"Work is Love Made Visible." --Kahlil Gibran
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.
—
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)
Sometimes trying to zig where others zag isn’t enough, and I remind myself to zig where I would normally zag. It’s the best way to see things in new ways, or after taking hundreds of thousands of photos and looking at countless millions more, taking those that make me say the magic words: “Hey, I haven’t seen that before.”
—
Lens: 35mm f/1.4
Camera: Nikon D3s
Light: Sb-700 on a mini-stand.
Indian weddings are awesome in a quite literal way — the community celebration aspect, the thousands-of-years-old symbolism of each ceremonial action, the color, the energy — everything is over-the-top. I’ve become quite experienced with their nuances, but in the end saying “Indian wedding” like saying “American Wedding”: there are so many varied traditions that there are always surprises I look forward to. The ceremonial Coca-Cola? Kruti’s entire family trying to sneak grabs at Gaurav’s nose while his side kept it protected? All of this added another layer to the exciting elements I’ve come to know so well.
But it was the couple that made the day truly great. By the time I photographed the wedding, I’d already shot their engagement portraits, their engagement party, and Kruti’s pre-wedding ceremonies, so I felt I knew them and their families very well by the start of the wedding day, and it was an absolute pleasure throughout. It takes a solid group of friends and family to stage an entire, 20-minute-long parody of Family Feud during the reception. Not for one moment did a little April showers slow this wedding down, as you’ll see below:
Sheesh, 30,000+ hits yesterday. Now back to your regularly scheduled weddings (but some Very Awesome Things are happening this week, which I can share soon).
—
Lens: 24-70mm f/2.8
Camera: Nikon D3
Great clients come from all walks of life — I still remember shooting the wedding of two chiropractors when I started rubbing my wrist and six people jumped up to adjust me. But who could be a better client for a wedding photographer than … another wedding photographer? It’s always a pleasure to shoot another photographer’s wedding — they have a lot of options to choose from, so it means they’re on board with whatever you want to do. And I don’t even have to tell you we had fun — a quick glance at the photos will show you more than I could say. Lisa was a bundle of emotions, from her fantastic smile to no small bit of tears. But really, all you need to know about these two is that they did a fist-bump during their Catholic cermeony. Awesome.
And their reception at the Merion was as wild, emotional, and intense a celebration as I’ve seen. And given that most of my weddings seem to be in a constant competition for craziest dancing, that says a lot.
This fantastic wedding at the Hyatt Regency was a long time in coming. You’ll notice that this post leads off with an engagement shoot, which isn’t something I usually do.
It’s not an engagement shoot. It’s a new invention of mine I call a “Three-and-a-half-month-later shoot.”
Reema and Kartik’s wedding was so lively, so filled with fun and family and 600 guests, that the only time they could stop to have some photos taken on the wedding day was for 30 seconds as they lined up to enter the reception. So I posed to them a simple choice: We could either take five minutes away from the crazy, constant party to get some great shots, or we could have another more casual shoot later.
They chose the non-stop party, and I think it was the best choice, particularly when they started the night with a carefully rehearsed Bollywood dance.
When you talk about epic weddings, this is epic. Fantastic planning, as always, by Shaadi Chic. 600 guests. Multiple outfits, including Reema’s metal dress that was as heavy as it sounds — ladies, you constantly amaze me with your endurance — and Kartik’s late-night cow outfit. Yes, epic. I really can’t even show you the craziest stuff, so you’ll just have to imagine. Congratulations!
Like most people I photograph, Jackie and Kee felt like they were not naturals in front of the camera. I hate to correct you guys in public like this, but boy were you wrong — and I’d already known that from the engagement shoot. Not only did their great relationship with each other shine through visibly, but they were so wonderful to work with. I kept saying to Dennis Pike and Erica Camille — who helped me capture the day — “Aren’t they nice? Man they’re nice!”
I could spot from the first few minutes of the reception that things were going to get wild on the dance floor, and boy did they — especially once they cannibalized most of the props from the photo booth we were running. A fantastic day within the gorgeous setting of The Venetian, filled with great people.
I work in so many wonderful venues all over the world that it’s hard to pick favorites. But when a couple tells me they’re having a wedding at Blue Hill Stone Barns, I get particularly excited. You see, I love food. Some people call this being a “foodie,” I call it being a functioning human being. But in any case, there is nowhere I’ve been so devoted to reverence for food — from a gorgeous, pastoral farm setting where the ingredients are grown and raised, to exquisite preparation, just writing about it makes me want to go back there. But I get even more excited when I get to photograph a wedding there with a couple as classy and as fun as Danielle and Andrew.
