Meghan and Greg Engagement Photos

Meghan was referred to me by her brother, Brian who knew me back in my days in real estate.  Brian is an interesting individual due to the fact that work friends described him as either "really funny" or "really good at Microsoft Excel" - two traits that generally don't coexist with your average person.  As it turns out, both are true, so I knew I was in for a treat when I went to meet Meghan and her fiance, Greg.  We met at a coffee shop overlooking the Chattahoochee river in the Walton Apartment complex in Marietta a few months ago to discuss their wedding.  As with the family of hers that I already knew, both she and her chosen man were very funny and intelligent.  We had a great time getting to know each other and a couple of weeks ago, I had the pleasure of taking their engagement photos near that same coffee shop.  As for Brian... he got his certification online and will be officiating the wedding.  I think he's also taking wedding gigs anywhere in the Caribbean. Their wedding is in December, so be on the lookout for those photos just after the new year!

 

Carly and Russell Engagements

Last week I discovered that I never posted the engagement photos that led to booking Carly and Russell's wedding this spring.  I'd like to think it was due to my incredible artful eye and posing ability that they chose me over other talented Atlanta photographers, but really it was because they are just a darn good lookin' couple.  Carly even has modeling experience- and it shows!  I will say that they told me I made them feel pretty comfortable since Carly said Russell hates being in photos.  That was a compliment I take to heart because if you can't build trust with your clients on a shoot, then you won't have great photos and happy clients who want to come back for more!

Carly and Russell at the hand made kitchen table that they built from salvaged barn wood.

Lou and Erin Not Posing

If you are an avid reader of Alex the Photo Blog (and I know you are!), then you know Lou!  Well, back in 2010, Lou let me test out my latest lighting setup for a studio shoot for his newly launched website.  We came away with a bunch of fun photos, one of which ended up making it's rounds at the office and on his Match.com profile.  Little known to the two of us how much one little photo can impact the rest of your life.  His lovely fiance, Erin, was searching around on the site in late 2010 and clicked on it simply because she thought it was so unique, sending him a little message that would change his life.  Now they are engaged to be married in September (and you-know-who is the photographer!).  I am so excited for the both of them, and also so glad I could be a part of how they met.  :)  Since then, I've actually been hired for a few online dating photo sessions and have fun doing them.  Who knows what a new photo could do for you...  here's the one of Lou that made all the difference:

For their engagements they hired me to come hang out with them for a day.  They said they would not pose for any photos (unless they were funny).  Of course everyone needs a little guidance on how and where to do what, but these two were just naturally comfortable in front of the camera making my job much easier.  I'll start off with the one that got such great buzz on Facebook with almost 100 "likes."

Then our loose-take on Annie Lebovitz' John and Yoko Rolling Stone photo (no, Lou didn't want to get naked).

Jessica and Jeff Engagements

This shoot may have been put off a little long, but between bad weather and busy schedules, I was excited to finally photograph Jessica and Jeff for their engagement session... a week before their wedding.  :)

Their wedding was an incredibly fun time and I plan to have those photos up here in a couple of weeks, but for now check out their engagement photos from Mason Mill Park!

Ryan and Melissa's Photo Chosen as DP Magazine Finalist!

Did I mention who took the photo?  :)

Out of the 2,800 photos submitted from around the globe for the 3rd Annual Digital Photography Magazine: Perfect Portrait contest, the judges have narrowed it down to their favorite 100 photos.  I also feel pretty honored that out of the 100 finalists, my submission is only one of two apparent wedding photos.  The voting is open and you can log in through Facebook!  Go ahead and vote to your heart's content- not just for me but for the beautiful Melissa McIver and her handsome husband Ryan!  Click on the photos below for the page to vote or click here to see the rest of the gallery... not that you need to.   :)  To be honest, prizes sound nice, but it would be incredibly more flattering to see one this photo printed in an internationally circulated magazine.  Thanks to everyone for your support!

Last Weekend Teaser

Last weekend was one of the busiest I've had in a while.  I had two engagement shoots, a wedding, a bride consultation, a Match.com profile photo session, and after it all had to wake up at 5am Monday for corporate portraits at the Ravinia Crowne Plaza at Perimeter.  Though I plan on taking this weekend off to relax at the lake, I'll still probably squeeze in some photo editing since I now have a LOT to do!  Here are a few teasers from the weekend, starting with Friday's engagement session with Lou Davis and Erin Winters.  I was told they would not pose for any photos at all- unless they were funny.  Here is pretty much the only posed photo I got out of the session and I think it ranks up there with possibly my favorite engagement photo.  On Lou's facebook page, it already has roughly 80 likes.  :)

Next up chronologically was the wedding of Jessica Gay and Jeff Manning at Whittier Mill Park in Smyrna followed by a beautiful reception at the Granite Room in Castleberry Hill.

