Photography Blog

Boston wedding photographer passionate about documenting exquisite celebrations rooted in family and one of a kind experiences. Based on Boston's North Shore.

Featured : Style Me Pretty, Heart Love Weddings and Love & Lobster

It's getting closer!! Wedding season is almost in full swing. If I were being completely honest, boy how I wouldn't mind another month or two before things get started;) I have so much I need to check off my to do list before that happens! Here's hoping for a productive April! This lead up to the start of wedding season has been a busy one! I've been working furiously behind the scenes to get everything together to run smoothly in the coming months. I've also had the pleasure of sharing several engagements and weddings from last year with a few wedding blogs. I'm so excited about these features below so I hope you take a a few minutes to check them out! Here's to wedding season!

Brian and Deb's adorable Boston Public Garden engagement featured on Heart Love Weddings.

Steve and Tracy's beautiful fall wedding at The Riverview featured on Heart Love Weddings.

Patty and Justin's coastal Maine wedding at Linekin Bay Resort featured on Love & Lobster.

Nick and Stephanie's Harvard Square engagement featured on Style Me Pretty.

And finally Jamie and Jon's beautiful spring wedding at The Endicott Estate featured on PreOwned Wedding Dresses.

Ask Anything : Two Bright Lights

I've fielded a lot of questions about Two Bright Lights and submissions lately so I thought I'd share my thoughts on this amazing application! Two Bright Lights is an integral part of my wedding workflow and it's one of the best time saving tools that I use!

I started using Two Bright Lights when it was first introduced several years back. I remember thinking that I had no idea what the program was or what it did exactly, but I knew I wanted to give it a try! You may be asking the same thing, what the heck is Two Bright Lights? Well, TBL is an online program that shares your images with blogs and magazines for publication for a yearly subscription fee. You can even allow vendors to see and/or download your images directly from the site as well. And don't be fooled, Two Bright Lights is MORE than just wedding blogs, so make sure to check out their editorial partners! Who knows, you could see yourself featured on all kinds of blogs!

So back to the beginning. I opened up TBL and had no idea where to start! (The format has been adjusted slightly from the beginning, but basically there is an upload area, an album/edit area, a submission area and a support area.) I uploaded some of my 2010 weddings and went to town, thinking that if I submitted everything, one would stick. (don't do this!) I was fortunate to have a few blogs pick up the weddings I shared and I was hooked. It was SO easy, SO simple and such a fast way to share my couple's weddings, my work and my name!

Before TBL, if you wanted to submit to a wedding blog, often times you had to upload, email or worse, MAIL, 5-15 images manually, often emailing back and forth with the blog editor. This took time, a lot of time, and it often could be come a problem in your workflow. With TBL, now everything is done with the click of a button, inside an online application and all together in one viewing area. You can click through vendors to add to your event, write a description, and invite people to view your images all in minutes. And imagine the delight editors now have when going through submissions! All applicable information is at their finger tips (and you better believe this makes editors happy and certainly increases your chances of being published!) Instead of taking me several hours to submit to a publication, now it takes me about 45 minutes from upload to information to submission. (And often while the images are uploading, I am using that time to accomplish other tasks). Don't think this is just for blogs either! Many print publications now use TBL, making the whole process of submission a piece.of.cake.

I use Two Bright Lights for two reasons: To affirm my couple's hard work in their wedding or engagement session and to expose a wider audience to my business, myself and my work. Simple as that. I absolutely LOVE sharing with couples that their wedding as been featured, and they absolutely love it too! By making it so easy to submit to publications, Two Bright Lights has helped me make this a part of my workflow for every session and wedding. Does it mean that every session gets published? No. But I've made a commitment to give every couple a great experience, and part of that experience is sharing their wedding with others and affirming their hard work!

When I first started using Two Bright Lights, I didn't take the time to research the publications that I wanted to submit too. Instead I just picked any old blog and hit submit. I would definitely NOT recommend doing this. Instead, take the time to research and look through all of the editorial partners in TBL to see what publications are looking for and if your work or your clients wedding is a good fit. You'll waste a lot less time if you do the this simple step ahead of time. I have a Google Doc where I've written down the various publications I want to submit too under several categories (New England blogs, etc) This helps me keep track of where I've submitted before and what blogs service brides in my region of the country. Again, this simple step of pre-planning has helped make the process of submitting much easier. And when something is easy for you to do, chances are you'll do it again and again!

Remember when submitting your content that the more information you can provide to an editor the better. Vendors, background story, correct spelling of names and dates, etc. The less work that the editor has to do the better. Also, take care with the images that you select. Editors want to see details, a few portraits, environment shots, and other images that tell a complete story of a day or a session. You image selection also depends a lot on the type of blog or publication you are submitting too, so make sure to keep that in the back of your mind.

