This couple is ridiculous. There, I said it. Ridiculous because they can be so darn cute but so darn sexy and are so darn great at it. Not only that, but Melinda was a real trooper. I had scoped out a field of sunflowers a few weeks before and threw them in to play. After 10 minutes, she was sniffling up a storm since she didn’t tell me she has allergies. At least the photos were definitely worth it. Phew!

Because it was an unusually warm day for fall, Letchworth State Park was full of hikers. I love watching people watch my couples make-out for the camera. They pretend they’re not interested, but are totally trying to sneak peeks in every 5 seconds. Hilarious.

Looking forward to the wedding in June! Enjoy. -Deanna

Music: Lucky by Jason Mraz
Location: Letchworth State Park – Lower Falls and Glen Iris Inn

• Save the date for Heather and Dave
• Skaneateles NY engagement portraits : wedding guestbook signature journal
• Waxhaw Weddington family and couples portrait photographer NC
• Lake Norman cove engagement shoot Sherrill’s Ford North Carolina
• Fall leaves and the Genesee Country Museum
• Custom designed Engagement holiday card – Lake Norman NC Photographer
• Personalized guesbook photoshoot and design service
• Your photographer can teach you wheelies
• Manhattan Engagement photo session photographer
• Where art lives – by Neil Cowley
• Organic trail running engagement guestbook

So I experienced my funniest engagement shoot moment by far with these two goofballs. For those of you who haven’t experienced one of my “enthusiastic sessions”, I usually make my couples repeat the same two actions over and over: 1. kissing and 2. fake laughing. The laughing is there to lighten the mood and it always brings even more giggles.

Well it was getting towards the end of the session and Kyle and Rachele were sitting close with their faces almost touching. I stepped back to compose my shot and said “On the count of 3 you know what to do!” 1…..2….3…..! Rachele leaned in for a saucy romantic kiss just as Kyle blurted out the loudest fake laugh I had ever heard. This of course scared the poo out of Rachele and caused her to jump back in fright, and I almost dropped my camera because I was laughing so hard at this hysterical moment.

Did I catch a photo of this event? Heck no! I was laughing too hard….but I know who to call when I need someone to back up my jokes at a party!

Location: Degolyer Estate, Letchworth State Park

Music: Everything by Michele Buble

We had a blast with their dogs and enjoyed shooting through the fall colors and evening sunset..

Pet portraits Lake Norman, North Carolina

This one above is on of Heather’s biggeest favorites!

Bedtime stories with Neil & Liesl in HD.

Browse our site from the top – following the numbered sequence :
1. Meet Us (intro to our services and thinking) 2. Enaging Products (a rundown of all the things we make)3. Click for a Contract (packages and pricing)

 

You can see the golden sparkles from the fall sun bursting around the couple’s clasp hands in the cover photo on their custom designed greeting card.  Heather ordered that picture on metallic paper as a 16×24 enlargement for her walls, I can’t wait to see where that art will live!

Heather and Drew didn’t want a lot of space inside for writing, but wanted to allow the photos to convey much of the message.  

On the back, Heather wasn’t sure what to do to complete the design, so here’s our e-mail convo:

“How about 102 – 109 for the back cover. I know it needs to be portrait but we don’t want another picture of us on the back. Leaves are pretty..”

“Oh yes Heather I hear you – you want a tone poem to fall, expressing the hidden energy between blue skies and falling leaves – yea I got it.”

And then after she got the cards out, here is her response:

“Hey Neil -
Everyone loves the xmas cards. I’ve gotten notes from most of the people we sent them too. Also, the humane society that we adopted Otis from loves them and wanted your info.
Not too mention how much we love them! You’re so talented!

Liesl helped me pick out sizes for some of our pics, we took advantage of the sale!

Have a Great Holiday!
Heather”

We’re so satisfied when we give voice in our photos and design to people’s lives and bring joy to all those around them

 

Blogger contest take two and YouTube version

Blogger talent search contest or YouTube version.

Ungodly Fruit – Soundtrack by Wax Taylor

The prize is a free multimedia engagement session by Neil Cowley with a value of $3000. The quest is for a storyteller with heart and humor to tell the stories of wedding planning and engagement from inside their head and out through the web. Submit your journal, blog, video log, or contest entry to the comments here to be considered! Multimedia submissions will definitely score you bonus points!!

What is a multimedia engagement session?

