CSE Photography

Kirsten + James | Engagement | Bradenton and Anna Maria Island

2011-06-20T16:53:00.008-04:00

Kirsten and James are our lucky 11.11.11 couple. I am surprised we are still getting so many inquiries for this date but thankfully Kirsten and James booked us very early on, and the early bird does get the worm after all. We met them down near Anna Maria Island on Bradenton Beach for their session. These two are so natural and fun- we love a couple that knows how to snuggle! We wanted to show them having a little fun since they did meet playing kickball after all, and we enjoyed laughing with them during the session. Kirsten actually referred us one of our first wedding clients and we are so thrilled that she kept us in mind after all this time so that we can be part of their wedding this fall at the Bayou Club. We have this little streak of animals jumping into pictures so when we caught a seagull totally photo-bombing our dramatic shot we were thrilled. Now, meet Kirsten and James!

Thank you again, Mr. Seagull. Kirsten + James- we had so much fun with you! Can't wait till we can hang out some more.

Jenny + Josh | Wedding Love Story

2011-05-23T16:00:00.005-04:00

Our Love Story product line got started with Rick and Loren's engagement session a little while back (who are actually getting married today!). If you are not sure about whether you want full wedding video, this is a great option that captures the most important moments and an overall feel of the wedding day. We always love working on these with our couples because it is completely unique every time.

Jenny and Josh were our first wedding day Love Story, and we were so excited to be doing one for these two. They are such amazing people both as individuals and together and through getting to know them it was easy to come up with a great concept that fit them. We knew we wanted to utilizing the journal that Josh used to propose which was a part of their engagement session as well. Evan created a perfect series that represented them perfectly.

Hope you all enjoy! We are off to Loren and Rick's wedding, we hope you all have a safe and fun Memorial Day weekend!

Also, be sure to check out the Love Story page on CSEPhotography.com to see Rick and Loren's video!

Debbie | Bridals | Tampa Bay Wedding Photography

2011-04-20T11:19:00.000-04:00

I am so excited to post Debbie's bridal shoot finally! We enjoyed getting to work with her on this shoot so much. Debbie is as sweet as she is beautiful and we had a blast hanging out with her for an extra day. I'll be posting Debbie and Kent's wedding in the next few weeks so that you can enjoy more of her gorgeousness then. But for now, here are my favorites from her modeling debut :)

Ashley + Sean | Mixon's On The Grove | Bradenton Wedding Photography

2011-04-14T11:13:00.001-04:00

Ashley and Sean are pretty amazing people. We have had a wonderful time getting to know them and were so excited when this day finally arrived. When we shot their engagement session last year we did a vintage theme and I can still remember how excited they both were to play dress up with us. On the wedding day they used similar vintage influences for centerpieces and escort cards and I love how they used their engagement photos stuck in wine corks as table numbers.

Ashley looked so stunning and we had lots of time so I did a ton of bridals, including one that was a recreation of a photo taken of her mom. These were my favorites.

They are both so photogenic and had a really fun bridal party.

We had a blast exploring the groves with them, and it smelled amazing because the orange blossoms were, well, blossoming.

Venue: Mixon's Fruit Farms
Catering: Orange Blossom Catering
Florals: Flowers by Dawn
Rentals: US Tent Rental
Hair & MU: Beautiful You

Albums With Attitude | Our Designer Wedding Album Line | FINAO

2011-04-13T13:44:00.004-04:00

Last week I showed you our new sample KISS albums. But we know that simple and classic isn't for everybody and that's why we offer a second line of Designer albums from FINAO. For those of you that want to have a little more control over how customized your wedding album is, these are for you. This album line is pretty much like Starbucks, with thousands of possible combinations. They are definitely modern and ultra hip, and the swatch kit proves it. These top grain leathers are dyed and embossed to create unique textures that can mimic lizard, alligator or ostrich hides. And they come in amazing colors that you can mix and match and most of them are imprintable. And with names like "biker chic", "bomber jacket" and "platinum blonde" these albums can fit any personality. There are also several unique cover options so if you want one of your portraits as the cover you can have it printed under acrylic or on a canvas panel or wrap. Other upgrade covers include laid ink on metal, aluminum or even wood.

Besides the array of options, my favorite thing about this company is they are very environmentally friendly. Nearly everything is handmade and there is even an entire vegan collection of PVC free faux leathers and suedes as well as beautiful fabrics and silks that can adorn your wedding album. Even they're packaging is biodegradable. And last, the albums also come in a few unique sizes like 20" by 8". Here are some photos of the swatch kit which is impressive in itself- they came in their own tins. We actually don't have a full sample album yet because we can't decide what we want :)

You can see just how many options there are. This isn't even half of them.

from the vegan collection...

some of the fabrics...

and the silks...

Here are a few of the upgrade cover options...

I think this is the first combination I want to order: "saturday night special" which is one of the new metallic leathers and "femme noir" as an accent.

And of course I have the swatch kit here if anyone wants to come and play with me. I'm expecting to have a full sample of these in May.

In The Desert | Our First WPPI Experience | Las Vegas, Nevada

2011-04-11T09:02:00.000-04:00

The time was 4:30 am. My alarm was going off after an hour and a half of sleep following the annual "Airplanes and Blazers" party at the Rio hotel; a traditional part of the Wedding and Portrait Photographers International experience. We had many opportunities at our first WPPI including a variety of extremely informative master classes taught by industry leading professionals and an overwhelming trade show that made us feel like kids in the world's largest Toys 'R Us. In the time that we have been home since our week long adventure in Sin City, we have been able to gather our thoughts and have so much to be thankful for as the experience has not only made us better business owners, but better photographers.

So, back to the early bird photographer. Of the 16,000 people who attended WPPI this year, only a handful seemed to be willing to meet at 5a.m. and drive 45 minutes into the desert for a lesson in lighting while their wives slept comfortably in their very nice Vegas hotel room. Well, not only do I feel that a good photographer never stops learning, but I wasn't about to turn down and opportunity to learn hands on from Zach and Jody Gray of Gray Photography, industry leaders and super cool people. The images below reflect my sunrise lesson in perfect lighting.

As soon as we arrived, I jumped out and grabbed the models that had been asked to join us. The scenery was irresistible and I shot as much as possible.

Our first lesson was a technique that helps to get perfect exposure for both your foreground and background- a feat not easily accomplished when the morning sun is beating down on both your subject from one very specific direction and on the mountains in the distance.

Next, we worked with diffusing the harsh light with no added artificial light. I was so thrilled with these shots that we ordered this very same diffuser (seen in use below) within days after getting home.

Our last set up was a little more commercial than we're used to, but one of my favorite things to do is learn techniques from another genre and find a way to bring them into the wedding industry.

The shoot ended with a long trip back to Vegas, crossing my legs the whole time. Apparently no one thought to install restrooms in the middle of the desert. A very special thank you to Zach and Jody who have not only changed the way I see light but have effectively helped us to provide a higher quality product to our clients.

The last time I blogged on here, we had just returned from Mud Wars. This time is was the desert. I'm thinking my next post has to be really out there; anybody want to get their bridals done in the Everglades?

-Evan

Get KISSed! | Introducing Kiss Wedding Albums

2011-04-07T12:08:00.008-04:00

Waiting for the UPS man is always exciting, but this week I was a bit of a crazy-person counting down the days until our new sample albums arrived. My friend Ashley was fortunate enough to be in the studio to see me accept the package and proceed to act like said crazy-person while I tore through the packaging.

There are a lot of album companies out there. We've tried several but were still looking for "The One". We discovered KISS at WPPI this year and new immediately that these were the albums we wanted to offer our clients. Simple, modern, elegant. They show off our photography well and match our style. These are not your Grandmother's wedding albums. The simplicity is fabulous; they come in leather or linen covers, 4 sizes and 7 colors. And the colors all have fabulous names like Sultry Blue and Forbidden Green. For our studio samples we wanted to show the range of the product so we ordered a 10 x 10, leather in Virgin White and a 12 x 12 line album in Voluptuous Black. We also got a Little KISS- 4 x 4 album that is great to carry around with you.

The look and feel of these albums are impressive. The leather albums are made from 100% full grain natural leathers with thick durable pages- 2mm thick to be exact. The linen is equally gorgeous, with thinner and more flexible pages. I love the linen ones for engagement albums and guest books. Pages from both albums lay flat like traditional flush mounts but the pages are creased instead of cut so you have a whole print crossing the entire spread. The prints are made from Fugi Crystal Archival paper so you don't have to worry about fading over time. And every album (even the minis) come with a sexy dust cloth cover. I never thought I'd describe a dust cloth as sexy- but somehow these are.

