Answers will be graded!

Seriously though, leave your approach – or comment if you’ve got a jucy story about ‘attracting’ just the right guy; or falling for a crazy girl.

A mini me
Of blue eye proportions
Seeing reflections of myself not in a mirror
Changes me from the inside out
Looking at the little man I love

The best of man is like water,
Which benefits all things, and does not contend with them,
Which flows in places that others disdain,
Where it is in harmony with the Way.

So the sage:
Lives within nature,
Thinks within the deep,
Gives within impartiality,
Speaks within trust,
Governs within order,
Crafts within ability,
Acts within opportunity.

He does not contend, and none contend against him.

Tao Te Ching 8

If you’re wondering why I’m not answering e-mail, slow on voicemails read on – if you’re not ok with my sillyness – don’t read on!!

This is my photographic family – from these minds my career has been molded – and to whom I give my highest gratitude:

FW7 from Vladimir Chaloupka on Vimeo.

Did you catch my multiple cameos?

Each year in North Dallas TX we gather for the most intense, most personal, and most life changing photography workshop on the planet – Foundation Workshop. It was out of this workshop that my wedding photography career was born – and I have been returning for the last three years as a Mentor to the students of the workshop.  The team leaders are Huy Nguyen, Brooks Whittington, Amy Deputy, Greg Gibson (my team leader in 08) and Tyler Wirken (my team leader this year – blonde  spiky  hair in the hotel room edit scenes).  

Recognize that shadow? my opening presentation

There are two unique things about the Foundation Workshop – first, the students shoot assignments like newspaper photographers.  Second, the student to staff ratio is 1:1 to ensure a crazy, intense, and personal level of instruction and connection.  I was  privileged  to lead off the workshop with a talk on creativity kicking off day one’s four lectures and team building  exercises.  Day’s two and three are full shooting days for the participants to shoot assignments.  While day 4 had a dinner deadline to edit all the photos into a short slideshow for a presentation after a  celebratory  dinner.

This year Team Wirken started the week off with a very silly hotel room bonding experience.  After which our team member’s took on assignments like the South Fork Ranch – where Dallas the TV show was fashioned shot by Stacy Doyle.  A chocolatier who just opened shop – shot by Duncan Kerridge.  A local  Veterinary  hospital in Plano shot by Dan Shuman.  An organic tree farm shot by Jerry Yoon. Finally a family caring for their father stricken by Lou Gherig’s disease shot by Joseph Allen.  It was a real  privilege  to be able to speak into these people’s lives and I hope I’ve made a positive impact on their shooting, thinking and feeling pictures.  My role as a mentor is to visit the team members in the field and help them gain new perspectives, think new approaches and generally push them out of their comfortable ways of shooting and thinking.  Then we take it back to the editing suite…..and talk about all their mistakes all night!

Stacy Doyle shooting at the Dallas TV show museum

Duncan at the Chocolate shop above and Dan at the Vet below

Really – it’s just plain brutal honesty about almost every picture.  Tyler Wirken our team leader has a graphically driven taste for images and he can see every compositional flaw within seconds.  He also has the mental energy to talk about it for 6 hours straight!!  A totally revealing experience for the participants and the staff alike as we warm up our creative brains by realizing all the things we should do better!  So as you see in the video a lot of sitting around and talking – that’s us critiquing our work.

If you’d like to see a still image slideshow by  David Pullum and Anna Kuperberg our official staff photographers there’s the link!

Don’t just unite – act.

Don’t just act, become.

Become a life long solution to the problem of refugees, most recently the huricane in Hati continued the devastation of that weak country.

World Vision offers us the opportunity to tie our fate directly to someone less fortunate – what would stop you?

_______(who you sponsor)_______ is a  HopeChild  living in a community severely affected by the HIV/AIDS crisis. In Haiti, the disease has impacted the entire social structure, creating a generation of orphans and vulnerable children. Efrander needs your assistance to help save his generation from the HIV/AIDS crisis.

Only if we increase our ties in personal ways can we make a permanent change.

 

However the judges comments went like this:

But I have to comment on this category in general. There were so many pictures of people walking away from the photographers that it puzzled me. I saw so many pictures with stunning light in other categories that I wondered what the photographers were thinking when they got to this category. All of the moments and good storytelling went away.

Who is this judge that feel’s so strongly that there’s no story from this image that they take the liberty to complain about my photo as exemplary of the category? But they award first place to a haphazardly composed and monochromatic image of the same theme? Boy does that sting.  In my experience this goes to strengthen the stereotype that ‘photojournalistic’ images are ‘careless snapshots in black and white’ and doesn’t work toward showing how a good photojournalist can transcend the basic elements of what’s happening and make an image with stronger themes. I would love to hear Sister Wendy discuss the results.

Realistically, when you’re up there your eyes are glued to the splendor that’s enveloping you! When the couple looks at the camera the image loses it’s compelling fixation on the mountain. When you’re there, just as in the picture, it feels like you can reach out and touch it. In my picture I worked to transcend the basic experience of being dropped off on the side of a mountain by helicopter, and tried to capture gesture and pair forms that form an allegory for the wedding experience.  I was looking for body language that helped describe the awe we all felt.

It’s funny how every time I hand out the business card with this image on it, the response is – “did you photoshop the background?” Nope, I was really there – and the story of this image, doesn’t just begin when the shutter clicked. You see, it was my vision to wait until the very last minute to get the sunset on the mountain. In this position, we’re in danger of being surrounded by clouds moving up the mountain. Here’s Nigel, our pilot on the lookout for clouds coming in.

The only reason we were able to make this picture is because of Nigel’s experience, daring and willingness. He told us that on his warning we would have to be back in the chopper within 1 minute, because if a cloud covers us – we can’t take off – because the pilot flys visually. The helicopter is perched on loose stones, and Nigel got out and propped us up with extra stones before he would let us get out. The helicopter is idling with the blades spinning so we can make a quick takeoff. On the port side of the bird, there’s probably only two meters to the edge of the cliff from the rotor tips. So Nigel has made a pretty difficult landing at my request, so that I can capture this scene.

From this angle, you can see the clouds at our elevation across the valley.

Oh boy wouldn’t I have loved to had the time to get to the Tasman Peak & Ben Ohau Mountain Range side of the valley to land the couple on the west facing ridges – but that will have to wait until next time. From that side I could get more of the turquoise hues of the glacially fed Lake Pukaki also. Just plan your destination wedding at the Luxurious Mt. Cook Hermitage Hotel and I’ll be there to make unforgettable images with you!

