Weddings

Lou and Erin Not Posing

If you are an avid reader of Alex the Photo Blog (and I know you are!), then you know Lou!  Well, back in 2010, Lou let me test out my latest lighting setup for a studio shoot for his newly launched website.  We came away with a bunch of fun photos, one of which ended up making it's rounds at the office and on his Match.com profile.  Little known to the two of us how much one little photo can impact the rest of your life.  His lovely fiance, Erin, was searching around on the site in late 2010 and clicked on it simply because she thought it was so unique, sending him a little message that would change his life.  Now they are engaged to be married in September (and you-know-who is the photographer!).  I am so excited for the both of them, and also so glad I could be a part of how they met.  :)  Since then, I've actually been hired for a few online dating photo sessions and have fun doing them.  Who knows what a new photo could do for you...  here's the one of Lou that made all the difference:

For their engagements they hired me to come hang out with them for a day.  They said they would not pose for any photos (unless they were funny).  Of course everyone needs a little guidance on how and where to do what, but these two were just naturally comfortable in front of the camera making my job much easier.  I'll start off with the one that got such great buzz on Facebook with almost 100 "likes."

 

Then our loose-take on Annie Lebovitz' John and Yoko Rolling Stone photo (no, Lou didn't want to get naked).

 

 

Jessica and Jeff Engagements

This shoot may have been put off a little long, but between bad weather and busy schedules, I was excited to finally photograph Jessica and Jeff for their engagement session... a week before their wedding.  :)

Their wedding was an incredibly fun time and I plan to have those photos up here in a couple of weeks, but for now check out their engagement photos from Mason Mill Park!

 

 

Ryan and Melissa's Photo Chosen as DP Magazine Finalist!

Did I mention who took the photo?  :)

Out of the 2,800 photos submitted from around the globe for the 3rd Annual Digital Photography Magazine: Perfect Portrait contest, the judges have narrowed it down to their favorite 100 photos.  I also feel pretty honored that out of the 100 finalists, my submission is only one of two apparent wedding photos.  The voting is open and you can log in through Facebook!  Go ahead and vote to your heart's content- not just for me but for the beautiful Melissa McIver and her handsome husband Ryan!  Click on the photos below for the page to vote or click here to see the rest of the gallery... not that you need to.   :)  To be honest, prizes sound nice, but it would be incredibly more flattering to see one this photo printed in an internationally circulated magazine.  Thanks to everyone for your support!

 

3rd Annual Perfect Portraits Photo Contest3rd Annual Perfect Portraits Photo Contest

Last Weekend Teaser

Last weekend was one of the busiest I've had in a while.  I had two engagement shoots, a wedding, a bride consultation, a Match.com profile photo session, and after it all had to wake up at 5am Monday for corporate portraits at the Ravinia Crowne Plaza at Perimeter.  Though I plan on taking this weekend off to relax at the lake, I'll still probably squeeze in some photo editing since I now have a LOT to do!  Here are a few teasers from the weekend, starting with Friday's engagement session with Lou Davis and Erin Winters.  I was told they would not pose for any photos at all- unless they were funny.  Here is pretty much the only posed photo I got out of the session and I think it ranks up there with possibly my favorite engagement photo.  On Lou's facebook page, it already has roughly 80 likes.  :)

 

Next up chronologically was the wedding of Jessica Gay and Jeff Manning at Whittier Mill Park in Smyrna followed by a beautiful reception at the Granite Room in Castleberry Hill.

 

Sunday morning I had a bride meeting with Sallie Watkins who is getting married in a month in Asheville, NC (!).  This was immediately followed by a Match.com photo session for my good friend David Oliver.  We had hatched all these crazy plans of ridiculous photos, but only ended with enough time for a few setups, though we hope to have more soon.  Essentially his plan was for a few serious photos accompanied by a number of off-the-wall ones in order to attract women with a good sense of humor.  Here are a couple:

Immediately following the Match.com photo session were engagement for Adam Bryan and Rebecca Flowers who are getting married in a month a half in Roswell, GA!