The best part of working with KISS is their amazing customer service (Rachel "The Helpful Hottie" was quite helpful indeed) and quick turn around time- these albums shipped 8 days early. I could go on and on about these but I'd like to show you some more pictures. And I encourage all Brides considering an album to come by and feel these bad boys yourself.

You can really see here how lovely the creased print looks across a whole spread.

And here's the Linen Album

And here's the Little KISS!

Beautiful, no? I can't wait to start designing these simply stunning albums for our brides!

Ybor Engagement Session | Caitlin + Erik | Tampa Wedding Photography

2011-03-25T08:50:00.000-04:00

Happy Friday! We are headed to shoot Sarah and John's wedding today but I wanted to post this gem before the week is officially over (although our week just began). I'll have a ton of posts next week including Ashley and Sean's wedding but for now, I'd like to share this session we did with Caitlin and Erik a few weeks back. I love the colors in these. I love the textures. We can't wait for their wedding at Sacred Heart Church and Centro Asturiano on April 1st- which shows you how much fun these two are ;)

Have a fabulous weekend all!

Selby Gardens Wedding | Candace + Matt | Sarasota Wedding Photography

2011-03-22T12:33:00.002-04:00

Matt proposed to Candace at Selby Gardens under the banyan tree,so it was only appropriate to make it official here too. Here in Florida we have about a week of spring and these too were lucky enough to have their wedding during it. Candace loves orchids and has a very green thumb which flowed into the wedding details of natural centerpieces and basil favors. It was such a beautiful and sunny day with that perfect mixture of cool breeze and warmth from the sun. Some days everything works out just perfectly...

Congrats again to Mr. and Mrs. Smith ;)

Amy + Justin Engagement Session | Tampa Wedding Photographers

2011-03-21T09:00:00.000-04:00

We were so excited when Amy wanted us to be part of her and Justin's wedding day because she is an intern for one of our favorite vendors, Elan Event Studio. Amy and Justin have great smiles and didn't even need to practice them all that much for our session. Shooting with them at the University of Tampa campus was a lot of fun, and we enjoyed getting to know them. Amy and Justin will be tying the knot on the other side of the river from UT at the Tampa Museum of Art in October later this year. It's always such a huge compliment when other industry professionals hire you, because they know their stuff!

Amy & Justin totally rocked the engagement session and their modern wedding is going to be stunning!

Sarah + Steve | Laid Back Engagement Session | Palm Beach Wedding Photography

2011-03-17T11:30:00.001-04:00

Meeting up with Sarah and Steve for their engagement session was like meeting up with old friends. They are such relaxed and cool people which is why we decided to shoot in downtown St. Petersburg outside of Grand Central Art Supply's graffiti wall and then at The Chattaway for burgers and beer (Happy St. Patty's Day). Sarah and Steve's June wedding is going to be particularly cool for us. First, because Sarah's family is great friends with Evan's family and members of the same church. Sarah is also a graduate of Dreyfoos School of the Arts, she was a senior when we were freshman. But most importantly her mom was the Dean of the Visual Arts department during our attendance and one of my fine arts teachers. So we are deeply honored to be artistically involved in this important day of their lives. There is also a very good chance that several of our old teachers will be in attendance at the wedding, including my photography teacher of 4 years, so it will be important to impress the pants off of everyone. It'll be really fun to see everyone and show them how much our education there has influenced us.

Steve spilled some beer (okay, a lot of beer) so Sarah took over pouring.

This wedding is going to have the most amazing details and we are pretty sure it is going to be a ton of fun to shoot too!

The Entourage | Loren + Bridesmaids | Tampa Wedding Photography

2011-03-16T10:00:00.003-04:00

Loren is marrying Rick this coming May, and since Loren is so very kick ass herself she of course has some kick ass bridesmaids. We met up with Loren, Danielle, Jenny and Bonnie at Little Brooklyn Vintage in downtown St. Petersburg for a fun bridesmaids shoot. The girls sifted through the amazing selection of clothes and found their favorite pieces and then we had a little fashion show- a la The Sweetest Thing. We then ventured around downtown for some fun portraits (with rain boots!) and bridesmaid bonding.

Bonnie, Loren, Danielle and Jenny :)

I absolutely adore this portrait of all 4 of them, very America's Next Top Model, no?

This shoot was a ton of fun and such a great gift for Loren to give to her very best friends. I cannot wait to see them all again at the wedding in 2 months!

Ashley + Mike | 'Sweet' Engagement Session | University of Tampa Wedding Photography

2011-03-15T12:39:00.005-04:00

Some of our dear friends, Ashley & Mike, recently got engaged and they are currently planning their destination wedding (on their anniversary) in Jamaica 2013. These two are so gorgeous together and I am so happy for them. I met them back when I attended the University of Tampa (Mike attended UT, while Ashley attended USF), and since this is where the two have spent a majority of their time together, we decided to shoot their engagement session here. One of their favorite things to do together is cook and bake, so we included some sweets in as well, and then we all got to eat cookies together- do we have the best job or what?

We loved shooting this session so much and getting to capture the way that Mike looks at her :)

Krystal + Scott | Sand Key Beach Wedding | Clearwater Wedding Photography

2011-03-11T15:34:00.001-05:00

Krystal & Scott were married the Saturday before we left for WPPI on Sand Key Beach in Clearwater. Their ceremony was very intimate with only close friends and family and then a very lively and fun reception was held at the Clearwater Sailing Center for all of their friends and family. This wedding had so many unique details that I loved; postcard guest book, pinwheels, a broche bouquet, and a wishing stone ceremony, along with lots of aqua, peach and sparkly details.

This is the tattoo that Krystal surprised Scott with and has lyrics to a song he loves.

Here is the entire wedding walking down to the water to throw their "wishing stones" in.

Congrats again you two!

Featured in Get Married magazine

2011-01-17T21:35:00.002-05:00

We are excited to have a photo featured in the Spring 2011 edition of Get Married magazine! Our image is part of their citrus-inspiration board. The centerpiece shown was from Alexa and Marcus' July wedding at the Don Cesar and was made by the bride herself.

You can pick up a copy of Get Married when it hits news stands starting January 18th (tomorrow)!

Betty + Jason | Studio Bridal Portraits | Tampa Wedding Photography

2011-01-15T18:41:00.003-05:00

Betty & Jason got married today and these are from their bridal studio session we did a few weeks ago with their second surprise wedding outfit that they changed into during the reception. I absolutely love the colors of this traditional Chinese attire.

Congratulations to the newlyweds, I can;t wait to post your wedding sneaks next week ;)

Natalie + Ryan | Engagement | St. Petersburg

2011-01-12T21:12:00.001-05:00

Natalie and Ryan were so easy to work with because they were so natural with each other. They took our direction really well and are going to be total pros when we shoot their wedding next month in Auburndale, at Town Manor on the Lake. We shot their engagement session around downtown St. Petersburg at the beginning of the New Year and here are a few of our favorite shots.

Kathy + David | Tampa Wedding Photography

2011-01-06T22:38:00.003-05:00

Kathy and David tied the knot on New Year's Day. They were our first wedding of the year and at one of our favorite venues in Tampa, The Bayanihan Arts and Events Center. Both previous times we shot with Kathy and David we were all totally freezing (their engagement session was on the ice at the St. Pete Times Forum) and with snowflake inspired decor we were all convinced it might actually snow on their wedding day. It didn't. It was actually quite gorgeous out and we had a blast throughout the entire wedding, especially the Studio Booth which I'll share later.

Venue, Florals & Decor: Bayanihan Arts & Events Center
Catering: Delectibles
Cake: Chef Nelson
DJ: Grant Hemond & Associates

Happy New Year!

2011-01-01T01:46:00.002-05:00

Congrats to Kelly & Scott who said "I do" just before midnight on New Year's Eve. Happy 2011 everyone!

A Year in Photos

2010-12-31T19:03:00.002-05:00

2010 has been a crazy year for us. Our first complete year in business. A move into a new downtown studio and gallery. So many new clients and friends. As we are getting ready today to shoot our last wedding of 2010 tonight (and our first wedding of 2011 10 hours after that!) we are looking back on everything we've accomplished together this year.Here's a few of the things we did this year...

We shot 33 weddings,
40 engagement sessions,
22 portrait sessions,
9 Studio Booths,
8 events and private functions.
We shot our first baby of a former bride just a few weeks ago :)

And we learned...