So as a bride which would you be satisfied with a few snapshots from the top of the mountain, or would you want something that transcended your experience? something with allegorical intent?

My Clients

Their moments

We went on a love  roller-coaster  in Toronto, and had a Big Bang here in New York

It’s so gratifying to attract great clients! clients full of emotion, and full of stories to tell about Love and life worth living.  Thank you for living lives bigger than life – and valuing your love enough to hire me.  That last weekend confirms so much of what I’ve been trying to build here at Make Love Real – and I look forward to all the new clients that feel an affinity for what we’re doing and encouraging.

Q: When you look at a piece of art, what arouses your curiosity? Is there some irresistable point of contact?

A: I think if you are looking for something….you’re in advance, circumscribing what you will see. You have decided at some level – you can’t afford to do that – you must become absolutely defenseless to the work. I think if you know something about the artist, you can go defenseless with more confidence.

Q: Do you think all of us are born with the potential to respond to art as you hope we will?

A: I’m sure everyone has this capacity, but it’s not activated. I think a lot of the fault is art critics who speak in a sort of ‘high falutin’ way….people are frightened, or feel they don’t know…..I wanted people to feel as though they could know.

Q: You talk about surrendering to the ‘wonder’ of the story – what do you mean by that?

A: to me it’s a crucial noun or verb; surrender. Because it means that you’re not going to have lables, not going to defend yourself by the ramparts of your own ego. You’re going to open yourself to what this has to give you, and that is not easy to do. Let this work speak to you without setting up pre-conditions.

So this begs the question when you’re probably purchasing the biggest piece of art you’ve ever commissioned:

Your wedding photography

How do you open your eyes to ‘see’ wedding pictures?

In the discussion I had with Ciara today we talked through two spectrums:

From Photojournalism (realism and raw unexpected emotion)……………..

to…….Romanticism (evoking an expected emotion)

Wall Displays ……………………………..to…………………………….. Wedding Albums

When you’re looking at the whole spectrum of wedding photographers, you have to answer questions within yourself – that will lead you to the answer of which photographer. Looking at the question of which photographer – leads to too many answers and no direction. Talk with your fiancee about your shared preferences on the two spectrums above and then you have a lens of what experience you are looking for from your photographer.

As you think about the photojournalism/romanticism spectrum we include a few articles in the category on Choosing a Photographer that might enliven your discussion together. A solid piece to kick off that discussion would be thinking about the role of beauty in your wedding photos, and it’s importance to you.

To help you on your path our site has mini-discussions based around the ‘display preferences‘ we have the category called “Where Art Lives” and it is started off with this multimedia presentation defining the topic and the creativity that flows when you make your love real. In this category you can read discussions of how we reflect our clients display preferences when we shoot and develop their products. You can also see our projects installed in our client’s homes and how they fit beautifully reflecting their love stories and personal style.

Enjoy how your discussions enrich your relationship as you prepare for your wedding.

I would like to forward you to my personal ‘tracker’ for human rights. The organization is called The Voice of the Martyrs, and they track violence with first names. As Americans we are blessed with so many rights that it’s actually hard to understand when someone is discriminated against. Especially when we try to comprehend something like Darfur where as many as 2.5 million people have been abused.

In order to understand violence, and evil – I think we have to understand it one story at a time. Just like we need to understand one wedding story at a time to experience it’s richness. We need to lift our souls in prayer for those whose lives are violated and The Voice of the Martyrs can help us do that with their daily news, email subscriptions and the stories behind the events that help us understand what drives the violence and abuses. I hope these stories help you find an outlet to give, and understand our place in the world.

I had to break the rules to get this shot of Charlie, the church rules that is. I think he’ll appreciate the memory more than the church lady appreciates me!

Just to be fair to Charlie, he’s not the weepy type – that was just his wedding after all! Apples were a part of their wedding theme and so I put a few in Charlie’s hands to help show their active and humorous side.  The various moments that make up a wedding, are colored each day by the client’s personalities and the personality of their relationship.  I always try to make colorful pictures.

So that’s a quick look at a relationship within a few photos, I always try to grasp the multiple facets of your wedding and relationship and more blog posts about what a relationship looks like can be found here.

Entry #62 poses the question – Is Beauty Enough?

Visit his page to download from his site.

“Why do most great pictures look un-contrived? The deception is necessary if the goal of art is to be reached. Only pictures that look as if they have been easily made can convincingly suggest that beauty is commonplace.“

This simple quote strikes to the heart of the struggle of ‘choosing a wedding photographer’ when the issues of budget and beauty, of posing and photojournalism collide in your mind.

I hope you enjoy the podcast and this bit of art theory and criticism as you contemplate your photography investment and how it might pay off for you in the future. I hope our pictures look easily made to your eye, because the beauty I see is all around me.

For us, beauty is not in the way your wrinkles can be erased out of the way, but how they can so easily be overlooked when the picture is of a genuine moment or thought – and thereby looks so easily made. While photojournalism is a good word for what we do, it’s become an overused catchphrase in the wedding industry – but an understanding that we strive to make our work as ‘un-contrived’ as possible every time we shoot is probably the best way to understand what we do. The most common, and the most satisfying complement we get from our photos is “it feels just like we were there!” And that complement may not be coming from someone who attended the wedding!

If you are considering spending 5-10,000 on wedding photography and are unsure of what style photographer you want to go with, maybe you should consider reading Robert Adams short collection of essays on Beauty in Photography to find your personal preference for beauty and meaning in photographs. Maybe you’ll even decide the most lasting perspective or approach for capturing your family memories. I would not wish for you to have a personal preference of ‘romanticism’, where you prefer imaginative poses or very stylized images, and hire someone who spends their time finding unique moments of personal interaction. I would equally regret for you to be enticed by overtly romanticized wedding photos and 10 years from your wedding regret that a more inclusive approach had been taken that captures how much your grandmother appreciated being a part of your wedding.

I intend for you creative blessing and peace in your choice,

So do you know where the best art comes from now?

I didn’t include the story of Courtney and Charlie’s first date, but if you’d like to listen to it here:

[audio:http://makelovereal.net/whereartlives/first-date.mp3]

…you can see how their engagement shoot reflected their first date and how tucker got included.