Sunday morning I had a bride meeting with Sallie Watkins who is getting married in a month in Asheville, NC (!).  This was immediately followed by a Match.com photo session for my good friend David Oliver.  We had hatched all these crazy plans of ridiculous photos, but only ended with enough time for a few setups, though we hope to have more soon.  Essentially his plan was for a few serious photos accompanied by a number of off-the-wall ones in order to attract women with a good sense of humor.  Here are a couple:

Immediately following the Match.com photo session were engagement for Adam Bryan and Rebecca Flowers who are getting married in a month a half in Roswell, GA!

And as I had mentioned, I had to get up at 5am after these shoots to do some corporate head shots for the company I work with part-time... the following isn't one of these shots, but you get general the idea.  :)

Fun in Kennesaw with Alex and Ryan

Last month I got to have fun with a couple of newly engagedes (is that a word?) in Kennesaw Mountain Park.  The weather was perfect and judging by the overflowing of traffic, everyone in the city was out for a stroll.  Alex and Ryan are one of those couples that knew from the start that they'd end up together.  They'll be getting married in January- just a year from having met.  It's pretty amazing to spend time with a couple as sweet and sure of their love as they are.  Plus they were a heck of a lot of fun to hang out with.  I'm really excited for their Roswell wedding!  

"Hey- let's see if he's tickelish!"

Alex and Keri Save the Date - Behind the Scenes

Keri and I have received an awesome response to our Save the Date.  People have been asking me how we did it, so I figured I'd post about it. It was incredibly simple for those that have not seen a stop-motion video before.   First off- there was no video footage whatsoever.  The entire thing was completed using still photos. All one really needs is a camera.

For the footage of Keri and I, we had our good friend Curt come over with some props to snap the shots and help with art direction. I set up a black backdrop in the living room for our "studio." Then we set my camera on a tripod so we knew it would be in the same spot the entire time. I also had a wireless flash set up to light the entire scene (detailed info for the photo nerds below). That's all it was. Just lots of pictures in a row like a flip-book. If I were to do it again, I would have done it outside because we could only snap photos as fast as the flash could recycle. Otherwise, we could have had it look a little smoother. In the end, we walked away with 1,500 photos. I cut it down to about 1,000 for the final version (took out extra takes).

You'll see below here a shot without any editing but with the nerdy info. You can see the black cloth in the background.

For most of the shots, they're more zoomed in so I didn't have to do much in post-production.  For the full length shots (the park scene), I had to take them into photoshop and black out the sides as seen here.  I also added the hearts for fun.

For the chalkboard scenes I set up a chalkboard from my kitchen (Ikea) on an easel outside in the shade.  I made sure to tape everything down so it didn't move from frame to frame.  I also taped down my tripod for the camera.  I made sure to position the camera close enough to where I didn't see the edges of the chalkboard (less work to do in post).  Those scenes were really simple too.  All I did was take a picture, have Keri draw one letter, take a picture, another letter, and so on.  The lighting stayed mostly constant but with the outdoor light, the white balance changed a bit because of clouds and sun.

All in all it took about four hours for the live action scenes, 2 hours for the chalk scenes, and about 6 hours of post production in Adobe Lightroom and Photoshop.  Not a bad weekend project and the outcome was perfect.  Feel free to leave comments below if you have additional questions!  I'm off today at 3 to take pictures of International Pillowfight Day at Freedom Park.Expect pictures on the blog!

Keri and Alex Save The Date!

Here is something fun that Keri and I just couldn't wait to show you.  It's the Save the Date video for our wedding! Unfortunately, we cannot invite everyone who reads the blog.  However, we did want to share the video.  We hope you like it!

New Alex The Photo Guy site is LIVE!

I've owned the domain since college.  Three years ago I re-upped it's registration and I contracted my good friend Greg Vilines at Webnormous to begin work on the site.   Then a combination of producing an album, playing in a band, get married, and having his house burn down slowed Greg's progress on the site a bit.  A combination of helping with the album, buying a house, running a photo business, general laziness, and getting engaged slowed me down too.  I know my excuses aren't as valid as a house fire, but regardless of the timing, it is finally LIVE! Greg built the whole thing from scratch and he did a damn good job on it.  I know I was a difficult client at times but in the end we got it all worked out.  There will be a few tweaks made in the coming months, but since it's 99% done, we figured why not launch it?  This will be a soft opening for my six blog readers and facebook friends until I get it 100% finished.

Keep in mind the new site isn't going to be a replacement for the blog- just think of it as a "best of Alex the Photo Guy."  I'll still keep you up to date with my crazy photo antics here on the blog, so don't stop reading!

Let me know what you think!  Many thanks again to Greg who did all the hard work.  All I did was take a few photos.  If you need a website, let me know and I'll get you in contact with Webnormous.

Diana and Wesley Engaged

By the time this blog post actually goes up, they'll already have been married, but going along with the theme of getting my blog up to date, you get to see things backward.   These were definitely taken as their engagement photos to be published in their guestbook.  The official wedding pictures are far superior and were taken by Brandelyn Lee Photography.  They can be found here.   One day I hope to be half as good as Brandy.  I've been looking at her work before I even bought my first digital.  

First try...

Second try...