Christine and Daniel (It's all About the Details)

Christine and Daniel approached us this past winter to shoot their wedding in June. I must say, this was one of those couples that just followed the classic love story. Christine and Daniel met online, and after getting to know each other, they wound up canceling their online accounts and decided to get engaged. From the moment we sat down to speak with them about their wedding, it just seemed like this couple would be different. Christine had lots of great ideas of what she wanted her special day to be, the dress, the look, everything. It was a lot of fun to discuss ideas back and forth with these two because I think they had an idea of what they wanted, but they weren't sure of what their photographer could bring to the table. After all, when you hire a photographer, all you're really doing is hiring them based on the promise that they'll take good pictures on your special day. The great thing about our relationship with our clients, and especially with Christine and Daniel, is that we always strive to push ourselves outside of our comfort zone and to explore new styles and techniques. Christine and Daniel made it so easy for us to produce great photography because they were up for anything. We got a chance to shoot at some of my favorite locations around Columbus, as well as mix it up downtown in the arena district.

One thing that really stood out to me was how wonderful both families were. Daniel in particular, was in short, courageous. Daniel lost his mother a few months ago, and to capture the emotions that he, and is family were experiencing was so powerful and overwhelming. It really resonated with me. Christine placed a single red rose in her white bouquet to represent his mother and I found that the little touches here and there really helped the families celebrate her life and to make her apart of their memories that day. It's times like that where a photographer has to pay particular attention to the details. Every little thing that Christine and Daniel spent time picking out, arranging, etc... was extremely significant to their day, and not capturing those details would have been unacceptable. James McBride, a famous author was quoted as saying, "As a journalist, the details always tell the story." How true... especially in this case.

The photos turned out amazing and I am so excited to share some of them with all of you. Christine and Daniel did a great job of allowing us the time to get creative with their images and I am thankful that we had the honor of shooting their wedding. Congratulations you two!

I have their engagement session as well as their wedding videos here, so feel free to check them both out!

-Steve

Engagement Session

Wedding

Jillian and Walter, Stan Hywet Hall & Gardens

Hi everyone! I wanted to share one of our latest couples with all of you...Jillian and Walter. This was a very cool wedding. The wedding took place on May 30th in Akron at a place called Stan Hywet Hall & Gardens. I must say, this location was absolutely beautiful. Lots of old-English buildings, tea garden, flower gardens, and little nooks and crannies that provided us with tons of great setups for photography. It was interesting being at such a huge property because this location can actually accommodate 2-3 weddings simultaneously, and thus the staff there coordinate to keep the brides from seeing each other. It was cool to turn the corner and see another wedding party. The funny thing was that I think that the photographers sized each other up as much as the brides did. "Oh...he's a Canon shooter...Oh... he's got a Nikon". I always try to be friendly towards everyone we meet, because hey, we're all in this together right? Let that be a lesson to other photographers who may just be starting out. Don't nay-say the competition, it reflects poorly on you, and you wouldn't want other photographers doing it to you.

Jillian had one of the coolest bouquets I've ever seen. Each rose in her bouquet was made of wood. Each one was hand-painted and looked so real that you literally couldn't tell they were wood unless you tried to smell them. The best thing about it is that she can keep her bouquet forever! Very different, and very beautiful. Overall, it was a a great ceremony, and the weather was perfect. Enjoy!

-Steve

Holly and Andy

We know...we know... the midst of wedding season tends to get a bit hectic, so we haven't gotten a chance recently to update you on some of our weddings. However, I think that now is a perfect time to share some of the awesome weddings from the year thus far. One of our recent couples, Holly and Andy were married in May, and actually, right after the wedding there was a crazy rainstorm that blew through. Luckily, their church had some great locations to set up some creative shots. Remember, clouds aren't a bad thing...just a giant softbox in the sky. ;) Holly and Andy have been friends of ours for awhile now, so it was really fun to get them to mix things up a bit with us. (We do love those adventurous brides) - Oh, and when the storm did finally pass through... Let's just say, amazing sunset.

Check them out, and again, Congratulations you two!

-Steve

Kristen and Shawn

Wow. It's been a busy summer thus far. Engagements, weddings, parties, holidays, and even a wedding I was in? That's right! I got a chance to be on the other side of the lens. (weird) Kristen and Shawn are some of my closet friends from Bowling Green and I was given the honor of being Shawn's Best Man. I thought it was very cool to be included amongst such wonderful people. Shawn has 5 brothers, so I kinda felt a bit weird taking the best man slot, but I guess that avoids having to play favorites. Throughout the day, I got a chance to use KKP's new Canon SD780 point-and-shoot. (Yes, we bought a Canon...I know...I know...) Actually, the thing I love about the camera is that it takes HD 720P video, and is 12 megapixels. This camera packs a lot of punch and is extremely light and easy to use.

Chris put together a composite and I put together a video to help say thank you for making us apart of Kristen and Shawn's special day. We hope you like the pics, and congratulations Kristen and Shawn! We love you guys!

