jackie is my favorite kind of bride. she wears shiny red shoes under her wedding gown and goes with a simple bouquet using just red. guess what color her trolley was. yep, you guessed it, red. the wine? red. actually mike ditka kick ass red wine. okay, okay you get the picture. though the jackie and mike did a “first look,” because of the limited amount of daylight at this time of year, after the church ceremony at saint alphonsus, it got dark outside very quickly. having to do creative wedding photos outdoors at night can sometimes have some advantages, such as having a sparkling array of city lights as a backdrop. i am really happy with the results.
from the bride:
“i’ve been so excited to see the photos, thank you sooo much for all your hard work on our wedding day. we had a blast and i’m glad we can now remember more of the moments through our photos. we love the pics. there’s so many that are truly amazing and totally capture the feeling behind the day. they were well worth the wait. i love a lot of the details shots of the flowers, the wine bottles, the table settings, the people signing the guestbook, the tiny flowers on the cake, etc. the outdoor shots after the wedding turned out fabulous! there’s nothing we appreciate more about living in the city is when we’re downtown and see all the city lights and the skyline and know that we live here…truly beautiful and those shots are my favorites!”
Vendors:
Ceremony: St. Alphonsus Church 1429 W. Wellington Avenue, Chicago, IL (773) 525-0709
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learn about photography:
bokeh happens when a photo is taken under certain lens conditions and creates certain aesthetic qualities in out of focus backgrounds. the reason i do this is to limit distractions and emphasize the important subject in a photograph. the two lenses i use that produce a nice amount of bokeh are my canon 85mm f/1.2 and my canon 35mm f/1.4. to the average consumer, these lenses are pricey, but you can get a similar effect with a 50mm f/1.8. both canon and nikon offer these little lenses commonly known as nifty fifties (or shifty fifties!) for around $85 dollars. its hands-down the number one starter lens for anyone picking up a digital SLR. if you happen to get a DSLR camera for the holidays, promptly toss the kit lens in the bin and pick yourself up a faster lens. fun fact: i won’t date anyone who uses a kit lens, and if need be, i will go buy a 50mm f/1.8. i still have my nifty fifty and have no plans on getting rid of it!
what about film? i love film. i have more film cameras than i do digital. film is cozy and familiar. i learned photography using film. i used a camera for five years that didn’t even take a battery. if you have a film camera tinkering around, i strongly recommend picking it up and reading up on some photography 101. when you shoot digital, you will have a better grasp on understanding manual photography. when i shoot film, i shoot less. it forces me to shoot for quality versus shooting for quantity. for me, its a needed exercise and good discipline for reminding myself to shoot for quality. the film cameras i use are medium format and take medium format film which means i get between 12 and 15 shots on one roll. its expensive, tedious, and rewarding all at the same time. when i was hired to do resort photography recently in jamaica, i took along one of my film cameras, my hasselblad 503cx. though the V-system cameras have been produced since WWII, my camera might be about 25 years old. old, but not ancient. i like the simplicity of it. during that particular architectural shoot, while i waited for the clouds to make way for sun, i sat down to clean my camera and lens. the employees of the resort watched as i took the camera apart in three easy steps. i took the film holder off, i removed the viewfinder, and finally removed the lens. “so basically its just a box?” one onlooker said? yes!
p.s. if i don’t update the blog before christmas, happy holidays! i worked on this wedding until the wee hours and plan to get through as many weddings as possible in the next few days!
what i love about creating captivating imagery for the hospitality, resort & architecture industries, is that it often allows a photographer to travel. most recently, i had the opportunity to photograph for moon dance resorts at their moon dance cliffs hotel location in negril, jamaica. before the shoot, i consulted a lot with my cousin keshara who is a production manager for GE Projects. she had previously done a lot of international resort photography with barbara kraft, one of the leading hospitality photographers, having work featured in architectural digest and other notable publications. i was excited to head down to jamaica.
after a nearly a full day of travel, i was met by a polite, informative and very friendly driver and we embarked on long drive (no freeways) from montego bay to negril, winding along the coast, and weaving through colorful villages. i arrived at the resort just as the sun was going down. i had just enough energy in me to get a brief tour of the grounds before hitting the hay. around 5am i got my canon and hasselblad cameras ready and ran around resort snapping some test shots under the early morning light. i shot all day and by sundown, i was tired enough to go to bed early. the second day had the most favorable skies. while shooting at moon dance cliffs and villas, i experienced the most exceptional 5-star service and met some of the nicest people i have ever met in my life. in the upcoming weeks, i aim to share more images from jamaica, including a wedding i photographed at moon dance villas. below are some examples of luxury resort architectural photography.
tonight after the engagement shoot, i photographed a friend’s newborn baby. i have photographed evelyn, ruby, charlotte, (one with my dog), octavio, luann & family (who came from tennessee to the atlantic ocean), julian, and even did product photography for a celebrity baby bag company. i think that’s all i’ve shot for babies and families, unless i dig through the film archives… tonight’s baby shoot i did a bit more willingly. the story goes something like this: some babies happen nine months after an accident, but this particular baby arrived immediately after an accident. this makes a lot more sense if you read the calvin bedell story on the 2strokebuzz website so when i heard that my friend’s “wife, child, and unborn son were in a car accident,” i new as a gift to them, i wanted to take some photos of their newly expanded family.
