Wedding

St Jude Cathedral Wedding in St Petersburg Florida

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St. Jude Cathedral Wedding in St. Petersburg Florida - f/6.3 ISO 400 1/50th Strobist: SB-800 @ 1/4 power to frame left SB-600 @ 1/4 power to frame rightBrian and Kelsey had a very fun and jovial wedding.  I do not think I ever saw less nervousness in either the bride or the groom before a wedding.  The fun continued through the wedding ceremony that referenced Disney story lore at length.  I had heard from Kelsey that they were Disney fans, but I had no idea the priest would be making theme park ride metaphors during the ceremony!

Ruby Red Slippers on the St. Petersburg Florida bride - f/5.8 ISO 400 1/80th SB-800 Speedlight hotshoe mountedKelsey told me she was also a big Wizard of Oz fan.  Therefore I was not surprised to see her wearing very Dorothy-like ruby red slippers under her wedding dress.  I could find no yellow brick road to use in the foreground, unfortunately.

St. Jude Cathedral bride & groom during the ceremony - f/4 ISO 200 1/125th SB-600 Speedlight hotshoe mountedThis was a Catholic wedding which has an hour-long ceremony.  Since the bride and groom do not stand right in front of the priest all the time, there were several opportunities for clear photographs of the couple, which is rare during wedding ceremonies.  I could also not go within a large marble circle surrounding the alter area so using my trusty Nikkor AF ED 80-200mm f/2.8D lens was a must.

feeding each other cake at wedding reception - f/5.6 ISO 800 1/60th SB-800 Speedlight hotshoe mounted @ 1/4 powerAlthough the above shot shoes a very animated cake feeding custom, what followed was very neat and orderly.  I have to say I am disappointed that nowadays couples do not smash cake into each other's faces.  To me there is then no reason to perform this custom if it is just a neat nibble of cake.  I liken it to find out the sex of one's baby before delivery.  Just takes the fun out of it, at least to me, though it must be said I am very fond of maintaining old customs.

garter belt surprise at St. Jude Cathedral wedding reception hall - f/5.6 ISO 800 1/80th SB-800 hotshoe mounted at 1/4 powerThe DJ prompted the bride & groom to tell the guy who (reluctantly) caught the garter belt when to stop hiking the belt up the lucky bouquet catcher's right leg.  During this I wondered to myself, what if the woman who catches the bouquet is wearing pants?  Do all women who attend weddings wear dresses or skirts?  I will make a point of observing this at the wedding I next photograph at the end of June.

Sacred Heart Church Palma Ceia Country Club Tampa Wedding

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Sacred Heart Church Tampa Wedding Ceremony - f/8 ISO 200 0.8s on tripod with cable releaseThe wedding of Ryan and Monica was the grandest wedding I have been involved in photographing so far.  Monica's father must really, really love her!  This was also my first opportunity to not only photograph a wedding inside the spectacular Sacred Heart Church in downtown Tampa, but just to see inside of it after long admiring its large circular stained glass window on its front face.

The groom getting some necktie help from his father - f/8 ISO 800 1/100th SB-800 Speedlight hotshoe mountedMy day started out photographing the groom getting ready in his spacious waterfront room in the Tampa Marriott Waterside.  The NBA channel was on and causing a bit of distraction as one of the classic playoff series between the 90s Knicks and Pacers was being broken down game by game!  Everyone in the room got a bit caught up in it.  

The bride getting assistance with her floor length veil - f/5.8 ISO 800 1/200th SB-800 Speedlight hotshoe mountedI was next on my way to the Sacred Heart Church to photograph the bride as her assistant helped her put the last, tricky touches on getting her head to toe length veil just right.  The woman helping the bride seemed like an expert, but to my ears she spoke mostly only Italian!  It made me feel like I was in a movie to be inside such a architecturally rich church, seeing an enormous veil enveloping the bride, being put on by an old, petite Italian woman.