In case it’s not totally clear, the framed photos are the shadowbox that I made with Charlie’s input. The frame is antiqued barn wood, and it has a two inch deep sealed wooden shadow frame. The glass is painted from the inside to harmonize with the weathered edges of the photos and handmade paper in the backing. The photos are mounted on raw nails to avoid adhesives which lower the archival stability of the piece.

I look forward to blessing more and more of your lives with joy, strength, memories and moments

These two images connect the sharpness with the audience watching the climatic kiss and triumphant response by John.

Using this method I create more sharpness and viewable material in the picture ‘space’.

This image Holly said was her favorite from the whole wedding, and in it I have use the same tilted focus to blur the unimportant parts of the image allowing the band’s equipment to not distract from the moment Holly and John are sharing. A normal lens would render Holly’s hand on John’s back equally sharp to her face. By skewing the focus I put all the attention in the picture into Holly’s face.

In this shot I connect the sharp area between the maid of honor’s smile and the raised champaign glasses to improve the focus of the story.

It’s funny that how fast paced the digital wold has become the most old-fashioned feature of cameras has been almost forgotten – just for speed. You see the old ‘box’ cameras were designed to allow the lens to move on purpose, when 35mm cameras were built they were built for speed and ease of use. My favorite lens in my tool bag is a 90mm TSE lens made by Canon. It allows me to focus really close:

(if i DO say so myself, that’s a really killer series from the ceremony)

The beauty of the tilt shift is that it allows you a plane of focus other than parallel to the direction you’re pointing you camera, so in wedding images, it gives me the opportunity to draw visual connections between objects that are important and blur objects that aren’t. So in the last image there, the maid of honor toasting hte couple where the maid and the glasses are in focus better illustrating the ‘moment’ than if the MOH and the fireplace were in focus as a standard lens would have portrayed.

In this picture of Robyn waiting on her bed I was able to make her expectant and thoughtful face sharp as well as her dress on the wardrobe. She is seen in a mirror, allowing for a very interesting perspective.

This one is definately a classic:

The only drawback is speed. I’ve worked with the Tilt and Shift and lenses and I’ve built on my own but for fast paced moments I don’t generally choose them because its just not possible to get the focus sharp and fast.

If you’re one of our mant clients who practice your own photography, you might like to read my tutorial on creating the controlled sharpness and blur of tilt-shift without the expensive lens with controlled use of photoshop.

how sensitive are we while we are shooting?

My wife was picking up on the eyes that Christine was giving her man during cocktails. If you care for someone, you know their moods during a party, you keep your eye on them, maybe you give them ‘eyes’ across the room to spice it up, maybe you keep tabs on whether they’re ready to go, maybe it’s the simple things that really show love, and maybe it’s these deeper more sensitive details that you’ll be able to cherish from your wedding photos when you hire a careful and sensitive artist like My wife. It’s not an earth shattering picture, but it’s one that shows what your real-ationship looks like.

Maybe we need to go to the extra effort of helping you illustrate your feelings for your spouse, by facilitating time for you to find that special spot of being held by the one you love. As we earn your trust, you can give yourself over while we are working with you – and the magic is made.

Sometimes the photographer has to be the ‘bad guy’ and ask you to have a moment to yourselves on your wedding day!

Tomorrow I’m off to shoot an engagement session, and am asking myself and my clients the same question “what does your relationship look like?”

You can answer in the comments if you like – or wait until we ask you when we shoot your engagement session.

When Tanya ask me for ideas for her thank-you card I recalled the sign welcoming her guests to her reception tent shown in unaltered form below and above cleverly pixel pushed to show a “Thank You” where it used to say welcome (and the pole disappeared).

I believe that the long-term value in my photographic services resides in their documentary strength. To expand that thought I believe that the images you will cherish in 12-13 years when your daughter finds your wedding album will be the gestures of love and tenderness your family extend, and the details captured at your event from every angle with those acts as the centerpiece of the stage. It’s somewhat funny, and somewhat depressing, but I often ask clients what their favorite image is from their wedding and it always surprises me! Every wedding I’m proud of a few images for artistic reasons, documentary reasons, and unintelligible reasons. But after a few years of entering contests, and winning, I quit entering for these last two years because I felt ‘shooting for the contest’ was warping my approach, and could take me too far away from the images my clients hold most dear.

Out of this breakdown, came the new business and redoubled approach that I needed to re-build our business into “Make Love Real”. The pictures my clients love most are the simplest ones, the truthful ones. So is PhotoShopping an image truthful?

The above image graces the other side of the thank-you postcard who’s front was the sign altered by photoshop (above). Did you also notice how the light was enhanced in the photoshopped image? The light in this image makes a romantic flip side for this version of Tanya’s thank-you card. Her real favorite photo is described in this other post. But without Photoshop I wouldn’t have the control needed to make a delicately balanced photo like the one above.

What’s your take on Photoshop? …ask a bride considering hiring us…

Well, this is a convoluted topic. I’d be glad to discourse some art history and theory with you if that’s your style, but here don’t want to get too long winded. I already have ‘award winning‘ work that utilizes photoshop so I do understand what can be done, it just a question of if you want it done. My painting professor really wanted me to focus on paining, and keep me from graduating a photographer, but I was determined to make a living from my skills – ha, ha. In that core skill set that is an artist’s I think you’ll find that the ‘toning’ (which is a term used in newspaper photojournalism to describe the expressive alteration of tonal scale without rearanging pixels) in our work is extremely well developed to a consistent high quality throughout the entire wedding’s set of images. Most of the work we do afterward is to get at what is already there. To depart from toning and re-arrange the pixels of an image can have positive or negative effects – we’ll talk about momentarily. But most of the photoshop that we do does not change the visual accuracy of an image, only enhances the perception of color and tone.

What a difference a year will make!

Here is an image I posted in September of 06 from an Adirondak wedding’s preview website.

This is what the image looked like with my photo shop skill level that year. Can you see the clouds in the sky? Below is what the image looks like without any editing or color correction – straight out of the camera.

I would call this image, ‘machine perception’ and I would call the following image, processed after another year of detailed color theory study and advances in the software we use to handle images ‘artist’s perception’.

