trent & katie – the wedding

As I mentioned in my last blog post, Trent and Katie’s wedding was magnificent. I can’t imagine what they could have done to make it better. One of the things that helped me enjoy the wedding was being able to work with some of my very favorite vendors.

Florist: Forget-Me-Not Flowers and Gifts

Ceremony Director: Carol Long

Reception Director: Ann Kunkel

Wedding Cake Baker: Kathy Canby

Band: The Clamslammers

Paradise Point Officer’s Club Catering Manager: Dawn Jensen

All of these people worked incredibly hard to insure that Trent and Katie had the perfect wedding – and they did. Lynette, Katie’s mom, was an absolute joy to work with. She is THE most organized, energetic woman I have ever met. I am so happy to have had the opportunity to work with this entire group.

But even without all of the details and special touches, this would have been a truly wonderful wedding. That’s because Katie and Trent looked forward to the wedding, but they never lost sight of the fact that the most important thing was the marriage. These two were just so happy to be getting married that all the other things were simply icing on the cake. I have truly never seen a couple more relaxed or more in love. I smiled all day – when I wasn’t shedding a tear or two.

I am going to share more pictures than normal in this blog post. I’m actually on vacation – but I took the time to download my cards and back them up – and to post this blog. This is the last one for a week, so enjoy.

The girls started their day at Hairtage Salon where they relaxed, snacked, and were pampered.

Then it was on to Trinity United Methodist Church to get ready for the ceremony. We did a few formals before the ceremony, but Katie and Trent chose not to see each other so we kept them separated. The first picture is Katie with her sister, Jen, and the newest Lowrimore grandchild who is due in 8 days! Jen was just so happy that she could be here for Katie, she never complained all day.

And Trent with his groomsmen. This is what happens when you tell bunch of guys to put their heads closer together.

And because I love, love, LOVE the colors in the flowers, I had to take some extra pictures of the bouquets.

Neither Trent nor Katie showed signs of nervousness before the wedding. Trent was his usual, outgoing self and the girls passed the time doing the Hokey Pokey. Just before walking down the aisle with her father, Katie looked very serious – but happy.

And then the ceremony. Again, Trent and Katie could not stop smiling. These two smiled constantly all day – well except when Katie was reciting her vows. She did get a bit choked up with tears of happiness.

After the ceremony, we took a few more formals at the church and then on the water near the Officers’ Club. It was very hot at the church and very windy on the water, so we didn’t spend quite as much time as planned. We were still able to capture some very nice images.

And last, but certainly not least, the reception. Katie and Trent danced together for the first time as husband and wife and laughed through the entire dance. However, when Katie danced with her father, they both got a little emotional. Connie was all smiles when it was her turn to dance with Trent.

I’ll show just a few more general reception pictures.

I was gratified to learn this week that some of the young adults I have known since they were children actually read my blog regularly. They said they like to see the pictures and it helps them keep up with what’s going on in Jacksonville. So, I promised Eileen and Terra that they would make the blog. Here they are – along with Megan and Debra. All these girls have been Trent’s good friends since elementary school – or before.

I had a lot of help photographing this wedding. The pictures posted here are all mine with the exception of the two ceremony shots taken by my tireless assistant, Karen. I have a LOT of pictures to edit – so be prepared for a large, beautiful gallery in about 4 weeks. I’ll post when it’s ready.

Trent and Katie are getting ready for their honeymoon in Aruba. Have fun – and be safe.

