It’s time to Rock the Vote!
(Please note: this is a pinned post...scroll down to see the most recent entries.)
I know, I know...the election was weeks ago. I'm not THAT behind (although if you could see my "To Do" list you might beg to differ). I'm talking about voting for your favorite pair of names for the Sweet Life birds. I got lots of emails with suggestions, some of which you can read in the comments section of the original post. After giving it intense consideration :) I narrowed the field down to three. They are:
1. Amor and Vita (Latin for love and life and my personal favorite)
2. Pepe and Sasha
3. Sonny and Sweetie
On the right, there's a web thingamajigger where you can vote and track the results. Voting will go on until December 31. The winner will receive a free Fearless Bridal session, so if your suggestion was one of the three chosen, tell all your friends to stop by the blog and V-O-T-E vote! Do not however get your computer-genius friend, cousin, sibling, etc. to write a tricky little piece of web code to vote every three minutes or some such...remember I'm married to one of those computer geniuses and we will find out about it and disqualify that pair of names. So keep it on the up-high, people!
Here they are once again...don't let them stay Boy Bird and Girl Bird forever!
Edited on 1/1/09 to add: Drumroll, please...the winner of the Name the Sweet Life Birds is Amor and Vita, suggested by Kaitlin and Nick, who were married in September. They are the lucky winners of a Fearless Bridal session. Thanks to everyone who contributed name ideas and voted! I had so much fun checking the stats that I'm definitely going to run contests more often!
Can you imagine the turkey?
Thanksgiving is at my sister's house this year and that's a good thing. I tried to make a chocolate chip pie for Daniel. Chocolate chip pie is about a simple as you get...just six ingredients and the following instructions: "Mix. Put into pie shell. Bake at 325 for one hour." Not a word about needing a deep-dish pie crust, no sirree. Although suspiciously, the recipe did instruct me to put a cookie sheet under the pie. Here's what I ended up with.
(The stuff that spilled over the edge was really good with a scoop of ice cream, though. )
Happy Thanksgiving!
Abby at One.
I recently got the chance to photograph my -- ahem -- great-niece, Abby. Yes, I'm old enough to be a great aunt, but only because Frank's six years older than me (love you, sweetie) and he's the youngest of three. So I have nieces and nephews with kids of their own. I don't get to photograph many babies because I'm so busy with weddings, so it's always fun when I get the little ones in front of the camera. Before I show you Abby's latest photo shoot, here are a few from this summer, just so you can see how much she's changed.
Abby has the most scrumptious cheeks.
"Hey lady...take a picture, it'll last longer." Um...Ok!
If only baby fat was as precious when you get older.
So here she is at (approximately) seven months...
And now..Abby at one!
Abby started walking at nine months. Nine months, people! That's crazy-early! She hasn't slowed down since she found her feet. Getting her to sit for a while for pictures was a challenge, but you should never underestimate the entertainment value of a pine cone.
Ready to get moving again. Her smile just kills me. And don't you love those two little teeth? I mean really, how much cuteness can one kid reasonably claim? Share with the rest of us, girlfriend!
With her mom, my niece Wendy.
Maybe my favorite from the whole shoot. I love the expression of pure joy on her face. It's good to be one!
With Daddy, Wendy's husband Walt.
Slides are always grin-inducing.
Those cheeks are just too yummy!
One of the things about being married that I didn't expect was how much I would come to love the family I married into. I've always said I had the best in-laws a girl could wish for. It's been amazing and humbling to watch his five nieces and nephews that became suddenly mine with a simple "I do" grow into the loving, talented and interesting adults that they are. Now they're marrying and starting families of their own, bringing still more joy into all our lives. I'm so glad I get to photograph the results!
Click here to see more from Abby's One Year session.
Carey’s Bridal Portraits (featuring Zoe)
One of the best things about my job is that every bride, every couple, every wedding and every shoot is different. I am so rarely bored. It's so nice to get excited about going to work! Here's my first bridal session with two gorgeous females: Carey and Zoe, her adorable chihuahua. Don't you just love that she was relaxed enough about her dress to hold her dog??
Zoe works it for the camera in the shot on the right, then graces me with her smile in the shot on the left!
Zoe, ready for her close-up. Check her pretty pink rhinestone collar. Carey's bouquet is pretty sweet, too.
Ahh...puppy love!
Carey's mom was on hand to pooch-sit so that we could also get some more traditional poses. Just bee-you-tee-FULL!!!
