We are so excited to have Jennifer Opeka as one of our guest bloggers!  Jennifer is going to write a series of articles for us based on eyebrow grooming, make-up for weddings/boudoir and skin care.  Come back next week and check out her first article on brow shaping 101!  Without further ado – here is a little bit about Jennifer’s background.

Jennifer Opeka is a make-up artist and brow specialist with nearly 10 years experience in the fashion, entertainment, and wedding industry. Her skill set includes everything from clean and classic beauty, to edgy and dramatic with an emphasis on weightless yet perfect-looking skin.

Since 2000, she has been perfecting her craft while working with the top industry professionals including Laura Mercier, Trish McEvoy, Jillian Dempsey and Jeannine Lobell. Her years of experience on the celebrity circuit in Los Angeles have landed her backstage at Fashion Week, on-set for TV shows and photo shoots, and in many wedding photo albums across the country.

Based in Boston, Jennifer’s home away from home is Sarra Beauty Studio (840 Summer Street, Boston, 617.269.8999) where she offers make-up lessons, make-up applications and precision brow shaping by appointment. For on-location jobs such as weddings and photo shoots, she may be booked in advance depending on availability (for inquiries please email: jennopeka@gmail.com).

When it comes to applying make-up, Jennifer’s philosophy is simple: create a look that enhances “you” and fits within your own personal style and comfort level. So whether you’re walking down the aisle, the red carpet or going on a very special date, Jen will get you there looking and feeling your absolute best.

I can’t blame a bride and groom for wanting the best value for their dollar.  In fact, I’d be surprised if they didn’t.  Here’s where some education as to how the process works might make it easier for a couple to understand just what they’re paying for.  In this digital age, we all know that with the click of a shutter and an upload to the computer we can have images ready to go and fired off to social networking sites, friends, family, blogs, etc. in a matter of moments.  I think that mindset has distorted the worth of the photographer to the wedding photography consumer.  Photographers will often have images posted to facebook and up on their blog before the bride and groom wake the morning following the wedding.  Images will be up for preview in proofing catalogs by the end of the week and albums are being turned around at blazing speeds compared to even 5 years ago.

In the wedding photography industry we photographers are a little bit of everything.  We’re sales people, IT specialists, bookkeepers, digital archivers, advertising specialists, and…photographers.  Most of us do it because we love photography and people.  If you love those two things then what better way to combine them than by doing wedding photography.  The downside is we are being pushed harder and harder to offer more service for less money.  There are plenty of photographers out there.  Some cheap, some expensive.  Some of the cheap ones are fantastic and some of the expensive ones aren’t.  A lot of it boils down to your taste in photography and how much you like the actual photographer.

Jennie and I have taken the line at Strawberry Road that our price is our price.  Not only do we think we’re worth it, but we know what our time is worth.  That’s not to say we won’t work with a customer to find a product we’re happy to deliver and they are happy to receive!  But I can’t put a value on weekend time spent away from my kids.  I’m not going to lie, I love working weddings so it would be hypocritical of me to say that the work is drudgery.  But I can’t in good conscience leave my family to struggle to break even as a photographer.  I’ve seen plenty of wedding photographers that will do that and I’ve seen plenty that will burn out before the wedding day is over simply because they aren’t being compensated.  By the end of the wedding day they’re bitter for having to agreed to a price that will probably end up costing them money in the end.

In closing, we love our customers, we love our job but we’re not going to forget that we need to eat…

written by:
Dave Field
Co-Owner
www.strawberryrd.com

1. Your Friend, My Friend, We’re all Friends. Usually when you embark on planning a wedding you are new to the whole scene. You haven’t had the experience in planning, interviewing, and hiring people/companies for an event of this scope. Ask everyone you come in contact with for recommendations and referrals. And by everyone I mean everyone – friends, family, hairdressers, florists, caterers, DJ’s and Bands. Don’t be afraid to ask! Everyone you meet during the planning process can be a valuable resource to you!

2. Face Time. I say it over and over again; you have to like the photographer/s you hire! You are going to spend a lot of time with this person on your wedding day – often up close and personal. You may love the photographer’s work and have heard their praises sung from the highest mountains, but if you don’t like them don’t hire them! In most cases you will regret it if you do. When meeting with the photographer try to honestly assess if this is a person you want to spend all day with.