Now, I’m on vacation for the next week. Whew, I need it!

katie and trent

Katie and Trent got married today. What a magnificent weddding it was!  This is a wedding I have been looking forward to for a long time – for a lot of reasons. First, I’ve known and loved Trent since he and my daughter, Megan, were in kindergarten. Megan and Trent have been friends for a long time, so Trent spent a lot of time at my house when they were growing up. I can’t tell you how many Wednesday nights they watched Beverly Hills 90210 at my house! And I’m so proud of what Trent has done with his life. One of the best things Trent has done was to find Katie. Before Katie, Trent kept saying he wasn’t ready to settle down and get married. But she changed his mind in a hurry. Although Katie wasn’t raised in Jacksonville, she fits right in here. It didn’t take me long to realize what Trent saw in Katie. She is beautiful, smart, kind, considerate and she’s crazy about Trent! I love watching them together – their love just shines through

This first post belongs to Katie alone. I’m just going to show a few of her bridal portraits today. Then, in the next day or two when I have had the chance to download the flash cards and pick out a few favorites, I’ll blog the wedding.

This one is Katie’s mom’s favorite:

Katie and I both like this close-up.

I really like this one – but you can’t see Katie’s beautiful eyes. And I love eyes.

And this is Katie’s favorite. It’s tradition – with a little twist.

This wedding had so many special details and so much going on – there will be lots to blog. So check back late tomorrow night.  And for Eileen and Terra – you just might find yourself on the blog!

joelle

Joelle wanted me to take a few head shots of her. And the timing was perfect. I have just bought some new equipment – and I needed someone to try it out on. I knew Joelle wouldn’t mind me fumbling around trying to figure out my new gear.

About this new equipment . . . I’m finally getting off my butt and learning to use off-camera lighting. I do a great job with natural light, but sometimes you need a little something more. Off camera lighting will give me the ability to take beautiful portraits when the weather isn’t exactly what I’d like it to be. And, I can use it indoors and not get the flat lighting an on-camera flash provides. I’m hoping that when I get all of the equipment I need and learn to use it all, this will take my portraiture to a new level. The downside is that most times I will need an assistant to help me with the lighting. Karen went with me yesterday and I think we did a good job for our first time out.

Here’s Joelle.

OK, now I’ll be completely honest with you. It doesn’t take an award-winning photographer to get a few good pictures of Joelle. She’s a photographer’s dream. But, I still think Karen and I did a pretty good job! Now, I’ve got the bug and I want to learn more – and that means buying still more equipment. So, Rusty better clean out the storage room because I can see soft boxes, and umbrellas, and light stands and reflectors in my future

christine and victor

Christine and Victor are getting married in October. So we met at the beach tonight to do their engagement portraits. First, meet Christine and Victor – then I’ll tell you a little something about them.

When we first arrived, Christine admitted to being very nervous. She and Victor had agonized over what to wear, the weather, and most everything associated with the shoot. Actually, I don’t think Victor really agonized over it – he just had to listen to Christine agonize When I talked to Christine earlier today, I told her not to worry . . . everything would be fine. Well, it only took these two about 12 seconds to relax and start having some fun. They were a hoot! Every time they looked at each other, they cracked up. They laughed and joked and generally had a great time. Christine and Victor were so easy and affectionate with each other, they were a joy to watch.

We didn’t spend all of our time joking around and taking funny pictures. I was able to take plenty of very nice, well-posed portraits as well. Here are just a few.

I always know when I have finished a successful session – I get hugs from my clients. Using that as the criterion, this session was VERY successful. I got multiple hugs from Christine and Victor. They were so excited at how easy and fun the session was. And we did have fun. Couples like Christine and Victor make me realize once again how lucky I am to be able to do something I love this much.

madeline’s grandchildren

On Wednesday, I headed off to the beach with my friend, Madeline, and her three grandchildren.

Keegan

Faith

and Maddie

I’ve had the opportunity to photograph Faith several times, beginning when she was not much older than Maddie.  So Faith knows me and is very comfortable with me.  Faith is a calm, sweet, and well-mannered little girl.   I’ve only met Keegan a time or two but have always been impressed with how good he is with his sisters.  He is very affectionate and helpful.  I haven’t seen Maddie since she was much younger and I was amazed at how much she has grown.  Maddie is as vocal as Faith is quiet.  She has an incredible vocabulary for a 3 year old.  Maddie talked and sang the entire way to the beach . . . and back.  She kept me well entertained, but I’m afraid her siblings were on the lookout for duct tape to tape her up

We wanted some group pictures of the kids and some of the two girls in their white dresses.   I tried some posed portraits early on, then just let the girls play while I sat in my beach chair and snapped away.  Here are a few that I picked out for a sneak preview.

