Why Noun?

We are often asked why we are called Noun Studios. As a matter of fact, many people assume "Noun" is our last name. Every so often we get a call and are asked, "Can I speak to Mr. or Mrs. Noun please?". Sometimes we just go with it and say, "speaking!", but the reality is it's very simple; we named our business Noun Studios because we shoot people, places and things...or...nouns.

People are certainly the largest part of our business, but we shoot both interiors and exteriors of many places and do a fair amount of product photography. So after a very unscientific brainstorming session, we looked at the board and saw the obvious...everything we shoot is a noun. And so the company name was born.

On a side note, we have been asked to shoot adjectives, verbs, participles and conjunctions. And although we weren't too sure we remembered what a participle was, we were pretty sure we couldn't photograph it!

What Your Uncle Louie Will Forget

When we aren't awarded a wedding, we always ask what made the bride and groom go another way. Very often the answer is "our uncle is going to shoot it for us" or "my friend has a great camera and is shooting it for us as a gift". In most of these cases, their relative or friend is not a professional photographer.

Shooting weddings is so much more than taking great pictures. It is a well choreographed, day long event where simple decisions can have major effects on the things that follow. Many of these decisions are made weeks or months in advance and if Uncle Louie doesn't plan accordingly things will not go smoothly. Decisions such as:

• Taking pictures before or after the ceremony
• Whether or not to have a receiving line (and where)
• A served meal versus a buffet
• Limo for the bridal party or separate cars
• Indoor versus outdoor ceremony and reception

This list is just the tip of the iceberg, but they have a huge impact on the photography. After all, the photographer is the only service provider (short of a wedding planner) that will be effected by every other service provider at your wedding. That's why we also consider ourselves wedding coordinators. We absolutely make sure we know what everyone else is doing.

So...how does this relate to Uncle Louie? Well, if he hasn't shot AT LEAST DOZENS of weddings, he will simply miss major parts of your day. Or at the least, cause a great deal of angst trying to piece it all together. And if there's one thing that causes tension at a wedding, it is indecision or lack of a solid plan. Beyond that, the other thing that will happen is he will be distracted by people he knows at your wedding. After all, it will likely be months or years since he's seen some of the guests and he will simply not have the focus that is needed to maintain an enjoyable flow FOR YOU.

In our travels we survey many, many married people (most of which were NOT our clients) and ask them what went well with their wedding and what didn't. In almost every case, the people who didn't hire a professional photographer were unhappy with the results.

-Mike
[Mike Moloney is the owner of Noun Studios and welcomes your input].

Why we have no rules...

Over the years we've noticed a pattern when it comes to our clients initial expectations. Whether it be a future bride or someone needing a Web page, the pattern showed that almost all of them expected us to tell them first what we WOULDN'T do for them. Meaning the lasting impressions they were left with by our competitors is centered around their restrictions. Our clients all but apologized when telling us what they wanted for their projects.

As we gathered info from clients over the years, we've noted these restrictions and made a point to simply go the other way. What does that mean? Well, for example, our seniors can wear, bring, and do anything they want for their photo session. If they want to bring their entire wardrobe to the park, they can! If they want a friend in the picture with them, they can!

Some photographers will say we are giving too much, but the reality is for the rare person that actually pulls up to the park with a van full of clothes there are a dozen that don't. And when it comes to guys, they want even less (sorry guys!). So we say, go for it! In the end, it all evens out!

Another restriction we charge against is those who don't allow "piling on". This is when, for example, we are shooting a baby photo session on a beach and the mother asks if we could also shoot a quick photo of the whole family. Absolutely we can! Our motto in these instances is..."if we're already there, then we don't care!" As a matter of fact, not only do we allow this, we will usually suggest the shot before the mother even asks! And the price to do this? Zero dollars! To us, one place = one price. Plain and simple.

Thanks for stopping by! We'll have more articles posted soon!

Our Blog is Back!

This blog is here to offer specific ideas and notes to our clients to think about before, during and after our projects. For instance, what to expect from us on your wedding day. Or how to prepare for your product shoot. Maybe you have senior pictures coming up and want to know what our rules are (hint: we have none). Essentially, we've taken the questions and feedback we receive from our clients and try to make it simpler for future clients.

Thanks for stopping by!