Palma Ceia Country Club Wedding Reception Ballroom - f/5.8 ISO 800 1/80th SB-800 Speedlight hotshoe mountedThe reception was at the Palma Ceia Country Club where I photographed a wedding last October.  I thought I knew what to expect but the reception this time was in a much different room and even the manager said he had never seen the room decorated like it had been.  The preparations started at 5:30am that morning he told me.

Wedding day hugs and congratulations - f/5.6 ISO 800 1/80th SB-800 Speedlight hotshoe mountedOne type of shot I always look for is what I refer to in my mind is the "hug & kiss" time for the bride & groom as they receive congratulations from the wedding guests.  To me the intensity of this time tells me a lot about the wedding, the newlywed couple, and the types of relationships they have with everyone at the wedding.  The hugging at this wedding, as you can see above, was as impressive as every other aspect of this lavish, emotional wedding.

Bradenton Florida Wedding Photography - Kiera & Ricardo

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Bradenton Wedding Photography in Calvary Baptist Church - the bride, KieraI photographed my first wedding in Bradenton, Florida, which was held at the Calvary Baptist Church and then on to the nearby Renaissance banquet hall for the reception.  However, I first met Kiera in her family home that she grew up in.  As I walked up the staircase to the second floor the wall was lined with childhood photos of her and her siblings.  It was really nice to get to see some of her family history before taking one photograph that day.  Hopefully I will have produced a photograph worthy of placement on that wall.

The Bradenton bride getting ready - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/5.6 ISO 400 1/100th strobist: SB-800 on light stand to frame left & SB-600 on chair to frame rightOften, just by watching people I find shots I would not have thought of myself.  The mirror was on the far side of the bedroom and was not being used.  As I was getting ready to setup for a staircase shot, I saw Kiera go over and look into it.  I always like to get a reflection shot of some kind and after working a bit on the lighting logistics was able to get my second strobe placed so that I could both back and front light Kiera without producing any glare in the mirror.

Entire wedding party in Calvary Baptist Church Bradenton FloridaThe wedding party was rather large and included four energetic kids and one very long wedding dress train.  This was perhaps the most difficult shot all day to get right as on top of the tech stuff for producing this kind of shot (off camera flash, correct exposure in a large dim room, etc) I had to make sure eighteen people all lined up without significantly blocking anyone and keep them all from trodding on the bride's beautiful, but expansive, wedding dress.

A riverfront location picked by the bride in Bradenton Florida after the wedding ceremonyThe bride had mentioned going to a riverfront location after the ceremony, which I thought sounded good.  The more environments I can photograph the bride and groom in the better.  However, after the ceremony the bride was not so sure of making the effort to go out there and perhaps we would all just head to the reception.  I highly recommended that we make the effort to go out to the riverfront because ten years from now I am sure she will be glad that we had.  This is also part of the professional wedding photographer's job.  

Bride & Groom action shot after their Bradenton Florida wedding by the limoThe above shot was my idea as I always want to try and include some action shots if possible, even during a wedding.  Kiera & Ricardo would good about following my suggestions for shot ideas despite both of them wearing far more restrictive clothing than myself.  This was a spontaneous shot I did not have preplanned, just thought we could do something on our way to the riverfront.

Wedding Bliss under the bride's veil in Bradenton Florida - natural lightThis shot, however, was preplanned as soon as I saw Kiera putting on the veil in her grandmother's bedroom.  It is always great when the bride wears a large veil.  With the wind it took a bit of finagling to get the veil as good as we could and keep it from blowing all over the place.  I think this was the time Kiera & Ricardo enjoyed the most while I was photographing them that day. 

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    • "Why is this bride smiling?" New Tampa Clearwater St. Petersburg wedding photography campaign

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    The new look & slogan for Tampa Clearwater St. Petersburg wedding photography promotionsFor Spring 2011 I am launching the "Why is this bride smiling?" promotional campaign for St. Petersburg, Tampa and Clearwater wedding photography.  The ads themselves are more colorful using the same tone of blue found in my logo and feature a floating circles design theme.

