Services:
Established:	2006
Employees:	3
Accepts:

Raw Beauty Defined. That sums up our photography. We believe the wedding day to be an extremely beautiful event that deserves to be captured with the skilled eyes of an artistic documentary photographer. Eye Wander Photo creates artistic, documentary styled images that have a fashion oriented edge. We take photography to the extreme yet with all the respect in the world for your unique wedding. We are availble to travel worldwide with our documentary and destination wedding and bridal photography.

Our editing style is such that we color correct every single image to enhance the contrast and color while offering our artistic vision through the final "look" of the image.

We LOVE engagement sessions and offer funky sessions that define your love for one another. While I, Aaron Hogan, am the primary photographer, you can add a 2nd photographer to any package. Our pricing begins at $2500 and includes a custom designed flush mounted album.

We are available for travel worldwide and service the Gulf Coast including Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida with focus on these metropolitian areas: Austin, San Antonio, Dallas / Ft. Worth, Baton Rouge, Shreveport, Lafayette (LA), New Orleans, Jackson, Birmingham, Orlando, Tampa and Miami.
We offer destination wedding coverage as well and have photographed in Cozumel, Jamaica and Croatia.

Click here to view my video.

Do you offer any payment options?
Yes, we allow clients to pay as they see fit in small amounts every month or in one lump sum at a time. The balance is due in full 7 days before the wedding day. We also offer a bridal registry to help you offset the full cost of the photography/video package.

Do you offer a bridal registry?
Absolutely! Every client has the opportunity to allow friends and family to help pay for their photo/video package by donating a small monetary gift towards their wedding. Each donation is deducted from the client's balance. Every little bit helps! This is all done online in a secure website payment environment.

What is your deposit fee and how do I book you for my wedding?
20% of the package total is the non-refundable deposit payable via check only. I require a contract be signed with every client as well.

When is the final payment due?
7 days before the wedding.

Do you offer videography?
Yes! Check out the video page on the website at http://www.eyewanderphoto.com/video/video.htm. I offer two simple packages and mytwo videographers are available to film the event and edit it in a highly cinematic, emotional style edited to music the client provides us.

Are you a member of any professional associations?
Yes, I am a member of LAVP (Louisiana Association of Video Professionals) and PPA (Professional Photographers of America) and the local PPA guild Capital City Camera Guild in Baton Rouge.

"First Look" in a New Light
A fresh break from tradition

Modern Southern brides often hold a wedding day tradition in which the groom is not to see the bride on the wedding day in her bridal gown prior to the wedding ceremony. If he does see her in the dress beforehand, the couple may have bad luck in their marriage, the superstition states.

While many brides hold true to this convention and forbid the groom to even so much as know the color of the dress, most do not know from where the tradition originated.

In the middle ages when marriages were arranged the bride and bridegroom could not see each other prior to the wedding and had often never met. Hence, if they were to have seen one another, they may realize the other is unattractive and would run from the idea of marriage. This tradition continues today and it adds unnecessary stress to an anxious bride.

Here’s how most traditional weddings occur in the South from the perspective of a photographer.

Wedding couples today spend tens of thousands of dollars at a minimum for their special day but all too often the couple is in a frenzied haste going from place to place without a chance to reflect on all that is happening. The newlyweds rush from the kiss at the alter/ceremony site down the aisle and then circle back up to the front to pose in place for 20-45 minutes all the while guests are beginning to enjoy the cocktail hour or reception food.

They arrive to the reception often hungry and tired of being photographed only to be greeted by the reception coordinator who instructs them they have three minutes before their first dance. One event after another of orchestrated dances, cake cuts and traditions leads to couple to finally have their "grand exit". Before the couple knows it, their celebration with friends and family they've eagerly awaited is over, save their "first" night together.

After photographing some 250 plus weddings in the United States, most of which have been in the South, I have often thought there must be a better way, at least in regards to the photography. After a little research, I realized that many weddings throughout the U.S. as well as in Australia are nearly full day events in which the ceremony occurs in late morning or early afternoon followed by an extended break at which time the newlyweds and wedding party do fun, relaxed, romantic outdoor portraits filled with laughter, celebration, charisma, running, jumping, etc. During this extended break, everyone has a chance to cool down and refresh, especially the newlyweds. The break is followed by an evening reception.