mamta and nishant had their engagement shoot in downtown chicago so that they could show their friends and family where their “home” was for several years. their upcoming wedding is in mumbai (formerly bombay). we met on an early brisk morning and avoided tourists, hitting many popular locations for photos in chicago. we talked a lot about indian wedding ceremonies such as mehndi and the sangeet/gaun parties, as well as the shaadi and mandap. the reason i really enjoy indian weddings is because of the many ceremonies that happen with a backdrop of such vibrant colors. mamta and nishant will have a five day wedding and hundreds of wedding guests. during our shoot, we talked about holi; i am dying to photograph the festivals.
people often speak of having a storybook wedding. well, this wedding comes literally straight from teh storybooks of alice in wonderland. shortly after photographing sam & hezzie’s wedding at gallery 1028, i was hired for sam’s sister liza’s wedding. i am picky when it comes to photographing on holidays, so if i was going to forfeit halloween, it had to be for a fun shoot. they convinced me right away when i was informed that the wedding was going to be themed as a mad hatter tea party. i met liza at her brother’s wedding, and at the time, i had no idea i would get to work with her again. liza plays by her own rules, she is an offbeat bride. heck she even made her own blue wedding dress! with the help of her mother deborah who owns norton’s usa (a unique all-american general store), the wedding would go down in the books as being one of the most memorable for everyone in attendance. they merged a mad hatter tea party theme with elements of autumn. the wedding was held at home, in a strikingly beautiful, yet mysterious house. during the ceremony, the bride emerged from a secret bookcase door, surprising guests. the groom, richard, is from manchester, uk.
it was a real pleasure photographing this wedding, as there was such great scenery and carefully thought out decorations to work with. liza’s family has two amazing horses, and a barn full of teeny kittens!
from the mother of the bride:
Hi Heather!!! They are wonderful! Glad you had fun! We all looked with Sam’s computer yesterday and we’re thrilled. Thank you so much for coming and shooting Liza & Richards wedding.
“I didn’t get to see all of Sam and Hezi’s pics but what I did see are fabulous! You really are so very talented!
Thank you from the bottomof my heart
Deborah”
i always love having opportunity of shooting cultural weddings. i met with charlotte last year and was so excited to be hired to photograph her and mike’s wedding. earlier this year i photographed charlotte and mike’s engagement shoot, and since charlotte and mike travel frequently for work, we did a lot of communication via email regarding the details of the wedding day and her photography plans and ideas. in addition to wedding-related chatter, charlotte, being a foodie, she gave me some great tips on where to find true Québécois poutine made with real cheese curds.
charlotte is from singapore and her family spoke mandarin, while mike’s family spoke cantonese. i love being able to document cultural and family traditions, and this wedding in particular had some especially fun parts to photograph. i witnessed some hilarious games and a pretty tea ceremony which happened before the traditional style wedding ceremony that i am used to. before tea, the groom was quizzed by bride’s friends and family and had to partake in humorous demands before the mother of the bride released her daughter to the groom.
i asked charlotte about some of the details of her wedding day and she said:
The Chinese tea ceremony was requested by my mom. Basically it is a way for us to thank our families for raising us. The groom comes to the bride’s house to collect the bride. But the bride’s friends and family will try and block the groom and his men. The groom will have to go a series of games to prove his love for the bride. At the end, the girls will negotiate a price for the bride. Usually the number ends in 99. So $299, $399, etc.
When the groom claims the bride, they are supposed to go to the groom’s family to do the tea ceremony. Then they return to the bride’s family to do the tea ceremony. We did it all in the same room to save time!
Mike and I are so laid back, so we wanted fun pictures. Mike requested the lakefront shots and I like indoor shots and vintage looking locales, so Union Station was awesome! I love the look and feel of your photos! Very different from the others I have seen and very imaginative! That was ultimately the reason why we picked you!
after their wedding, the bride and groom headed to Curaçao for their honeymoon where they went to explore the island’s shores via scuba diving.
婚礼摄影师在芝加哥
中文和粤语的新娘和新郎
charlotte purchased adorable containers for the wedding rings which were enscribed with to have and to hold.the bride’s mother watched over over the groom during some lighthearted gamesthe groom answered questions regarding his new bridemike and char were a very easy-going couple – they joked around a lot and had a blast all day!two families came together during a tea ceremony overlooking famous michigan avenue. they had one of the best hotel suites i have ever photographed in.charlotte takes tea to present to the families.i heard someone mutter that some of the tea had some wasabi in it!the groom leaves the room before the bride changes into a white wedding gown.simple bouquet of flowers to match a simple elegant dress.the groom waits in the hotel lobby for a scheduled “first look” as the bride descended down a grand glowing staircase.we took a limo to museum campus and played a little game of trust over lake michigan.the chicago skyline is in the distance as the groom holds on tight to his bride.charlotte forgot the disposable adhesive heating pads in her hotel room to keep her bridesmaids warm for outdoor photos so we went to union station after museum campus. she had prepared for inclement weather by buying a photo permit in advance for union station so that we would have no issues if we needed to use the location as a setting for her wedding photos.the groom looked dapper don’t you think?the groom looked dapper, don’t you think?we wrapped up our 90 minute photo shoot by heading back to michigan ave and the bride and groom were cuffed by a chicago cop (all in good fun of course!).the newlyweds had beautiful rings which i photographed on the stem of a tulip.cocktail hour…what a cute nephew and a proud father!here are some of the wedding reception details including favors, cupcake centerpieces, and an overall theme of red – the color of happiness.and a toast…and a cake cutting and a cake smoosh followed by a smooch.guests seemed to be having a great timecharlotte’s matron of honor was just as fun as she, and raised the bar on the dancefloor getting everyone going!the bride and groom were a very fun laid-back couple to work with, and definitely know how to throw a party!
