Carla Garrison talks about her gallery’s wedding services, primarily the ‘Borrow an Artist’ program where an artist paints live at your wedding or event.

The Green Rice gallery is also open to hosting your special event in their 2400 square feet of meeting space amongst artist studios and fine art exhibits. (click for full info)

I’m sure you’ll see what fun and energy Carla brings to the gallery, I’m sure you’ll be pleased working with her whether you host your wedding at the gallery or she helps coordinate your artist borrowing!  Thanks for the great chat Carla!  If you know of an interesting, artistic or notable vendor or wedding professional who would like to sit down with Neil and tell some stories…please nominate them in the comments!

View more posts from our theme: “Where Art Lives” or see the multimedia presentation on how to make your art intersect with your life.

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Here’s Gretchen’s comments from the design process – which she gave no input on – just let me do my thing:

First, THANK YOU! It’s even more perfect than we imagined!!! I’m all misty. Second, we have exactly ONE change to request: Dan would like to include the photo of him and the best man chest-bumping “backstage.”

Have you fainted yet? I know, I know, an immediate, low maintenance reply! Shockingly on-time. (It’s the only completion I’ve managed today.) I figure we owe it to you.

Thanks so much for all your patience, and your talent. Dan just kept shaking his head as I paged through the design, saying “He’s just so good!”

Dan – it takes a good man to know one!  I do want to put a sideline note in about my beloved bride Gretchen, a self described ‘type A’ as you can see from the lists and flow charts that decorated the background of page 2.  Gretchen took my advice about not stressing over the album image selection, and was thoroughly pleased with the results.  You may want to select your album images, but the process is often more rewarding when the design flows from how the pictures best fit together.

A few of my favorite spreads and some comments on them:

This spread from the opening moments of the ceremony is an engaging peek into Dan’s excitement, Gretchen grinning behind the doors, and walking down the isle taking Dan’s breath away, and drawing a tear from the groomsmaid.  The iconic shot of Gretchen’s tweaked nervous smile from behind the hall doors, gives a huge visual splash to the carefully observed moments of the beginning of the ceremony.  I shot this wedding alone, and I find it very satisfying to shoot the big epic graphics, and complement it with great storytelling shots to make you look closer at the page!

A moment in time – or a story across time.  I often try to tell stories in my pictures, but sometimes I can tell time too!!  But seriously, how else could you see how much fun Gretchen has with her dress, and Dan?  Good solid album design comes from good solid ideas while we’re shooting.  I often describe the process of ‘posing’ for me, more like acting for a movie–and this is why.  Good action, helps you forget  your nervousness, be natural in your expressions, and let loose with some fun.  Cheers to great results in your album design.

My favorite quotes from Amy:

• “There’s perfection in imperfection”
• “Paper is sexy”
• TOAST (listen till you get it)
• “I didn’t care if I got married”
• “I wasn’t the Bridey Kind of bride”

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For more inspiration about Making Your Love real in art, view our themed posts about ‘Where Art Lives’.

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Sweet success indeed for this well planned, wonderful event.  Catch the blended storylines in this intricately designed and textured wedding album design.

Here are a couple of my favorite speads:

Here Deanna is coming down the isle (which is a narrow row of cedar bushes) and my three shots on the left show her finding, posing and receiving the roses from her groom; which the key shot on the right is coming into view of the guests for the first time and was shot by the assistant photographer.

The first dace spread is a free flowing sequence that really tells about the interpersonal and environmental space is a freeform design over time.  To me this is the most gratifying way to view the wedding photos – and it’s also without color.

Which leads us into the next spread – which is all about color, the emotion and mood of their after dinner portrait session in the field.

Neil & Leisl -

Thank you, once again for truly capturing hte heart of our special day.  It is thanks to you that these special moments have been immortalized.  We look forward to sharing the albums/photos with our families for years to come.  I can’t imagine that we could have found anyone else that could have told the story of our journey more accurately.  Your talents are a gift and we appreciate your sharing them with us.