A backyard wedding can be just as good as a $100,000 wedding,
Being a wedding photographer is very much a lifestyle rather than just a business,
and there has to be emotion behind the lens to show the emotion in front of it.

So here's to a fabulous year and hopefully another equally fabulous one in 2011!

Real Wedding: Siobhan + Mike! Wedding at Sheraton Suites Tampa

2010-11-08T18:15:00.000-05:00

Siobhan and Mike tied the knot in July and our very good mutual friend, Sam, officiate. I absolutely love when a couple has someone close to them perform the ceremony. It is so much more personal than having someone you don't know marry you. Siobhan and Mike's wedding was filled with fun colors, music (the bridal party danced down the aisle following the ceremony) and they also included a Studio Booth in their festivities.

Our favorite feature of the Sheraton Suites Tampa is the amazing atrium in the middle of the hotel. Siobhan entered the ceremony from the glass elevator that carried her from the top floor down to the aisle where Mike was waiting for her.

I'll be posting the Studio Booth pics next, so stay tuned!

The Ladies of Elan Event Studio | Tampa Portrait Photography

2010-11-05T08:05:00.002-04:00

Elan Event Studio is a full service Tampa Bay event planning and design studio. We have worked with them many times at events including The Gasparilla International Fim Festival and our own grand opening party. We were so honored to do this shoot for them for their new website.

Here's Monica, Owner and Senior Planner

And Erica, Associate Planner

Elan Event Studio is on our vendor list of highly recommended professionals and we love working with them!

Real Wedding: Pamela + Dennis Palm Beach, FL

2010-11-04T12:41:00.005-04:00

Pam and Dennis were married back in June in my hometown of Boynton Beach, FL. Our Dad's grew up together, so this was a really fun wedding to attend because along with her family, I knew many of the guests. )Her parents came all the way over to St. Pete to watch Evan and I tie the knot 3 years ago). My Dad and grandfather both attended this wedding, so it was really fun to have them watch Evan and I in action. Pam looked absolutely stunning and the first bridal portrait is on a lot of our marketing materials now. It's so funny how quick, rushed photo ops can sometimes come out to be "the" picture of the day.

I got my Dad to dance with me at some point during the evening which always really more of a train wreck. Even Evan and I got a chance to squeeze in a few minutes of dancing which is the best when we can make it happen :)

Sneak Peek: Laura & Randy's Southern Wedding

2010-11-01T14:25:00.002-04:00

I have quite a few weddings to post, so to get you and myself excited for what's to come, I wanted to share an image from the wedding we shot on my birthday a few weeks ago up in The Villages, FL.

Choosing just one image to share is soooo hard. Laura allotted over 2 hours for portraits and we got some truly amazing images that will soon be canvases in our studio :) The colors in their portraits are so incredible... but I'll leave that for their full post. For now, this black and white image conveys a little bit of mystery to me.

Happy Halloween!

2010-10-31T20:47:00.004-04:00

We got some cute entries for our Halloween contest, thanks to everyone who sent in photos! Congratulations to Krystal, who is getting married in February for her winning entry of her as a Lion Tamer! Here's the photo she sent in below:

Love the action of her "taming" her dog Kamikaze. We also want to show an honorable mention of one of our grooms, Dave, for his rockin' photo as well.

This was fun, so we will definitely do some more contests in the future. Krystal- don't forget to email me what photo you want printed for your canvas :) Now that we showed you some of your photos, here are our costumes. Now, fair warning, we are dorks. If you didn't know that and already signed us, too late.

I was a cook, and Evan was....

....Marty McFly! So, yeah. I warned you. We can go a little overboard. I mentioned we also have a lot of fun carving our pumpkins so here is a compilation of the 3 we did this year, including my Jaws pumpkin, Evan's scary face, and the Rebel Alliance symbol which I made for Evan.

Have a Happy Halloween everyone, and this week we have a ton of blog posts to share, so stay tuned!

Contest Time!

2010-10-15T16:45:00.004-04:00

by Evan and Caroline

As the weather is cooling, one of our favorite holidays approaches- Halloween! Evan and I tend to put a lot of thought into our costumes as well as carving our pumpkin. So, we thought it would be a fun to have a contest for all of our current clients to share the spirit with us. The winning couple will receive an 11 x 14" metallic thin wrap (like the ones hanging in the studio part of our office).

So, what do you have to do? From now until October 28th at midnight, submit a picture of your self in your Halloween costume to us via e-mail. Now, we know you all aren't photographers- that's why you're our clients right? So, we won't be judging you on how good the picture is. The things we will be judging you on are:

1. Creativity of costume. It can be store bought items put together or home made, we want it to be clever though and reflect your personality. We want to be able to say, "oh that's so Karen". And since you know us so well, you know you'll get extra points for humor.

2. Context of the photograph. We're not looking at composition or anything like that. But we want you to pose yourself in the picture in a way that relates to the costume. If you're a lion, don't stand up and smile at the camera, get your butt down in the grass and hunt for prey. Get it?

That's all! This is for all our current clients, and on Halloween we'll post the winner along with us in OUR costumes. Have fun, and we can't wait to start seeing your submissions!

Featured on My Kate Parker Wedding Blog and The Man Registry!

2010-09-30T12:08:00.001-04:00

We had a photo from Christina & Matt's wedding recently featured on the My Kate Parker Wedding Blog ! They did an inspiration board on wedding lawn games so the shot we got of the bridal party playing croquet was a hole in one. I read this blog regularly and they always feature such beautiful photography, so we were thrilled to be included in this post!

Then in addition, The Man Registry listed the MyKPW inspiration board on their Best of the Web post and chose our photo to feature!

Thanks so much to these sites for featuring our everyday work!

New Video Collection: Love Stories

2010-09-24T16:04:00.006-04:00

by Evan

There are a limited number of words to describe the highest levels of excitement. That said, I am super stoked to announce our new product "Love Story" videos. Rick and Loren's engagement session got Evan-ized this past weekend as we added video to their session. Using our second Nikon D300s, we shot HD footage to an awesome to song by the Plain White T's called "Rhythm of Love" (which I highly recommend downloading, see the link below). The Plain White T's hold a special place in our hearts as "Hey There, Delilah" is the song that Caroline walked down the aisle to. The Love Story product is sort of a music video but it's not so much about the music as it is about the couple. When the camera started rolling, Loren and Rick were free to just be goofy and in love. One thing we can't wait to try out is using a local musician to write an original song for each couple! Let us know what you think of that idea or if you know any musicians that would like to participate. If you'd like to know more about the Love Story videos, give us a call or e-mail and we'll tell you all about it. Check out Loren and Rick's Love Story below.

Rick and Loren Love Story from CSE Photography on Vimeo.

Download this awesome Plain White T's song here.

New Postcards

2010-09-01T10:43:00.001-04:00

Our new pricing is effective today!

Teenagers vs. The Studio Booth!

2010-08-26T11:18:00.007-04:00

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

2010-08-24T14:33:00.009-04:00

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

2010-08-23T14:22:00.005-04:00

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

2010-08-06T13:38:00.003-04:00

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.

Mud Wars- Event Photography on a Whim

2010-07-26T15:20:00.003-04:00

By Evan

This blog post had been a long time coming. You're no longer reading the elegant words of Caroline, my beautiful wife. Instead, you have switched gears to the less social media inclined thoughts of he who puts the "E" in CSE Photography, Evan.

Expect more tech related items coming from me in the future, but for today, I thought I'd mention a recent spur of the moment shoot we did in downtown Saint Petersburg. On our way to an event at the pier, we stopped by Spa Beach where an unexpected treasury of images awaited us. The first annual Adult Mud Wars put on by Tampa Bay Club Sport was taking place. After catching a glimpse of the festivities, we quickly ran home and grabbed the camera.

On this day, history was made as many proud athletes gathered from the Bay area to compete in many activities including mud tug of war, mud football, mud dodgeball, and mud obstacle courses. It's not hard to figure that these are events with capturing, enjoy.

Some of the best shots- both in life and in weddings- are the ones you can't predict. Look forward to some insight on shooting and editing techniques we use to add the extra flare and personal touch to all our client's photos.

Shannon & Mark's Lange Farm Engagement and Vintage Touches

2010-07-17T10:00:00.004-04:00

As a continuation of my vintage inspired engagement week, I speedily prepared these shots from yesterday's shoot with SHannon and Mark on the Lange Farm. Beautiful Florida day, check. Beautiful people in love, check. Bicycle built for two, oh yeah. After needing to reschedule once due to rain, we were given a gorgeous blue and sunny sky with a breeze today while we explored the fields, picket fences and resident furry creatures of the farm.

