Weddings are My Favorite

“Weddings are my favorite…”

“Weddings are My Favorite” said my fifteen year old daughter Kinsey who attended her first wedding by my side while I assumed my photographer duties. She also turned out to be a great assistant. It’s hard to believe she’s fifteen and this is only the first wedding she’s has attended. As weddings go, it was a beautiful crisp spring day in Florida and a most wonderful day. But first, I would like to say Congratulations to Jeremy and Renae Marsh on their wedding March 8, 2014 and thank you for the opportunity to be your wedding photographer.

The beautiful Bride, Renae started her day at Meena’s in Tallahassee for Makeup and hair. I would like to say a personal thank you to the staff at Meena’s for tolerating our photographer entourage. It gets a little cramped with two photographers and a videographer. We are always conscious and try not disrupt normal business of the locations we visit as much as possible and the staff was more than accommodating. We were able to get lot of shots while Kelle was fashioning the brides hair.

It always amazes me how much all the ladies go through to look fabulous for special days. Lots of sitting and patiently waiting while your hair is transformed into an arrangement fit for a princess. After about forty-five minutes of hair preparation it was on to makeup. The makeup artist, Gwen, began working her magic to start bringing it all together. What a beautiful job as you can see here.

On to the big event set at Danny and Frankie Millers beautiful lakeside home on the north side of lake Talquin. Thanks to the Millers for all their hard work to prepare their home and grounds for this amazing setting.

After arrival and getting a few shots of the grounds it was on to getting ready and it’s always a delight to capture.

We often get some of the most intimate of moments at these times especially between the bride and her parents.

The most difficult of lighting situations is the harsh midday sun. We met the challenge with shade provided by a large oak tree and flash of course. We were able to capture some beautiful portraits before the ceremony. An outdoor ceremony always provides a good challenge as well. Once you’ve picked the spot there is no control of sunlight at that point and no one wants constant flashes going off and breaking the rhythm of the tender atmosphere. Fortunately most of the ceremony and the Bride and Groom were under somewhat predictable shade which made for some beautiful shots.

So after the ceremony it was on to the celebration for the evening. The reception started with a full course meal under a beautifully decorated tent covered area. This made for some wonderful detail shots. A great time was had by all with music, dancing and of course the cutting of the cake. The Groom, Jeremy, ended up with cake on his face but it was nothing a hot towel and a shower couldn’t fix. The reception ended with the launching of sky lanterns over the lake. Thank you again to Jeremy and Renae for using Luxum Studios to capture the passion of this great moment in your life. God bless you, and may your marriage prosper and glorify him.

Atlanta Portrait Photography at Suwanee Town Center

What a day for a shoot at Suwanee Town Center and a great opportunity to add to our Atlanta Portrait Photography portfolio.

Taking photos of little kids is one of the funnest things to do on a beautiful Saturday afternoon in November. We arrived at Suwanee Town Center, Suwanee Georgia at around 5pm. We knew we had about around an hour to shoot as many photos before the sun went below the “Hall of Justice” a.k.a, Suwanee Town Hall. My two kids were the subjects, and boy did they give us a run for our money. We had two NIKON D7100 cameras equipped with 35mm – 70mm lenses, and a “flash on a stick”. I started with an ISO 200 because the sky was partly cloudy. My aperture was on F2.8, because I love having a shallow depth of field for maximum bokeh. About half way through the shoot, I would have loved to walked over to Gimme Some Sugar Bakery Bar, home of the best carrot cake cupcakes “in the world”, but…we were on a mission, to capture my kids having a great time at Suwanee Town Center. The final photos were shot around 6pm, and it came none the sooner, because my kids were frozen. I wanted to stick around for magic hour, but getting frozen kids to be happy and smile is not fun. The only way I can relate it to the average Joe is, it’s kind of like when you are younger, and you ask Santa for Bauer 1000’s and on Christmas morning, you get CCM Rapides, no smiles there!

Suwanee Town Center is just one of the beautiful places for Atlanta portrait photography photos in Gwinnett County. Here’s a link form more information on the City of Suwanee Georgia.

Atlanta Event Photography at Taliah Waajid World

Taliah Waajid World – Natural Hair Health & Beauty Show

What a great day at Taliah Waajid World covering our very first major Atlanta event photography opportunity.

First let me say a big thank you to OTC Beauty Magazine for giving us the opportunity to photograph the event. I’m also incredibly excited to announce this is our first officially published work for Luxum Studios.

Photographers R. Craig Wood and Walker Wood covered the day that started with a stop in Buckhead to give the editor of OTC Beauty Magazine, Haley McNeal, a lift to the event from her posh city apartment. Once we arrived and made it past the check-in, Ms. Taliah Waajid came out to greet us personally. There is no doubt why this show is such a success every year. Taliah is as professional and warm as she is beautiful. She was sure to make us comfortable with the layout of the show and to personally ensure our access.

Upon first entrance to the showroom floor Haley had an opportunity to interview up and coming designer Keenan Zeno of Zeneaux menswear. After the interview we moved on to the vendors. I am always amazed at the sheer amount of products available and the vendors that represent them. As you flip through the pictures remember each one of these shows represents only a fraction of what is available to the public. Just imagine trying to keep up with all the product shots. Than can be a major photography challenge in and of itself. I understand that most manufacturers now provide at least the basic product shots these days.

As we perused through the long isles we were able to get a couple of interesting shots of some very interesting hair-dos.

Here you can see the favorite of the day. I hope her ride is a convertible else she’s going to have let someone else do the driving and lay down in the passenger seat after having that hair weaved in.

Atlanta’s own Asha Mandela made an appearance at the show as well. Here you can see how she has to carry her hair in a pouch on her back. Now that’s dedication to the growth of the hair industry.

Overall it was a great day and a wonderful opportunity for Luxum Studios to add a major Atlanta event photography experience to its portfolio. Thanks so much to all involved.

Consider Luxum Studios to cover your next Atlanta event photography needs.