Rocking it Hong Kong style.
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Lens: Sigma 12-24mm f/4.5-5.6
Camera: Nikon D3s

Just a reminder that, with all this talk of authenticity on the blog this week, I do still like a nice trick or two. And when you arrive in the chosen spot for wedding portraits and it’s pitch black, it’s nice to have a big back of tricks, literally and metaphorically. It took a flash composite AND a panorama to pull this one off.
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Lens: 35mm f/1.4
Camera: Nikon D3s
Light: Lowel id-light

This wedding knocked my socks off … literally. I shot most of it barefoot.
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Lens: Sigma 12-24mm f/4.5-5.6
Camera: Nikon D3s

It’s not often that I can pull off a candid “Brenizer method” panorama, but here’s a 10-photo image from when the couple took a break at their Stage 6 at Steiner Studios wedding reception to spend a minute alone with the skyline. Like any extreme panorama, it reads best in very large sizes, so here it is in exactly one percent of the original area. One adage of panoramas is that at any given print size you’re compressing out the noise, handy at ISO 10,000.

10 photos with the Sigma 85mm f/1.4.

There’s something about weddings at remote lodging like the Wintrop Estate in Lenox Massachusetts that makes it feel like a wonderful family getaway where they just happened to throw a gorgeous wedding. Family and guests were already milling around the area when I got there, having slept there the night before, so it was a communal celebration right from the start.

It was a long and not always easy road for Lisa Marie and Rudy to bring this wedding about, and so it ran the gamut of emotions, with tears flowing into laughter and back again in the space of seconds. The sort of people I’m happy to just be around for a day, taking their energy in, let alone photograph.

I love shooting in November, at least when it’s unseasonably warm as it has been. It could be noon and the sun still comes as a flattering oblique angle. But it also means that it gets dark early. Really early. So if your ceremony runs a little long, you might show up at the gorgeous pier you selected for your wedding photos and find that it’s pitch black, so dark you need a flashlight just to see where you can walk.

No problem.

This was much darker in real life than in the photo. A quick tip: Live View is awesome for nailing manual focus in conditions too dark for your eye to see. It’s a good time to be a photographer when our mechanical eyes can give us a hand from time to time.

Of course, being paranoid is a big part of this game. I knew darkness was a strong possibility, so I brought every continuous light source I own. If nothing else, they made great flashlights.

(The reflection is off a particularly nasty puddle in a pile of gravel.)
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Lens: 35mm f/1.4
Camera: Nikon D3s
Light: Backlit with Lowel id-light

It was brought.

Driving rain and zero visibility the night before couldn’t keep me from making it down to Baltimore for Amanda and Bennet’s wedding at Tabrizi’s. Luckily the rain broke overnight, and the day was absolutely perfect.

Amanda and Bennett are great guinea pigs for me. I shot part of their engagement as my first shoot with the Fuji X100, and I shot part of their wedding on film with the Hasselblad H2F. It’s hard to go wrong with the beauty and sense of form and style of ex-dancer Amanda.

Valerie, my summer 2012 intern, rocked it on this shoot, and a couple of the photos are hers from when she could get in places I couldn’t, either different angles on the ceremony or one memorable point where she scrambled up on the roof of their house. Pure gumption.

Elizabeth had long dreamed of a November wedding in Central Park. This is why.
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Camera: Nikon D3s
Lens: 29-image “Brenizer method” panorama with the Sigma 85mm f/1.4 (equivalent of 38mm f/0.6 according to Brett’s calculator)

This is one of those pictures that even my large-size blog format doesn’t really do justice — the original is about 150 megapixels.

I can’t post the full set without permission due to extreme fabulousness, but I will ask nicely, because this was a fantastic wedding day.

Brenizer method and flash composite. Because why not.
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Camera: Nikon D3s
Lens: 36-image “Brenizer method” panorama with the Sigma 85mm f/1.4 (equivalent of 23mm f/0.38 according to Brett’s calculator)

I’m on my way back from the Foundation conference in New Orleans, which is a fantastic gathering of wedding photojournalists devoted to storytelling, focusing on the moment and the really important things that got me excited about wedding photography in the first place. I am so motivated and buzzing to go out and tell my clients’ stories, so then I went back in time to September and photographed Jessica and Brian’s fantastic wedding at Stonehouse at Stirling Ridge, making sure to focus on the quirky, fun, and deeply emotional moments.

Or maybe it was just that the day was already so emotional and fun that I had all the energy I could use anyway. This is a family that really knows how to hug. They go in for it, they get squishy-faced and emotional and just let you know that “Yes. Now. This. I love you. I love this moment.”