WIth much gratitude -

Tom & Kelly

Thanks guys – we are so grateful to have you as clients!
For those of you that haven’t been following our blog very long, here’s a summary of their journey:

• Kelly & Tom’s save the date cards
• Snowy Organic Signature Journal
• Kelly & Tom’s Buffalo NY wedding album

Here’s a close-up shot of Heather’s menus at her reception held in Del Frisco’s wine cellar, the menu designed by Neil.  However the story start a year infront of their wedding…

…with their Chirstmas card and save the date combo.  Here is me holding their limited edition Christmas card, custom designed by me:

Heather and Drew were overjoyed with the complements they received from family, friends and even the rescue organization that they got their dogs from that they had me do their save the date cards as well.

From the save the date postcard which used photographic imagery, Heather decided to take the rest of the suite minimalist to match her wedding decor and theme.

Save the date on the right, menu card on the left.  The paper stock is a pearlescent metallic finish that even though chocolate brown, give a shine to the color.

And here’s what it looks like in the placesetting!

Heather wanted a monogram to tie the pieces together, and with 10 years of design experience I didn’t find that hard to accomplish with style.

The name tags and menu blended in wonderfully with the rich chocolate color scheme.

The Invitations

The invitation design used a fashionable panorama fold on the left of the 5×7″ card.

Inside, flowing blocks of text communicate the details to the guests.

Here the response card design is shown front and back (back side blurry) as it was printed in creme white and slipped into the invitation’s fold.

Response card text.

So if you would like one less vendor to work with, if you would like to have the design elements continue from your save-the-date card through to your album.

Just have us do it – contact us above and we’ll get to work on your engagement shoot and talk styling!

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Here are a couple of my favorite spreads:

If you’ll give me a moment to talk about the elements of design we use in our albums – in this horizontal spread, I cropped the images in a tight panoramic 1:5 format to show the tight moments of the bride and groom placing the rings on each other’s fingers. The tight spacing and blurred edges allow for a quick ‘read’ of the eye across the page. That emphasis is heightened by the horizontal bars of color running through the background of the image at the grooms eye height and the bride’s ring height. The lines tie together the separate pictures with implied continuation of line that I ‘felt’ between the photos while laying them out. This extra amount of care and attention brings your album to life telling the visual stories of your wedding.

In this spread we use the design element of a light vignette to tie together and soften the overall page design, can you see the subtle darkening at the coreners?

And if you’re looking for a creative photographer, look at how we tie the action of the day into the album design! We’re wiling to see the whole day for what it is, without presuppositions about what wedding photography ‘should be’ – so we notice the littlest things that make your wedding yours! (did you notice the bee on the clover in the above spread? – I know it’s hard on the web, but we noticed it and shot it!)

Enjoy your album Kelly and Tom.

And here’s what Morgan said about the card:

Thank you so so so so soso much I am so excited to have our beautiful wedding in the paper for all to see! I also meant to tell you that when I sent out our thank you cards, I have never gotten more compliment on anything inmy whole life! My one friends husband had gotten it while she was at work and he put it up on the fridge and when she got home that night and saw it on the fridge she thought it was a jewellery ad! SHe had to look a few times before she even noticed it was me! Another friend thought it was an ad from Nordstroms! Everyone said how gorgeous the photo was. Thank you so much for that!  

For the back of the card I found an authentic antique postcard and scanned it to give the piece a unique believable look.

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A couple of my favorite design layouts feature the close combination of related photographic moments:

I can’t wait until my next Toronto wedding photojournalism assignment!

Front above – Inside below

Back below:

Book your portrait session with Neil and choose your card style:

• 8×5 full color double sided postcards
• 4×5.5″ Folded Greeting Cards
• 5×7″ Folded Delux Greeting Cards

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!

My wife 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

Read on to see where Kelly & Tom’s wedding art lives…

It lives in their hallway…

You may be wondering what ‘it’ is, and I don’t bother to take a picture of it because the piece is not a picture – it is a painting with a picture in it. Kelly and Tom took me out to their wooded property for part of their engagement photo session and they mentioned this as one of their favorite photos. It was used on their save-the-date card. And for each of our clients who spent more thank 6k with us this year I have attempted to do something outside their contract, as contracts seem to constrict the heart – and I need to open mine. As a result I painted this piece, it started with an artistic retouching process:

And continued as I fastened the printed photo to a hardboard and painted in an impressionistic surface with acrylics.

