I am currently going through the over 1000 photos from their engagement portrait shoot, but wanted to share at least one shot with my gracious New York hosts!

So here’s a sneak peek of the sneak peek, with the real [and it’s looking like it’s going to be a big one] sneak peek hopefully going up later this week.

new york city times square engagement portrait photo

For the photographers out there, here are the details: D3 + 85mm f/1.4, ISO 200 [yep–you read that right], f/1.4 at 1/80sec

Times Square was 18 degrees and that was before the significant wind chill.  To say that Shelli and Chris were troopers and totally commited to their engagement portraits is an understatement!  They were fantastic to work with and I can’t wait to get more of their pictures ready to share!

Posted in Engagement Portrait PhotographerPhotographer Tips

 

I’m back from my shoot in New York and catching up.  I can’t wait to share some pictures from the trip!  I’ve had a bunch of requests to bring back Photography Tip Tuesdays and Photoshop Fridays, so I am going to do my best to have at least one of these every week!

This week is gift themed.  Photographers are difficult to buy for because we usually want things that start around the four figure mark.  :)

But I have a couple of items in my bag around $40 that I am love and odds are good that other photo-enthusiasts will, too!

1)  REI’s mittens/fingerless gloves

These are my cold weather staple!  There are a lot of mitten/gloves on the market right now, but these are by far my favorite because they have thumb holes.  Fingers are all well and good, but I can’t change lenses or even operate some controls on my camera wihout my bare thumb.  They also come in different sizes, which is awesome for girls with abnormally long fingers (like me)!  And best of all, this year they come with a little tab that snaps the left and right glove together so you won’t end up losing one (like me)!

2) Rapid-R Camera Strap

This is probably the most money you’ll ever spend on a camera strap.  But it’s comfortable and hugely functional.  I have a tendency to whack small children and dogs on the head with my camera/telephoto lens combo when I bend over, because with traditional camera straps, the camera swings out from your body when you bend down.  This one keeps it right by your hip and the movement is very minimal as you move around.  I was a skeptic, but I’m a huge fan now.  I was also worried that it would look dorky (they need someone young and cool in their videos–pronto), but it really doesn’t look any more stupid than your tradtional camera strap.  :)

3)  The Inner Game of Outdoor Photography

This isn’t your standard nature photography book.  It doesn’t even have that many pictures in it, and it’s not going to rehash the same old topics of gear and composition.  Instead, it’s a serious look at the cognitive processes involved in the taking and viewing of images.  It’s not a light nor easy read, but it’s a fascinating look at a more academic side of photography!

Posted in Photographer Tips

 

I have been wanting to do a winter engagement shoot in the snow for a long time, and Nic and I just got our chance!  Monica and Dan will be getting married in Vail in September, and came into town to check things out this last week.

Nic and I were watching the weather closely all week…but the weather forecasts LIED.  We had quite the snow showers (and some of the worst traffic of my life–which, since I’m from Seattle, says a LOT), but the pictures were totally worth the 10+ hours Nic and I spent in the car that day!

Monica and Dan are from Texas.  I’m pretty sure they don’t get this snow covered at home.  Maybe we should put a disclaimer on it for the Texans that this isn’t just a really bad case of dandruff… ;)

engagement portrait photographer colorado

(Sometimes my auto watermark action does funny things.  But I have post Thanksgiving turkey coma disease and can’t be bothered to fix it today.)

engagement portrait photographer

Nic’s shot.  I always know he’s got a great angle on it when he tells me that I better bring it because he just nailed the shot…

winter engagement portrait shoot

Consider it ‘broughten.’  (Okay, totally different spot, but it should still count…)

engagement portrait photographer colorado

Nic’s idea to stick Monica’s arms inside Dan’s jacket–I *love* it!  And I love Dan’s expression!

engagement portrait photographer

One of my favorites.  I’m a sucker for Christmas lights!

winter engagement portraits

As we were discussing where to place Monica and Dan for this shot I said to Nic “we’ll put then right there and [blah blah blah]…do you see it?”  [insert blank expression from Nic]  “Doesn’t matter–I see it.”  Which is exactly the thing about photography-you can put five people in the same spot, and they’ll all see completely different shots.  So make sure you go with what you see–don’t worry about other people, because they aren’t seeing what you’re seeing!  And this, right here, is EXACTLY what I saw in my head.  I love it!

engagement portrait photographer vail colorado

Here comes another favorite.  It’s definitely in the “all time faves” folder in my head.  Back at the lodge in front of the fire…

engagement portrait photographer

Quick outfit change and then it was back into the snow!  (It’s not a Colorado mountain scene without some Aspens!)

engagement portrait photographer

A little different processing on this one.  If I didn’t cinnamon up at least one it just wouldn’t be me at the Photoshop helm!

engagement portrait photographer

My shot…

winter snow engagement portrait photographer

Nic’s version (I am seriously digging the tilt)…

engagement portrait photographer colorado

Last one!

engagement portrait photographer vail colorado

This would have been the best shoot ever for behind-the-scenes shots, what with us being up-to-our-knees in snow most of the time, but…ummmm…we failed pretty miserably to catch the behind-the-scenes stuff, we were concentrating so hard on the in-front-of-the-scenes pics.  (That and not dropping any equipment in the snow.  Thank God the D3 is weather-proof is all I’m gonna say!)

A big thanks to Monica and Dan for being such great troopers in the snow and inviting us out to Vail!  We could have spent the whole day shooting–Monica and Dan were up for anything and you couldn’t ask for a better setting!  We hope you love this sneak peek and we look forward to seeing you again in September!

Posted in Engagement Portrait Photographer