• Sara & Jeremy – dog lover’s extended love story
• Letchworth New York destination engagement shoot slideshow
• Erin + Josh Engagement story at Centeral Park West and MOMA NY
• Where art lives with Courtney & Charlie shows you how a couple designed their engagement session

If you are chosen as the new blogger, I will help you design your engagement session and schedule it for as soon as possible.  Your themed shoot will also produce Save the Date Cards, and a Signature Wedding Guestbook.  You will then be responsible for writing 20-30 posts from your engagement and wedding.

Who else has blogged for you?

Deanna was our first bridal writer who’s creative, heartfelt and zany posts were a lot of fun!  You can view her multimedia engagement shoot slideshow, her post reflecting on the engagements, her wedding slideshow, and her post reflecting on the wedding experience and journaling/blogging.  Deanna is planning to incorporate some of her reflections in her album design.

The entries will be judged by Neil, Liesl and Deanna on the basis of creative writing, personal presentation and emotional candor.  We are looking for writing style, emotional expression, and humorous visual flair (like Deanna’s barbie page).

How can I blog this, pass on the word, tell my friends?

Click the </>Embed button on the above video and copy the code to your own blog or site – or use the YouTube Version with Neil or Liesl.

Paste the link to your post in the comments, so everyone reading here can find your site!

http://makelovereal.net/blogger/

Click this button to post this page to your Myspace, FaceBook, bookmarks or other sites:

Here a SimpleViewer Flash gallery should be displayed. Click here to open the post in your browser to see the gallery.

In their engagement slideshow, I used stop motion photography to create a video-like effect.  On the printed page a tightly designed series brings the viewer closer to examine the differences between each frame.

Sara’s favorite picture of the day paired with a soft texture from my library of textures.

Click read more to find out…Oh no – I’m not going to drop the whole project just yet as I’ve not had time to finish it…

But here’s some pics of my unkissable clients

I had a blast with you guys!  thanks for squeezing it in – I hope I can finish it this summer!!

 

I’d like to credit the tunes to John Martyn’s Head and Heart from the album “Sweet Little Mysteries: The Island Anthology” and Jem’s Stay Now from the album “Finally Woken” The story is an instant classic by Jeremy and Sarah, look for their upcoming wedding in September and recommend me to all your friends who are getting married and need their love story told.

And Sara would like to thank her stylist Ellen at Scot Miller Salon, along with her colorist Jarrod and the sweetie Cory for doing her makeup and giving the dogs something to lick off.

If you would like a multimedia presentation for your engagement, wedding, anniversary, or just as a family journal – you can read more about these two packages:

3 Media package – Custom Slideshow – Documentary Audio

]]> http://makelovereal.net/extended-love-story/feed/ 11 http://makelovereal.net/the-mans-guide-to-the-perfect-marriage-proposal/ http://makelovereal.net/the-mans-guide-to-the-perfect-marriage-proposal/#comments Wed, 18 Jun 2008 15:02:34 +0000 Neil http://makelovereal.net/?p=735 The Man’s Guide to the Perfect Marriage Proposal @ The Art of Manliness

There are a few things you must keep in mind when contemplating the way that you will propose marriage to your lady. First, this is a memorable moment, which will be told and retold over the years to your friends, family, children, and grandchildren. Make it a story worth telling. Secondly, every woman is different; make your proposal specific to her taste and personality. Some women would love nothing more than to have all their friends and family be witness to the event, while others would much prefer a private and intimate moment with you alone. First and foremost, make sure the way in which you ask makes her comfortable.

Make it a story worth telling…..of course this is near and dear to my heart and the humor of how everyone’s expectations are botched in funny little ways is part of the cuteness of such an enormous expectation.  The expectation is the lock on the woman’s heart – and meeting it is the key to winning that heart with the Man’s gesture.  I’m writing this for the Men so this is how you have to think of it:

Give her some bragging rights!

Seriously, she needs to be able to brag you up to her friends and family – and doing this right will help her do that and give her a greater sense of confidence as she earns their approval and admiration from the story you create.  A great story makes her feel unique and special at the same time. 

Listen to couples tell their engagement story, and listen for the elements that were important to them.

Here a SimpleViewer Flash gallery should be displayed. Click here to open the post in your browser to see the gallery.

Organic Granola save the date card photos by Neil on this snowy outdoor shoot…

These save the date cards were shot in February in Upstate New York reflecting this couple’s unique love story.

Tom proposed to Kelly while they were loading firewood.

Painfully romantic I know – keeping the fires burning hot to make it through these brutal Buffalo winters (-:

You can see other winter portrait sessions for save the date cards with the tag ‘winter’ and you can get a picture for all the possibilities with snow.

