When we met Carolyn Pongracz, owner of In Bloom Photography, we could tell by her infectious smile and the enthusiasm she has when talking about photography, that she truly loves her job – and it shows in her work. One of the best features of In Bloom Photography is that Carolyn doesn’t have pre-set packages – she allows couples to put together their own customized package; plus, she works on an hourly basis and offers unlimited shooting locations throughout Southern Ontario (with no travel fees!). And that’s just the beginning.

But it’s not just Carolyn’s amazing packages and reasonable prices that has brides from Brantford to London raving about In Bloom; it’s also her easy going, but professional attitude, her ability to capture real moments and genuine happiness and her openness to new ideas that local brides say makes Carolyn an honorary family member instead of just a photographer for their wedding day. And while most brides told us that Carolyn’s portfolio speaks volumes of her work, we wanted to know more about the woman behind the camera and what she can do for your engagement, wedding and even bridal boudoir photo shoots. Here’s what we found out...

Personally speaking...

Carolyn used to have a career in radio, which she says accounts for her silliness and sense of humour. Applied Photography was something she took for fun at Mohawk College’s continuing education program in Hamilton. "I never expected it to turn into my career because I was just having so much fun doing it," she says.

Carolyn did photography part time for five years before more and more of her friends started asking her to shoot their weddings and portraits. "I started to build quite a portfolio and a reputation out there," she says. So, in 2007 she decided to hang up her headphones and do photography full time so she could be at home with her growing family more often. She says she’s never looked back as it was the best decision she ever made. "I’ve never been happier with my job and how it’s a creative outlet for me," says Carolyn.

Since going full time, Carolyn has taken a number of specialized, hands-on courses related to the field and says she is continually learning and updating her craft. In 2008, Carolyn covered fifteen weddings, which is about average for her on a yearly basis. She’s stationed in Brantford, but also does (and has done) photography in London; plus she has a loft studio in Toronto as well.

Carolyn is the Principal Photographer for In Bloom, so she says you’re always guaranteed to have her shoot your wedding – not an associate photographer. For longer wedding coverage, she will sometimes bring an assistant with her (at no extra cost to you) to help carry equipment and set up shots with Carolyn. "Being the principal photographer gives me total control on the style of photography and kind of shots that come out from the wedding," says Carolyn.

From the bedroom to the bride room...

Aside from engagement and wedding photography, Carolyn told The Ring that she also has a lot of background in portraits of every kind. Particularly, she says Boudoir Photography has become a bit of a specialty for her in the last couple of years, especially among new brides. "It’s a huge trend for brides to give their grooms a peek-a-boo album of them all glammed up with make-up and hair as a wedding or anniversary gift," Carolyn says.

Carolyn adds that in the future she would like to focus more on wedding photography, and she has certainly already built up a reputation and repertoire in the two years she has been at it full time. "My experience has been really vivid and varied," says Carolyn. "I’ve shot everything from Wicca ceremonies to large Catholic weddings in another language to small civil ceremonies and everything in between."

But no matter what theme, religion or language the weddings she shoots are, Carolyn says she makes sure she gets to know each person throughout the day. "It’s kind of neat to be an ‘honorary family member’ for the day," she says, "you get to be right there as two families are joined together and see all the emotions and excitement that comes along with that."

Sheal Mullin-Berube, who had Carolyn photograph her August 2008 wedding ceremony and reception, was one such bride whose whole family gave Carolyn honorary family member status. Sheal says that her greatest memory of working with Carolyn was "her patience and understanding nature and the way she made me smile and laugh." She adds that Carolyn also offered personal and emotional support and treated her and her fiancé like family rather than "just a photography gig."

Kim Davies told us that Carolyn was very professional, but still fun to work with for her May 2009 wedding day. "The entire wedding party loved her and as a result she captured some amazing pictures," says Kim. She adds that Carolyn became a part of the wedding party while she photographed the day as if "she was a long time friend."

And with the varying experience she’s had with weddings, Carolyn has discovered that a lot of couples don’t know how much time they need to budget for certain parts of the day, which is another place she can help. "I’m able to help sort out how much time they’ll need for photos here and there while they’re planning, and I’m quite happy to work within the time table they’ve scheduled for the day."

This was just the case for Lindsay and Michael LeDrew on their September 2008 wedding day. Lindsay says that, on top of photographing their wedding and suggesting a central and beautiful photo location, Carolyn also helped them figure out the timeline for the big day, like how long to plan for pictures.

Capturing all the candid moments...