While many couples may not opt for this extended wedding celebration, there is another way to do it. That method is the "first look". While this is a break from tradition in the South, many couples nationwide prefer this method when compared to the hustle and bustle they've seen at their friends' weddings.

Here's the setup: I arrange to have the groom already on location in a secluded, photogenic setting with his back turned away from the area where the bride will enter. The bride will come up behind the groom and tap him on the shoulder, at which point I am off to the side photographing the look on his face, forever capturing that beautiful moment in which he first lays his eyes on the bride. It's very much the same moment that would happen at a traditional ceremony, but the difference is, instead of doing it in front of a large audience who expects a certain outcome, you are in private and truly free to express your most intimate emotions.

The only one there besides you is me, off to the side with a telephoto lens capturing the unscripted moments which unfold naturally. After several minutes of the bride and groom talking, hugging and laughing together I then do some very relaxed formal portraits of the soon to-be-married couple.

1. Your day will flow much easier, thus being more enjoyable and memorable.
2. Photographer will get the most creative and artistic wedding pictures possible because there's simply more time.
3. You still get to surprise your groom in a private, romantic setting -- all captured in pictures. It can be in a church, field, park, lake or dark alley.
4. After your special moments together, everyone (the couple, wedding party and family) is photographed while they're most relaxed and fresh.
5. You won't miss any part of your cocktail hour nor reception. Just kiss and head out to party! There's no mad rush to the reception.
6. The wedding events happen naturally after the ceremony instead of the photographer bothering you to get the formal photos.
7. You'll be more relaxed during the formal photos and the ceremony. The key to good photos is to be relaxed. Bottom line, you'll love your photos more.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Using Your Photographer to the Fullest

While wedding coordinators are often most sought after for providing new brides with feedback on how best to plan their weddings, one of the most valuable resources for a bride comes from her photographer. Despite what some wedding planning guides indicate, booking a photographer 12-16 months before the wedding ensures she’ll have not only the best photographer but also his or her input into how to organize the day such that great photographic opportunities naturally occur. By booking a photographer soon after the wedding date is set, she is setting herself up to have the best photographs possible.

As a wedding photographer of eight years, I am used to being one of the last vendors selected for the wedding. This can result in the bride making poor choices in regards to the ceremony location, time and lighting, which in turn have everything to do with how well the photos turn out. The photographer is the one person who will document every aspect of the wedding from pre-bridals and the dress to flowers at the venue to the programs and the cake. Often they can provide valuable insight into what works and what doesn't. It’s important to heed to a photographer’s suggestions because long after the wedding is over, all that remains are the pictures.

Importance of location
A true photographer can use any location to get great photos, but one thing a photographer is not is a magician. If the couple has not booked their venue yet, they should consult a photographer for options. While some may be out of the budget, all will be at the very least highly photogenic. A photogenic location has more to do with the type of lighting and type of small structures on site than it does the overall “feel” and opulence of the venue.

Heavy wall texture and bold contrasting colors play a huge role in a venue’s photogenic nature. Ponds, bridges, small doorways, steps, alcoves and arches provide better photo opportunities in most cases than majestic buildings with elaborate gardens. The best wedding photos are the unscripted moments between people, and simple, non-distracting backgrounds and the presence of natural lighting only enhance that.

Of all the elements that make a venue truly photogenic, lighting plays the most important role. More specifically, the presence of late afternoon sunlight in the photogenic areas described earlier helps the photographer create the most breathtaking photographs filled with depth and dimension. While most modern professional cameras can shoot in low light, it's still important to have a decent light level to ensure clarity in the photographs.

Importance of ceremony time
Sunset and early evening weddings are the two most popular times for ceremonies. From a photographer's point of view, photos come out best during either overcast days or late afternoon. If you want a sunset wedding, consider having the ceremony begin 45 minutes to 1 hour prior to sunset, which allows for optimal lighting during the formal portraits of the newlyweds to be taken immediately after the ceremony.

If the ceremony will be in the evening, especially one that is outdoors as is common in cooler months, make sure the photographer has an opportunity to see the ceremony site lit up at this time of day prior to your wedding day. It will give him/her an idea of what type of external lighting he/she may need to make clear photographs.

While a coordinator can help make this daunting process of planning a wedding easier, the photographer also has valuable information that adds can make the wedding not only more beautiful on the wedding day, but for generations to come through the stories the photographs tell.