3 Reasons You Should Do A First Look

There are many reasons to do a first look with your significant other before your ceremony. I am an Orlando wedding photographer and about 70% of my couples opt to do a first look. I’m going to give you 3 reasons why you should do a First Look.

Emotion is a big theme on a wedding day and your first look is no exception. Some of my favorite photos are from first looks, and I’m not going to lie to you, I’ve definitely cried at a couple of them. It’s all of the emotion from your relationship built up to an epic and beautiful moment. A moment you’ll remember for the rest of your lives. Imagine it, you are walking up to your fiance after a long time of planning, and you whisper a cute inside joke in his ear that only you and your significant other understand. They turn around and Insert a fantastic reaction here. I’m crying just thinking about it. This shit gets heavy! As a wedding photographer who’s been at this for years and has chosen to do a first look at his own wedding, the emotional aspect is not lost when your love comes down the aisle.

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“I loved having a first look because it gave me and my husband some time to relax before the ceremony. It was such a special moment together. We had time to take pictures together beforehand so after the ceremony we could get to the party as soon as possible. ”

— Kylie

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Time is another reason I always recommend doing a first look. As much as we all wish this special day would last forever, it moves by pretty quickly. The first look allows more time for family photos, bridal and groom portraits, as well as the two of you together. Time also helps with relaxing and taking some breathers during the day, the more time we have, the more you both get to enjoy the special moments. I try to give my couples a little bit of time after the first look to just enjoy each other’s company.

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“I got a reaction that I never imagined. I was shocked when he turned around, happily shouted, and acted like a giddy little kid. It was the best feeling, seeing that kind of excitement. We would have missed out on such a genuine, fun reaction had we waited until the ceremony. The first look took a lot of nerves and stress away from the wedding itself. It was such a fun and raw moment that we had no idea we needed.”

— Abbie

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The third reason you should do a First Look is for your cocktail hour! You paid a lot of hard-earned money to be able to enjoy your wedding day to the fullest, believe me, cocktail hour has some amazing hors d'oeuvres that you do not want to miss. Being able to take all of the family photos and your portraits beforehand allows you the time to enjoy your guests and those delicious. Also, your guests love you and want to be able to see and congratulate you on this momentous occasion.

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Bonus Reason! Calming the nerves. From experience, I felt a sense of relief and overall warmth when I saw my bride during our First Look. Damn did she look stunning!

I hope these reasons are able to help you on your planning journey. Please feel free to reach out if you have any questions.

Happy Planning!

Top 4 engagement session locations

Engagement session are truly amazing and one of my favorite kinds of sessions to photograph. Take a break from your average selfie and let a professional do the work. This is a time where you get to let your hair down, get dressed up, and have fun with your best friend. No need to worry about what to wear or how to pose, we’ll help with that along the way.

These sessions are the best way for you to get comfortable in front of the camera and have fun while doing so. You’ll laugh, dance, twirl, and get some amazing photographs of you and your soon to be husband/wife.

Leu Gardens - This location is one of the places in the world where I don’t mind getting lost. This venue is filled with the most beautiful flowers and greenery you can enjoy in Central Florida. From events, to weddings, to engagement sessions, I always love photographing here!

Leu Gardens Engagement Photo

Downtown Orlando - How cool do they look!? There are so many ways you can light your subjects in the downtown area. So many different varying mini locations in this one large location! I love it! I was stoked when this couple opted for a downtown location because the the options for creativity are endless. For this image, I wanted to use a garage to have a dark background and be able to light my couple well. I told him to put on the glasses and she looked at him in the most amazing way.

Downtown Orlando Engagement Photo

Kraft Azalea Park - This venue is one of the most unique in Central Florida. A magnificent place for a proposal as you can see. The doric pillars give the image an epic kind of feel to it and I think they’re more Roman than Greek, but who am I to know that. I love how the soft light hits our couple here and plays with the motion of the trees in the background. It all comes together to make a beautiful image.

Kraft Azalea Proposal

Dickson Azalea / Langford Park - One reason I really love this location is because I can walk to it from my house :P Aside from that, the park always has great lighting so whether you’re having an engagement session or a family session, the photos will be beautiful! In Langford, there is a really cool boardwalk area that is the perfect spot for portraits!