Shannon had some amazing crafts that she made for the session, including adorable signs and a banner we hung from the barn. We also became very good friends with a resident cat, who followed us around almost the entire shoot and even found his way into a few shots. Besides being on such a beautiful property, the touches that Shannon made to her outfits and vintage hairpieces were spectacular.

Here is kitty's moment of fame. The right photo is my favorite of the day. Shannon's expression is so soft but high fashion and she is just so gorgeous.

My other favorite capture of the day.

The bike was such a blast, Evan and I even rode it for a bit. Hey, we like to have fun too.

So much fun, that I actually needed a nap afterward :) With all the little details I can't wait to see what Shannon comes up with to personalize the wedding! Can't wait for next March!

Ashley & Sean Vintage St Petersburg Engagement Session

2010-07-16T08:00:00.002-04:00

Vintage is a popular trend right now, but we are lucky to have couples that know how to do it right! We started Ashley and Sean's session around downtown St Pete and ventured around to see what cool stuff we could find. Well, how about a really old Ford on the side of the road? Yes please! We lucked out with a really nice owner that actually uses this beauty as his day-to-day car and let us lean on it and climb inside. We only stayed in the vintage theme for about half of the session, even though Sean was not shy about saying he wished people still dressed like that because Ashley looked so adorable (awww, they're so cute right?).

We spent the second half in some more comfy clothes and drove to a park where we played with butterflies (ok, that was me) and got some shots that showed a little more of this couple's fun personality.

Here are some of the more casual shots from Sawgrass Lake Park.

And I just love the way he's looking at her here...

Can't even wait for their wedding next March which will take place in an orange grove!

Geena & Henry University of Tampa Vintage Engagement Session

2010-07-15T11:46:00.003-04:00

The University of Tampa is one of those places that you see a lot of engagement sessions done. It's a highly requested location, especially for couples wanting a vintage look. I actually attended UT for a few years so I know the campus a little too well, so when we do shoot there we try to expose hidden hallways and rooms that you don't typically see in a photographer's portfolio.

Geena and Henry met up with us on a really hot day to do their session and even though the weather was trying (very hard) to make us miserable we had a really fun time. Here's an example; walking along the campus to do an outfit change Evan begins going on one of his rants about something (probably movies) Dialogue-
Evan: "You know what I've never understood?..."
Henry: "Russian?"

I was busting a gut. I am hoping to be able to rent Henry on an hourly basis in the future to teach me other great ways to thwart Evan when he starts a conversation which will inevitably trap me into his dilemma of how different versions of the same comic book contradict the characters.

Anyway, you want to see some of the fabulous shots of their session right? These are a few of my favorites-

I just adored the little details that Geena thought of like her hairpiece, jewelry, adorable shoes, and the vintage watch that Henry wore. They are our lucky 10/10/10 couple and I so look forward to seeing the personal touches Geena finds for their wedding!

And vintage is the theme this week so stay tuned until tomorrow when I show off Ashley & Sean's 1940's themed engagement.

Laurie & Dave | Sanibel Island | Destination Wedding Photography

2010-07-09T10:00:00.006-04:00

Laurie and Dave decided to do a barefoot beach wedding in Sanibel with just their parents and brother. There were a total of 8 people including Evan and I and including the bride and groom. It was an intimate and personal wedding, just about two people in love and we were so honored to be part of it.

Congrats again to Laurie and Dave! I hope that this idea of an intimate barefoot beach wedding will become more of a trend because it was so special.

Venue: Sanibel Harbour Resort & Spa
Reception: Courtside Steakhouse
Dress: by BCBG
Florals: by Special Arrangements in Ft. Myers, FL
Cake: Yum Yum Cakes

Rachel & Brian South Florida Museum Wedding (Part Two)

2010-07-08T08:30:00.003-04:00

The details! Rachel designed the majority of the decor of her wedding around her beautiful red embroidered gown. The personal touches of this wedding were plentiful and masterfully coordinated. From a beautiful DIY escort chart, to the programs and stationery Rachel designed herself, these touches did not go unnoticed by the guests. The South Florida Museum alone is a fantastic venue and we definitely took advantage of the transition from daytime ceremony to nighttime courtyard which looked absolutely magical. Here are just a few of the gorgeous details and reception photos.

One of my favorite details was the coloring book Rachel created for the younger guests, that told the story of Rachel & Brian living happily ever after

Venue: South Florida Museum
Catering, Linens and Cake: Orange Blossom Catering
Florals: Bee Ridge Florist

Rachel & Brian South Florida Museum Wedding (Part One)

2010-07-07T10:33:00.006-04:00

Rachel and Brian's wedding back in April was completely designed around Rachel's stunning red lace gown. The details that she created for her decor were so unique that I have to split this up into two posts because there are just too many fabulous pictures that I must share. I will start with their First Look which we created just before the ceremony in the courtyard of their hotel. I love doing first looks because I feel like they capture the joy an emotion of the couple seeing each other for the first time so much more intimately than during the ceremony. So Here is their first look along with some of their other portraits of the day.

I love how you can see each of their reactions when seeing each other, so emotional

You'll have to stay tuned until tomorrow when I reveal all of the spectacular details of the wedding (hint: think Red!)

Happy Fourth of July!

2010-07-05T23:32:00.001-04:00

Hope everyone had a safe and fun weekend. We celebrated with a BBQ and playing with sparklers down at a park where we had an awesome view of St Pete's fireworks display.

I think Evan looks like a superhero here :)

Nick & Lejla St Petersburg Yacht Club Wedding

2010-06-22T10:56:00.013-04:00

Nick & Lejla tied the knot on May 1st in downtown St Pete. Their beautiful outdoor ceremony was held in South Staub Park and their reception at the St Petersburg Yacht Club. My favorite parts of this wedding were definitely the first-look-esque reveal we had with Lejla and her Dad who was the proudest papa I have ever seen. The reception was gorgeously decorated (I loved their cherry blossom theme!) Along with just an incredible group that was ready to party into the night thanks to DJ Eric Harding from Grant Hemond & Associates. Probably the most memorable thing from this wedding though was the speech- well actually rap- her girls did to the beat of Fresh Prince of Bel Air that told the story of how Nick & Lejla met, fell in love, and lived happily ever after. Too adorable. Here are the highlights of their special day!

My favorite shot of the day

...and then we snuck out during the reception for a few night shots in Straub Park...

Christy & Joe Tampa Yacht Club Wedding

2010-06-17T12:22:00.008-04:00

When we first met Christy and Joe we had no idea just how many different ways we were connected. Joe works at a production company Evan worked for years ago, and he went to University of Tampa when I did too. He actually won an art exhibition I held on campus while I was an RA. We had so much fun getting to know these two and their wedding reception was full of other UT alum, so it was certainly a blast from the past! Christy an Joe tied the Knot at South Tampa Fellowship on Davis Island and had their reception at the Tampa Yacht Club. Several details of this wedding are some of my all-time favorites, from the paper airplane send off, to the matching green Chuck Taylors the couple sported during the reception. (I may be a little biased since I wore sneakers to prom and wear my turquoise chucks almost everyday to the studio, but I digress.) These two are just too cute for words and their love for each other is so powerful that you can't help but smile while you are around them. Just the way they can't take their eyes off one another makes you feel the love.

Congratulations again to Mr. and Mrs. Nammour!

Kit Senior Portraits

2010-06-10T14:46:00.000-04:00

We got the chance to hang out with Kit some more at Northshore Park for her senior portrait sessions. She is such a lively and ambitious person and we wanted to reflect that during the session. She really couldn't have made it any easier on us, it was like she knew exactly how to pose for the camera and make subtle adjustments between each shot, like a true pro! Here are my favorites from the session:

I mean could this girl be a model or what? Kit will be studying aerospace science at UF next year (Go Gators) so we wish her the best of luck!

Tampa Bridal Showcase

2010-06-08T10:07:00.003-04:00

This past Sunday was the Tampa Bridal Showcase at the Wyndham Westshore. Over 200 brides came through looking for vendors for their weddings and they certainly had the best of the best to choose from. It was such an awesome show, put on by Monica Varner of Elan Event Studio and the decor was done by the fabulous Amanda and Matt of MMD Events

Not only did we have a great time exhibiting and meeting tons of new couples, but we got to capture the entire show and all the vendors involved. Our favorite part was photographing the models wearing Anglo Coututre gowns by Vicky Anglo which were absolutely stunning. Here are some of the shots from Sunday.

Fabulous no? It was such a pleasure to be part of this show and we can't wait for the next one in March!

