Zach's senior photos

These are some of my favorite shots from Zach's senior photo shoot. That kid has the best smile.

Sneak preview on my own engagement shots!

It was a little weird to be on the other side of the camera when it came to Matt and my engagement shoot! My good friend Lauren Macke shot some photos of us at a recently knit-bombed city street downtown. It was the coolest location ever! Colors everywhere, goofy things strung between trees and even lampposts donning a comfy cover!

The photos were taken by Lauren and edited by me.

Nashville with Meredith

I recently took a road trip to Nashville with my good friend Meredith, and she inadvertently became my photo model for the weekend! I love how the light came out all of these! I just asked this lovely girl to be my bridesmaid in my wedding coming up! I'm so excited!

What goes into a photo shoot? From a bride-to-be to fellow brides.

My fiance Matt and I decided who to choose for our engagement shots: Rachel at Glass 29 Image! Her shots have a very similar style to mine, and I love the bright, fun environments she shoots in.

As a bride-to-be, I just attended my first bridal show. It feels strange to be in the position that many of my clients are in: choosing vendors with a dual focus on price and quality. As a photographer, I notice quality first, and the price tag second. I can usually predict what the price range will be, based on the professionalism of the photographs displayed. I know how much experience a fellow photographer has had (which also bumps up the price a lot).

I wish that photographers were more up-front about the reasons behind their price. It seems silly to attach a $2,000 price tag on something without explaining why that price is so high.

A wedding usually takes about 6-8 hours to shoot, from bride and groom preparation to the final dance moves at the end of the night. This is only about 10% of the time it takes to prepare wedding photos for presentation. the editing of around 500 wedding photos takes close to 80 hours. Take a look at the difference between my edited and non-edited photos:

As an artist, I'm very particular about how my work is presented. I usually edit out background distractions, as well as touching up complexions (though I always keep natural marks such as freckles and moles- those things are what make you unique!), enhancing eyes, and editing out glares from flash.

I'm not sure if many photographers do this- but I always test-shoot a venue prior to the actual event. I visit around the same time that I'm shooting, so I get an idea of how to handle the lighting, and know what equipment to bring. I even checked out COSI, which was 1 1/2 hours from my house before the wedding pf the bride shown above.

Being a bride-to-be, shopping around for my own photographer, has made me very conscious of my own prices and what I can offer to my clients. I consider myself on the low end of the price scale, because I'm an independent photographer (not associated with a big business or team of photographers). I want to offer as low a price as I can to my clients, while still respecting the time I spent refining the photographs.

That's what you can expect from my photographic services- dedication to detail and beautiful, refined shots that reflect your personality and values.

Sweet cafe, sweet couple

Remember Stephanie and Dave? They threw a party for all their friends to celebrate their marriage, and had it in this fun little joint in Covington called York Street Cafe. They had a band, some food, brews and wine, and just had a blast. It was so much fun to shoot their celebration, after being with them for their wedding. This is one of the reasons I love being a wedding photographer- you get to know clients very well. Not just their personalities, but you meet their whole family at weddings! you get such a well-rounded view of them as a person, and how they work as a couple. That is a magical thing to capture through a lens.

Anyway, here are some of my favorite shots from the night.

Alicia's Wedding

It's strange to be on the other side of the camera during a wedding! I was a bridesmaid in my roommate's wedding this weekend, and I couldn't keep myself from snapping a few photos while we were all getting ready!

This was a lovely group of bridesmaids, and one gorgeous bride! I feel lucky to have spent all day with them and celebrated my friend's special day together.

Alicia's Bridal Shower

It's a lot of fun to be a part of a wedding, because you don't have the same stress as the bride, but you get to throw little parties and get your nails done and stuff. My friend Lindsay and I were in charge of the bridal shower, and we put together an afternoon tea party in honor of our tea-loving friend, Alicia.

I even made cake pops for the event! (It's not as easy as you'd think, but check out Bakerella if you'd like to try).

There was fresh-squeezed mint lemonade and Trader Joe's supplied the iced tea, macaroons and flowers.

Lindsay, my cohort throughout the party planning! 

Emi showed up with a lovely gift coordinated with her outfit! It was too good to not get a photo.

And the gift-opening commenced:

She got Wisconsin cheese since she's moving up to Madison in a month!

All the guests (sans Ashley, who had to leave early for her graduation party!) We had a great time, and I'm going to miss this lovely bride.