Vizcaya Wedding Photography
[dropcap]H[/dropcap]i everyone! I wanted to share some Vizcaya Wedding Photography that we captured yesterday… especially since I did not shoot the wedding LOL. What? Yeah, it’s true. They had another wedding photographer 🙁 But, in all fairness I don’t think they even knew I existed until after the fact. Let me explain…
Annie and Ryan just got married (April, 2016) and like in many weddings did not have time to do any real “creative” or “styled” shots of just them on the wedding day. I am now, reminded of one of my articles that I have written on this very point “Wedding timeline & Expectations” by yours truly 😉 Anyway, either the photographer they hired did not manage the expectation, or the timeline was not created with “reality” in mind, or.. perhaps everything was planned and communicated but there could have been some “delays” somewhere along the line. Regardless, the end result boiled down to the fact that they did not get any (enough) images of the two of them.. and, appeared that they did not go back to the photographer that shot the wedding for more. Instead, Annie was searching the web for other options and found my page on Vizcaya Wedding Photography!
As you know from my last production “Post Wedding Shoot” with Daniel and Jareau I am a huge advocate of this type of session, and in some cases actually plan a session like this where we know a wedding simply will not have enough time, OR in a situation where the clients want to have more range, and diversity in the images in the wedding attire. Either way, it all comes down to one VERY important thing…
Setting, Managing and Communicating.. EXPECTATIONS.
For myself, I set realistic expectations upon me first as the photographer, and “trusted advisor” for the wedding day. I know, and understand all–too–well what it takes to do the things that people have come to expect from my brand. So, it only makes sense that I become the expert on this point.. and own it.
I then manage these expectations through timeline creation. Something that walks everyone through every part of the wedding day (as it relates to photos.. which.. lets face it.. is all day), and this honestly becomes the backbone and framework of the entire wedding. This is HUGE, and when everything wedding related is all said and done.. what do you have left? The images. So.. trusting the photographer with the timeline makes the most sense of all. If you have a wedding planner, or someone else doing the planning.. that person needs to be receptive to the needs of your photographer (no matter who it is), and communication needs to happen so that everyone is on the same page.
Lastly, I communicate the expectations.
From the moment we sit down during the first consultation, I am going over all the details of the wedding, whats involved, and educating on what to expect, and how to plan for the best results.
Beyond that, creating the photo timeline is a huge step (for me) to ensure consistency from one wedding to the next. I don’t take the approach of “Oh, we just show up and capture the day naturally”.
This is a road to disaster, and unforfilled expectations.
This is like going to a resuturant with many menu items, and thinking the cook is going to magically read your mind and bring out what you want in under 5min. I need to know exactly what you want, what your looking for, and what you expect as an end result.. and from there, I can seek all the wedding details that you have planned and advise accordingly. This is what working together truly is, and the best way to have a winning game plan.
Okay, LOL.. so back to the shoot.. Annie and Ryan wanted some nice Vizcaya Wedding Photography and they came to us. We planned out the day, and not just for Vizcaya Wedding Photography, but also another unique location that I have found, and works well. Something that they also saw on my site, and really wanted to replicate. (bridge shots). I was honored, and understand all too well about how they felt not having enough content from the wedding day.
Annie, Ryan.. I hope that you found what you were looking for in the images that we took. It was a HOT, and HUMID day to shoot.. but, was the time that worked for everyones schedule, (and the norm for this time of year LOL). We got some incredible images of the two of you, and am so happy that I could make your wedding day complete. You both were great, and I wish you the very best in your new life together!
TH
Love this “styled” bride and groom shot (above) standing behind Vizcaya near the water. Care was given to this pose to ensure the best (flattering) figure for Annie in her beautiful wedding dress.
This shot (above) was one of my fav. from the whole session. I just love the “holding” and warmth in this shot. The lighting (dare I say.. is.. perfect) and the composition is clever with the natural framing of the pillars behind them. I have used special lighting, to allow a very shallow depth of field (blurry background) to keep focus on my subjects.
For this cute “in the moment” shot of Annie and Ryan (above), I had them walking and holding hands. Once they were at the target (in my head) of where the lighting would be.. I yelled for them to stop, and for him to pull her in for a kiss. That moment JUST before that kiss.. love it.
These next two images (above, and below) are in fact my fav. I just LOVED the lighting, tones, colors, and warmth achieved her. Oh.. yeah, and of course the expression on their faces (above), as well as the more muted beauty of the shot below.
Here (above) I was just playing around with colors, and tones out of focus. I wanted a little more of a lifestyle / commercial look and while that is debatable as to weather or not this qualifies.. I just like how it ended up.
In this shot (above) notice the light on Annie’s hair? Thats a studio light that I had about 200′ away! To say that I am “detail” oriented.. is an understatement.
Same deal here (above). All of the lighting has been added by me. Often times I will be in a location, or “see” a nice image in my head.. but.. the lighting may not be good as it is. SO.. I then, look to “create” my vision, and is why I use powerful lighting on all of my sessions. I must have that control, and flexibility in order to do what I do.
Yeah, I selected this image to show (above) because of the colors, and lines. The lines of the arms, and Annie’s leg bent over to give shape to the dress really make for a nice image that they should put in a frame 🙂
At one point or another I am likely going to make you into a fashion model. LOL. Might as well! We are there, and I have all the tools to do it. Here, it was about showing off Annie’s body, dress, and then add in the lighting and nice composition.
Whats not to like about this industrial location? With a change of cloths from Annie, it added a slash of color and “pop”.
I wanted to “feature” Ryan in a few images.. and this one.. This one was my fav. Notice the pose, and stance that I have him in. This is a strong, “protecting” kinda look that just worked really well. Further, I have posed Annie so that her arms are well separated (to define her figure), and at the same time showed the back of that pretty dress.
Interesting, and a more “artistic” approach on this above of image of them kissing.
My now husband and I had a lovely incredible wedding day, but like many wedding days, it was definitely somewhat stressful and on a very strict timeline. After the wedding, we got our wedding photos back, which were many many wonderful great pictures, however we realized we did not have time to do as many formal posed photos as we wanted. So I had an idea to do a post wedding photo session where we would be more relaxed and have all the time in the world. Luckily, I found Travis on the internet and loved the photos he featured on his website and blog. As much as we loved our wedding photos, we thought it would be fun to try someone different with a clearly different style. We are so glad we did the post wedding photoshoot with Travis. Albeit the heat :), my husband and I had a great fun time and was much much more relaxed since no strict timeline and didn’t have to worry about speeches, guests, ceremony, ect. you know the wedding stuff! The photos turned out gorgeous! We both love all the pictures and now thinking of doing it every year for our anniversary 🙂