CSE Grand Opening and Party!

2010-06-04T15:11:00.003-04:00

Well, after a month of buying furniture, building furniture, decorating the space, setting up the studio, making prints, hanging frames, moving our lighting equipment here and planning for the Grand Opening...it's all finally done. The space is 100% ours and we got to celebrate with our friends, family, clients, chamber members and fellow wedding professionals for the dream of opening a store-front that we finally made into a reality.

We had over 70 people come through during the party and congratulate us and celebrate with us with delicious food from Orange Blossom Catering, and treats from our neighbors It's Icing On The Cake.

Here are some pictures from the Opening party. Thanks to everyone who made it out, and to those that couldn't we would love to have you over to tour the space and check out our gallery.

Thanks to everyone who helped contribute to make this such an awesome party;
Event Design Elan Event Studio
Catering Orange Blossom Catering
DJ Grant Hemond & Associates
Linens Linens By The Sea
Mini Cupcakes and Desserts It's Icing On The Cake

All in all it was a great event, and I am happy to be back to a normal schedule of editing, designing and blogging. I think I have enough material for a post every day this month so let's see how that goes.

Our Trip to Arizona

2010-05-18T10:25:00.001-04:00

After our fabulous night in Sin City, we got to head east to meet up with Evan's parents in Flagstaff, AZ. They rented a cabin there and it was a ton of fun to explore a new environment. We got to go hiking a little on our own and then we drove with the family to Slide Rock park which was a complete blast and do some more hiking in the forest. The creeks were so beautiful and we did a lot of drinking from them- as I tend to trust fast moving river water over the Floridian tap variety. Something about sipping water right from nature really makes me feel free. And of course through the whole trip we had our equipment in tow. So here are some of the shots I wanted to share.

An awesome look at the water pooling at Slide Rock Park, the colors really looked like that

This was my must take shot of the trip, cracked earth was on my photography bucket list. Check!

We took this awesome Jeep tour in Sedona at sunset and this is our favorite shot of the whole trip

After a few nights in Flagstaff we drove up to the Grand Canyon. I've been out west tons of times but this was our first time seeing the Grand Canyon and it took my breath away.

Here is my Ansel Adams-esque shot

And the thing that totally blew my mind was being able to see all the stars and constellations so clearly. I'm so used to light pollution and the nights in the Grand Canyon were so peaceful. Can you see the Big Dipper?

Vegas, Baby!

2010-05-15T10:47:00.001-04:00

On our way to meet up with Evan's parents and brother in Arizona for our first family vacation including me, the part I was most excited about was the fact we had to fly into Vegas and then drive to Arizona. The plan was to land early, get a few hours of sinful fun in and then head 4 hours east, over the Hoover Dam, and through the woods to where the parentals would already be staying. Well, I've never been to Vegas before and I didn't think it would be my kind of place but there was so much stuff I wanted to see that a few hours wasn't enough. Well, Evan is quite the romantic and he surprised me with reservations at the MGM Grand as an Anniversary present so we could enjoy a whole night and day exploring the strip. Turns out, Vegas totally gets me. I'm usually a super serious person but was totally able to loosen up and have some fun. The shopping! The art! The food! It was fantastic and we had a blast. Evan doubled his investment in blackjack ($10) and I played some slot machines and came out $6 richer.

Here's a quick glimpse at our fabulous time

Inside of Paris, which I was certain would be my favorite hotel

But it turned out that the Bellagio won my heat, with the Chihully installations and gallery, and of course the Jean Phillipe Patisserie. Absolute heaven.

Thank You Card love

2010-05-01T15:13:00.002-04:00

Got this sweet note from Heather and Matt who are expecting at the end of the year! Can't wait to shoot their maternity photos :)

We love you guys!

Coming Soon....Wedding Sneaks

2010-04-29T21:17:00.005-04:00

It's been a bit crazy around here, with moving into the studio and setting up storefront. And even though we have finally caught up on editing I am finding myself behind on keeping you all posted with all the new weddings we've done the past month! We have one more wedding this weekend before we go on our first vacation since our honeymoon and I look forward to being caught up when we return! So here are some sneaks of what you can look forward to seeing in the next few weeks from us;

Natalie & Roger Lincoln, Embassy Suites- Tampa, FL

Ginny & Jesse Maddox, Clarion Inn- Altamonte Springs, FL

Melissa & Martin Watson, Doubletree Suites- Indian Rocks Beach, FL

Rachel & Brian Spivey, South Florida Museum- Bradenton, FL

Christy & Joe Nammour, South Tampa Yacht Club- Tampa, FL

Laurie & Dave Schroeder, Sanibel Resort & Spa, Sanibel Island, FL

The anticipation is killing you right? We've also got a few modeling sessions to show off, boudoir, and our very first delivery room photos of baby Tyler! So stay tuned :)

New Logo!

2010-04-20T15:23:00.004-04:00

Of course the plan has always been to re-brand when we get the studio up and running. First things first....logo design. Although Evan and I do most of the graphic elements ourselves and I have lots of design background, I decided to hand over the reigns to a real professional graphic designer...as in it's the only thing she does for a living :) Scared to turn over the reigns to someone else, I am delighted to say it was an amazing experience. After many proofs we narrowed it down and then my designer Katie created the fabulous final logo that I am in love with. It is exactly what I pictured in my head but couldn't put on paper by myself. We should have our new sign next week and business cards following soon.....but here it is.

Katie is located in Tampa and I highly recommend her if you need any help with logo or monogram design as well as marketing materials. She's fabulous!

Our New Studio!

2010-04-19T15:07:00.001-04:00

Well the past few weeks have been really crazy, we moved into a studio space on Central Avenue in St Petersburg and the transition has been so much better than expected. We were really nervous about getting a storefront space and all the overhead that comes with it, but we also know it has become a necessity to meet clients and to be as productive as we need to be. We are really lucky to have the business take off the way it has and I think we are realizing that this what we were meant to do. It's coming along amazing so far and we hope to have a huge opening party in about a month. Our space is right next door to It's Icing On The Cake and across the street from The Dressing Room so we have already made lots of new friends and our neighbors are incredible. Now that we're all moved in we've opened doors and started having meetings here and soon we will add our gallery to the front lobby. For now, here are some pictures of the lobby and studio!

Maternity Session: Christine & Joe Plus One

2010-04-01T11:26:00.001-04:00

Christine and Joe will be expecting their baby boy this month so we loaded up the mobile studio and met them in their home for their maternity session. Evan and I only have fur babies right now so I always learn new things while shooting maternity photos. The baby was shifting the entire time, I guess it was his way of posing for us :) We had so much fun and I can't wait for him to arrive because we will be shooting Birth Day photos when he joins us! This was such an amazing session and Joe himself is a photographer so they had some really creative ideas and were up for anything. I had trouble choosing favorites, so here are a bunch from our session.

Engagement Session: Pamela and Dennis

2010-03-31T12:31:00.003-04:00

Pam and Dennis are from Boynton Beach where I am from and Pam's dad is actually a long time friend of my dad. Her parents even came to St Petersburg to attend our wedding 3 years ago, so we are thrilled to be able to have a part in their special day. We shot their engagement session in downtown St Pete (recognize The Cupcake Spot?) while the couple was here for the Grand Prix. I've been wanting to include cupcakes in a shoot for a while and since their wedding is pink-themed it was meant to be. We had a blast hanging out with them and getting to know them as a couple and their June wedding on the east coast is going to be so much fun! See you guys in a few months!

Engagement Photos: Kim and Steve

2010-03-29T11:00:00.003-04:00

There will be lots of blogs coming to you this week. This first official wedding season of ours has been awesome so far but I got a little behind blogging wise so with my work time today I will be writing some ahead of time to post each day this week as a little experiment.

Also, some big news for us. We just upgraded to the Nikon D300S. A huge upgrade, and we have really been upgrading our glass collection as well which is really taking us to the next level. The first session I want to share was from a few weeks ago and was our first shoot with the new camera body. Kim and Steve won a free engagement session from us at the Doubletree Wedding By The Bay Bridal Show. We decided to shoot at Ft DeSoto Beach. It is a place we have shot at many times but have still never used the same location because we want everyone's pictures to be original. Kim and Steve were really laid back and fun to hang out with, they were so easy to work with. We talked a lot about cruises and their honeymoon which will be in Costa Rica which is on mine and Evan's bucket list.

Well, enough talk, here are some images from their session!

