Posts tagged wedding photography
1st Place in the International Wedding & Portrait Professional Photography Awards
Mar 22nd
I’ve just returned from the International Photography Awards and Convention in Las Vegas where over 20,000 photographers from around the globe come together for a week of learning, sharing and inspiration. Each year I make the pilgrimage to catch up with great friends old and new and immerse myself in photography from around the world. It helps me keep it fresh and current for my clients and for myself. This year I taught a 2 day workshop taking 20 photographers through the process of creating the wedding landscapes that Studio Impressions has become know for. When I first started photography I wanted to incorporate my love of landscape photography with my love of wedding photography. I wanted to use the landscape to somehow convey the story of a couple as they begin their life together as husband & wife.
We received our first International award back in 2003 with this kind of landscape image and somehow in that process, began a new style in wedding photography. This year at WPPI, one of my images, in a similar style, took out 1st place, again. Of course this isn’t all we do, and our photography has changed and grown with time, and I still love to experiment. But, it is nice to see, that 10 years on this style is still relevant and that fine art images will always remain classic, and in demand. All I ever wanted was to create timeless images. This year, at WPPI, I thought for a moment maybe I am finally doing that.
Here is the image that received 1st place this year.
This is The image that received first place in 2003, when landscapes and wedding photography combined was something new.
Choosing your Wedding Photographer
Jan 27th
Regular readers of our blog would have worked out that we do a lot of weddings on the Sunshine Coast. And why not? The Sunshine Coast & surrounding hinterland offers so many unique places for a wedding. The new Sunshine Coast Brides Magazine has hit the shelves and this edition they asked Studio Impressions to draw on our experience as wedding photographers to give their readers some tips on choosing a photographer. Click here for a link to the article and my personal thoughts on choosing someone to photograph your day. Most of it is common sense, but I hope it helps some brides-to-be out there!
Sydney Wedding – Lauren & Allan
Nov 15th
Last night I was looking through some old CDs and found one I hadn’t listened to for ages and put it on while I worked on some of Lauren & Allan’s wedding images. When the last track started playing I had to smile. It was the song that played during the ceremony the day I married Penny. The song is “True Companion” by Marc Cohn. It is now such an old song, but it still describes how I feel about choosing someone to spend the rest of your life with. Looking through Lauren & Allan’s images with this song playing in the background just made me think how amazing it is that amongst all the people that we pass every day, two people who are obviously meant to be together, can find each other. Just like Lauren & Allan.
Lauren & Allan had a great wedding – elegant, glamorous, intimate and modern. Breaking from tradition, they met before the ceremony and had some photos together, just the two of them. Seeing each other for the first time without a crowd around them was such a private and special moment. It was a real privilege for me to witness a moment in their lives that I know they will always remember. It also gave them a chance to reflect on all the fun they have had leading up to the day while we took some snaps at one of their favourite places Zeta Bar in the Hilton, Sydney. The Hilton was also where Lauren got ready while Allan got ready just a little distance away at the Westin.
Despite crazy hot weather the day before, Sydney put on a cold & wet day. But Lauren and her butterfly-inspired bridesmaids shone through the rain and lit up the Sergeants Mess in Chowder Bay where they had their ceremony & reception. Brilliant place! Centrepiece by design added sparkle to the room with some beautiful reception decor and Veritas did a fantastic job of ensuring that Lauren & Allan had a perfect wedding day. Lauren’s gorgeous dress was by MXM and flowers by Lil Blossom. A band made up of friends of Lauren & Allan’s rocked the reception and then the couple themselves really shook things up with one of the best choreographed wedding dances I have ever seen. What a way to get the party started! And it didn’t stop until the wee hours with an after party at The Ivy. I loved this wedding because I got to see many sides of this couple – the couple that like to have fun & mix it up a bit and then the couple they are when alone – gentle & in love – true companions maybe?
A couple of weeks ago Penny & I celebrated 15 years of marriage, and it still feels like we have only known each other for a short time. Lauren & Allan, I wish that 15 years from now you one day hear a song that takes you back to this day, and realise happily, that it really seems no time at all.
Wedding guests are welcome to click on the link to view Lauren & Allan’s sneak peek slideshow.
Wedding guests are welcome to view all images on the online slideshow.
(Slideshow and Gallery are password protected. Please contact Lauren & Allan for access.)
More from Brieanna & Luke’s Maleny Wedding
Jun 16th
My recent post gave you a sneak peak of the magic at Brieanna and Luke’s Maleny wedding. You’ll see from the images here that rainbows and downpours were just part of the beauty of the day.
