What was supposed to be a happy, fun, quick shoot with my Hannah (basically documenting her prominent shiner) produced a photo that has been very powerful for me. It makes me think of all the children who are the subjects of domestic abuse and simply have no voice. Anyone who knows me knows that I don't like to be a downer but sometimes an image touches you and that's art is truly doing its job. The impact of this image is almost entirely due to the post-processing. Hannah was certainly not in pain or even upset. I'm not sure why she was covering her mouth but somehow in post when I darkened and desaturated, it brought out this image.
{Photo IQ: The simple lesson of this image is to play around. Allow yourself to explore and experiment with images in post. You just never know what you're going to get! In this case, I desaturated and upped the contrast. It really wasn't too much, but it brought out the black eye and the higher contrast made the catchlights stand out more, giving the impression of nearly crying.
I've posted the original image below so you can see the real differences brought on by allowing some fun in Photoshop. What are your thoughts? Can true art happen accidentally?}
Ryan and Andrea are that couple that I really love as clients. They have their own style, their own vibes, and their own opinions but they trust me as an artist. With that combination, great things happen!
Their beautiful day started with some of my favorite getting dressed photos ever--helped out by the beautiful mirrored furniture in the brides room at Lomond View Gardens.
They did their First Look and we spent some time shooting the formals, and let me tell you, these two can shoot some formals! Ryan looked every bit as studly as Andrea was ravishing.
The wedding party joined us and we shot the whole group. They wanted classic, timeless posing for the group shots but the bridesmaids and groomsmen were so much fun that the images are far from traditional.
The ceremony took place in the beautiful pergola jutting out into the pond. It was short and sweet.
Since the wedding party was all done, photographically, following the ceremony we only had to shoot the families and then the bride and groom were ready to pile into their vintage Corvette Sting-Ray and head over the the luncheon and reception.
..and what a reception it was! Simply put, it was a party! Funny toasts, great food, a tender first dance, and they were ready to dance the night away.
All in all, a fabulous affair. Thank you to Andrea and Ryan for making me a part of their day!
Here is the info straight from the bride on her choices, vendors, and feelings from her day:
I was trying to go with a more fall themed wedding, even though it was still summer time. I love the fall colors, so I wanted to use them in my wedding. I used branches, twigs, and grasses to keep with a more nature type of theme. I used reds, oranges, greens and yellows as my colors. I wanted to keep everything very naturey (if that is a word), so we got married outside by a waterfall and all of our pictures were based in the garden area. I brought the tall branches inside to go with the nature theme inside the reception hall as well. I wanted a low light feel, very comfortable and calm for all of our guests to feel like they could relax and let loose. So we turned the lights down low and lit all of the candles on the tables to make a better mood for a conference room. The chocolates on the table were a little something for the guests to take home, and everybody loves chocolate. Again, with the candy in the vases and the candles on the table, we stuck with a fall color scheme.
Lomond View Gardens was the perfect place because of the scenery, the location, the individual rooms for the bride/groom, and the price.
The major decorations were all made by me and my family. We had centerpieces that we made with vases, bird seed, twigs and big fake flowers. The shorter vases had bird seed, candles and photographes of ryan and i in them. We also wrapped tall branches in white icicle christmas lights, put them in paint buckets filled with gravel and wrapped them in a deep red material. Everything else was candles, vases with candy, and branches.
Jennifer was great. I gave her an idea and she came up a few sketches for me to look through. From those sketches I could pick and choose what I liked best about each and she made my cake from that. She was amazing and had great insight on exactly what I was looking for. I would recommend her to everybody!
The bouquets’, boutonniere’s, and corsage’s were all Burnt Calla Lilies, green's for accent. The kissing balls that the flower girls held were orange roses. The kissing balls that were hanging above the gazebo were made from white and green carnations. Ashlee was pretty good to work with, and she did a great job...her prices were reasonable, she used beautiful flowers and her designs turned out really good.
Crayton did an awesome job. He was very easy to work with, his prices were very good, and he really caught everything that we wanted from our wedding day. We really liked him because he did interviews with our guests and we thought that added a lot to our video. I would recommend Crayton to everybody!
We loved him! He got every angle and shot that we were looking for. We absolutely loved our pictures and couldn't have asked for any more from him. Pricing was good, pictures were amazing, our book was great, communication was awesome, and we loved that our guests could sign our canvas picture!
Dress: Crushed organza, pearl white, by Maggie Sottero from The Bridal Corner in North Ogden, UT.
Tux: They were just a simple black with a double breasted vest with white shirts, and Claret vests and ties. The pattern was paisley. We put Ryan in a black shirt to distinguish him from the groomsmen.
Bridesmaids: The bridesmaids each picked their own style of dress to fit their body type. The color of their dresses were Claret, each cocktail length, tube top but with some differences to them. They were all Alfred Angelo dresses.
SLIDESHOW
{PHOTO IQ: I think with how long this post already is, I'll write a separate Photo IQ post on it in the future.}
I am the speaker at the Pictage User Group on March 30!
The program will be unique and a lot of fun. I have extensive experience with improv comedy and have noticed some very strong ties between the creativity required to do improv and the creativity of photography. We will entertain, inform and inspire, don't miss it!
It is sponsored by Pictage but everyone is invited.
We will be meeting on March 30th at 6:30 p.m. in the Salt Lake City Library. The program starts at promptly at 7:00 p.m.
210 East 400 South
Salt Lake City UT 84111
Please join us. It is free for anyone to attend and any experience level is welcome! If you have questions you may email andrea@andreahanksphotography.com or call her at 801-349-0718.
Today we're crossing into Photo Nerd territory. This is a warning, there will be science content in this article!
It is, however, fascinating! It asks the question, what IS the ISO of the human eye?
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