Michael Chadwick Photography

Paula and Michael – New York Wedding Photography

Michael Chadwick — Wed, 09 May 2012 13:21:20 +0000

After Paula and Michael’s engagement session, I was looking forward to their wedding day, because these two laugh even more than my own wife and I do. Their infectious joy is a blast to be around, and to be there on one of the happiest days of their lives… well, you can just imagine. Even a light drizzle didn’t dampen anyone’s spirits, though it did turn the sand ceremony into a mud ceremony! A beautiful wedding followed by a wonderful reception made their special day even more special, and I was honored to be a part of it. Congratulations Paula and Michael!!

Venue: Morris Yacht and Beach Club
Music by: Vertigo Music
Hair: The Loft
Makeup: Benefit Cosmetics
Cake: Lulu’s Bakery

Samantha and Adam’s Brooklyn Engagement Photography

Michael Chadwick — Sat, 21 Apr 2012 23:59:07 +0000

I had a great time in Brooklyn’s DUMBO neighborhood with Samantha and Adam! We had a ton of laughs and had a wonderful time photographing all around the neighborhood. A special thank you to Dewey’s Candy on Front Street, who gave them a Ring Pop with which to re-enact their engagement! I’m looking forward to sharing Samantha and Adam’s wedding day in June!

Emily and Matt – New York Engagement Photography

Michael Chadwick — Sat, 21 Apr 2012 13:50:14 +0000

I shared a beautiful afternoon in Central Park with Emily and Matt, touring everything from Bethesda Terrace to Belvedere Castle to the Great Lawn. I’m looking forward to sharing their wedding day later this year!

Bennie and Lewis – New York Wedding Photography

Michael Chadwick — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 01:44:55 +0000

I had the honor and pleasure of capturing Lewis and Bennie’s wedding day at St. John’s in the Village Episcopal Church. I had such a wonderful time meeting them, their families, and their friends. It was an absolutely beautiful Catholic mass ceremony followed by a fantastically fun reception. I’m thrilled to be able to share some of my favorite photographs from the shoot with everyone, and congratulations to Bennie and Lewis!!

Caterer: Carmine’s (I thought that Chicken Marsala looked familiar! I love that place!)
Cake: Empire Cake

NYRR More Magazine Women’s Half Marathon – New York Sports Photographer

Michael Chadwick — Sun, 15 Apr 2012 22:54:57 +0000

I had the joy of shooting for New York Road Runners this morning, for their annual More Magazine Women’s Half Marathon in beautiful Central Park. Even on the second full loop spirits were high, especially after the ladies got up and over the dreaded northern park hill (where I was assigned to shoot). Congratulations to all of the finishers!

New Service: Photo Restoration!

Michael Chadwick — Mon, 12 Mar 2012 03:11:11 +0000

I’m happy to announce that I am adding a new service to what Chadwick Creative Arts can offer. I can repair and restore old photographs, correcting for color imbalances and fading, tears, creases, even deterioration of the image from over exposure to the elements. Technology is allowing us the opportunity to digitally preserve photographs of old, preventing the permanent loss of our treasured photographic memories.

I take your photos and create digital copies of each of them. I then take those digital copies and restore them using professional digital processing software. You get a digital copy and a print of each image, for you to treasure for generations to come. For more information and rates, click here.

NYRR Gridiron Classic – Sports Photography

Michael Chadwick — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 13:52:39 +0000

On Super Bowl Sunday, NYRR hosts an annual 4 miler in Central Park to celebrate the big game. This year since the NY Giants were in it (and WON it!) there was quite a festive spirit out there on the course. A few Patriots fans reared their heads, but for the most part it was all Big Blue All the Way!

NYRR Manhattan Half – Sports Photography

Michael Chadwick — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 13:46:29 +0000

It was a wild wintery day in Central Park, but these runners don’t know the meaning of the word QUIT. I came home from this shoot with a beard-cicle myself!

Joyce and Andrew – New York Wedding Photography

Michael Chadwick — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 12:58:06 +0000

Joyce and Andrew had a beautiful wedding ceremony at Moran’s in Chelsea, led by one of my favorite celebrants, Barbara Ann Michaels (a.k.a. Jester of the Peace). It was just after the new year, so Moran’s was still beautifully decorated not just for the wedding, but for the holidays. It was a fun and festive night full of love and laughter, and we all had a tremendously good time. Joyce and Andrew have been absolutely wonderful and I hope they enjoyed working with me as much as I did with them.

For privacy concerns due to their jobs, they have requested that no photos of any of the actual people involved be shown in public places, so the photos I am sharing with you will be only of certain details of the wedding. I hope you enjoy them!

Venue: Moran’s in Chelsea
Celebrant: Jester of the Peace
Music/DJ: Sound Connection
Cake: Love Street Cakes
Florist: fLorEsta

The Importance of a Breath

Michael Chadwick — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 16:10:20 +0000

Most of my wedding photography clients will tell you there is one word they hear me say often throughout their wedding day: Breathe. As a wedding photographer, one of my many duties is to make sure my couples look as relaxed and as natural as possible. With very few exceptions, most of the times in which either the bride or the groom is anxious or nervous, especially with photographs being taken of them, the simple solution has been that one simple word: Breathe. It even sometimes becomes a laughing point, an inside joke between the couple and me, throughout the day. It lets them know in a friendly, non-critical way that they have become rigid, that they look as if they must stand perfectly still for the 19th century daguerreotype to finish burning their image onto a copper sheet. It reminds them that they are living creatures, not statues, and that a breath gives a photograph precisely what it gives the human body – Life.

One of the things that happens when we are nervous or anxious is that we tend to breathe quite shallowly and more quickly. It’s a perfectly natural part of our “fight or flight” survival instincts. However, when your photographer encourages you to take a breath, it not only conveys a subconscious safety message (your photographer is not a panther about to snack on you), but it will help to eliminate photographs in which you look like you’re afraid a panther is about to snack on you. By taking a nice full breath, you are telling your brain that you are not in a life or death situation (despite the behavior of your future in-laws) and that release of anxiety will be reflected in your photographs.

Taking a nice full breath also helps to prevent the opposite problem, which is dead eyes. We’ve all seen pictures where a person is smiling, kind of, but their eyes convey the message that they are tired of being photographed or don’t really care for the person they’re being photographed with. Depending on the length of your wedding day, by the end you’ll be pretty tired of smiling not only for your photographer, but for your friends and family. There is a very easy way to help stave off the “I’m smiling but I actually don’t want you to point that flashy thing at me anymore” look. Whenever you are about to take a photograph, take a nice big breath. It will help you to relax, it will invigorate your body, and it will actually add life to your eyes.

Breathing isn’t just essential to our survival, it’s essential to us looking and feeling our best. Breathing has many side effects other than just keeping us alive. It energizes us, it helps our bodies detox, it helps us look alive and vital. It will wake up your brain at the end of a long, tiring wedding day (your brain requires more oxygen than any other organ). It will also release tension, making you look more relaxed and joyful in the photographs of your wedding day. When you look back on your wedding day photographs years later, which thought would you like to have those photographs bring to mind? Do you want to think “Wow, I looked hit!” or would you rather think “Wow, I looked so happy. What a beautiful day it was!” If the second sounds better to you, just remember this one simple word: Breathe.