I’m a non-stop mover on the wedding day — if I’m not shooting, I’m looking for a better photo, and often my assistants have to literally chase me down if they want to talk to me. But every once and a while I’ll get a few seconds of break and get so excited about something that I have to share it with Wendy. And so, halfway through the wedding, she got a message that read “Dude! S’Mores!”

S’Mores over a fire pit? That’s the perfect way to end any day, let alone a gorgeous wedding. Good job.

This is much, much closer to out-of-camera than you might think. So much more to come.

But first, a stop by New Orleans to see my buddies at the Foundation Conference!
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Lens: Sigma 12-24mm f/4.5-5.6
Camera: Nikon D3s
Light: Trees lit by Sb-900s triggered by PocketWizard FlexTT5

Yelena and Ben really picked the right day of this weekend to get married. After the record-breaking snow on Saturday, this is what we had yesterday — a gorgeous wedding at Guastivino’s in Manhattan.

I had to fight every urge to not just stay up all night and post this whole wedding today. Finally I remembered that I felt the same way about all the other weddings I’ve photographed recently. It’s telling in a lot of ways that I’m headed to Aruba on Wednesday and I’m excited to look through and edit the great weddings that I’ve had happen in front of my lens in recent weeks.
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Lens: Sigma 12-24mm f/4.5-5.6
Camera: Nikon D3s

I was boarding a plane to Munich this past December when I saw a couple out of the corner of my eye. The first thing that registered was “Man, that’s a good-looking couple.” It took about three more seconds before I actually fully saw them and realized — wait a second — I’m shooting their wedding! Only I would bump into one of my couples in Munich.

But it’s not as unlikely as it seems. Kim is American by birth and Korbinian is German, and they both live in Munich. With so many of Kim’s friends and family here, I can only imagine the frequent flier miles they rack up. Due to their schedule, we’d done their engagement shoot the year before at mid-day on one of the hottest Manhattan days in years, and perhaps to make up for it the weather for their wedding was nice and cool, threatening rain at first but opening up into a partly cloudy day that made for another spectacular Battery Gardens sunset.

I know a lot of photographers think that the reception isn’t as integral a part of the day as the ceremony and portraits, but it’s weddings like this that remind me that the party is every bit as important. Before the ceremony, there’s still so much to worry about, from eyeing the weather to making sure about the timing and a thousand other things, and the ceremony at the gorgeous Shrine of St. Elizabeth Ann Steon is so personal and intimate, but to then see a couple get to unwind, laugh, cry, and dance, dance, dance with people they love and haven’t seen together in so long is a beautiful process. And boy, could they dance.

Not Photoshopped — Anne’s eyes really are that color.

And not a bad entry to note that I Heart Faces has just announced me as a guest contest judge — you can see my interview here.
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Lens: Noct-Nikkor 58mm f/1.2 AIS
Camera: Nikon D3s

I looked around the gorgeous, well-manicured grounds of Fox Hollow catering hall and said, “OK, we’re going to go over to the under-construction section here.” As Lindsay and Ron walked on planks laid out on the gravel, Ron asked “Oh man … are we about to get raw?”

You’d better believe it. Flash + fence posts = raw.
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Lens: 35mm f/1.4
Camera: Nikon D3s
Light: Sb-900 triggered by PocketWizard FlexTT5

In turns gorgeous, elegant, hilarious and wild, Yvonne and Clyde’s wedding at the Palace at Somerset Park had me smiling behind my camera all day. We started with a Catholic ceremony at the gorgeous St. Lucy’s in Newark (a city that keep surprising me). Unlike Erika and Chip, Yvonne and Clyde just missed Hurricane Irene. I’m not sure if anyone would have noticed if it tore the roof off, given how wild the dance floor was, lead by Clyde’s extremele energetic twin brothers.

Thanks to Zack Delaune for helping me with this — that’s his photo of the bride being hoisted on the dance floor, since it was spontaneous and I was shooting elsewhere. In addition to being a great photographer who’s attended my workshops, Zack is a FEMA professional. That’s right, when a hurricane threatens, only I will bring FEMA with me to make sure that everything goes OK.

Apparently it’s Bad Weather Week on the blog.

Cathy and Glenn had a gorgeous wedding at the Central Park Boathouse on Saturday. But there was just one little problem — the only way to easily get to the Boathouse is on foot, normally a lovely little jaunt through the park. But right as they reached the edge of the park, right when guests would be trickling in, the skies opened and it began to pour.

The timing couldn’t have been worse for them, as the logistical problems piled up, but they handled things calmly and efficiently.

“Hey guys,” I said. “I know you’ve been handed a tough situation. If you come about five feet to the left, we can use this terrible weather to take some great photos. This will pass soon and you’ll just have a great story to tell.”

