Post-Processing: Culling Images After a Shoot

I wanted to share a screenshot of a huge part of my editing process.  After any session, I import my images into Adobe Lightroom.  This program allows me to mark the best of the best and eliminate unecessary photos, such as ones with closed eyes mid-blink, that the couple surely doesn't need. 

I strongly believe part of my job, as their photographer, is to cull the images from many, many shots to a manageable number so they're not numbed by the sheer volume of images when they receive the gallery links.  And I've gotten it to the perfect number so they are sure to have a ton of options still.  I'm always excited for a couple to see their gallery in its entirety after all the files are uploaded! 

Here's a screenshot of my computer while editing Clare and Doug's Engagement Session from this past weekend. 

Happy Thursday!

Clare and Doug * Engagement Session Sneak Peek!

I had the privilege of photographing Clare and Doug this past Saturday.  They chose the ever-so-gorgeous High Line for their engagement session photoshoot and it was simply a perfect day!  Here's a sneak peek of the morning.  

Stay tuned...more to come!  Happy Monday!

Etsy Wedding Event: To Have and To Hold * New York City * April 28, 2012

Do you love Etsy as much as I do?  If you do, you'll understand why I was so excited to hear that they were having their first ever WEDDINGS event!  My friend Jen, from Sweet Element cake designs, told me about it in March.  I immediately went online to buy a ticket for $20, which is a fair price if you ask me.  Thank goodness I did!  It sold out not too long after.  

I didn't know what to expect because they informed guests that you would not be able to buy anything there.  Hmmm....then wasn't it just Etsy, in person instead of online?  And to be honest, maybe it was a bit, but I couldn't have been more pleased with the presentation.  And there really is value in seeing products in person rather than online sometimes. 

If you weren't able to go, let me walk you through it! 

Setting the scene - spring Saturday in Manhattan.  Nice day with sunshine and perfect spring temperatures usually means happier people who want to be out and about.  Score for Etsy.  I rushed from the subway to the venue, on 91 Horatio Street in the Meat Packing District (er, borderline West Village?), because the trains were so messy that day from Queens (where I live) I ended up being late.  I was so nervous they wouldn't let me in because my 10:15am ticket time had passed.  But I was greeted by Laura, the social media staff member of Etsy's team, whose smile and welcome instantly calmed my nerves.  Whew.  I'm in!  She said I could definitely take photos when I asked permission.  SO glad I brought my camera!!

After a conversation with Laura (she's to the right in green and yellow) about how fab Etsy is I spoke with Sara, who interns with Laura, about general crafting, with an emphasis on stationary (smiles!) and she handed me a cute tote bag.  It was filled with a Bride magazine and all sorts of coupons for various Etsy shops.  Major enable factor for shopping later on.  I was also advised to grab a guide and a pencil to mark off anything I loved at the show, which I could later order online (or at one of the laptops they had set up there - I think there were about three).  The photo below shows the show book and the tote.  And that cute typewriter next to it had a banner instructing "sign the guest book."  Too cute.  And yes, you can find that typewriter on Etsy, at the Oui Oui Je Suis shop.  (How cute is that name?) 

The guide was REALLY well done.  Well designed, well organized; it was smart. Kudos to whoever put it together.  Below is a glimpse inside its pages.  Not only was it resourceful, providing easy education on "How to Find Your Ring Size" and "How to Take Your Measurements" but its table of contents made it easy to navigate to categories like "Brides and Bridesmaids" that included anything from jewelry to bouquets and wooden hangers, to "Decor" including cake toppers, guestbooks and signs.

I entered the room, through the pearly gates - or in this case awesome white, ivory and gold ribboned entryways.  And I immediatley hit with desserts.  Such is my life.  Ovenly provided sugary goodness.  I tasted a few things (coincidentally my cousin knows Ovenly's owner, Agatha, who I was thrilled to meet in person) and everything was honestly delicious! My favorite was the salted chewy chocolate chip cookies. But it ALL looked good. 

 The music was great.  Colleen at Sugartown Industries knows what brides want to hear.  I was singing along the whole time I was there.  How cute is her candy business card idea?  Yum. 

I picked up a drink from St. Germain and made my way around the room. 

Here are some of my favorite items from the event.  There are far too many to have captured and shared it all but I did my best to give a great overview.  I have a slideshow of some more photos to share at the end with a coinciding list of where you can find the featured slideshow photo items on Etsy. 

A great hanger for a bridal dress or gown: a must! Photographers will LOVE you even more.  And good calligraphy?  Such a turn on.  