Madeline and I both love pictures of children from the back, so I did a couple of variations of back pictures.

After taking the picture of the girls from behind, I asked them to walk slowly toward me.  This one shows Maddie’s personality so well.  Why on earth would you walk calmly and sedately down the beach when you can sing and march?  Maddie even made Faith, who wasn’t feeling well, laugh a time or two.

And there is nothing better than a good, sandy, beach kiss to end a session.

I had a great time at the beach with Keegan, Faith and Maddie.  I took a LOT of pictures, so I’ll be editing for quite a while.  Hopefully this sneak preview will keep Madeline happy for another day or two.

the nassars

This is Ashley.

The 2nd preview is a little dark and grainy. That’s because it was very nearly dark when we got around to letting Ashley show off her jumping skills. In fact, that’s the moon rising in the top left corner.  I’m a little surprised we were able to get anything decent that late.

Some of you may remember seeing Ashley on my blog back in the fall when I shot her senior portraits. Well, Ashley graduated last week so her family was in town. What better time to get everyone on the beach for some family portraits? As I do with most families with out of town members, we scheduled two dates. That way we had a built in rain date. And we needed it this time. The coast got some much needed rain on Sunday even though we didn’t get any just a few miles inland. So, we went to the beach Monday and braved the wind and high tide.

First we did a grouping of the entire family – well all that were here, anyway.

Then we broke down into smaller groups. We did so many small groups, I can’t show examples of all of them. There aren’t many combinations we didn’t try – take my word for it. This is one of my favorites – three generations of Nassar men.

Then we decided to do a few of different family units.

Did you notice that some of these previews are cropped as squares? I love, love, LOVE square prints. They work particularly well for groups posed tightly together sitting on the beach – like some of these. I can print lots of different sizes of squares from 5X5 up to 20X20. And while it may be difficult to find square frames, it’s fairly inexpensive to have a mat cut to place a square portrait in a larger standard frame. And it looks really nice, too – especially if you offset the picture so it isn’t centered.

Toward the end of our session, we tried some pictures of Ashley with Caden. He had been a real trooper – but he was getting a little worn out with the whole picture taking exercise by the time we got here. So we decided just to let him play and snap a few. I love what we got!

A bird captured Caden and Ashley’s attention in this one – and I really like their expressions. And, I like the square. See how well it works?

I had a great time at the beach with the Nassar family. Congratulations to you, Ashley. And good luck in college next year.

more megan and max

Megan had to work all weekend, but she and Max came home Sunday night to surprise Rusty for Fathers’ Day. I had a shoot at the beach on Monday evening, so she and Max decided to ride along. I haven’t taken any pictures of Megan and Max since he was a very tiny puppy back in January. We didn’t have time to shoot but a couple because I was losing the light quickly after I finished my family session. We were late getting home, but Megan couldn’t wait to see the pictures of Max so the slave-driver made me edit a picture or two. I only downloaded one card – and haven’t even looked at all of the pictures. Megan, who is terribly difficult to please when it comes to her own pictures, really likes this one.

This is really the same image – one is just a black and white cropped horizontally and wide where the other is color cropped vertically and tight. It’s amazing how you can make portraits look substantially different by altering the crop and coloration.

Does anyone besides me think that Max may have a little something else mixed in with his supposedly full-bred Boston Terrier blood?

morgan

Morgan is jumping for joy because she’s about to turn 16!

All those years of gymnastics and cheerleading really paid off. Some people have trouble getting their feet off the ground and getting high enough for a decent jumping picture. That wasn’t a problem for Morgan – she soared.