And so we did.

The next night, Cathy sent me a gracious message: “Thank you for making lemonade out of lemons.”

I love this job.
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Lens: 45mm f/2.8 PC-E, using the shift function to make the panorama.
Camera: Nikon D3s
Light: Sb-900 triggered by PocketWizard FlexTT5, held by my assistant Brendan McGinley

It looked like everything was going to be fine. The wedding was a day before Hurricane Irene was supposed to make landfall — a lavish, fun affair at the Brooklyn Botanic Gardens. “Look at it this way,” we’d joked, “You get to have the stories of a hurricane wedding without the hassle!”

But when Erika called me that morning, I knew plans had changed. In an unprecedented move, New York had shut down the entire subway system. It would be impossible for most of her guests to get in and out of the city. A wedding that had taken almost two years to plan had to be completely re-planned in two hours.

It was heartbreaking that this had happened to a couple as wonderful and fun as Erika and Chip, but I also knew that if anyone could manage to have a great time with each other and the friends and family that had made it, it would be them. I spent most of their engagement session cracking up at the way they poked at each other, a relentless barrage of laughing both with and at each other.

A little while later, she called again. They were getting married anyway, at a small midtown restaurant. It was right around the corner from their florist so their flowers could be delivered on foot, ensuring that this would be the most gorgeously decorated spur-of-the-moment wedding ever. Wendy and I walked to meet them at the Hotel Roger Williams and we headed out together from there.

They knew right from the start that they would still have their Botanic Gardens wedding, so there were no gowns or tuxes, just close friends and family and a gamut of emotion. I’ve seen people collapse into nervous wrecks because their catering hall had the wrong chair covering, but despite everything their good humor and strong connection prevailed, and it was a wonderful day to be a part of. I can’t wait to see everyone again for Round Two.

Fun reflection frame from yesterday’s wedding at the Mandarin Oriental, which has a fantastic view of the city.
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Lens: Sigma 12-24mm f/4.5-5.6
Camera: Nikon D3s

There’s not really much more that you need for a gorgeous wedding, particularly at a venue like the Pleasantdale Chateau.

Meredith and Joe did everything they could to make sure their guests had a great time, from our photo booth to a cigar stand, fantastic band, ice cream bar, you name it. They and their family were so warm and open the entire day. It makes me happy just to re-live the day through showing these photos.

]]> http://www.ryanbrenizer.com/2011/09/pleasantdale-chateau-wedding-meredith-and-joe/feed/ 12 http://www.ryanbrenizer.com/2011/09/coming-soon-meredith-and-joe-at-the-pleasantdale-chateau/ http://www.ryanbrenizer.com/2011/09/coming-soon-meredith-and-joe-at-the-pleasantdale-chateau/#comments Thu, 22 Sep 2011 16:18:31 +0000 Ryan Brenizer http://www.ryanbrenizer.com/?p=5778
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Lens: 35mm f/1.4
Camera: Nikon D3s
Lighting: Tricky.

]]> http://www.ryanbrenizer.com/2011/09/coming-soon-meredith-and-joe-at-the-pleasantdale-chateau/feed/ 8 http://www.ryanbrenizer.com/2011/09/just-chillin/ http://www.ryanbrenizer.com/2011/09/just-chillin/#comments Wed, 21 Sep 2011 13:13:45 +0000 Ryan Brenizer http://www.ryanbrenizer.com/?p=5775
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Lens: 24mm f/1.4
Camera: Nikon D3s
Light: Sb-900

(Also a secret ingredient)

]]> http://www.ryanbrenizer.com/2011/09/just-chillin/feed/ 6 http://www.ryanbrenizer.com/2011/09/woodbury-country-club-wedding-joanna-and-angel/ http://www.ryanbrenizer.com/2011/09/woodbury-country-club-wedding-joanna-and-angel/#comments Tue, 20 Sep 2011 15:08:06 +0000 Ryan Brenizer http://www.ryanbrenizer.com/?p=5772 Joanna and Angel came into my studio all smiles and holding hands, warm and open. I asked them to tell me a little bit about themselves.

“Well,” Angel said, “I’m a police officer…”

“Ahh …” I said, “So this is going to be a really good party.”

I was right.

Here’s all you need to know about what kind of guy Angel is. Joanna found halfway through the day that the shoes were cutting into her feet. Seems like a normal wedding-day pain? Well, Angel wouldn’t allow it — so he took the limo from the church to Grand Concourse, one of the busiest, craziest streets of the Bronx — and bought her new shoes.

That’s love.

]]> http://www.ryanbrenizer.com/2011/09/woodbury-country-club-wedding-joanna-and-angel/feed/ 12