldetail?cm_mmc=YextLocal-_-HI-_-US-_-YUMAZ

I love this hotel because their outside lighting is Green. Like Completely Green. Go to the website above and check out the photos. I personally think its an Amazing touch.

I found the twins and family tucked away in a hotel room getting ready. Hair, Nails, Makup, Jewelry and of course their beautiful White dresses were absolutely perfect.

These two girls have their entire lives ahead of them and I wish them all the best. They are now ready to take over the world.

Final Thoughts. 

I had an absolute BLAST at this sweet 16. I personally wish I would have had one myself like this one.




As always... Thank you for reading and Make Every Moment Count.

Writen by: Adele Lopez - Owner of EMC Photography Studio