So, you got engaged over Christmas and now it’s time to start thinking about the FIRST THING YOU NEED TO DO, book your Chattanooga Wedding Photographer.
We are currently offering 10% off each of our wedding collections + $100 retainer + a complimentary 16x20 wall art for all weddings booked between now and January 1, 2023.
We have over 10 years of experience in wedding Photography & Videography.
Book your dream wedding now!
Alchemy & Film is broadening it’s horizons by adding all types of portraiture back into the mix. It’s just boring doing the same things over and over again, starting with pets, because pets are not boring.
I developed a deep connection with my childhood dog, Goldie. She was my best friend through many of my childhood’s difficulties and, often, the only person to whom I could talk. I felt like she would stand beside me through anything, which is something humans didn’t do. Her support is the root of my love for dogs and animals.
All of these images were shot at the Alchemy & Film studio.
Zee is a rescue and she is incredibly shy. I’ve known her for probably 3 years and she still will hardly look at me, but we made it work. Isn’t she cute?
This one was everyone’s favorite!
This is a crazy story.
Last year my business allowed me to take my family on an epic vacation to the Florida Keys. It was one of those little pockets in time where everything was right for a while. We flew into Miami and drove the rest of the way to Key West. We got to the hotel and immediately hit up the bar lol. After a few hours of relaxing on the beach everyone was hungry so we decided to walk to Wendy’s, the only open restaurant in walking distance.
On our way from the hotel to the road we realized we were walking to the same place with a couple we didn’t know and struck up a conversation and it turns out they only live about an hour away from us in Cleveland, TN and they had just gotten engaged that very day!
We added each other on Facebook and hung out a few times during our vacation. This is normal for me. I always make friends on vacation. lol
So, I’d like to introduce you to my local friends that I met a couple hundred miles from home, Kim & Randy Smith.
Boho Backyard Wedding - Cleveland, TN
Part of being a professional wedding photographer is capturing all of the tiny details of each wedding that make them unique.
Hiwassee River Wedding
I love being a wedding photographer on or near a body of water. Water represents wisdom, peace & purity, the perfect backdrop for the beginnings of a marriage.
Intimate Weddings & Elopements
You would never know that this wedding was put together in just a few weeks. Kim & her family decorated the backyard of an AirBnB with this eclectic boho theme and they really hit the nail on the head.
These are the moments I’ve worked so hard to be able to capture for my wedding photography clients. It takes practice to learn to when to click that shutter and capture emotions perfectly, especially on a crazy wedding day (they are all crazy in their own way).
Kim’s son Logan got a little emotional at during their first look, but who can blame him? His Mom is beautiful and his step dad loves them all so much.
You would think that as a wedding photographer I would become immune to the high level of emotions running through every wedding day, but I am not. The way Randy looks at Kim just warms my heart so much.
I am so happy for my sweet friends, Kim & Randy. I love how we met so far away and I was able to be a part of their day. The honor of being chosen to spend someone’s entire wedding day with them is never lost on me. I cherish every single one.
On February 1, 2020 The Alchemy Room took on it’s first wedding.
The Alchemy Room, Intimate Weddings & Elopements, Chattanooga, TN
Dani & Brandon had originally hired us to document their big, fancy wedding in October 2020 but eventually the stress & cost of a big wedding started getting to them and they decided to downsize or elope. They wanted an intimate wedding with just close friends and family. They wanted to enjoy their wedding day, not stress over it.
Dani chose a boho industrial theme with vintage trunks, suitcases, rugs and tons of candles, but the best part was the enormous brass candlesticks that her grandparents used in their own wedding.
The Alchemy Room, Intimate Weddings & Elopements, Chattanooga, TN
For their meal, they hopped on over to the private party room at Amigos Mexican Restaurant at Peerless Mill in Rossville, GA while we swapped our studio from ceremony site to reception site.
While their families ordered food & drinks, we took Dani, Brandon & the kids out to the Peerless Woolen Mill for bridal portraits.
The Alchemy Room, Intimate Weddings & Elopements, Chattanooga, TN
The Alchemy Room, Intimate Weddings & Elopements, Chattanooga, TN
They finished their food at Amigos and headed back to the Alchemy Room for their reception complete with first dances, toasts, garter toss, bouquet toss and lots and lots of keg stands!
The Alchemy Room, Intimate Weddings & Elopements, Chattanooga, TN
The Alchemy Room, Intimate Weddings & Elopements, Chattanooga, TN
The Alchemy Room, Intimate Weddings & Elopements, Chattanooga, TN
The Alchemy Room, Intimate Weddings & Elopements, Chattanooga, TN
It was the perfect, intimate wedding, elopement in Chattanooga, TN!
