Photographer: Regeti’s Photography
Wedding-Day Portraits
In Srinu and Amy Regeti’s market, post-wedding bridal sessions are a rarity. “I kind of envy the photographers who get to have that undisturbed time with the bride,” says Amy. “We usually have about fifteen minutes to do pictures with the bride and groom.” That means the photographers have to prepare in every way they can beforehand to set the stage for successful portraits amidst the chaos and emotion of the wedding day.
Personalization
Over the years, Srinu and Amy have reduced the number of wedding bookings they accept per year, opting to deliver a more personalized level of service to a more select group of higher-end clients. “Each one of my girls—I know them on a first-name basis,” says Amy. “We have the freedom to talk to them and call them and text them. It’s not such a formal relationship as it could be for photographers once they start hitting a certain budget.”
Evaluate Your Priorities
Srinu and Amy re-evaluate their business and priorities every December or January. “We ask ourselves, ‘What is it that we want to do differently? What isn’t making us happy?’” says Amy.
Engagement Sessions
Successful portraits of the bride and the couple start with the engagement session. “You can’t make the session mandatory, so we include it for free—but we tell the couples if they don’t use it, they lose it,” says Amy. They approach the session more as a double-date than a photo session, giving them a chance to interact freely with the couple and really get to know their personalities.
“By the time we get to the wedding, we know her personality. We know if giving her too much direction is going to make her feel awkward,” says Amy. Srinu adds, “Basically, the engagement session lets them know our style and how we are—and we get to know how they are and how far we can push them.”
The results are clearly reflected in their bridal images, which are relaxed and entirely authentic. Whether the bride is exuberant or more demure, her personality is clearly evident.
Location Selection
Rather than location-scouting in advance, Srinu and Amy prefer just to arrive a little early and decide on the backgrounds to use. “Location scouting can be a really good thing, or it can be a really bad thing,” says Amy. “When we do the whole ‘scouting’ thing, we get a lot of ideas we’re excited about—but when we’re on the time constraints of the wedding day, we can’t do everything we want to do. We have to pick just one. It’s a little bit heartbreaking,” she says, laughing.