Now art lives in their livingroom

Kelly used a series of framed 4×6 prints to fill her living room with emotional touch points – her wedding photos.

Here’s the same setting from their engagement photos – when the walls were blank.

We encourage you to fill your live with real moments love, service and life this holiday season – we hope our pictures documenting your year remind you of all the blessings you are surrounded with.

We are so blessed to make these pieces, that can work such small joys in your life!

Thank you cards illustrated watch in High Definition Video on Vimeo.

Thank-you cards are a fun way to show everyone your wedding style with a lovely photo card.  You can purchase your card set from one of the many types we have in our shopping cart:

8.5 x 5.5 Color Postcards – 250

4×5.5 Folded Delux Greeting Cards

4×6 Color Postcards – 250

5×7 Folded Delux Greeting Cards

You can also see this album delivered by me, here’s the layout in detail:

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Courtney & Charlie’s wedding was at the Episcopal Church in Pittsford NY while we shot family photos and wedding party photos at the George Eastman House and gardens on East Ave.  We then continued out to the Rochester Country Club for their tented wedding reception. Apples carried the fall theme and colors through the centerpieces and decor. No matter the location their rich personalities show through in all their photos while their caring and compassionate family moments are seen clearly in their album.

Album Delivery by Neil

You’ll be just as excited and enthralled to open your album for the first time!

Order a Custom Design Series Album from our three sizes: 8 Series, 9 Series, and 13 Series

We also have an a-la-carte option that starts at $300 – and you build the album with only the photos you want by starting with an either an 8 inch cover, or an 11 inch cover.  Add each page of your album by selecting ‘album page’ from the photo page in your private gallery on the shopping cart.

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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.

I made a stop to my local New York Antique shop and picked up some choice authentic postcards. A quick scan later and I’ve got Deanna a real vintage look for the back of her postcard to match that beautiful shot sitting on the groom’s lap in thecockpit of the P-40 Warhawk.

Little Ryan Anthony was born November 17th 2007 and I was there to help Shannon make her birth announcements.

But sadly that’s another blog post you’ll have to look forward to another day – this one is is about “Where Art Lives” – we hope the different answers you see us helping our clients making, gives you creative ideas about how to use the art we make for you.

So here’s a look at Shannon’s classy cute bedroom arrangement, decorated with her wedding photos.

Shannon paired small prints with the added the  cutesy  touch of brown ribbon bows and hanging from a pewter pin over her bed.  The prints are a romantic selection from her reception with the signature pink lighting that pops off the walls like little pink polka-dots.

The room doesn’t end there however, on no – we took a few more than three good pictures!

The light touch of the summer sky blue, is starkly broken by the chocolate frames and ribbon on the  opposite  wall above the bed.  White shelves hold a light arrangement which is the focus of this wall.  

Shannon’s two shelf arrangement with white frames keeps the tones light, and the focus on the photos.

If you’re super-proud of what you’ve done with your wedding photos (and we don’t yet know about it) send us in a couple snapshots, or let me know when I can stop by and promo your interior design skills!

Who is Make Love Real? from Neil Cowley on Vimeo.

…the first section of four short films about our business.  We’re totally excited to share these with you over the next couple months as we book new weddings, meet new people and get used to our new home in Charlotte – anyone in the world can meet with us through our site.  A BIG thanks to Andrew Marzano the producer of our series.

I have to dedicate this first video to My wife, the love of my life – who’s inspired me to such great heights of experience, and such great depths of understanding.

With this post, I’m initiating a new category in the site called ‘Love Note’ where anyone can send in a love note that will be published as a public proclimation for the 5-10,000 people who visit this site every month.  We’re open to any kind of media, and will help you host and present it.  I hope to see us develop this into a little bit of a friendly competion – since my love note to My wife started with a big production budget – I’m winning!

But like the old horse says, “when you are real, you can’t be ugly” – so don’t be intimidated, start sending it in!!

