I opened Gathering Light Photography in 2006 and have been shooting an average of 35 weddings per year since then.   Before that, I worked for the extremely talented wedding and ski photographer, Kene Sperry for three years.

I’ve shot weddings all over the US (Montana, Colorado, Florida, California, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Washington, New Mexico and Maine to name a few) and around the world (Greece, Austria, England, Venezuela, Dominican Republic, and several locations in Mexico).

                                                                                                                                                                                                                            THERE ARE SO MANY WONDERFUL PHOTOGRAPHERS AROUND HERE- WHAT MAKES YOU DIFFERENT?

Two photographers at your wedding allowing for what we call a 360 degree view of the event.  This means one of us can get pictures of the guys getting ready while the other shoots the girls or one photographer gets a beautiful image of the bride walking down the aisle while the other gets the grooms reaction to seeing her.

-Members of the Wedding Photojournalist Association.  This organization accepts only 5% of wedding photographers and members represent photographers who strive to capture the story of the wedding day in the most beautiful way possible.  The most common thing we hear from couples is, “I didn’t even know you were taking that picture- and I love it, it reminds me of exactly how I felt on that day!”

-Unlimited time in all packages.  We’ll never rush you to cut your cake or get started on your first dance because our time is running out.  We are there for you for your special day.  We’ll take the time to get the beautiful and important family portraits and creative portraits of the wedding party and bride and groom alone and then be there as the day unfolds and won’t leave until we feel we have documented your day fully.

-Creative add-ons like Photobooths, photo guest books, photo thank you cards . . . We have started offering portable photobooths in 2010 at weddings and it has been a blast!  We think that this is a fun way to get your guests being their wacky, quirky or beautiful selves.

We have options for making photo guest books from engagement photos, photo thank you cards with handmade signs.  We also have options for many different types of beautiful albums.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                         -Caring (or some might call it our cheeseball side) I honestly still get choked up at every wedding I go to.  Sometimes it’s when the bride walks down the aisle, or when the groom’s voice catches as he says his vows and most often during the father daughter dance.  As embarrassing as this sometimes is, it is also the part of me that made me want to be not just a photographer but a weddingphotographer- it’s an amazing day and so important and I get that- it’s more than just a job I’m getting done, it’s an honor we’ve been given to be there for people’s special moments and I know we have one chance to get it right- so we do.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                        WHO DO YOU WORK BEST WITH?

I work best with brides and grooms who are looking to fully enjoy their wedding and get amazing photographs while that is happening.  These couples value the experience and also recognize that they are investing in photographs that will become family heirlooms.

I’ve worked with couples of all different ages, personalities and interests but the common thread is people who value connections with family, friends and each other.  These couples recognize that I specialize in photographing this connection (and even get a little choked up while I’m doing it) and they LOVE that.

CAN WE TALK TO PAST CLIENTS WHO HAVE WORKED WITH YOU?

Absolutely!  We have some wonderful past clients (well all our clients are pretty wonderful!) who have agreed to share their experience with prospective brides and grooms.  You can also read real letters from past clients on our testimonials page.

THIS SOUNDS AMAZING- BUT I’M WORRIED IT MIGHT BE EXPENSIVE.  WILL WE BE ABLE TO AFFORD YOU?

We automatically split the payments for our wedding photography packages into three payments spread over several months.  We also can work with you to create a customized payment plan.

Another option we have that our clients LOVE is the opportunity to create a wedding photography registry.  This allows your wedding guests to purchase wedding photography gift certificates for you that you can use towards albums, prints, canvases, upgrades on packages etc.

DO YOU TAKE CREDIT CARDS?

Yes, we accept credit cards.

DO YOU HAVE LIABILITY INSURANCE?

Yes we do.

DO YOU SHOOT MORE THAN ONE WEDDING A DAY?

Never!  We give our full attention to each wedding we shoot and provide a full day of coverage to all the weddings we take.

WILL YOU BE THE PHOTOGRAPHER AT OUR WEDDING?

Yes.  I do have two associate photographers who work for me.  They shoot weddings for me when I am booked.  BUT I always tell you this before we even have our initial consultation so you can see their work specifically and speak with them about your wedding.

HOW MANY WEDDINGS DO YOU SHOOT PER YEAR?

For the past five years I’ve averaged about 30-40 weddings per year.  However, in 2011 I made a conscious decision to take on fewer weddings per year so I can focus on each wedding and each couple more fully.  I will limit the amount of weddings and when I reach the limit we will not accept any more weddings for that year.

WHAT HAPPENS IF YOU GET SICK ON OUR WEDDING DAY?