Engaged! Lejla & Nick in Downtown St Pete and University of Tampa

2010-03-10T21:40:00.004-05:00

Well it has been one crazy week and a half for us, so lots to come on the blog in the next week. I want to start with this amazingly fun engagement session we did with Lejla and Nick on Saturday. We met in downtown St Pete near the water next to their venue and then walked around downtown for a modern scene, shooting outside of Signature Place and inside Ovation as well as along Bay Walk. Then we moved over to Tampa to the University of Tampa where Lejla and I actually both attended with some overlap- who knew! There we got some more classic shots and had a little more fun. I just love the props that Lejla brought along for the session! I absolutely cannot wait until their wedding May 1st which will be at the St Pete Yacht Club.

I just love these two, you can really see how in love they are by looking in their eyes when they look at each other and that is exactly why Evan and I love what we do.

Married! Natalie and Roger: Studio Booth Sneaks

2010-02-23T08:03:00.003-05:00

This weekend we were honored to be part of the celebration of Natalie and Roger's wedding, and though I am very jealous that they are going to Figi for 10 days for their honeymoon I promised I would get some sneak peeks up for them before they left, so here are a few shots of the happy couple in the Studio Booth at their reception.

And this is my new favorite ring shot:

Happy honeymooning Mr. and Mrs. Lincoln. And we are serious about the honeymoon photos if you feel lonely in Figi :)

Married! Maria & Brian at The Holiday Inn Harbourside

2010-02-22T21:44:00.006-05:00

Maria and Brian tied the knot at the Key West style Holiday Inn Harbourside which was perfect for their tropical themed reception. My favorite details were the gorgeous flowers and color scheme- lime green and turquoise (just like our wedding)! Here are some of my favorite moments and details.

The Studio Booth/ Get to Know Your Photographers

2010-02-19T15:16:00.004-05:00

This is a post I've been wanting to do for a while, 1- to show more examples of our version of the photo booth that we offer at Weddings and Events, and 2- to show our personalities a little more to our readers and 3- I really wanted to try out our new backdrop. Our biggest goal as wedding photographers is to have fun with our couples and really get to know each other so that when we shoot your wedding, it's like we're old friends and you are super relaxed when the camera is on you.

So, Evan and I set up a Studio Booth in our living room and took turns taking portraits of each other in the booth, sometimes with props that we feel represent who we are. We're really just a couple of goof-balls that love to have fun and I hope that this won;t scare anyone away thinking we are loony-tunes ;) I also wanted to finally get some nice portraits up on our website of us, and as a couple who are also photographers, you tend to get lots of great portraits of each other, but never any together. So, we made a goal to get a few cute shots with both of us in frame.

We are also going to be adding a Q&A section to our website so, please if you can think of anything you really want to know about us or our photography, leave us a question here or on our Facebook and we'll try to include it!

Engaged! LaShonda & Franklin

2010-02-18T10:00:00.002-05:00

This is for all you brides and grooms-to-be that don't like having your picture taken...neither does Franklin, and you would never know it from these shots. We met LaShonda and Franklin at the University of Tampa campus to get some casual shots in the park and more classic shots around Plant Hall. This was actually the first engagement session we've done at UT, though it is a popular spot I've seen on many other sites. I actually attended UT for a few years, so I know the campus well and was excited to see what creative places I could find that aren't often used.

Anyway, Franklin really doesn't like having his picture taken, but because he was willing to take direction when needed and be natural with LaShonda (who has enviable skin), they both look great in these shots! The fact is, that these two are really in love- and because they are just being their sweet and fun selves while we follow them paparazzi-style capturing the spontaneous moments, that love is represented very truly.

This I can say is one of my favorite sessions to date. I don't know if it was the purple outfits, or those adorable shoes, or just getting to hang out with two very fun people in love, Evan and I had a blast and I know that their wedding pictures are going to be amazing come May.

Engaged! Marcy & John (and Snoopy and Max)

2010-02-16T21:49:00.003-05:00

In case you didn't already know, Evan and I are huge dog people- I mean big time. Our 2 dogs, Bimini (Lab-Husky-Mutt) and Desi (Hound-Something-Mutt)are like our kids and we treat them as such. Marcy and John are very much like us in this way about their 2 pooches, Snoopy (a Yorkie) and Max (a German Shepard),and so they wanted to include them in their engagement session. We were really excited about this because we love dogs, but also because Marcy got them cute little wedding outfits for the shoot. John says Max is too handsome for clothes so he only wore a bow-tie, and it really was quite handsome. It was a ton of fun and working with dogs is always a challenge because they don't really want to look where you want them too, so we always end up inventing fun noises. But they did great and were so cute too. Then we got to take some portraits of just Marcy and John and they took direction much better than Max and Snoopy did :)

Valentine Themed Love Shoot

2010-02-13T17:48:00.003-05:00

Christina & Matt won a themed East-Meets-West shoot from us but we also wanted to give them some more normal engagement shots. So, we got together today to do some fun shots in normal clothes and gave it a little romantic twist since it is the day before Valentine's Day after all. We shot on the USF St Pete campus and with a few crafts and Matt's guitar we had a really fun themed shoot!

The Great Bridal Expo this Sunday; Get 2 FREE Tickets from CSE Photography

2010-02-10T16:25:00.003-05:00

If this Valentine's day you feel like doing a little wedding planning with your hubby-to-be, come visit us at The Great Bridal Expo. It will be at the Tampa Convention Center this coming Sunday from 12-4pm. Advanced tickets are $7, but if you register online and use our promo code of CSEPFT then you will get 2 tickets FREE! Courtesy of CSE Photography. It's going to be an awesome show and of course, Evan and I will be there at our booth showing off some of our new albums, so please stop by and say hi!

Register for your Tickets HERE

Engaged! Laura & Randy

2010-02-09T16:02:00.007-05:00

Our shoot Saturday with Laura and Randy started off at a citrus grove in central Florida. Despite the recent cold snaps, the fruit on the trees still looked good enough to eat but there was plenty on the ground to play with as props too. And we all ended up smelling like oranges, which I enjoyed. Across the road from the grove was a huge field and behold- bails of hay! I was quite excited about the sudden opportunity to shoot Laura a-top the hay (as I never thought I would have such a chance in Florida) yet there it was! The light was pretty nice despite the crazy wind gusts we had to work with and Laura's hair impressively managed to stay pretty tame.

After our grove and hay adventures, we returned to The Villages to meet their puppy Louie and include him in a few shots. I love dogs and puppies of all kind, so I was gushing over him while making funny noises to get him to look into the lens. I also tried to get an ambitious ring shot; a little too ambitious for a small and wiggly dog, but I will be trying again this weekend when we shoot with another couple incorporating their dogs as well. Louie was so cute and even though he moved (a lot!), I do love the capture I managed to get of the ring before it flew from his nose.

Cute pup, eh? What a fun and easy going couple, and I absolutely cannot wait for their wedding which is on my birthday, October 23rd! I am already dreaming of the amazing portraits we will get around The Villages. I also hope to explore one of the swamps next time we're up that way, as Evan would not let me this time even after I tried to persuade him with the chance to check out some real wetlands. I can't believe that didn't work.

CSE Photography awarded a 2010 Brides Choice Award from WeddingWire !

2010-02-02T13:38:00.004-05:00

WeddingWire.com has selected CSE Photography LLC to receive the 2010 Bride’s Choice Awards™ which recognizes and celebrates excellence in quality and service within the wedding industry! This means we are among the top five percent of all vendors in the WeddingWire community, which includes over 100,000 wedding professionals!!

When looking at the list of others in the Tampa Bay area that also received this honor, I notice many are well established, high-end, studios that and I am so excited to be included among them because I admire many of them. We are so happy to be considered among the best in the industry!

Cheral Floral Studio

2010-01-26T15:04:00.001-05:00

I got the chance to hang out with Cheryl of Cheral Floral Studio while at the wedding show this past Sunday and got some shots of her beautiful arrangements. She always puts such effort into her show displays which really reflects the care she puts into her clients' weddings. A good florist seems to be one of the more difficult vendors to find for a wedding- and as the person taking pictures of the flowers I often see this firsthand as I encounter brides' bouquets that are wilting before the reception begins, or find myself scrambling to get detail shots because the flowers arrived minutes before the ceremony.

I first met Cheryl at a bridal show (we were booth buddies) and I had the pleasure of working with her during Barbara's November wedding. Not only were the centerpieces gorgeous and affordable, when Cheryl arrived in the bridal suite with the bouquets, Barbara informed her that it had slipped the busy bride's mind to order a junior bridesmaid bouquet for her niece. Cheryl simply ran to her van and returned with a beautiful mini bouquet for the little one that she whipped up and stated "Have flowers, will travel!" It was so sweet and impressive and I have been smitten with her since.

