Inspiration & Design Photography BLOG

Erin & William's Wedding 6-18-11

This love story in-the-making started on a late summer day in 1995, on the first day of 5th grade.  Erin had just moved from Pennsylvania and this "funny-accented girl", caught the immediate attention and interest of William. 

They remained friends all through school until their senior year when friendship turned to romance. As their love continued to grow through college, William realized that this wonderful girl with warm eyes that reflect the same devotion & playfulness of a Labrador, and a smile as big as Texas, was the person he wanted to spend his life with!  

While running a 25 mile Marine Corp Marathon, William anxiously awaited the perfect moment to remove the carefully guarded "treasure" from his pocket; which turned out to be mile 19! Among a crowd of 50,000 William dropped to one knee and popped the question to his beloved IRISH girl!  Luckily for William he got the girl and finished the race!

Erin & William, it has been such a heart warming experience getting to know you.  Your relationship not only brings joy to each other, but to those who get the pleasure of being in your presence.  Your warmth, kindness and easy laughter have made you not only wonderful clients, but treasured friends.  You have left a permanent mark on my life, in fact, I think it is a green shamrock shaped mark (wink).

 

Putting on those green shoes tickled Erin as she did a "modified split" to accommodate her bridesmaids' help. 

 

Erin looking all a-glow in her dress

 

We dodged in and out of cover as the sky kept offering her rain & drizzle.

 

A huge downpour kept us inside for photos at William's parents house.

 

Joshua's view from the balcony.

 

Awww, William looks so happy!

 

So does Erin!!!

 

Joshua, got some great close-ups of the couple as they ran through a human tunnel of guests throwing what looked like fake snow!

 

The town of Marion has this great old train station.  The cart outside had dilapidated suitcases that we used as props, as well as sunglasses and smoking pipes.

 

 They are "looking" for the train, a little over-acting I'd say.

 

I named the guy on the left "Carpet-Bagger Man" we got as lot of mileage and laughter out of that title!  His bag was soooo falling apart and raggedy looking, it was hilarious!

 

Lots of fun!

 

They are just too cute together!

 

I liked the texture of this old building by the RR tracks

 

She's telling William a secret....a funny secret apparently.

 

I like bringing furniture from home to use for more posing opts, my assistant's don't like it so much ;(

 

I would have loved to have some beautiful light instead of gloom,

but... you get what you get

and you don't throw a fit!

They are still adorable!

 

They showed off their stylish dancing skills!

 

 

 

William opened the bottle with a sword and I caught the cork with my neck!  I was VERY pleased that I didn't catch it with my EYE!

 

They are doing the Virginia Reel; this Scottish folk dance dates from the 17th century and may have an earlier influence from an Irish dance called the Rinnce Fada.

 

Great job Joshua on those last two photos!! 

Canon vs. Nikon - Why I Use Both

Invariably when I am shooting a wedding, someone will say, "Oh, you use Canon & Nikon?".  Yes I do.  Granted it strains my brain more having to remember two systems that are virtual opposites, especially during the fast pace of a wedding when I have quickly grabbed the black gear and already have it to my eye and now have to remember which camera I am holding and where the buttons are placed for the command I want to control.  The other down side is that you have to duplicate your equipment.  More stuff to bring, more expense. So why do I do it?

Because getting the best possible image is the most important thing.  I like both systems for different reasons and I dream of a SUPER HYBRID that will come someday!!!  I'm already thinking of names for it. Cannik? NiCan? NonKon? CanKon?!?! Y..E...S.., that's it! Like Can Kon-quer focus, Can Kon-quer noise, Can Kon-quer jaundice! CanKon...like King Kong! Powerful, able to climb to the top as it's being fired upon by inferior Canons & Nikons, being loved by beautiful blond photographers everywhere! I think you get the reference ;)

I currently use the Canon 5D MkII. The color balance is amazingly accurate and there's almost no noise in low light high ISO situations, so it's great for receptions.  I use the L series lenses, which are suppose to be the best glass.  I feel they render a beautiful image...WHEN THEY FOCUS CORRECTLY.  This is a well known problem, and if you don't believe me, read the dozens of forums talking about this very prevalent issue. You will focus, the camera will beep letting you know it is focused, your subject will look in focus and waa-lah, your final image is NOT in focus. Many experienced photographers including me, combat this issue by taking several exposures of the same image to increase the odds of a sharp image. Well what a pain in the butt that is!  Why won't Canon just FIX this PROBLEM!

There are so many new photographers out there thinking THEY are doing something wrong. They come home from a wedding or session all JAZZED about their awesome images only to be shocked by how many are out of focus! So if you're a photographer who has gone into the fetal position and rocked back and forth from this traumatic stress event, take a deep breath and know that you are not alone.

