Little Colton

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Babies….

                     I’ve always wanted to do more baby photography, and my friends Meg and Sean are nice enough to let me do my first work with their beautiful Summer. I’m also trying a bit of new display, thanks to some things I learned from Edwin at Pictage.

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Parys

I wanted to shoot photos of beautiful Parys ever since I first saw her. She graciously agreed, was an enthusiastic model and even volunteered several outfit changes.  Gorgeous.

The light at the location we chose wasn’t quite what I wanted, so I did what I could but ended up playing a lot with adding textures in Photoshop later: let me know what you think of the look.

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FAMILY PORTRAITS 10.31.10

I met Melanie on a Cutco demo and she asked me about my photography business…she was excited to have her family’s photos taken, and I was excited to take them!  What a wonderful, beautiful family!  You can tell a lot about how a family relates to each other by how they interact during their photo session.  Melanie’s family was so sweet and funny. They teased had fun with each other.  We sat around and talked for an hour afterward, and enjoyed hot chocolate with the whole family!  I love my clients.

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I think this one is so sweet.

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KATE & ANDREW 10.9.10. D’Ignazio’s Towne House, Media, PA

Kate and Andrew were relaxed, low-key, and generous from our first meeting.  They had originally looked to book with Ken Staab Photography in Delaware.  Ken is one of my friends and we often work with each other. Through a weird twist of scheduling conflicts and resolutions, Kate and Andrew ended up getting me as their primary shooter and Ken as my second shooter —without even knowing that we work together, they got both of their top choice photographers!

Their ceremony and reception took place at D’Ignazzio’s Towne House in Media, which has been rated one of the top 5 Wedding Venues in Philly.

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These little performers gave a fantastic effort at a song for Kate and Andrew…

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They were a little shy, but everyone was charmed by their performance.  There was a lot of smiling.

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Kevin Kirby from Family Legacy DJ’s did a great job and worked so well with the guests.  He even gave out free CDs with romantic couple songs to each couple at the wedding…nothing like a little unexpected free gift!

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It’s always so funny to me what little kids end up doing at weddings. What if adults were this uninhibited? What a different world it would be.

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Dancing can tire the little ones out….

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Best wishes, Kate & Andrew!

Travis & Rachael’s Wedding 8.21.10 Fireside Tavern, Strasburg PA

Travis went to  high school with me and was a guest at one of my first weddings (See Baum wedding, 6.20.09).  I’ve been looking forward to doing his and Rachael’s wedding ever since.   Travis is one of the most friendly and loyal people I’ve ever met; always eager to help, and I was very eager to get to know his fiance.  Apparently Rachael is a really good chef, and, although I haven’t tasted the products of her talent yet, I can’t help but believe it.  She’s such a joyful person, I can’t imagine her making anything other than amazing food.

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Many brides have a little charm, jewelery, or pin that adds meaning to their ceremony.  Rachael’s grandmother’s necklace was a beautiful part of Rachael’s preparation for the day.

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Cell phones have become such a part of the wedding day, as they are part of our everyday lives now.  I capture a lot of photos where someone is using a cell phone.

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One of my favorite moments to catch in a wedding is the look on the groom’s face when he first sees his bride walking down the aisle.   The look on Travis’s face was so moving.

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Here’s the cell phone thing again….

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Something that stands out to me as I do more and more weddings is how much you can tell about someone by the way their friends and family respond to them.  Rachael and Travis were so clearly deeply loved by a huge crowd of people: the joy at their wedding was so obvious.  Best wishes, you two!

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BECKY 8.18.10

Becky is one of my neighbor’s daughters and has wanted me to do a photo session for a while.  What a fun session…check out the use of light as dusk approached.

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August 14, 2010 Julia & Rene. Mechanicsburg, PA

When Julia’s sister called me to inquire about shooting Julia’s wedding, she said, “Oh–something you’ll love is that Julia’s fiance is a salsa dancer!”

She was right.  There’s nothing cooler than watching someone who REALLY knows how to salsa take the dance floor.  Rene is a salsa dance instructor–in fact, that’s how he and Julia met.  All of Latin culture is particularly expressive of familial affection, and during this shot I really tried to capture the joy Rene and his family expressed in their dancing. Julia was a beautiful compliment to Rene’s awesome moves

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Julia’s aunt taught her daughter how to perform as a flower girl by example.  Holding the basket of flower petals herself, she said, “Here, sweetie, do this!”  She tossed a few petals on the floor so her daughter could understand what was expected, and then picked them up and put them back in the basket.  Her daughter followed instructions very precisely.  All the way down the aisle, she dutifully tossed each individual petal….and then bent down again to pick each one up and return it to the basket before throwing the next!   Toss, stop, bend, pick up, return, repeat.

It was a slow, but adorable process.

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After the traditional vows, Julia & Rene said their own vows that they had written for each other. This was the most touching thing I’ve seen in a wedding in a long time, and it re-affirmed my wish to do the same thing if I ever get married.  This part of the ceremony was so beautiful

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Then Julia said her own vows to Rene’s son…there was not a dry eye in the place.