 

And as I had mentioned, I had to get up at 5am after these shoots to do some corporate head shots for the company I work with part-time... the following isn't one of these shots, but you get general the idea.  :)

Barnhart/Lord Wedding

This is to build on the teaser I put up a couple of weeks ago found here from the Barnhart/Lord wedding in Athens, GA.  The ceremony was great and the reception was jam-packed full of  fun, food, and dancing.  As much as I love DJs and recorded dance music, it's hard to beat a good wedding band.  The the Bride and groom were happy as can be and were not fearful of bustin' a move on the dance floor!  As usual, I'll let the photos do most of the talking.  Brides don't typically hire me fore my literary skills.  :)

The bride's daughter was able to watch the "first look" from a window nearby.

One of my favorite things about this church was that the kids were able to ring the bell after the ceremony.  How cool is that!?

This happened to be a photo taken by accident when my on-camera flash was switched off... and I liked it.  :)

Contest Winner! Guess the Lucky Girl!

We have had a great response from the people guessing about who caught the bouquet at last weekend's wedding.  Some of you may be surprised at the results.  Here's a reminder of the scene:  

 

And here are the results, shot by shot!

 

 

 

There was a bit of a twist in that I think the bouquet clipped a chandelier.  No matter, because you can still see the girls diving for it!  The victor was the Sister of the Bride (Girl #5)!  Congrats to Sarah Barnhart for catching the ever elusive bouquet and congrats to Molly Perry for being the winner of the drawing out of all the correct guesses!  Thanks to everyone for playing.  I hope to have more fun contests on the blog!  If you haven't done so already, please stop by the Facebook page to like Alex the Photo Guy so you can keep up to date on contests in your news feed!

Contest! Guess the lucky girl!

I've never had a contest on the blog before and I've always thought this would be a fun one to do.  Of all the photos I take at weddings, one my of my favorites is always the half second before the bridal bouquet is caught.  Seeing the facial expressions of all the girls on the dance floor ready to dive at those tossed flowers always makes me smile.  I would say the same about the garter toss, but we all know most of those end up with a guy saying "um, here- you take it!"   The following photo is from the Barnhart/Lord wedding I shot last weekend in Athens.  You have to guess which girl caught the bouquet based on the following choices:

#1:  Girl in orange looking suspiciously calm #2:  Bridesmaid with tasty beverage in hand looking for the left hand snag #3:  Lavender dress girl potentially screaming in flower girl's ear #4:  Flower girl (always a sleeper in these contests) #5:  Sister of the bride readying herself to dive based on the left hand skirt pull #6:  Little girl in blue with two hand grab possibility #7:  Other little girl that looks like she may have a good vertical #8:  Blue dress girl with the two handed long reach

The rules are simple.  Everyone make a guess in the comments below or on the Alex the Photo Guy Facebook page (I'll count both locations, but only one vote).  For those that get it right, I will draw a name and email you a $5 Starbucks Giftcard!  Yes- a real prize that will at least buy you a cup of coffee!  Contest ends Friday.  Good luck!

Boyce/McCollister Wedding: Part 2

Here are some of the other highlights piggybacking on the Part 1 post from Alex and Ryan's wedding!  Can you tell by this photo that Alex is super excited to be married?  

 

This is a shot the girls wanted.  It's a recreation of the of a photo taken after Micah (top middle) won the Showcase Showdown on the Price is Right on July 4th, 2011.

 

Boyce/McCollister Wedding: Part 1

In January, I started wedding photography season a bit early with Alex Boyce and Ryan McCollister's nuptuals in Woodstock, GA.  I've known Alex for years as she played softball in middle and high school with my sister.  She is one of the sunniest people I have ever known and it's no wonder that she has found a career working for The Make a Wish Foundation helping children with terminal illnesses live out lifelong dreams.  We were all very excited when we learned that she had found a new boyfriend in town and lo and behold, she was engaged within a few months!  Of course, everyone thought it was so soon, but whenever I spoke to her I knew it was for real- and so did they.  The ceremony at the Woodstock Baptist Church was beautiful and the reception was a lot of fun- especially with her group of bridesmaids.  They were all a hoot on the dance floor!  (Yes, I said "hoot")  

 

 

 

 