3. What does that get me? There are as many different photographers as there are wedding day packages out there. Not only do you need to look carefully at the details of each package but also at the value of the package. The old adage is true – you get what you pay for!

4. Make the most of It. When planning the flow of your day make sure to leave enough time so that you can get those images you dreamed of – the whole reason you hired your photographer! If you’re rushing from ceremony to reception, you’re not going to get those dream images and you’re going to end up frustrating yourself and your photographer. I advocate doing a formal/fun session just before the ceremony. You look fresh and your not rushing from one site to another. Mostly I love them because it’s a time for you and your soon to be husband/wife to have a moment to yourself before you get caught up in the whirl of the day.

5. Who’s in the family? Experienced wedding photographers know to get images of bridal parties, family and special friends. The catch is they don’t usually know who these people are to you! Have one or two point people for the day – someone who knows who the players are. This person should be able to herd people to where they need to go. So much time can be wasted when your waiting for that relative who needs to be in the family grouping but can never be found!

6. The hunt is on!! Most photographers are booked out 6 months to 1 year in advance. Once you book your date start searching online and talking to people to find “your’ photographer!

written by:
Jennie Sjursen
Co-Owner
www.strawberryrd.com

Thanks Weddingistas!

]]> http://strawberryrd.com/blog/news/toot-toot/feed/ 1 http://strawberryrd.com/blog/miscellaneous/how-did-hannibal-do-it/ http://strawberryrd.com/blog/miscellaneous/how-did-hannibal-do-it/#comments Tue, 11 Aug 2009 20:00:27 +0000 Dave http://strawberryrd.com/blog/?p=229 We at Strawberry Road had decided long ago to try to be as carbon neutral a company as possible.  In doing so, we had investigated the possibility of solar, geothermal, even hydrogen power to run our studios.  It wasn’t until Jennie took a backpacking excursion through europe that culminated with tobagganing in the alps that she realized we could use tiny elephants on treadmills to power the studios.  (She was taken by Hannibal’s story and well, way to think outside the box Jennie!)  Anyhow, the tiny elephants have worked out very well for us.  However, in true Jurassic park fashion, chaos theory has reared its ugly head and caused major issues for us here at Strawberry Road…

In all seriousness, this is what we came up with for the ShootStyle photo assignment titled “the moment after.”  Nobody ever said we were normal…

Jennie has mastered the art of custom templates.  Her work isn’t confined to a set of two or three templates that force a photographer or designer to make crucial decisions about cropping an image to ‘make it fit.’  If the page needs to be designed to tell a story or capture a moment, her eye and ability will allow her to do so in a way that is uniquely artistic and downright esthetically awesome.  Enough raving about my biz partner.  Check out this work she did for some very special clients…

Oh, and that image right up there, look at the blank part of the page, you guessed it, your guests can sign and write messages and well wishes the day of your wedding!  Got a poem, or something special you’d like to write, even a limerick, we’ll put it in, just for you!

click ‘more’ to read on…

You see, Carla does amazing work, most of which is highlighted by brilliantly illuminated fabric panels that are stretched from ceiling to floor.  When Jennie put me on the phone with her, Carla said she wasn’t sure if there would be time to shoot the flowers and other design elements without guests present.  I said to her, ‘no problem, I can be discreet.’  To which she replied, ‘that’s fine, but could you wear all black so as not to stand out.’  This is when I realized that the reason the word ‘theatrical’ was being bandied about, was because this dinner had all the elements of a stage production!

Lighting, ’set’ and ‘actors,’ loosely termed, sure, but that’s what this was.  I have never owned a pair of black pants in my life.  Well, that’s not true, I do have a black suit which is reserved for the happiest and saddest of occasions, but regular, khaki style black pants…no.  I ran out and bought a pair and I have to say, I now know exactly how a cat feels when you brush its fur backwards.

I survived the black pants, and I have to say, Carla’s work was really fantastic, surreal even.

If you’re ever doing an event that really needs that extra pop, Carla is who you need.