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THE STYLE GUIDE FOR
stephanie Kase couples
welcome!
Welcome beautiful couple! I am SO excited you're here! I'm so excited for what's to come. This guide will be your BEST FRIEND as you plan and prepare for your photo session, and will allow you to know exactly what to expect during your photography experience! I'm so EXCITED to pour into you and to help ease the stress of planning for your session. As always, feel free to reach out at any time if you have any questions along the way!
My hubby, Michael, is my best friend, biggest encourager, and the love of my life. We were married on July 9, 2017 and it was the best day of our lives. We got married at Oak Grove at Jorgensen Farms on a beautiful sunny summer day! If you want to learn more about our wedding day story, click here! I love doing life with him and having him by my side! Marriage is such a beautiful gift and I love growing in our marriage every day, as well as encouraging my couples how awesome marriage is.
Michael and I recently just got a Sheepadoodle (Old English Sheepdog + Standard Poodle) named Ember! We added her to our family in July of 2019 and we adore her. Yes, I'm that crazy dog lady who even has an Instagram for her dog @emberthesheepadoodle! She is the biggest sweetheart and we love her to pieces! If you want to read an entire blog post of our first month with her (told ya I'm a crazy puppy mom), click here!
I'm married
I'm a Dog mom
Get to Know Stephanie
Before we jump right in, here are three things you NEED to know about me:
I love Chai
I confess, I don't love coffee... I can't even stand the smell! But chai lattes have my heart. They’re my go-to drink wherever I go! Venti chai latte with three pumps of vanilla? YES, please! Any other non coffee drinkers out there? I just can't get enough!! You can frequently see my obsession over on my Instagram where I frequently share about my day to day life!
HOW TO PREPARE
I LOVE couples sessions because it gives us an opportunity to hang out, have fun, and capture your love. I love infusing your personalities into your session and just having a good time to give you genuine images you'll LOVE!! Here are some KEY things you need to know about your couples session!
What's Included
Our session will last 1.5 hours, includes two locations, and two outfits. You can do more locations and outfits.. However, that also means you will get more variety with fewer images in your final gallery! I guarantee 100 images in your gallery from your session!
What to Wear
I recommend wearing two outfits: One dressy and one casual. Feel free to go all out for your dressy outfit, and think "date night" for your casual outfit! My biggest piece of advice is to wear outfits that COMPLIMENT each other, not match. Keep reading for style tips for him + for her!
Location
I encourage my couples to think of a location that has MEANING to them: Your home, your venue, where you got engaged, where you met, your first date spot, where you both love going on dates. This will allow us to capture images that have so much meaning to you both!! Keep reading for location ideas!
WHAT TO EXPECT
WHAT TO EXPECTIf you're like every other couple, you're probably a little nervous thinking about being in front of the camera... I mean, you're not used to having a big black box pointed at you, am I right?! Even *I* get nervous when I'm having photos done!!
It's COMPLETELY normal to feel this way, but I want to encourage you to just relax and have a good time. I'm going to be giving you allllll the direction so you never feel like you know what your doing. We're going to capture those timeless photos that everyone loves, while getting a little goofy and having fun (don't be surprised if I pull out my speaker and turn on some music!!). Some prompts I give you both might seem a little silly at first, but TRUST ME, they create some legit magic.
All you two have to do is show up and be an adorable couple in love... easy, right?! I'll take care of the rest and we're going to have a lot of FUN!
Choosing Outfits
HOW MANY OUTFITS? Most often, my couples like to have one casual, everyday outfit (think: date night) and then one outfit that is dressier! This will give your shoot two totally different “looks.” I recommend beginning with the dressy outfit first!
PROFESSIONAL HAIR & MAKEUP: Ladies, I highly recommend doing your hair and makeup trial right before your engagement session! This will not only ease the stress of you having to do it yourself, but you'll get to see how the hair and makeup you want for your big day will actually LOOK in photos. It also gives you a way to use the trial for your session! Win, win!
