Anna and Ryan - An Intimate Wedding

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The day after Jesse and I returned from our photography trade show and conference in Las Vegas, Kristin and were able to be a part of Anna and Ryan's intimate wedding.  Before I went to the conference I was a little nervous that I might be worn out when I returned from our trip.  Little did I know that the conference would be the most energizing experience I can remember in quite a long time.  When the day came for the wedding, March 14 [which is Pi - as in the symbol for the ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter - day by no coincidence (Ryan in particular is a fan of all things scientific)], I was super excited to be a part of this couples day.  And given that this was the smallest wedding I have photographed, it was extra special to be included.  Because of Ryan and Anna's beautiful local (an historic home that is a part of the Holden Arboretum) and very personal day, I am now a huge fan of small weddings.  The personal nature of the wedding gave it an extra special meaning, and the stress factor was super low because there was not a crowd worry about.  Whether 10 or 300 guests, the depth and meaning of a wedding is determined by the love of the bride and groom, and it was this love between Anna and Ryan that truly made Pi day a great one. 

I have always been a fan of layering a unique photo (like a shot of distressed old metal, etc.) over another shot to create what is know in photographer tech speak as a texture.  This allows the photograph to take on a unique look, like that of a photo that has been aged.  This wedding is the first wedding that I have spent a while creating works with textures, and I am pretty into it.  The photo below is the first one, but you might be able to see a few more below.

The two shots below are by favorite of the day, but I like too many to limit it to these.  It was a tough call.  Kristin thought of the shot on the left, and I must give her credit.  The shot on the right is in a study.  The doorway was actually a hidden one that led to the basement, like off of an old movie.  That was probably the best thing about this terrific house.

I didn't catch a lot of silly faces on this wedding, but the one below is nice.

Elizabeth and Cameron...Married! and more

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Wow, it has been quite some time since I posted a wedding.  Actually, I was a little burnt out on blogging and shooting until a couple really cool things happened.

One: I got to work with Elizabeth and Cameron.  David and I met Elizabeth at a wedding we shot last fall for Kevin and Jennifer Freeman (two of my all-time favorite clients).  Elizabeth was the maid of honor in their wedding.  She really got both David and myself's attention with her speech (along with the whole room).  Now I've seen a LOT of wedding speeches, so I'm not impressed easily, but when the whole crowd is rolling in laughter you have to give some credit.  David and I told her we loved the speech and what do know... a few months later she calls to book her own wedding with us.  I knew it would be a fun one, but I didn't know that I would be introduced to her Australian husband and his whole Australian entourage.  I'm a big fan of brides with a sense of humor along with an abundance of Australian accents.  So their wedding was great.  I had never shot a Quaker Square in downtown Akron before, but it is a really cool place with great photo opportunities.  It was awesome to spend a day with such a fun couple and always great to see a past client (Jennifer and Kevin) in love and going strong.  So to recap; the first thing to get me motivated to enter this year with a new sense of passion was Elizabeth and Cameron's wedding.

The number Two influence was the last week I spent with Mat and Jim at WPPI in Vegas.  It was my first time attending and it was amazing.  It was funny that on the plane I asked Mat if he really thought we were going to learn anything - with a somewhat presumptuous tone.  I mean I already know all about Aperture and Shutter right?:)  Besides really getting an assault on the right brain with new ideas and info for business, I also unexpectedly got something much more valuable.  I was inspired by people with awesome hearts and a love for people.  You would think we went to some sort of revival conference.  Silvana Frammartino (the best wedding pro in the world:), Jasmine Star, David Jay, Jesh De Rox and many others spoke to my heart and made me realize that what I do is my purpose in life and it can be used to not only document love, but inspire it.  I'll gush more about it later, but for now meet Elizabeth and Cameron...

Elizabeth and Cameron had the wonderful idea of riding the train with all their guests from Cleveland to downtown Akron.  The day was beautiful and bright and began at the train.  Many couples are worried to see each other before the ceremony, and I respect that; but from my observations it seems the bride and groom get to spend so much more of the day together enjoying themselves when it is done the way of Cameron and Elizabeth.  

Along with my new-found inspiration, I've decided to develop a set of new photoshop actions to package this year for photographers.  I've been doing this type of thing for a while, but I really am dedicating some serious time to it now, in order to nail the style I'm going for.  Let me know what you think of these two recently developed actions:  

First "Classic But A Little Crazy"

Next: "Vintage Romance"

Just so you get the idea, here are those 2 shots before I loved them up.

And a few more of my faves from the day

Another application of my new action: "Vintage Romance" inspired by Cameron and Elizabeth's awesome style

This one on the left is my favorite of the day.  Feel free to argue with me one that:)

These next 3 photos also have been processed with a new action I've created.  It' called "Better Together" and is basically and contrast/sharpen/saturation bump

The whole group with a fisheye from a ladder!

Finally, some wonderful first dance moments in my new black and white actions "Bentley BW" and "Cooper BW"

Congrats Cameron and Elizabeth.  Best wishes in Australia!

Stephen and Stephanie are Married!

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As the photos will reveal, Stephen and Stephanie were a tremendously fun couple.  They loved each other and enjoyed their day so much it was evident to everyone around them.  Both are in the Service, and they have the "fun" of currently being stationed far apart.  Stephen is serving in Iraq and Stephanie is in the States.  Due to the circumstances, they had to reschedule her wedding because Stephen was unable to return home for the ceremony.  I am certain that being in this situation would give anyone a deeper perspective on what is important in life.  The astonishing thing to me was how they possesed that meaningful connection while at the same time being laid back and having so much fun.

The picture below is a recreation of a photo Stephanie's grandmother had taken in the same church when she was married years ago.

Stephanie outranks Stephen so she made him stand at attention and do a few pushups for her.  I am not sure he enjoyed it as much as she did.  This is the only time I have witnessed such things on a wedding day.

Anessa and Jeremy - Married on New Year

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Well, the new year if finally upon us.  Kristin and I were able to spend the last night of 2009 celebrating with Jeremy and Anessa.  The day went very smoothly.  Due to the weather and the timing of the event, we spent our time shooting in all the nooks and crannies of the ceremony and reception location.  With such a loving couple and great guests, it was no surprise that the evening was so wonderful.  One thing that did pleasantly take me off guard was a speech by Anessa.  Anessa, a French teacher, gave a thank you to her French speaking guests.  She gave it with so much emotion, I could understand clearly what she was saying without being able to decipher a word of the French.  I learned a lot about communication that evening, and I am so thankful we were able to be apart of their great day!

The pic below is one of my favorites from the evening.  I wish I were able to put it on the blog full size.  It has a depth to it that really draws you in.

In my opinion, the best man would have earned his title on the merits of the look in the pic below alone.

Of course, it being a New Year's party as well, we had to have a little silliness.

Brian and Liza - Married!

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This past weekend, Kristin and I had the pleasure of shooting a elegant, yet simple wedding at the Cleveland Yacht Club.  The couple, Liza and Brian, were great to work with. Being a wedding photographer allows one to view quite a few weddings, and contrary to popular belief, most weddings are similar.  So I make it my express intention to look for the elements of each wedding that makes it unique.  Brian and Liza opted for an early wedding with brunch directly following in a connecting room.  the entire event overlooked the docks and the lake.  It was a beautiful event.