You don’t need to get crazy-complicated with a family portrait. Just a simple white background and a whole lot of personality will do just fine.

-Michael

“The album looks wonderful! I can’t thank you enough! Thank you for capturing our ‘happily ever after’ I couldn’t have asked for more in a photographer.”

Amanda Rhoades-Jenkins | Otterbein, IN

***UPDATE***Sarah and Stephen’s custom album design and Signature print are both online for viewing.

***UPDATE*** Sarah and Stephen’s personal webpage is now live!  It has a slide show of 30 more images. Check it out, and Stay tuned as it is updated with their album design and Signature Print.

Sarah wanted to keep things simple on her day, so we did just that. We spent the morning getting ready over wine and crudités. While the guys went out to lunch, Morgan did Sara and her mother’s makeup and as always did a phenomenal job. I can retouch skin in Photoshop; however, there is no substitute for good makeup. She is hands-down the best in the area at what she does and a total sweetheart who keeps everyone laughing. We should get her back in here for session two of our Mashup videos.

We also kept the location shoots after the ceremony simple. Sarah must have a good eye because she suggested we use Koehler Brothers, a landscaping supply store right behind the church, for a photo location right after the ceremony. Travel can be one of the biggest time sinks on a wedding day so the fact that we were able to do all the location photography right outside the church and outside the hotel that night helped keep things even simpler.

Sarah and Steve’s engagement session incorporated some night photography last fall. I loved it. Sarah and Steve loved it. So when we got together and were planning how the wedding day should flow I asked Sarah if she would be ok with leaving her reception for a few minutes after dark. It turned out to be a great time, and with Tory being a voice activated light stand it only took 10min to grab 3 different set ups.

Speaking of Tory, she did an amazing job all day as my second photographer. She nailed many of the shots in this post, most notably the first kiss.

-Michael

UPDATE: Stephanie and John’s site is now live! Right now you can enjoy a slide show of additional images and next week check back for the Signature Print. The album design will follow, as will all the wedding proofs. Remember, you can click “Purchase Images” and get registered with an email address right now, that way you’re directly notified every time a new element goes live. Enjoy!

Before I get started let me just give a big thank you to Tory, my second photographer for Step and John’s wedding. This was our first event of the year for 2013, and she hit it out of the park. I believe every couple benefits from the added coverage a second photographer provides, but in this case Tory added as much to the day as myself in so many ways. Steph and John will have many, many great additional images thanks to her!

As far as the rest of the day, I could not have asked for more. As has been the case lately, the day was over before I knew it and I hardly remembered working. The whole experience with Steph, John and their families was much more like celebrating their wedding alongside them and much less like providing a service. This is where I really want to be right now in my career. It’s very fulfilling to see my clients experiencing one of their life’s defining days and know that it’s my honor to preserve that for them.

Hats off to DJ Power from Rat Pak for providing so much assistance throughout the night, not to mention practically turning the Lafayette Theater into a thumpin’ club scene!

So – check back in after this Friday, April 12 for the link to their personalized website, where I’ll have much, much more to see!

-Dave