Jennifer Rotz Photography: September 2013

Changes: The Good Kind.

When I first started shooting weddings in 2010, I shot by myself; those were some long and lonely days. As my weddings increased I quickly realized I needed a second shooter and a little help. Aaron started shooting with me in April 2012 and immediately showed amazing potential. After shooting approximately 20+ weddings together, I think we both knew it was time for a change. We LOVE working together (in fact we hope to keep doing so in the future), but as my weddings started becoming more complex, I needed a second shooter who wanted to increase their photography skills and who had a passion for stills. By a stroke of luck, Kaila came into the picture. We have very easily transitioned into working together. Our personalities mesh (which is super important when you're spending up to 12 hours together on a stressful day) and our photo style meshes...also extremely important.

So where does this leave Aaron? Well, he decided he really enjoyed the wedding process, the emotions, the people, everything. So he took the knowledge that he learned from photography and what makes weddings so interesting (the emotions, the details..I could go on!) and decided to bring our photos to life. Aaron had great working knowledge of our cameras and lenses already so transitioning to video made perfect sense to him. He desires to do with video what we do with photos: bring your wedding day to life and help you remember those amazing moments, but he wants to do so in a story-telling, cinematography-style film.

A few weeks ago, all three of us were shooting Carly + Dan's wedding in Lancaster, PA and Aaron decided it would be the perfect time to put his skills to work. I. Was. Blown. Away. It was as if he blossomed right in front of me. Is this what he was meant to do, I thought? Had I been stifling him? I don't think so, but I do think that he has been observing, learning, and waiting to do this. I'm extremely proud of his first film. And the best part is it's all his - his thought process, his shooting, what he sees on a wedding day. To be honest, what he sees on a wedding day is pretty amazing.

Check it out:

Carly Dan Trailer from Aaron Rotz on Vimeo.

This is a highlight film of their wedding day. It's not intended to cover every moment, but just the right amount of moments to help best tell the story of their beautiful day. We will be offering this as an add-on for 2014 weddings and part of a collection for 2015 weddings. Eventually, we will be adding in audio as well. Also, we plan on offering this for family, children, newborn, and engagement sessions in the future.

What's Most Important

I had to take a mid-season break to give props to my AMAZING shooters and assistants. I came across this series of photos while culling through Jen + Jim's wedding at The Hotel Hershey and it made me realize what is most important to have in order to successfully shoot a wedding. Proper exposure, composition, and focus is obviously important in a difficult shooting situation such as this (2:30pm, full August sun), but more importantly it's vital to have second shooters and assistants who can see your vision, you can trust, and who make you laugh (a lot) during a wedding day! I'm so thankful when I have both Kaila and Aaron on a wedding day, but individually they are such a tremendous help and talent. Thank you for all your hard work!!

Shayna + Moses: Married | Altoona, PA Wedding Photographer

I am so overjoyed for these two. They are the sweetest, most loving couple you'll ever meet. And, although selfish, I'm a bit sad at the same time because I enjoyed working with them and their wedding has so quickly passed. Kind-hearted, thoughtful, and crazy in love are only a few words that come to mind when I think of Shayna and Moses' relationship. The way he looks at her, the way she talks to him, you can just tell their marriage is going to be solid. Not only are Shayna and Moses an amazing couple, but their families are so warm and friendly, we instantly felt comfortable on their wedding day. This will definitely be one of our 2013 favorites :)

Shayna and Moses, thank you so much for entrusting us with this very important day. We wish you all the blessings you deserve and many years of happiness.