Sixteen is the perfect time for portraits. It’s a turning point in a teenagers life; things are never quite the same after teens become mobile. Morgan wanted to do her portrait on the beach so we headed off to Topsail. We shot at a place that’s new to me – and it was perfect. We had a nice section of the beach to ourselves, the lighting was perfect, there was a nice breeze, and no bugs. I can’t think of a better time and place to shoot. Here are a few of my early favorites:

Morgan brought her boyfriend, Colin, along for the trip. We decided to do a few shots of Morgan and Colin together. Colin has just graduated and will head off to State in the fall. Even though he’s going to State instead of Carolina, I still liked him quite a lot. Colin was a great assistant – carrying chairs, wiping sand, adjusting clothing, and generally helping out. I told him I might just have to put him on my payroll. Here are a couple of Morgan and Colin together. I don’t know that I’ve ever seen a cuter couple!

In every gallery I like to include a few extreme close-ups.  When I look at a person, the first thing I look at are the eyes, and the extreme close-ups do such a great job of showcasing eyes.  When working on Morgan’s gallery, I came across this one and decided to post it.  I think it’s a great image of Morgan – and her beautiful eyes.

Happy Birthday Morgan!

laura and joe

This is Laura  –

And this is Joe-

Laura and Joe are getting married this fall in the mountains of North Carolina.  So Sunday we met at Emerald Isle for an engagement session.  We were worried that it would be miserably hot since the high temps were in the upper 90s; however, it was actually quite pleasant on the beach as we approached sunset.

I first met Laura a couple of years ago when I did portraits of her with her sister, Courtney, for their mother’s Christmas present.  I enjoyed working with her then, so I was excited when she called me to shoot her engagement session.  I always like repeat clients because that means they really like my work.  Yesterday was the first chance I had to get to know Joe.  While we waited for the sun to go down a little, we had a chance to talk and get comfortable with each other.  After the shoot Joe said, “That wasn’t bad at all.”  I think that men, especially, are surprised at how much fun a portrait session can be when you are out in nature and relaxed.  To me, it’s so much better than being in a studio.

Here is a sneak preview of Laura and Joe’s session.

I know Laura and Joe will have a beautiful wedding in the mountains, but to me . . . nothing beats the beach!

bear

Let me start out by saying that I have much more experience photographing girls than boys. It’s not by choice, and it’s not discriminatory. It’s just that more girls’ families hire me than boys’. So, I wasn’t really sure what to expect when I was called to shoot portraits of Bear. One thing I do know is that boys are quite different from girls. Most of the time girls like to have their pictures taken. Boys, on the other hand, may not be exactly thrilled. When I arrived at Bear’s house Wednesday afternoon, he was dressed and ready. And I immediately fell in love. Bear has long, blond hair that immediately reminded me of my older brother Phil who passed away 12 years ago. He even looks like Phil in other respects – from the shape of his nose to the color of his eyes. And though Bear didn’t jump up and down with glee when I arrived, he was very pleasant and ready to pose. I couldn’t have asked for a better model. In fact, I can just see Bear in an Abercrombie and Fitch ad in a few years! Even when Bear was attacked by ants and bitten on the forehead by a mosquito, he didn’t complain. And at the end of the session, without any prompting, he carried my chair to my car. Bear is my new favorite model!

Bear worked with me for nearly an hour taking pictures in his yard. His mother and I agree that we prefer close-ups and we both really like black and white. In this preview I’ll show a mixture.

Here’s Bear:

One of the reasons I like doing portraits at a client’s home is that I learn a lot about my subject. This picture tells a lot about Bear. Notice the paint gun marks on the steps of the tree house. And, if you look closely, you can see an arrow sticking out of the right side of the tree house. This tells me that Bear is ALL boy – and I wouldn’t want him any other way!

Thanks, Bear. You were the best. I hope to see you again – soon!