i am the photographer stacey and steve chose to hire for their 2010 wedding at the garfield park conservatory. we scheduled an 8am shoot and made great use of a park during a relatively desolate time of day. the colors of the leaves were unreal. i like to think of an engagement session as a warm up photography shoot before the wedding day. they had quite the warm up before heading off to work.
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.
i had the opportunity to photograph dora and diego before their wedding for an engagement shoot. they had an atypical wedding and put a lot of thought into the unique details. her good friend happened to be a costume designer and created a wedding dress that was exactly what dora wanted. she enlisted angela from lather to come up with a vintage pinup hairstyle for her wedding day. they wed on a rooftop in the presence of their friends and family and invited their friends inside zed 451 for a private reception where guests visited bountiful harvest tables full of so much food and then had churrasco – a variety of meats brought to each table, served on skewers. the newlyweds had their first dance to madness’ song “it must be love.” the bride said that “the wedding certificate that our guests signed is inspired by a traditional quaker practice. when quakers marry those who are attending the meeting sign a marriage certificate as witnesses to the promises that the couple made before God. ours served as a way to include friends and family in our ceremony and it was also used in lieu of a guest book.”
a review from the bride:
“when heather and i were discussing the final time line for my wedding i had very few things scheduled and not too many “must have” photos to tell her about… when i first looked at our photos i realized that she had managed to capture exactly what i had wanted. we had a smaller wedding so every guest was someone important to us. heather and her assistant were able to capture so many fantastic candid photos of our loved ones. it’s like we now have portraits of all the special people in our lives! she managed to get some gorgeous shots under some challenging lighting conditions and she put a lot of time above and beyond our contract into adjusting the contrast of those photos. i feel really fortunate to have found heather! she’s talented, dedicated, professional and easy to communicate with!
yesterday, alexa and andrew welcomed me into their chicago loft apartment for an engagement shoot. their sleek, modern loft is a strong contrast to where i will be shooting their new england wedding in july of 2010 – at the historic, seaside wedding destination known as the Castle Hill on the Crane Estate, which in my opinion is the boston area’s best mansion available for wedding ceremonies and receptions.
i was thrilled to shoot an engagement shoot in a home. there is a true connection couples have to the space that they have created. alexa and andrew had just gotten back from a vacation in the bahamas, and were at ease when i photographed them. for part of the shoot, they wanted me to photograph them cooking. this was such an original, refreshing idea. after prepping some apple cobbler together and having that documented, we headed up to the roof deck, followed by a walk around the neighborhood.
i encourage all couples to think outside the box to create some one-of-a-kind engagement photos. sometimes the greatest photographs can be made at locations closer than many think.
charlotte purchased adorable containers for the wedding rings which were enscribed with to have and to hold.
the bride’s mother watched over over the groom during some lighthearted games
the groom answered questions regarding his new bride
mike and char were a very easy-going couple – they joked around a lot and had a blast all day!
two families came together during a tea ceremony overlooking famous michigan avenue. they had one of the best hotel suites i have ever photographed in.
charlotte takes tea to present to the families.
i heard someone mutter that some of the tea had some wasabi in it!
the groom leaves the room before the bride changes into a white wedding gown.
simple bouquet of flowers to match a simple elegant dress.
the groom waits in the hotel lobby for a scheduled “first look” as the bride descended down a grand glowing staircase.
we took a limo to museum campus and played a little game of trust over lake michigan.
the chicago skyline is in the distance as the groom holds on tight to his bride.
charlotte forgot the 
the groom looked dapper don’t you think?
the groom looked dapper, don’t you think?
we wrapped up our 90 minute photo shoot by heading back to michigan ave and the bride and groom were cuffed by a chicago cop (all in good fun of course!).
the newlyweds had beautiful rings which i photographed on the stem of a tulip.
cocktail hour…
what a cute nephew and a proud father!
here are some of the wedding reception details including favors, cupcake centerpieces, and an overall theme of red – the color of happiness.
and a toast…
and a cake cutting and a cake smoosh followed by a smooch.
guests seemed to be having a great time
charlotte’s matron of honor was just as fun as she, and raised the bar on the dancefloor getting everyone going!
the bride and groom were a very fun laid-back couple to work with, and definitely know how to throw a party!