I have two photographers who work for me as associate photographers so if something were to happen to me I would get in touch with them first to see if they were available to shoot for me.  I also am part of a professional network of local photographers so I would get in touch with them and see who was available and then give you the choice of who you felt comfortable with.  Your contract would remain the same.   You would still have two photographers shooting your wedding, still have unlimited coverage etc.

WE LOVE YOUR PACKAGES AND SERVICES- YOU SOUND LIKE EVERYTHING WE’VE BEEN LOOKING FOR!   WHAT’S THE NEXT STEP?

The next set is to email me at meghan@gatheringlightphoto.com or call me (303) 279-3380 to set up a complimentary consultation either at my Golden location or at a convenient location for you.  At this consultation I will show you more of my work and we’ll go over your wedding details to make sure we are the best match for each other.

I look forward to hearing from you!

We have made quite a fix changes in this release. Including an important one, updating the Timthumb script to the most current and stable version. Below here you will find a detailed list of all the changes we have introduced in this version.

1. Timthumb was updated. The entire “timthumb.php” file should be replaced with the new one.
2. /lib/portfolios/portfolio-functions.php
   
   - Line #78 to #79, removed the placement photo. No default photo will show in portfolios if no image is selected.
3. /template-portfolio.php
   
   - Line #41 to #45, removed the extra “_” from the paging issue. A typo on our part in the previous version.
   
   - Showing the meta “Read more” text of portfolio lit page added line #115.
   
   - Added a new “fixed character” setting for Portfolio Excerpts to remove the issue with breaking columns. Found on line #118.
   
   - Added the option of for Custom Read More, disable of the button and ability to insert a custom link to read more buttons.
4. /single-portfolio.php
   
   - Line #6, added new template body ID to be called to enable the ability for the ‘lightbox’ galleries to work.
   
   - Line #38 to #52, made the “Portfolio” image/video conditional by enabling/disabling in the Theme Settings.
   
   - Added the check for comment panel control from theme setting. Added #55 to #61 (new coding in the template).
5. /lib/theme-options.php
   
   - Modified to include the new Portfolio conditional “Single Item Image”.
   
   - Control of the Read more text of portfolio listing. Added #219 to #224.
   
   - Added in a new CSS Style Preferences where you can insert CSS to override the defaults in style.css.
6. /js/options.js
   
   - Updated to include the new Theme Settings “Help” tooltips when mousing over the Help Icons inside Theme Settings.
   
   - Changed the jQuery from “$” to “jQuery” to provide better compatibilities with many of the conflicting plugins.
7. /css/stylesIE7.css
   
   - IE FIX: commented out the first 2 lines for the IE navigation alignment issue.
8. /header.php
   
   - IE FIX: Added new style in header.php #85 to #91.
   
   - Changed the jQuery from “$” to “jQuery” to provide better compatibilities with many of the conflicting plugins.
   
   - Line #71 has been updated to include a call to the Custom CSS, a new feature in General Theme Settings.
9. /functions.php
   
   - Custom fields removal from the all post type. Added #379 to #385.
10. /lib/theme-page-custom-fields.php
    
    /lib/theme-post-custom-fields.php
    
    - Applied the same styling to the Post and page custom write up options
11. /lib/portfolio/portfolio-media-php
    
    - Added in new write panels options to correspond with new Portfolio settings.
12. /lib/portofolio_template_style_js.php
    
    - Changed the jQuery from “$” to “jQuery” to provide better compatibilities with many of the conflicting plugins.
13. /lib/portfolio/portfolio-meta.php
    
    - Added the new meta box for the portfolio page background meta options and read more and cutom link to read more.
14. /lib/portfolio/js/kingsize-portfolio-upload-button.js
    
    - Attach the new action to open the background button gallery for including custom backgrounds to the portfolio item posts.
15. /lib/theme-background.php
    
    - Added to override the pages default background.
16. /php/contact-send.php
    
    - Fixed the email issue with the contact form. Now it is sending email using the native WordPress email function.
    
    - Applied new styling to the Contact Form so the success message is not overlapping the footer as it did in previous versions.
17. /footer.php
    
    - Changed the jQuery from “$” to “jQuery” to provide better compatibilities with many of the conflicting plugins.
18. /style.css
    
    - Applied some minor updates to the styling to compliment the Portfolio changes, Contact changes and a few other areas.

Post / Blog Sidebar

Inside “Widgets” you will see a sidebar area titled “Main Blog Sidebar” and it is this sidebar that will appear throughout your website where specified. You just need to use the desired widgets of your choice, drag and drop into this area, then click save and you’re done.