Here are some shots of her work at Wedding Show by the Bay:

Wedding Show by the Bay

2010-01-25T14:45:00.001-05:00

Sunday we got to participate in the first "Wedding Show By The Bay" held by the Doubletree Guest Suites Tampa Bay. We are so excited that we were selected to be part of this amazing show as it was invite only for vendors.

For everyone that entered our contest; we have drawn 2 names to each receive $200 off a Caribbean Wedding Package or higher and the winners are:

Joanne Matos and Danielle DelBello

Congratulations ladies! Thanks again to everyone at the show for taking an interest in our work, as we pour our hearts and souls into each wedding we capture. And of course if you would like to sit down with Evan and I in a private meeting we would be happy to consult with you and show you more examples of our art through our clients' galleries.

Trash The Dress: Rebecca

2010-01-23T16:08:00.001-05:00

We helped our model Rebecca trash her dress on the North Beach at Ft. DeSoto where there happened to be some lovely new pilings installed- almost as if they were put there just for us. We had so much fun with her and you can see just how fiercely she worked this dress in the pictures.

What an absolutely stunning girl. We knew we would be using this shoot for our new marketing banner and postcards so Evan and I had a little competition throughout the day of whose concept would be the final one to go on the banner.

Composition #1 (Caroline)

Composition #2 (Evan)

As you can see from our blog header, composition #2 was the winner as the images ended up being much more cohesive when I photo-shopped them together. We both ended up agreeing it was the best choice. Rebecca actually attended our bridal show to see herself in a 6 foot banner form- and promptly pointed out that Evan had won, which I think made his day. Well done honey :)

Engaged! Natalie & Roger

2010-01-20T13:46:00.001-05:00

We chose Howard Park in Tarpon Springs for Natalie and Roger's engagement session for the vast variety of locations in one area. They are using their engagement photos in a very unique way by printing them as their table numbers...only instead of numbers the tables will be named after emotions like passion, friendship, etc- and we incorporated capturing these emotions during their session. What a fun idea!

This session was an absolute blast despite the crazy low temperatures we endured. And of course being on the beach we had to get some sunset shots which were a challenge due to the crazy cold temperatures which plummeted as the sun set, and the freezing wind on the beach, but they did an amazing job.

They don't even look cold! And trust me poor Natalie was freezing as was I. Evan and I had to start taking turns shooting after just a few captures because it was getting too hard to push the shutter release with our frozen fingers! I still can't believe Roger walked in that water! I like to think that we are good at directing our subjects to make sure they look relaxed and serene but Natalie and Roger were true champs. I am so excited for their wedding February 20th and I can't wait to see how they creatively use these photos in their reception!

Engaged! Rachel & Brian Sneak Peek

2010-01-10T23:23:00.001-05:00

We had the pleasure of shooting Rachel and Brian's engagement session at the gorgeous Selby Gardens in Sarasota. It was such a breathtaking location and I am so thankful to Rachel for introducing us to it. Here is a sneak from their session, which I think is also my favorite ring shot to date!

There are many more to come!

Engaged! Cynthia & Brandon

2010-01-05T11:12:00.001-05:00

We started Cynthia & Brandon's engagement session yesterday on the sponge docks in Tarpon Springs. It would have been like any normal session except that Tampa Bay has been graced with this extremely crazy-cold weather and therefore we were having to do jumping-jacks periodically to keep from freezing :) Cynthia is originally from Alaska and even she was cold! We still managed to have a blast with them and I fell absolutely in love with their matching penguin tattoos. Too cute! We can't wait to shoot their wedding in May, especially since it will be much warmer then!

New Year's Eve: 1920's Style

2010-01-02T11:29:00.001-05:00

We got to shoot a really awesome New Year's Eve party for Elyse and Ian (who are also newly engaged!) and the theme of the night was 1920's. Everyone was dressed up; flappers, gangsters, some 20's baseball players and even Lawrence of Arabia. So of course, this was a great opportunity for a Studio Booth!

I got to run the booth while Evan caught the entertainment during the party and it was so much fun getting to chat with all of the guests and get some creative shots with all the fun props we had at our disposal.

2010: The Year of The Smiths!

2010-01-01T13:28:00.002-05:00

Happy New Year everyone! Well, I took a bit of a hiatus with the blogging through December but not because of lack of material as we have been busier than ever! It is insane to think that it was one year ago that I had a crazy idea to start a photography studio part time and in such a short time myself and Evan now dedicate ourselves full time to this business. It's silly really to even think of it as a business because we are doing what we what we love, everyday, together. How much better can it get, really? But nonetheless, 2009 was amazing. We shot our first billboard, were published in The St Pete Times, were published in a local magazine, worked with 5 local charities and donated over $4,000 in photography services, invested in tons of new equipment and made tons of new friends in the wedding community, and we were just awarded a 2010 Brides' Choice Award from Wedding Wire- which means we are in the top 5% of wedding professionals. And that's just a few!

We are so grateful to our amazing clients for making this such a fulfilling experience and we are excited to see what the new year will bring us and CSE Photography! I'm not big on New Year's resolutions (I make my yearly resolutions on my birthday each year) but we do have some goals for the company and for us this year:

1. Blog Regularly About Everything: Not just our newest wedding work but the fashion projects we have been doing as well as a few other fun things in the works.
2. Company re-branding with a new website launch over the summer.
3. Open a new studio and gallery space: it will be great to not live in Starbucks anymore :)
4. Capture at least one destination wedding.
5. Design our own wedding album (we've been married 3 years and still have not done this)
6. Do our own trash the dress session in May on our Anniversary!
7. Take an actual vacation (like with a plane involved and everything): We haven't been on one since our honeymoon!

So, those are just a few fun things I wanted to share and I hope that you all will hold me accountable to them. And of course I know you want to see me in my wedding dress right?

We're Featured on Every Last Detail Blog

2009-12-11T09:21:00.000-05:00

Nicole and Frank's engagement session was featured on Every Last Detail

The link to the complete blog post can be found Here

Real Wedding: Barbara and Andrew

2009-12-01T16:25:00.004-05:00

Barbara and Andy were married at Hyde Park Presbyterian church last Saturday and they had their reception at the Lion's Eye Institute in Ybor. This was an awesome and unique place for a reception and I hope we have the opportunity to do another wedding there. Cheryl Floral Studio did the bouquets and centerpieces and I was quite impressed with the attention to detail. They had a sparkler exit and the lucky couple are going to Sundance Film Festival in January for their honeymoon- Evan and I are so jealous. Congrats again to the newlyweds!

Engaged! Melissa & Martin

2009-12-01T12:50:00.004-05:00

We got to spend Sunday afternoon shooting Melissa and Martin's engagement session at Ballast Point park in south Tampa and also in Old Hyde Park Village. They were a really relaxed couple that were totally up for anything- including standing in the middle of a fountain, which ended up being the location of my favorite photos from this session. I can't wait until their March wedding on Reddington Beach!

Engaged! Nicole & Frank

2009-11-21T18:19:00.006-05:00

We got to shoot engagement photos for the gorgeous Nicole and Frank yesterday in downtown St. Pete. The thing I love most about St Pete is it has a plethora of unique locations and we are always finding more. We took Nicole and Frank to the Old Northeast neighborhood where we recently discovered a really cool roundabout with an old fountain and a veranda covered in flowers. We had a really great time with them, they are both really fun and Frank is especially awesome because he is 6'8" which is 2 inches taller than Evan and it always makes me smile when Evan has to look up to someone (he is so used to being the tallest). Here are some of the shots we took yesterday, and I can't wait to photograph their wedding in May!

Real Wedding: Heather & Matt

2009-11-15T17:13:00.008-05:00

Heather and Matt were married yesterday at the Christ United Methodist Church in downtown St. Petersburg and their reception was at the St. Petersburg Women's Club. This was a wedding we've been looking forward too and now that it has happened I am just so excited to edit the photos that we shot of their day!

Congrats again to Heather & Matt Robertson!

Engaged! Christina & Matt: East meets West

2009-11-14T11:30:00.011-05:00

Christina & Matt were one of the winners of a contest we had in September of coming up with a unique engagement session photo. Christina wanted to do an east-meets-west theme, with her in her grandmother's kimono and Matt in a suit. I though a botanical garden would be a great setting for this so we headed to USF Tampa. I absolutely love this session. Christina and Matt are the cutest couple and I can't wait to photograph their wedding next July!

