Posts Tagged Kristina Zidon

You’ve all seen Lisa and Chris in their Engagement Session last summer.  On April 25th Lisa and Chris tied the knot in a beautiful outdoor ceremony at the Inn At Paradise in Rio Rancho.  This wedding ending up being a 3 photographer wedding: myself, Rick Meiers, and Kristina Zidon.  We introduced a service at this wedding called the Dry Heat Photography Party Booth.  Kristina ran the party booth while Rick and I shot the reception.  As you will see from the Party Booth pictures, a good time was had by all

To Lisa and Chris, Thank you so much for making us a part of your special day!

-DeAnna Dimmitt, Rick Meiers and Kristina Zidon

Dry Heat Photography

Lisa and Chris having their special “first meeting”.  You can see Chris in the mirror coming in the door.

Flowers by Apple Blossums Florist

This is the “Snowboard Guest Book”

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Chris watching Lisa come down the isle.

Hey look, it’s Kelly and Felix!

What could possibly be better than the unmanned photo booth at your party or wedding reception?  Why the Dry Heat Photography Party Booth of course!  What is the Dry Heat Photography Party Booth you ask?  Well, it is a real live photographer and a trunk full of hilarious accessories that will be at your party or wedding reception to provide a fun and unique experience for your guests!  By request we can even provide custom themed accessories for your party.  In addition, because we are shooting in front of a studio backdrop we can also shoot a formal family portrait for any guest at the event!  Can your photo booth do that?

Interested in booking the Dry Heat Photography Party Booth?  Click here to inquire about rates and availability.  Let us bring a little HEAT to your party!

**special thanks to Kristina Zidon for shooting these Party Booth images!**

Kristina is really on a roll this week!  She photographed Marisa and Gilbert’s Engagement Session at the Bio Park on April 3rd.  Marisa and Gilbert will be getting married in June at the San Clemente Church.

Here is a great Engagement Session from Kristina Zidon!  She photographed Jessica and Matt’s Engagement Session in Old Town on March 31st.  We are, as always, very pleased and honored to have Kristina on the Dry Heat team!

Professionalism In Wedding Photography

As a photographer one of the most worrisome things I hear people say is “my so-and-so (fill in the blank – brother, uncle, etc) just got a new camera for Christmas and is going to shoot my wedding”.  Admittedly,  I cringe just a little bit probably like a doctor would if they heard someone say “my brother just got a new scalpel for Christmas and is going to perform my heart surgery”.   The fact of the matter is that wedding photography is a highly specialized field and having a fancy camera does not qualify the user as a professional.  So what qualities define professionalism in photography?  I’ve listed a few below:

#1 Business License – a business license in and of itself does not qualify someone to photograph a wedding, however the lack of a business license would indicate that the person in question is not operating a professional, full time business.

#2 Extensive Portfolio  – The proof, as they say, is in the pudding.  An experienced professional photographer should be able to show you several weddings that they themselves have photographed, ideally in some of the locations you might be considering having your wedding.

#3 Past Client/Vendor Referrals – Anyone can buy an ad in a magazine, put a commercial on TV, or stick a sign in the ground in front of a convenience store trumpeting their virtues, but what you hear from other wedding vendors and past clients is really what you should take to heart.  Since wedding vendors rely on one another to do their jobs correctly they are unlikely to refer someone, especially a photographer, who has caused them problems.  Referrals from other wedding vendors are a good indication of the professional quality of a photographer.  Referrals from past clients are even more important.

#4 Price – There is not necessarily a right or wrong price for photographic services but I would caution you to really do your homework on anyone who is priced significantly below the market average.  Running a photography studio is not an inexpensive endeavor. There is a good deal of overhead involved in operating the business.  A full time photographer relies on their business for their livelihood and that means, in order to be successful, that they are fully committed to their craft.  This is good news for a perspective client because when a wedding photographer is committed to their craft that means they are also committed to you!  A hobbyist, by definition, does not have the same type of vested interest in their photography, is likely to have another job during the week, and can therefore get by with charging very little for their services.

This concludes my thoughts on professionalism.  I hope this information will prove to be insightful and helpful as you are planning your spectacular, once in a lifetime wedding.

Sincerely,

DeAnna Dimmitt

Dry Heat Photography

Now, that’s our slogan, but what does it really mean? Is it some fancy sounding jibber jabber that we just made up to sound cool?  No, it’s not.  It seems to me that with the current economic climate many brides are left not knowing what to do.  They are trying to plan a wedding on an uncertain budget, everywhere they turn wedding vendors are having sales and specials and deals and doing everything short of back flips to command the attention of the stressed out consumer.  I can’t help but feel the need to make a statement.

What I have to say is actually not meant to come off as a sales pitch, or a critique of any other business, rather it is meant to calm the waters and to remind everyone that somethings will always be true regardless of the economy.

Some important, and universally true things, to keep in mind while planning a wedding:

#1 – Price should absolutely not be the primary determining factor in your decision making process.