Inside Theme Settings “KingSize WP” you can disable the sidebar for a full width blog post and archives if you wish not to use the sidebar.

Contact Sidebar Details

This widget area is designed for your Contact Page. When you assigned the Page Template “Contact“, its here this sidebar will be active. You can either use the custom widget we’ve included to insert your “additional contact details”, or add other widgets of your choice to this area by dragging and dropping them into this sidebar.

Footer Widget Ready

Here you’ll find 3 widget ready areas designed for your footer. Each specific to the footer, one is designed for the left, another for the center and lastly the right footer column. You can also disable this footer section via Theme Settings > “KingSize WP” at anytime.

Alike with the other widgets, you can drag and drop the desired widgets you wish to use.

KingSize Twitter Widget

To enable the KingSize Twitter widget in your sidebar, you need to go to “Appearance” > “Widgets” and locate the appropriate titled widget there. Now left click to drag and drop into the appropriate sidebar desired. Once selected, the widget will expand automatically asking you for some details to finalize the setup. You’ll be required to provide:

1. Twitter Username (without @): So I would then enter “denoizzed” or “ourwebmedia” without the @.
2. Widget Title: Is the name of this widget. So I would then enter “Recent Tweets” or similar.
3. Set the # of Tweets to Display: By entering in the number “5″ it will display the 5 most recent tweets.

Kingsize Gallery Widget

To enable the KingSize Gallery widget in your sidebar, you need to go to “Appearance” > “Widgets” and locate the appropriate titled widget there. Now left click to drag and drop into the appropriate sidebar desired. Once selected, the widget will expand automatically asking you for some details to finalize the setup. You’ll be required to provide:

1. Title: This would be the name of the Widget you want when shown in the frontend sidebar.
2. How many images: Is the number of images I want to display, so I would enter the number “3″.
3. Order by: Option to order the images displayed either by “Random” or “Latest” added images.
4. Image Link Type: Allows you to link to either the “Image”, “Article” or “Page” associated with that image.
5. Image Hover Title: Also provides optional selection for where the image leads to.
6. Show only 1 image per post: “Yes” will use only one image from each gallery, while “no” will select recents.

For further assistance, please visit http://www.kingsizetheme.com/help.

Assorted Fixes & Updates

1. Resolved the “Blog Paginate” issues.
2. Fixed the “Color Style” options by editing “theme-options.php” lines #773 through to #784.
3. Updated “style.css” with a Background / Slider fix on lines #60 through to line #77.
4. Updated “style.css” line #88 through to line #97, “.nojs img” for background fix.
5. Updated the “/gallery-widget/” with two new files, “attachment.php” and “loop-attachment.php” (image link resolved).
6. Slider is disabled by default. Previously it was auto-enabled and caused a few confusions.
7. Fixed the “Read More” issue when hovering, removed the extra padding on line #833 in “style.css”.
8. Updated the “Theme Options” to include the “Save Changes” with each section.
9. Removed Timthumb from logo line #101 and centered the logo in “header.php”
10. Removed the “Save Changes” from “Theme Options” located at the Top and Bottom of the page.
11. Image Alignment Fix in “style.css” line #446 and line #473. Corrected the margin issues with images.
12. Corrected the “template_blog.php” date to correct format of “Month, Day, Year” line #36.
13. Corrected the “loop.php” date to correct format of “Month, Day, Year” line #33.
14. Fixed the “template_blog.php” to show when “1 comment” has been made (error use to show 0 comments when there was 1).
15. Fixed the “loop.php” to show when “1 comment” has been made (error use to show 0 comments when there was 1).
16. Fixed the paging issue on Blog Template page when assigned to Home Page in “template_blog.php”.
17. Fixed the default page custom background grid option in theme-background.php.

New Features we’ve Included

1. New Theme Setting option for “Style / Colour Preferences” to edit the “Submenu” background and border colours.
2. Updated “theme-options.php” to include a new “Save Changes” position. Now included in the header of each section.
3. Updated the right click disabled feature.
4. Added the Portfolio feature.
5. Added lightbox (prettyphoto) on images Blog and post content.
6. Added the theme option reset.
7. Native WordPress gallery now uses the “lightbox” effect (prettyphoto).
8. Featured Image when used on the blog now opens with the “lightbox” effect (prettyphoto).
9. Video support is included in the new Portfolio post-types.

From this point, beneath the KingSize WP menu option you will see “Background Slider“, you’ll want to select this menu item…

Uploading Slider Images

When inside the “Background Slider” section, at the very top you will see the option to “Choose File” and when clicked will open a new window that allows you to select from your desktop (or anywhere within your computer) the images you want used within the slider. Now select the image and click “Open” once you’ve decided which image you want used. You can upload a maximum of 10 at a time.