I first noticed this problem when I switched from Nikon to Canon about 4 or 5 years ago. I switched because all the talk was that CANON was better and it had a full frame sensor, the best lenses...yada...yada. With my extensive background and use of many cameras over the years, with no out of focus images, I KNEW IT WASN'T ME!  I have had this discussion with a couple of other photographers who say they don't have this problem. . . Hummmm.  So many other very well known and experienced photographers do! In spite of this inconvenience Canon is still my go to camera.

I also use the Nikon D700. The white balance is VERY YELLOW. I adjusted it by adding +2 of blue, which helped. It does not do well in low light at higher ISOs and is pretty contrasty (I haven't tried to adjust that yet). On the up side, it focuses fast & accurate,  the lenses render sharp images and the ergonomics are over-all better than Canon. So for now, my bag is loaded with two sets of everything, until CanKon is born!

Isn't she pretty, I think the purple is a nice touch :)

 

Sarah & Ryan's Engagement

Meet Sarah Evans.....No, not that one.  Darn, I really wanted a live performance of A Little Bit Stronger!

This happy couple met for the first time at Wasena Park, while running a race. Sarah says it was love at first sight for her. They thought it would be fun to go back to where they first met to document their current day love.

The thing that was immediately evident about this couple is how much they enjoy being in each others' company. The giggles, smiles and laughter through-out the entire session was a testament to their utter happiness. Like the excitement and innocence of a first love! You couldn't pry these two apart with a crowbar!

Under dark cloudy skies, we attempted to create some fun and romantic memories hoping the rain would hold off until we finished. Sarah & Ryan, thank you for being you.  I wish you many years of giddy love ahead!

So adorable! 

 

I really like they way they pop against the dark bridge. Both the verticle and horizontal lines point to the subject. 

  

I think this is my favorite image. I love the way Ryan is looking at Sarah and I love Sarah's expression. The wind kicked up at the perfect time and blew her hair back..perfect. On really cloudy days your images can look really flat. With the correct positioning of the subjects I was still able to get a sense of directional light. It's also hard to get light into the eyes, so you have to work with head positioning and turn your subjects toward your light source, since there is little reflective light.

 

 
 

 

 Believe it or not, it was almost impossible to get these two to be somewhat serious for one shot. Every time we tried they would both start laughing. But you can see Sarah's smirk is about to burst into a full out laugh.  I have created my signature style of using whatever I can to create depth, texture and framing. Don't let that blue sky fool you I have enhanced it. It was dark and very gray.

 

 

  I have used a monochromatic color scheme for this image, I think it helps the hats stand out more.

 
 

I suggested doing a running picture, Sarah said "yeah, I'll be ahead and he will be trying to catch up with me" sounds a little competitive Sarah (smile). 

We were almost out of light for this one, so I had my ISO at 6400, 16-35mm lens, f-stop at 2.8 @ 1/64th of a second and was able to get this image.

 

Well that's the end...or just the beginning of Sarah & Ryan's story.  Stay tuned for wedding images coming in July.

Emily & Bryce's Wedding - June 4th, 2011

Talk about a gorgeous and extremely HAPPY couple! They are beautiful people inside and out! It was an amazing experience to see their love exchanged between glances and I love you whispers. Every detail of their wedding day was over-the-top fabulous!  

 Their story... 

We both grew up in Roanoke and went to the same high school, but with Bryce being a few years older, we never got the chance to meet each other. It wasn't until after college that we were both living in Charlotte, North Carolina when we had the opportunity to meet. Luckily, we had mutual friends and ended up hanging out together quite a bit (small world, right?!).

It was one day in April of 2009 that a bunch of us went to a Dave Matthews Band concert in Charlotte, where Bryce and I decided on our first date. We decided to bet what song would be played last… whomever lost, would take the other on a date. Although I dislike losing at anything, this was not a bet I was sad to lose.

A couple nights later, we went to dinner at the best sushi place in Charlotte, Nikko. We were there for hours! The food and drinks were great, but the best part was getting to know Bryce.  I loved hearing all of his stories and laughing with him so much that I forgot about work the next day. Unfortunately our night had to end, however I had another date with Bryce to look forward to!

I can remember coming home from our first date and running into my roommate’s bedroom. She of course was asleep, but I didn’t care, I HAD to tell her how great Bryce was! I could go on... but now I can say that the rest is history. I am forever thankful for that Dave Matthews concert!

AWWWWW, I can tell you first hand they were definately meant to be together!!!

I LOVED her dress!!! And she looked amazing in it!

 

I like the way the image on the right shows the wonderful texture of her dress. 

 
 

 

 

 

I think they should be models for wedding attire.

 

I like this angle that Jason captured. Nice! 

 

 

I told you they were GORGEOUS!

Re-post

Michelle's awesome Bridal portraits will re-post on July 3rd.  We didn't want the groom getting a sneak peak of her dress before the wedding.  If you didn't get to see them, please check back!