I received an email from Ashley about this time last year saying they asked a venue who was the best photographer in Alabama. . .and they said Unplugged Photography. No pressure, huh? But one of the reasons I think the last few years have been so great is that people hire us with really high expectations and consequently give us the freedom to take amazing pictures. Case in point, the Birmingham Botanical Gardens are a huge place, but we all walked to the bamboo forest, and the resulting pictures were awesome! Or the sunset pics. . .we were driving to the reception and saw a cool sky, so Ashley and Jason ran across the street with us to take a few pictures at railroad park.

It’s funny how one detail can bring an entire wedding together. . .and the detail for Ashley and Jason was something I’ve never run across at a wedding before = beards! The long jackets that the guys wore, the ascots. . .they looked so vintage and awesome. Also, I loved the bridesmaids dresses – the detail on the bottom is great!

They released butterflies during the ceremony to honor Jason’s father who passed away last year. . .the picture of the lone butterfly in the sky is one of my favorite pictures ever in terms of simplicity and symbolism.

Ashley’s mom grew up planning weddings, and it was really cool to see how all the details of the day fit together. The ceremony was at the Botanical Gardens, reception at B&A Warehouse, Mandy Majerik did the flowers, Mallory Wilkins did the planning/design, the night pictures are at the Tutwiler, and Jason’s friends played music for the ceremony and reception (holy moly, they were talented!).

Timing. . .I would definitely attribute it to God, because things work out so frequently for me at the exact right time. Ginelle mentioned to me that she wanted to do her bridal pictures somewhere near Birmingham with a view of the mountains. . .there are a couple of spots, but it’s not like we live on the Blue Ridge Parkway. But I heard about a new venue a few days beforehand. . .I hadn’t even seen pictures of it, but I drove down and it definitely had a sweet view. We took bridal pictures there, had the greatest sunset ever, and Ginelle changed her venue to have the wedding at Autumn Ridge. . .and the wedding was fantastic as well!

Things that I loved – Ginelle’s dress – wow. Brandon getting emotional – I love it when big, tough military guys cry, definitely a sign of a good heart. Wedding venues with a great sunset view – Autumn Ridge is great for that. The lanterns – really tricky to take pictures of, but they were so cool! The barbie-doll game – Ginelle had a barbie, Brandon had a Ken doll, and they when asked question they would raise their doll to answer. Very cute idea.

People I worked with for this one – Autumn Ridge, Carlos at Total Entertainment, Carol at Lillie’s Flowers , Coats Cars , becky at beckysbrides

Angela & Lee’s wedding is one of a string of friends in Leeds that I’ve photographed over the past few years – it started with Matthew & Danielle, then Jordan & Jarrett, and now Angela & Lee. Working with people you know is always fun, it turns the wedding into a time of catching up with old friends.

A couple of things I loved about this wedding – Angela’s hair – I’m a big fan of sweepy bangs (no idea what the technical term is) – it looked awesome. The Sonnet House – always a great place to shoot with the great prep rooms, tons of green space, and the huge oak tree. The Vintage Rolls Royce from was a surprise from Angela’s dad, and it was awesome. . .and what a cool driver. How cute that the flower girls were allowed to go barefoot! Angela’s brother performed the ceremony, and it was amazing. . .it’s always special to have family involved. Carlos from Total Entertainment did the lighting, snow (in August!), and confetti which made for a great exit picture.

I have yet to meet a person who has ever hear of Lowndesboro, AL, but it may be the smallest, most idyllic little southern town I’ve ever been visited. The last census says the population is 140, which means there is 1 gorgeous little white church for every 14 people:)

At any rate, this was my sort of place. I love old buildings, outdoor settings with great light, perfect light for pictures of a beautiful couple, live music, tractors, boiled shrimp. . .it was a great day!

It’s so funny writing about a 97 degree June day in the middle of winter – it almost seems like a dream now, but at the time it was very hot. Lauren and Ryan were amazing though – they were committed to having a fantastic day and taking awesome pictures. They gave us permission to do our best work, and it made all the difference in the world (like when we walked across the street to find the perfect light right after the ceremony).

I also to have to tip my hat to Lauren & her stepmother – they did a fantastic job with all the details. They put so much thought into everything and it was all executed to perfection.

One last thought. . .Ryan is a fairly shy, reserved person, but you would never know it from his huge smile in all of these pictures – I love that he was so happy about getting married!

I was asked yesterday if I were able to take good night pictures. . .it’s something that I’ve been doing so long, that I almost forget that it is not normal to enjoy shooting in “dungeons” (dark places with black ceilings, or outdoor night receptions). I was at a photography conference a couple of years ago, and the speaker (Jose Villa) asked to see hands for anyone who enjoyed shooting wedding receptions. Mine was the ONLY hand to raise in a room full of photographers.

