Leslie & Brandon – Rochester Wedding Engagement Photography
This past weekend I photographed an engagement session for Leslie & Brandon, two Fairport natives whose wedding I’ll be photographing in a few weeks! For this engagement session, I traveled to Erie and spent the afternoon talking with them about how they met, various stories growing up, oh and taking some photographs along the way too. :)
Engagement photos are a great precursor to wedding photographs – Leslie and Brandon were able to get a feel for how I will photograph their wedding, and I can get a good idea of how they react to the camera. During the photography for their Rochester wedding, I’ll be able to draw on the engagement session to achieve more fluid and less invasive wedding day photography. As a Rochester wedding photographer, I’m committed to delivering the very best wedding photographs – engagement photos are one way that I differentiate myself and offer truly exceptional wedding photography.
Here are a few of my favorite photographs from Leslie & Brandon’s engagement session. Enjoy!
Sarah & Brian – Belhurst Castle Wedding Photography – Geneva, NY
In May I’ll be photographing the wedding of Sarah & Brian at the Belhurst Castle in Geneva, NY. Today was the first time I had an opportunity to met with them (they currently reside out of state), and I’m even more excited to be a part of their wedding day! I spent the afternoon touring the grounds with them in preparation of their wedding photography – discovering areas to shoot their formal wedding photographs and to get an overall feeling for the schedule of their wedding day.
The events coordinator, Carmen, has been a part of Belhurst for over 20 years and she was extremely helpful at answering Sarah and Brian’s wedding-day questions and putting them both at ease. Part of the stress of planning a wedding is answering the question, “Who’s going to do what – when?”. Belhurst’s attention to detail and customer-oriented approach is exceptional, putting any wedding-day jitters to rest and reassuring the wedding couple that every detail is masterfully and thoughtfully taken care of.
The possibilities for wedding photography on the grounds of the Belhurst Castle are more or less limitless; it really depends what style of wedding photography the bride and groom gravitate toward. For Sarah and Brian, I’m going to concentrate on edgy, sexy, fashion-inspired wedding photography with a look similar to that in a high-end magazine spread. We even discussed some ways of shooting the formal and bridal party wedding photographs in unique and different ways to really punctuate the desire for artistic and truly original photographs.
I brought my camera along and took a dozen or so photos while walking around the Belhurst grounds, talking about the wedding day in general and specifically the wedding photography. I’ve included a few of my favorite photographs below (I really like the photograph of Brian looking out at Geneva Lake and the photograph of Sarah silhouetted while standing next to the wrought-iron door inside the Belhurst Castle).
Rochester Wedding Photography? Now Is A Great Time!
If you’re getting married in 2009, or maybe if you’re already planning for a wedding in 2010, now is a great time to talk with Ryan about your wedding photography – even if you’re not getting married in Rochester or in the surrounding area. “A lot of clients ask if I only photograph weddings in Rochester. Actually, I’m able to travel anywhere a bride and groom are getting married – I really love traveling!”
If 2009 is your year to get married, but you haven’t decided on a wedding photographer, or maybe you haven’t had time to research a local wedding photographer, today is a great day to get in touch with Ryan, setup an appointment, and discuss exactly how you envision your wedding being photographed and how best to achieve that vision. There are still several dates available during the summer of 2009 – however, with the wedding season fast approaching, it’s best to contact your Rochester wedding photographer as soon as possible to lock in your wedding day!
“With reception dinner, bridal and bride’s maids’ dresses, cake, tuxes, invitations, and transportation costs, a wedding can be an expensive undertaking! I’d like to help by saving couples some money on their wedding photography. After all, next to your own personal memories and stories of your wedding day, your wedding photographs are the only assets that truly preserve one of the biggest days in your entire lives!
During the month of February, I’m giving couples who book their wedding photography by the end of the month 10% off any wedding photography package – including customized packages! This is a really great way for couples to save up to $500 or more on their wedding photography costs.”
There’s a simple wedding photography contact form that you can fill out to get started, or call Ryan at 585.217.7510 and he’ll setup a day and time to meet with you personally and put your mind totally at ease – if your wedding is in less than a week or if it’s more than a year away!
Two Beautiful Rochester Weddings
Well, it’s officially been over two months since my last blog post, and so much has happened I don’t even know where to begin. I’ve been extremely busy with my wedding photography, school, and life in general.
Last week I returned to Salmon Creek to photograph the wedding of Rose and Jeremy Norred! On October 11, 2008 – Rose and Jeremy were blessed with absolutely perfect autumn weather complete with royal blue skies and warm, 70-degree weather. Their wedding was held outdoors on the grounds of the Salmon Creek C.C. with the reception being held at the same location.
The early-evening fall light was absolutely picture-perfect! With the sun hanging low in the sky and a lush, green canvas to photograph the formal wedding photographs against, it was truly a wonderful time all around. :)
My day began early in the morning, traveling from Rochester to Brockport to photograph wedding preparation photos of the bride. I spent a few hours at Rose’s house, photographing everything from the wedding party getting ready to Rose and her family applying make-up, before riding over in the limo to Salmon Creek. I was especially excited to use a new 85mm, 1.8f lens I purchased a week or so before the wedding, and I couldn’t have been happier with the results.
That new lens affords me the possibility of shooting weddings in very low lighting conditions, such as churches, chapels, and dim wedding reception halls; however, I’m able to maintain a very high shutter speed (resulting in crisper images).