    "Why is this bride smiling?" -- The intention behind this question is to promote the emotional aspect of my wedding photography for Florida brides-to-be (and grooms too!).  Instead of initially focusing on specific package details, pricing, etc., I first want the engaged couple to think of the emotion they want from their wedding photography, what they want the experience to be and how to capture those emotions and experiences.  If the engaged couple feels connected to the emotions of my wedding photogrpahs and wishes to experience and preserve what I have done for others on their wedding day also, then the time for discussing package details & pricing can follow.

    I realize price is a strong factor in purchasing decisions, but wedding photography is not like buying a refrigerator.  

    For all of the above reasons I offer a free, in-person wedding photography consultation to determine if my wedding photography philosophy matches with a specific couple's wishes.  Even if someone looks through my full online portfolio, downloads and reads my Wedding FAQ, reads all the raves and reviews, I will always highly encourage meeting in person before the couple decides on myself or another photographer for their wedding so I can in my own words answer the question, "Why is this bride smiling?"

    Thank you . . . 

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    • Sunset Beach Wedding on Treasure Island St Petersburg Florida

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    Relaxing on Sunset Beach for their wedding - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm f/2.8 @ f/11 ISO 200 1/200th SB-800 off camera

    It was a very intimate affair for Shannon and Jim's beach wedding on Treasure Island's Sunset Beach in St. Petersburg, Florida.  It was just me and Shannon and Jim (and an officiant).  There were not even that many other passersby on the beach itself.  The only company we had were a few birds.  This was all fine by me.  An empty beach means nice clean backgrounds.

    The sand ceremony is the main feature of many Florida beach weddingsYou may be surprised to learn that most beach wedding ceremonies are about five minutes.  When you are photographing such a ceremony that five minutes seems to go by almost instantly.  Needless to say the first time I photographed one I was quite surprised and I quickly learned to shoot many more shots per minute than I normally do.  The highlight shot of the ceremony itself is often the "sand ceremony" where the couple simultaneously pours sand from the very beach they are getting married on into a glass vessel of sometimes, in the above case a heart-shaped vase.

    One of my signature beach wedding shots is the couple walking along the shore - Sunset Beach Treasure Island FloridaThat evening was clear and cloudless, allowing the sun to be seen right until the edge of the horizon itself.  Time again passes very quickly with the sun that close to setting, thus it is a great advantage to have the experience I now have with sunset photography.  The above semi-complicated walking shot can usually be satisfactorily captured by the second take.  

    The wedding couple splashing in the Gulf of Mexico itself on Sunset Beach Treasure Island FloridaOnce the sun did go down, Shannon and Jim said they were up for a bit of a swim and took to the gentle waves of the Gulf of Mexico.  Thus, their beach wedding came to frolicking close.   

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    Testimonials Raves & Reviews for St. Petersburg Tampa Wedding Photographer

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    Carie & Jeff - Wedding Date:  December 26, 2010

    "Jason did an amazing job. He completely captured the moment, not to mention gave us pictures I still love to look at! I loved the creativity as well. He came up with great shots that worked so well and really reflexed my husband's and my personalities!!!"

     

     

     

    Renata & Enrique - Wedding Date:  October 15, 2010

    "Jason made my dream wedding pictures come true, I could not choose a better service."

     

     

     

     

    Don & Rosa - Wedding Date:  July 13, 2010

    During the ceremony Jason did great. We did not notice him while taking pictures. There wasn't any disruption. He did contact us before the wedding to ask what us what we had in mind and even though we only had him for 1 hour, we had some awesome shots!"

     
    "We are a very camera shy couple that do everything to avoid pictures. I was very nervous to pose for Jason at first but once we got started, I quickly became comfortable around him. He instructed us step by step how to pose and he was very very patient with us. His friendly personality made us feel confident."

     
    "There were so many to chose from and hard to pick just one favorite. There was one picture w/ my veil blowing in the wind that was breath taking, we could not believe it was me! It look like it came from a magazine."

