Teenagers vs. The Studio Booth!

Our Studio Booth is certainly most popular at weddings and we have also done it at many charity events over the past year and a half. The Studio Booth is still never tame. But the thought of controlling 40+ teenagers in the booth made me a little nervous and at the same time excited to see how it would differ from a typical Studio Booth at a wedding. So after mentally preparing myself during the hours leading up to it- I opened the booth at Victoria's Sweet 16 party and what I found was... well a picture is worth a thousand words right?

Here's the Birthday Girl, Victoria, vogue-ing it out for me in the booth













Special thanks to DJ Cory Baron from Grant Hemond & Associates who is always a pleasure to work with and really made the party what is was.


So you can see, that the kids were totally creative and fun once they got a little comfortable with the idea. The real surprise was how much the adults at the party were partaking in the Booth festivities. Or maybe it's not so much of a surprise since the adults do have cocktails to help get their creative juices flowing? Either way, this was a really fun group, and a totally deserving sixteen year old. Happy Birthday again to Victoria!

Catering and Linens: Orange Blossom Catering
Floral Arrangements by J. Baldwin (727-360-2195)
Venue: Bayanihan Arts & Events Center
DJ: Cory B. from Grant Hemond & Associates
Cake: A Better Cheesecake
Photography & Videography: Us of course!

Event Photography Lighting- Taking it up a notch

By Evan

As promised, I am writing today to comment on some of the more technical features of what we do. We have always prided ourselves in our reception photography, making an effort to not just document the event but have exciting, fun, colorful "portraits" of our clients and their guests partying through the night. Achieving truly high end reception photography is about much more than knowing how to take a good picture. Rather, it becomes a challenge of not only having the proper equipment, but knowing how to use it. We recently upgraded our lighting arsenal and decided the break the new members of the family in at a sweet 16 party this past weekend. We were so pleased with the results, there was no way we couldn't blog about it. See some of our favorites below with some notes on just what it was about the lighting and photography that made the shot special.









The use of multiple lights changes everything. More fill, better color and perhaps most importantly, the addition of more lights than just the one mounted on the camera adds the perception of studio lighting- something you don't expect at a party. In addition, the use of our low aperture lens collection allows us to capture a lot of movement while allowing as much light in as possible. Here, we are using a combination of our Tokina 11-16mm 2.8 and my personal favorite; our Nikon 50mm 1.8.



In the photo above, my second light has been strategically placed next to the DJ booth, where a cloud of mist fills the air courtesy Cory of Grant Hammond and Associates.





A strong back light can have magical effects, in this first photo the light invades the frame and helps to translate an exciting moment. In the second image, the harsh light actually softens the image taken during an emotional moment as the birthday girl dances with her father. We use this technique often during the first dances at weddings.



Being true to our roots, these lighting techniques even offer the chance to throw a hint of the high fashion edge that we usually use for portraits into the impromptu party environment. After all, every birthday girl should be treated like a celebrity.

That's all for now. I'll be sure check in again soon, I've got all sorts of new toys I'm shooting with now that I can't wait to brag about.

Pop-Art Inspiration Board

Well the past few weeks Evan and I have been planning an inspiration shoot that will be completely inspired by some of my favorite modern artists. Narrowing down which artists would influence the details was difficult, and after trying to incorporate Jackson Pollock several times, I decided to go with a more streamlined look that will utilize the styles of Andy Warhol, Piet Mondrian, and Roy Lichtenstein.



After scouring the internet for some other art inspired wedding elements (which was no easy feat) I created this inspiration board that I feel captures the essence of these three visionaries.



Now I won't be using all of these ideas and I have a few surprises up my sleeve that you will just have to wait and see. I am so excited to be able to incorporate some art history into this wedding shoot and glad that I finally have something concrete to show you all so you can get as excited as I am :)

Victoria & Brandon Engagment Session

Victoria & Brandon were married this past Saturday, and since Brandon flew in from Idaho only a few days before the wedding, we did a mini engagement session with them so that we could get to know Brandon better before the big day. We shot at Seminole Lake Park which is where Brandon first asked Victoria to be his girlfriend. It's a beautiful park with a trail and we got to enjoy an encounter with a gopher tortoise at the end of the session.







Such a sweet couple. And since we edited the photos same day for them, they met us back at the studio and we got to look through them all together. It was so enjoyable to see their reaction and excitement at each photo. We should have couples over for live previews more often.