A Lovely Thank You

2009-11-11T12:38:00.004-05:00

I jut wanted to share this beautiful thank-you note we received from one of our past wedding couples, Cassie and Clay.

It was so very sweet and getting this really made my day. Thanks Cassie and Clay!

Picture in the St Pete Times today!

2009-11-01T19:28:00.002-05:00

Here is our picture from the Museum of History's benefit at Ovation that made it into the St Pete Times today!

Here's a the link to the article online

Connie Kone, president of the Museum of History’s board of directors, and board member Leslie Curran celebrate at Ovation during the museum’s 89th anniversary party, which drew 200 patrons.

St Petersburg Museum of History benefit at Ovation

2009-10-24T18:45:00.001-04:00

Last night was my birthday, and although I don't usually like to work we had the pleasure of doing event photography at the museum of history's benefit at Ovation in downtown St. Petersburg which just opened. The benefit was on the 4th floor event space by the pool, fountain and amazing St. Petersburg skyline- an absolutely amazing place to have an event. The event was a lot of fun, with great food from 400 Beach and Savannah's Cafe and great music, and of course we did a photo booth which as always was a great deal of fun. Museum Board President Connie Kone even wished me a happy birthday during the special thanks announcements- too sweet! Here are just some of the event photos:

CSE Photography Featured on The Design Grove

2009-10-15T19:39:00.003-04:00

The Design Grove is a wedding blog by local planner Lauren Grove. It's a great site to find awesome wedding resources as well as do-it-yourself ideas. I must admit, it is a site which I stalk often, so I am always thrilled when Lauren uses our photos!

Here is the full blog entry with our photos

Caryn & Brent Wedding Portraits

2009-10-11T12:50:00.006-04:00

We had our pickup session yesterday with Caryn and Brent on Macdill Air Force Base. The weather was just as beautiful as their wedding day and we were able to get all of the portrait shots that circumstances didn't allow for. Brent is such a good sport! Here are the first few sneak peeks!

16th Annual Fish Head Ball: Fanta-Sea Fish Fest

2009-10-06T19:12:00.002-04:00

This past weekend we did event photography for the Pier Aquarium's Annual Fish Head Ball which has a fantasy fest theme so it was quite spectacular. There was an auction along with body painting and sampling of delicious food from local restaurants. The painted models made the action a whole lot more interesting and everyone had a great time on the dance floor in their costumes.

Reflection: St. Petersburg History Museum

2009-10-01T14:16:00.000-04:00

At the end of the month (on my birthday actually) we are going to be doing event photography and a photo booth at the Benefit for the St. Petersburg Museum of History which will take place at Ovation on Beach Drive. As part of our sponsorship, we are also taking photo recreation of old postcards of St. Petersburg for a slide show to be shown at the event. We are really excited to be a sponsor for the event and can't wait!

3rd Annual Charity Classic Event

2009-09-26T14:47:00.001-04:00

Last night was the 3rd Annual Charity Classic at the Centre Club in Tampa, which we donated event photography services as well as a photography package for their auction. The event benefits 3 charities; The Muscular Dystrophy Association, ClubCorp’s Employee Partners Care Foundation and The Children's Cancer Center. The event was a great deal of fun and had amazing food as there was an Iron Chef competition- with the prepared dishes being served. There were 2 rounds and the secret ingredients were wahoo and gator. I can;t believe how amazing the gator dishes were too.

Here is our group shot of all the Chefs that participated, fun group.

We also did a photo booth at this event which everyone had a lot of fun with.

Trash The Dress: Downtown St. Pete

2009-09-22T13:11:00.004-04:00

Yesterday we did a trash the dress session with Tracey in downtown St. Petersburg. She brought the most awesome array of props and accesories with her so we were able to do so many different locations. Our first stop was outside of Ceviche in the crosswalk where we gave a map and told her to pretend she was late for her own wedding and they came out great! We also did a runaway bride set out side of the First United Methodist Church downtown (where Charlie Crist got married). After stopping at some garden areas along the way we ended in a fountain on the waterfront that Tracey didn't even hesitate jumping into and I am so in love with the way the pictures of her floating came out. Here are my favorites:

If you are considering a Trash-The-Dress session, know that yours doesn't have to be as extreme as this, do don;t even have to get dirty at all. It can just be a nice opportunity to get some more portraits in a more creative setting. Every Bride after seeing these says, "I don't think I could do that". But surprisingly, Tracey's dress was fine and completely dry before we even got back to the studio!

The Studio Booth (CSE Photo Booth)

2009-09-15T14:33:00.002-04:00

A new option we are offering for weddings and events is a photo booth. Now that you can rent an automated booth, they are becoming very popular so we thought we would play off of the idea and do a more interactive photo booth where we bring our studio lighting and take portraits of guests attending events. We differ than a photo booth in that

1. You have actual humans photographers taking your picture so we will find the best angles and lighting, and

2. We edit the photos by doing color correction and other fixes.

And if your location doesn't have a great background area, we can bring a backdrop that will match your theme. We can also bring props, or our easel with a white board and markers for your guests to create an interactive guest book. And best of all, guests have a blast with it. They can use the photos as keepsakes or even head shots because they are able to download they're pictures from our website for free or order prints.

If you're interested in having a photo booth at your next event or holiday party, contact us! And check out photo booth galleries HERE

Gasparilla Film Fest Party and Art Auction

2009-09-13T14:17:00.003-04:00

This weekend we attended a benefit and art auction for the Gasparilla International Film Festival at the Ritz Ybor. We try to support GIFF as much as we can as Evan has screened there and was a sponsor last year. The art auction was very cool and I got the chance to meet some awesome vendors including Natalie from Chic Sweets who had an awesome candy buffett and we auctioned off a photography package. The other reason this was such an awesome night was because we did our first photo booth with the benefit attendees and it ended up being an even bigger hit than we imagined. I'll post photo booth pictures soon, but for now here are some of the amazing details that Elan Event Studio and the vendors put together.

Happy 20th Birthday Pier Aquaiurm!

2009-09-01T19:42:00.001-04:00

For those of you that don't know this about me...I am a fan of cake. If there is one thing that I enjoy more than photography or aquariums, it's butter-cream frosting. I consider myself a connoisseur of sorts, so when Emily at the Pier Aquarium asked me to cover their 20th birthday party it took no convincing. All she had to say was, "There will be 4 cakes".

And were there ever. Cakes by Carolynn provided 3 beautifully decorated sheet cakes as well as a 4th provided by Publix. There were other awesome activities as well as performances by the Mt. Zion Drumline and Color Guard and a baby shark dance by the Pizazz Song & Dance Troupe. But as you look as these cake pictures, for which I got the opportunity to be reacquainted with my Macro lens, you will see why I was in the clouds.

Real Wedding: Caryn & Brent!

2009-08-10T17:25:00.011-04:00

Saturday we had the pleasure of photographing the wedding of our friends Caryn and Brent at their beautiful beach ceremony on Macdill Air Force base. The weather was beautiful and sunny, and everyone had a great time. Caryn did a great planning job and many of details of the ceremony and reception were very original but classic. Here are a few sneek peeks of images from my favorite moments...

The rings.

Mom zipping up the bride's gown.

The Bride's bouquet of peonies and gardenias with a string of pearls her Maid of Honor crafted before the ceremony. Two of the bridesmaids' bouquets also had a single pink carnation in the middle to represent their sorority.

The couple's first kiss as husband and wife. Brent was wearing his Coast Guard dress uniform.

The very fun bridal party.

A Lotus was the couple's getaway car.

Bridesmaid Meghan getting a shot of Maid of Honor Rachel.

The very cute wedding favors that many guests ate before they could take them home.

Caryn with her bridesmaids; Paula, Rachel and Meghan.

Bride and Groom taking a walk on the pier after the reception.

The happy couple finally getting a moment of privacy.

Heather & Matt: Engagement Session!

2009-08-01T19:55:00.008-04:00

We had a blast hanging out and goofing around with Heather and Matt in downtown St. Petersburg today for their engagement photos. And aside from a few of us stepping on horseshoe crabs, it was a good time all around. We even got some shots of dolphins in the background- what more can you ask for?! Here are a few sneak peeks...

Maternity Shoot

2009-08-01T13:30:00.002-04:00

We did our first maternity shoot this weekend, and I was really happy with the images we got. Here is my favorite:

Second Shoot with Suzy

2009-07-13T21:30:00.009-04:00

Did we mention before that this girl is amazing? We LOVE her :) She layed down in a puddle in the rain in an alley for us and didn't even hesitate. We got so many great and diverse shots with her.