Courtney & Charlie engagement project from Neil Cowley on Vimeo.

This one was a team production where I did the audio and Courtney hired a video director to put together the extended slideshow with historical family photos.

See the whole layout and after the jump, or purchase your engagement session through this link…

Here a SimpleViewer Flash gallery should be displayed. Click here to open the post in your browser to see the gallery.

Here’s the flash image browser and I’ll highlight a few of my favorite spreads. You can hear the audio of Courtney and Charlie’s first date below and then you’ll see how their engagement shoot relates to the fond memories they have of many hours running in the woods, and enjoying their time with their golden retriever Tucker.

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

Here’s a spread that shows that energy among the tightly designed and spaced images. If you haven’t heard how Courtney and Charlie designed their engagement shoot to reflect their first date, listen to this multimedia essay.

This image as described by Charlie was his favorite from the shoot. If you’re not familiar with our wedding guest book signature journals, the left side of the image is left open for guest signatures and messages.

I like how this spread shows the continuation of movement, and highlights the decisive moment in the larger image. We try to unite meaningful ideas with clear design in our photographic art works.

Click play to listen to their engagement story, and enjoy the music by Helios from the Eingya album, titled Coast off

This will be the last post on these images, so here’s a summary of the saga!

• The first glimpse
  
• Intoxicated engagement shooting – tounge in cheek
  
• Neil show’s off his biking ’skills’ for the camera
  
• Deanna’s wardrobe alterations for the engagement shoot
  
• Neil’s attempt to reach Deanna’s level of hilarity, in the shoot and in the post
  
• WPJA awards sunrise photo 11th place in 2007 engagement category
  
• Double sided, full color save the date cards.
• Engagement photos custom designed wedding signature journal.
• Read Deanna’s posts from her wedding planning experience.

That completes their 3 media engagement session.  This project has to be a highlight of my career this far and I look forward to getting to know so many more of you as I meet you for your engagement sessions.

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

Creative Chaos #14

You can view their full 48 page custom designed book from their destination engagement session after the jump, or order one here.

Here a SimpleViewer Flash gallery should be displayed. Click here to open the post in your browser to see the gallery.

Each image is a ’spread’ in their guest book, starting with the cover and then working through the pages. each spread is designed to allow space for their guests to leave comments, share stories and put the pen to some encouraging words for Deanna and William. I shot their engagement session at the exotic location of Letchworth State park in upstate New York. Their shoot lasted 6 hours mostly cause we talked and got to know each other as much as shot pictures. I convinced them to get up before sunrise to see if we could catch the sunrise coming up over the gorge, and we did. We then took pictures through different locations in the park, specifically the set of small waterfalls – where they jumped into the water – was were William proposed to Deanna.

I value making intensely personal pieces of art, and so if you’re reading this thinking “Neil would never come to where we got engaged to shoot our pictures” you’re wrong. In fact – the engagement media package is available for anyone to purchase independent of hiring me to shoot your wedding. You can view the details in our shopping cart, and purchase your special story in your locale as the price includes travel within the continental US. What story can I tell for you?

For the back of the postcard they chose a crazy fun picture with a wild angle showing them having a blast with each other.

To see the whole design click blow and view in our flash player. Here is the same book filled with signatures at the end of the evening with Brea and Ed.

Purchase a custom designed wedding guest book for your guest’s signatures.

If you’re wondering why this album design has so much whitespace it’s for your friends and guests to sign as your guestbook at your wedding. Featured below the design gallery are some pictures from Brea & Ed’s wedding where you can see it after being signed.

Here a SimpleViewer Flash gallery should be displayed. Click here to open the post in your browser to see the gallery.

Brea & Ed shot their engagement pictures in Skaneateles in the fall color because as they are from California – they rarely get the treat of all our orange and red fall foliage. Another treat they didn’t enjoy so much was the dusting of snow that morning. We shot the country side images at the same barn that Anita and Dave were married in….

I love to see guests grin, giggle, aww, and ooh over the book; put their hand to their heart to collect their thoughts and pour our their love for my clients on the page I have made for them. My creative calling is to make love real and there’s nothing more satisfying than seeing it happen in front of me.

The power of love expressed is tangible, and we have people calling us that aren’t having us do their wedding – just to have us to an engagement signature journal to help them make their love real. If a signature journal isn’t included in your package, you can place your order for one in our shopping cart.