I could talk about how amazing and strong their family connections were, about how down-to-earth they were the whole day, about the gorgeous ceremony, the exquisite details of the reception, and the food … oh, the food … but mostly I’m excited about the photos, so I’m going to get out of the way and show them to you.
I have always been a chocoholic, so I was very excited to shoot Lindsay and George’s wedding at the Hershey Hotel. And it’s true that the streets in Hershey, PA are paved with chocolate. Or at least they’re colored brown.
Lindsay and George are new transplants to the area, and we’d already had a great time with them and their dog in a NYC engagement shoot, so I expected a low-key, fun, beautiful day — and that’s exactly what I got. The ceremony was in a gorgeous stone alcove, making for a long and dramatic processional. They’d selected the officiant in part for his lively personality, and he delivered in spades with a ceremony that was in turns touching and hilarious: You can see in the photos below Lindsay reacting to his emphasis on “until DEATH!” in the vows.
The ceremony and reception paid homage to Greek heritage, from dual crowns to a slow folk dance that builds to a huge crescendo.
And yeah, there was kind of a nice sunset. You’ll see.
Congratulations!
There were a thousand moments when I knew I was going to get along with Carol and Johann — this is a couple that spent their rehearsal dinner performing trapeze tricks, after all — but I will always remember when he looked over my shoulder at a nearby wedding photographer and said “Hey look! That guy’s using his flash wrong!” (Yes, yes he was. Sorry about your underexposed formals, Mystery Couple). I love that my Internet presence gives me so many couples with a strong passion for photography themselves, because we can work together on a number of levels, and because this might be their one chance to actually put down a camera and enjoy themselves.
Carol and Johann had a gorgeous day at the Hyatt Harborside in Boston, the sun blazing over the skyline. They also had a hilarious priest who, during the ceremony, told us fascinating bits of Boston history and started calling out to me to make sure everything looked OK. (I gave a thumbs up). The night was devoted to fun, dancing, two fabulous cakes, great family, and a finishing treat of Jones Soda.
Congratulations, Carol and Johann!
The wedding was at Fordham. The groom went to Fordham. I went to Fordham. My assistant went to Fordham. I shoot for Fordham.
(Sorry, Viv. Penn State is a good college, too.)
I knew Henry a bit when we were in school together, and I’d been looking forward to this one for a while. We’re talking about a couple who met in salsa dancing class — if that isn’t the recipe for an awesome reception, I don’t know what is.
And it didn’t disappoint. From a ceremony at the gorgeous Fordham chapel to a colorful and energetic reception, it was a blast the entire day. And that’s not to mention the groomsmen’s hilarious stop at White Castle on the way to the reception, or Henry bringing in a singer to re-enact a classic moment from one of Viv’s favorite movies: Coming to America.
Awesome.
Here is another case of “We just did the engagement shoot, and I’d better get the images out because the wedding is tomorrow!” It does have a certain efficiency to it.
Karen and Kamil have flown me out to California to document their Malibu wedding, and if I thought I was excited before, I’ve reached Ludicrous Excitement after how much fun our engagement shoot was at their alma mater, Harvey Mudd College.
Have you ever seen Real Genius? If not, go rent it. It’s one of the best movies of all time. If you have, though, you remember a scene with a dorm literally bursting with anarchic, geeky energy in every corner. A place like this could only exist in the movies, right?
Wrong. West Dorm, where both Karen and Kamil spent all four years, surpasses every stereotype of every college movie I’ve ever seen. There are pirate flags, and bonfires, and motorcycles, and shopping carts with Pabst Blue Ribbon cup holders. It is college at its most primal, both revelled in and enjoyed ironically.
For the first time, I actually can’t show some of my favorite images from the shoot, because so much of the West decor is Not Safe for Work.
So when I tell couples to find places that have meaning for them, and not just the prettiest possible place, I mean it.
With their engagement shoot still fresh, I was thrilled to start my 2010 wedding season with Emily and Myles. I knew from experience that not only were they passionate and fun, but boy do they know how to throw a party. I have never before seen a bride even consider doing The Worm at the reception (at the great Scarsdale Women’s Club). She thought better of it, though. Of course, the party was destined to be fun the moment the bridesmaids were given their garters, complete with flasks.
But the wedding was as elegant as it was fun, with a ceremony and mass at the intimate and gorgeous St. James the Less in Scarsdale. Among Emily’s accoutrements were a veil that had been in her family for generations and a ring from the 1800s!
Thanks guys and congratulations!
Big post to follow. Hey, it’s a new year and I’m excited.
I could have made an entire album just from this adorable fireball of a flower girl.