My First Two Days + Will 4 Prez

I am on my way!  Last week marked my first step in going full time photography.  I was able to work out a deal with my full time employer to have two days off a week with the intentions of cutting back further (or completely) in the next month or two.  It's a scary and exciting feeling at the same time.  I know I want to do photography, but it's REALLY tough to give up a steady paycheck working with great people.  Right now I feel kinda like I'm ending a serious relationship for a new love, but still calling the old flame... on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays. I have been basically working two full time jobs for the past couple of years between real estate and photography.  I'd love to say my first two workdays dedicated solely to photography were very proactive, but in reality they were spent catching up on a backlog of items.  My to do list for getting the business in order is still a mile long and I've barely made a dent in it.  Over last Wednesday and Friday I was able to catch up on some editing of an impromtu executive shoot, get my new laptop, and clean the home office to about 40% organized.  The highlight of my Friday was meeting with a bride-to-be and mother for a wedding I'll be shooting in Athens in a few weeks.  Keep a watch out on here for the Barnhart wedding, because Megan is going to be a stunning bride.  On the docket for this week:  meet with my CPA about taxes, change over my personal and business insurance, and blog about my headshot sessions.

Now, because this is a photo blog- where would it be without photos?  I didn't happen to take a single photo of my (still) messy office and my PJs, so I thought I'd include a photo session based around politics given tomorrow is Super Tuesday.  My cousin, Will, attends Southern Wesleyn College in South Carolina.  Growing up he was a quiet, bashful kid that, like me, grew up being more musically inclined than his sports-oriented younger brother.  Since graduating high school and moving off to college, he has come exploding out of his shell.  He actually was one of the highlights of our wedding with his shaggy Mick Jagger haircut and non-stop moves on the dance floor.  He had everyone asking "who is that crazy guy on the dance floor?" and at one point challenged one of Keri's bridesmaids (a professional dancer) to a dance-off... and won!

He let me know a few weeks ago that he is running for Student Government President and needed some pictures of his cabinet.  They drove down to Atlanta donning suits to show they mean business. Will even cut his hair (somewhat) shorter. I was happy to help out because it gave me the opportunity to get out on the windiest day of the year in downtown Atlanta and shoot... seriously- it was comically windy.  Like lean 45 degrees into it windy. I'm glad I packed light, because there's no way I could have used any strobes or umbrellas for this shoot because they'd be in Montana by now rolling with the tumbleweeds. Everyone seemed to have a good time despite the weather and I hope that the marketing materials for their campaign pay off!

 

 

 

 

 

 

(Can you tell I was thinking The Colbert Report for this one?)

WPPI - Las Vegas!

I'm back from my first photography convention.  I'll be honest- it was a bit intimidating first seeing over 6,000 wedding and portrait photographers in one place.  I've seen extremely discouraging inspiring work by some amazingly talented professionals. The WPPI convention in Vegas has to be the largest assembly of photographers in the world all coming together at the MGM Grand for just a few days.  In addition to the masses and the classes, there were two grand ballrooms full of just about every type of photo vendor you could imagine. I flew in on Saturday and stayed with an old college friend I haven't seen since 2005. As it turns out, the best way to adjust to Vegas time is apparently to stay up until 3am on the first night- check!  Though it makes for a long first convention day. Day one of the convention started out with a 9am platform class with Zack and Jody Gray.  I would say out of all of the classes I attended, this class had the most tips for how I should be running my business. Their topic was outlining their above-and-beyond customer service- something I need to get better at. They always stay in touch with their brides throughout the booking process so that on the wedding day, the bride is super excited to see them and she has already informed all of her bridesmaids about their awesome photographers. They also went into a little bit about their social networking and pointed out that the only way to effectively utilize facebook is through immediacy- getting a few photos up the night OF the wedding, friending the entrire bridal party, and tagging everyone. I guess I just need to suck it up and instead of exhaustedly crashing after a wedding, get a couple of photos up from now on.