CHOOSING COLORS: When choosing colors for your outfits, I recommend selecting lighter tones and more muted shades. By avoiding ultra-bright, bold colors, it will help bring all the attention to your faces and let the eye focus on the way you feel about each other. Soft pinks, muted blues, and light neutrals like heather gray, creams, leather brown and white all work wonderfully.
SKIP CASUAL CLOTHES: I know flip flops and graphics tees are *perfect* for everyday wear, but especially for the guys, long pants and closed toe shoes look most masculine and photograph wonderfully! Trust me, it's just for one hour... then you can go back to your most comfortable attire. Instead...
DRESS IT UP: Have you ever wanted to rock a sequin dress, or a long flowy maxi dress? Maybe you've dreamed of wearing a floral crown, or wearing a tulle skirt. THIS is your chance! Ladies, especially for your dressy outfit, I typically recommend a long, flowy A line dress that cinches at the waist. This is typically most flattering on most body types! For the guys, opt for a suit or nice pants and a suit jacket with a button down for your fancy outfit.
FLATTER YOUR FEATURES: Ladies, keep in mind which features you want to flatter and which features you want to hide when picking outfits! For example, if you want to hide your arms, choose a top with sleeves and skip the spaghetti straps. If you want to minimize your bust, choose a dress with a higher neckline and skip the strapless dress. If you opt for a low cut dress, it will minimize the amount of angles I can shoot!
SKIP THE SPRAY TAN: Even though it seems counter intuitive, I highly recommend skipping a spray tan altogether, even if it's a few days out from your session. Spray tans tend to photograph more orange than they appear and will make you appear more orange than tan!
outfit ideas
Recommended Session Locations
First off, I want to say that I ALWAYS encourage my couples to think of session locations that have MEANING to them. This will allow us to capture more genuine images that reflect your personality. Think: Favorite date spot, where you met, where he proposed, your wedding venue, your home, where you had your first date, etc. However, if you're totally stumped for locations, have no fear!! We'll work together to pick a location that fits you two best!
Here is a list I've compiled of some of my favorite locations for photo sessions! I love these spots in particular because I'm able to provide photos that are super consistent with what you see on my website and blog, and also provide a huge variety in backgrounds for you! If a location you're considering is not on this list, feel free to reach out to ask about it - chances are I've never photographed there, or if I have, it's one I can't provide a good variety of spots at! Of course, I always encourage you to pick locations that have meaning to you as well. If there's a spot that is especially meaningful and would love to incorporate it, let's chat!!
SCIOTO MILE
The Scioto Mile river near downtown is a GORGEOUS urban area, yet it's filled with grass and greenery! You get the view of the river in your photos with some gorgeous backdrops, including marble stone and trees.
MEET AT: East Bank Park, 233 S Civic Center Dr, Columbus, OH 43215
SCIOTO AUDUBON
This park is a BEAUTIFUL spot for sunset portraits! There is a lake with a dock that walks right across it, and big fields and trees that are simply gorgeous. I love photographing at this park and it gives such a good variety! You get those rich greens in the summer, with more gold grass in the fall.
ADDRESS: 400 W Whittier St, Columbus, OH 43215, meet in parking lot by the rock climbing wall
GERMAN VILLAGE
This area is a gem for brick walls and charm! I love shooting here for an adorable urban look. There are an endless amount of spots with flowers, ivy, and so many cute houses! If you want a spot with more greenery too, Schiller Park or Scioto Audobon Metro Park are both close by for a second location (less then a 5 minute drive).
MEET AT: The Book Loft of German Village, 631 S 3rd St, Columbus, OH 43206
SCHILLER PARK
This spot is an adorable park right in the heart of German Village! What's nice about it is if you want some in German Village too, going to both spots is super easy! It has some really pretty sunlight that comes through in the evenings and lots of variety for trees, grass, and even a pond!
