Tomah WI Wedding — Erin Shie & Allen Horn
November 25, 2011 by Leave a Comment
Erin and Allen were married November 12, 2011 in Tomah, Wisconsin. The following are a few pictures from their wedding.
Erin with her beautiful dress. The gorgeous sanctuary of Saint Paul’s Lutheran Church is in the background. See their web site here: http://stpaultomah.org/
Groom and best man posing for the photographer.
This was their best effort at the combined effort of muscleman pose.
I love to get the wedding dress tie-the-backup-shot from a high squewed angle. I love this shot.
Erin was great the whole day. She was having fun.
Here is one of the pictures of the first look in the sanctuary.
A nice shot of the bride and groom after they had some time to talk with each other.
I use a studio strobe and another off camera light to get this nicely lit image of the wedding party.
I was using my fisheye lens for a variety of shots from the balcony.
This candid shot was during the ring exchange.
Cambridge Wisconsin Wedding — Nikki Smithback & Eric Omit
September 16, 2011 by Leave a Comment
It was another beautiful day in Wisconsin on September 10, 2011. The temperature was warm, about 85 degrees but for Eric and Nikki things went by like a fresh cool breeze.
This picture below shows Eric getting his shirt buttoned with his brother, the best man, in the background.
Nikki’s beautiful dress was photographed in a tree. I used an electrical wire slung around a tree limb to provide the right height for the dress.
In this photo not only do your see a nice close up of the dress’s intricate design you can also see the James Studio custom hanger. It makes sense to have a beautiful hanger to help show off the dress. Cheap hangers look out of place and just don’t do justice for photographing of the dress.
Nikki looks radiant in her dress. She was a happy bride and easy to work with.
They elected to do the first look which we did in the sanctuary. Shea, my assistant, focused on Eric as he was coming in while I focused on Nikki and her reactions. Nikki and Eric were really moved emotionally as they focused on each other for the first time in the day. After they regained composer I had them get together for some staged romantic shots.
I appreciate good detail shots. Holding hands, hugs and kisses. The closeups tell a story too.
I love the color blue and I love a blue sky that matches blue eyes and happy smiles.
Nikki is with her flower girl in the photo. That is a corn field in the background.
The bridesmaids are showing some leg. Or is it tattoos they are showing off?
Below is a picture of Eric with his mother.
The flower girl and the ring bearer seemed to be very much into the moment. Unfortunately, the girl forgot to throw out her flowers from the basket. The adult participants seemed to thouroughly enjoy the moment. I heard people say, “they were sooo cute.”
With friends and family looking on, Nikki was beautiful as she came down the aisle with her father.
More pictures will be coming soon.
If you are looking for a photographer for your wedding give Jim a call at 233-5556.
Brande & Jake — Windsor Country Club Wedding
August 25, 2011 by Leave a Comment
Jake Smetana and Brande Jocobson’s were married at the Windsor Country Club August 13, 2011. I love the pictures I was able to get here. The trees and grass make a wonderful backdrop for outdoor wedding photos. The bridesmaids dress colors and flowers all work well in this environment.
This video is a highlights of the day.
If you would like to check out all the pictures you can see them on line at Pictage HERE. The pictures are arranged in categories and you can set up your own selection of favorites. This is also the place to have prints made.
I always look for a nice shaded area so my subjects are not squinting and I use my wonderful Paul C. Buff White Lightning off camera studio strobe with the portable Vagabond battery providing all the juice I need to get great pictures. This first picture provides a layered look with Brade primarily in focus and next the bridesmaids and then the trees.
Here the bridesmaids are much more casual. The black and white provides a different look than my usual intense colors.
I purposely cropped this picture to make it look like a panoramic. The key is the focus on the subjects with their flowers.
I love this shot with the focus on Brande’s deep brown eyes. The bridesmaids look lovely as they gradually go out of fucus.
Here Brande is obviously on a golf couse as you see the flag in the background. It would be easy enough to remove the flag in Photoshop but I kind of like it there.
The following picture is of Brands’s bouquet behind her back. It is a good closeup of both the flowers and the beautiful detail in her dress.
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.