Read on to see more of this massive album delivery I just sent out in the mail.

Let’s talk statistics here for a moment, stacked here are 3150 custom printed pages from their wedding! The set includes one bridal album with custom cover; 3 parent books; 40 mini gift books and the storage briefcase. Total shipping weight is 27lbs. You will be totally satisfied and completely overwhelmed by your albums when they arrive!

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.

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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.

Joshua and Erica’s album tied in the bold colors of their wedding with the romantic charm of their location.

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I designed the backgrounds of their album pages with shots I took of their bridesmaid’s dresses to get the iridescent look in the picture – combine that with the metallic paper we offer in our albums and you have a one-two punch for unbeatable color and shine!

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

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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.

Tammy and John’s wedding was held at the Genesee Country Museum and this natural organic album design flowed from their gorgeous event. Read the extended post below to see the full design and read Neil’s discussion of the design elements.

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Here you can see the full layout of the photos by Neil & My wife Cowley of this 70 page album. If you hire both Neil & My wife to shoot your wedding – you too will have a hard time cutting out enough photos to keep your album to 70 pages.

Creativity in the design

What are your display preferences for album design?

Here you can see one particular spread that pushes the creative envelope for combining original photojournalism style photography and the album design. That’s Tammy’s mom peaking through the hanging dresses on the left and a shot looking through the dresses of Tammy laughing hysterically.

I’m particularly proud that our images are ‘flawless’ enough to be spread across two pages in the album design. When an image is printed 19″ wide full bleed, any imperfections show right up. This romantic image from behind is on of the side moments, that allow for suggestive interpretations and is place at a point in the flow of the album that allows the viewer to catch their breath for a moment as they traverse the pages. This suggestive photo journalistic image asks for a pause and reflection in the transition of the story of the album.

Do photojournalists do group photos? YES, of course! Are full bleed two page photos good design? Yes, all the design intention was put in while holding the camera. To me, the ultimate album would be all double truck images of all the defining moments of your wedding. However, I’m not super-human yet so that does seem a out of reach for us mortal photographers.

The floral design for this Rochester NY area upstate wedding was done by Thrive Flowers.

I look forward to creatively expressing your wedding photos in the album design.

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

Can you guess which one is Kona? This is the front of their Christmas card shot in the snow here outside Rochester. Read on to see the back and inside photos…

Kona gets featured on the back too, little pup’s stealing the show! I was able to print these cards on a special paper stock called ‘pearl’ resulting in just a little shimmer from the whites – just like you see on real snow. Tany and Eric wanted to feature playing in the snow and I was able to deliver a sparkling holiday card for them.

The cards present a full bleed (printed to the edges), folded four panel card with a size of 4×5.5 inches and your order comes with complete with envelopes.

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

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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.

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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.

…..over a year later I hope it shows in their album design.

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Wendy and Billy chose to print their album on Metallic paper to give it the most color and contrast with a sharp metallic cover to match.

Read more to see the whole design in a flash player and a few of my comments on the stronger page designs.

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Here is the whole album in a flash player, if you cannot see this player – please download an install the latest flash.

Here’s a lighthearted page at side 9 and 10 that shows how we can use creative cropping and image placement of seemingly unrelated images to create a bright color palette and telling design. The bottom left image is quite filled with detail if you can’t quite read it all notice it larger here:

Sometimes people equate taking pictures of ‘things’ as details pictures, saying “I love the details” well, we shoot images with detail in the texture, and storytelling in the composition so that they can fit back into the layout and add story to the finished product. There you can see the tourism magazine from the bedstand noting the location, a bridal accecory from Haute Bride, Britta’s mamosa and her lively pink moto rAzr.

Next we see a designed series of image showing Britta and Cameron’s first meeting just before their ceremony.   You can see me playing with scale to show time from left to right.

And finally a subtle touch at that first meeting is a gentle picture representing the ceremony about to happen.

Here on the left we have a large bisected square representing in smaller squares all the flurry of activity just before the ceremony. The page is culminated by Britta’s father giving her a kiss on the cheek while giving her away.

