Katherine and Burkett didn’t want to gamble with our iffy New York Spring weather and chose a wonderful indoor venue in Long Island City, The Metropolitan Building. It’s a fantastic location for any kind of photo shoot because it has great light and lots of cool rooms and props to work with. I wanted to post a few of the portraits from their wedding. I’ll put together a longer post on their wedding day soon. Stay tuned.
Venue: The Metropolitan Building
We’ve had such incredibly beautiful weather this month with the fall colors hitting their peak and surprisingly balmy temperatures. I’ve loved being able to spend much of the month photographing couples and families outdoors. The light in the fall is so different than the summer. With the shorter days we can have some incredible light midday filtering through the trees. Of course all that color is also fun to play with.
I thoroughly enjoyed getting to know Judith and Pradeep before photographing their wedding next April. I always tell couples that these sessions are not only fun, but a great way for us to get know each other and for them to become comfortable posing for photos. The aim, of course, is for it to not feel like posing. That’s where talking ahead of time about ideas and locations than have an appeal for each couple is really important. Both Judith and Pradeep love spending time in natural settings so Central Park with all it’s variety seemed a great choice. We even ran into Big Bird there.
Leanne contacted me about her marriage to Sebastian while I was in India on a magazine assignment. She had a clear idea of what she was looking for and was happy to hire me as her photographer after an hour-long phone call via skype (boy, do I love that technology) despite the distance and not meeting in person. When I finally got to meet her and Sebastian, chatting at great length over a meal, they were exactly as I expected; a fun, relaxed, easy going couple. They had two beautiful locations picked out including the Church of St. Ignatius of Loyola and the Central Park Boathouse. Though it’s been a pretty rainy spring and summer so far they were lucky enough to have great weather. The mix of Sebastian’s friends and family from Chile and Leanne’s southern U.S. roots made for an incredibly fun group and a beautiful day.
Getting Ready: Waldorf Astoria Hotel
Portraits: Bethesda Fountain in Central Park
Ceremony: The Church of St. Ignatius of Loyola
Reception: The Central Park Boathouse
When Nellie and I talked about her upcoming portrait session with her fiance, Jim, she expressed concerns about how awkward they might feel posing for the camera. I kept reassuring her that I always make it a fun and relaxed shoot even if I have to tell bad jokes to make them laugh! After discussing several locations we settled on the Brooklyn neighborhood of DUMBO. DUMBO is one of my favorite places for portraits both for the great views of the Brooklyn Bridge and the cobblestone urban street scenes. They ended up having a lot of fun posing for the photos. We were having such a great time that once we got done we headed for pizza and beer at the famous Grimaldi’s pizza place next to the Brooklyn Bridge. Lucky for us there wasn’t the usual long line out front.
Jennifer and David contacted me one day in March to photograph a cocktail party they were hosting at their home. They were also considering doing a portrait session. When we met in person I learned that the ‘cocktail party’ was actually a wedding celebration. They’d gone on a vacation to Sri Lanka and decided to exchange vows there on a beach. The party last month was to celebrate their marriage with friends and family. Once I got to a know a little about them it isn’t surprising they got married in Sri Lanka. They both have the travel bug and are adventurers at heart. That’s something I can relate to in my own life with my many years living and working in Asia and Africa. Their ‘wedding’ seemed to fit perfectly with who they are as a couple. The party was casual, elegant and intimate. I’m looking forward to scheduling the portrait session with them soon as soon as we stop having all this rain. I love that Jennifer told me she didn’t want ‘prom-like’ portraits.
Jennifer and David recently launched ApproachGuides, based on their personal travels. The guides are downloadable and offer detailed reviews of cultural sites throughout the world focusing on specific themes – such as the Last Supper frescoes in Florence and the exploration of Istanbul’s Hagia Sophia in Turkey.
n Turkey.
