Brook and Morgan had a really nice wedding. I actually knew them pretty well, so ideally I was a bit unsure of doing a friends wedding. The toughest part about capturing the wedding was my illness (more on that later) and the white suits the men wore which matched Brooks white wedding dress. It was fine everywhere, but made things complicated on the beach reflecting off the white sand. The ceremony went really well. It had a slight breeze off the ocean to cool things off. The sunset was gorgeous with the reflective orange and pink. After the wedding ceremony we went to Marina Jacks where everyone boogied down and danced the night away. In the end all worked out okay, but I have to say it was the toughest wedding for me physically only because I was extremely sick with 102 fever doing a wedding. It took a week of bed-rest to get back to normal. At least I was able to capture the moment for them so now they have lasting memories. You can see most of my favorite photos in the portfolio section.
Birka's and Jaco's wedding was so incredible that it will probably be on my top 5 favorites list for life.
The wedding was held in Cape Town, South Africa. I was able to make the trip and got a guest invitation from them. (So I was not the primary photographer) However I still managed to get some great shots.
Never the less, their wedding was held in an amazing custom tent/tarp area. The lighting was outstanding they had professional and custom lighting installation from Birka's brother. There were candles, rocks, and great table setup with great fabric. To top it all off the view was spectacular overlooking mountain ranges over Cape Town.
The music was off the wall and outstanding! The DJ mixed in hits from Eurodance to the Old school, American hip hop, international hits, R&B and many more styles. The dancing continued until 3 AM !! Everyone was outgoing, open-minded, and friendly and THATS what made the wedding!
Here are some snap shots I managed to take, although I think I spent more time dancing then actually photographing. :)
Renee and Tim were an easy going couple. They are originally from Canada, and found me through the internet. So in essence they had a destination wedding. Everything was planned through emails and phone calls, so by the time the wedding day came around it was easy as pie getting along with them.
On the wedding day, I left early so I could grab some dinner before starting to shoot, since the wedding would cut right into my dinner time. However, because of all the detours, car accidents, and Grand Prix going on in St. Pete, I didn't have extra time to eat and all that time was added towards my commute. When I got there, it was a small wedding party of about 20 to 30 people at most. Tim was there, and Renee' was on her way.
I took a few moments to scope out the sight, the light, talk to the videographers, and see where I can catch some of the shots without getting in the way too much.
Once Renee showed up we got going with the walk, the ceremony and the whole sha-bang. Took the group photos, the wedding party photos, and more with the guests. After a short bit, we went and did the couple photos with Renee and Tim between feeding the guls, on the beach, the rocks, and so forth.
When we wrapped up everything at the beach we headed to the Cabana Bar and Grill and did the cake cutting pictures and the garter toss. After about 1.5 hrs I covered all that was needed and Renee and Tim invited me to stay for dinner.
After about 1.5 hours of coverage we came to 175+ pictures that were edited. Which is roughly a bit more than my average per hour.
Congratulations and best of luck!
Jennifer and Josh were originally from New York. Many of the people and guests were originally flew in. Jennifer's dress was one of the most unique dresses I've seen in a while. It was pink which allowed it to stand out a bit more from the white sand then other dresses.
The entire wedding party was easy going, although it was hard moving around all the guests at times, I managed just fine. Of course there are always times where you missed a shot here or there, but you can't get them all. The beach light made it tougher to get the facial exposures.
After the ceremony we did one on one couple shots which came out really nice. I popped the sky out to be a little more pink and purple!!!
When we moved to the reception, it was tough working in a tight-knit area, so I had to swap out to a wide-angle lens. There was plenty of parting and dancing, some funny moments, serious conversations, happy tears, and much more.
I even got a chance to play with some long-exposure photography on the outside and exterior of the reception. You can see some photos below and more in the portfolio section.
The other week I managed to take snap shots at Siri and Chris's wedding. They are one of the few couples I met before-hand for lunch a few months prior to the wedding. Most of the time I don't meet the couples before the wedding as its not something you can plan ahead of time. All wedding photos are always pretty much a spur of the moment kind of thing as you never know whats going to happen. Anyways after the meeting all went well. I went and picked up one of my friends from the airport (who also would be helping me with the wedding).
On the wedding day, we drove over to Honeymoon island, got situated and I spilled water all over my pants washing my hands !!! (those bathroom sinks were not user-friendly). Luckily in that respect it was a warm day and dried off in about 10 mins.
Once the wedding got started I felt pretty bad for the guests as they were looking directly at the sun. To capture some of the pictures were tough as I tried to work only at one angle, and some people were squinting most fo the time. The beach definitely gives you some harsh shadows. During the ceremony there were some speeches conducted in German. There were also a pretty nice keyboard player.