Dixon Azalea Family Session

15 Things You Didn't Know About Me

ABOUT ME

Hey everyone! I hope you all are having an awesome day. I just wanted to post this About Me blog so you get a chance to know me a little better. For more about me, check out http://www.sonacityphotography.com/thephotog/. Without further adieu...Here's a list.

1. I never got a referral in school and only got detention once! I was bad, I just never got caught :P

2. I used to rap and produce music all the time. I even got the opportunity to open up for Afroman with my group "The Out Crowd"

3. I'm a classically trained pianist

4. I'm addicted to traveling, I've been to Puerto Rico, Israel, Mexico, Amsterdam, Switzerland, England, Vienna and can't wait to visit more places

5. My girlfriend and I have a pet hedgehog named Wanheda. I love her sooo much :D

6. Basketball is my favorite sport. Unfortunately, the Magic aren't doing so well

7. Whiskey is my drink of choice but I also enjoy craft beer

Lemus has an amazing style and there are always hidden meanings in his work

8. I'm addicted to collecting art (I love local artists). Check out Lemus https://www.facebook.com/germanlemusart/ 

9. Models that have hair ties on their wrist while photographing is a huge pet peeve (Don't worry, I'll let you know) | People driving 10mph under the speed limit in the left lane is also a huge pet peeve | I also despise pickles. lol

10. Penguins are my favorite animal 

11. Green was my favorite color growing up but now it's purple

12. My girlfriend is a trained opera singer and yes, I've recorded her for a rap/country song :)

13. I love themes...Bars, Parties, Weddings. In college, I would throw themed parties which actually resulted in a couple of people dating long term and soon they'll be getting married!!! :D

Me and my love getting our archery on for Valentine's Day

14. I teach myself a lot | I wish I knew more about astronomy

15. The people in my life mean everything to me

What are some of your favorite things to do? What music do you like? Let us know a little bit about you in the comment section below :) 

Preparing For Your Session | Part 1 'The Client'

You're gonna look great! 

There are many different kinds of sessions that photographer's offer. The first thing you should do is understand what kind of session you are having, don't worry, most of the session names are pretty straight forward. This allows you to get into the right mindset and distinguish the different variables that set your session apart from the others. For example, if you are meeting with the photographer for an engagement session, you want to look beautiful and in love. A lot of the time, you won't be posing in an engagement session looking like you're about to go to a Halloween party. However, if that is how the two of you met, by all means, I think that would be an awesome session and I would love to photograph it! If you're preparing for an editorial session, you'll want to check out different magazines and I don't have to remind you how wonderful Pinterest for ideas. Just be aware that the photographer is also an artist, and while getting creative ideas, will most likely not want to copy the exact photo that you have. Here are some more words and pictures!

Whoops! :P

Confidence!

There is a laundry list of items you could think about to get ready for your session, but the best thing to do is keep it simple. 

1. Be you and be comfortable. Being yourselves will overall get you the best photos! The clothes that you wear should reflect your personalities and how you see yourselves :) They should also be clothes that you can move around in, play in, and work your body into different poses. Don't be boring like a plain white shirt with khakis, but venture to find your clothing spirit animal, just keep it in the same color family so it's not chaos.

Don't have one of those moments like when you look back at your high school yearbook and think "What was I doing!?" We've all been there. 

2. Now, I always carry certain props with me but that's because I feel they bring a certain energy to an image. It's like putting italics on a word :P 

Now, we don't know if the baby is a boy or girl yet so they chose Daphne and Myles as names

I do ask my clients to bring items with them that they like. ^^^ Amber and Jimmy brought baby blocks to spell out their baby's name. #SoCute

3.  Most likely the photographer will have a great location set out for your already, but if you have a special place that you'd like your session to be, let them know! We love going to places that make you happy, it makes for better images!

4. Think about how you'd like to display the images you've taken! The products Sonacity Photography offers range from small prints, to albums, to large prints on metal! How big do you want that canvas of your family to be? Would you like to be able to see all the photos in an album? Remember, these moments become family heirlooms that will be treasured by your children and grandchildren. So be sure to make ridiculous faces and stick your tongue out at them. 

5. Trust your photographer :) -Thanks, Carlos Romero!

What are you thoughts? How do you get ready?

If you have any questions or feel I've left something out, feel free to contact me! The inquiry page is really close by :)