A classic pose on the steps at Duke Gardens. Carey's dress was simply stunning. The sash detail was really pretty and different. I loved that she didn't wear a veil so that the sash wouldn't be hidden.
This shot makes me think of Cinderella.
My favorite. Carey, thanks for allowing me to photograph you in all your bridal gorgeousness! Give Zoe a belly-rub for me!
Yippee!
We have a new logo! This is something I've wanted for a while now and I'm thrilled to unveil it here on the blog. Drum-roll, please...
TA-DAA!
I never thought a logo could make me so giddy with happiness. I've been looking for a graphic designer for a while, but was totally overwhelmed by the process. Combine that with an almost total lack of time to interview designers and you have inertia...complete and total non-progress on one of my business goals for 2008 and 2009: all new print materials. Then Frank found 99designs, a website with the mission of connecting talented graphic designers with business owners like me who need something designed. It was so amazingly simple: we submitted a design brief ("clean, simple, tagline included...NO CAMERA GRAPHICS!") and included one of my all-time favorite images as an example of our style -- the famous Heath Fearless Bridal Sunflower Shot!!!!
We paid a small set-up fee and determined a dollar amount as the "prize" that would be awarded to the winning design. Then we sat back and waited...but not for long. Within a few hours, the first logo design was submitted. Even though I wasn't crazy about the first design (Hello, people: "No camera graphics" means NO CAMERA GRAPHICS!!!) it was so much fun to open up my inbox and see that more designs had been posted. I'm telling you, it was like Christmas there for a whole week.
As the contest owners, it was our job to rate the designs and give feedback to the designers. While there were lots of cool designs submitted, it was Jon Whelan's design that won us over. Jon says he included the birds to represent nature (since I love to shoot outdoors). There are two of them (there are two of us -- brilliant!) and most couples are just that: couples. (Mother-in-laws don't count.) More "two" significance. The boy bird is giving the girl bird a sunflower which relates back to the picture and just so happens to be my favorite flower. (Happy. Colorful. Simple. Need I say more?). The type was clean and modern, plus he worked in the tagline "Life is sweet...remember it well." He even gave us a more modern take on the lime green color I love so much. All in all, the clear winner!
Then came the tricky part: paying him.
You see, Jon is in South Africa. How cool is that?? Unfortunately, though, PayPal won't send funds to South Africa. OK...so I tried MoneyBookers. More hassle: MoneyBookers won't take US dollars. So now I'm thinking I'm going to have to fly to Cape Town to pay Jon $300. I was willing to do it and was even thinking I could write it off as a business expense until Frank snipped off that particular wild hair. I think his exact words were: "Great idea, honey, right up until the point we get audited."
( It was worth a shot.)
Luckily, I found Alert Pay and was able to transfer the funds to Jon. It was definitely worth the hassle and I highly recommend him. He even sent me the design before he got paid so that we could make a deadline for our upcoming ad in Weddings magazine. How awesome is that?!? If you want his contact info, shoot me an email and I'll give it to you: Elizabeth@sweetlifephoto.com. Jon is working on the design for our new business cards and letterhead. I can't wait to see what he comes up with!
We'll be working the new logo into the blog and website in the days to come (oh, who am I kidding -- it'll be weeks). Until then, I need the help of my loyal blog readers: I want my birds to have names. Yep, that's right. I don't want them to be "Boy Bird" and "Girl Bird" forever. So I'm announcing a contest. Send me your ideas for names by December 1st either by leaving a comment or emailing me. I'll pick the three most original pairs of names and then we'll vote here on the blog for the best names. The winner will receive a free engagement or Fearless Bridal session. So c'mon people, put your thinking caps on and name my birds! (Does that sound weird?)
Happy Fall, Ya’ll
Fall officially began on September 22. If you live here in Raleigh, NC you know it hasn't much felt like Fall...until this weekend. I was halfway through Jaime and Brad's fabulous wedding Saturday at the Cathedral of the Sacred Heart when I realized that, for the first time in months, through all the late Spring and Summer weddings, I wasn't a hot mess. (Frank had to shoot in the balcony, where, he reports, it was a wee bit on the stuffy side.)
