Yay!  Tonight I’m posting the highlights slideshow from a sweet wedding I shot on August 2nd.  Kristin and Josh had their ceremony at the wonderfully bright and open Centenary United Methodist Church.  Julie Scoggins is the coordinator there, and consistently does a wonderful job with the details.  Nice work, Julie!  After a quick stop in Triangle Park (fun shots there, btw), the happy couple arrived at Fasig-Tipton, where Central Catering turned out a terrific meal as usual.  Thanks, JD, for putting me a plate aside! 

Here’s the vendor run-down:

Hair: Ann at Salon Plaza (Southland Drive)

Makeup: MAC (Mitch Cartwright is awesome/859.271.7223)

Flowers: Karen Taylor

Church: Centenary UMC

Reception: Fasig-Tipton

Catering: Central Catering

Cake: Martine’s

DJ: J&L Mobile Sound and Light Shows (859.576.7233)

Thank you, Kristin and Josh, for being so awesome.  I had a great time with you and your guests.  Stay in touch!

To see the highlights slideshow, just click HERE or on the play button below.  It might take a few seconds to load, but it’s totally worth it!  All of the images will be up in a couple more weeks, so feel free to keep checking HERE or register there to receive an email once the images have been posted.  Thanks for dropping by!  Please comment below if you have a sec.  Bye!  -SR

Allison and Nick have been so personable from the get-go, that, by the time their wedding rolled around, I already felt at home around them.  That type of working relationship makes for GREAT wedding photography.  Thanks, you two, for being so awesome!

They live outside Cincinnati but chose to have their wedding here in Lexington, wanting their family and friends to experience some of the cool horsey-vibe we have around here.  The ceremony was at Mary Queen and the reception was at the Red Mile, now one of my favorite spots to shoot.  THANK YOU to Matt and Angie Falcone, the owners of Bayou Bluegrass Catering, who handled the reception beautifully.  The food was superb, as usual, and the venue itself is a photographer’s dream.  I can’t wait to get back there!

For the highlights slideshow, click HERE or on the play button below.  All of the 800+ images will be up HERE in a few weeks.  Feel free to pre-register, and you’ll get an email when they’re ready.  Thanks for dropping by, and don’t forget to comment if you have a second.  On Facebook?  Add me by clicking HERE.  Have you been taken in by Twitter yet?  Go HERE to add me!  Take care!  -SR

Waiting for me when we got home from our trip was a box from Pictage, my professional print company.  I was so pleased to see how great this new product looks.  It’s going to be a BIG hit with my clients, especially my brides.  With any premium flushmount or coffeetable book order, sets of the Companion Book can be ordered.  They’re 4×4 softback replicas of the larger premium albums, so they’re perfect for giving to relatives, friends, the wedding party, etc.  Sets of 10 are $250, and sets of 25 and 50 are also available.  Watcha think?

Helloooooo!  I just put the finishing touches on the highlights slideshow from Jennifer’s and Nick’s wedding last weekend.  This is usually the part of the blog where I talk about their big day, but it’s 12:30AM, and I’m just chomping at the bit to get their slideshow live for them to see.  I’ll come back and add in details tomorrow.

I’ve been working feverishly on it while vacationing in Florida, and I’m so anxious for the Jennifer and Nick to see it.  Here’s a shot of me today at Clearwater Beach.  Thanks for documenting this moment, Katie! 

Ready to see the slideshow?  :)  Click HERE or on the play button below.  It might take a few seconds for everything to load, but it’s totally worth it.  Don’t forget to turn up your volume!  Also, if you’re looking for the rest of the images, there will be a TON on my proofing site here in a few weeks.  You’ll be able to see them by clicking HERE, but for now only the Coopers’ engagement images are on there.  Keep checking back, though.  Thanks so much for stopping by, and please take some time to leave a comment!  Take care!  -SR

It’s 3AM and I’m finally home, unpacked, and ready for bed after having shot a GREAT wedding today.  Jennifer and Nick are heading out for their honeymoon tomorrow, so I’ll have their slideshow up by next Sunday.  Please check back, but in the meantime, here’s a little teaser.  Can you believe the vertical on this guy?  :) 

I swear…I could shoot weddings like this one every weekend.  Good stuff! 

