Monday, September 28, 2009

Sharda & Glenn's Wedding

I was looking forward to shooting Sharda & Glenn's wedding from the moment I met with them. They were such a sweet couple with a great "how we met" story. Sharda & Glenn were each vacationing - separately - in Ireland and crossed paths one evening. According to the speeches made at their wedding, it was quickly apparent that their encounter would lead to something much bigger. The thing is, Sharda lived in NYC and Glenn lived in Australia. They say love has no boundaries and clearly this is the case with Sharda & Glenn.

When I arrived at The Mandarin Oriental in NYC, I got right to work shooting Sharda's lovely gown and wardrobe details.



I LOVE the clarity of this ring shot.



Been trying to be a little more creative with the ring and shoes.



As a girl, it's hard not to want to get married all over again when I shoot a wedding. Especially when I see such a pretty piece of hair jewelry!



Glenn's neice was the flowergirl and couldn't have been more adorable. She is clearly looking forward to being the bride one day, too.





"Big girl. Little girl."



A bridal portrait taken while Sharda was getting the finishing touches on her hair....



Time to put the dress on...





A formal portrait. Really shows off Sharda's pretty facial features.



Can Sharda look any happier walking down the aisle?



This is the moment Sharda & Glenn were waiting for....



The vows......



Married!



A "scurrying off" shot.



Headed out to Columbus Circle for photos. Sharda, Glenn and I were all looking forward to getting some artistic, fun and relaxed shots to commemorate their NYC wedding.









Love this shot of Glenn with his Best Men. They are all such characters!



All smiles....tough to get a bad shot with these two.







I'm playing around a lot lately with lines leading into the subject. I think this is a great example. My runner up for favorite shot of the day.



While I was busy shooting, the staff of Shawn Rabideau Events & Design were working tirelessly getting all the room decor together. Every detail for both the ceremony and celebration was exquisite. And great planning for having the party start at sunset.....makes for great lighting!








Not only was the room spectacular, the views were breathtaking.





During our pre-wedding conversations, Glenn was particularly set on making sure he and Sharda enjoyed their party. Mission accomplished. The guys at On the Move Entertainment kept everyone dancing all night.





This blog post wouldn't be complete without paying kudos to Glenn's mom, who made the wedding cake. Isn't this unbelievable? All the flowers are edible and were made back in Australia, then transported here. When I asked her about it, she modestly said, "It's just a hobby."





Clearly there was a lot of TLC put into this cake, so in addition to making sure I got some beautiful detail shots, I wanted to capture something a little more special. Here it is....my favorite shot of the day.



Many, many congrats to you, Sharda & Glenn. I was thrilled to be a part of your big day!

Thursday, September 24, 2009

Danica's Bat Mitzvah

I photographed the Bat Mitzvah of a sweet young lady named Danica recently. Her family and all her friends were so excited to celebrate her big event with her. And I was delighted to shoot it.

A few portraits to get the day started.....I think these will be cherished because she really looks like a young lady. So pretty.





Doing so many detail shots at weddings has trained my eye to shoot details all the time now. I like still life, I guess!







I like doing a full length shot in a relaxed way.....and Danica was a natural.



A moment to relax before the ceremony here. I'm trying to embrace the use of negative space in my images. Adds a touch of interest that makes the shot unique.



Danica and her proud mom, Dina. It was raining a bit that day so I shot them indoors against the curtained windows, cropping it just right to create a no-hassle backdrop for this sweet portrait.



I like the dramatic angle here.....and notice the big smile on Danica's face right before the ceremony!



After the ceremony at the signing of the Bat Mitzvah certificate. Blurring out the background adds some artistic effect and you can still get a subtle sense of Danica's smile.



A congratulatory moment....



By now you can really sense the mom/daughter bond, right? Here's another sweet shot. My favorite of the day.



Danica and her bro...



A portrait of Danica's step dad. Taken while he thought I was doing a group shot. :-)



Fun details from the tables for Danica's NYC-themed party.



A nice portrait of Dina taken as Danica performs her candle lighting ceremony.



An environmental portrait of Danica's grandmother during the same ceremony, including more blur-the-background-but-still-feel-the-love approach.



Danica's humbled by her mom's words. (And I'm making sure to capture the pretty colors in the scene.)



Having fun watching the slide show. Genuine happiness all around!





Time to dance!




Happy Birthday Danica!