3 minutes is about the average time a photographer has to shoot the first dance, that very important event that brides, grooms and photographers want to capture. That really isn’t very long is it? And, if your venue has a wonderful balcony where I could position myself to get that beautiful wide shot showing the bride and groom dancing, the guests watching and the fabulous surroundings of the reception room, who is going to get the emotional close up moment of the new couple? Of course you want both shots!! This is why it is so important to me, to bring along a second photographer who knows what they are doing. I work with a small group of second shooters who could very well hold there own at a wedding and when the opportunity arises, I will ask another professional wedding photographer to work with me. Of course, I love it when I find I have a rare free weekend and can help second shoot for them as well. I had the wonderful opportunity to second shoot twice recently for my good friend and fellow photographer Rebecca Barger. Not only is it wonderful for me to work with another full time professional photographer, either on my wedding or theirs, but it is loads of fun and the clients love the fact that they have 2 seasoned wedding shooters covering their special day. You may just be lucky enough to book a wedding with me where Rebecca can come along!
I shot the image above from the floor at Cescaphe Ballroom while Rebecca was up in the balcony getting the wider shot of the couple dancing and the room. You can see Rebecca’s shot on her blog.
The Franklin Institute is classic Philadelphia and combining the architecture in wedding photographs is so natural. I was shooting with a fish eye to make sure that I got the shot showing the couple in the dramatic environment of the Rotunda because I knew Rebecca was coving the dance closer up. More from this wedding on another post on Rebecca’s blog.
When I first met Monica and Tony, Monica mentioned that she loved the colors fuchsia and pink. I recall her beautiful hot pink mittens and shoulder bag from our engagement shoot at Longwood Gardens, as well as the colorful flowers in the conservatory that day. Well, she didn’t let me down!! What a wonderful way for me to kick off the busy wedding season, being able to photograph such beautiful aromatic flowers, and a beautiful bride and groom as well! I almost didn’t notice how hot it was on May 1st. 90+ degrees – in May!
The wedding was held at The William Penn Inn; flowers by The William Penn Inn florist.
I love the personal touch of the slot machine – a favorite of Tony!!
Tony’s best man was his father Vernon and Monica’s maid of honor was her sister Nicole. Destiny and Antonio were fabulous as the flower girl and ring bearer.
Many thanks to Misty Dawn for helping capture so many wonderful images! Enjoy the slideshow of the party!
Deanna and Aaron were married at the Camden Aquarium on Labor Day weekend. It was so much fun to able to photograph them inside the shark tunnel and to experience the party in the Rotunda. They both love to travel and dive so the decorations and personal touches played on their various trips and their year spent traveling around the world. What fun! They are both wonderfully adventurous so Aaron surprised me with a snorkeling mask for some of the photos and they were up for pictures both inside and outside the Aquarium. The Aquarium is a great venue for a wedding and was a perfect choice for Deanna and Aaron! Check out the slideshow to see more.
We had an unbelievable time
at our wedding and you were a pleasure to work with. Just looking at
that first slide show tells me that you did an incredible job. - Aaron
The slide show is fantastic. We cant wait to see all of the photos next week! – Deanna
I had the pleasure of photographing Emily and Judah’s wedding at The College of Physicians on August 2nd. The College of Physicians is a beautiful location for a wedding and the food provided by Catering by Design is wonderful. Both Emily and Judah have an appreciation for B&W silver photography and Judah being a filmmaker, requested that I shoot some film as well as digital. It was wonderful to break out my cameras that now mostly get used for my fine art work and and shoot 36 frames per roll again at a wedding! I enjoyed making this contact sheet style grouping of images for the blog. Rebecca Barger, former Philadelphia Inquirer photojournalist, joined me as a second photographer and shot digital while I was shooting B&W. It is always a pleasure to work with my long time friend Rebecca and she added some wonderful images to round out the day. We go way back to the days of all film! You can see more of Emily and Judah’s wedding in the slideshow below………..