I don’t know how I always luck out, but it seems as though I always get booked by really great people.  Brad and Erica have been so nice to get to know since the e-session last fall.  Their families are kind and welcoming, and their friends are alot of fun.  I feel really privileged to do what I do!

The day started off on Kentucky Avenue, where the girls had their hair and makeup done by the talented staff at Hairport.  For you future brides, you might consider starting your day off there.  The salon sits nicely inside of a renovated home across from Woodland Park.  Tons of hardwood, tall ceilings, and window light.  Great vibe.

Next up was a short drive over to Erica’s parents’ house, where the girls finished getting ready. Despite just a bit of rain, time was on our side.  We got plenty of cool shots poolside (nice reflector work, Roy) and out on the deck, the girls and Erica’s parents had time to relax, and there was even time for some line dancing (sorry, I just HAD to mention it…lol).  Meanwhile, the guys arrived at the church, played Jenga and Connect Four, and put on their finishing touches.

Faith Lutheran Church is gorgeous.  The stained glass and wood vaulted ceilings give the sanctuary and nice dramatic feel, but it’s still quaint and sweet.  Erica’s and Brad’s family and friends filled it perfectly.  After a sweet ceremony and a few shots at the alter, we set out for the Carrick House, dropping by Gratz Park on the way for some fun outdoor shots of the wedding party.

This was my first time shooting the Carrick House since the Lundergans (Lundy’s Catering) started hosting events there last year.  Man, was I impressed.  You do a great job, Ashley!  The guests enjoyed yummy food and drinks on the main floor of the mansion, with it’s huge rooms and wonderful flow, and then eventually they made their way into the greenhouse in anticipation of the the wedding party’s arrival.  The green house is the perfect place for a reception.  Tall ceilings, tons of space, uplighting, and a row of windows overlooking the grounds make it a photographer’s dream.  :)  The Wulfe Brothers entertained us from the front stage, while the guests had plenty of space to mingle and dance the night away.

Here’s a list of the vendors that made the day awesome:

Flowers:  Nancy Frederick

Hair/Makeup: Hairport

Catering: Lundy’s

Music: Wulfe Brothers

Cake: Donut Days

Limo: Triple Crown

Coordinator:  Julie Klier (one of the best I’ve worked with)

Click HERE or below on the play button to see the slideshow of around 130 of my favorite shots from the day.  The rest of the proofs will be online in the coming weeks, so feel free to click HERE to preregister to see them.  Thanks for stopping by, and feel free to leave a comment.  I love reading them!  Take care! -SR

Weddings like Cristy’s and Don’s get me excited about what I do.  Gorgeous details, picturesque venues, and talented vendors all helped to make the wedding awesome, but the biggest contributing factor to the day’s success was Cristy’s wonderful attitude.  She was literally glowing all day long.  So happy to be in love and getting married.  So sweet.

Our day started early at Douglas’ & Associates for hair before heading over to the Crown Plaza Hotel to finish getting ready.  We all then headed down to Stanford Baptist Church in -you guessed it- Stanford (about an hour south of Lexington).  The church was just recently renovated, so Cristy’s and Don’s ceremony was actually the first one with the church’s new digs.  Beautiful sanctuary.  Tons of available light.  Best part?  The minister is a former photojournalist, so he appreciates the fact that great images often require great angles and vantage points.  He made a point to tell me that I would have free reign to shoot wherever I wanted during the ceremony.  Of course, I wasn’t swinging from the light fixtures or anything, but I had some pretty fantastic views.  Scott shot from a tripod at the rear of the church, Betsy shot from the balcony, and I worked the side aisles.  Go team! 

