Engagement
Tenny Park Engagement Photography
October 5, 2011 by Leave a Comment
Tenny Park in Madison Wisconsin is beautiful any time of year but in the fall it is amazing. We have a week of beautiful weather so these pictures are showing off just how pretty it can be in Madison.
Terry and Gina are getting married 11/11/11. Terry wont have any excuse if he should forget his anniversary!
Their timing for engagement pictures was perfect. Shooting with my Canon 70-200 lens with the Canon 5D Mark II, these pictures are fun to show off.
The Yahara River is in the background.
Speaking of showing off, Terry has the personality for it. Gina just looks very sweet.
When I met Gina and Terry at the park, Gina teased Terry to “get a haircut”. Gina has that look of being a tease in this picture.
Rocky came along for the photo session too. He was very well behaved but he didn’t seem to understand the command “Rocky, look at the camera”.
We captured lots of wonderful pictures but this one is my favorite. I love that bridge in the background with the water and foliage.
For this picture I broke out my fisheye wide angle lens. It is amazing how wide this is. If I put my foot out it will likely be in the photo. This photo below is cropped in a bit. The fisheye shots are notorious for producing distorted faces, but that is more of an issue with close up pictures. As seen in this image below the subjects faces are of normal proportions though the landscape is a little cupped.
With the sun having gone down I captured this beautiful silhouette. Pretty cool.
The colors in this sunset image are surreal. The dots in the water are geese.
For the grand finale (after sunset) I captured this photo with the car looking like it is racing by. You got to love it.
Bride & Groom Shoot — Olbrich Gardens
August 17, 2011 by 1 Comment
What is a bride-and-groom shoot? Well, instead of an engagement shoot or a bridal shoot, we did a bride-and-groom shoot at Olbrich Botanical Gardens. Christina & David were married on July 2, 2011; you can see the post for their wedding pictures HERE. These pictures were taken after their honeymoon when they were relaxed and in perfect peace. The following are some samples of the pictures I took.
This first picture was taken at the reflecting pond on a bright, sunny day. We got some great reflection in the water.
I joked with them about taking a swim in the pond. Nevertheless, they did take a “dip,” as shown in the picture below.
I like to shoot in shady areas. With all that sun the bride & groom need the shade to show their expressions.
With this shot I asked them to act naturally as they walk toward me. I think they did a great job of “acting”. That is not so easy to do with all kinds of people watching you, including Christina’s parents (who also attended the shoot).
The sprinkler fountain is one of several water scenes at Olbrich. This is a favorite for many people, as it has gorgeous colors in the background.
Christina and David are celebrating their new marriage.
This is one of my favorite pictures. Christina looks so angelic with the veil and beautiful smile.
In the background is one of several waterfalls in the park. Christina is standing beneath a footbridge, which provides some nice shade. I use a studio strobe to bring in soft light. The background is lit by the sun, while Christina is lit by my strobe.
Below is a thinly veiled kiss and an awful pun. But it is a beautiful picture.
I love to focus on flowers and have the bridal party–or in this case the bride and groom–out of focus in the background.
Another one of my favorite shots is to focus on the couple’s rings.
I took lots of shots while they were sitting on a bench. The flowers and other foliage are so beautiful that they can be distracting and become the focus instead of the couple.
This is an example of what you can get with great natural-looking light and close-up shots. Christina and David have great smiles.
I like how Christina has her elbow on David. She looks comfortable, and the image reflects how they are best friends and that they enjoy each other.
I was told that they wanted this picture because Christina’s grandmother and mother wore this veil (different from the veil in the other pictures). The picture is of Christina’s grandparents.
Roxanne & David — Allen Centennial Gardens
August 10, 2011 by Leave a Comment
Roxann Weix & David Richert are getting married September 3, 2011, which is just a few weeks away. We did their engagement shoot at Allen Centennial Gardens. This offered many beautiful backgrounds, as you can see below. We started the shoot in the early evening with the intention of getting some soft, beautiful light.
You might want to review the video first so here it is. There is one objectionable line in the song. Sorry, but the rest of the song is very nice.
James Studio Photograpy
This picture on the bench is where we started the shoot. I had some difficulty getting my lighting to work as I wanted. So we took several shots until the lighting and posing worked. David was a little unsure at first about what I wanted, but in the end the shot works. It is a little different than just two people sitting on a bench.