Anyway, it must be the cooler temperatures or all the beautiful colors and Fall-themed decor at the wedding that's got me thinking about my favorite season. Our groom on Saturday works for a wine distributor and was able to provide hundreds of wine corks that were featured in the table-top arrangements and used as place-card settings. One of the great advantages of having two photographers at your wedding and reception is that while Frank was covering all the craziness on the dance floor, I was able to wander around the room photographing the special details. I found this one cork and loved the message stamped on its side.
It got me thinking about some of the things I love about Fall. Each one of them qualifies as a "simple pleasure": taking long walks with Pepper on cool, crisp mornings; pulling on a favorite comfy sweater; curling up by a fire to read a new Deborah Crombie mystery; cooking Chicken Noodle Soup for the kids again; smiling at the sight of pumpkins and mums and actually looking forward to a little yard work. Especially with all the gloom and doom in the news, its nice to be reminded that it's the simple pleasures in life that make me happy. Just thought I'd share, ya'll!
Michelle & Ryan: Engaged
Meet Michelle and Ryan, two of my favorite lawyers on the planet. We met at Fearrington Village in the Spring for their e:session. They love to shop at the Farmer's Market together for yummy things to cook. That is, they shop when they can take their eyes off each other.
I knew when I first met these two that I would love working with them. They are madly, deeply, truly crazy about each other. Basically I just have to point my camera in their general direction and good things happen. Of course it doesn't hurt that Fearrington is full of awesome spots to photograph.
Ryan is a guy with serious skills. The elusive heel click, for one.
Karate Kid - style Kung Fu:
He's got intricate dance moves (and makes Michelle laugh):
He's got the dip down.
And -- wait for it -- he serenades the love of his life with his guitar. Sigh.
This guy can do cute:
And cuddly:
And, um...well, let's give these two some privacy, shall we?
Yep, the guy with the guitar usually gets the girl. (So all you prospective grooms out there, if you have any hope of marrying a beautiful, smart defense lawyer, you would be wise to follow Ryan's lead and find a guitar teacher now.)
Maybe my favorite of the day.
Check back soon for Michelle's turn in the spotlight: her bridal portrait session, which was possibly my favorite ever (hint: Michelle's session included a stop at Cameron Indoor Stadium and features a blue Cameron Crazies wig). Until then, view the slide show from their e:session here.
Thanks for an awesome afternoon you guys!
Carey & Daryll: Engaged!
...actually, they're married already.
Carey and Daryll tied the knot in a beautiful outdoor ceremony in Goldsboro on July 26 at Walnut Creek Country Club. But since I'm just a wee bit behind in my blogging courtesy of a fabulously successful Spring wedding season, in Elizabeth World, they're still counting down the days until the Big One. Join me in my fantasy, won't you?
Back in April, we met up at Duke Gardens for what would be the first of two engagement sessions, thanks to a surprise thunderstorm. We'd only gotten about 15 minutes into the session when the sky opened up. Daryll is a true officer and a gentleman to boot, so as we huddled under a shelter hoping to wait out the storm, he very gallantly offered to shield my camera from the rain under his shirt. He's even sweeter with Carey.
Sometimes body language says it all:
Possible my favorite from Shoot #1:
It was June before our schedules meshed so that we could give the ol' E: session thing another shot (no pun intended). The couple decided to change up their outfits a bit and the bright orange, blue and green just kills in this picture. I love it. Plus Carey's eyes are gorgeous.
Sometimes an image just cries out for a little processing fun, like this one. How awesome is the light? I didn't create it, just enhanced it with a little glow and popped the colors a bit. Tres, tres romantique!
I mean, really: how cute are they?
I love the look on Daryll's face in this one.
One of the things that's great about shooting in Duke Gardens in the variety of places to shoot. I'd never even seen this spot before this session and I thought I knew the gardens inside out. I love how sweet Carey and Daryll are together and I love, love, love the pretty light:
Check back soon for a post on Carey's bridal session, including the sweetest little dog in the world, Zoe. Meanwhile, enjoy the E: session slide show!
This one just makes me happy.
Here is a shot of Jefri from her bridal portrait session in June. It makes me smile every time I look at it.
Jefri and Adam were married in August, so check back soon for more images of their beautiful, intimate wedding at Duke Gardens. Jefri, you have an amazing smile and I'm so glad I got to capture it!
Must be September 8th.
If Belgian waffles with strawberries and whipped cream are on the breakfast menu, it can only mean one thing:
It's our anniversary!
