Quinceañera 101
Quinceañera is a Latin-American tradition to celebrate the coming of age of a 15-year old young woman. Traditionally, it involves an elegant party, a religious ceremony, and the documentation of the day with photography and videography. Though as time has passed, the tradition has evolved.
In modern times, the party portion of the celebration usually has a formal part. Like the ever-sweet father and daughter dance. And a modern take on the dance performed by the Quinceañera herself and her partner and court.
The court includes several damas (maids of honor) and each dama as well as the birthday-girl have their own chambelán (chamberlain).
The celebration begins with a mass or another form of religious ceremony, followed by the formal reception/party. In this party, there will be food, dancing, a beautiful cake, and whatever special element the birthday-girl desires.
Just as a wedding or any other formal event, it usually follows a particular theme picked by the Quinceañera herself, or her parents.
So now that you're caught up, let's dive in into what a typical Quinces photoshoot or session looks like!
1. We Try to Capture as Much as We Can
As we mentioned before, a Quinceañera celebration resembles a wedding ceremony. Therefore we will capture as much footage as possible, and will separate the session into sections. Our shoots could include some or all of the following:
- Pre-Quinceañera Session
- Getting Ready
- Ceremony
- Reception/Party
- Portraits
So as you can see, a Quinceañera photo session can be as simple or as elaborate as the budget will allow. Our Quinceañera photo sessions start at just $650, and will include:
- One (1) hour of photography
- One (1) location
- Online proofing gallery and print shop
- Your choice of ten (10) Hi-res downloads
- 20x30 Canvas
2. Styles and Themes
We make sure to incorporate into the session, as much as possible, the styles and themes the Quinceañera and her family have chosen. You can send us specific ideas, Pinterest boards, locations to consider and as much as you want a few weeks before the event. And we will do our very best to integrate all key elements into your photography session.
We will play into your chosen theme as little or as much as you wish. Therefore, you will have awesome pictures of you day!
3. Settings & Poses
We will maximize the beauty of the chosen location(s). If you're Quinces are being celebrated in beautiful Charleston, we will make sure the photos are as breathtaking as your surroundings, will use any props available and bring our own if necessary. And we will also help you to strike different poses and facial expressions, so at the end of the day you'll have plenty options to choose from.
We will take pictures of you and your family, you and your court and Chambelán, and will play with the location's highlights to accomplish stunning and memorable pictures to cherish for life.
4. YOU: Your Dress, Your Family, Your Court, Your Cake
At the end of the day, the Quinceañera is all about you! We will take several pictures (and we mean SEVERAL), of you, your dress (before you wear it too!). We will capture amazing images to highlight any unique characteristic of your dress, shoes and attire in general.
Beautiful family pictures, awesome pictures of you and your court, and your cake will be takenn. We will also take many pictures of the venue, decorations, food, and all the dances, of course!
We will make sure to capture as many moments and details as we possibly can on your Quinceañera day, so you can rest assured you will have plenty of memories for years to come :)