In another location I had Roxann and David at a table and I was shooting through a tree and some bushes. I loved the background, so I was hoping it would work. I use a studio flash unit; this allows me to push as much light as I need. I got several really good shots from this position. I asked them to kiss, touch foreheads, and, as in this shot, touch noses. It was pretty funny at the time. I think they were thinking I was kidding about touching noses but I wasn’t. I encouraged them do it. Now, I love the look.
Roxann expressed disappointment that they painted a perfectly natural bridge red. I agree that natural wood is very pretty, but it can make the wood deteriorate faster. Anyway, I think the red bridge looks mighty fine in this picture. You have to love that reflection.
Next we went over to the waterfall area. I wanted David to sit among the rocks. He was rightly concerned about the foliage. We found a spot that worked well and got Roxann to get in nice and close. This is their favorite image of the shoot.
The Centennial Gardens has a nice gazebo. It has some interesting architecture.
I love fun pictures, and Roxann and David were definitely getting into to the moment, as shown in the following few shots.
I complained to her because she did this so effortlessly. But that is not completely true, as this was her second attempt. On the first attempt she had David too far away from the railing, so he fell. You can see what I am talking about as you view the video.
I love these shots where they are clearing enjoying each other.
Nice smiles. By the way, the lighting on their faces is so good because I was using a studio strobe. It provides very smooth lighting. The pictures by the average Joe often produce a very flat look. With these pictures you see more dimension to their faces because the flash unit output is much larger, thus softer, and is off to one side.
I love this look below where they look like they are just hanging out, enjoying a romantic moment.
The following two shot are some of my favorites. I love the lamp behind Roxann and I love David checking out his girl.
I asked David to do a muscle-man pose. He was pretty funny. I don’t think he practiced this much when he was growing up.
David wanted to have some shots taken next to the burgundy plant on the left (they know what it is). I suggested that they do a dip. I muffed up a question about whether they had done a dip before. It did not come out exactly as I had planned–everyone had a pretty good laugh at my expense. It turns out this was their first dip. Not bad for the first time.
Are you dating?
Julianne & Erik — Waukesha Engagement Shoot
June 14, 2011 by Leave a Comment
June 4, 2011 was a beautiful day for taking pictures. Julianne and Erik had just signed a contract with me for shooting their wedding on Labor Day weekend, 2012. They were looking forward to getting their engagement pictures completed. We had a perfect day for an engagement shoot. See the video below for an overview of the shoot. If you have a high speed connection to the internet be sure to click on the HD icon for a better image of the video.
Waukesha Engagement Shoot
I drove through the town of Waukesha and made my way to Carroll University, where I met Julianne and Erik for their engagement shoot. This was my first visit to Carroll University, which, like Waukesha, is quite old and has a great deal of history behind it. The stone buildings are beautiful inside and out. We went to the third floor of one of the classroom buildings where there are beautiful arches with French windows overlooking the courtyard. I brought out my fisheye lens, thinking this would be a fun look. Sure enough– it became my favorite picture of the shoot. I love this shot in black and white.
Julianne was showing some great moves and was having fun doing it. Erik and Julianne met here at Carroll University, so it is fitting to have some pictures in one of their classrooms. We got a wonderful shot.
The picture below is in the courtyard of Carroll University. I love that old 19th-century clock, so I was sure to get it prominently featured in several of their photographs. More importantly, Julianne is glowing in this picture, and Erik is looking great too.
Showing off their blue eyes.
I love their expressions and the look of their hair in this photo.
The following is an antique look for something different. The clock is again prominent.
The manager of this establishment was more than happy to have us take some pictures in front of his building. It was good for us too, as it provided a great look for several photos.
Down the road is a mall area where I took several pictures and this great blowup of their faces.
One of the things on their list was to be sure and get some cool shots using the rule of thirds. The idea is to provide plenty of space on one side for them to use as a card and place text on the other side. The following is an example of such a picture.
The background to this picture is darker than it really was at that time, but so what? It looks like they were dancing in the moonlight, so it makes for a nice shot. Notice their clothing choices. They had complimentary colors and style while wearing solid colors (something to keep in mind).