Most of the couples that book In Bloom, according to Carolyn, have great senses of humour and want to capture their personalities on their wedding day. "They don’t want ‘stuffy’ or boring ‘everybody stand in a straight line and say cheese’ kind of photos. They want something that is classy but fun," says Carolyn.

Carolyn says she is extremely professional and respectful of all aspects of the wedding day, but she still knows how to get people smiling and laughing naturally. "I think my ‘roll with it’ kind of attitude puts people at ease...," she says. "My job is to document how the day goes, and to be as unobtrusive as possible so that real moments are captured and not posed, imaginary representations of how the wedding happened."

Kim would certainly agree with this, as she told us that Carolyn "captures the moment. None of her pictures look posed with forced smiles," which is one of the reasons she hired Carolyn for her wedding. "We wanted a photographer that we would feel comfortable with and would capture the moment; not force situations (silly poses), which would result in fake smiles. Carolyn captured every single moment of our wedding day. She didn't miss a thing. Looking at the pictures from our day you see pure happiness. She also did it in an unobtrusive way, half the time I had no clue she was taking pictures."

"We couldn't believe how easy going Carolyn was, and she seemed to flutter around taking beautiful pictures, both candid and posed," say Lindsay and Michael. Lindsay adds that their pictures look natural and comfortable, which was important to them. "While we were getting ready, I didn't even realize she was there until after I saw the pictures of us!"

Robin and Jonathan Di Tosto also felt that Carolyn captured fun photos of them on their April 2009 wedding day, which she also did for free as the couple won six hours of wedding coverage from In Bloom. What they say they liked best about Carolyn was the fact that she captured exactly what they wanted – "fun, happy pictures of the wedding of our dreams!"

It probably also helps that Carolyn is open to ideas – any of them, she says, even if they’re on-the-spot, last minute ones – she says she’ll make sure it happens. "My job is to make you happy so I’ll do what it takes to get it done!" she says.

"Carolyn was easy going, very patient and actively sought out those picture perfect ‘Kodak moments’," says Sheal. "I'm not very photogenic and yet she was able to pull off a miracle and make me photogenic without having to touch up the photos very much."

Packages & prices

Instead of having pre-set packages that you have to choose from, Carolyn says she lets couples put together their own perfectly customized package. "Everyone’s needs are different so this way you don’t have to settle on a package you don’t really want," she says. This is why she works on an hourly basis, charging $235 per hour, plus taxes for weddings between April and October. She also offers a discount for weddings held from November through March. This rate (amazingly!) includes unlimited shooting locations throughout Southern Ontario (with no travel fees), all photos edited with minor touch-ups, a private online viewing gallery for three months, all unmarked, high-res proofs on DVD and a 25% discount on engagement photos if you want them.

Couples who come to In Bloom often ask how many photos they will get from their wedding day photography, which Carolyn says works out to be between 75 to 100 per hour of shooting, after editing out blurs or blink-shots. They also want to know why Carolyn only shoots weddings in colour. The answer, she told us, "is because colour photos offer more flexibility when it comes time for printing. You can print a black and white photo from a colour shot - not vice versa."

Robin and Jonathan told us that Carolyn went above and beyond their expectations, especially with regards to the amount of photos they received.

On top of what’s included in packages are à la carte products that Carolyn offers, like professional quality proof books and fine art albums by AsukaBook and Vision Art. Carolyn says these are one of her most popular products. "They’re press-printed, hard or soft cover books in every shape and size so they come in a lot of price points that makes it easy to give them as parent or bridal party gifts, and then still have money left over to splurge on one of the bigger albums for the couple’s wedding album," explains Carolyn. She also recently added Vision Art books to her product list, which have seamless bindings so you can spread a photo over two pages without losing pictures in the gutter of the book.

What Lindsay and Michael say they loved best about working with In Bloom was Carolyn's package flexibility. "Carolyn allowed us to book her for as many hours as we wanted. There was no minimum." Lindsay adds that the photo books they purchased from In Bloom were "an amazing value. We even got them for our parents, who still get compliments on how beautiful and unique they are. Carolyn allowed us to put so much input into selecting pictures for the album, but provided knowledgeable guidance when we asked; and the way she formatted them was stunning."

Carolyn says she can also do custom print jobs, like gallery wraps, thank you cards, save the dates and more. According to her, "the sky’s the limit so all the couple has to do is ask." She also tells clients that they don’t have to book extras (like albums and thank yous) right away; they can wait until after the wedding when money isn’t as tight. Though, even if money is tight, Carolyn says she can definitely "work with a couple’s budget to make sure they get everything that they want without sacrificing quality." Carolyn says that the average bride spends about $2000 at In Bloom.