For Brieanna and Luke’s family and friends, there is a link to all the images taken at the end of the post. Contact Brieanna and Luke for your access password.
For all you brides to be who love the details:
Brieanna’s gorgeous dress was courtesy of Elizabeth de Varga
Brieanna got ready at the House of Laurels where the reception was also held. As always, they did a fantastic job.
Luke got ready at a private holiday house called The Knoll. What a fantastic place (and a great website too – check it out). I am going to try to get back here.
The Ceremony was at the new Little White Wedding Church.
The amazing bouquets and floral arrangements were by Mondo Floral Designs.
Thanks again Brieanna and Luke for sharing a little of your magic with me.
Wedding guests are welcome to click on the link to view Brieanna & Luke’s sneak peek slideshow.
Wedding guests are invited to view all images on the online gallery.
(Slideshow and Gallery are password protected. Please contact Brieanna and Luke for access.)
American Photo’s TOP TEN wedding photographers in the world – Who Me?
May 10th
So the news is out – American Photo Magazine has published their list of the Top 10 Wedding Photographers in the World – and I just happened to make the list! Thanks to everyone that has already sent me their congratulations and well wishes via facebook & twitter. It takes a while for it all to sink in.
For those that keep asking – why haven’t I posted? Well, this has actually been quite a public personal achievement for me. Sure I’ve won a few awards over the years, and for many years I’ve been duking it out with my good friends Rocco Ancora and Yervant Zanzanian (both also on the list), at the AIPP Nationals for Australian Wedding Photographer of the Year – we seem to rotate the winner – but knowing you’re good on the world stage – well that’s a whole other ball game. Like anyone who is really passionate about their work, all you really want is to be the best you can be. Recognition, while it is far from what drives you, helps you to know you are doing a good job. I guess when I’ve been able to first hand see the work of people like Parker J Pfister, Jeff Ascough, Cliff Mautner and Greg Gibson, I’ve known I still have more to learn. And I do, even with a Top 10 ranking under my belt. That’s the great thing about this job – you don’t ever have to stop learning, growing and pushing the boundaries.
Getting on THE list, well I’m sure none of us expected it. So like the other 9 amazing photographers, it took a bit to believe it, then it made me very happy. But it has also come during a week of many happy things within Studio Impressions. And while the team have been celebrating quietly with me (and sometimes loudly), my celebration is no more important than the birth of little Sharna for Tania or Adam’s recent exhibition. Wonderful things can happen to us all – just follow your passion and love what you do -whatever goal you set yourself.
So I am very humbled to be on this list with the calibre of photographers there, and I am very thankful to all the people that helped to put me there. Not the least of whom are my wonderful clients who trust me to do the best I can do on their most important day. The fact is I am only as good as my clients allow me to be, and I really am very very lucky to work with the people I do. A special thank you to Tarryn and to Zoe & Simon, whose photos grace the pages of American Photo. Of course thanks to the great team at Studio Impressions who share my passion for creating images that really mean something, and to my supportive little family who keep it all in perspective.
I have my copy of the mag……hot off the press and air couriered via Gabe, who does our album designs and just happened to be heading home from LA the day it came out…….
American Photo have posted the article online, you can read all about it on the Pop Photo website, here.
And it was a wonderful surprise…….. four amazing Aussies on the list………
Belinda & Joel
May 4th
On a weekend defined by a Royal Wedding, I funnily enough found myself with some time off. So grabbing this rare opportunity I took the boys & Penny up to Noosa for some R & R. A few days at the beach, surfing some waves, building monster truck stadiums in the sand (my boys don’t do sandcastles – not interactive enough) and eating good food was a great way to recharge my batteries. Penny said how she thought it was funny that I chose Noosa for a getaway because I seem to be at Noosa, the Sunshine Coast or the nearby hinterland so regularly with work this year. Still, wedding or no wedding, this part of the world is always a joy to visit.
It made me want to share a recent Sunshine Coast wedding with you. This one rivals the Royal Wedding for style, but thankfully, was a little more laid back and a lot more personal.
Belinda & Joel, chose The Plantation at Cooroy to share their love with family and friends. Their vintage inspired theme in the country surrounds of Cooroy really set the atmosphere for this wedding. A really relaxed affair with good food, good friends & good fun. Lots of touching moments, accompanied by a few tears and lots of laughter. Belinda looked elegant in a Johanna Johnson dress - like a movie star and I don’t think Joel could have been any more in love.
Belinda & Joel, thank you for sharing this beautiful day with me and adding to my wonderful memories of this magnificent part of the world.
If you would love to see more images and read more about the day, Rock n Roll Bride just posted a story on Belinda and Joel.