Don and Cristy opted to do all of their formal photographs before the ceremony (always a great thing, by the way), so we were all able to head straight to the reception at Keene Barn on Keeneland’s grounds.  While we grabbed some fun shots outside of Keeneland, their family and friends enjoyed cocktails and live Bluegrass music.  Great stuff.

The inside of Keene Barn was fabulous, details abounding.  This is where hiring great vendors makes a difference.  Here’s the list:

Teresa Thompson - master florist

Schafer’s Catering - linens, decorative lighting, flowers

Tim Estes- DJ

Caramanda’s Bake Shoppe - cake

Mary Beth Hutchison - event planner, custom embroidery

In Motion Video Productions- videography

Turf Catering Company - food & drink service

Douglas’ & Associates - hair

Karen Hawkensmith - makeup

Shaun Ring Photography - they made a GREAT choice hiring this dude

So…without further ado, here’s the slideshow of around 170 of my favorite shots.  You can click HERE or on the play button below.  It’s a couple minutes longer than most, but it’s totally worth it.  There were just so many great moments!  If you’re interested in seeing any of the other 600 shots, just click HERE.  You can be notified by email here in a couple weeks once the rest of the wedding images are edited and the happy couple have had their first look at them.

Thanks for stopping by, and please leave a comment if you have a second.  I love reading them!  -SR

Funny story…I didn’t realize until flying out of LEX that my driver’s license had expired the week before.  No big deal, though, with regard to flying.  I was just checked out a bit more thoroughly on my way through security.  The big problem, however, was that I was unable to rent a car once I arrived in LA.  Luckily, the Westin hooked me up with a company that I could rely on to drive me around.  Here’s a self-portrait of me being driven to Jule’s house for my mentoring session.  In my line of work, I am ALWAYS driving.  This was a real treat for me to kick back and enjoy being a passenger.  See the thumbs-up?

I really enjoyed my Tea for Two mentoring session with Jules.  Even before our session began, I felt like I’d already acquired a ton of great info just through shooting with her the day before.  For you photography junkies, here’s a quick summary of things I picked up be being around Jules at the wedding:

1)  I need a 70-200.  Of course I’ve always known about the lens, but I had always believed that I had that range covered by using my 85/1.8 and 180/2.8 (I’m a freak for prime lenses, you know).  I realized that because of the necessary lens swapping, I’m not reaching for the 180 much.  I simply keep the 85 on and zoom with my feet.  There’s nothing necessarily wrong with going about it that way, but I’m missing out on some really cool compression that only the long end of the 70-200 provides.

2)  The 100mm macro isn’t just awesome for macro work (rings, etc.), but it’s also a champ for formals.  Edge to edge razor sharpness makes it tough to beat, and the perspective at 100mm is a really pleasing and flattering one.

3)  Using an off-camera strobe at receptions is such a cool way to create depth and drama with lighting.  Back home, I had already been experimenting with off-camera lighting using my two speedlites and Nikon’s incredible CLS system, but with Jules I finally got to try out the strobe/PocketWizard combo.  I love the look, and I’m really looking forward to incorporating it into my own flow.

4) Get high.  Get low.  Get crazy with angles to get perspectives that Uncle Bob isn’t already getting from the pew or reception table.

Okay…so back to the mentoring session.  What did we talk about?  I’m such a systems-driven person, I was just dying to learn from Jules how she structures her workflow.  We discussed everything from scheduling clients, to putting together slideshows, to editing down her images, to designing awesome albums, to backing up all of her data.  Jules thinks and teaches really quickly, so I felt like I got 4 hours of info in just 2 hours.  That’s perfect for me, though.  I was a bit of a class clown in school because I was bored to tears with the pace of the work.  It was awesome having someone challenging me!  Thanks, Jules! 

Here’s a shot of me, Olive, and Jules right before the driver picked me up.  What a blast!