Some of you may know the sad story of our wedding cake. As in, we didn't have one. The cake I had dreamed about for months failed to materialize at our wedding, courtesy of a very unorganized pastry chef who lost our order one week after we finalized all the details and paid for the thing. I waltzed into my reception, only to be pulled aside by my mother who said, very gently, as if she were expecting a full-on freak-out: "Now, don't get upset."
I don't know about you, but whenever someone says to me "Now, don't get upset" my first reaction is to, well, get upset. Call me crazy, but there you go.
Anyway, long story short: we got married in the morning and had a brunch reception at one of my favorite NC venues, the Carolina Inn. Mom, god bless her, along with a quick-thinking bridesmaid, had the chef create a stack of Belgian waffles and decorated the faux-cake with strawberries and whipped cream. This is what we cut and fed each other much to the delight of our guests (and the immense relief of my Mom and Frank, who swears that's when he knew without a shadow of a doubt that he had married the right person when I didn't throw the anticipated full-on freak-out over the missing cake).
We never say something "went wrong" at a wedding. Instead, the "thing" in question went "not as planned." Our "not as planned" resulted in a long-standing tradition: every year on our anniversary we go out for Belgian waffles. This year, Daniel got to come along because his school is closed for the day due to a power outage caused by Tropical Storm Hanna. He commemorated our anniversary tradition with these shots. This one is barely blog-sharp, but it's cute:
Happy Anniversary to us!
Kaitlin & Nick: Engaged!
Caution: If it's early and you're one of those cynical types who needs their coffee before confronting undeniable evidence of true love, major happiness and, let's face it, just outright adorable-ness: you might just want to back away from the computer right now and go get your caffeine fix.
(I know I had to.)
'Cause Kaitlin and Nick are engaged!
I drove up to Virginia to do Kaitlin & Nick's e-session and to see their wedding venue with them, the beautiful Mill at Fine Creek in Powhatan. What a gorgeous place to get married. We're so excited for the wedding on September 13! (Imagine me yelling, "Road Trip!")
Kaitlin suggested we do their engagement session at Sunday Park in Midlothian and I'm so glad she did! I love a location that gives me lots of great options to shoot. But let's face it -- I could have slapped them up against a concrete wall and the images would have been awesome, 'cause they are both so darn cute together. And fun. And happy. And did I mention adorable earlier??
How great is this: Kaitlin is an engineer who's going back to school to teach. I love that! Check out her eyelashes in this shot. It's not even that close-up and her lashes are still fierce.
Nick is also known as "Party in a Box." Not sure where the box part fits in, but he had us both laughing the entire time. Ladies -- always marry the one who can make you laugh.
I love this one. The light was so pretty and I pumped up the golden quality with the Flare Up: Golden action from Boutwell's TR2 action set.
There were so many great places to shoot, but sometimes all you need is a wall and two people in love.
Kaitlin and Nick both graduated from Virgina Tech (Nick's an engineer too) and that's where they met. So naturally, they had to change into their Tech shirts for the second half of the session.
Maybe my fave.
Kaitlin & Nick -- thanks for the awesome afternoon and the great Mexican food afterwards! See you soon...
To view their e-session slide show, click here.
Ugh.
Meet the South Park version of me.
All work and no play makes Elizabeth a total wreck! I've been working practically non-stop to process and edit our recent weddings, engagements and bridal portrait sessions. See that pasty white skin? That's me without the benefit of summer sunshine. See the drool? That's what happens from spending more quality time with your computer than your kids! Notice the expanding waistline? That's what happens when you sit on your butt all day. Man, I'm ready for a break! So I'm off today to Silver Lake Water Park to bask in the sunshine, sip a Diet Coke on an innter-tube and to help my friend Susan throw her son Lucas a fabulous birthday party. Maybe I'll even get a little sunburned. I'll post some images soon...the minute I catch up!
(Thanks to my friend Regina Holder for the South Park link. To South Park-erize yourself, go to South Park Studio.)
Canvas Love
My dog Pepper is not the only person who gets excited when the UPS man drops off a package. This week I was like a kid at Christmas when my friend in brown dropped off a big package from Simply Canvas. Here it is: a large (20x30) Gallery Wrap canvas of the sunflower photo from Lauren and Andrew's Fearless Bridal session. I love it!!
Here's a close-up of the way the canvas wraps around the frame -- so cool!