Finally, if a blog or publication has accepted your work, make sure you say thank you! This seems like such a simple thing, but in the hustle and bustle of everyday life this step can quickly get overlooked. Send a thank you email, tweet or Facebook message. Retweet their tweets. Share on Facebook. Post on your client's wall. Share, share, share. And if you can send a Thank You card, even better. (A blog I submit too has sent out thank you notes to ME for sharing a client's wedding or session!!) It's the little things that make a huge difference and just another way to show your appreciation!

Two Bright Lights has helped me book weddings, reach audience I might not otherwise, as well as give my brides a great experience! It's part of my workflow that I could not live without!

If you have any more questions about Two Bright Lights or submitting your work, share them in the comments below! I'm happy to answer! Happy Blogging!

Featured: Style Me Pretty and Heart Love Weddings

Is it cheating if I include a recent blog feature starring my husband and I in this blog series? No? Ok! Well then you won't mind as I gush for a few moments on the fact that our Love Recaptured anniversary session was recently featured on Style Me Pretty! Soon after our photographer Katelyn, shot the session she sent me a message saying that SMP had picked up the session to feature on their Massachusetts SMP blog. And then I proceeded to freak out, excitedly explaining to the hubster that we, us, me and him, were going to be on Style Me Pretty! It was so fun to be on the "bride" side of being featured, especially on such a prestigious wedding blog like Style Me Pretty. And looking back on this feature and our shoot, is such a great reminder that I married the best man. Ever! Check out the feature here!

Another wedding blog that I absolutely adore is Heart Love Weddings by blogger Alexandra Beauregard. I first heard of this blog when Alex randomly selected an image from Josiah and Allison's Love Recaptured session this past summer. I was stunned and honored that she chose to use one of my images! I immediately fell in love with her writing and her beautiful brand and I am so excited to work with her again on another upcoming feature:) Recently Alexandra featured Josiah and Allison's session in it's entirety, which you can see here.

I just had to include this image in this post. After featuring Josiah and Allison's session, Alexandra sent ME a thank you package with a note and some delicious candy. Shouldn't I be the one doing thanking?? It was such a delicious (hehe) surprise. What a great way to connect deeper with the photographers and vendors that you feature beyond just a thank you email! Plus now I am a fan for life!;) Thank you Alexandra!!

Featured: Style Me Pretty & A Paper Proposal

I don't know about you, but I am still trying to wrap my head around the fact that two days from now is Thanksgiving. And while I am probably more excited than anyone about the fact I'm going to get to eat some yummy turkey, stuffing and green bean casserole, I just can't believe how fast this year has flown by! It seems like yesterday that I first started talking with my awesome couples about their upcoming 2011 weddings. How far away it seemed at the time and yet here we are over a year later! I've had a great season with some of the best clients and couples a girl could ask for and I have been so blessed to be able to see some of their beautiful weddings published on the web! I'm so humbled when a blog chooses to showcase my photography and highlight the hard work of my couples. It's a super exciting experience both for me and for my clients. After spending typically over a year planning out all the small details that go into a wedding day, it sure is gratifying to see it highlighted on a wedding blog!

One of my deserving brides, Cassandra, who did ALL of the details of her wedding day by hand, had her beautiful wedding featured recently on Style Me Pretty. While super exciting for Cassandra, it was also a dream come true for me the photographer! Style Me Pretty is one of the top wedding blogs anywhere so be able to see my work there is quite the honor. I couldn't think of a better wedding to see featured on Style Me Pretty either. I mean c'mon, bouquets of paper flowers?! Gah, absolutely love. You can check out the feature here, and see their wedding in it's entirety here.

Another blog that I absolutely adore, A Paper Proposal also recently featured Wes & Emily's engagement at Appleton Farms in Ipswich. We had so much fun that spring morning walking the farm and the trails surrounding the property. We even got to feed some adorable, albeit, smelly cows! If you'd like to see their engagement click here. To view the feature click here. A Paper Proposal is a great resource for all you brides out there so make sure to scroll around for some inspiration!

Featured: Destination Inspirations and Heart Love Weddings

Today I am off to Concord to attend an all day workshop with Justin & Mary. To say I am excited it BEYOND an understatement:) So while I am off learning all about my business I thought I'd share with you a few recent features! First up is a lovely little feature from Heart Love Weddings. On Saturday I got a little surprise in my in-box from Alexandra that she picked one of my images for the Saturday Snapshot. I am happy that this image from Josiah and Allison's Love Recaptured was picked! A favorite of mine for sure:)

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Next up is Jared and Kristen's beach-y Block Island wedding featured on Destination Inspirations! This is a GREAT resource for those brides out there planning destination weddings near and far!

Featured: Beantown Bride

Another feature for Deborah Zoe Photo clients:)! I am so excited that two couples have been recently featured on Beantown Bride recently. If you haven't check it out, Beantown Bride is a great resource for those of you planning a wedding in Massachusetts. They also have great wedding tips and advice for all your brides out there! Cynthia and Mark's Southie engagement at Castle Island was featured here.

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