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8.3.10 Lilly, Brenna, and Luke

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7.31.10 Gretchen & Clayton: Hershey Evangelical Free Church of Hershey

People often ask me if I “like” my work as a wedding photographer, and it makes me laugh.  ”Like” it???   It is one of the most fun, deeply rewarding, and satisfying things I’ve ever done in my life.  I get to honor and celebrate one of the greatest institutions that exists–the joining of two hearts forever…and I get to highlight the beauty in one of the most special and beautiful phases of a person’s life.

It gets especially exciting when I get to shoot for someone I know…and this bride pictured below was one of my closest childhood friends.

A big, fat, happy Congratulations to Gretchen & Clayton!!!

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Prayer circle

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Guess someone was delighted with his bride.

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A Norweigian wedding cake...

"Sweethearts." (Sorry, I couldn't resist the pun)

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"The Shoe Game"

they disagreed on the answers to a few questions....

...So much so that Clayton felt compelled to plead his case to the crowd.

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Beth Ann & Matt; People’s Light & Theatere Company, Malvern. 6.12.10

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FAVORITE SHOTS FROM WEDDING 6.26.10, Erica & Tim, Princeton University

I should mention that I took these shots while assisting Pete Malone of Studio 217 Photography

As a second shooter, my job was to shoot photos of the groomsmen.  We had taken only a few shots in the church courtyard when the chimes of an ice cream truck rang out and the guys’ eyes lit up.  “Can we take photos with the ice cream truck?” Tim’s little brother asked.  All the guys turned and looked at me with wide eyes and hopeful expressions.  I felt like they were six and I was their mother.  “Guys, they’re your pictures.  Do what you want.”   They took off sprinting for the ice cream truck, whose owner was gracious enough to even let the groomsmen inside for the photos.  The guys had a blast.

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Look what a fuss a little baby can cause!

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This shot was Pete's idea...very cool

Erica and Tim had two things going for them that helped make their wedding party photos rank among the coolest ever. 1) They had a very cool group of friends, comfortable enough to goof around in front of the camera, and who thought getting cool photos was…well, cool.  2) They left us enough time between the reception and ceremony for photos!  This is some of the best advice I can give brides & grooms.  Even if your friends AREN’T cool, give us enough time, and we’ll make it look like they are! (Just joking. Kind of.)

Pete gave me some time with the groomsmen, who let me experiment with a type of shot I’d seen but never actually accomplished before with any great success.  The groom or the couple stands still in the middle of their wedding party while the party walks or runs around them in a tight circle.  The photographer drags the shutter speed to capture the motion of the wedding party while the couple or one of the couple remains still in the center.

Success!!!

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The guys loved it, so we did more.

I'm still not perfectly happy with these, but we're getting there.

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Sometimes the DJ hits the bulls-eye with props that will get the crowd into the dancing thing.

Apparently these were a hit.

I never saw a cake topper like this before: two giant rings. I like it.

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THIS is DEFINITELY the coolest garter-toss photo I've EVER taken! Check out the guy trying to snag it with the cane!!

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Wedding 7.5.10

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Thought this was awesome.

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I'm getting better and better at these shots!

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Biggest cake I've seeen yet

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A CELEBRATION OF FACIAL EXPRESSIONS 7.5.10

I started shooting weddings the way most photographers do: friends and family said, “Just grab candid shots; we love your candid photographs.”  I WAS very good at that. With a rather small, unprofessional camera I snagged many special moments I saw with quite unprofessional equipment.

As my hobby grew into a business, I had to take care of the formal shots as well as the candids. While I still made it a priority to grab all the special “moments” I saw, I noticed that the number of wonderful facial expression and “moment” shots went down as I spent time and attention learning my equipment.  Now that my skills have significantly improved, I decided recently to re-focus (pun intended?) on shots of facial expressions.

Many of these images are from a wedding where I was the assistant shooter for Ken Staab of Kenneth Staab photography; some are from my own weddings.

A CELEBRATION OF FACIAL EXPRESSIONS, ESPECIALLY OF CHILDREN:

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This is the face a flower girl made when she was told she was wanted in the photo. You'd think we told her she needed a root canal.

Bridesmaid gets a little teary for her friend.

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Groom very excited to see his bride

Solemn girl with cute friend who loves the spotlight: "I will not look at the camera. I will not look at the camera..."

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Little boy on the right: "Ugh. Can't wait till the reception."

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Ok, not a facial expression exactly, but you can imagine what it looked like if you could see his face

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Groom watches his bride to walk down the aisle.

Little brother dances with bride. They were obviously close

Bride dancing with her little brother, looks like she's trying to convey all the joy in the world with one glance. Love this shot.

Guest dances with her little brother, who has changed into his PJ's.

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“BRIDE ON A BIKE” 6.5.10

A beautiful bride in New Jersey wanted to do a shoot with her father’s Harley, and I was particularly pleased with these shots.

I need to mention that I shot these photos while working as a second-shooter to Ken Staab, of Kenneth Staab Photography.

Oh, and I’m PSYCHED about the new logo…compliments of my friend and very talented designer, Laure Kline of Axiomdesignworks

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Pouty face

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