Simply Canvas offers a huge range of sizes. There's even a frame that kind of "floats" around the edge for a framed look. These canvases are a great, modern way to show a favorite image from your wedding. Another view:
Give me a call to find out how you can have one of these gorgeous canvases grace your own foyer. (Although it won't be of Lauren and Andrew. That would just be weird.)
Adria and Brian: Sneak Peek!
I am really blogging out of order here, so if you got married before June 7 and I haven't blogged your wedding yet (and you know who you are), never fear, I'm getting to it! I promise! I thought I'd post these few images from Adria and Brian's wedding just to get some fresh stuff out there. There will be more to come...
One of my new favorite "getting ready" shots:
Here's a shot of Adria and her sister and maid-of-honor, Alissa. I love shots where sisters (and brothers, too) are looking into the camera. My eye immediately starts to look for family resemblances.
The reception was held at the gorgeous Treyburn Country Club in Durham, NC. The outside of the club has some beautiful spots for pictures. I love the way the branches are curving overhead in this one. I'm lucky they even agreed to be photographed outside...it was amazingly, scorchingly hot, as it can only be in North Carolina in the summer.
I thought Adria's dress was so pretty! As much as I think all my brides are gorgeous -- you all look so much more glamorous than I did back in the day -- I really liked the deep V neckline on her dress and the lace overlay. And it was lighter than your typical dress, so hopefully (maybe??) she was not too uncomfortable outside. I think they look both look great. Must be love! Check back soon for more from the big day. Congrats you two! In the meantime, you can view the slide show here.
Happy Birthday, Frank!
Today's is Frank's birthday! I won't tell you how old he is on the grounds that I might age myself by association, although he is several years older than I am. Six to be exact. When we were dating, I promised myself that if things didn't work out with him, I would only date older men from then on. He spoiled me for life.
Frank deserves so much sympathy...he works all week long for Oracle, then works for me just about every Saturday. Not only is he a fabulous photographer in his own right, he carries all my stuff. Reason enough to love him right there, not to mention all his other wonderful qualities. He has a great sense of the absurd, loves me even on bad hair days and is the best father for our children. Plus, he can fix just about anything, including my computer.
Tonight, we'll go to our favorite Greek restaurant in Raleigh, Taverna Agora, followed by presents, ice cream, a luscious Red Velvet cake from Blue Moon Bakery (if you're looking for a wedding cake, check them out -- so good!). It will be an early night, since we're shooting the fabulous wedding of Patricia and Jeff tomorrow at Highgrove.
Anyway, happy birthday to my best friend, my partner, my soulmate, my...everything. I love you.
Vision Dance
Some of you may remember Mariah from her fabulous wedding celebrating her marriage to Robert last November. Mariah contacted me recently to ask if I would consider donating some time to photograph her with her friends and business partners Amy and Angela for their website promoting their new passion: Vision Dance. These ladies formed Vision Dance to promote the love of dance on a community level by offering a weekend of dance classes for dancers of all ages. Proceeds from the weekend-long event go to benefit a great cause: the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society of Raleigh. Since Mariah was one of my favorite brides ever, it took me about three seconds to say yes. The ladies needed head shots for their website bios, plus some images of the three of them together just hanging out. So we met up a few weeks ago in downtown Raleigh for a really fun session, wandering around City Market and Moore Square, finding some really creative places to shoot. I'm loving urban shoots more and more. Here's a sample of what we got.
I kept calling Angela "Melissa" throughout the shoot. I hate it when I do that. Lucky for me, she was great about it. So I've decided her new name is Melissangela. I think it works. She has an amazing smile and the most awesome hair.
What you can't see because I've cropped this photo tight and converted it to black and white is that Angela is lying on the sidewalk in front of a trashcan. Downtown's got some trashcans with really cool graphics on them right now that made a really fun background when shot with a wide-open (1.6) aperture to make it go all blurry and soft. She was such a good sport about stretching out on the sidewalk!
Amy was one of Mariah's bridesmaids and it was great to hang out with her again. One of the things I love about digital is the ability to see what you've done and know if it's working. I knew when I saw her gray-blue shirt that she would look great posed against the white stucco and green doors of the Longview Center across from Moore Square. A few test shots later, we all got really excited when we saw this on the back of the camera:
If there's anyone out there is considering a remake of Heathers, I've got Amy's contact info...can you say Winona Ryder look-alike? Gorgeous!
My girl Mariah. This one's for you, Robert. All I can say is...smokin'!
After we got the head shots finished, we headed back to City Market to use what I call the Great Veggie Mural as a backdrop. I love pictures where people are laughing. Here's one of my new favorites.
