Check out this beautiful Easter shoot I recently did with Beka Rendell and Kimberly Fink of Styled Creative at the Morris House Hotel in Philadelphia. With so much exciting springtime inspiration, it was featured on the most beautiful blog Elizabeth Anne Designs. You can check out the full feature at the EAD website. The gorgeous springtime flowers were provided by Table Art and the adorable cupcakes were from the Whipped Bake Shop. Enjoy the inspiration!
I recently photographed the décor for a party at the new restaurant R2L in Philadelphia. It was my first time there and it was a fantastic location for a very special party like a bridal shower or rehearsal dinner. On the 37th floor of 2 Liberty Place, the restaurant offers full panoramic views of the city. The décor for this urban chic event was superbly designed by Evantine Design. I absolutely fell in love with the glittery table overlays. It was a feast for the eyes!
Before my very busy wedding season begins in a few weeks I thought I’d do a little post on wedding photojournalism. I would have to define my style as an artistic photojournalist. I want to tell the story, and I also want it pretty! When some couples meet with with me they are a little surprised that they can expect to receive a minimum of 1,200+ images of their wedding day. On a wedding day, I’m not only documenting the details, the portraits, the kiss after “I do”, but all the range of emotions of everyone that day. That can take a lot of images to capture. I am documenting an emotional history of the wedding day. I am inspired by a quote by William Faulkner, “The aim of every artist is to arrest motion, which is life, by artificial means and hold it fix so that a hundred years later, when a stranger looks at it, it moves again, since it is life.” I hope occasionally that this magic happens. For inspirational Wedding Photojournalism check out the Wedding Photojournalists Association which I have been a member of for many year. I find much inspiration there!
Every winter I always do a few new sample wedding albums. I try to show the latest and greatest new offerings of my album company, Leather Craftsmen. One special new offering is a Photo Plate Cover. The cover photo is printed on metal. Very beautiful! I also did a press book as a clone of the wedding album. I though this would be a great idea for a parent album or for an extra to keep in your office.
As a wedding photojournalist, one of the most common questions I am asked is “do you do formal pictures?”. There is a misconception that true photojournalists do not photograph formal family portraits at a wedding. Though this may be true for a minority of wedding photojournalists, the majority of do formal groupings. As a photojournalist, I am there to capture all the traditions of a wedding, and formal family portraits have been around since my grandmothers day. A photojournalist wants to capture all the traditions and not change that because it’s not their style. I am there to photograph as many and as few groupings as the couple and their family wants. It’s more in how I photograph the formals that is dictated by my style. I put each group together but I do not try to overly pose the group. I am more interested in the couple and family expressing their own individual style. So families are more classic and some want to express their wild side. Some families want large groupings and some just want immediate family. Don’t forget that the reception might be a time that you want some casual group pictures. Some couples want group pictures with their work associates, their sorority or fraternity pals or maybe their cousins. It’s always best to plan ahead to give your photographer the list of groups you want. Here is a sampling a my “PJ” formals.
Usually I photographing the “formal” my second photographer might be photographing it from the side.
Express who you are in your formals.
After the ceremony the couple asked all their guests to pose for a group portrait.
College friends at the reception!