     

     

    Linda & David - Wedding Date:  June 20, 2010

    "Jason took amazing pictures. I was so pleased. I didn't know what to expect and I keep getting compliments from family/friends on the photos. He was very creative with photo positions and bringing out romance to our pics. We didn't just stand there and get our picture taken.   We were impressed at the various poses that Jason used for the photos. He was able to make our photo session fun and illustrate our emotions of the day.  He captured the whole wedding as if it's a story. And, I love some of the candid shots he took. I could see how my husband was looking at me and how I was looking at him in the photos. And, the sky was beautiful that night. Jason got the rainbows and the sky in all of the pictures."

    "I had several favorites. But, I was surprised by the photos that I liked the best. Jason did an awesome job capturing the two of us looking at each other and how we look when we were looking at each other. He also captured the amazing sky behind us. My favorites include: the two of us kneeling on the beach, the two of us in front of the rainbows in the sky, and my husband lifting me up into the air."

    "My husband and I were thrilled with how we looked.   We are extremely pleased. Finally, Jason was fabulous with follow up - answering questions in a very timely manner. Thank you so much!" 

     

     

    Bianca & Derrick - Wedding Date:  June 19, 2010

    "Jason is easy to work with, I love his creativity and work ethic, my wedding photos look like something out of a magazine or postcard. I encourage anyone to let Jason have free reign with his talent, he's easy going and professional. you wont be disappointed."

     

    Bride Series - Carie

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    Carie -- a very happy bride getting ready for her St. Petersburg WeddingMy Florida Wedding Bride Series continues . . . Photographing the bride getting ready might be my favorite part of photographing a wedding, or at least the most interesting to me personally because at the time I am totally relaxed just starting my photography day while the bride has all the nerves and anxious feelings.  I like to see how people react in such situations.  Some brides remain tense and nervous, really needing the help of her bridesmaids (or a wisecrack by me) to even show a hint of a smile, while other brides are totally laughing and showing no outward anxiety.  Carie was in the latter category.  It was like a comedy hour while she was getting ready with me doing a bit of my stand-up routine.  

    One photo tip for getting ready shots, if the makeup artist and the bride are not lining up in a way that makes for a good photograph, feel free to ask them to slightly move so you can get a shot, then resume their normal positions.  That's what I did for the above shot, but it remained candid because of the light mood in the room.

    The bride all ready for her St. Petersburg Wedding on Snell IsleI had an idea for a "demure" shot so we all attempted to calm things down for just a minute to see if I could make the shot I pre-envisioned.  The above shot is the result and I was mostly able to get the results I wanted to.  Carie was very good at switching moods from laughing to contemplative.

    Long lens shots ad variety to images of a wedding ceremonySoon it was time for the wedding ceremony.  I have a new shot that I now like to do for every wedding.  Using a long lens (my Nikkor AF ED 80-200mm f/2.8D @ f/4 200mm) I isolate the bride's bouquet of flowers and ring in a tightly composed shot.  I do not include the bride's face for several reasons.  If you include a face in any photo, the mind's instinct to look at, read and identify a face, makes the face the automatic focal point of the shot.  Therefore, not including the bride's face allows the viewer's eye to focus on the ring and the flowers.  

    I use black & white processing very selectively, and always on purpose in wedding photography editingNow for this shot, I did want the bride's face to be the focal point as it was a moment of emotion for the bride, but I included other elements as well to show context for that emotion.  Once again using a long lens I was able to create a sense of 3-dimensions and depth putting in focus just what I wanted to be in focus (the bride).  I was also careful to make sure none of the decorative strings covered the bride's face in my composition.

    Be ready for spontaneous moments during wedding ceremonies!However, just like during the getting ready time, the wedding ceremony itself involved a lot of laughter.  There was a pause of a good minute to let all parties involved get the giggles out, but I remained focused so that I could photograph everyone's reactions.  

    I had a very good time photographing Carie's wedding and was really pleased with the variety of shots we were able to make together showcasing her wedding in a full range of emotions. 

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