For Bold & Gutsy People in the Washington, DC Area

05.15.12

Ed + Jessica Wedding at the Ocean City Yacht Club, NJ | Photography

On May 4, I got to spend a day in New Jersey with Hello, Gorgeous Photography and the wonderful photographer behind it, Rachel. She took me along to a wedding she booked as her assistant and I’m so grateful she did. Guys, I have never seen a wedding go more smoothly or hung out with a more fun and happy crowd as this wedding party. They were seriously wonderful, and so fun to photograph.

I can’t stop gushing to everyone who will listen about how beautiful this wedding was. The theme was very beach-y and laid-back, and the bride and groom were so precious to watch together. Everything about this wedding was fantastic, from the beautiful beach where the ceremony was held, to the cool after party on a dock, and the cake shaped like a burger. But I’ll let the photos do the talking.

Don’t worry, there’s more »

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Allison Blonder - May 18, 2012 - 12:49 PM

Girl, you continue to amaze me. I LOVE the silhouette photo at sunset- it’s beautiful. You are superb!

Andi - May 19, 2012 - 8:58 AM

What a gorgeous wedding & pics of it!

05.09.12

Wedding Wednesday: Photo Booth Props | Washington, DC Wedding Photography

Photo booths have become incredibly popular at weddings the last few years, and I’m not surprised! They’re so much fun and a great alternative to dancing (which some of us are just not great at, eh hem). Plus, it’s a great souvenir for your guests, and you get a copy too! What’s not to love?

There are a lot of great avenues to pursue for photo booths – some photographers can double as a photo booth, you can hire another photo booth photographer in addition to your main wedding photographer, or you can even go the DIY route with just a camera shutter remote, a laptop, and a printer! (This may become a future Wedding Wednesday post – look for it!) But of course along with the photo booth you’ve got to get the photo props! Sometimes the photographer might supply them, but if you want them to really go with your individual wedding and color scheme, it might be best if you order them.

Now, I’m a huge fan of supporting small businesses (heck, as a small business owner I better be!), so I love finding fun things on Etsy to buy and use. It makes me feel warm and fuzzy knowing that what I’m buying is helping someone else put food on the table. You too? Oh good, warm and fuzzies all around. Everything I’m posting here is from Etsy and I’m seriously considering buying some for my own photo prop supply — after all, a lot of these would be fun in engagements/portraits too. Use your imagination!

Fun & silly speech bubbles by SarahQHappyBooths.

Make your guests super classy with these props from nemapaperie.

Shiver your guests’ timbers with these pirate inspired props by silver salt designs.

(‘shiver yours guests’ timbers’? Am I cheesy or what?)

Give your guests a little more to say with chalkboard photo booth props from Itty Bitty Wedding.

Looking for something a little more durable? Whisker Works makes theirs out of molded plastic!

Ditch the boring white background for something more fun like these pennant flags from Paint Robot!

Aren’t those cute? I just think photo booths are such a fun idea for a wedding and I had to share a few more ways to make them a little more fun. None of these guys know I featured them or asked me too (and I’m definitely not getting paid through any affiliate links), I just thought they had some genuinely great stuff and wanted to share it.

So, what do you think? Would you have a photo booth at your wedding?

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05.08.12

The Great Debate: Instagram vs. DSLR

I get asked these questions a lot: Will Instagram (and apps like it) supplant traditional DSLRs as a photography medium? Isn’t my job as a photographer threatened by people with iPhones now?

Short answer: Hell to the no.

Long answer: When was the last time you heard a bride say “Yeah, I hired Joe Bob to take photos of my wedding – he’s going to do them all on Instagram! He got an iPhone 4s so they’ll be SUPER PRO.”

Never? Yeah, probably never.

Here are the facts: I love Instagram. Love. It. (In fact, you can follow VCP on Instagram as TheValorieClark.) Instagram is great because it makes photo-sharing super easy and super quick – you snap, add a filter, and go!

Of course, this means people take photos of everything – a cat eating*, that funny-looking tree, their shoes… There isn’t a lot of skill involved in Instagram (for most people).

There are great photographers/iPhone-ographers that exclusively use it and use it well. Instagram is an art form all it’s own and some of the photos you can find from people are truly stunning. In fact, here are six of my recent favorites:

image credits, clockwise: fosterhunting, greenweddingshoes, emily_shur, doniree, thevalorieclark, joshhelfferich

But at the end of the day, photos taken on the iPhone and filtered through Instagram can’t do the same things a photo taken with a dSLR can do. You can’t blow them up to the same sizes (try printing an 8×10 of an iPhone photo – it tends to look horrendous), it’s rare that they’re not grainy, and since those filters can’t be tweaked, they all tend to look the same. Plus, they’re all square. How many square frames do you see in stores?

Instagram has a time and a place. I know a lot of photographers who use Instagram to quickly share favorite photos from a shoot – I myself do that all the time. But, and be honest, which of these two photos would you like to have: The DSLR original or the Instagram filtered one?

The Instagram one might have a fun analog touch to it, but the original is killer, and would look way better blown up to frame. And which do you think a bride wants? Because it’s really her opinion anyway, isn’t it?

Instagram is cool and fun. But it hasn’t replaced the skill and the quality of shooting with DSLR.

*I myself am guilty of this. What can I say – the cat was cute.

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05.02.12

Texas Bluebonnets, Part Three: A Girl

I know, you’ve all been waiting for a while and here it finally is: The third and last installment of the beautiful bluebonnet photos taken in DFW, TX on in April. (You should also check out Part One: A Family and Part Two: A Couple.) This last set is of a little girl who is growing up into just the most precious little lady. I’ve actually known her practically since she was born, so it was such a joy for me to get to hang out with her and photograph her. She’s growing up so fast!

Our short shoot felt like we were playing – we jumped around and did cartwheels and played with an Angry Birds doll. Actually, she did all that – I just laughed along and encouraged the cartwheels and the jumping. But it felt like playing for me too – but maybe photography always feels like playing to me. Have I mentioned that I love my job? Don’t worry, there’s more »

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Carolyn - May 2, 2012 - 10:15 AM

How adorable! I can’t wait for bluebonnet season next year.

Andi - May 8, 2012 - 7:47 AM

What gorgeous photos!!!

04.25.12

Texas Bluebonnet Photos, Part Two: A Couple

As promised during part one of the bluebonnet photo series, I’m posting another session from the bluebonnet photos I took in DFW, Texas. I wish I could have met with more of you that weekend and taken even more photos, but there just wasn’t enough time! I’m actually based out of Washington, DC and can serve the DC/Virginia/Maryland area currently, so if you want photos of you and your family and are in the area, get in touch!

Now, here’s the photos of the couple’s session I got to do that day. Aren’t they a stunning couple?