Neither one nor the other is more accurate, however the last image is clearer to see and I feel enhances the viewers experience of the photo. So I use photoshop to get at what is already there in the most expressive way possible. The best way to look at my work is the finished album, or the wall presentation. Sometimes the wall image can go fine art in a painterly way, sometimes the album should be left completely documentary. A single over edited image can ruin the flow and design of an album, whereas an expressively printed wall piece can significantly enhance the meaning in your wedding photography. Thus, I offer two packages for the two preferences.But in a very general sense, I feel the particular pendulum that herds the art world over the arc of art history is pushing photographers into photoshop. I think this is a bad thing unless it’s properly understood and thus this article for you to digest. I think I have come to believe that style is a crutch, a construct for the purpose of selling. And some photographers use photoshop solely to achieve a style. The general purpose photography has assumed in our lives and art history is telling, the general purpose of painting has assumed as a response is asking. Some photographers bring the ‘art’ of painting (asking) into their images, and use photoshop to help make the question obvious. I enjoy creating this work as well from a wedding but I document first, and manipulate second.This little passage from Tao 38 sums it up for me:

“Those highest in TE take no actionAnd don’t need to act.Those lowest in TE take actionAnd do need to act.”

So for my clients that I feel want a little enhancement, I do whatever is best…..I get a giant natural fog machine to fill a 400ft gorge with clouds, then just put my clients in front of it for a nice shot. Neither one is harder than the other! Photoshop helps me control the myriad of variables that connect to form an expressive picture. Other times, I’m working on a tight time line in Grant’s park and I pull elements from the surroundings into the picture in a painterly way to create a nice wall piece.

Some photographers push their work for artistic reasons and enter contests for manipulated images, and othes rally against the need at all.

I’d be glad to sell you a custom painted photograph as a compromise (-;

New Traditions: response to the Celebrations Studio debacle

My friend and college Jason Groupp a photographer in the New Jersy and Manhattan area, is giving away one free wedding to a couple who was wronged by the closing and bankrupcy of Celebrations Studios. The Celebration Studios problem is big news in the wedding industry as there may be as many or more than 2000 brides who’s photographer will not be showing up at their wedding this year. That’s a big problem and if you’re looking for someone in the NJ or New York – Manhattan area we have a special rate for you up until June, so just contact us.

Vrai: You can make an impact!

Christina is a wonderful button of a photographer based in the Chicago Illinois metro area but willing to shoot a wedding anywhere in the US if you are choosing to make make the least impact on the environment and the most impact on the community on their wedding day. Sounds like a great deal to me!! The submissions begin now and end by 10 pm (CST) on February 10th, 2008. Submissions can be mailed or emailed (info at vraiphoto.com) and must include the plans already made or ideas to implement, a 5×7 photo of the couple sized to 300 dpi (1500 px by 2100 px), and your wedding date (must be no later than 12/31/2009), any other information is helpful in making final selections. (mailing address on her site)

A chance to show family and friends that social responsibility can still have style, elegance, and beauty! The online poll will begin no later than 10 am the next morning and voting will last until 11 pm (CST) on February 13th. The winner will be announced on Valentine’s Day.

Jessica Claire helps those who help

Jessica a photographer out of Orange county, has a nomination process each year on her blog, which you can read about in three parts. First the call for entries, second reading the stories of the entrants and finalists (I find this one most interesting), and third announcing the winner. Looks like a Louisianan couple who grew up together gets the free shoot.

I also google’d ‘free wedding photography’ and came up with Robin DePaula’s blog, Punam Bean gives a few shots, Gulnara Studios contest, Free photography in Madison WI from a beginner trolling on wedding bee, there’s of course Craig’s listings even including ‘retouching’, one free wedding a quarter!, Jason’s give back project, and photographers wanting to travel.

Ok ok, so onto me…..

In 2005 I shot a wedding in Thailand of a couple who was prohibited from marrying by the Chinese government.

I can show you the DJ I wish we had for the party:

Rock the hot pink eh – well shopping in Thailand is just a happier experience than in the US.

Well alas, I cannot actually show you any of the pictures from that wedding for fear of endangering the couple’s civil peace, and many of the guests at the wedding. So while the stories of the couples shared on the other blogs are nice – I’m not really sure they compare to someone who’s freedoms are being suppressed by their government.

Just in-case the story isn’t convincing, here’ s me in Thailand.

So if you know someone who has given their life to public service, and needs story told in images – ask.

Even if it’s not for publicity, I may do it.

That’s the Peoria Journal Star for Friday December 7th with the cover story about a couple who was ‘interested’ in each other in high school – in the 40′s! World War II, marriages and careers forced them apart. But six decades later, these high school sweethearts are back together. View the story photo gallery but google can’t find the whole text.

I guess a nose for a story runs in the family, cause my Mom tipped me off to the story of Annie and Tom. She could not tell me any details because of her confidentiality agreement with her students, you see she works at The Ester House which is a self committed program which addresses the needs of women whose shattered lives cannot be turned around by a short stay in a friendly shelter. Some women may desire to reclaim a life that has been ravaged by poor choices. Some women are trying to raise a child on minimum wage, if they can even find a minimum wage job. Many women have been rejected by their families, and have no other place to turn for love and support so the Ester house is a welcoming community of support and training for them.

Meet Annie

Annie was divorced by her husband because of the poor lifestyle and personal choices she was making in her life, one thing led to another and she was doing jail time. In those dark times Annie found a personal faith to bring her life into focus. The path out of prison is a difficult one, one she shared with the residents and staff of the Ester House. I’m afraid my pictures do no justice to this part of the story, but some things are better left forgotten.

As part of Annie’s journey to emotional wholeness and spiritual cleansing she wrote a letter to her former husband asking his forgivenss for the ways she had wronged him.

And he wrote back.

And braved a second time down the isle.

And said his vows.

Many tears held back.

Now I’ve covered some big weddings – all over the world as this post shows – and I don’t expect to be overwhelmed by the action of a small 30 person ceremony in the ultra conservative Peoria Illinois area. But again my photos fall way way short of the palpable emotion floating around this small chapel. We often talk about Love since it’s part of the business name around here – but I’m afraid that many of us haven’t experienced a love that overcomes divorce and years apart. I don’t mean Annie and Tom’s.

If love is like electricity, it can only flow between two charged poles. Thereby if a person becomes disconnected from their family, friends and loved ones – the love cannot flow. The Ester House staff spend their lives helping people to get connected again to the source of Love. Annie is one of their first graduates, and so this event was triple charged with a lot of Love energy that had been held back for a long time. I shot this wedding for free as part of the conduit system that will help Love take over the world. My I learned to offer this gift of love from my Mom as she offers greater gifts than mine every day when she goes to work.