Well I guess I’m noticing the details again, here I have 4 shots representing the event design and coloring of the reception in the historical Victorian Athenaeum hotel which has been serving guests since 1881. If you’ll notice my emphasis on the vertical design and incorporate it within the images and merge it within the design using a chair back as a photo design element to complement the album design.

Here we see another inventive combination of photo design merged with the book design.

Over these six pages I developed a storyline from the evening portraits, guest waving goodbye to Cameron and Britta, Cameron carrying Britta over the threshold of their honeymoon suite and a few tender moments on the bed to finish the wedding story all the way to the end of the night in the album design. I love building a relationship strong enough to allow me to portray my clients with such honesty and tenderness.

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 (-;

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Read on below the jump if the flash gallery above does not show up in your browser….

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One of the challenges I face is how to know what to photograph, so to make myself better by understanding your perspective I’ll give you a free enlargement (whatever size you request) if you call up 1(641)985-7878 ex*4210197 and leave a message describing to me what was your favorite picture, and why. No, easy answers like ‘Neil you’re a genius’ don’t count – you really have to tell me what’s important to you and how it made you feel to have it captured….I know you can do it….just look at the picture while you call and it’ll be easy. If you’re having trouble getting started then just think about what happened leading up to the image, and tell that story starting there and then your thoughts will flow out.

If the groom has a separate favorite image, then he can call in on his own and leave his story for a second print.When I hear it, I’ll know the picture – or you can e-mail me the number and I’ll get an enlargement made in the size you request in the e-mail.

To get this shot I had Tanya sit on the diving board of the pool and Erik jumped in to get some hugs and poof the picture was made. I had communicated with Tanya about her picture preferences and she didn’t want anything too posed and didn’t want to spend precious time away from her wedding posing — and that desire was balanced by the somewhat traditional need to produce a representation of herself and her husband on the thank-you card. So in this shot she enjoyed the mood – as well as the representation – and was freed from any expectation to go all out on the back:

I feel this image provides a very good representation of the ‘empathetic’ side of display preferences I first started talking about in another page(link). Now from this shot you can better understand my opening statement “Display preferences don’t change how we shoot…but good communication from you can free us up to do our job the best way we can” you see it’s very easy as a wedding photographer to become afraid of black. By afraid of black, I mean the fast pace and the stress of the job can lead you to only make ‘normalized’ images. Exposures that capture the action or emotion, but the tonality within the image itself does not represent the same emotions and mood that the subject matter does. In this nearly silhouetted photo, where Tanya and Erik nearly kiss, and the nearly setting sun speckles the tenting with golden drops – I’ve achieved a photo who’s emotions, visuals and actions parallel each other and drive home the same golden experience.

The most expressive and unique images may be found, but in the process of doing so we fall short more often than we achieve the goal. As we are talking with you about your wedding day and plans, it’s good to encourage us that abnormal is ok. Hiring a real artist, who will express your wedding is a risk; a risk worth taking for sure! A risk that you minimize by actually looking through many of the events your artist has shot and really taking stock of the expressive powers of the artist. When you really know your artist you can then commit with confidence to those talents.

You can also read more of our thoughts on photography display preferences or choosing a wedding photographer in those categories.

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.

∞

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.

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A graphic, but minimal design for this stylish New Jersey skyline wedding

Christina & Jacob held their New Jersey wedding photographed by Neil & My wife Cowley in the skyscraper overlooking the New Jersy and New York coast from the Newark Club.

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Click below to see their complete design…

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I shot this wedding with the help of Gary Ventura and Mary Corcoran because My wife  inconveniently  decided to get sick and those two skilled photographers stepped in and helped Holly & John’s wedding go of without noticing.  I was able to take the images and design a modern, urban and graphic representation of their day with sharp black backgrounds and endearing pink touches.  The design clearly reflects Holly & John’s personal style and the styling of their wedding day.  

Stay around to see the end of the design as I made it all the way back to their bedroom with them, and I dragged the petals used in the ceremony back to use for their ‘first night’ photos.  A spectacular way to end their wedding night!

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.