 

I guess I titled the post to reflect the intent we started with, to make William the sex object and give me a photo assistant on the shoot. He was distracted by the hotness – of the sun – but I still managed to pull off a few decent pictures.

But looking at them now I think he got overshadowed even though he’s holding the light.

I’m pretty sure that’s Deanna’s “I’m enjoying this way too much face” as the red wine has convinced her she’s channeling Cindy Crawford at this point . Well William, you should realize marrying a Barbie doll – they like to steal the spotlight.

Falling moment - inspired by the mosaic benches around Grant's Tomb

Here a SimpleViewer Flash gallery should be displayed. Click here to open the post in your browser to see the gallery.

Jeanette and Matthew met at 180 Claremont Ave while moving, so we started there for their engagement photos. We then started to choreograph the musical, but ran out of light. Despite the darkness they were all smiles, and we shared a lively conversation over the mosaic benches at Grant’s Memorial.

While I was in NYC a few days ago for the Photo+ Trade show, I was able to meet up with Wendy and Billy, who were married in September of ‘06 at the Ausable Club in the heart of the Adirondacks. So we met in the Madison Square park and shot under these weirdish silver coated sculptures, with the empire state building in the background.

And played around in the park…

It was getting dark but even though it was late October, we were having a bit of an Indian Summer.

Go Bill, what a stud! And then Wendy took me to a crazy fun Bengali restaurant that she’s been dining at since age 7, and we enjoyed some wonderful Bengali food and conversation.

Now I have the tape of what they ‘did’ to me after dinner, but it will be a while before I get it posted….

The funky ceiling here is at the Milon of Bangladesh restaurant at 1st Ave and 5th St.

Wendy was saying that she’s been helping a few brides in her Dermatology practice. I’ve heard that birth control can really mess with your hormones and your skin but hey, maybe that’s a topic for your doctor – not my blog. She said she helps brides to make sure their skin is ready for strapless dresses and the like, so look her up at 71 Park Ave, Suite 1A.

It also helps if your Fi is watching so she doesn’t get so bored…

I seem to always do crazy stuff in the fall for engagement photos.

Well this is what Deanna and William got up early for today! It was a wonderful morning overlooking the Letchworth gorge with sun rising in the background illuminating the mist. For the many of you not from upstate New York this is the Genesee river valley from the archery field overlook at Letchworth state park. Just behind William’s back drops a sheer 400 feet to the river bottom. I’d love to explore the natural wonders that are meaningful to you in your engagement photos.

They had so many great options for their cards they had a hard time deciding but liked the vertical format and the sparkling water in this shot.

Here’s one of their save the date card designs, front above is for self mailing – and the previous one needs an envelope:

This over sized postcard (8×5″wide by 5.5″ high) demands full postage from the post office whether or not you mail it as a flat (without envelope) so I generally recommend you use the full space and enclose it within an envelope.

You can look forward to their wedding in September.

Enough of Greg – on to Stacy:

Yea, she kinda looks familiar no?

Leave your guesses in the comments!

If you cannot view this flash audio multimedia presentation, then you can also try this page as an alternate viewable source.

Purchase a multimedia engagement session to tell your story to your friends and family all across the world.

A campfire engagement photo with Heather and Dave in the Genesee river basin at Letchworth State Park.

See the rest soon on

[flash http://makelovereal.net/wp-content/uploads/2007/06/masi-slideshow/soundslider.swf?size=2 w=645 h=513]

If you are not able to view this flash slideshow above, please try this link to view the show….

Save the date postcard front^

Beth & Wade helped me finalize their save the date postcards today, and I thought since you probably don’t have the privilege of being on their guest list – I’d give you a peak no less.

 

That’s putty and Olive prancing in the picture, it was imperative that they get their moment in the spotlight.

Beth and Wade’s display preferences tended toward the organic and natural and they represented those preferences in both the choice of shoot location and the toning and retouching of the images for their save the date cards.

Here’s a few more images from their engagement session.

I also helped Beth and Wade put together a simple website.

So we were on our way to see if we could get some nice sunset pictures from the top of Cobbs hill and we saw this mountainous pile of leaves near the playgroud. And I mean mountainous, to get to the top to jump Erica and Josh climbed a good 14-16ft up and Josh convinced Erica to jump with him. I only got one exposure per jump, but as you can tell – it was a good exposure! My clients are the bravest people in town – the 10 year old that was there thought we were the coolest adults he’d ever seen!

You can see some group photos we’ve taken on the wedding day at Cobb’s hill overlook of the Skyline of Rochester.