Somehow the apples don’t fall far from the tree.

Each wedding I shoot is free.

Nobody can pay me to make the love flow through me into my pictures – but indeed that’s what you really want – and what it takes for me to make good pictures. There’s a curious kind of exhaustion from doing my job – it’s the exhaustion of carrying 1,000,000 Volts for a day. I can not put a value on the love and friendship your family and friends share, I only try and bottle a bit of it up in pictures for you.

‘Down and out’ is the title for the bears – ‘A season to remember’ sports header

And so what are you paying me for, if the shooting is free? Well, basically so I can live a healthy life and show up at your wedding. But, there is also a secondary consideration for you – I don’t get a second chance in my job, and I don’t get a second chance at capturing your event. I can’t likely shoot your wedding for free unless you have dedicated your life to serving others, or someone wants to sponsor the expenses. And since you are probably reading this considering whether or not to spend money to hire My wife or I to shoot your wedding, when you could very well hire an amateur with a digicam, let me make one of two suggestions for you. First, hire us – you memories are important and we are great conduits. I was the only one there that noticed the significance of the paper’s title page meanings showing attention to significance among the details. Second, hire someone really cheap – but give the difference to a conduit of Love that cares for people and charge up those Love capacitors in the right direction.

Feel free to contact us if you would like us to consider telling your story weather it be something we can never show – or something you want told to the whole world loud and clear. I enjoy enlarging my capacity for electric charge, and will be excited to serve those who serve.

I guess I’ll share one last hope I have to shoot a free wedding. For someone I have not yet met, Mallamma Solapur in Adp Bijapur India. I probably have 8 or 10 years to invest and wait, but we sponsor her education and health through World Vision. Remember Love needs a connection to travel, so build yourself one small connection at a time.

We look forward to sharing our connection with you.

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3. Linked in: professional networking
4. Twitter: neilcowley
5. Neil’s Flickr account where many of the images here are hosted, and much of the teaching/instructional images are found for:
6. www.MakeLightReal.com – Neil’s creative journal if you’re interested in learning about the creative process or technical photo stuff.
7. Open Source Photo – a free discussion forum for beginner wedding photographers.

You can find us listed online in these directories:

• Behance – Creative Portfolios
• ASMP – American Society of Media Photographers – Neil is also an accomplished commercial and advertising photographer.
• Wedding Wire Charlotte NC Wedding Photographers
• WeDj.com Wedding Photographer North Carolina
• Adirondak Wedding Photographers in New York
• New York City Metro Wedding Photographers
• Rochester Club Ballroom
• Enright Florists
• Sheldrake Point Vineyard Weddings
• Glen Iris Weddings with a waterfall overlook
• Atlanta Wedding Photojournalist listed on MyWedding.com
• East Coast wedding photojournalist in Charleston South Carolina
• Miami Florida wedding photographer
• Orlando Florida wedding photojournalist
• Caribbean Island Beach Wedding Destination Villa Photographer
• National Wedding Photographer.com
• Phoenix Arizona professional wedding photojournalist AZ and the grand canyon
• PhotoLinks – The Photography Network
• Photographysites.com Wedding Photographers
• Love Unscripted – Wedding photojournalist photo blog and image stream
• Find a UK wedding photographer.
• Find a US wedding photographer
• Blog cloud
• Charlotte Wedding Guide
• North Carolina Wedding Photographers – Member of WeddingPhotoUSA – America’s Professional Wedding Photographers
• Find local North Carolina Wedding Photographers
  Search for local wedding photographers in North Carolina at LocalWeddingPhotographers.com
• listed at million blog list
• listed at Wiki Blog Directory
• 1 Second Film Producer
• Photo.net – Neil Cowley’s profile page
• Photoblog Community Profile
•  - Photography Home Pages
•  - Top Photographer’s site.
• Pixorati photo search and vote
• 
• Leading Charlotte, North Carolina Invitations and Charlotte, North Carolina Photographers listed in Decidio.com
• 
• 
• Titterectory listing for Neil Cowley – Photographer
• Charlotte North Carolina Photographer’s Directory
•    - Photo Ring Photography Blog listings
• Boudoir South CarolinaCharleston, South Carolina’s top Boudoir and Glamour Photographer servicing Charleston, Summerville, Folly Beach, Mt. Pleasant, Isle of Palms, James Island, Moncks Corner, Goose Creek, North Charleston and surrounding areas in South Carolina.
• photographers for weddings, corporate and commercial advertising
• weddings photographer

So it’s been a while since I’ve discussed a picture, and I thought this would be a good one to talk about. I shot this image at a recent November wedding with it’s bride only counterpart. I enjoyed creating this image in an empty lot next to Christina’s (the bride’s) parent’s home where she prepared for the wedding. The enjoyment came from being able to create mood and style easily in the early evening that comes in November. The frame above was made at 5:03:22PM between the ceremony and reception. The early sunset gave me the chance to control the lighting in the image by using my strobes instead of relying on the mood of the natural light.

Planning for pictures

The early evening gave us ample time between the ceremony and reception and the double bonus of having both daylight and dusk to make pictures in. With a wedding plan that allowed us two hours of shooting between the ceremony and reception I was able to shoot several styles of pictures with the wedding party and the couple. The November temperatures, the foliage valiantly holding on the Red Oaks and a freshly dressed bride inspired this photo’s tonality:

Even though the day was started with a light snow and the grey skies remained through the day – with my equipment and vision I was able to create a unique photo for Christina. She was brave enough to wear her lacy dress into the weeds before the ceremony to win this great photo!

Composition and presentation

I made a new category today in the content management system here called presentation as I will be posting some interesting presentation options soon. Let me talk just a moment about the composition and how it affects presentation of the photo. First, the proportion – or the size of the couple related to the overall image – has several relationships to how you may or may not appreciate presenting the image in your home. My experience in preparing images for display in my clients homes, mailing as postcards and designing into websites has shown me that there are two general groups of clients that hire me; the visuals and the emotionals. One group are generally more bold and visually literate, meaning they have greater experience reading, using, or collecting images. The other group of image buyers are less sure of what they want in visual terms but are drawn to My wife & I’s work on emotional terms and the romance of documenting real moments of family and friend’s connections.

