Mary and Andre's Special Day

On October 10th I was privileged to be the photographer for a small wedding ceremony for Mary and Andre,  friends of my friend Rae. I had only met them a few days before but we got along very well. We had a beautiful day and kind of just played the shots and locations by ear. Since it was a small wedding, it was easy for me to pick get some fun and personal images. Things just seemed to fall into place. It was a great experience for me and I was very glad I got the chance to work with them. I recently gave Mary the final images and she gave me permission to share some of them on my blog. I will share some of my favorites and explain why they are...

This is Andre's parents on the steps of the church. This was a candid that I got before the ceremony. I love that I got the mums and the pumpkins

Didn't take a lot of detail shots because it was a small and simple wedding. But Mary gave me her bouquet and her ring while she was getting ready and this is what  I came up with .. 

Mary (right) and her Mom -- love that her mom is helping put on the pearls

Mary specifically asked me to get a few pictures of the organist. The pipe organ is huge and beautiful and in a balcony above the main room on the church. I love this because of how perfectly you see his face in the mirrored plate. 

Mary being walked down the isle by her dad. I love how happy they look .. 

Andre giving Mary her ring. I love this because it is such a perfect moment and for how Mary's parents (on the right ) and her brother (in the purple) are looking on

Another great moment -- what I really love about this one is the expression on Andre's mother's face 

And the first kiss as man and wife -- had to include it just because ... 

Right after the ceremony -- Mary and Andre look so happy :D 

Selfies -- just so cute

One of my favorite candids of Mary.. 

Andre and his parents in front of the church .. 

Some silly moments -- did I mention we had a fun day 

Andre's reaction and Mary's look are priceless... 

Mary and her parents.... 

Mary and her brother  ... 

This is Mary, Andre, Andre's best man and his family -- the kids were fussing at this point and someone mentioned the donuts and this is the shot -- I love everyone's big smiles

Mary and her maid of honor -- blowing kisses 

The kids enjoying those donuts ... 

We were doing formal poses and Andre's Dad decided to photo bomb ... 

Another great silly moment with Mary and her dad ... its not sharp -- but its one of those great moments worthy of a little motion blur .. 

For more of the family, formal photos we went ot Fisherman's Landing on Spring Creek -- one of Mary and Andre's favorite places

Andre's dad went down by the water almost immedialtey. I saw this and knew I had to get it... 

And his mom peaked out between some trees -- again saw it happening and knew I had to get it. She was showing me what a cute spot it would be for a photo ... 

The bride, groom, maid of honor and best man -- showing just how much they like each other 

and because of that shot, I got these wonderful smiles :D 

Andre and his best man .. loved the pose -- makes you wonder what they are scheming ... 

Another one on the bridge -- I love the colors and they just look so happy .. 

On the steps of the bridge. I loved the setting so much I wanted to get the group there --- this is the formal pose 

And this is the silly pose -- and Andre's mom started it all with the bunny ears ... I love Mary's expression ... 

had to get some shots by the stream. Mary looks so happy and natural in this one. You can tell its a place they love 

Had to get a few of them kissing -- and I love how nice the water is sparkling in the background... 

Between the trees was a perfect spot and the way they are peeking out together is just perfect ...

sitting together on the bench -- just a nice pose and nice contrasty light ... 

and then we see the real truth of the day -- actually they asked if we could do this pose and it came out perfectly ...  so much fun ... 

this tree was so beautiful we knew we had to use it as a background 

Mary and Andre love thier dog and asked specifically to get some photos with her. We were just going with the moments and got this one 

and then this one. She was so happy to see them and wanted to play -- but then she kind of paused and I had them look up and voila .... 

First kiss as husband and wife on their porch .. and I love the wreath ... 

This is across the street from where we had dinner. I saw it and new we had to get some pictures -- love the fence and the scenery and the pose. They look so natural and happy 

Again they look so happy and it really shows how much they love each other ... 

a creative look at the cake .... 

Cutting the cake -- and the ketchup bottle shows it was a small intimate dinner  (though I almost wish it was not there) 

Thank you Mary and Andre for letting me capture your special day. I loved sharing it with you and hope you enjoy the moments I chose and why. 

Abby's Senior Portraits

On October 4th, I was priviliged to be able to take senior portraits for a friend of our family. We had a beautiful day and lots of great places to take photos. I used natural light and a reflector. Abby wanted some fall colors in her photos which I was happy to do since I love fall and all the changing colors. Below are a few of my favorites from the shoot which lasted about an hour and a half .

This is one of the early shots in the session. I was going for shadowy and dramatic light. I loved how the leaves made patterns on her arms and clothing.

As I mentioned, there were lots of  fun places for us to shoot. This was a ramp next to an old barn. I loved her smile in this one and the pink just pops against the faded wood

These plants were pretty and the light falling on her was just perfect. I asked her to sit comfortably and this is what we got. I didn't even have to coach her much ... 

On the other side of the barn. I loved the angles created by the windows and the door and the faded red made a nice backdrop. This is also one of the first upper body portraits that I did. 

Picked this spot for the lion head and fence which were interesting and fun and then for the tree behind them. The colors and the light drew us to that spot. It felt very fally to both of us.

This old wagon had a lot of character and with the leaves around it, it seemed like the perfect spot. I did pose her for this one but only a little. She just seemed to relax into this place. 

I liked this pose so much I zoomed in and converted it to black and white just to give us more options and because I like the added contrast of black and white 

Her cat walked through and I asked if she wanted a picture. Love the smile in this one and the cat actually cooperated too

This wood pile was down in the woods. I knew as soon as I saw it that I wanted to use it as a spot. At first I just had her stand by it, but then I had her put her hands on top and lean in. This is probably my favorite shot of the session

We moved to lots of different locations-- most were chosen because of the light and the colors or other interesting textures in the scene. This was mainly for the light and the way the branches arched.

I had to get at least one shot with her looking off in the distance. The cinder blocks felt like and appropriate location to do so. 

The porch was another of my favorite locations. I love to colors and contrast of the ferns and the corns stalks and then the orange in the windows behind her. Abby also looks very relaxed and natural in this spot. 

My Aunt who was helping us saw the trees and suggested that we get a few shots there. I definitely think is was a good choice

In this shot Abby is leaning on a stone that is on the edge of the yard. I saw this location and asked her to lean on it comfortably. She chose this pose and I think it worked really well. I love the simplicity of the background as well..

And another in black and white. So simple and beautiful. I love it. 

And one last photo from our session. . I wanted to get another shot that had a really fally background. These trees were across the yard and I had her stand so that we could see them in the distance.  simple yet colorful 

Thanks Abby and Gwen for letting me take these photos and for letting me share them on my blog. It was a pleasure to do this session and I am definitely realizing that I want to do more of this kind of work, especially if I can work with natural light. 

Thanks as always for sharing my photos with me. Not sure what the next post will be, but I hope to continue practicing and expanding my skills. Until next time...