Bouquet courtesy of Sweet Aromaz
Due to the heavy rains from just an hour before, Some of the locations were not an option due to flooding and swampiness. We quickly went through some of the usual spots and continued on with the threat of more rain coming in.
With the grass starting to dry up some, we took our trooper of a bride into some of the grassier areas. With blanket in tow, we laid it out and very carefully tucked it under her dress for each shot.
All of a sudden the wind picked up, It was about to rain again. We hurried to the greenhouse for our last shots. They were quick. With precious time going by, we quickly set them up so we could get her to the car before it started raining again. We made it.
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I have been sitting on the idea of a raven inspired shoot for quite some time now and finally decided to carry it out. While the original scene I imagined in my head is not was eventually carried out, I did keep certain ideas and end results in tact. See my original idea was to be outdoor on a fall dreary day. Being that I didn't want to wait because I am super impatient we bumped it up and did it in the studio.
Photos courtesy of Rachael Fern Photography
I frantically started to plan out and make the wardrobe for this shoot ( the best part of that is I now know how to make a tutu! ). A bunch of tulle and chiffon later, I had the skirt made for my 5'11 model. I then started on the headpiece and hit up the craft stores. I knew from the start that I wanted to incorporate a bird's nest. I wanted the headpiece to be simple and not overwhelming and the bird's nest to be the main focus. I then added just a few feathers, 1 flower and some wheat to tie it together.
Photos courtesy of Rachael Fern Photography
With my creative partner in crime, Rachael, we scoured pinterest for makeup ideas. With Rachael being my makeup artist for this, we decided to go with a simple " mask and gloves " with feathers around her eyes and left everything else natural.
Photos courtesy of Rachael Fern Photography
It was time for the actual shoot. With certain images I wanted planned in my head we got to work.
Photos courtesy of Rachael Fern Photography
I was super pleased on the end result of this shoot. It couldn't have been done without the help of Rachael and my model who rolled with my ideas ( even though some of them might have sounded crazy ) with no clue of the vision I saw in my head.
SO with that, I present to you, Nevermore....
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Even though the rain came in just in time for this shoot, we just rolled with it. I mean after all, this was the rain date from the original shoot and graduation was only days away. We laughed a little and got soaked, but it was all so worth it to capture this milestone in Desiree and Larry's life.
While shooting on this bridge is pretty iconic and cliche' ( I mean this IS Winston Salem after all ), I love shooting around Old Salem. There are so many different looks you can get out of this one location. From colonial to urban you can find it all within a short walk.
I truly wish you guys the best of luck in your future endeavors and your journey into adulthood. OMG you did it!!!!!
]]>and most popular event known as Portrait Palooza. SO, what is Portrait Palooza you ask? Well, it's a timed
competition where you literally go in blind. You have 10 minutes to decide your portrait, set up your lights
and shoot. You are assigned a time slot, a model and have 48 hours to edit and submit 2 commercial quality
images. The venue changes from year to year as well as the vendors etc... I WANTED TO GO!!!
So the event date finally was set. March 28,2017..... The Carolina Inn in Chapel Hill, NC... It's on.....
The closer the date came the more I started to chicken out. Let's face it... I'm not good with models.
I don't care for posed shots. It's just really like, not my thing. I am more of a photojournalistic photographer.
I like to sit back and catch life and moments as they happen. I almost didn't go. As a matter of fact,
I waited literally until the day before until I registered. There was no turning back now.
I arrived at the Carolina Inn about 10 minutes before the event was supposed to start. We were
allowed to scope out the venue beforehand to pick out our locations ( of course, I am kicking
myself at this point that I didn't arrive a little earlier ). I scrambled as quick as I could to pick my
two locations and stuck to the first floor. I finally decided on the fabulous hallway with
lots of windows with natural light and the main lobby with the grand piano. Going into
this I knew the hallway would be a challenge. Not so much to photograph there, but more
like EVERYONE is going to shoot there. I mean, how can they not? The windows, the perfect
checkerboard floor, the leading lines. It was grand, A new panic started to take over.
What if they have the same idea as me? The butterflies were going strong but at last it was time
to go to the holding area.
7:15 P.M. This was my assigned time. I'm thinking great, and hour and fifteen minutes to
worry, to panic. SO many things were racing through my brain. I sat there at the table
alone thinking. And then it happened, my time slot had arrived. It had to have been the quickest
hour and fifteen minutes of my life. It's here, it's time. I grabbed my light and another photographer
there ( nice enough to be a mobile light stand for me ). I met my model and proctor and
off we went. I started in the hallway. All the dread to my surprise immediately began to dissipate.
It was simple really, I got out there and just had a good time. We spent about 5 minutes in that
hallway which felt like an eternity. We then headed off to the main lobby. This ended up
being more of a challenge than I anticipated. There were hotel guests coming and going and
I encountered a problem I wasn't really thinking about. I had to change my lens. It was tight in there.
I had to bring out my wide angle lens. While I love this lens for landscapes and scenes, I absolutely HATE
photographing people with it. But, I had no choice. I had no back up plan.
My 10 minutes were up. We headed back to the holding area. I did it. I was done.
All and all I am glad I went. It was totally out of my comfort zone. I am super socially awkward and
introverted and knew no one else there with the exception of one other photographer
( which I had only met a time or two before that ).I almost didn't go.
After I arrived home, I imported all my photos and started the excruciating task of trying
to pick two. TWO..... I can only pick two! How am I supposed to decide on only two?! I like them all!!!
I narrowed it down to 4 and started the editing process. Great, edited I like them even more.
HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO PICK TWO!!!!!!!! I can't do this I thought so I put them up for a vote,
I let the people decide.. I submitted my entries. Two weeks fly by and the winner is finally announced
on the website. I see the post on facebook, and, it's not my photo. Instantly bummed I didn't even read the
post at first. Eventually my curiosity couldn't let me go about my day until I read that darn post.
To my surprise, there is my name and photo. I came in second.... I'll take second. You always
enter into things with the hope that you will win. I wanted to win. But honestly I never imagined I
actually would or that I would place at all. The competition was fierce. I was a small fish in a big
pond with people who had done this before. Up against seasoned veterans and here I am
a newbie. But I did it. I took home second place and I am truly happy and grateful for that.
Wedding and Portrait Society, Second Place 2017 Portrait Palooza
Venue - www.carolinainn.com
Flowers - www.southernpetalsnc.com
Gowns - www.gildedbridal.com
MUA and Hair - Margo Codd-Williams www.belloviso.com
Model - Kayla Smith