In my many years as a wedding photographer I have found that the most expensive is not always the best nor is the least expensive necessarily the worst.  Your best bet as a consumer is to find the best value. The thing that gives value to the money you spend and the service a photographer provides is, in the end, your happiness.  While it may seem to be over simplifying things, the bottom line is that if you are happy with your images then you spent your money well and, if you weren’t, then it was money down the drain.  This is true across the board with all photographers in all price ranges.   Selecting one photographer over another based on a nominal price difference is unlikely to increase your happiness with the final product when all is said and done.

#2 -  No substitute for experience.

I can’t speak for everyone but at Dry Heat Photography, we want to help you and we take our obligation to our clients seriously.  Your photographer is, with the possible exception of a wedding coordinator, the only vendor that is actually with you all day on the day of the wedding.  Therefore, it is vital and I can’t stress this enough, vital that the photographer you select has the skillz to pay the billz as it were.  What I mean by that is that your photographer absolutely must be sensitive to your needs, have a game plan, maintain a time line and be mentally organized at all times during the wedding.  This person must have the technical skills and the creativity to deliver the goods, the decision making skills to figure out what to do if something goes awry, and the people skills to bring it all together.  Most of all they must possess a passion for their craft that drives them forward.  Everyone has to start somewhere, and we’ve all had a first day, but in the end there is just no substitution for experience.  At Dry Heat Photography we absolutely do not take on inexperienced amateurs and attempt to pass them off as professionals in the name of high volume. We take pride in ourselves and in the photographers that work with us.

#3 - Make your decisions with a calm mind

There is no doubt that planning a wedding can become very stressful.  All the decisions can be overwhelming and especially so if budget limitations are looming in your mind.  My best advice is to resist the urge to just go and hide under the bed, or to blindly make decisions just for the sake of getting it done.  Your wedding deserves the best and you owe it to your self to make sound decisions when selecting your wedding vendors.  Don’t let anyone pressure you, this includes well intentioned family members who may be helping you do the planning and it also includes vendors.  A high pressure sales pitch is the first sign of desperation and a major symptom of things to come.  Take several deep breaths, clear your mind, and follow your heart.  Make the decisions that feel right to you.  Remember, your gut is usually right.

We at Dry Heat Photography wish all of you the best of everything for your spectacular, once in a lifetime, wedding!

We’re here to help, give us a call at 505.730.8576.

Megan and Raul were married on January 31, 2009 at the Hotel Albuquerque.  You’ve all seen them before in their Engagement Session. I just have to say that Megan has the most amazing skin. Seriously, it looks like porcelain.  Anyway, this is the second wedding that Kristina Zidon has shot with me while continuing to build her portfolio. As always she has done a steller job and I have included several of her shots in this blog entry. Her initials, kZ, are under the shots that are hers.

To Megan and Raul, thank you so much for making us a part of your special day!

-DeAnna Dimmitt and Kristina Zidon

Dry Heat Photography

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That’s Ms. Bobby

Well you’ve all had a sneak peak at Kristin and George’s wedding from Kristina Zidon’s introductory post. In addition, their Engagement Session was this fall at the Alameda Open Space.  Kristin and George were married on January 17th at Risen Savior Church and the reception was at the Marriott Pyramid. This wedding was organized a bit differently than normal. We started at the bride’s house with some getting ready photos, then headed to the Marriott Pyramid where we had scheduled a time for the bride and groom to see each other for the first time, and then we finished most of the rest of the photos there at the hotel before going to the church for the ceremony. The ceremony started at 6:00 and, of course, it was dark by then and that is why everything was shot before hand. Kristin and I planned this whole day out minute by minute in order to ensure that everything went smoothly and that there was enough time to get everything done. I was very impressed, though not surprised, that we pulled the whole thing without a hitch! Shooting this wedding with me was Kristina Zidon and she did a fabulous job as always.

To Kristin and George, Thank you so much for making us a part of your special day!

-DeAnna Dimmitt and Kristin Zidon

Dry Heat Photography

P.S. I have marked Kristina’s shots with her initials, kZ, under the photo.

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As always, things change fast around here and as Dry Heat Photography continues to grow the opportunity to add another awesomely talented photographer to our roster of wedding photographers has presented itself.  Now this is not just anyone off the street. This is the one and only Kristina Zidon! She is our good friend, collegue, incredible photographer and gifted album designer. Yes, Kristina is multi-talented and we are so thrilled to have her as part of our team!  When she recently found herself unencumbered you better believe her first phone call was from me and the conversation went like this;

ring ring ring

Kristina -” Hello?”

Me- “Hi Kristina this is DeAnna, you have to shoot weddings for us!”

Kristina- “Well, if you insist...”

Me – “Woo Hoo!”

One small technical difficulty is that most of Kristina’s portfolio is owned by her previous employer. This is not a problem, per sey, because I know full well what kind of photography she is capable of.  It is, however,  just a small inconvience. Therefore, our first matter of business is helping her to rebuild a new portfolio.  Kristina shot a wedding with me last weekend that was steller! I have included some of her shots with this blog entry but there will be many more in the official blog entry for that wedding – which is coming soon…

-DeAnna Dimmitt

Dry Heat Photography