5 Wedding Photography Tips You Need to Know Before Shooting Your First Wedding
Chelsea Cagle is a Chattanooga, TN based wedding + elopement photographer. She loves the outdoors and photographing couples in love in nature. She is a graduate of the New York Institute of Photography and has worked in the industry since 2011.
Shooting your first wedding is a daunting task. This article will give you the top 5 MOST IMPORTANT wedding photography tips to know before your first wedding.
When I started in wedding photography I had no one mentoring. I’m the kind of person who jumps in feet first and learns the hard way, but you don’t have to do that. If you study these 5 tips before shooting your first wedding, you will be ready!
You may think that having good technical photography skills is all you need to be a good wedding photographer. This could not be farther from the truth. In fact, there are many successful wedding photographers who barely have any technical skills and yet remain popular year after year.
This is because the business of photography is only roughly 25% about photography.
The other 75% includes:
Having great people skills. Being confident, friendly and having the ability to build rapport with anyone you come into contact with.
Being able to think quickly on your feet. Weddings are usually fast paced and high stress and you never know what will happen. Your bride may show up 3 hours late to her own wedding forcing you to shoot in a less than desirable location you hadn’t planned on. (yes, it happened to me - 3 whole hours late)
You MUST be bold. You have to be the type of person who can get people to listen to you. You will be forced to shoot a large group of hungry, hot and tired people at almost every wedding. You’ve got to be able to control them and direct them without being rude.
You’ve got to be entertaining. During an 8-10 hour period of time (average wedding day) people tend to get annoyed. You have to be able to lighten the mood, crack jokes and keep everyone happy and smiling.
I know what you’re thinking. Duh, of course I’m going to be prepared….Hear me out. You would be surprised how many wedding photographers are under prepared for their first wedding or even their 3rd or 4th wedding.
I hired a newbie wedding photographer for my wedding thinking that I could control the shots and assumed that she had attempted to learn anything at all about her camera. The shots turns out great, but they were all in the smallest possible resolution. Impossible to print clearly on even a 4x6 sheet. I asked her for the raw files, she sent me unedited JPEGS. She didn’t even know what a raw file was. She ruined the entire memory of our wedding day. Should I have known better? Yes. But it was my second wedding and we were not going all out.
So, yes, be prepared. Know your gear inside and out. Have backup batteries, flashes, lights, SD cards etc. Be able to change the settings on your camera without even thinking about it. It takes a LOT of practice, but you cannot afford to miss the first kiss because you forgot how to change your shutter speed or white balance etc.
Find a willing model and create fake wedding shots until you feel confident that you know what to do in every situation.
You may not be able to see inside the homes or hotel rooms the couple is getting ready in, but you can assume they are similar to any other average home or hotel room. Practice shooting in your own home with a model in different types of light that happen naturally there.
You MUST scout the location before showing up on wedding day. I try to attend the rehearsal so I can see and understand how they are setting up for their wedding and what the light will be like in that exact location at that exact angle. They may have multiple options for ceremony locations so you want to be sure that you know and understand the lighting in the location your couple has chosen.
Before you go to the rehearsal or on your scouting mission, Google some ideas of what other photographers have done in that location and use their ideas for inspiration, but do not copy them, that’s rude.
**Try to visit the location at around the same time of day the wedding is set for.
Details
Invitation
Rings
Close up of flowers
Boys Getting Ready
Best man adjusting groom’s tie
Beers together in cheers
Girls Getting Ready
MOB tying back of bride’s dress
MOH putting bride’s garter on
Bride on her own
Bride in archway
Back of bride’s hair
Bride looking the mirror
Groom on his own
Adjusting cuff links
In archway
Waiting at the alter
Bride with parents
Groom with parents
Etc.
I won’t go into a lot of detail because every wedding is different and so is every photographer.
**Tip - in every scene do a mix of wide angle shots and close up shots. This makes curating the wedding album much easier.
A styled shoot is any shoot put together by a group of people (sometimes 1 person) in a particular industry. Most of the time they are wedding oriented. There are companies across the country that put on styled shoots and charge photographers a fee to be there. Some see this as unethical as the vendors expect to be gifted the photos so why should the photographer pay? But if that is the only way to build a portfolio and get practice then I say do it.
You can also organize a mutually beneficial shoot with other wedding vendors yourself or fund one on your own.
No matter how you go about getting the shoot together, one thing is for sure: it’s one of the best possible ways to get practice.
This is one of the best ways to get your feet wet in the wedding industry. Join local photography groups on Facebook and watch for posts of other professionals looking for second shooters. You can learn a lot just by watching the lead photographer work and if they are nice, they will give you pointers too.
