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

What is the "Value" of a Wedding Photographer?

What is the "Value" of a Wedding Photographer???

     Some of the toughest questions come to me during my meetings with my couples. Today I heard. "Honestly, we don't even know if we really NEED a Photographer"

     Every day we hope to get the best BANG for our BUCK, right? Wrong! If you honestly think about it, you aren't looking for the savings in the items you purchase, you are looking for the value. What will I get out of this? Who is selling it? and How long will it last? These are the questions we really ask ourselves when we go about our day. 

     There are 3 separate needs that go through our minds when we are planning a wedding. I speak from experience when I say: "It is OKAY to have needs. We are human."

 

    1. External Need: The external need of every person is the bottom line. The out in the open 'need'.

"I need someone to take photographs of my wedding" Point blank. 

Wedding Photographers are there to meet all of your needs and more. They will be there for you before, during and some even after your wedding. They are seen but not seen. They are in the bushes, behind grandma, in the rafters and in some cases lying on the floor capturing the moments you openly need. 

    2. Internal Need:  The internal need of every person is in the middle, between what is known & what is not known. 

 "Am I good enough? Am I even good enough to be having this wedding? Am I actually worth throwing in all of this money to invest just in myself?"

Wedding Photographers create portraits, we create Artwork around what YOU love most. I personally give you permission to value YOURSELF. This is your day, your ONE day you can smile for 8-10 hours, you can shed tears without judgment & basically piss off anyone and not have any repercussions afterward... *just throwing that last bit for laughs but still serious about it*

     3. Philosophical Need: The Philosophical need of every person is the innermost feeling deep within you that no one knows but you. 

"Does this even matter? Does this Marriage even matter? What am I doing here, should I just walk away?"

Know this before judging my philosophical examples above. This could go deeper than anyone could imagine within yourself. It could be religious, spiritual, moral or even self-worth. The Philosophical needs of every person can't be outed, it can't be judged & it can't be contained. However, know this. No matter your deeper need. . . we get it. We understand. Any Wedding Photographer that has done more than 3 weddings understands. Why? Because we've seen it. We see the stress, we feel the grief and we know the struggle. Don't give up!

@>------

Putting a Value on your Wedding Photographer has absolutely NOTHING to do with us. And I know you have read, watched or heard differently more times than you can count. However, The Value that we can give you as Wedding Photographers is Knowledge. 

1. External Need - We are photographers & We will do everything in our power to take the most sublime photos we can to make sure you get your money's worth. 

2. Internal Need - We do not budge our prices because we KNOW in our heart and in our soul that our Service & Product is worth the value it contains. 

3. Philosophical Need - *Spoilers* We have them too! Every Wedding Photographer has these moments where they want to just throw in the towel. "Why is no one booking me?" "What am I doing wrong?" "Should I change everything about my business & Just start over?" (Again these are just examples) Point is, on Philosophical needs, you are not alone. 

So, What ACTUALLY is the "Value" of a Wedding Photographer?

YOU!!!!!

A Wedding Photographer is only as much Value as you Value yourself. You are faced with a photographer that has a base price of $3,000 but your External Need was $500. Why??? Why is that YOUR value? Why do we place values on ourselves? The only answer to that is opinions. Opinions help us fail. Know your vendor's value, Know your entire Wedding's value, Know YOUR VALUE. When you find your value, your stress will be less, your time will be more & you will have the best Damn Wedding Photographer and The best photos for years to come. 

Thank you so much for reading

"What do you think the value of a Wedding Photographer is?" Leave your comments below

www.emcphotographystudio.com