I’m headed to Vegas and WPPI conference to learn from the best of the best in the Wedding photography industry, and I’m excited beyond words.  WPPI stands for Wedding & Portrait Photographers International, and their annual conference is something I have dreamed of going to for the past three years.  It’s an opportunity to share ideas, learn from the best, and review all of the products and services that will help my business grow. This trip is an investment not only in my own education but for my brides and grooms as well. Be sure to follow my journey to Vegas on my Twitter feed.  I’ll be sure to post some photos from my trip on my personal blog as well.

I have a list of locations that I send to bride and grooms to help them decide on an engagement session location, and on that list has always been Frankenmuth Michigan. The city has a lot of character and a lot of great memories for me and I have had quite a few images stored in my memory bank that needed to be captured on camera. Thousands of photo opportunities awaited us today including a picture with the wait staff at the Bavarian Village.   Even the lady that plays the accordion! Here’s a sneak peek of some of the awesomeness we were able to capture today. (That’s right, I said awesomeness, it’s a word, right?)

Today is a day of culling and editing for me. This is where I get to re-live last week’s engagement session with Katie and Rudy and pick my favorites. In two hours I captured about 1000 images. Culling is the process of going through those images and picking my favorites. I use Adobe Lightroom 2.0 for this process and it makes things so easy because I can quickly review each image and flag my favorites. We had such an awesome session that I flagged about 200 images.

The next stage of the process is to display just my favorites and begin editing each to make them look like something I would put on the wall. In fact, that’s what I ask myself “Would I want this framed and on the wall for display?” Here’s just one of the images that I have been working with today. Enjoy.

Today’s engagement session with Katie and Rudy was amazing. I went through and found about 150 images that I wanted for today’s blog post and narrowing it down to just 5 images was a very tough decision. I’ll blog more about them later, but for now here’s a sneak peek from today.

Their dog Abby joined us for the first few shots.

This park in downtown Clarkston was just a perfect setting.

This morning I drove into the sunrise.  Ok, not really driving into the sunrise, but I was driving East and the sunrise was so beautiful the whole way.   So many times I wanted to stop and pull out the camera for that awesome shot, but I was already cutting it close on time and I couldn’t sacrifice the stop.  Instead I used the time to study how the light fell on things, and I learned a lot.  You should have seen (and I wish I could show you) how amazing the barn and the grain towers looked silhouetted with the gorgeous orange sky behind it.  You should have seen how the orange light hit a red barn warming up the color of the red so beautifully.  You should have seen how the empty road looked ahead of me with the sun peaking in the distance. The images are still in my visual memory bank and I will use them later.  I have been storing these images in my head all my life and this camera thing helps me to show you what I have been seeing. If you ever have the opportunity to be on the other side of my lens you will know that moment when I see one of those visual memories.  I can’t control it, it’s kind of a natural surprised smiling reaction and look on my face that says “I just saw an amazing shot and we need to get it on camera for the world to see.”

The photo below was one of those moments taken a week ago.  I saw this shot in my head and I had to put it into the camera. I was driving with my buddy Duane and I looked at him and said “we have to turn around, I just saw a shot.”  I visualized a couple looking lovingly at each other, or a two people love birds walking and talking to each other.  The only person I had with me was Duane, and he was gracious enough to act as my model for this impromptu proof of concept.

This is the part of the blog where I ask for your help. Out of 400 submissions my photo from Ken and Melissa’s wedding from last year has been chosen to be in the top 10 home grown Michigan weddings.

If you don’t mind, I would really appreciate your vote over at the Bliss Blog

Please vote for # 10

http://www.yourblissblog.com/archives/1824

Special thanks to Amanda and the Bliss team for putting on this contest.  You rock!