A sweet shot of the three friends.
If you love to dance or know someone who does, please check out the Vision Dance website (www.visiondancenc.com) to see what these three talented, energetic and giving young women have planned for the weekend of August 16-17th. Classes in jazz, contemporary, tap, hip-hop (sign Kat up), musical theater and improvisational dance will be offered and led by some amazing and nationally-recognized choreographers. Proceeds will benefit the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society of Raleigh (for more info, visit the LLS website: www.lls.org). I'm hoping to be able to stop by that weekend and get some shots of the action, so stay tuned. Mariah, Amy and my friend Melissangela, it was a lot of fun! Thanks so much for asking me...you rock!
Adria and Brian: E-Session
I shot Adria and Brian's engagement session at Duke Gardens on a crisp, cool Friday morning in March. Seems like a long time ago, especially now that we're into the dog days of summer. The daffodils were in full bloom. I really like the soft colors in this shot and how how Adria's turquoise sweater and the yellow of the daffodils play off each other. The morning light was just right, too.
North Carolina has been in such a serious drought situation over the past year, so going into the Spring, I was really curious to see how the gardens would fare. Happily, it's still one of the prettiest places in the state. Something different is always in bloom from week to week. The week we shot, the different flowering trees were just amazing.
Adria was a trooper trekking all through the gardens in a skirt and heels. She looked so adorable. She told me Brian had requested specifically that they get a little dressed up for the session -- I love it! These two prove you don't have to dress alike for a session to look amazing! I was really into all the color and the warm light.
But of course, a classic black and white portrait is always in fashion.
Speaking of great light, how sweet is this one?
Adria and Brian were married in June, so stay tuned for the post from their gorgeous wedding and reception at Treyburn Country Club. You can view their slide show here.
Stephanie & Dave
Stephanie and Dave were married March 15, 2008 in Mount Olive, NC. (I jokingly refer to this as our first "destination wedding" of '08.) I'm convinced some of the finest people you will ever meet live in Mount Olive. By the end of the night on Saturday I felt like one of the family. The festivities began Friday in the old sanctuary of Stephanie's church with a casual meal. Besides Stephanie, the other great love in Dave's life is his Jeep, so Stephanie paid tribute to it by having this awesome cake made for him.
I just loved working with Stephanie. She is so much fun and has a great sense of humor. She was not your typical bride: her satin gown featured a stunning red embroidered train that I'm sure the older folks in the church will not forget anytime soon! She joked that Dave, who's a mild-mannered (but very loveable) minister's son who wants to be a minister himself, was marrying his Delilah. Here's a shot of her applying her make-up on the big day.
I love this moment Frank caught of Dave and his mom before the ceremony.
What's a wedding without an adorable flower-girl and ring-bearer? These two are sister and brother -- can you tell? Only a sister could get away with this. I love her little hand on his chin!
Stephanie and Dave agreed to see each other before the ceremony so that we could do all the photos beforehand, allowing them to go straight to their reception immediately after the ceremony. When we photograph a bride and groom seeing each other for the first time before the ceremony, we send everyone else away so they can experience that moment in private -- well, as private as you can be with two photographers firing away. We couldn't go outside for these shots as much of the grounds were still under construction -- the church was so new you could practically smell the paint drying! Luckily, the building committee checked with Stephanie before they installed the carpet and pew cushions -- everything matched her red and black theme! :) This is my favorite of the shots we got of them seeing each other for the first time on their wedding day. I adore the look in Stephanie's eyes.
My favorite from the ceremony, which was performed by Dave's dad -- that's his hand covering theirs. So sweet.
A wedding party close-up that Frank grabbed while I had their attention. I de-saturated the reds a bit to focus on their expressions. Red can sometimes overwhelm an image. The red and black in the wedding was so modern -- and so Stephanie!
The wedding party had barely arrived at the reception before a torrential rain began. It continued on through a very fun night, preventing the newlyweds from having their bubble-send-off -- outside, anyway. When it was time to leave, everyone just pulled out their bubble wands while Stephanie and Dave danced the last dance of the evening. All the bubbles in the air made for really gorgeous images. This one is my favorite.
To see more of the wedding, you can view the slide show here. Stephanie and Dave, it was such a privilege to photograph your wedding. We'll come back to Mount Olive anytime, especially if you promise to feed us so well again!
