party

40th Birthday Party with football & casino themes in Wesley Chapel Florida

in

Eldest friend Terry and his wife and a friend on his 40th birthday party - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/5.6 ISO 800 1/60th SB-800 hotshoe mountedThis year I have photographed a 50th birthday party and even a 100th birthday party.  Now a 40th birthday party can be added to the list for 2013.  My oldest friend (since 7th grade) turned 40 in November (thankfully I am almost 9 months younger!) and his wife contacted me about photographing the party which would also be for another one of their friends who was turning 40 as well.  

There was real (with play money) casino action during the 40th birthday party - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/5.6 ISO 800 1/15th zooming in with SB-800 hotshot mountedThey went all out for this party with several professional casino tables!  I guess they really like cards and gambling!  There was only play money used though at the party.  Above you can see the blackjack table, and there were also roulette and poker tables.

Football theme for this 40th birthday party in Wesley Chapel Florida - Nikon D300 Nikkor 80-200mm @ f/4 ISO 800 1/60th SB-800 hotshoe mountedThe other theme for this party was football.  One Packers fan and one Bills fan.  As a life long Dolphins fan I restrained from damaging any Bills balloons or decorations.

Green Bay Packers 40th birthday cake in Wesley Chapel Florida - Nikon D300 Nikkor 80-200mm @ f/4 ISO 800 1/60th SB-800 hotshoe mountedThere was even a football birthday cake!  I had a piece from the Packers side.  I always say, the best part about photographing events is getting a piece of cake!

A lot of self-portraits taken at this 40th birthday party - Nikon D300 Nikkor 50mm @ f/2 ISO 800 1/60thI was not the only way taking photos at the party as many people would get together with their phones to even take group shots (see above).  I enjoyed the chance to combine business and personal by photographing my oldest friend's birthday party.  Now I wonder about an 80th birthday party??
  • Reserve a birthday party photography package for any age today
  • More information on birthday party and other event photography packages
  • View more birthday party photo stories

    • 2013 High School Graduation Beach Party for Conor at Caddy's Treasure Island Florida

    in

    Conor celebrating his high school graduation with friends at Caddy's Treasure Island Florida - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/11 ISO 200 1/250th SB-800 @ 1/4 power hotshoe mountedFormer Morean Arts Center photography student Sue's son, Conor, graduated high school as part of the class of 2013.  She threw a graduation party out at Caddy's on Treasure Island, Florida for him and contacted me about photographing the afternoon event.  As the sign shows above, Conor is Clemson bound!

    Generations celebrating a high school graduation on the beach at Treasure Island Florida - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/7.1 ISO 200 1/400th SB-800 @ 1/4 power hotshoe mountedThere were multiple family generations at the party, including Conor's grandparents seen above along with his sister.  Shooting in direct afternoon sunlight is of course a challenge, so positioning everyone just so was extra important to minimize shadows as much as possible and also to try and pull some detail and color out of the background, though ultimately in the above shot I decided to convert it to black & white.

    Volleyball fun at a 2013 high school graduation party Treasure Island Florida - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/11 ISO 200 1/400th SB-800 @ 1/4 power hotshoe mountedMost at the party were Conor's classmates who did not seem to mind the harsh sunlight at all!

    Treasure Island Yacht and Tennis Club New Year's Eve Party 2009

    in

    Dancing on top of a pool at Treasure Island Yacht & Tennis Club on New Years' Eve 2009

    This was only the second time in my life, and first time since high school, that I worked on New Year's Eve.  From 7pm December 31, 2009 to 2am January 01, 2010 I was photographing the Treasure Island Yacht & Tennis Club's lavish New Year's Eve Party featuring John Secada and The Commodores.

    No expense was spared to impress guests as they arrived at the Treasure Island Yacht & Tennis Club on New Year's Eve 2009

    The Treasure Island Yacht & Tennis Club's New Year's Eve event was my highest profile job to date.  It was also my most prolific job too nearly filling to capacity three 8GB memory cards.  Over the course of the 7 hours of shooting I literally only stopped shooting for four minutes as I ate half the sandwich I had packed away in my stowed camera bag.  Ultimately, I delivered over 700 edited images to the client in just a one week turnaround.

    There were three different dinner areas all very well decorated.

    There was no lack of activity during the New Year's party as there were three distinct areas for guests to dine, dance and party in.  In the yacht club building itself there were two floors of entertainment.  The second floor was an intimate setting with John Secada performing, and the third floor was a large and lively dining hall with The Commodores rocking the place.

    2010 made it easy to fashion eyewear of itself.

    The third location was actually right on top of a pool (see top photo), covered in a $90,000 system of plexiglass sheets that formed a see-through dance floor--that could only be used once as it would be too scratched to use again!  Here a cover band called Stormbringer provided rock and pop stalwarts.   

    There were many chances to dance cheek-to-cheek.

    While it was great to have three areas to find candid event scenes to photograph, it made for a lot of stair climbing and grounds walking!  Also, since I never took a real break and always had my Nikon D300 with a Nikkor SB-800 (thanks Pedro!) mounted on it around my neck, not to mention a Nikon D90 with Nikkor 50mm 1.8D lens too, by the end of my night my right arm had never been so tired from shooting before!

    Romantically ringing in the new year on the dance floor at the Treasure Island Yacht & Tennis Club

    Despite the endurance challenges, this was by far my most exciting photography job.  The guests, yacht club staff and the entertainers were all very friendly and made my job easier with their help.  The guests were all in a really good mood and mostly loved to have their photograph taken.  The staff was fun to talk to and get behinds the scenes info from (like suggestions to shoot from behind the bar).  Special thanks to Sara for thinking of me for photographing this event.  I could tell she put a tireless effort into making this a great event.