ADDRESS: 1069 Jaeger St, Columbus, OH 43206
GOODALE PARK
This park is SO pretty and super close to the short north too! It's totally up to you though whether you want an all greenery look or some urban shots as well! We can stick to Goodale or grab some in the short north too!
If your engagement session will be sometime in April, THIS is the place to go! The magnolia trees are typically in bloom during the 2nd or 3rd week of April, and oh my goodness, they are like nothing else in Columbus! This is the PERFECT place for spring engagement photos!
ADDRESS: 120 W Goodale St, Columbus, OH 43215
DOWNLOADING PHOTOS:
You will be able to download your edited images directly from your online gallery and they will be high resolution and unwatermarked. This process is very simple! All you have to do is click the “downwards arrow icon” and you will be prompted to enter your name and the 4 digit PIN included in your gallery delivery email. Once you enter your name and PIN, you will be asked which categories you want to download. Your photos will download directly to your “downloads” folder, or you will be sent an email with your downloads!
ACCESSING YOUR PHOTOS ON YOUR PHONE:
The online gallery system that I use is extremely mobile friendly! To access, just go to your phone’s web browser and navigate to your gallery’s webpage link. It work seamlessly and just like it would on a computer! You can download individual photos onto your phone for crisp and clear Instagrams and having access to your memories at all times.
ORDERING PRINTS:
You can actually order professional and affordable prints from within your online gallery and have them shipped directly to your house! Prints are printed in a professional lab to ensure color and contrast ac- curacy. You are more than welcome to print images on your own. However, I would warn you to avoid Walmart, Target and Costco. I cannot promise that your colors will print true-to-life if you choose to print at those stores.
GALLERY EXPIRATION:
Your gallery is guaranteed to remain open for one year after your wedding date. Therefore, I highly recommend backing up your images in more than one place, on multiple devices, flash drives, or hard drives. You can't have enough copies!
SHARING, WATERMARKING & EDITING:
You have the freedom to share your images in any way that you choose! These are your images and I want you to love them so much that you can’t help but share them! I don’t believe that it is necessary to watermark my images. All I ask for is some type of photo credit whenever you use an image on social media! And of course, feel free to use my hashtag exclusively for my couples: #stephaniekasecouples
online gallery
Heirloom Albums
Heirloom albums are the perfect way to remember your photos. You can order one anytime before or after your session date! Reach out at stephanie@stephaniekase.com if you are interested in ordering one!
30 PAGE 10X10 LINEN ALBUM: $1,200
• Leather Cover Upgrade: $250
•12x12 Size Upgrade: $200
• Additional 2-page Spread: $50
• Custom Engraving: $80
6X6 DUPLICATE PARENT ALBUM: $375 each
10X10 BOOK: $550 each
Album Walkthrough:
Initial Design
Two weeks after you receive your full wedding gallery, I'll send you a link to your initial album design. I am typically including images that most couple LOVE to see in their album, including many of your blog post images!
Two Revisions
You get two revisions with your album design. It's all set up online so it's really easy to make changes! You have an unlimited amount of design changes + image swaps within each revision. The revisions are due within 3 weeks after receiving them.
Delivery
Within 6 weeks of approving your album design, you'll receive your album at your doorstep!
ALEADY HAVE AN ALBUM? HERE'S WHAT TO EXPECT...
Thank you for allowing me to photograph your big day! I don't take it lightly and am SO excited for you. I want you to know that I am HERE for you throughout wedding planning! If you have ANY questions at all along the way, feel free to reach out to me via email at any point. I hope this guide serves as an amazing resource for you as you plan and prepare for your big day! I'm not only here to help but I want to encourage you that marriage is WORTH IT. It is a blast and always keep that in mind! At the end of the day, no matter what happens, you'll be married and that's all that matters. Thank you again for choosing me as your photographer, and happy planning!
With love, Stephanie
thank you!