News, Music Copyright Issues and other random stuff.
Forgive me, readers, for I have sinned...it's been almost 4 weeks since my last post. We've been working like crazy for the past eight weeks on a marathon of Spring weddings. It's been a blast, but between emails, meetings, engagement sessions, bridal sessions, editing images, designing albums, lab and shipping runs and, oh yeah, shooting awesome weddings with amazing couples, there's just been no time to blog. We've got a two-week break until our next wedding, so I'm going to try really hard to catch up. To do that, I'm going limit my posts to a brief description of the wedding or engagement session and 3-5 (ouch!) of my favorite images. It's going to be tough, since generally speaking, I am a loud-mouth and don't really know when to shut up. But I'm going to try!
We've been working with ASCAP (the American Society of Composers and Performers) for a while now to renew the license (a fancy term for an agreement) that lets us use copyrighted music on our slide shows. Just like a photograph, a song is protected by copyright laws. Without paying a royalty and getting permission from the artist, we are not allowed to use the song in a slide show. Unfortunately, we've been unable to come up with a license that's affordable, flexible and doesn't require detailed record-keeping, like reporting how many times per month a particular slide show has been viewed and subsequently, how many times a particular song has been listened to. Since it really, really bothers me when my copyright is ignored, either when an image is screen-grabbed or scanned and reprinted on a home printer, I've decided that the only way we can continue to use music in our slide shows is to use royalty-free music. In the past, there's not been much for photographers to choose from when it comes to royalty-free music, but thankfully, that's changing, thanks to sites like Triple Scoop Music and Shawn Reeder Music. While I'd much rather be able to use a couple's favorite song or their first-dance song for the soundtrack to their slide show, it feels wrong to disregard the rights of the person who wrote and/or performs the music by using it without permission. You could argue that I'm promoting the artist and getting them additional exposure, but without a license, it's not OK to use their music. And it feels yucky to withhold from another artist the respect for copyrights that I demand for myself. So beginning today, we'll continue to create beautiful slide shows for our clients with
music that supports the story we're telling through our images, it's just going to be with music you may not have heard before. Hopefully, you'll love the images so much it won't matter!
I'm excited to announce that Sweet Life is adding two new album lines this year: Graphistudios and Leather Craftsmen. Our sample albums are in the works and hopefully will be available before the August wedding show.
Random thought for the day: Sorry, baseball, but I've decided digital photography is our new national past-time. At every reception I've shot lately, I notice that when people aren't dancing, they're taking pictures of one another. I love it! I'm going to do a post soon just of pictures of people taking pictures of other people.
Since it doesn't feel like a post without a photo, here's one of me taken by my friend Rick Ward at Ann and Peter's wedding in late March. Unlike most photographs of myself, I actually like this one. I'm rocking the standard photographer's all-black look, complete with the crazy hair. And my camera brand preference is pretty clear, isn't it?
Whitney & TJ Sneak Peak and What’s UP!
It's been a while since my last post...things are hoppin' at SLP, to jump the gun on over-played Easter puns. I'm so eager to blog about Whitney and TJ's wedding. It was one of my absolute favorites of 2007. I thought January and February would be typically slow months in Wedding Photography Land, but I've been swamped. Plus, to add to the general craziness around here, we've decided to make an offer on a house, just 'cause my stress level wasn't high enough. Those of you who read the blog regularly send some good thoughts our way -- we're all really excited and will be kinda crushed if it doesn't all work out. I'm sooo ready for meeting space and this place has got it. I'll keep you "posted" (I may be tired, but the brain is still firing away.) In the meantime, here's a mini-preview of what's to come in the next few days!
Wanted: Fearless Brides!
