Capturing Your Day

   My approach to photographing a wedding is fairly simple. My job is to unobtrusively document you and your spouse as the day unfolds so that you can recreate all the energy and spontaneity of your unique day for years to come. I start with you getting ready and am with you for the next 8 hours, which usually lets me stay until the dancing is well under way. I shoot what's happening to you, around you and the behind-the-scenes things you didn't even know about. I don't want to interrupt and interfere with your day... it's YOUR day, not the wedding photographer's. The only time I'll make myself known is if you need help and during the half hour it takes to get group photos done in a timely and efficient manner. Then I fade back into the background like an extra bridesmaid. As a photojournalist, I'm trained to anticipate moments and capture them as they happen, not to try to recreate them afterwards, or create "candid" moments for you as many studio photographers are doing these days.

   Please check out my "Questions and Answers" section which gives you more ideas about what sets me apart from regular wedding photographers in Michigan as well as answering many of your questions. To find out what my brides think about me, click on the section called "Rave Reviews."

   Below I've included a narrative of what a typical wedding day is like from a bride's point of view. This should help differentiate between a wedding photographer and a wedding photojournalist.

How I Would Approach Your Wedding Day

Spontaneity, Energy, Peak Moments, Fitting In


You've spent months preparing for your big day, a lifetime picking out your spouse and today is finally here. Will it all go the way you imagined it? Your wedding photographer arrives as you're starting to get ready. She introduces herself and asks you to go back to what you're doing. You've got lots to do and the excitement is building and so you do just that... you simply go back to what you're doing. Everything is set in motion, everyone knows their parts, but oops, we forgot scissors. What? You have scissors? Great! Got any bobby pins? Thanks. The church lady is starting to give instructions, the ball is rolling. You might notice as you start to line up for your big entrance that your wedding photographer doesn't seem to be there. Oh, there she is, waiting off from the main aisle. You breeze through the ceremony, relieved that everything went so smoothly. Oh my God, I'm MARRIED! Your mind is spinning, you're so happy, so excited, so relieved! The ceremony was over so quickly, it's all blurring together. You greet people and before you know it, the church is emptying out. Aren't I supposed to make sure grandma doesn't leave before the pictures? As that thought crosses your mind, you look back into the church and notice that the photographer's got her lights up and family members are finding seats at the back of the room. Oh, there's grandma. The wedding photojournalist says she'll be ready for you in a few minutes if you need to freshen up. You do and when you get back, you start a half hour of group photos. They aren't your favorite thing, but you know how important they are to your family, so you put up with them. What? We're done already? Okay, great... on to the party. As you head off to the reception, a feeling of euphoria sets in... you really are married and the pressure is really off! Oh look! The groomsmen's car broke down! And the photographer's taking their picture! Oh good, Dad's stopping to help. I can't believe I tripped getting out of the limo. I wonder if she saw me do that... oh, yup, she did. Everybody's having such an awesome time and really letting loose. Aunt Sally's doing the limbo in the corner! I wish Marci could... oh, there she is. Yes, she is good, isn't she? I found her on the web. She's a wedding photojournalist, that why she's catching everything. You can just reach her through her web site.



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If my e-mail link isn't working for you, please contact me directly at; Curtisf8@aol.com




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Thanks so much for your interest in finding out more about me. I've been a professional photojournalist for over 20 years. That means I've earned 100% of my income from shooting. I still freelance for major national newspapers, but I reserve my weekends for weddings and my summers for shooting and writing children's books. I'm continually amazed how well my photojournalism background and style works to shoot weddings. I'm a laid back, helpful person who's there to make your day go smoothly try to fit in as an extra bridesmaid, not as an overbearing presence. You'll quickly forget I'm there. When you get your photos back, I want you to be totally blown away by at all the things I saw, and all the things you experienced, separately and together. My couples often tell me how well I captured their day for them and that's exactly what my goal is. I want you to be able to reassemble that day perfectly for years and years to come because my photos provided the road map to recapture the whole day. As a Michigan wedding photojournalist, I'm trained to shot peak moments and my photojournalism background is key in anticipating moments.

If you'd like to find out more about my pricing as a wedding photojournalist in MI, here goes: My "package" is pretty straight forward. My shooting fee is $2000. That buys you my time for up to eight hours. It lets me be there while you're getting ready through most of the reception. I like doing this because I feel it's my job to document the whole day for you, telling the unique story of what your day was like. You will probably be spending a lot of time apart from your fiancee/new spouse on that day. I feel it's my job to fill you in on what's been going on all around you - to be the eyes in the back of your head. While the bulk of my work will be unintrusive and spontaneous, I do, of course, pose group shots and bridal portraits. I try to get them done efficiently and painlessly to get you back to your party as quickly as possible. I send your all your ready to print images on a DVD that holds all your images and several CD's so that you can easily take them out for printing. Lots of couples have started posting their photos online through services like Snapfish and Shutterfly so they never have to deal with ordering reprints. That's pretty much the "package". You guys (or a sister or mother) get to put an album together yourselves. ÊMany couples use the 4x6 prints they originally get processed for the majority of their album as well as enlarging 10 or 15 of their favorites. Many couples are looking for a mix of color & B&W. If that's what you want, I would shoot in all color negative. Any print you want in B&W can be printed on B&W paper at a custom lab to create a flawless B&W print when you do your reprints. You'd never know the difference and I can't tell the difference! Most couples tell me they invest around $100 for all their printing costs. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to write me back. Thanks again for your interest in my work and I look forward to hearing from you. Marci Curtis

wedding photojournalist and wedding photojournalism philosophy and approach