Night/dark shooting can get expensive and lighting a reception well often requires several thousand dollars of equipment. I have 4 canon flashes, an Alien Bees flashhead, a kazillion sets of Elinchrom skyports (radio triggers for flashes), and a bunch of light stands. Then there are the fast lenses. . .those are even more expensive. It is a pain to set up and tear things down in a hurry when you’re trying to get between locations. But it is worth it for great pictures.

I will say that I am not by any means perfect when it comes to shooting at night. Pre-visualizing a scene is really tough, and sometimes something I think will work totally bombs. Photoshop, great lenses, and practice help, but sometimes we are saved by a bit of good luck!

My ideal light set-up for a reception is double back-lit, with a flash to the left and right side of the dance floor, raised up high. Then another flash to the front/side and another one if needbe on my camera (or more often, in my hand).

For general night pictures, it’s more of a free-for-all – if it works, then great. Sometimes one backlight, sometimes two side-lights, sometimes nothing but streetlight. . .the picture above is my friend John Deaver’s video light.

I’ll explain the light set-up and my thought process in a few of the pictures below that may be helpful to figure out how they were taken.

Amazing natural light is sometimes your best friend. Night is fun because it can change a location that is boring in the day into something magic in the dark. This is the reflecting pool at the Birmingham botanical gardens. The two backlights illuminate the lanterns, cake and Alona singing Etta James!
This is at the far range of the radio triggers. Balancing flash with a little bit of twilight is ideal for a killer picture. . .if you can get the flash to fire!Full moon + video light“Dino-lite” – one of the flashes was aimed at the dinosaur skeletonBalancing the flash with ambient light is important to showcase a great venueMultiple flashes help light the entire room No flash at all, just a 1/4 second exposureGood example of double back-light that makes the car and bubbles stand out in the pictureSilhouettes at twilight are some of my very favorite pictures to take. We did flash a couple of those, but it worked so much better with natural light.People don’t go blind from all of our flashes!! They’re all set at very low power (usually 1/32-1/64) so that ambient light, like the string-lights, will show up in pictures. Multiple flashes are key to illuminating people at different distances from the camera. One light is hitting Lisa on the stairs and another the girls waiting to catch the bouquet. The pictures above are typical dance set-ups. Direct flash kills the detail on a dress (it will turn completely white), but side-lights will make detail stand out. The goal is to get the light perfect so that you can focus on capturing moments and emotionLighting the entire room is important for things like the garter toss or if there is a live bandNo flashes here, the ambient light worked greatRemote flash to make Bethany & Nick visible, the car is light by streetlightsBlack cars are crazy tricky, and I’m still not great at shooting them. This picture had a light directly in front of the car and another near the back end of the car to skim along the side and give it some definition. The wide beam of a flash can light up both the couple and the area around them, so the backlight lights both Jennifer & John and the leaves.Silhouettes with ambient light to show the locationBalancing multiple flashes and ambient is idealSometimes very simple pictures are quite complicated. This is shot with a telephoto from the other side of the dance floor (the alternative location was at the bottom of the stage where I’d be looking up their noses) – the remote flashes light Jeff and Carmen’s dadCross light is great for bubbles. One flash is visible (I’m actually holding it while taking a picture), and the other is behind the camera to the left. A very slow exposure at a a high aperture will give the starburst effect (like f/22) – the challenge is getting the couple to stand still for such a long time.
Shooting in the dark with a flash can make colors crazy-vibrant.Shooting through candles at a reception – lights in the foreground and background are rendered as the foreground and background as circles of light. This works with the 85 1.8 or really well with the 85 1.2. flashlight in front, flash behind them, and the ambient light from Ross BridgeBacklight is awesome for creating lines and texture. This is with a 17mm lens and a super-awesome couple who were willing to take a few more pictures after their reception! Ambient light and the rainy streets, and a 35 1.4

Paris = Epic

It is a bit daunting shooting in such an iconic city. To be totally honest, the pictures in front of/under the Eiffel tower are some of the trickiest I’ve ever taken. The challenge is to see something iconic with new eyes, and to give the impression that Holly & Scott are the only people in the world (even though it’s Paris and there are people and cars everywhere!)

The wedding came about, as do so many adventures in my life, through my friend Ginny from bitsandbobs, who helped Holly and Scott plan the details of their elopement. We traveled with Ginny & David to photograph their wedding in Montana last fall, and she obviously is a huge believer in developing a relationship with a photographer that can continue before and after the wedding, even if it’s a destination wedding. So though it seems a bit crazy, it actually worked out to be much easier to have me travel with them than to hire a photographer from Paris. I’m so grateful that they trusted me to come along, and it really did turn out to be amazing!

The hotel pictures are at the Ritz Carlton, which is simply amazing. Then we had a driver take us to meet the minister from the American Church in Paris, who performed the ceremony. Then we hopped back in the car to hunt for champagne and to take some pictures at the Jardin de Tuileries, the tour d’Eiffel, and Ponte Neuf, where the tradition is to attach a lock to the bridge and throw the key into the Seine.

