Alex the Photo Blog

This is to build on the teaser I put up a couple of weeks ago found here from the Barnhart/Lord wedding in Athens, GA.  The ceremony was great and the reception was jam-packed full of  fun, food, and dancing.  As much as I love DJs and recorded dance music, it’s hard to beat a good wedding band.  The the Bride and groom were happy as can be and were not fearful of bustin’ a move on the dance floor!  As usual, I’ll let the photos do most of the talking.  Brides don’t typically hire me fore my literary skills.  :)

The bride’s daughter was able to watch the “first look” from a window nearby.

One of my favorite things about this church was that the kids were able to ring the bell after the ceremony.  How cool is that!?

This happened to be a photo taken by accident when my on-camera flash was switched off… and I liked it.  :)

There is plenty more to come from the Barnhart/Lord wedding I shot 2 weeks ago in Athens, GA.  I just thought I’d post a couple of them from this great Athens wedding!  So fun in fact that they had an 8-year-old break dancing.  No joke!

We have had a great response from the people guessing about who caught the bouquet at last weekend’s wedding.  Some of you may be surprised at the results.  Here’s a reminder of the scene:

And here are the results, shot by shot!

There was a bit of a twist in that I think the bouquet clipped a chandelier.  No matter, because you can still see the girls diving for it!  The victor was the Sister of the Bride (Girl #5)!  Congrats to Sarah Barnhart for catching the ever elusive bouquet and congrats to Molly Perry for being the winner of the drawing out of all the correct guesses!  Thanks to everyone for playing.  I hope to have more fun contests on the blog!  If you haven’t done so already, please stop by the Facebook page to like Alex the Photo Guy so you can keep up to date on contests in your news feed!

I’ve never had a contest on the blog before and I’ve always thought this would be a fun one to do.  Of all the photos I take at weddings, one my of my favorites is always the half second before the bridal bouquet is caught.  Seeing the facial expressions of all the girls on the dance floor ready to dive at those tossed flowers always makes me smile.  I would say the same about the garter toss, but we all know most of those end up with a guy saying “um, here- you take it!”   The following photo is from the Barnhart/Lord wedding I shot last weekend in Athens.  You have to guess which girl caught the bouquet based on the following choices:

#1:  Girl in orange looking suspiciously calm
#2:  Bridesmaid with tasty beverage in hand looking for the left hand snag
#3:  Lavender dress girl potentially screaming in flower girl’s ear
#4:  Flower girl (always a sleeper in these contests)
#5:  Sister of the bride readying herself to dive based on the left hand skirt pull
#6:  Little girl in blue with two hand grab possibility
#7:  Other little girl that looks like she may have a good vertical
#8:  Blue dress girl with the two handed long reach

The rules are simple.  Everyone make a guess in the comments below or on the Alex the Photo Guy Facebook page (I’ll count both locations, but only one vote).  For those that get it right, I will draw a name and email you a $5 Starbucks Giftcard!  Yes- a real prize that will at least buy you a cup of coffee!  Contest ends Friday.  Good luck!

Here are some of the other highlights piggybacking on the Part 1 post from Alex and Ryan’s wedding!  Can you tell by this photo that Alex is super excited to be married?

This is a shot the girls wanted.  It’s a recreation of the of a photo taken after Micah (top middle) won the Showcase Showdown on the Price is Right on July 4th, 2011.

In January, I started wedding photography season a bit early with Alex Boyce and Ryan McCollister’s nuptuals in Woodstock, GA.  I’ve known Alex for years as she played softball in middle and high school with my sister.  She is one of the sunniest people I have ever known and it’s no wonder that she has found a career working for The Make a Wish Foundation helping children with terminal illnesses live out lifelong dreams.  We were all very excited when we learned that she had found a new boyfriend in town and lo and behold, she was engaged within a few months!  Of course, everyone thought it was so soon, but whenever I spoke to her I knew it was for real- and so did they.  The ceremony at the Woodstock Baptist Church was beautiful and the reception was a lot of fun- especially with her group of bridesmaids.  They were all a hoot on the dance floor!  (Yes, I said “hoot”)

I am on my way!  Last week marked my first step in going full time photography.  I was able to work out a deal with my full time employer to have two days off a week with the intentions of cutting back further (or completely) in the next month or two.  It’s a scary and exciting feeling at the same time.  I know I want to do photography, but it’s REALLY tough to give up a steady paycheck working with great people.  Right now I feel kinda like I’m ending a serious relationship for a new love, but still calling the old flame… on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays.

I have been basically working two full time jobs for the past couple of years between real estate and photography.  I’d love to say my first two workdays dedicated solely to photography were very proactive, but in reality they were spent catching up on a backlog of items.  My to do list for getting the business in order is still a mile long and I’ve barely made a dent in it.  Over last Wednesday and Friday I was able to catch up on some editing of an impromtu executive shoot, get my new laptop, and clean the home office to about 40% organized.  The highlight of my Friday was meeting with a bride-to-be and mother for a wedding I’ll be shooting in Athens in a few weeks.  Keep a watch out on here for the Barnhart wedding, because Megan is going to be a stunning bride.  On the docket for this week:  meet with my CPA about taxes, change over my personal and business insurance, and blog about my headshot sessions.

Now, because this is a photo blog- where would it be without photos?  I didn’t happen to take a single photo of my (still) messy office and my PJs, so I thought I’d include a photo session based around politics given tomorrow is Super Tuesday.  My cousin, Will, attends Southern Wesleyn College in South Carolina.  Growing up he was a quiet, bashful kid that, like me, grew up being more musically inclined than his sports-oriented younger brother.  Since graduating high school and moving off to college, he has come exploding out of his shell.  He actually was one of the highlights of our wedding with his shaggy Mick Jagger haircut and non-stop moves on the dance floor.  He had everyone asking “who is that crazy guy on the dance floor?” and at one point challenged one of Keri’s bridesmaids (a professional dancer) to a dance-off… and won!

He let me know a few weeks ago that he is running for Student Government President and needed some pictures of his cabinet.  They drove down to Atlanta donning suits to show they mean business. Will even cut his hair (somewhat) shorter. I was happy to help out because it gave me the opportunity to get out on the windiest day of the year in downtown Atlanta and shoot… seriously- it was comically windy.  Like lean 45 degrees into it windy. I’m glad I packed light, because there’s no way I could have used any strobes or umbrellas for this shoot because they’d be in Montana by now rolling with the tumbleweeds. Everyone seemed to have a good time despite the weather and I hope that the marketing materials for their campaign pay off!

(Can you tell I was thinking The Colbert Report for this one?)