Managing Slider Images

Now that you’ve uploaded those images, you probably want to organize them to display in the order you want. So from top to bottom, the rotation is in this order. You can easily drag and drop those images in the order you want at which point once dropped into place they are automatically saved in that order. You can re-order these images at anytime you wish, simply by repeating these steps.

Managing Slider Preferences

Now if you want to manage the direction, transition types, intrevals (in seconds) or to disable the background slider, you just need to head back to the “General Theme Settings” and scroll down till you see the section titled “Homepage Background Slider Preferences” and make the changes you desire to see made. Each option has beside it a helpful tooltip when mousing over the questionmark icon.

Disabling the Slider

To disable the slider just go into the General Theme Settings and uncheck the enabled slider box. You will want to make sure that the “Global Background Preferences” has an image uploaded and saved as this will become your static single background image on the homepage. With no image assigned here as your background, the homepage will by default show a black and unoccupted background.

For further assistance, please visit http://www.kingsizetheme.com/help.

Adding in New Portfolio Items

It’s pretty simple and we’ll show you here how simple it is…

1. Click “Add New” portfolio item.
2. Type in the title of your portfolio item where it says “Enter title here“. For example, you could create a “Photography” portfolio.
3. Use the “Content Editor” to insert the portfolio item details.
4. Beneath here you will find the corresponding “write-panel” options for your portfolio item.
5. The first option is to “Upload an Image“, this is if you want a single portfolio image instead of a video.
   
   Click “browse“, upload your image and click “insert” or copy and paste URL. Clicking insert automatically adds the URL.
6. VIDEO PORTFOLIO ITEMS.
   
   You’ll need to include the “Image Thumbnail“, click browse > upload > insert image. This is your portfolio thumbnail image.
   
   Next you can paste the URL of your YouTube or Vimeo videos.
   
   You can also insert the “Embedded Code” for your video’s.
7. Next you’ll have the option to insert the “Excerpt” that is displayed on the Portfolio page. This is the brief information shown beneath the thumbnails in the Portfolio main page.

That’s all you do to add your portfolio items. It’s that simple and fast.

Creating a Portfolio Page

So now you’ve successfully added a Portfolio item(s), you’ll now want to know how to display those items. To do this, you need to create a new page using the page template “Portfolio” and once you create a Portfolio Page, you just simply assign which category for your Portfolios you want displayed and the rest is done automatically.

1. Go to “Pages” in your sidebar and click “Add New“.
2. Title the portfolio page accordingly, ie., “Music Videos” or “Photography“. Yes, you can create multiple portfolios by creating new pages.
3. In the right sidebar of this page, look for “Page Attributes” and select from the dropdown “Portfolio“. This will assign that page the Portfolio template you’ll be using.
4. Scroll down till you see the “write-panel” and you’ll need to setup a few options:
   
   Select a Portfolio Category: This uses the Categories you created for your Portfolio.
   
   If you created a category called “Photography” and you want this specific page to display all your photography images, than you would select that associated category to be used.
   
   Portfolio Page Layouts: Although looks best with TWO and THREE column layouts, we have also made available the other layouts which are also used by the galleries for your interest.
5. Lastly, you still have the option to assign a custom background image for this specific page. So get creative!

If you want text to show above your portfolios, when creating this page, just add the text to the contents box / editor and that text will display above the portfolios as shown in the demonstration.

Once you have created this page, you’ll want to link it to your menu / navigation. To do this, go to “Appearance” > “Menus” and add the new page you just created to your navigation. Add a brief description if desired, click save and once done you should be able to see the new item in your menu.

For further assistance, please visit http://www.kingsizetheme.com/help.

Five Different Gallery Types

Don’t feel restricted by just one type of gallery. Instead, pick from the 5 pre-configured galleries. Each offering a unique lightbox effect that differs from the others leaving you with plenty of choices to choose from.

• [tooltip_link title="Colorbox Official Website" to="http://colorpowered.com/colorbox/"]Colorbox[/tooltip_link] – Preview the Colorbox DEMO.
• [tooltip_link title="PrettyPhoto Official Website" to="http://www.no-margin-for-errors.com/projects/prettyphoto-jquery-lightbox-clone/"]PrettyPhoto[/tooltip_link] – Preview the PrettyPhoto DEMO.
• [tooltip_link title="Fancybox Official Website" to="http://fancybox.net/"]Fancybox[/tooltip_link] - Preview the Fancybox DEMO.
• [tooltip_link title="Galleria Official Website" to="http://galleria.aino.se/"]Galleria[/tooltip_link] - Preview the Galleria DEMO.
• [tooltip_link title="SlideViewer Official Website" to="http://www.gcmingati.net/wordpress/wp-content/lab/jquery/imagestrip/imageslide-plugin.html"]SlideViewer[/tooltip_link] - Preview the SlideViewer DEMO.

