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Book an Intimate Portrait Session

Rob Domaschuk Photography, in partnership with Timeless Day Spa and Ella Grace Cosmetics, is excited and proud to bring you an intimate portrait and spa package. This is the perfect gift for your fiance or spouse - a day of spa services followed by a photo shoot (in your home or in the studio).

Take a Photography Class

If you have ever thought about taking a digital photography class in order to improve your own pictures, then think about signing up for Shooting Great Portraits on a Budget, presented by Rob Domaschuk Photography (yeah, that's me when I am not shooting weddings)..

This one day hands-on class covers the basics of moving beyond the snapshot and teaches basic lighting techniques, backgrounds, posing, and other essential tips and tricks known (and used) by professional photographers. Most importantly, you learn about how much money you don't have to spend to get great results.

Open to anyone with a camera.

From the Blog

How Soon Should I Book My Photographer?

“Two weeks,” was the reply from the bordering-on-hysteria bride when I asked what her wedding date was.

For those of you following my posts, you know that my own wedding is fast approaching and we’re still putting the final touches on arrangements and services. The wedding is, as of my writing this, a couple of months away and the big stuff is done (just met with the baker last night). We have her dress and the bridesmaid dresses, the tuxes for the guys, the flowers are ordered, the banquet facility booked, the caterer confirmed, photographer booked, and more.

Maybe it’s because I’ve had enough of these calls from the last minute planners that I am more active with my own wedding. Either way, we’re pretty organized; and with a six-month old child that has just learned to crawl, that’s no small feat.

Two weeks. I suppose if you thrive on the kind of nervous energy that comes from a mixture of procrastination and abject terror, then you’d be in your element. Still…

I’m happy to say that the vast majority of people are so excited about their wedding that they start inquiring around 4-6 months in advance. That’s a great amount of time as we typically are starting to book up but still have a lot of dates available. The earliest I was ever contacted was about 16 months before the wedding day. Now that is planning ahead.

Still, I would say that you want to make contact with the photographer as soon as possible. Here’s why: your wedding day is not considered booked until the retainer is paid. If you were to look at my calendar starting in February or March, there can be anywhere from 6-8 weddings penciled in on every Saturday throughout the Summer. Like any wedding service provider (banquet hall, DJ, caterer, baker, etc.), some form of deposit is required to confirm the date and inform the others that their dates are no longer available.

If you start the search process too late, then by the time you find a photographer you like and who is available, there’s an excellent chance that someone else has come along and paid their retainer and your date is no longer available by the time you make your decision.

So, how soon should you start the search? Here is my recommendation. The first few days after you get engaged, celebrate and have a wonderful time telling your friends and family. Then, go buy some wedding and bridal magazines (I like Chicago Bride and it has NOTHING to do with the fact that I advertise in it) and start thinking about what you want. Search online for wedding photography and decide what kind of style you are drawn towards (fine art, traditional, photojournalism, quirky, and so on). Decide your budget and now you can start calling photographers.

More from the blog