Last Saturday I had the pleasure of second shooting with the fabulous Miranda of Inner Circle Photography. She has an amazing eye and I can’t wait to see how she captured the day. After the ceremony she looked at me and said “did you see that barn on the way into the wedding?” The bride was even hoping Miranda had seen it, so that’s where we went to shoot after the ceremony. Here are two of my favorites from there.

Meet Rachelle, a Lake Orion High school senior with grades and SAT scores to get her into any college she wants to. When I spoke with Rachelle about her ideas for senior photos, she had no preference initially. And then she mentioned a location that had some graffiti that would be kinda cool. I immediately thought of graffiti alley in Ann Arbor, and I knew that we had to shoot there.  Then we strolled down to the law diag and found some equally amazing places to shoot there as well.

What to wear? Here are some guidelines to think about when choosing clothing for your portrait session.

For the formal shots if you have a business suit or business attire that you are comfortable in.

Clothing tops (shirts, sweaters, jackets, blouses, etc.) should be either quite dark or quite light in color. This allows the top to readily stand out against a contrasting background. Intermediate colors don’t produce this same rich contrast and should be avoided if possible. Also consider wearing a top that has an interesting collar and/or sleeves. These help frame the hands and face and provide a distinctive appearance to your portraits. A top that has interesting textures (e.g. a sweater) can also add depth and richness to an image. Avoid tops that have busy colors, stripes, and noisy patterns as these often do not reproduce well on film and can distract from the real area of interest – you. If you will have more than one change of clothing for your session then consider bringing a variety of necklines, textures, colors, and undergarments to achieve a wide variety of looks.

A couple of other pointers regarding colors. Darker colors have a somewhat slimming effect in a photograph. Lighter colors can have the opposite effect. You probably want to avoid clothes that will cast a reflective color on your skin tone. The camera will readily pick up this reflected color cast and render you somewhat off color. Bright reds, yellows, and oranges are common colors that can produce a color cast. Think in terms of soft or pastel colors and you should be OK.

Avoid clothing containing logos, slogans, or other distractions.
If you wear jewelry try to keep it simple and elegant.

I brought my rain gear for this one. On my drive to the wedding it was raining buckets, and I had no idea how today’s outdoor wedding was going to go. As SOON as I parked my car, and I mean just as I parked it, the rain stopped. I couldn’t believe it. I’ll post more later, but for now here’s one quick shot from today’s wedding while the rest of the files upload to my computer.

Ken and Melissa wanted a beach wedding in Michigan, so they searched all over and found the most amazing location.  The Grand Traverse Resort in Traverse City.  The skies were gloomy during the rehearsal the day before and the threat of rain loomed overhead.  During my morning run on the wedding day, the clouds were still lingering, and I had to pack my rain gear just in case.  Come on blue skies, where are you?  As the wedding day progressed, I had nothing to worry about, because the clouds went away and the blue sky showed it’s rich color.

The rented tuxes came with severely wrinkled ties, so here’s a shot of the father of the bride getting his tie ironed the only way guy’s know how to do it.

The steel drum played their song as the guests took their seats.

Ken and Melissa joined hands in matrimony on the beach, in front of the Grand Traverse Bay, below the summer sun, in front of their friends and family, and underneath the rich blue sky. Beautiful. Perfect. Amazing.

I absolutely love the way the ring bearer was looking at me here in this shot. He walked down the isle like a champ and the bride was giving him a big “thank you” smooch.

All were on their feet below the large tent as Ken and Melissa arrived to the reception.

The daddy daughter dance was quite emotional for me. I felt the joy and happiness that they had and my eyes teared up as I was taking these shots. I had a long lens on so I could stay far away and not interrupt them during this dance. Dad’s smile says a million things right here.

The final shot of the night came to me on the dance floor as the sun was setting. I saw this shot in my head and I had to grab the bride and groom. “I have an idea for a shot, do you mind walking out on the golf course for a minute?” They said “sure!” So off we went. I gave them some general direction on where to stand and asked them to just talk about their wedding. This gave them some alone time and it gave me the perfect setting for this shot.