A great birthday party! If only I had portraits to go with it…
Liz here! I had a recent experience which I’d like to share with you. Last night, Patrick and I hosted a shindig for my 30-somethingth birthday. We were honored to host about 15 guests, who enjoyed hot dogs, chili, and s’mores around our fire pit. Truth be told, it was a little too warm for a fire pit, but it did come in handy when it came time to roast marshmallows! Family and friends of all ages joined us. Everyone enjoyed visiting with each other while our four younger guests enjoyed one of those priceless youthful evenings running around, playing games, and catching fireflies. In short, the shindig was a lot of fun!
Whenever we host events (this was one of our biggest yet), I have to make a point to remind Patrick and myself to get out the camera and take pictures. That’s right, believe it or not, the photographer has to be reminded to take pictures! I guess that goes with the adages: The plumbing in the plumber’s house never works, or the therapist never takes his own advice!
To make matters even more comical, we chose to use my personal Nikon digital point-and-shoot rather than break out either of Patrick’s two professional Canon cameras he uses for the studio! That’s right, I use a ten-year-old, slower-than-Christmas, battery munching camera for family photos (I know, right?)! Last night, I managed to remember to have out my little dino-camera, and, between trips in and out of kitchen, handed it to Patrick.
He (thankfully) managed to get a few pictures in between serving food and visiting. I can’t blame him for not getting a whole lot, after all he was co-hosting our guests, grilling, tending to the fire pit, and wanted to visit and not work (totally understandable)! We ended up with about 5 pictures, so there are some pictures to help us remember all of the fun we had.
At the end of the night, after our guests left and we had cleaned up the last of the party decorations, Patrick and I were talking about the highlights of the evening and how much fun we had. I realized how nice it would have been to have had a professional photographer (who was not one of the party hosts and/or guests) documenting the evening. How nice would it have been to have someone there, in the background, objectively capturing moments of laughter, enjoyment, children playing, food, festivities and fun?
Knowing the evening was being documented, we would have been able to just enjoy visiting with our guests the entire evening. Then, a week later, we would receive a disc with all of the photos of the memories from that evening. I could even make a photo album, or use the photos as gifts for birthdays and holidays.
And this doesn’t apply solely to 30-somethingth birthdays. Professional event photography is so nice for all of life’s events, including showers, anniversaries, reunions, (and of course) weddings!
Now mind you, unlike our party last night where we only got the 5 or so portraits, when Patrick is hired to photograph events, he is focused on capturing those memories! You can laugh, celebrate, and enjoy food and fun, just like we did! The difference is, if you hire Abanathy Photography, LLC, or other professional photographer to take pictures at your event, the photographer acts like a fly on the wall…no…a ninja-fly on the wall focused on capturing those moments so you end up with the unburdened memories and photos which you can enjoy and remember for a lifetime!
It’s hard to put a price on that kind of service. Well, as a professional photography service, we actually have put a price on this kind of service, but you know what I mean. That’s why, lastly, I wanted to mention our event photography pricing. We understand how much the cost can add up for putting on any kind of event. You have a planning list which includes the cost of food, decorations, gifts, and unexpected items as you prepare. If you are fortunate enough to host a function at home, you don’t have to pay for a venue, but sometimes your guest list grows to necessitate a rented party location. By the time the bill comes around, it can be quite expensive, and a photographer would just add to the cost! Right?
That being said, I ask you to consider this: Not only are our prices very competitive, but the investment in coverage of your event can be small in comparison to the memories you will have.
(CLICK HERE for information about our event coverage!)
Also, if you are co-hosting an event with relatives, consider dividing up the cost among relatives/friends. This can bring that price tag down, and you can all still share in the memories at the end. Event coverage can also be given as an incredibly personal gift!
I’m sure many of you reading this blog can relate to my experience. If you know of an up-coming life event, I ask for you to really consider you options on capturing those moments. If you invest in professional photography, you will have a wonderful time AND amazing portraits to enjoy and share for years to come!