-Steve

Downtown Chicago

Hey there! I just finished processing another cool downtown Chicago shot that I made. I found the old Oriental Theatre when walking around with Tim, so I figured...ooooh....that's cool. Let's set this up. Unfortunately, out of the 30 shots I made, only 1 series of 5 actually made it into Lightroom because the other photos had raindrops on the lens. However, the photo in the end was well worth the effort, and it just goes to show you, all you need is one!

Hello from Chicago!

Hello all. I'm here in Chicago attending the ANGEL user conference for Ashland University. The thing is, ANGEL just announced that it was purchased by Blackboard (something we're not to thrilled about at AU) So, there was some unexpected downtime where I actually got a chance to walk around the city and shoot a bit. (Can't go to Chicago without a camera...right?) I was walking around with Tim, (who's an excellent photography assistant I might add) and we found some really cool sites around the city to photograph. We were staying at the Mariott on the Magnificent Mile (great location) and we found that Millennium Park wasn't too far away. So, despite the impending thunderstorm, we ventured out. Low and behold, as soon as we get to Millennium Park, it starts pouring. Actually, it was kinda cool to see a thunderstorm pass through a downtown area, since all the skyscrapers have lightning rods, it was quite a show.

Here's some of my favs from the shoot:

Overall, some cool stuff! Hope you like!

-Steve

Danielle and Matthew

Hi everyone! Brad and I were down in Columbus a week ago for our latest engagement session for Danielle and Matthew. Danielle and Matt picked out some cool locations toward the downtown area of Columbus. We walked around the German Village area and got some great back-alley shots. We love to put our subjects in warm light with colorful backgrounds, and downtown Columbus is full of detail-rich places to shoot. The shoot was a a lot of fun and we are definitely looking forward to the wedding.

On engagement sessions, it important to keep things easy going and relaxed. It's a delicate balance for photographers because on the one hand, you want to get as many setups in as you can before your light is gone, and on the other, you don't want to rush your couple because it sets up a negative atmosphere where they can't be themselves. Brad and I kid around all the time with clients, tell lots of stories, and generally just make fun of each other. "If you can't laugh at yourself...right?" It's important to keep the conversation going and to make sure to take this valuable one-on-one time to build raport with each couple. Often, as a photographer, you only get to work with the client once before the wedding day, and that day may be a year away! So...make it count.

Here's a preview of their engagement session. Enjoy!

Jamie and James

Hey everyone! I just got back from Arizona where I had a mini-vacation and a wedding to attend. (That's right...to attend. ahhhhh....relax.) But of course, it wouldn't be a vacation for me unless I had a camera, so...low and behold I got a chance to shoot some amazing sites in Sedona, Jerome, and Tempe. The highlight of the trip was attending the wedding of my good friend from high school, Jamie. If you remember Jamie and James from my blog posts in December, that's the couple that just got married. The wedding was absolutely beautiful. It took place at the Tempe Mission Palms Hotel across from the ASU campus. The courtyard was set up to hold 60-70 people. It was a really initmate, personal ceremony with all of their close friends and family. The ceremony started around 6PM in front of a beautiful fountain that was just barely kissed with sunlight. The hors d'oeuvres were fantastic, and the reception was really fun. I put together a quick video of some of my favorite shots from the day. I hope you guys like it!

Congratulations Jamie and James!

Here are some of my favorite pics:

High Dynamic Range (HDR) of Downtown Boston

Hi everyone! I was going through some of my notes from the conference and decided to start processing some of my HDR images. After following some of Ben Willmore's steps, I came up with this shot of downtown Boston. This is a 5-exposure HDR. This first exposure is at 15 seconds, f8. The remaining 4 exposures are at -2, -1, 1, 2 EV. I thought it turned out great, and I wanted to illustrate how HDR can make skyline photography look amazing. Enjoy!

-Steve

PSW Boston - Wrap-Up and Conference Review

At the closing of Photoshop World 2009, attendees are encouraged to fill out a conference evaluation to help NAPP figure out how to make the Photoshop World Experience even better. This last video from Boston is our review of the conference, and some things that we thought could help make next year's conference even more spectacular. We had a great time in Boston, and I think I speak for both Chris and I when I say that we are always grateful for the opportunity to spend time and rub shoulders with the people in industry that we admire. Continued education is one of the most critical aspects of a growing business. Bringing in new ideas, techniques, and best practices is paramount to developing a company's identity as well as its specialty. Photoshop World is well worth the money for anyone wishing to learn from the those who do it best. NAPP is a creative home for Photographers, Graphic Designers, Professional Retouchers, Digital Artists, Print and Prepress Professionals, and of course, Creative Educators.

Our best advice for anyone looking to strike out on their own in some sort of creative endeavor is to find a conference or organization that will allow you to network and learn new insights in your field.

Check out the National Association of Photoshop Professional's website for more information on Photoshop World, or to become a member. We promise, it's worth it!

Thanks to everyone who checked the blog this past week, and we look forward to showing you lots of great images from Kaufman Kramer's upcoming photography season!

-Steve K.