The visually literate bunch, often work in advertising, communications, or practice photography as a hobby and have more graphic tastes in photos and a stronger tolerance for seeing themselves in the photos. The emotionally motivated bunch, have less of a tolerance for displaying themselves and would rather see demonstrations of love but not of themselves. Interesting paradox, I know since it’s their love that is demonstrated.

Print size and proportions

No client represents either of these polarities completely, however I felt Christina and Mike were somewhat of the more romantic type and so I composed several of these images in this proportion to give them the opportunity to make a large print where they don’t feel visually large in the print, but can cherish their togetherness and warmth in the chill night air under the moon. The scale of this image should allow it to be printed as large as some of our largest prints, meaning 4 feet tall by 6 feel long on a fine canvas frame. If you have a big blank wall to cover in your home, we can take care of you!

Browse the ‘Where Art Lives’ category to get more ideas about how to frame, mount, and creatively present your wedding and portrait images.

∞

This image was shot with one of my favorite lenses the Sigma 24 1.8EX

Let me try to put this in non-photographic terms……switching brainwaves and vocabulary….

The visual quality of this lens, where it is most commonly mounted on my Canon 1Ds MarkII camera is one of allowing me to see more of an area I am pointing it, which in photography terms is ‘wide angle’. It allows me to see to the right and left about %50 more on each side than our eyes generally allow us to focus on. There are several other features of this lens that give it a unique visual fingerprint, and I employ in my compositions and captures. It really is one of my favorite lenses, as seen in the recent shoot in NYC, where the first 6 shots are all using this lens.

Here I was able to capture the whole scene from a very close viewpoint, that is the advantage of a wide angle lens. I can use the extra space to convey the sense of place and the activity that is occuring in that place – here you see the bridesmaid exiting the Glen Iris Inn for the ceremony with a unique aerial perspective I achieved by holding the camera above my head to include the lamp and unique stained glass. A shot that didn’t include those environmental traits tells less story of what is going on and is thereby less successful or creative IMHO.

The second great trait of this lens is the size of the opening that lets light in. It’s very large!! 1.8 is the number (the smaller the number the bigger it is). The large aperture has two unique visual effects – shown above the texture of the bride’s veil is accentuated while the texture of her skin is not. Described in photographic parlance we say ‘small depth of field’ meaning it’s not sharp very far. But with the accuracy of today’s cameras, I have the upper hand in controlling where that sharpness is applied. When it is applied cleverly (like in this picture) you begin to notice only what I intend for you to notice – the light as it passes through the bride’s veil!

In the colloquial language of photographers, we say this lens is “fast” which means essentially that the lens allows a lot of light in. A fast lens allows me to capture the action without blur, but from a psychological perspective it allows two advantages:

1. A fast lens allows me to capture the action without the visual intrusion of a flash and so psychologically distract my subjects. If my prersonal presence were to flash a bright light at a girl while she were dressing, or perfuming with her friends – she would feel self-conscious, so I try not to, and get more genuine photos for it.
2. A fast lens allows me to portray the lighting in the most natural way.

So I hope you see in this photo how I was able to use only the existing light of the reception to capture the real glow and feel of the end of the evening’s celebration. If any of my clients care to read about any more of my thoughts on photography and art, you can see them posted at www.MakeLightReal.com – where I share what I am learning and thinking about photographically.

07-07 wedding090.jpg, originally uploaded by solecist.

Well I spent half the day today at Letchworth with Dee and Bill, reminded me again of this Letchworth wedding. There’s always a struggle to get something unique, vs. doing something our clients have seen us do before…..

We like pleasing you and all, but there’s something that can’t be repeated in every shot. In this one, Erica and Josh just stopped on the steps to do a little kissing before they broke out into plain sight again, and as they picked a perfect spot with the light streaming down through the leaves – I was able to capture it. And then I enhanced the feeling a little with some magical additions in post-production. I like the hidden feeling in this shot — not the clear big subjects that I am usually shooting.

Such is the fun of not repeating yourself, because the double whammy from the photographer’s perspective is that I judge myself on all the previous images I’ve shot at a given location too. When a client asks me to repeat this or that shot – I’m tempted to ask them ‘can you match that romantic gesture’ or that dramatic air that the previous couple created. Is that unfair to ask of you my subjects, if you ask me to do a similar shot you’ve seen before?

I’m tired of the long blog posts that are really just exacerbated slide shows, and to gratify my own introspective urges and hopefully let you in on my own thought’s I’m going to blog single images for a while.

What does it mean to be a bride…..well for one I’ll never know….so it’s interesting in a curious way to me, to continuously be looking for what each girl’s expectations and responses are to their bridehood. Erica was great from my point of view as I need client’s who feel as deeply, in order to photograph as deeply as I am capable. I believe this photograph to fully capture Erica’s first response to ‘becoming’ a bride as her veil is draped over her face for the first time.

So if you’re reading this and your wedding is in the future, remember to plan enough time for yourself to get ready and live these moments to their fullest!

The publishers of the Light Source Podcast found me and were inspired by my use of light in wedding and portrait images and wanted to speak with me about my techniques and inspiration.   When the phonecall was scheduled, I happened to have a sore throat but we made it through.   I thought you might enjoy listening just to get to know me a little.

Well enough for review, my personal goal for 2005 was to expand my consistency. The artistic inspiration can fall at unpredictable times and while that’s nice for winning awards, its not necessarily a reflection of skill as much as an ability to capitalize on good luck. So my intuition told me that I needed to really look at what went into those flashes of creativity I had in 2004, and learn to repeat them as a skill instead of as an accident. I’m only finishing my third year of professional service for weddings so maybe its too lofty a goal to ask myself for consistency after such a short period. But as I write now I feel a tremendous satisfaction looking back over the mountain of work that I’ve completed in 2005. Possibly I’m deceiving myself, but I am satisfied knowing that I have not overlooked the good to make something great. Sounds funny, but it has been a tremendous challenge to face this year – boredom – that could have eaten away the quality of my work as I sought to continue to top my own pictures. What brought me back to that point, was you again. Times where I began to feel rote, where I was being distracted by the small things – you gave me the expressions of Love that can not help but snap you back into focus. Love, the miracle that we give to each other; that we go through all these rituals to express and to seal; that I have the privilege to have the invitation to help you develop.