Later in the day I took a class from Kevin Kubota on lighting. Very informative, but probably boringly technical for the blog. Day two began with an 8am class given by Jerry Ghionis. I'm not gonna lie, I wasn't sold on him for the first 30 minutes of the class. He spent a lot of time talking about himself and not teaching much. However, when he got into showing his photos, along with behind the scenes videos- it was incredible what he could do with a very blah setting. Not that he didn't also shoot in amazing locations, but those are relatively easy to make beautiful. So much of his talent (in my opinion) was taking a small, boring bridal room at a church or a 2 star hotel room and making it into a portrait fit for the cover of a magazine. He utilized all kinds of natural backdrops and lighting from sources that normally scare off other photographers (like dappled or direct sunlight). For me, his work was inspiring and discouraging at the same time because it was so incredible.

Day two also included a trip out to Red Rocks National Park just outside of Vegas with my old college friend, Phil.  He was nice enough to drive me out there and hike around for about 4 hours with me while I snapped some photos. As far as photography goes, I think I have the furthest to go in the arena of landscape and nature photos, so I was glad to take the time to get some shots out there- even though I accidentally wore my dress shoes instead of sneakers... a very bad idea when climbing rocks.  I came very close to falling a few times (don't tell Keri). :)

 

 

And here, you must note the length of spring and fall in Nevada:

 

Later that evening was a surprise for me when I landed a ticket from the WPPI facebook group to a private concert by Ingrid Michaelson. You may remember her song "Take me the Way I Am" from Keri and my save-the-date video last year.

 

Day three was essentially the trade show... all day. It was overwhelming to see and speak to all of the different vendors that I had even the slightest interest in. I spoke to album-printers, web designers, camera and accessory manufacturers, printing companies, and just about everything else under the sun. They had live demonstrations all day at numerous booths. There were multiple models at each of these shoots dressed in tuxes and wedding dresses (and I always wanted to yell "congratulations!" but never did).

 

Proof that even models eat McDonald's fries:

To top off the day of being on my feet from 9am to 5pm, I decided to take it easy... and got out with Chelsea Patricia, Tamee Renee, and Kelly Lane for four hours of dancing at the VIP party at Tabu in the MGM.  This is after hanging out the night before with these girls and Tiffany Wayne.  We ended up making friends with Bradley Paul and Larry Reeves. It really was an incredible feeling to be surrounded by that many fellow photographers in one place- everyone I talked to was refreshing and genuinely excited to be there as well. Everyone loved shooting- whether it was their full time job for 20 years or part time for the past 2.

It was an incredible few days, needless to say. What I need to do now is go home, gather my notes and figure out how sculpt a plan for my business and passion going forward. With the knowledge I have from just these few days, I have plenty to keep me busy. First and foremost, I need to get out there and shoot with what I've learned! Who needs photos?!? :)

Bonus- me making a very cool thumbs up in front of Sigfreid and Roy's house in North Las Vegas.  According to my friend Phil who grew up around the corner, before they kept the animals off site, you could hear tigers roaring at feeding time every night.

 

A Great American, WPPI, and Conveniences

I will be catching up on the blog while I'm out in Vegas next week for the WPPI convention (Wedding and Portrait Photographer International) as I have a few shoots to update ya'll on.  I also wanted to update everyone that wants more convenience in their lives and with Alex the Photo Guy.  ATPG is now accepting all major credit cards through this nifty company called squareup!   Pretty neat-o, huh?  Sure it won't be for everyone, and it charges me a fee- but convenience is worth its weight in gold for my clients! Here's a portrait I shot in Eutaw, Alabama (yes, that's a place) a few weeks ago.   I was out on a farm with some friends and just thought this turned out to be a priceless facial expression from a Great American.   :)

 

 

 

Sippy Cups and Fluffy Cloud

For those of my three avid blog readers, you may have nocted a week went by without any fun pictures posted on the blog from Alex Boyce's Wedding last week.  Well, to make a long story short, a full glass of red wine was spilled on my 2-month-old laptop.  Lucky I always follow the rule of not deleting photos until I have at least two copies of all of them.  Usually I run with 3 copies at all times- hard drive, external hard drive, and the cloud (probably a cumulus, but perhaps cirrus).  All of the info on my tempranillo-flavored laptop is safe and sound, but the work I had done to the photos will be slowed a bit as I revert to my old computer to handle the job.

