Spring Forward: Photography Dates to Remember
I don’t know about you, but I have been counting down the days for daylight savings to arrive. Now that we have finally ‘sprung forward’ by an hour, I thought it would be a good time to highlight some important photography dates to remember. Read on to see what dates should be on your calendar…
Cherry Blossom Season
It’s official: the National Cherry Blossom Festival in Washington DC has declared that March 19 through 22 are the peak bloom dates for cherry blossoms. Note that this is one of the earliest dates on record for peak blooms due to the overly warm temperatures of the past year. The recent spat of cold weather has delayed the peak bloom season by a week, and you can also expect the dates for NYC to be a week or two later. Still, if you were planning on taking engagement photos or family portraits with beautiful blossoms in the background, now is the time to make an appointment. There are several spots around the city where the trees are stunning, yet the crowds are small. I have a list of recommended spots of the best places to see cherry blossoms in NYC that everyone should visit. I know it is hard to imagine trees in bloom with Tuesday’s impending doom of a snowstorm, but the blossoms are coming. Prepare now.
Engagement Season
Most clients have a definite wedding date, but are more flexible on the date for their engagement session. If you have a specific time frame in which you want to shoot your engagement portrait, now is the time to look at your calendar and get the dates you want. Spring weekends for all wedding photographers fill up quickly, especially since March and June are normally too rainy (as has been my experience), so that leaves everyone wanting a day in April or May. This year May is a very popular month for weddings, so most weekends are already booked.
Save-the-Dates
Save-the-date notices are normally sent out six to eight months prior to an event. If you have a wedding or other big event on the horizon, now is the time to think about scheduling a save-the-date session. You could be super smart, like my clients Vanessa and Nathan, whose wedding is coming up in June. They used photos from their engagement session in September for their save-the-dates, and thanks to the warm weather, their photos look like a slice of summer heaven – the perfect prelude to get guests ready for their June wedding. Your save-the-date cards can, of course, have any seasonal background you wish. But if you are going to have a winter wedding, now is the time to take advantage of the last vestiges of the cold season to make your photos mesh perfectly with the date of your event. I never thought snow would be a good thing, but in this case, it is.
Christmas Comes in October
Speaking of winter, it’s never too early to think about Christmas. If you are looking to have an album or prints for holiday gifts, know that all of the professional printers have final deadlines at the end of October or beginning of November. Due to the high number of products ordered, most printers will cut off any new orders way ahead of the holidays. So if you were looking to get a gift for the parents for the holidays, start pulling together your favorite images for an album now. Likewise, if you are looking to have an annual holiday card printed, the time to have your photos taken is ideally in September. This gives you enough time to have the images edited and sent to the printer way ahead of the Christmas rush.
If you would like to see more images from my portfolio, please visit my website:
www.KellyWilliamsPhotographer.com