My reflection for 2005, has the same heart of the lesson learned in 2004 – learned more deeply. “The only ones among you who will be really happy are those who will have sought and found how to serve. (Albert Schweitzer)” This year I’ve matured enough to realize how I should act to reinforce my reflections. I see better the Tao that has helped keep me in balance and I will seek to nurture that harmony through my business practices. “We do not see things as they are; we see things as we are.(Talmud)” So this turn of my personal quest for photographic vision leads me to work to see you more clearly. I will draw upon my experience of over 100 weddings to help you express “How your Love is New” in photos and in person. I excitedly anticipate what you will teach me as my experience shows that it will be volumes. I am launching a forum with this spirit for you to continue teaching me through your own images and experiences as the first action in this process.

Much respect,
Neil

A Note from Neil

The start of a new year is a reflective time for all of us. I start my reflection of 2005  with the gratitude and humility 2004 taught me. During that period I was focusing on developing a unique personal style putting my energy into making and thinking about inventive imagery. I looked for every opportunity to use lighting and composition to do something I had never done before. The results of that process were rewarded in  2005 with a top 5 ranking in the US by the WPJA. At the same time I was forcing my personal will into stretching my own conceptual boundaries of my craft – concepts of controlling and creating with light, shadow, perspective, and tonality – the people I served enlarged my spiritual boundaries as I stated last year  “I wanted to make clear that God has given much more through you, than your dollars as I have received a new appreciation and understanding of love and art this year. I hope that I have been an equally effective conduit for God to give my talents away to you.”

Well enough for review, my personal goal for 2005 was to expand my consistency. The artistic inspiration can fall at unpredictable times and while that’s nice for winning awards, its not necessarily a reflection of skill as much as an ability to capitalize on good luck. So my intuition told me that I needed to really look at what went into those flashes of creativity I had in 2004, and learn to repeat them as a skill instead of as an accident. I’m only finishing my third year of professional service for weddings so maybe its too lofty a goal to ask myself for consistency after such a short period. But as I write now I feel a tremendous satisfaction looking back over the mountain of work that I’ve completed in 2005. Possibly I’m deceiving myself, but I am satisfied knowing that I have not overlooked the good to make something great. Sounds funny, but it has been a tremendous challenge to face this year – boredom – that could have eaten away the quality of my work as I sought to continue to top my own pictures. What brought me back to that point, was  you again. Times where I began to feel rote, where I was being distracted by the small things – you gave me the expressions of Love that can not help but snap you back into focus. Love, the miracle that we give to each other; that we go through all these rituals to express and to seal; that I have the privilege to have the invitation to help you develop.

My reflection for 2005, has the same heart of the lesson learned in 2004 – learned more deeply.  “The only ones among you who will be really happy are those who will have sought and found how to serve. (Albert Schweitzer)” This year I’ve matured enough to realize how I should act to reinforce my reflections. I see better the Tao that has helped keep me in balance and I will seek to nurture that harmony through my business practices.  “We do not see things as they are; we see things as we are.(Talmud)”  So this turn of my personal quest for photographic vision leads me to work to see you more clearly. I will draw upon my experience of over 100 weddings to help you express “How your Love is New” in photos and in person. I excitedly anticipate what you will teach me as my experience shows that it will be volumes.

Much  respect,
Neil

Current images posted at http://makelovereal.net/

2005 events page has been dedicated to the bridal portrait

Micaela & Toby – Elim Gospel Church – January 7, 2006

Christina & Jacob – November 11, 2005 – Newark Club, New Jersey

Michelle & Brian – October 22, 2005 – Lodi New York Historical Society and Wagner Vineyards

Alexandra & Stephen – Oct. 16th, 2005 – Belhurst Castle Wedding Ceremony and Reception,  Geneva New York

Sandra & Chris – October 9, 2005 – Westmont Country Club Patterson, New Jersey

Nicole & Andrew – Oct. 8th, 2005 – Saint Patricks Church and Binhampton Club

Kim & Will – Oct. 1st, 2005 – Butler Mansion Buffalo, NY

Lindsay & David – Cadet Chapel & 49′er Lodge West Point New York

Jessica & Greg – September 24, 2005 – Sheldrake point vineyard

Jen & Dan – September 18th, 2005 – Glen Iris Inn at Letchworth State Park

Leanne & Andy – September 17, 2005 – Saint John’s and Monroe Country Club

Sara & Tim – Sept. 10th, 2005 – Boldt Castle and Edgewood Resort

Lorraine & Aaron – September 4th, 2005 – Letchworth State Park, Glen Iris Inn

Elaine & Grant – September 3rd, 2005 – Chapel Hill and Monroe Country Club

Nicole & Jake – August 27th, 2005 – Belhurst Castle Geneva, New York

Shannon & Andy – August 20th, 2005 – Saint Rita and Shadow Lake Country Club

Christina & Ben – August 6th, 2005 – Bethel Christian Fellowship and Casa Larga Vineyards Fairport, NY

Mary Grace & Matthew – Auguest 5th, 2005 – Canandaigua Inn on the Lake, New York

Heather & Mike – July 30, 2005 – St. Charles Borromeo & Cobblestone Creek Country Club

Sarah & Dean – July 16, 2005 – Wedding and Reception at Glen Iris Inn Letchworth State Park

Mary & Paul – July 9, 2005 – Blessed Sacrement and Rocheter Club Ballroom

Karissa & Jim – July 2, 2005 – Perry Methodist Church and Wadsworth – Jerris Estate reception

Robyn & John – St. Louis Church Pittsford & Steamboat Landing Canandaigua NY

Audrey & Mike – June 12th, 2005 – Lauxmont Farms, Wrightsville Pennsylvania

Deb & Jim – June 11th, 2005 – Walker Bible Baptist Church & Senator’s Mansion Chili

Kelly & Peter – June 4, 2005 – Trinity Reformed Church and Woodcliff Lodge Fairport

Ella & Chad – May 28, 2005 – Sacred Heart Cathedral & Rochester City Hall Atrium

Juliette & Kevin – May 21, 2005 – St. John’s Church & Glen Iris Inn Letchworth State Park

Heather & Matt – May 20, 2005 – Saint Joseph’s church and Owego Treadway

.  

