Press Release | May 21, 2017

Once again, Salvatore Cincotta Photography was selected to photograph the cover of St Louis Bride and Groom Magazine – http://www.stlbrideandgroom.com/

Photographing the cover is no easy task. There is always a lot of pressure to deliver for the cover. I would rank it up there with the pressure of a wedding day.

The cover was photographed at our studio in O’fallon, IL.

One of the things I love most about photographing the cover is the collaborative effort by everyone involved. When artists are involved, there can be a lot of “vision” on a project like this leading to creative differences, but we have been working with St Louis Bridge and Groom Magazine for almost 8 or 9 years now and we have developed a trust when it comes to the vision for the cover.

Trust, when photographing a cover for a magazine is an extremely important thing to have. Think about something for a second. The publisher of the magazine is betting everything on the results. If the cover sucks, their magazine will be directly impacted. There is a lot of pressure for everyone involved.

As a photographer, we tend to see the world through our eyes alone. However, there are more people involved than just yourself as a photographer. You have the models, the stylist, the makeup, hair, florists, bridal salons, and more. All these people are invested in the outcome of the shoot. That is a lot of pressure on the photography and a lot of pressure on the entire team to perform up to a professional standard. At the end of the day, as long as the publisher is happy, you have hit a home run in my opinion.

Here are some things to consider when working on a shoot like this.

  1. Talk to the team before hand. Make sure you are in sync with the vision and direction the publisher has for the cover.
  2. If needed, coordinate with the stylist and the team before the shoot to make sure everyone is in lock step for the shoot.
  3. Pivot. Be ready to adjust your plan. Something always manages to go wrong on one of these shoots. I have been doing this for 10 years now, and every shoot, no matter how well planned, something seems to go a little awry. Vision changes, dresses don’t look right, the lighting doesn’t feel the way you had originally envisioned. Be ready to adjust your plan accordingly. Be flexible.
  4. Know who your client is. You are not shooting for yourself. You are not shooting for the model. You are shooting for the magazine. When it’s all said and done, if the publisher is happy, that is all that matters.
  5. Icing on the cake. If you have the relationship and the trust of your client, don’t be afraid to shoot a few frames for yourself. Once I nail the shot for the client, I set up a few for myself. And every once in a while, the client likes my shot, better than the original vision for the cover. Extra points for sure.

This should would not have been possible without the team involved below. Thanks to everyone.

Photography: Salvatore Cincotta Photography

Photographer: Sal Cincotta

Stylist: Alissa Zimmerman

Dress: Simply Elegant Bridal | simplyelegantbridalstl.com

Model: Emily Helling | centromodels.com

Hair & Makeup: Makeup Artistry by A&C | makeupartistry2.com

Florist: Stems Florist | stems4weddings.com