Monday, March 31, 2008

The Beautiful Katie

Congrats, Katie & Joel! Now that Katie and Joel have tied the knot, I can post shots from Katie's bridal portrait session. We went to the Fort Worth Botanic Garden and shot in the Rose Garden. I loved how natural Katie was. All of her smiles were sincere. All the crazy shots of brides floating down rivers and twirling around in their dresses can't beat a shot of a sincerely beautiful bride.

Friday, March 28, 2008

What Happens in Vegas does NOT stay in Vegas!

We just got back from the WPPI (Wedding & Portrait Photographers International) conference in Las Vegas. Sin City was never a place I wanted to go, but it was a blast! We stayed at the Paris Hotel, which was fabulous.


Alberto took this fabulous postcard-worthy shot of the Paris Hotel exterior at night.
Here was our window view:
We could also see the fountain show in front of the Bellagio FROM OUR ROOM WINDOW! Best view ever!!!
This is the inside of the Paris Hotel. Do not be fooled by the blue skies! They are merely the ceiling!!! Isn't that nuts?!?!

Here I am eating a fabulous crepe from La Creperie in the Paris Hotel between seminar sessions.

Our funds quickly draining from eating at the hotel every day, we went to the Miracle Mile Shops next door for some good, cheap food.


Okay, finally we get inside, but just barely, after Bert plays along with my "Hey, I'm Cindy Crawford, hey, I'm Elle McPherson!" game. But then I see this fabulous fashiony wall of international words. "Hey, I'm Claudia Schiffer!"In the end, Bert is rewarded for his patience with my newfound modeling skills. Here he is after finishing off a bowl of fresh guacamole at La Salsa Cantina at the Miracle Mile shops.Timeshare to the rescue! We were running out of things to do in Vegas with no money. Then the timeshare people found us. We would get free tickets to shows in exchange for a couple of pleasant hours at their new resort, Tahiti Village. Well, we had more time on our hands than money. So 3 hours later, we emerged from Tahiti Village. Yes, I drank the Kool-Aid, but I spit it out just in time. Here is a victorious shot of me with my hard-earned Vegas show tickets. See the wild Charles Manson look in my eyes. They really got to me!!!Killing time at Circus Circus before our first show. At Circus Circus Alberto and I both won a huge Bert doll (as in Bert & Ernie), but had to give them away since they wouldn't fit in our luggage.


Here's Mr. Smooth Alberto outside the Riviera before the comedy club show. The bright Vegas lights gave Alberto a Violet from Willy Wonka look. The lost purple member of the Rat Pack.Yes, it's a foot long! At the New York, NY Hotel we found even cheaper food. I had a Coney Island Foot Long! It was fabulous!Altogether a wonderful trip. We learned so much from fabulous photographers like Matthew Jordan Smith (as seen on America's Next Top Model), Denis Reggie, Tomas Munoz, Jose Villa, and Joe Buissink, just to name a few. And we soaked in the fabulous Vegas life. My advice for future Vegas travelers: Don't take the little cards they hand out on the strip. You might get a glimpse of something you never wanted to see!

Friday, March 14, 2008

Natural Light Wedding

I shot Rita & Matt's wedding on March 8th using almost all available light. I fired off a couple of flashes during the first dance and was horrified by how the flash took all the ambience out of the lights at their cool reception venue, La Buena Vida Vineyards in Grapevine, Texas. So I decided to go all natural. As the night wore on, my shutter speed became slower and slower, but the shots I got without flash were so much more fabulous and true to the feel of the reception than the shots I would have gotten with a bright flash. Check out some shots of the night: The DJ's colored lights are always washed out and overpowered by flash. I had plenty of shots with normal, warm lighting, but I love this shot, the way the red light separates the couple from the background.This one was caught by Alberto. With flash, the back of his neck would have been really bright and the cigar would be too dark in the background.
A warm sparkler exit with all the ambience and fun of the party.Congrats to Rita & Matt and your natural light wedding!