Jeanne & Mark – April 23, 2005 – St. Thomas More & Memorial Art Gallery

Corie & Michael – April 9, 2005 – The Waterview in Monroe Connecticut

Allison & Jason – April 2, 2005 – University Presbyterian and Hemingbough Baton Rouge, Louisiana

Jodi & Dan – January 22, 2005 – Our Lady of the Lake and Crystal Springs Resort, Vernon New Jersey

Amanda & Shervyn – Jan 16, 2005 – Mansion on Delaware, Buffalo New York

Jan 5-8, 2005 – Manti Temple, UT & Strong Todd House Rochester, NY

I have a debt of gratitude to pay with these words. I’ve been putting off lifting this weight from my mind due to its extraordinary size. But I recently found the catalyst, a quote:  “God will give much more  through  you than  to  you.”

I am truly humbled at what you (my clients) have given me this year. You have invited me into your private moments of emotion, and extended the generosity of your families to me. You have provided reason and opportunity for me to expand my artistic vision deeper into the soul of human emotion. You have contributed your lives to my lens and you have generously donated your dollars to see my manic passion. Before this gets too self centered I wanted to make clear that God has given much more through you, than your dollars as I have received a new appreciation and understanding of love and art this year. I hope that I have been an equally effective conduit for God to give my talents away to you.

Gratitude and awe,
Neil

I have a debt of gratitude to pay with these words. I’ve been putting off lifting this weight from my mind due to its extraordinary size. But I recently found the catalyst, a quote:  “God will give much more  through  you than  to  you.”

I am truly humbled at what you (my clients) have given me this year. You have invited me into your private moments of emotion, and extended the generosity of your families to me. You have provided reason and opportunity for me to expand my artistic vision deeper into the soul of human emotion. You have contributed your lives to my lens and you have generously donated your dollars to see my manic passion. Before this gets too self centered I wanted to make clear that God has given much more through you, than your dollars as I have received a new appreciation and understanding of love and art this year. I hope that I have been an equally effective conduit for God to give my talents away to you.

Gratitude and awe,
Neil  

Naomi & Ken – November 13, 2004 – St Rose and Shadowlake Golf Club Penfield, New York

Heather & Todd – November 6, 2004 – St Francis of Assisi and Clarion Inn Niggard Falls New York

Carrie & Eric – October 23, 2004 – Geneva Presbyterian Church and Belhurst Castle Seneca Lake, NY

Christine & Jesse – October 16, 2004 – Interfaith Chapel and Crowne Plaza Ballroom Rochester, New York

Rebecca & Justin – October 15, 2004 – Annunciation and Rich’s Atrium Buffalo NY

Sarah & Jared – Oct 10, 2004 – Niagara Club, Niagara Falls New York

Chrissy & Chris – October 3, 2004 – Highland park overlook and Lilac Arches Rochester, NY

Yat Ming & Jon – October 2, 2004 – Rochester Interfaith Chapel and Daisy Flour Mill, Penfield – New York

Jackie & Brett – September 25, 2004 – St. Francis Xavier and Sherwood Inn, Skaneateles, New York

Pam & Joe – September 24, 2004 – Adam’s Mark, Grace Lutheran and Rich’s Atrium Buffalo, NY

Amy & Mike – September 18, 2004 – Hershey Country Club, Hershey PA

Sara & Tim – September 17, 2004 – The Krebs Garden and Welch Allyn Lodge Skaneateles, NY

Amy & Joe – Sept 11th, 2004 – Our Lady of Victory Basilica and Klocks Grove, Buffalo New York

Anita & Dave – Sept 5th, 2004 – Family Estate Skaneateles, New York

Cassie & Rich – Sept 4, 2004 – Saint Mary’s and Rochester Club Ballroom; Rochester, NY

Katie & Jeremy – August 28, 2004 – Letchworth State Park and Glen Iris Inn

Melissa & Anthony – August 21, 2004 – Whately Congregational Church and Delaney House, Holyoke MA

Jessica & Deron – August 20, 2003 – Wagner Vineyards, Seneca Lake New York

Michelle & Jason – August 8, 2004 – Prospect Mountain Lake George

Emily & Ryan – August 7, 2004 – Saint Louis Church and Buffalo Yacht Club

Nicole & Iain – August 1, 2004 – Grace Bible Church and The Glen Oak Country Club Amherst

Erik & Danielle – July 31, 2004 – Camp Fowler and Lake Pleasant, central Adirondacks

Amanda & Peter – July 24, 2004 – Boldt Castle Heart Island

Maureen & Eric – July 17, 2004 – Family Estate East Aurora

Sue & Mark – July 16, 2004 – Keuka College Chapel and Belhurst Castle

Christine & David – July 10, 2004 – St. Charles Borromeo and Hyatt Regency Rochester Reception

Lauren & Dan – July 3, 2004 – Saints Peter and Paul and Old Orchard Inn, East Aurora, NY

Jillian & Ben – July 2, 2004 – Clymer Hill Church and Cook Homestead, Chatauqua NY

Sara & Nick – June 26, 2004 – Nativity of Our Lord and Adam’s Mark Hotel, Buffalo, NY

Mindy & Dean – June 20, 2004 – Rich Atrium Buffalo

Staci & Mike – June 19, 2004 – University of Rochester Interfaith Chapel

Julia & Ben – June 12, 2004 – Temple Beth Zion, Buffalo New York

Ria & Jon – June 11, 2004 – St. Peter’s Church & Saratoga National Golf Club, New York

Bethany & Jarek – June 5, 2004 – St. Philip The Apostle & Samuels Grand Manor, Buffalo

Kate & Aaron – May 30, 2004 – St. Monicas Church and Genesee Valley Club, Rochester

Annique & Matt – May 22 – St. Peter & Paul Basilica – Pensylvania Academy of Art, Philadelphia PA

Marley & Chris – May 1 – Greystone Castle, Canastota NY

Amy & Chris – April 24, 2004 – Skaneateles New York

Sherrill & Tom – April 17, 2004 – Rochester New York

Wanda & Rich – Feb 14 – Syracuse New York

Wes & Dana – Jan 2 – Westchester County New York

Calendar Year 2003 Wedding Photo Essay Pages

I am truly humbled at what you (my clients) have given me this year. You have invited me into your private moments of emotion, and extended the generosity of your families to me. You have provided reason and opportunity for me to expand my artistic vision deeper into the soul of human emotion. You have contributed your lives to my lens and you have generously donated your dollars to see my manic passion. Before this gets too self centered I wanted to make clear that God has given much more through you, than your dollars as I have received a new appreciation and understanding of love and art this year. I hope that I have been an equally effective conduit for God to give my talents away to you.

2004 Weddings gallery is now completed