If you're a bride, you've probably heard the phrase "Trash the Dress" and wondered what it was all about (after recovering from a mini-panic attack at the mere thought). It's a phenomenon right now in wedding photography of brides doing crazy things in their wedding dresses: jumping into a pool, mud-wrestling, letting a car run over the dress, rolling around on a black-sand beach...basically anything that shows you're not afraid of getting your dress dirty in the pursuit of a fabulous image. A friend of mine in Houston has adapted "Trash the Dress" into the much more positive-sounding "Fearless Bridal" movement. "I love the idea of a “Fearless Bridal” session," says Christine Tremoulet. "I don’t want to trash
dresses - that just sounds so negative. I just want to shoot without
fear of getting it dirty! I’m hoping that there are other brides out
there that love the idea as much as I do." ME TOO! So with Christine's permission, I'm nabbing her idea and offering free "Fearless Bridal" sessions to the first three brides who contact me. Here's how it will work:
Call me (919.389.7274) or send me an email (Elizabeth@sweetlifephoto.com) and let me know you're a fearless bride. If you've got a dress that fits and you're ready to do a relaxed, fun, envelope-pushing photo session in your gown and you're not afraid to get it a little dirty, we'll set up a 1-2 hour session with the goal of getting some amazing shots of you in your wedding gown. You know you want to wear it again anyway! And if your groom is willing to come in dark pants and a nice white shirt & tie, all the better! No need to do hair and make-up again -- in fact, if you wore your hair up for your wedding, let it down for the Fearless Bridal shoot. The emphasis is on relaxed, fun, sexy...fearless.
The value of the session is $300, but is FREE to the first three brides who contact me. You'll receive 2 8x10's or three 5x7's of your choice, a mini-online slideshow and all your digital files (if you're a Sweet Life Photo bride. Otherwise, the files are yours for purchase.) Plus you agree to let me plaster your gorgeous self all over my promo materials!
Here's Hadley, a fearless bride:
BTW, this is at your own risk. I promise I won't ask you to do
anything that will permanently ruin your dress (on purpose). Mainly
we'll be working without having to obsessively protect the dress. We
may go to an edgy urban location or find the perfect open field with
gorgeous afternoon light. Either way, we'll have some fun, you'll get
to wear your dress again, and you just might end up with your favorite
image yet. Call me soon!
Christmas Is…
...only 6 days away. I'm not ready yet!
...delicious. Thanks, Barbara, for the goodies! They are awesome. Here's a link to the recipe: Paula Deen's Toffee Bars. Trust me, you wanna make this for Christmas.
...fattening, but who cares? It's Christmas! Bring on the sweets!
...bittersweet. I miss my grandaddy at this time of the year. He always wore a smokin' red sports coat with a holly-green wool vest on Christmas Day. I also miss my brother Marc and his wife Christy, many miles away in NYC.
...crazy-making. Anyone been to the mall in the last few days? Anyone tried to go to the mall and gave up when you couldn't get near the parking lot?
...irritating. Raise your hand if you think "The Twelve Days of Christmas" is the most annoying holiday song ever. If you're about to overdose on traditional Christmas music, try singer/songwriter Mindy Smith's "My Holiday." It's my new favorite Christmas album. And if you agree with me on "Twelve Days" check out The Twelve Days After Christmas. (Watch it on YouTube here. The video quality is awful, so minimize it and just listen.) The Vocal Ensemble group at Kat's school performed this song at their Holiday Concert and it brought down the house.
...a good excuse to be silly. Enjoy!
...exhausting. My "to do" list is obscene. When I get overwhelmed, I remember what my wise-beyond-his-years nephew asked in preschool, when faced with one too many Christmas crafts: "Is this really necessary?"
...a good time to remember what's important: my family, my friends, my amazing colleagues and photography mentors, and my wonderful clients. It's been such an overwhelming and fantastic year. THANK YOU!
Wishing you all the best this Christmas and peace, happiness, health and prosperity in 2008!
Stephanie and Dave: E-Session
I met Stephanie and Dave at the Bridal Show in August and was thrilled when they hired me on the spot to shoot their wedding. When we talked about where to do their e-session, Stephanie knew right away she wanted something urban. A city girl at heart, Stephanie suggested we shoot in downtown Raleigh around Fayetteville Street and City Market. I'd been eyeing a run-down lot with a falling-down building every time I drove to Kat's school, thinking what a great spot it would be for photos. Lucky for me, Stephanie and Dave were willing to give it a shot. This couple was so much fun to shoot! I'm thrilled to post their slideshow here.
Occasionally, I'll send my mom and sister slideshow links to get their feedback. I love what my sister wrote about watching Stephanie and Dave's show:
When I look at this slideshow, it is so emotional...it gave me goosebumps. Partly b/c I really connected with that background song and the couple looks soooo in love. I felt like I was watching a music video of a love song. It really evoked a sense of joyful happiness and honest love. I really got the impression that this is a couple who mutually love each other and have fun with each other. You captured it all. They had to be blown away by that video. Amazing!
Stephanie and Dave are plannning a March wedding, so check back then for more from this fantastic couple. I can't wait!
