The CBN team captures your day with an artistic, sophisticated, romantic style. We find great inspiration in nature & especially love to incorporate natural settings into the pictures! How cool it is to hang photos on the wall that look like a landscape print that you are a part of!
You can expect personable, quality service when hiring the CBN team. Nicole provides as much guidance as desired leading up to the big day. There’s a lot of factors that come into play with the wedding day timeline. Nicole offers extensive help with putting together a timeline that makes the most sense for a smooth running day. The details, timeline, & other information that Nicole gathers throughout the planning process is shared with the associate & second photographers who will be documenting your day! The photographers who will be at your wedding are experienced & shoot in a similar style to Nicole. Immediately after the celebration, they share the RAW images with Nicole, who then edits & delivers the gallery. A big part of the look of the images that Nicole is known for comes from the editing, so between the photographers shooting in a similar style, & Nicole curating the gallery, the images end up looking very cohesive to Nicole’s body of work! The album design process is done directly with Nicole. If an engagement session or post wedding adventure session is booked, Nicole will be the one to document them.
The CBN team takes camera aware portraits, but does favor those that look more natural. The portraits are posed, doing so in a manner that looks more candid. Aside from the portraits, everything else is shot with a candid approach. We strive to capture true emotion & personalities which shine through best when you aren’t paying attention to a camera in the room. Our priority is to document the emotion, love, & beauty of the day along with those little details so that nothing is left to fading memories.
With photography, the possibilities are endless. We enthusiastically go into every shoot & look forward to creating something unique. It’s an honor to document moments that will be viewed from generation to generation, to create ART.
We are passionate about our work & hope that love shines through in your photos!
Q&A
What type of albums do you offer?
The standard album is 10x10in with 40 sides (20 pages). You can choose leather or a fabric cover. It can have a photo on the cover or the cover can be foil stamped with your names & date. Usually around 90 photos are included in the design. Nicole asks the client to choose 60 must have photos & to provide her with a “B” list as well. A design that flows well is usually able to be completed by using those two lists.
What shooting style can we expect?
Sophisticated, romantic, artistic, dramatic. During the couple’s portraits, the photographers pose, but do so in a way that looks natural. This helps you to look flattering & feel secure. A lot of direction is given & groups are done efficiently so everyone can continue on enjoying the celebration. For rest of the day, the photographers blend into the background as much as possible & capture what’s happening naturally!
Do you take looking at the camera photos?
Yes. Nearly all of the photos shown publicly are a more candid looking style. The CBN team absolutely takes looking at the camera & smiling portraits! These type of portraits are the main focus for family as well as couple & group shots taken of guests throughout the celebration. For family portraits, the team tries to get interactive, more candid images as well. Lots of camera aware portraits are taken with the wedding party. About 20% of the portraits taken of the couple individually & together are also camera aware photos
What is a first look?
When the couple sees each other before the ceremony. The first look is usually private. The team usually stages it so that the groom’s back is to the bride. She walks up behind & he turns toward her. They are then able to have some time to just talk to each other, something you can’t do easily during the ceremony. Then, potentially all of the portraits can be shot before the ceremony so that everyone can enjoy cocktail hour. Most couples only get a few hours with their guests & that time flies by so it’s a great thing to be able to make it to cocktail hour. Most couples who aren’t having a church ceremony go for this option as it allows for a more relaxed day
How long does it take to get our photos back?
It’s typically a 6-8 week turnaround time to get your photos edited and your gallery up. Some preview photos are provided within a few days of the wedding.
How are the photos delivered?
The high resolution digital files are presented in an online gallery. The client downloads them from there. The gallery can be shared with family & friends who can download as they please. The gallery owners do have the option to hide photos that they don’t want to share with everyone. When viewing the gallery, the featured photos are displayed first. You can continue to view all of the photos or you can click on different categories to jump to a specific section. Clients usually do their own printing. It’s highly recommended to print through Mpix.com. The gallery does offer print purchase capability from a professional lab as well. It’s a nice convenience for the guests especially. A complimentary USB drive is also provided to the couple.
Are all of the photos delivered edited?
Yes. Nicole does spend longer on the portraits & some of the more important parts of the day, but every photo in the gallery does go through several steps of editing.
What are the Thank You card inserts?
If you’d like to share your gallery with guests, a wallet size photo from the wedding that includes the text on it saying “We invite you to view our photos!” along with the gallery link, is provided.
Can we get all the photos that are taken at the wedding?
The CBN team takes more photos at the wedding than are delivered to the couple. Nicole’s editing process is quite time consuming & it’s important that couples are given the photos that best portray the story of their day at a high level of quality. However, if there are photos taken that aren’t amazing technically, but are good moments, they will still be included. With 8 hours of coverage, around 800 photos are typically delivered.
Should we provide a shot list?
When the wedding date gets closer, Nicole sends out a details form for the couple to complete, which provides her with the names & relationships of important guests. If family groupings look like they may be slightly complicated, Nicole puts together a list of the groupings she feels would flow best & sends it to the couple to approve. The photographers read from the list during family portraits. The details form also informs Nicole of happenings/details that we may not already be aware of.
Do you offer timeline guidance?
Nicole does provide extensive wedding day timeline help.
Do you have backup equipment?
We understand that the moments that happen on your wedding day cannot be relived & therefore we take being prepared very seriously. The photographers do have backup equipment that’s kept handy in case something happens to fail.
What is the payment structure?
A 40% retainer along with signing the contract is required at booking. The balance is due the day of the wedding. Contracts are completed online through Docusign.
What should we wear for engagement photos?
Textured clothing & layers photograph best. Large logos bold patterns, & running sneakers should be avoided. Also avoid large amounts of saturated colors. Pops of rich colors work better. Try not to be too matchy matchy. You should wear different colors, but colors that compliment each other. Patterns such as floral, plaid, stripes, & polka dots all work. Check out Nicole’s Pinterest board titled “Engagement Session Clothing Suggestions” for clothing inspiration (pinterest.com/CustombyNicole/engagement-session-clothing-suggestions)
What is an Adventure Session?
These sessions are about 3 hours long & give couples the opportunity to take wedding portraits in gorgeous natural settings that their wedding day may not allow for. It offers a much more relaxed atmosphere for portraits as wedding days are typically very busy and can be overwhelming. We get the most ideal light because these shoots are scheduled close to sunrise or sunset. You don’t need to worry about the weather! If there’s rain in the forecast, we reschedule!