From Jules’ house, I headed down to John Wayne Airport in Orange County where my uber-talented buddy Drew Lewispicked me up and took me to his home in Laguna Beach.  What a host.  My trip was only awesome because Drew took the time to make it such.  Thanks, Drew!  Here we are walking down toward the beach.  That’s me on the left…

Here we are at a restaurant on the main strip in town.  That’s me hiding behind the chips and margarita.

This is a cool trick that Jules taught me.  I put Drew in the very center of the frame, set the shutter to 1/50th, and fired off several frames per second while rotating the camera.  This was the best one of the series.  Pretty cool, eh?

I love these next two shots.  If, by chance, you’re a beach-lovin’ kind of person and would like one of these last two images printed in a large format for your home, please contact me by email directly, and we can work out an arrangement.

Whew!  This was a long post.  Thanks for hanging in there!  I hope you’re enjoying hearing about my trip.  Tomorrow, I’ll be posting details from days 4 and 5.  See you soon, and please feel free to leave a comment if you have a second.  Take care!   -SR

Saturday morning brought with it a ton of excitement about shooting with Jules, but I also couldn’t help feeling just a bit nervous.  I’m pretty confident in my shooting, but still—it’s Jules Bianchi.  I reeeally didn’t want to suck. 

Once at the incredible Fairmont Miramar Hotel next to the Santa Monica Pier, I got to meet up with Shannon Lott, who was in the second shooter position for the day.  Shannon was awesome, AND she’s a fellow Nikonian like me.  After arriving and greeting me with a big smile and hug, Jules led the way to the super-cool bungalow where the bridal party was getting ready.  The rest of the day was a blur.  We knocked out the getting ready shots, the formals, then drove over to the breath-taking St. Monica Catholic Church for the ceremony and some outdoor shots.  The reception was back at the Mirimar, where the venue was stunning, the food was yummy, and the band played their cans off.

There’s no way I can possibly convey through words how great the day was.  You really need to see the images that we captured.  Please check out Jules’ slideshow by clicking HERE.  Jules also posted some great comments about the shoot on her blog, including a much appreciated shout-out to me (THANKS, Jules!).  To see that post, please click HERE.

Tomorrow I’ll be blogging about my Sunday Tea for Two mentoring session with Jules.   I learned a ton, so please check out my post tomorrow.  In addition to talking about what I took away from the shooting and mentoring session, there’s a great pic of me, Jules, and her adorable dog Olive that I’m going to post.  Thanks for stopping by, and take care!  -SR

2 weeks later, I’m finally caught up enough to be able to write about my trip to Los Angeles.  There’s so much to tell, I’m going to break it up across a few seperate posts.  Please keep checking back!

My main reason for heading out to the west coast was to meet and shoot a wedding with the incredible Jules Bianchi.  More on that later, of course.  Here’s a self-portrait I shot on day 1 in the Cincinnati airport on my way to catch the flight into LAX.  Notice how the wide-angle lens adds to this already-goofy shot.  Oh so flattering!

Once aboard, I was pleasantly surprised to find that the new Counting Crows album was one of the in-flight selections.  What could be better than flying to LA and listening to the Counting Crows?

Okay…so maybe there is something that could make the flight even better.  Yummmmmmm.

Ignore the crazy downward angle.  The pilot did a wonderful job.  I just liked shooting the diagonal for this one.

Here’s the LAX Westin.  I got a killer deal on Priceline.  Yay!

Not much else to report from Day 1.  Had a great flight, but I was sooooo glad to be on the ground.  The remainder of my day was spent preparing my gear for the shoot, checking in with the fam back home, and getting my travel plans worked out for the wedding.

Definitely check back here on the blog tomorrow.  I’ll be posting some cool stuff from the wedding I shot with Jules in Santa Monica.  Thanks for stopping by.  See you tomorrow!   :)  -SR