during their engagement shoot, abigail and sam told me about their wedding planning and were excited about having hired a professional lighting design team for their stan mansion wedding. they transformed a space that was a true blank canvas by choosing purple lighting that created an atmosphere for their wedding that guests commented about all night.
i photographed abigail getting ready at her home, and on the wall i noticed a painting by jamie haynes! i immediately recognized she had a connection to my favorite city: new orleans. abigail’s mother lives in new orleans’ garden district and we chatted a bit about second line parades. abigail didn’t grow up in NOLA otherwise i probably would have photographed another bride and groom in new orleans. abigal and sam headed to logan square for a planned meeting where they would have a documented “first look,” followed by some fun photos before the ceremony. after we finished creative photos in the park, sam went to stan mansion and made sure every detail was set perfectly, and gave a thumbs up to begin the ceremony. i wanted to make sure as much purple light was visible in their wedding photos as possible so i used my one of my favorite lenses for most of the night, that enables me to shoot without use of flash. whenever possible, i try to shoot without flash, or with low flash, so that the natural colors, shadows, and true look is preserved. i want my clients to have photos that accurately document their wedding from the little details, to the atmosphere of the room.
jim and sharon are getting married very soon at the narnia estate, and since most couples have not been professionally photographed, they made time for an engagement shoot, which was a great practice run before the wedding. with every shoot, i can learn a little bit about personalities… jim and sharon are so fun to work with. they played it casual for the shoot, and wore jeans. sharon stepped it up a notch by coordinating her red top with a fun pair of matching red shoes.
i look forward to photographing your wedding at the narnia estate!
this off-the-boat wedding was off the charts! diana’s family is from colombia, and her husband antonio’s family is from italy – they traveled far to witness a couple who had been dating for over ten years finally come together in marriage. i photographed diana and her bridesmaids getting ready at her mother’s quant home right by the ocean. her sister surprised her with the arrival of a shiny white antique bentley. because diana allocated time for some creative wedding photography before her ceremony, we headed over to the ocean for some fun photos. during the ceremony i could see a lot of people holding back tears. along with their bridal party, diana and antonio made made an unforgettable entrance into their reception.
hezzie and sam live in san francisco and got married in chicago. i had not met them before their wedding date. they had their wedding yesterday, getting ready at the conrad hotel over magnificent views of michicago ave, followed by the ceremony and reception at gallery 1028 in chicago. the gallery space is on goose island, and was my first “island” wedding shoot in chicago. gallery 1028 is one of chicago’s newer wedding spaces and is getting a lot of buzz. owned by calihan catering, the gallery is a huge space with tall ceilings, exposed brick and beams, with a true raw loft space. the gallery is very dark inside and provides the perfect ambience for a modern, contemporary wedding. there is plenty of parking too. gallery 1028 could be a challenge to shoot in since there is very little “white” space for a photographer to bounce a flash off. with the right lenses and extra flashes, the night was a success.
nicole fitzpatrick, the coordinator for the venue and calihan catering was friendly and on top of things. she recently got back from maternity leave and has hit the ground running. i am excited for more fun weddings at gallery 1028 in the future.
as many of my blog readers know, i have shot many weddings around the country. the DJ at last night’s event was by far the best DJ i have ever had the opportunity to work alongside. if you ever have the chance to hire zebo from style matters, you won’t be let down. he is a club DJ and spinning vinyl, and is able to blend songs together seamlessly and had generations of family on the dance floor all night with fun remixes of classic hits. he definitely knew how to read the crowd and had a great selection of indie, old school hip hop, and typical run-of-the-mill wedding requests.
From the client via Yelp Chicago Photographer wedding reviews:
“Heather photographed our September 2009 wedding at Gallery 1028 in Chicago, and she did an amazing job. We wanted artistic photos that would retell the story of our wedding day, and that’s exactly what we got. Heather was professional, creative, and super easy to work with. Our photos are nothing short of stunning, and we are so glad we hired her!”
i love when engagement shoots have props, couples that dress smart, and loads of colors. alison and steve arrived ready for some fun. i pedaled to the shoot on my vintage schwinn yellow bicycle and alison asked if we could use it during the shoot. the yellow bike and her fun red shoes coordinated perfectly wiht the vibrant colors we passed while making our way through their neighborhood.
michelle and tom are one of the nicest couples i have ever worked with. they had a fabulous friday wedding. their ceremony was at saint athanasius church, which restricted the use of flash photography. i was able to conquer that obstacle by using the right lenses and i love the natural lights and shadows that are visible when flash is not used. challenges like this often create the most wonderful, emotional images. thank you michelle and tom for allowing me to document your special day!
update august 26, 2009, from the bride michelle:
“Picking your wedding photographer is so important — and Heather made that decision easy. Heather is not only a very talented photographer who knows her craft expertly, she was also able to capture our wedding day without intruding into it. Heather knew which parts of the day were especially good for “Kodak moments,” offered suggestions when appropriate, and was very easy and relaxed to work with. All while being very professional. My husband and I are camera shy, but Heather made us feel comfortable and has produced pictures that we can’t stop looking at! We couldn’t be more happy with Heather and our pictures!”
i had a ton of fun shooting sara and andy’s beach wedding. during their ceremony (and of course during the important moments) the rain began to fall. it soon cleared up and we took a few photos along the water before making our way to the reception venue. as i am working on editing a ton of weddings, here are just a few teasers followed by a link to some more photographs.
the challenge continues! more photos at millenium park! i love this white sculpture better than cloud gate. the sculpture has these curves that take your eye around the negative space in a manner that reminds me of the images of one of my favorite photographers, herb ritts. he played around with lights and darks and curves to create refreshing images within a tired genre. the couple i photographed for this engagement shoot is having me photograph their wedding at the newly renovated spertus museum. spertus is just as much a piece of art as it is an architectural marvel. we were able to walk around inside touring the stark, beautiful spaces where the wedding ceremony and reception will be held. i even bumped into someone who was a guest at another jewish wedding i photographed recently.
next month, i will be photographing a rooftop wedding for this fun couple. for their engagement shoot they coordinated two great outfits for two great locations. the first being the infamous bean and millenium park, and the second location being a historic beach house.
i thought it would be a challenge to photograph couples at millenium park while still keeping it fresh, because it seems like more and more people choose this location. the truth is, i am often inspired by my subjects’ personality and the colors they are wearing and try to compose my images in a way that compliments this.
