Larry's Random Ramblings » wedding photography

Adena and Matt at Coles Garden

Larry J. — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 17:47:38 +0000

It thoroughly enjoyed working with Adena and Matt. A wonderful, fun couple.

Outdoor weddings are always somewhat of a gamble in this area. On the day of their wedding, the thunder would roll and the rains could be seen threatening in the distance, but they stayed away and the wedding went off without a drop leaving us with some very dramatic clouds and a once in a lifetime sunset.

Every year I shoot for the “signature image” – an image that is so impressive that you just say “wow”. An image that will be used in advertising materials and hang on the wall. Adena’s wedding provided me with two signature images.

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Adena Achs and Matt Miller

Courtney and Brett

Larry J. — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 17:15:08 +0000

Courtney and Brett were such a fun couple to photograph. Their wedding was Crossings, which of course is wonderful place to have a wedding. It was a perfect day for a perfect wedding. The hardest part was deciding which ones to post here!

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Courtney Shadburn and Brett Bilbrey

Video “Photography”

Larry J. — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 03:33:09 +0000

I happen to be looking at a website of a videographer who was suggesting that the still images taken from his video could substitute for hiring a professional wedding photographer. It is to laugh! That would be the equivalent of using a 3 mega-pixel camera. My wife’s camera has better resolution than that!

Now, there is a lot more to photography than the megapixel size of your camera. There is exposure, focus, compostion and lighting. I’ve seen very few videographers who understand and apply all four of those fundamentals. Granted, the videographer does have the advantage of not having to ‘time’ when he takes the photograph. However, the lack of resolution and lack of light control, composition and posing would make this scenario no better than what your friends are taking with their point-and-shoot cameras.

More ramblings on the state of the wedding photography industry

Larry J. — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 02:44:20 +0000

From time to time I will visit other photographer’s websites. It amazes me how “casual” wedding photography has become. I saw a sample album on site that contained no nice photos of the bride and her mother (she appears in the candids as the bride is getting dressed), the groom’s parents are absent from all the photos (maybe they didn’t come to the wedding) and there are no images of the families that traveled to this event. Sure, there are lots of photographs of the wedding party having fun and it looked like everybody had a good time; but there are key people that I’m sure were important to the bride and groom who are absent from the photographs.

Another photographer claimed to have “World Class Photography”. Dig a little deeper and you will not find any awards from their peers or the professional organizations. In fact, you won’t even find memberships in the professional organizations.

Possessing a scalpel does not make one a surgeon. Possessing a nice digital camera does not make one a professional photographer. A true professional photographer controls exposure, focus, composition and lighting to produce consistent and repeatable results.

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Elizabeth Shelton and Michael Childers

Larry J. — Sun, 10 Feb 2008 22:51:24 +0000

I had gotten to know the Shelton family when I photographed the double wedding of Elizabeth’s sisters about 10 years ago. Yes, a double wedding – two brides, two grooms and whole lot of bridesmaids, groomsmen and three different families.

Elizabeth’s wedding would not be the large production of her sisters. This is a good thing. Her wedding was at the Dominion House. I had overheard that following the reception, the couple were going to tour by carriage downtown Guthrie at night. I asked them if they were up for some more photographs and they were. We met them in downtown and created some fantastic images on street corner in downtown against the buildings lit for Christmas. What the photo does not show is how cold it was. It was really cold. Maybe 18F.

Anything for the shot.

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Brooke Bailey and Rich Hill

Larry J. — Mon, 07 Jan 2008 20:45:06 +0000

What is the second biggest nightmare for a bride? (I’m assuming that the number one nightmare is the groom doesn’t show up.) I think the second nightmare would have to be unable to attend your own wedding. Brooke got close. Less than a week before the wedding she was in the hospital with a kidney stone. That would give way to a fever, caused by a pesky ear infection, that wouldn’t break. It wasn’t until Thursday before the wedding that she had a normal temperature and was “well” for the first time in almost a week.

Brooke did made it to her own wedding – and she was beautiful.

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Stephanie Dobbs and Greg Pace

Larry J. — Wed, 07 Nov 2007 14:30:35 +0000

You can thank your friends. Greg was a groomsman at a wedding I photographed about a year ago, and that couple (Rich and Staci Johnson) told Stephanie and Greg where to go for great photography. It’s always fun work in a group where you know people and they know each other.

Yes, two of my favorite “toys” come together to create another great image. The infrared camera enhanced the wonderful clouds and the fish eye lens creates the great distortion. Men like to look like…well…men. They like images that are bold and make a statement.

Women like to look soft and sensual and the image from Stephanie’s bridal portrait on the right is perfect example.

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Angi Gardner and Josh Gradick

Larry J. — Sat, 20 Oct 2007 00:45:53 +0000

/Outdoor weddings in Oklahoma can be a risky proposition. Your best bets are mid September through the end of October. Spring is nice, but can be rainy.

Angi had picked Harn Homestead for her wedding. It was a beautiful day, though it was a little warm. Harn is a very nice place for outdoor weddings. It has mature trees for shade and lots of green grass. The support facilities there are not the best.

Angi had moved the time of her wedding to accommodate the sunset. Her timing was just about perfect. We didn’t get any dramatic clouds, but the hazy sun dropped right on the horizon in a perfect place.

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Angela Tucker and Chad Conant

Larry J. — Thu, 11 Oct 2007 15:36:29 +0000

The flurry of summer weddings comes to a fitting conclusion at Walnut Creek. The rush of summer weddings always leaves me a little out of breath and often behind my work flow. It is the hazard of being a wedding photographer.

There are two trends in wedding photography right now that have caught my attention. The first is “fashion”. That’s what it is being called, though it has very little to do with a “normal” fashion shoot. The concept has its roots in the “wedding photojournalism” movement. This new trend is basically a posed photograph that is not supposed to look posed. (I’ve called this “art” for years, though mine tend to be better lit and composed than the average bride running down the street.) What goes around, comes around and we are moving once again back to more posed photographs.

The second trend that I am seeing is the bride as glamorous. Glamor is a style of photography that goes all the way back to 50s and the golden age of Hollywood. Glamor is more photographing figure and curves than it is face and dress. I’m seeing it in the styles of the dresses and I’m seeing it in what brides like. The image from Angela’s bridal session is a good example of this.

Trends come and trends go. They will influence part of my work, but I believe there is always a demand for classic.

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Julie Lewis and Jason Gray

Larry J. — Thu, 11 Oct 2007 14:51:08 +0000

There is something to be said for smaller weddings. There are fewer people running around confused and bewildered. There is less pressure to meet deadlines. Everything proceeds at a more leisure pace. Such was the situation at Julie and Jason’s wedding. It was very low key. We were able to capture our images easily and without coordinators breathing down my neck. The couple had plenty of time to enjoy each other and their guests at the reception. It was a very nice time.

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