Four Different Gallery Layouts

When using the KingSize WordPress galleries, you can assign various gallery layouts. We’ve given you 4 options to choose from.

• 2 Columns – DEMO it for Colorbox, PrettyPhoto and Fancybox.
• 3 Columns – DEMO it for Colorbox, PrettyPhoto and Fancybox.
• 4 Columns – DEMO it for Colorbox, PrettyPhoto and Fancybox.
• Grid - DEMO it for Colorbox, PrettyPhoto and Fancybox.

How to Create Gallery Pages

It’s quite simple, we’ll walk you step by step through the process of setting up your galleries. We promise, if you follow these steps you’ll have absolutely no difficulties. If all else fails, please watch the video tutorials in the “Documentation” folder and open “help.html“.

1. Inside your WordPress dashboard, you want to “Add a New Page“. These galleries are only available on pages.

 

2. Once you’ve selected “Add a New Page” and it has loaded, look to the right and you will see “Page Attributes” and beneath here you’ll find “Template“. The standard selection will be “Default Template” but if you view the drop-down menu it will also list all the other available “Page Templates” we’ve created for KingSize.

 

3. You will want to select the Gallery Template of your choice. As mentioned above, you have 5 available for you to choose from. You will want to select one of the following page templates: Colorbox, PrettyPhoto, Fancybox, Galleria or SlideViewer.

 

4. Now once you’ve selected the Gallery Template, you’ll want to scroll down a little beneath the content editor and you will see some write-panel options, each details its purpose.

 

5. Select a Gallery / Portfolio Page Layout - Here is where you would select from 2 columns, 3 columns, 4 columns and grid layouts to be used with that specific gallery.

 

6. Now that you have selected the Gallery Template and Layout, you will want to upload the images for your gallery. For the purpose of our buyers, we have made it so you do NOT have to insert the galleries directly into your page. Instead, what you will want to do is locate the icon at the top where it says “UPLOAD / INSERT” and click the first icon, “Add an Image“.

 

7. Next we will want to “Choose Files to Upload” so click the “Select Files” button. This will open a new window that enables you the ability to browse your desktop for images. You can select multiple images at once by using CTRL + Left-Click. Once you have found the images you want to upload, click the “OPEN” button. This will close that browse window and you will see the images loading / crunching.

 

8. Now click “SAVE CHANGES” and that’s it! Do NOT insert the gallery. It will be automatically inserted when published.

Frequently Asked Questions

• Why are my images not showing up?

There are a few reasons this could be happening, but the most commonly seen issues are one of the following things:

1. Didn’t set the folder permissions to 777.

… /wp-content/themes/kingsize/cache

…/wp-content/uploads

…/wp-content/themes/kingsize/images/upload

2. Uploading images that are gigantic in size. Use more optimized image sizes. Better for timthumb.

• How do I manage my images added?

You can organize your gallery images by opening the gallery page, clicking the “Add an Image” icon, select in the new window the “Gallery” tab and here you’ll find all the images added. You can drag and drop to rearrange, click “Show” beside the image to edit the image properties and etc. For more details, see the video tutorials.

• I am seeing duplicate gallery images.

You’ve “inserted” the gallery. DO NOT insert the Galleries after uploading images. They’re automatically inserted when saved.

• Can I create more than one gallery?

Yes. Just create a new page and follow those steps mentioned above. Title your new gallery accordingly.

• How can I add text to my galleries?

Inside the content editor, type in the description and details.

• Can I enable comments on individual gallery images?

Unfortunately not. However, you can enable the comments for the Gallery page itself. If you have not done so already, you will need to look to the top of your “Edit / Add Page” and you’ll see “SCREEN OPTIONS“, click this and it will toggle outward. Here you’ll see “DISCUSSIONS“, check the box beside it and beneath the write-panel you’ll see you now have the ability to enable or disable the comments.

• Can I add galleries to Blog Posts?

Unfortunately the custom Gallery Templates we’ve created are only available on pages. However, you can use the Native WordPress Media Galleries and “insert” the gallery into your post. If you want to have the lightbox effect, when adding in the galleries, select the “Link to Image” option. You do not want to “Link to Attachment Image“.

For further assistance, please visit http://www.kingsizetheme.com/help.