Later this year I have the honor and privilege of telling a wedding story at this beautiful church in Lake Orion. I can’t wait for you all to meet the couple and see their wedding story through the images. My camera begged me to photograph the entrance of this church when I was driving by yesterday. This church has a lot of character and history in Lake Orion and it really is a beautiful place for a wedding.  I added a bit of a pink overtone to the image in honor of valentines day.  Happy Valentine’s day to my bride Julie and to all of my future and past brides and grooms as well.

During a wedding I find myself being a wedding photojournalist, portrait photographer, architectural photographer, food photographer, jewelry photographer, and wedding photographer all within 5 minutes.  Things happen so quickly that I need to be on the top of my game.

If you’re a follower of my Daily Photo Blog , you know that I post a new photo every day that at first glance have nothing to do with wedding photography, yet they all relate in some way.   It keeps me on my game because it’s a place for me to explore composition, to learn, to play with light, to spark creativity, and to document whatever catches my eye.  Earlier last month I posted a picture of my bride that I had photographed at Imaging USA using a lighting technique that I had just learned from Denis Reggie (the best of the best in wedding photo journalism.)  I had the opportunity to use that technique at the wedding two weeks ago and I was amazed with the results.

How do you cut the cake?  There’s a lot more going on for the cake cutting than you may think.  The position of the cake table in the room needs to be well planned with plenty of light and plenty of room for the guests to observe.  The position of the photographer needs to be just right so that the guests can see and the photographer can capture the moment.  One of the first places that I go to when I arrive at a reception hall is the cake table (if there is a cake) because I know I will need to plan where to stand for the most optimal light and best composition.

I watch as the bride and groom stand next to their cake in preparation for their first act as a husband and wife.  They both look at each other as if to say “How do we cut the cake?”  They usually figure it out by having the groom hold the knife and the brides hand is on top of his.   The crowd has gathered with cameras in hand all pointed at the two best dressed people in the place.  Bride and groom then begin to cut into the cake together, slowly as not to damage their beautiful masterpiece too much.  The masterpiece that they spent hours upon hours fumbling through magazines and cake books to find just the right one only to stab it with a serrated object and feed it to themselves with their bare hands.  Sometimes the cutting is a bit more difficult than anticipated because those fauna cakes have a harder outer shell.   The feeding of the cake generally involves icing on one or both of their faces, and as a photographer those moments don’t get old and are fun to capture.

So, how do you cut the cake?

50 years ago on this day they joined hands and shared rings and said “I do” for the world to see.  50 years ago on this day they were husband and wife, and they celebrated in the very church where the vows were told to the world.  Family and friends joined them as they renewed their vows for each other on their 50th wedding anniversary, and it was the highlight of my wedding photography career.  Here were two people that have been through many years of matrimony only to tell the world that they were still in this for the long haul.  Harold and LaDonna made me proud to be a wedding photographer, and they made me proud to be a husband and to be part of a marriage.  Marriage is a journey and they showed me that the journey is filled with love, family, laughter, and happiness.

A couple months ago one of their daughters contacted me and said that  I was a suprise gift to Harold and LaDonna.  This 50th wedding anniversary was going to be planned by themselves, but the children just had to contribute something.  So they asked me to capture the moment and the day for them.

The day began at the Calvary Evangelical Lutheran Church in Lincoln Park Michigan.  The church were they saw each other as Bride and Groom 50 years ago on the same day.

Harold and Ladonna cut the cake just like they did 50 years ago, and Harold smashed a bit into Ladonna’s face just as he may have done then too.

The cake was a replica made by their children based on photographs from their original wedding album.

Harold and LaDonna, thanks for allowing me to capture this day in your lives. Your love for each other showed in yourselves as well as your children and grand children. After photographing new brides and grooms it was wonderful to see how a husband and wife can be after years of togetherness, friendship, and love. Of all the weddings I have photographed I will always remember the love that I saw in your eyes, the passion you have for each other, and the smiles on your children’s faces as you renewed your vows.

The evening was topped off with family at the Palazzolo Di bocce for some family fun and togetherness. Here’s a photo of their new wedding bands together on one of the Bacce balls.