Hey it’s 2010, and a new wedding season is fast approaching.    We had lots of fantastic weddings in 2009 and now that the albums are all complete I thought I’d upload some of my favorite highlights from recent designs. 

 Enjoy! 

I love windows,  One of my favorite shots of the day is the bride looking out the window at her ceremony.  A quiet moment in anticipation of your ceremony is a memory you will always appreciate in your album.  Twenty years from now when you look at this image, you will remember exactly what you were feeling and thinking at this moment in time. 

  * * *  Click the link below to see more images and read the rest of the post * * *

Taken with my favorite portrait lens.  Notice the shallow focus on the eyes and the creamy out of focus background.  This is one of my favorite poses!   Looking up into the perfect light of late afternoon will make every bride look fantastic. 

 _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

The Men!  We all know the bride is the star of the wedding day, and sometimes the groom and groomsmen take a back seat. I always try and get a stylish portrait of the men.  I usually take my que from their personalities.  In this case all were dressed, black on black, and obviously had a strong sense of style.  I decided to have a little fun with drama and attitude.  One of my favorite images of the year!  

.  

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Detail shots are always a lot of fun.  Shoes are always interesting, and visually can tell the viewer a lot about the couple, their taste and style, as well as the fashion trends and attitudes of the day.  Here we have a juxtaposition of fashion sense with the bride and ecco awareness with the groom.    Twenty years from now when their kids are looking at this image,  just think of what insights they will glean from the style, and attitude of their parents from this shot.  This is why I always include a DVD with all the files from a wedding in every package.  Can you imagine having a 1000 shots of your parents wedding in documentary form?  To be able to look back in time and get a glimpse of someone at the start of their lives together.  Their friends, family, attitudes, fashion and style of the day.  Just looking at the expressions and body language would give you hours and hours of enjoyment and insight into a time long past. 

Getting ready!  I know schedules are always tight, and some couples try to cut back on these shots, but I get some of my best images while the bride is getting ready.  The anticipation and adrenaline just make for great moments and emotion.   I cant tell you how many times during a consultation the mother of the bride gets more excited about the planing and details than her daughter.  That’s because she’s been planning this day in her mind since your kindergarten days.  Here is one of my favorite images of the year, mom helping her daughter get ready. 

The Bridesmaids and the Groomsmen.  These are your best friends on the most important day of your life.  Again I take my cue from the personalities and try to create images that will capture their personalities and attitude. 

The first dance.  Here I’ve chosen three images.  I like my first dance images to be moody and dramatic.  the world should disappear, you should feel as if your dancing alone without a care in the world.  Again I like to photograph this with my favorite portrait lens to give the background a dreamy look.  I also tend to turn off the flash and shoot this important moment available light to add to the dramatic look and feel I want for the final image.  I couldn’t choose a single image, so here’s three.  I’ll let you pick your favorite. 

While everyone is looking a the bride and groom, you would be surprised at what is happening in the pews.  Here the mother of the groom is looking at the father of the bride as he wipes tears from his eyes.  One of my favorite moments of the year. 

The ending page is also very important to complete the visual story of your album.  They wanted a simple shot waving good-bye as the left the reception, so I was up on the balcony waiting.  As they walked to the exit the groom took his bride in arm and started to twirl her around and carried her to the waiting car.  Unscripted, but definitely a perfect ending page for their album. 

And finally the opening page of an album is probably the most important image of your album.  After all it sets the tome and style for the whole storybook.   This one is an opening page for an engagement party album.  They wanted  to have a little fun with a fashion style look and feel.  

Here’s just a few favorites from last year.  I’m sure there are many more and I’ll add to this post as I work thorough more albums designs.  As you can see your album can be anything your vision of your wedding desires.  Traditional to documentary, fashiony to funky, or a combination of everything.    Photography is visual storytelling.  How you you envision your wedding and your album?