Carolyn’s reasonable price point seems to be one of In Bloom’s best features. "I know what it’s like to be a bride who has a limited budget but doesn’t want to skimp on photography," says Carolyn. "I’m very good at tailoring payment plans for couples and I don’t try to oversell them just to make a quick buck. There’s no high-pressure when you meet with me. I’m a photographer, not a salesperson."

And her brides seem to agree: "She was phenomenal and upfront with all fees and services. Even going so far as to answer questions about wedding albums from me a few months after the wedding," says Sheal, who couldn’t say enough great things about Carolyn.

"In Bloom Photography was an easy choice. Her prices were amazing and her work spoke for itself," says Kim. "The prices... were significantly less than what some other photographers charge." She adds that out of the 400 pictures she received, not one of them was bad. Robin and Jonathan told us that had they not won the contest for free photography from In Bloom, they would have still booked Carolyn and feel that "her prices more than match the value of her photographic output."

Sheal’s biggest reasons for choosing In Bloom were her "prices, superb portfolio and the first impression of her." She adds that she has already recommended Carolyn to couples getting married as she feels In Bloom is "well worth her prices and personalized professionalism... her personality and portfolio speak millions about her talent and she is well worth the price quote.

Pre-wedding pics...

Carolyn also shoots engagement photos and offers a 25% discount on your engagement session if you book your wedding with her. Plus, once or twice a year she offers a handful of engagement photo sessions to couples who donate $50 or more to their local Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) branch. Carolyn says this has "turned out to be quite a popular promotion"; plus, she gets to meet a lot of animal-loving couples.

Walking you through...

Carolyn recommends booking her for your wedding about six months to one year (especially for peak times) ahead of your date, but if a date is available she can accommodate late bookings as well.

Email is the easiest way to get initial information from Carolyn and correspond back and forth with any more questions you have. Robin and Jonathan told us that Carolyn "was always available via email, usually replying within twenty-four hours, if not very shortly after the email was sent."

After some questions are answered, you can meet with Carolyn to look through an entire wedding's worth of photos, not just a few she selected as her best ones. Carolyn will also answer questions and go through contract and payment details. "I meet with brides myself, either in my home with all my books and portfolios, or I can come to your place and bring a small sampling along with me," says Carolyn. "Just whatever’s more convenient."

Robin and Jonathan met with Carolyn once before their wedding and told us that in that meeting they went over the details of their day and what their vision was for their pictures. "Carolyn was thorough and asked good questions that made us think about things we hadn’t considered," says Robin. On their wedding day, they say that Carolyn was "calm, had great suggestions for shots and was game for all of the photo locations we threw at her."

Once you've decided to book In Bloom, your grand total is divided up into three equal payments. The first is due when you sign the contract and reserve your date. The second payment is due one month before your wedding when Carolyn finalizes the details and schedule of your day.

On your wedding day, Carolyn meets you at the designated times and places that you’ve discussed to take your photos. After the wedding, the final payment is due when you pick up your photos, so you don't have to worry about paying Carolyn on your wedding day. Carolyn says she strives to have your online gallery ready within a week of you getting back from your honeymoon, because she "knows couples don’t want to wait to see their photos."

This was a pleasant surprise for Lindsay and Michael who returned from their honeymoon to see their online album available. "We spent hours falling in love with all of the pictures and showing them to family," says Lindsay. "The only difficult part was trying to decide which pictures to put in our photo book; they were so beautiful it was hard to decide!" She adds that Carolyn had their proof album ready for pick up the weekend after that and reaffirms that Carolyn’s work "speaks for itself and is only reinforced when you meet with her – she takes great pictures and is great to work with!"

Details, details, details

• Book In Bloom Photography 6 months to 1 year before your wedding.
• Email is the best way to contact Carolyn regarding questions and to book an appointment to meet with her at the most convenient location for you.
• A 1/3 of your package price is due upon booking, with another 1/3 due 1 month before the wedding and the remaining balance due when you pick up your photos after the wedding.
• Packages are customizable, with Carolyn’s hourly rate at $235, plus taxes for weddings from April to October and $200, plus taxes for weddings from November to March.

For more from In Bloom Photography...

Email Carolyn Pongracz at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , or give her a call at 519-754-0700 to set up a consultation. Carolyn also has a very informative website with galleries and more info about her at www.inbloomphotos.com.