I’d like to offer a big thank you to the models who gave me my first opportunity to work with so many bodies at once.

Visit the Gallery to see all images and order prints.

An Entire Week of Wedding Celebration

John & Katie are old college friends. This wedding was an amazing opportunity to document the entire wedding experience rather than just the ceremony and reception. The week started in SE Ohio with a bachelor party kicked off with a round of golf at Brass Ring Golf Course in Logan, Ohio. The bachelor party then headed to “Barton Meadow Lodge” a nearby Rental Cabin for two days of canoeing, board games, and libations. Returning to NE Ohio the entire wedding party met for a rehearsal at Rockport United Methodist Church where a minister from the bride’s childhood came out of retirement to guide them through the next day’s ceremony. Afterwards the families met each other, many for the first time, at Behind the Woods restaurant in Cleveland. The bride’s heritage is largely Irish, and the family and groom had recently taken a trip to Ireland, and brought back with them a love of Meade (honey wine) and a traditional Irish toast. The next morning I joined the bride at her Bridal suite at the Marriott to document the preparation of the bridal party. With only a few snaffus we made it to the church on time and the wedding went off without a hitch (though everyone got a good laugh when the minister managed to mispronounce the couple’s new last name). We took formal photos around the church (including the playground) and headed to Progressive Field (formerly Jacob’s Field) where the Cleveland Indian’s mascot Slider and a live Irish band helped the couple celebrate their first evening of marriage.

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Slideshow

I have been asked by Марина Джигарханян the Head of the Department of Contemporary Art at the “Manege” Central Exhibition Hall, to exhibit my bodyscape collection at the Saint-Petersburg Photo Vernissag. This invitation-only photo exhibit, will be hung in September 2010 in St. Petersburg Russia. For the selection of my images to show I am going to depend heavily upon the process of social selection.

Here is the theme of the show (note: English is a 2nd language for the curator):
At the heart of fashion lies an individual style, and her world – a self-contained space, absorbing a wide range of phenomena. Through them a man expresses his attitude to external forms of culture: lifestyle, serving and table manners, cars, clothing, thus trying to show their place in society, their sexuality, location, class, status level and belonging to a particular group. Photocamera gives us an opportunity to capture different aspects of fashion, its endless cyclicism and change of artistic images, which always embody the era image in a clothing. This subject gives participants a wide opportunities for philosophical reflections and artistic self-expression.

Please vote by clicking on the stars below the photo and/or leaving a comment.

You can also see a larger version of each photo by clicking on that photo.

Music by Tom Wagener

What is a portrait? Does the subject have to be facing you? Must they be the only one in the frame? How much of the frame does the person have to take up to be a “portrait”? Do they have to be looking at the camera? Do you have to be able to see their face?

I remember these questions coming up in a commercial photography class when I was studying photography at Ohio University. During the class we were required to take a “non-traditional portrait”.

This last weekend I accidentally relived this class. I had a camping trip with a group of 30 friends and took my camera along with no real goals – just to have it with me for whatever struck me. It was only after the trip when I sat down to edit the images that I realized that 90% of the shots were portraits. When I say this I don’t just mean that 90% of the images had a person in them – having a person in the picture does not make it a portrait. I mean that 90% of the frames captured something interesting I saw in their personality, mannerisms, or character.

I owe an enormous amount to the work of Stephen Kennedy, from whom the style of several of these images is blatantly lifted (hopefully with my own additional style mixed in).

Trying something new this time. The above slideshow links to a place you can buy prints.

Tip 1: Look Past the Portfolio

Ask to see a recent wedding the photographer shot in its entirety. All photographers have a good 20-image portfolio, but only a good photographer consistently captures the essense of every wedding.

Tip 2: Beware the Bait-and-Switch

There are many “wedding photographers” in South Florida who will book multiple weddings for the same date. On your wedding day they will call in “sick” and send a low-cost substitute photographer. Always ask for a strong financial guarantee that the photographer will be at the wedding himself/herself.

Tip 3: Independent Research

Check your photographer out independently. Ask for a reference or two and make sure they aren’t a family member or friend of the photographer. Search Google for their name.

Tip 4: Equipment

Does the photographer use professional grade equipment and do they always carry a backup camera? Without a backup camera a single slip, spill, or bump and they (and you) will be out of luck. The specific brand or cost of a camera should not concern you – I routinely switch between $400 (film), $7,000, and $24,000 cameras which allow me to capture images with different feel.

Tip 5: Look for Someone You Like

Working with a photographer that you get along with will keep you at ease throughout your big (sometimes stressful) day, capturing more natural and flattering images. The best photographer in the world won’t do you any good if you’re not comfortable with them being around. It’s simple, pick someone you like!

Tip 6: Trust Your Gut

Can you trust them on your big day? Do they seem enthusiastic about your wedding or is this “just another” wedding to them. I wake up excited the morning of every wedding I shoot, looking forward to capturing the fleeting moments throughout the day that make up the essence of that wedding.