Most of the time, under conditions such as waiting until the lead has posted images, you will be able to use the images you took as a second shooter in your portfolio. Make sure to iron out this detail before you sign any agreements.
Thank you so much for reading. Please leave any questions or comments below.
Madison Witt is not just a client, she’s a great friend and employee and I am so proud of her for pushing through and graduating. This chick does whatever it takes to get shiz done.
I am absolutely thrilled with how these turned out. Her personalities shines through these photos.
Once we got her loosened up she started dancing on the steps, typical Maddie.
I’m so proud of you girl.
We aren’t your typical “wedding” couple. We have three kids all three play multiple sports, we love to travel, we have a mortgage, we have 3 dogs, 2 cats…. lots of things that take priority over our silly vowel renewal/wedding. We were ballin’ on a budget.
Read MoreI have been following Stormie’s baby #2 story since she signed up to be a model for my “A Baby Story” project almost 6 months ago.
The first time I met this adorable family of three was at Veteran’s Park in Soddy Daisy, about 30 minutes north of Chattanooga, TN, for their gender reveal party where they found out they are having another baby girl!!!
Gosh, I have one baby girl, she’s light of my world, but, being the laid back tomboy type who doesn’t like drama or care if my nails are up to par with everyone else’s, I’m not sure what I would do with two little princesses.
I stay on the struggle bus, but Stormie and AJ have totally GOT THIS!
I saw Stormie and Brynlie again at the shower. I stopped by to snap a few photos because I like covering all the bases and it’s definitely part of the baby story.
Is she not the most adorable Momma you’ve ever laid eyes upon?! I mean seeeeriously!!
This weekend we did a session at Crabtree Christmas Tree Farm in Harrison, also about 30 minutes north of Chattanooga. I picked up a little Charlie Brown Christmas tree with one single ornament for 10 bucks, it’s so cute and I named him Charlie.
The weather in the Tennessee Valley has not been kind to photographers lately. It’s raining one minute, then it’s sun shining and rainbows, then fog and sprinkles again within an hour. So, of course, this is was the second or third time we scheduled this maternity session and still, it rained, but I am so glad it did because these photos are EVERYTHING, humans, they are everything!
I am so freakin’ excited to meet this little girl and capture her first days of life with this gorgeous little family. She’s a lucky little duck.
We had the best time photographing the wedding of Lenley & Marius Fey at The Urban Lawn. The best part about being a photographer is getting to know your clients and becoming friends, and I am so blessed to call Lenley and Marius friends.
We met at the Chattanooga Choo Choo for the first look. I know so many photographers who say they do not get personally invested in their clients weddings and do not care if the days goes well or not, that’s not me.
I am a ‘personally invested’ kind of girl. Yeah my job is to document, but if you are running late I’ll help you get back on track. If someone needs a hair tie and my last one is on my wrist, it’s yours. Fluff ribbon? Sure. Suggest a caterer, no problem. Tell you your alter decor looks like crap, you can bet I’ll shoot you straight.
I said all that to say that Marius was so nervous about the first look I barely made it without shedding a tear.
I am just so in love with this wedding.
One the best things about this wedding was the vastly diverse group of people. They had bridal party members and guests from Germany, Pakistan, Mexico and of course America, and those are just the people I had the opportunity to talk to.
The bride’s father is ill and was unable to walk her down the aisle, so she had a family friend walk her. This is their handshake before right before she walked down the aisle.
And y’all…. this father daughter dance had my heart in 10 million pieces all over the floor.
We left exhausted, but it was so worth it. We could both tell that Marius & Lenley truly love each other. And to top it all off, they are expected a beautiful baby girl in a few months!!
Congratulations guys! It was truly an honor.
Kelli is a 2019 senior at LFO. She has several jobs as a lifeguard and loves the water as well life on her families farm in Chickamauga, GA.
Despite the heat and humidity, we had a blast shooting the first location for Kelli's senior portraits.
She is such a beauty and made my job easy.
I am so grateful for my new and old clients who are coming back or just finding me after my 5 year break.
Last week I had the pleasure of photographing the beautiful and talented Madison Witt with her hula hoops in the Tennessee River Gorge. As an avid outdoorsperson, I have traveled the Tennessee River by canoe, kayak or boat a million times but it has never failed to take my breath away. This session was such a beautiful mixture of "flow" and nature.
I don't know much about the hooping community, but Maddie talked a lot about flow, which is what happens to a person when they are working on a task they enjoy and become totally absorbed in it. I experience flow when cooking and painting. As it got later, we were able to use a slow exposure and a lighted hula hoop to capture the idea of flow with a camera.
Maddie is such a sweet and beautiful soul. I enjoyed photographing her and spending time with her on the river. If you have never heard of the concept of "flow," give it a Google, it's good for your brain.