If I can give advice to anyone depending on technology for their business, my advice is to spend the extra money on rugged items that last.  All but one of my Canon lenses are the professional models- not just because they help with better quality pictures, but because when I'm shooting a wedding and accidentally kick a lens behind me skittering it across concrete, dangerously close to an olympic-sized pool, I want to know it's going to work for the reception afterward (this actually happened).  However, no matter how much you spend, these professional items do have their breaking point.  I bought my laptop from Lenovo (formerly IBM) because their ThinkPads are meant to be some of the most reliable out there.  You can see an example of their water-resistance here.  Unfortunately for me, it was a full glass of red wine dumped all at once into a speaker, rather than a few flowing ounces of crystal clean water on the keyboard.

The lessons learned here are: 1) that you should always backup, then backup again; 2) great hardware is nothing without a great accidental coverage warranty; and 3) make sure you and your friends drink Argentinian wine from sippy cups if around your fancy pants laptop.

Here's another teaser from the Boyce wedding.  More to come.

 

If you were in a wedding reception bar fight...

... you'd want these guys on your team.

Actually they're not an especially trained group of fighters, I just thought this picture turned out kinda badass.  This is a little teaser from the Boyce/McCollister wedding this weekend at the Woodstock Baptist Church.  More to come on this in the coming weeks, but in short it was a lot of fun and we captured a lot of great photos.

 

Fun in Kennesaw with Alex and Ryan

Last month I got to have fun with a couple of newly engagedes (is that a word?) in Kennesaw Mountain Park.  The weather was perfect and judging by the overflowing of traffic, everyone in the city was out for a stroll.  Alex and Ryan are one of those couples that knew from the start that they'd end up together.  They'll be getting married in January- just a year from having met.  It's pretty amazing to spend time with a couple as sweet and sure of their love as they are.  Plus they were a heck of a lot of fun to hang out with.  I'm really excited for their Roswell wedding!  

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Hey- let's see if he's tickelish!"

 

Tennessee Mountain Wedding

It's amazing how a "real job" can take away from things like blogging.  These photos were taken just 15 minutes from the Jack Daniels distillery at the Griner/Rongey wedding back in October.  It was held at the bride's parents' beautiful mountain home in Winchester, TN on a hill overlooking the Appalachian Mountains.  The Griners did an amazing job converting a garage into the reception venue by hanging lights, renting tables, and hanging big white sheets to cover up tools and farm equipment.  If I could shoot laid back outdoor country weddings for the rest of my life, I would be a happy photographer.  :)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our Wedding Photo Booth! (And 100th blog post!)

It has been almost one month since Keri and I were married.  That Friday was absolutely amazing and wouldn't have been the same without the help of many friends and family- you know who you are and we thank you!

One of the best things to come of that day (other than the whole marriage thing) are the final images from our photo booth.  Steve Porter was gracious enough to set up and man the photo booth all night.  As you'll be able to see in the video below, it was an incredible night full of eating, drinking, dancing, and hand puppets.  If you're looking to download photos, you can do so here!  Just click on the folder icon on the right side of your favorite pic.

 

Gebert Wedding

From my post a couple of weeks back, you saw the men in uniform that performed the Saber Arch down the aisle for Marisa and Andy.  Now the full post with the rest of the photos.  Keri and had a wonderful time helping share in the Geberts' big day and also give a big thanks to the Cobb Galleria Center and St. Joseph's Catholic Church for being so helpful with all of the photography needs.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And the best pic from the church...

 

Best cake cutting tool ever.

 

 

Alex the Photo Guy Featured on Fstoppers!

Good thing I've got Fstoppers.com on my RSS reader or I would have never seen it!  Alex the Photo Guy is featured TODAY on their weekly section "The Week’s Best Photo/Video Related Stories."  They seemed to like Keri and my Save the Date and Behind the Scenes posts.  Here's a screen shot of what they published!

 

Fstoppers posts videos everyday of amazing photo shoots, time-lapse videos, behind the scenes, and even profiles photographers with their own produtions.  I read it everyday because I know I will always find something interesting there.