Introducing: The Collection {of Uber-Talented Nashville Photographers}
Monday, August 23, 2010
We open the week by shining our spotlight on a new addition to our fine photography community here at ABG. Please welcome The Collection, a group of three very talented photographers whose passion is wedding photography. The brainchild of Peter and Whitney Carlson of Dove Photography, The Collection will add more talent to our ever-growing pool of wonderful photographers from which you can choose for your wedding and special day. We're really excited about this and we hope you are too.
Fabulous Giveaway: ABG Brides, if you mention this blog post and book your photography session with Erin or Krystal by Monday August 30th, you will receive a free iPad courtesy of The Collection!
Meet The Collection: Nashville's Newest Photography Studio
Ashley: this picture makes my heart sing!
Number of Years in the Business:
The Collection is a brand new studio run by professionals who have been working in Nashville's wedding photography industry for over 6 years.
How did you get started in weddings?
Krystal Mann started her photography career at the age of 14. She spent much of her time photographing musicians until one of her musician friends invited her to photograph his wedding. She instantly fell in love with weddings and opened her own wedding photography business. Krystal ran her wedding photography studio for over 6 years until she was invited to join The Collection. Similarly, Erin Lee started her photography career photographing musicians. When approached by the owners of The Collection, Erin quickly discovered her love for wedding photography. Although Jessica has only been photographing weddings for a year, she has had a considerable amount of training over the years from her older sister Whitney Carlson of Dove Wedding Photography. Before being hired by The Collection, Jessica photographed weddings for a year with an Atlanta-area photographer.
What do you like most about weddings?
We love the joy and excitement that is involved with wedding days. Every bride's wedding is completely different because every bride is a unique individual. It is so much fun to see all the different ideas that our brides come up with for their wedding celebrations.
What does the name “The Collection” mean?
The name comes from two ideas that make up our business. One comparison is that a display of art pieces is known as a “collection”. We photograph each wedding as a work of art. We are providing a service, but we do not see ourselves as service providers as much as we see ourselves as artists. The name also comes from the fact that we are a collection of photographers and not a studio owned and run by just one photographer.
What is your service philosophy?
The collection exists to bring superior images, along with trusted service, to a variety of brides. When working with a photographer from The Collection, you can trust you will receive excellence in service and the highest quality for your investment.
The Collection is not a co-operative of photographers, but one trusted photography studio supplying a variety of creative and artistic photographers.
What are your strengths compared to others in your category? / Why should a bride hire you?
We have a full-time, in-house, staff. Our studio manager is dedicated to giving every bride prompt and thorough service. Our staff of photographic editors maintain the highest quality possible while ensuring the on-time delivery of your images. Working with such a dedicated team allows our photographers the freedom and energy to focus on what's most important: photographing your wedding.
Who are your 5 favorite Nashville wedding vendors – helpfulness, professionalism, style?
This is such a hard question because there are so many great vendors to work with in Nashville. If we narrowed our list down to the five vendors that we have worked with the most, it would be: Historic Cedarwood, Maples Wedding Cakes, Nashville Event LIghting, Fresh by CarryAnn, and recently our photographers have been photographing a number of weddings at Country Music Hall of Fame. Each of these vendors are considered some of the best in Nashville and will not disappoint.
Left: Fresh Carry Ann. Right: Maples Cakes
A wedding photographed at Cedarwood
Lighting by Nashville Event Lighting
Who do you recommend when you’re not available/not a fit?
Because we have three photographers on our team, it will be hard for you to find a date that The Collection is not available for your wedding.
What do you read/watch regularly to stay on top of wedding/event trends?
We subscribe to style magazines like Vogue, Lula. Some of our favorite blogs are Style Me Pretty, Hundred Layer Cake, Southern Weddings Blog, Poetic Home for style inspiration, and of course Ashley's Bride Guide keeps us up on the scene in Nashville. We love looking around Etsy.com for inspiration. We also attend multiple conferences per year which focus on wedding photography. Of course visiting with brides and other wedding vendors is one of the best ways to keep up with current trends.
Let’s discuss current wedding trends - Which wedding trend do you love?
We love centerpieces that incorporate organic and natural pieces like ferns, moss, wildflowers, branches, and other wood pieces.
What wedding trend do you dislike the most?
When brides feel confined to tradition when planning her wedding day. Each bride is a unique individual and should remember this wedding is hers. It should be as unique as she is, even if it does not fit the "normal rules" of a wedding.
What is your favorite wedding find?
Custom hand-made signs by Chocolate Butterbean (chocolatebutterbean.com).
Yummy wedding blog to add to my bookmarks! Ok, What's your favorite TV show and why?
Every single one of our staff (except Krystal) loves LOST. We do not know what we are going to talk about on Wednesday mornings this year, now that the series is over.
What advice would you give to brides on the wedding planning process in general?
Hire an experienced event planner. The biggest wedding regret we hear from brides and friends is they did not hire a planner. It will save you so much time and keep you away from stress. If you are a DIY bride, at the very least, hire a day-of coordinator. There is no reason you should be conducting on your own wedding day. Expecting your family or bridesmaids to fill this role rarely works out.
When it comes to finding a photographer. Don't base hiring your photographer on how much "stuff" comes in your package. The two most important things to base your decision on should be the quality and style of the photography as well as the personality of the photographer. If you do not get along with your photographer you will remember that every time you look at your photos. If you end up not liking your photographs, It won't matter how big your album is our how many prints you are getting. All these items will be worthless to you if you can not enjoy the art that is printed on them.
I'm thrilled and really looking forward to featuing more of The Collection! View their photography blog for more of their weddings.
About the Author:
Ashley
Hey - I'm Ashley! I started AshleysBrideGuide.com to give Nashville brides, or folks planning a Nashville wedding, a local resource for inspiration and resources. Hope to see you at a bridal show soon! Happy Planning.
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Posted on August 23, 2010 |
Filed under: Photography & Videography
1 Response to This Post
Posted on August 23, 2010 @ 12:13pm