I love people who are “different,” and Anna & Aaron would definitely fit that description. They are both super-creative, deliberate, kind people with an awesome vintage sense of style that they incorporated into their wedding.

The wedding was as my home church, Vestavia Hills Lutheran, the reception at the Birmingham Botanical Gardens, and we went to the Redmont Hotel for just a few more pictures after the reception.

My favorite moment: if you live in Alabama, you know that weddings are a not-so-subtle opportunity to declare your love both as husband and wife and to offer your vows to the SEC football team of your choice! So of course when the DJ played Sweet Home Alabama, Anna’s dad screamed the obligatory “Roll Tide, Roll.” Anna, an Auburn grad, stuck her fingers in her ears:)

“I feel that this picture encompasses the entire day. We are both smiling and gripping each other’s hands, so excited about being married. I remember us laughing about the fact that our wedding day was finally here, we had been engaged for almost a year and it seemed like it would never happen.” – Meghan

I love happy people! Meghan and Lance were absolutely thrilled to be getting married, and I love that there is so much joy in all of their pictures.

The wedding was at 1st Methodist in Huntsville and the reception at the Early Works Museum. One of the most important things to Meghan was to have a killer party, and that definitely happened. The had DJ Coco come up from Birmingham, and I have to say, that guy is a genius.

Maybe the most tactful groomsmen’s prank I’ve ever seen occurred at this wedding. They picked Lance up (literally), locked a ball & chain to his ankle, and gave Meghan the key. They danced a bit, which is hilarious considering Lance is chained up, but Meghan was free to unlock him when she was ready. Well done guys, well done – funny, endearing, and still awesome.

One other thing that I totally loved. . .Meghan’s dress. . .good grief, definitely one of the prettiest dresses I’ve ever seen (it came from Ivory & White in Birmingham if you’re dress hunting!).

If I had to describe my personal favorite aesthetic, it would be old, crumbling buildings. So there was no doubt in my mind that the Ruins at Barnsley Resort was going to be amazing. One of my favorite things about the day was how excited Ashley was that I was so excited about the pictures we were taking:)

The bottom line, though, is that I could have taken great pictures of Ashley and Curt anywhere that day. Curt was so excited and visibly in love with Ashley – there were so many tender touches, moments, and great kisses that translated into amazing pictures. My very favorite moment was Curt’s reaction when he saw Ashley walking out toward him. I was focuses on his face as he said “Wow” – definitely a good way to react to your bride!!

A couple of other thoughts – the reason I LOVE outdoor weddings, in addition to having great light, is that I have the freedom to move around and get great close-ups during the ceremony. I won’t ever walk in front of guests and block their view, but I can be a little more flexible about where I position myself.

How many picture do I take on a wedding day? A lot, but the bride and groom usually end up with somewhere between 800 and 1200 pictures once they are edited and culled. Unless of course, it’s a day like this with a crazy-party and then there are a few hundred more dance pictures!!

Weddings are always full of surprises. . .I have seen a limbo stick come out a time or two, but I’ve never seen someone get as low as Curt did – that was impressive!

And my personal favorite picture might be the garter toss. I remember waiting for the toss, watching the groomsman with his mouth open as if he would catch it with his teeth. . .then the garter shot dead straight at his face and nearly did hit him dead in the mouth – absolutely cracked me up!

Here’s the link for Barnsley – http://www.barnsleyresort.com/ – it’s about 2 1/2 hours from Birmingham, but it’s totally amazing both for a wedding and vacation – Arianna and I went back for Labor Day this fall.

Maegan & Justin are the quintessential Alabama couple – they fell in love at school and even named their dogs Crimson & Tide – we did a fun engagement shoot in Tuscaloosa last fall and had an awesome time taking their wedding pictures in Birmingham. I also love that in addition to cheering for the Tide, they are each other’s biggest fan. I know that sounds cheesy, but they are both very kind, servant-hearted people and they really do support each other – it is a characteristic that will bring them a lifetime of happiness.

Maegan has a planner’s personality (which I really appreciate) and put together a fun peacock-themed wedding. Like so many of our bride & grooms, Maegan and Justin gave us permission to take great pictures even though it was hot outside and would have been easy to say no. Getting outside in front of the Highlands Methodist for just a few minutes gave us some really sweet pictures. . .and the light by Hotel Highland was amazing. Just a few Cats played at the reception – definitely one of my favorite bands, and it was an awesome party! It was also great to work with Angela and John from Mainstreet again – they’re some of my favorite people.

Details that I really liked: the peacock feather on Maegan’s shoe. . .the krispy-kreme groom’s cake drizzled with chocolate in case they weren’t sweet enough already. . .the brocade spotlights on the wall of the Avon theater that made it photograph so well. . .a band that does a killer Michael Jackson cover!!!