Monica & Ariel's Wedding

One way a good wedding photographer sustains a great business is to get repeat business from previous clients. It is such a gracious compliment when a previous client calls you up years later and thank you for the wonderful job you did back then, but now their daughter is getting married and they want you to be her photographer, too. That's exactly how I got to be Monica and Ariel's wedding photographer...no questions asked. Well, except "how much was it going to cost?"

I didn't quiet remember Monica at her mom's wedding, but when I met her in the studio I couldn't help thinking, "what a beautiful, spitting image of her mom" she was. Well, I was right and she and Ariel gave me the chance to create some beautiful wedding portraits that are worthy of my portfolio.

Enjoy!

Willie

[Double-click image to enlarge viewing]

Monica has perfect features for making a beautiful bride.

The use of a "fish-eye" lens makes this shot interesting.

Ariel & Monica are simply "beautiful" together.

The Making of An Image

Recently, I've rediscovered a book that 13 years ago I couldn't get pass the Preface. B-O-R-I-N-G!! The title of that book was "Drawing On The Right Side of The Brain" by Betty Edwards. I knew the book had some deep and profound theories, but at the time in my life I guess I just wasn't ready to receive them.

Now that I'm heavily involved in improving my drawing skills I have an insatiable appetite for finding the best resources out there to help me. While searching the Internet on "how to draw" I came across a site (About.com) that gave some good advice on two books for drawing. It so happened that Betty Edwards' book was at the top of the list. (How ironic). Since I couldn't find my own copy of the book I rushed to the public library and checked out a copy. Boy, am I glad I did. It is a "gem" of a book with some hidden insights on how to maximize the use of your R-mode brain skills. Now I'm seeing the world around me with a new set of eyes.

Taking just a little knowledge of what I've gained from reading the book I want to show you an instance where I put into practice one of the major theories of the book. It allowed me to come up with an incredible image. The 5 steps in Betty's book deal with: 1) Edges, 2) Spaces, 3) Relationships, 4) Light and shadows, and 5) Gestalt (the whole).

Check out the progression of images I took to come up with the final picture that captures the "wholeness" of this mundane scene. Can you guess which one of Betty's theories caught my attention first? The answer is at the conclusion of this post.

[Double-click images to enlarge viewing]

This is the initial scene that caught my eye.

...too much concrete.

The horizontal format is kinda static, but it's interesting.

By introducing the leading lines on
the right, the image is shaping up.

I think this image speaks of the gestalt of this subject,
and the vertical composition adds to its statement.

Answer: When I happened upon this scene I was captivated by the lines (edges) of the pipe.

Vianca & Claude's Wedding

The following set of wedding images are from Vianca and Claude White's wedding. They had a wonderful outdoor wedding at the Sofitel Hotel in Miami and the reception was also conducted there, too. It had been years since I'd done my first wedding there, and now I was back again for another chance to create some unique portraits for another bride. It's amazing how you can be driving to a location that you don't think you've ever visited before, but as soon as you arrive you clearly remember all the details of your visit. Familiarity of a location takes a lot of pressure off a wedding photographer and helps in the shot selections.

If you read my previous posting on Vianca and Claude, then you know them up close and personal from their engagement session. What follows are portraits from their wedding day.

Enjoy!

Willie

[Click images to enlarge viewing]

Vianca's dress was stunning.

Vianca & her special friends.

It's always interesting watching the groom's first glance of his wife to be.

Do you think Claude is excited?

Only Claude could pull off this comedian act...

...and laugh about it.

Opps!

Claude roaring his approval.

Let's get this party started.