The pre-ceremony and formal wedding photos were my favorite out of the day’s worth of shooting, in which I ended up with over 2,500 photographs between me and my colleague, who was instrumental in helping document such a magnificent wedding day. But, the best part for me is hearing about how satisfied clients are when the see their photographs. That’s worth every second I spend with my camera and my eye behind the lens – when a client writes and tells me just how happy I’ve made them. :)
On September 27, I photographed Tami & Joel Hebert’s wedding in Hamlin, NY which is just outside of Rochester. It was a beautiful fall day with the wedding ceremony being held at St. John Lutheran Church and the reception following at the Salmon Creek C.C. After shooting a few wedding formal pictures at the church, we made a quick stop for more formal wedding photographs at the Adams Basin Inn right alongside the Erie Canal.
The Inn is absolutely gorgeous and perfect for outside weddings (for those of you looking for your future wedding). The innkeepers were extremely friendly and very accommodating. :)
Salmon Creek C.C. is barely a minute down the road, which made for a quick drive to the reception where the real fun began! ;)
I had an amazing time photographing Tami and Joel’s wedding; Tami’s such a special lady and Joel is a really nice guy too – they truly are a wonderful couple and I’m honored to have been a part of their special day.
Some New Friends and Some New Gear.
I met with my latest wedding couple, Kevin and Brittany, today at Starbucks to meet Brittany for the first time and to go over some great ideas that they both had for their wedding in June of 2009.
I can tell already their wedding will be fantastic, and I’m really looking forward to photographing their wedding next year!
Earlier today, I took delivery of some new photography gear that I will use immediately this upcoming weekend for my family portrait photography shoot in Webster. I purchased a new polarizing filter, UV filter, and some nifty cinch straps that will allow me to attach my tripod to my gear bag. I also picked up a new petal-style lens hood for my 17-85mm lens.
The lens filters were made by an Italian company, Hoya, and they are all multi-coated to reduce reflection, light scatter, and flare. :) The only downside is they’re about twice as expense as non-multi-coated photographic lens filters. :(
But, you can’t compensate for a fine piece of glass. ;)
I took a few snapshots of before and after pictures with the polarizer, the difference is remarkable!
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Occupation: Learner.
I worked mainly on preparing my NY sales tax return for the 1Q08 today.
Random thought, but if it’s one thing I’ve learned about me, it’s that when I get bored, I check out mentally. I need intellectual stimulation to survive. Not so much stuff to do, but I need stuff to learn. I crave knowledge!
I’ve often said that if I were ever to come into a large windfall of cash, that I would consider becoming a full-time student. Think about that – learning, full-time. And, always learning something completely new and different. I know that’s not a dream job to some, but to me it would be fantastic! How could one ever become bored with an infinite amount of knowledge to attain? If I got tired of learning one subject, I’d invest my time in another!
That’s when I know it’s time for me to move on from one thing to the next, when it become routine. I’m not saying that I don’t like routine, I just don’t like feeling as though my mind is being subjected to repetitive tasks. That is one of the main reasons that many of my friends have said I would make a good lawyer – there is always something to be researched or learned or discovered. :)
Tomorrow, I’m meeting my friend Craig for breakfast at Bruegger’s, it’s great that we’ve gotten back in the habit of getting together for breakfast at least once a week to solve the world’s problems. :) It’s really a great way to not only start the day, but to also kick start the weekend. I’ve completed not only my personal journal, but also 2 out of my 3 relaxation technique lab reports, leaving just my final report for the weekend. I feel very on top of things and as though I can take on anything!! :)
If it’s nice this weekend, I’d like to devote some time to researching some cutting edge wedding photography techniques – something that’s really new and exciting and different! That’s one way I try and set myself apart from the other Rochester, New York wedding photographers – I’m always learning and trying new ways of photographing weddings in the Rochester area!
Flooded.
After about 30 minutes, the skies had cleared and the sun was beaming down. Craig and I watched as all that water disappeared into the storm drains – which was pretty neat because the water made a little tornado-esque vortex as it drained. Neat-oh!
Later tonight, when I got home, I decided to tackle my first relaxation technique for this week – meditation! It was a little weird at first, and took me a while to get settled in, but once I did it felt really good. I have to write a small lab report about it, so I’m not going to repeat information. But, it felt good – not only to cross it off my list of things to do, but physically, it was rejuvenating. :)
I think after photographing an engagement session or taking wedding photos, I might implement a little meditation time afterward to refresh and rejuvenate my mind! The next time I’m hired as a wedding photographer, I’m going to try and work in some meditation time. Shooting weddings is very much a non-stop job – I concentrate on delivering the best and most creative wedding photos possible, that it’s simply difficult for me to slow down. :)
Lots of Wedding Photography!
Ooooooo, Friday the 13th!
I decided to spend some time at Starbucks just down the road to work on some school things and to just change my scenery for a few hours. I spent about 2 hours there transcribing journal entries and just clearing my mind of the chatter from the past week.
I’m not sure what the meditation process is, though I’m excited to learn about it in forth coming chapters from my stress class. I wonder if writing can be a form of meditation, specifically free-form writing where one just writes his or her thoughts down as they flow from his or her mind through the veins, reaching the fingertips as they strike the keys on a keyboard.
I do find that leading up to writing, if it’s something that’s been assigned to me, I am hesitant, I feel pressured much I am at work to produce creative works. I’m much more relaxed writing at my own pace, when I am not congested with racing thoughts or consumed by deadlines. I’m also much more productive as well.
This weekend, I need to work on a wedding photography proposal for a high school friend of mine who sent me an inquiry about shooting her wedding photos in 2010! I also talked to the ex-husband of an old acquaintance of mine; he is getting married in August and is looking for a wedding photographer. I offered him my card and drafted a few different wedding photography package options. I’m also getting ready to sign a contract to do some family portraits in July 5 – it’s gearing up to be a busy but productive summer! :)
I’ve also recently implemented my strategy for accepting credit cards and I’m excited to start offering that service to customers! :)