Weddings by Trisha

On the 11th of this month I had the pleasure of shooting Liz & Zach’s wedding in Boyce, VA. They kept telling me it was going to be in a barn, everything was DIY and the theme was burlap and lace and i’m thinking…this is going to either be genius or disaster.  Thankfully for everyone it was door number one. When I think barn, I think of livestock and hay. Au contraire mon frere. This ‘barn’ had a bar, booth seating, a dance floor and a sound system. Not to mention cafe lights, a pond and gorgeous views. Everything about this  DIY affair was so well thought out such as the various hand painted signs (beer garden anyone?), mason jars wrapped in burlap and old lace with vintage buttons and the dress made by the brides mother out of her own wedding gown lace.  It all just fit together so freckin well that I immediately started hyperventilating thinking how excited I was to shoot this wedding.  It was just the cherry on top that they were so fun to shoot. Liz thought nothing of it when I suggested we take some shots of her on the ground…in her wedding dress. Most brides do not like the thought of rolling around on the ground in their pristine white dress; this bride just said ‘let’s do this!’.  And we did. And it was epic. Even the family formal pictures (which, honestly, aren’t normally much fun) was delightful. Usually it’s the standard ‘you stand here and you stand here and smile’ kind of thing. Well, I did that. Then something unexpected happened. They just started interacting naturally almost as if a photographer wasn’t standing right there snapping away. The mother of the bride was crying, the bride was laughing, they where hugging. It turned out to be honest and beautiful. All together is was more of a collaboration than any wedding I had previously shot.  It was so much fun it left me thinking “I have found my niche…this is the kind of weddings I really want to shoot.” So, where my boho brides at? Seek me out you sweet, lovely creatures so we can make wonderful images. 

The bride & groom were so cute. They couldn’t even cut the cake without looking at each other like they were the only people in the galaxy. It made for great photos and a fun times all around. Thanks for letting me be a part of it.

So, i finally had the opportunity opportunity to second shoot for a PA studio. (Aulestia Studio, check them out here). It’s such a different experience to be hired as a second.  It’s all the opportunity without all of the stress. For those of you who don’t know what a second shooter is, it’s a photographer that is hired to shoot along side the main photographer for a wedding. It’s hard to be everywhere at one time and if the wedding is large sometimes a second is the only way to really get full coverage. Up until now, I have been the sole photographer to cover everything and it was kind of like a vacation to just get what I was paid to cover (getting ready shots) and anything else is just gravy.  It allowed me the freedom to try new techniques and be a bit more creative without having to worry about time or the finished product. Some of those new techniques didn’t work out so stellar, but I learned something and that is not normally something you can do when every shot counts like when you’re the primary shooter. And it was super fun to be a part of a team. Terry & Victor are pretty darned awesome. Here’s a shot of Victor shooting the formals. Thanks for picking me. I hope we get to work together again.

In recent email to one of my upcoming brides, forward thinking Liz let me know she was sending a wedding invite to me. First I thought it was a waste of a stamp. Of course I’ll be there, I’m shooting it. But when it arrived I had an eureka moment.  These were hand made; they were special.  If the invitation really does set the tone of the wedding (as this one sure did) it should be captured along with the rest of the wedding.  How great would the handmade paper texture look in a printed photo album? Maybe brides and photographers have been doing this all along and I’m just late to the party as usual.  But here’s my tip: Ladies, give your photographer a copy of the invite to photograph if it is special.  It takes your chosen photographer just a few minutes to shoot it, but on the wedding day when things are hectic (which they always are) it’s one less thing for them to think about because it’s already been shot. And there you have it.  Simple.

The bride in question is having a boho, rustic, barn theme wedding so I photographed her invites with a distressed wood background to match.

So, I had a awesome shoot at Scott Hill Occasions mansion.  The place was drop dead gorgeous and Logan (the owner) was awesome and just kind of let us do our thing. I was armed with a bunch of props, ideas and my trusty photo assistant…mom. She’s adorable. I had booked 4 models, but only one showed; Miss Joni Koay of Morgantown. What a gem she turned out to be. Totally sweet and up for anything I could think up. Anyhow, here’s a few images that won’t make the portfolio, but are still pretty fancy. I just wanted a chance to show what I can actually do for formals in a wedding. Many brides are opposed to shooting inside, and honestly, you can really get dramatic beautiful images if you know how to light it and have a bride and groom who think it’s worth it to plan for extra time. This isn’t one of those “we’ll shoot the entire wedding party and bride and groom shots in a hour” type of situations.  Sure, it takes more time out of your already crazy day, but it’s super fun and the images….worth it! (In my opinion anyway, but what do I know?) I am hoping to get some of these published but who knows.

Well folks, I had my first holiday wedding. On St. Patrick’s day I arrived at the always lovely Purple Iris for the wedding of Kendra and Curtis. There was plenty of green, as one would expect, but my favorite part was the guys wore kilts and the bride walked down the isle to bag pipe music. Fantastic! This was a fun bunch to work with, as you can see from my out takes. Thanks for that guys. I wish you guys all the best.

Boudoir  is something that was new to me and also my lovely model Jess, but we totally rocked it like we were old pro’s. Here’s a few of the out takes:

Just got done editing the engagement shoot with Jeff and Sam. We shot at poor house farm park, which was ripe with photo opportunity. Even though it was cold and even snowing, we had a great time. No one could feel their face but it was totally worth it. Sam and Jeff were super laid back and so cute together. I can’t wait until their wedding in September

I am currently running a limited time digital offer: 6 hours of coverage for $700. This comes with all images retouched on CD and a free print credit for an 8 x 10 of your choosing. This is open to any brides getting married between now and April 2012 in the Martinsburg, Inwood, Winchester, Hagerstown, Charles Town or Harpers Ferry area. Not in these specific areas? It never hurts to ask!