Angi and Brandon: Sneak Peek
Congratulations to Angi and Brandon who were married yesterday at Fairmont United Methodist Church here in Raleigh. A fun reception followed at the Capital City Club, featuring the band Special Occasion, some crazy dancing, gorgeous details and lots of love and celebration. Oh, and the soon-to-be-famous duo the Bearded Cowboys. Brooks and Dunn, watch your backs. We had a blast. Have fun in St. Lucia you guys...
Brandon, don't forget to shuffle your feet!
Joanna and Andrew: Married! (Sneak Peek)
Joanna and Andrew -- you did it! It was an amazing day Sunday when Joanna and Andrew married at Rose Hill. Here's a sneak peek from their First Look (they saw each other before the wedding -- which I LOVE). Have a great time on your honeymoon!
Joanna and Andrew: Engaged
If I was writing this one week from today, I'd have to call this post "Joanna and Andrew: Married" 'cause these two are tying the knot this Sunday at Rose Hill. Andrew and Joanna have an amazing connection that's beautiful to behold. Plus, the camera just loves them!
(And Joanna loves cows. Here's your cows, Jo. No need to thank me. )
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Joanna and I have something in common: the men in our lives prefer it when we let our hair go all curly and crazy, but we like it better straight. Joanna told me Andrew asked her specifically to leave her hair down and wavy for the shoot. I just love that! And, girl, your hair looks gorgeous!
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See what I mean about the connection? Poi-fect.
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Joanna's got on jeans 'cause she's allergic to grass. Of course, that's where I took them to shoot -- the field with the long grass. Sorry, sweets!
Maybe my fave above. No, it's this one! Wait...
One for the parents. Sometimes a girl's got to do what a girl's got to do.
And one for me.
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One for them...
...aaand one for me.
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Now back to our regularly scheduled engagement session.
Things got all quiet and sweet, which is awesome, but hey, one can only take so much gorgeousness and love radiating directly at them, so that could only mean one thing: time for the piggy-back ride. An oldie, but goodie.
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I had to include a shot of Joanna's ring. Andrew designed it himself (I hear he only had a teensy-tiny bit of help.)
Ladies, what do we call a man who can design sparkly things this pretty? Say it with me now: A keeper!
Joanna and Andrew, I'm so excited about being with you on your wedding day! It's going to be an amazing day. See you soon!
View the slideshow here.
Brows-to-be
All brides-to-be, mothers-of-the-bride, mothers-of-the-groom -- heck, anybody who's going to be photographed professionally in the near future -- should pick up a copy of the June issue of Oprah's magazine, O. There's an article inside devoted to eyebrows. Yes, eyebrows...specifically, how they can affect your expression.
Whenever I'm asked for advice on make-up for portraits, I always recommend three things: hire a professional make-up artist (and not your cousin whose make-up always looks nice: she knows how to do her face, not necessarily yours), try false eyelashes (like putting a frame around your eyes) and pay special attention to your eyebrows, making sure they're groomed and the right shape for your face. And now here's photographic proof I was on the right track. I just love it when that happens!
In The Secret Language of Brows, author Jenny Bailey says that "your eyebrows might be communicating a false message of what you're feeling," which can give someone the wrong impression of you. In great photographs by Patrik Andersson, the article shows Before and After shots of real women who, with just a few tweaks and tweezes, have their appearance transformed by eyebrows that fit the shape of their face and eyes. One transformation that really stood out to me was Daisy, whose thin, half-moon shaped eyebrows made her look harsh. I think the difference, seen in the photograph below, is stunning.
So was Aurelie's Before and After. Not only does she look more polished, she really does look happier.
Happy tweezing!
Now, if we could just get GQ to do a spread on why men really need to get rid of those distressing nose hairs...
Michelle & Ryan: Part 2
Here are some of my favorite shots from Michelle & Ryan's reception at the Meroney Theater in Salisbury, NC. But first, a classic portrait of the bride and groom. Most couples I work with tell me that they don't want a lot of posed pictures and we do keep it to a minimum, but I think every bride and groom deserves a classic full-length or three-quarters portrait where they're both looking at the camera. That's the one that's going to be passed down through the generations.
The bridal party took a trolley from the church to the theater. On the way, we stopped for some quick shots at this great mural of historic downtown Salisbury.
Funny story: once everybody got back on the trolley, I had Michelle and Ryan go to the back for a shot in front of the "Just Married" sign. But the trolley driver decided to take off without me, so as soon as I'd nabbed the shot, I was running to try to get back on. I would have never survived on the mean streets of Salisbury, North Carolina...
The grand entrance!
I loved these pretty white lanterns hanging from the ceiling. What a great space.
The big finish!
I love this shot of Karen, Michelle's mom, listening as the father of the bride gives a toast.
Here's the part that always gets my misty-eyed...thank goodness for auto-focus.
Love me some detail shots...
Ryan is a peanut butter fiend, so Michelle had a special cake made just for him. Peanut-butter cake, peanut butter icing, classic peanut butter brand! The detail on the cake was amazing. The wedding cake was styled after the gorgeous pleating on the bodice of Michelle's gown.
The band was fantastic, even if the sax player did yell at me when I almost knocked his saxophone over. Dude, I'm sorry...I was trying to get a shot! I was in the zone.
I love this shot. Look at the expressions on the circle of ladies the ringbearer has attracted with his fierce dance moves.
Go get 'em, kid.
Cue the cuddling.
Die-hard Duke fan Michelle surprised Ryan with her choice of garter -- Duke blue, naturally.
My vote for the best wedding favor of the year: two Krispey Kremes! Don't you just love the mini boxes? A friend of the couple who works at Starbucks also mixed up a special blend just for them that they also gave out along with the donuts. A note on the favor table read, "Two things were required to get through law school: coffee and each other." The note went on to explain that the donuts were in honor of the dozen Ryan once ate at one sitting!
Before the night was over, we snuck outside to grab a shot under the marquee.
Maybe my favorite departure shot ever!
Michelle and Ryan, we loved every minute of our time with you, your friends and families. Congrats again, you guys!
Toot, toot!
We all have our quirks. I'm very proprietary about the mail. It's my job to bring it in and those lucky few who get to share living quarters with me know to leave it for me. And it's not just so I can hide the credit card bill from Frank. I guess because it's so nice to go to the mailbox and find a card or an invitation or a favorite magazine. Today I went to the mailbox and got an extra special surprise -- the May issue of Rangefinder, the magazine for professional photographers.
Big whup, you say...but this issue contained a wrap-up of our big annual WPPI (Wedding and Portrait Photographers International) convention in Las Vegas. You may remember the post I did a few months back on the class I took on lighting led by Claude Jodoin. Well, Claude saw the post and told the publisher of the magazine, who contacted me asking for permission to run a photograph or two in the May WPPI Wrap-Up issue. Of course I said yes, never thinking it would actually happen...well today I opened the magazine and saw this:
This marks the first time I've been published in Rangefinder, one of the most respected industry magazines
for professional photographers. What a nice surprise for a rainy Saturday. Here's the original photo. Yay, me!
(Ok, I'll shut up now.)
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Amy & David: Sneak Peek
Congratulations to Amy and David, who were married Saturday at Fairmont United Methodist Church in Raleigh. After an emotional, intimate ceremony, the couple moved the party to the Wagner House in Clayton. As if the week before your wedding isn't stressful enough, the couple had to decide whether or not to postpone their honeymoon to the Mexican Riviera. Bravery won out. The best man cracked everyone up at the reception by donning a surgical mask during the toast.
Amy & David, we wish you all the best (and good health)!