After the ceremony, we went under the tarp covered area for the reception. The reception was pretty laid back. As always everyone picking up a few drinks, making some chit-chat, and getting to know one another. People playing with their cameras, showing off their new gear and trying to take some pictures of the bride and groom. By the time the buffet opened up, it was time for me to leave. Had one last chat with Siri and Chris and went out for a traditional post-wedding meal.... SUSHI!!!
Rebecca and Steve were really nice to me and I really enjoyed working with them. Sadly there was a little rain and it was damp. Clouds were a bit gray so I had to pop the blue's out in the photos if needed.
We started with the photo session and did it outside the church and then moved to the Golf Course and Vinnoy Park in St. Petersburg, FL. Soon after, headed back to the church for the ceremony, did some getting ready shots, and off to the Hilton for the after party. My legs were crying between all the squatting I was doing between the Church and Photo session! I felt like I did 5000 lunges! I managed to regroup some energy with some tasty shrimps, meatballs, pasta, and mushrooms which I had to inhale to get back to the photos... (Thanks Carlos for doing the carving). The only thing I wished there was more of at this wedding was dancing (I guess because I love to dance).
As always with every wedding, there are things I wish I had done differently or shots that I wish I've gotten, but once a moment is gone...its gone and cant really be re-enacted the same way. For example, we missed a lot of sitting poses because of the weather and the wetness. Still to this day I have yet to convince a bride to sit or lay on green grass, shucks! Cause green pops out soooo well ! (just a tip for those of you still planning your location for pictures choose a green area or a Golf Course).
Incase any future brides were curious about picture totals, the total photo count was around 380 for 6 hours of coverage. Every photo was custom edited... yep every one...and I managed to knock out all the editing in less than 3 days. I think thats a record for me (normally 2-3 weeks).
Thanks Rebecca and Steve - and CONGRATS! Hope you enjoyed your cruise...!
Anyways here are some more captures that are usually NOT in the portfolio section. Enjoy
On August 20th, 2008 - I had a great time capturing some moments at Nancy and Martin's wedding. They flew in from Germany to capture the beauty of the Sunshine State of Florida. Sadly Tropical Storm Fay was rolling through and the photo capture moments were hard to get, but never the less I made it up in the post-processing.
Nancy and Martin were great though ! They were very easy going, relaxed, and laid back couple. By the end of the session I felt they were my good friends. I hope the rest of their Florida trip is a fun and enjoyable one. Thanks and Congratulations.
A few days ago I had an opportunity to work with Denise and Clay. They were a fun, kick-back kind of couple with a good amount of energy throughout the whole evening. It was a border-line go-no-go session because we had rain the last week daily. Fortunately it cleared up and managed to get out there for the night.
There weren't any lists or absolutely necessary poses to go through which is great. We just went with what worked, and what didn't work, was tossed out during the editing process. The whole session was directed more so as a beach portrait or an engagement session since it was small and casual. However, the session still felt intimate since we were on Anna Maria Island. All within a 2 mile radius we managed to go to the church, their vaca-home, and the beach / Sandbar.
Unfortunately Denise & Clay had to go back up north at the end of the week and wanted to get the photos on their way up, so i had to do some mega-rush editing. Nevertheless, some came out incredibly nice. Here are a few shots that possibly aren't in the portfolio.
Last weekend I had a chance to do another pretty cool wedding with Anne and Ed. They had the ceremony on the floating wedding chapel. (It's basically a church thats on a boat). Its pretty unique, however would be a bit tight in space if you have a big wedding party. After the ceremony on the floating chapel, we spent some time on the water to relax, chit-chat, and take some photos.
When we docked, I headed to the Don Cesar and we were going to do some formal poses, however never got around to it due to Anne & Ed's request to just relax before the party. So, I headed to the roof-top and did some candids, met some people, and had a drink. Although I didn't stick around for the meal and the dancing, the time I was there I still had a good time and met some cool people.
You can see a few pictures in the portfolio section, and a few other random samples below.
I haven't had a wedding gig in a while, until March 28, 2008 when I got a chance to photograph Andrea and Chris's wedding. I had the gitters before I got on location probably more than the bride because no one was there! I wasn't sure if that was the exact location since we did not have a meeting before-hand (they were from out of state). Of course, I was early and at the right location.
After a brief phone call, everything started to fall into place. The wedding went really smooth and was pretty easy to deal with since everyone was so nice, there was plenty of light outside, and not a lot of people to photograph.
Congrats ~