Hanger: Whiskey n Weddings Bells

Calligraphy: Hazel Wonderland

Garland behind envelope: Thimble Weddings 

I kind of want the gold heart earrings below for my very own.  Thinking about it..

Dress: Ouma 

Heart earrings: Safron and Seage 

Cute handbag alert! I love a little surprise inside in the form of a fun liner. 

Handbag: Angeew

Rhinestone Headband: 

Another great dress with floral detail on a one shoulder strap with a great hand-crafted bouquet.

Grecian wedding dress: KT Jean

Bouquet: Florabond

Custom shoes: Angelesque Stilettos

They had a great idea to have a letterpress pro at the event.  I loved speaking with Rebecca, of Moontree Letterpress.  She's such a doll and so easy to talk to.  As if her stationary and invitations weren't enough, she prints Etsy's employee business cards too.  Cool, right?

Here's a peek at Rebecca gorgeous work.  I love the grey ink with green edges on this wedding invitation!

Flowers for the event were provided by Celadon and Celery. Completely gorgeous!

Not only were the products amazing but the way Etsy styled everything was superb. Like the rings below with amazing engraving on the inside, set inside a printers box (see slideshow for larger view).  I love great details like that.

Rings: Metal Pressions

Of course there was something for the groom, groomsmen and ring bearers too!

For more photos from the Etsy Wedding Event please enjoy the slideshow below.  All items have shop links provided at the end of the post.  

Engraved wood yo-yo: Engraving Wiz * Succulent boutonniere: Succulents Galore * Engraved leather humidor: Taylor Crafts * Monogrammed linen pocket hankerchief: Couture Wedding Hankie * Rustic ring bearer pillow: Knotty Notions * Cigar band custom labels: I Label Cigars * Embroidered flower ring pillow: Michelle Edgemont

Cotton Bouquet: Tall Cotton Peas * Paper Ranunculus Bouquet: Sunny and Stumpy * Colorful Woodland Bouquet with Birch: NH Woods Creations * Vintage bible book page bouquet: Playing with Paper * Romantic ivory paper rose bridal bouquet: Bliss Street * Fabric ivory rosette bouquet: Ljubezen Brew * Cotton fabric bouquet: Autumn and Grace Bridal

Colorful gemstone earrings: exquiscustomjewelry * Art deco diamond ring: Somewhere in Time Fine Jewelry * Personalized cosmetic bag: Allisa Jacobs 

Crystal flower bolero: Chaviano Couture * Ostrich feather shrug: The Wedding Dresser * Lace covering for woman's bootie: Kristen Ashley Arist * Spring garden ballet flats: Beholden Bridal 

Escort/placecards: Rachel Carl & Co * Ribbon graphic invite: 26 Sorts * Watercolor wedding map: Berry and Peg * Folded map wedding invitation: Ello There * Save the date tags: A Visual Concept Designs * Printable chevron save the date: Quinny Essentials * Save the date chalkboard postcard: Paper and Lace Collections * Vendiagram personalized stationary: Silhouette Blue * Letterpress leaf thank you card: Tabletop Made * Rustic woodland printable invitations: 3 Eggs Design * Calligraphy scroll thank you card: Plume to the Wind

Teal leather journal: Karleigh Jae * Custom timber wedding book: Lorgie + Me * Carved tree guest book: Memories for Life Scrapbooks

Vintage antique birdcage: 86 Home * Milk glass cake stand: Barking Sands Vintage * Love felt banner: Love Love Love Designs * Violently happy sign: Miss Cake * Cake stand: The Roche Studio * Vintage book pop up letters: Love and Found

Wood love sign: Old New Again * Mr. and Mrs. mugs: Wandersketch * Engraved love birds recipe box: Exquisite Inks *Embossed spices: Gneiss Spice * Porcelain sea urchin tea lights: Annie E Dennis * Olive and Pits porcelain containers: Clayswan * Quotes measuring spoons: Beehive Kitchenware Co. * LOVE letters: Duryea Place Designs * 'I Do, Me Too' wedding fork set: Pretty Paris

Custom twig monogram cake topper: Made Merri * Spring carnival flag topper: Bluebird and Violet * Cardboard candelabra: Seequin

I can't wait to see what they do with the show next year, knowing the sky's the limit.  They had a great first year and I'm glad I was able to join.  Thanks, Etsy!

Spring in Astoria, Queens with a 105mm Nikon Macro Lens

"What lens should I buy next?" is a question often on a photographer's mind.  It took me a few months to think it over but after much internal debate I decided a macro lens is my next move.  I love detail shots and knew this would only help me capture them.  

Queue the Nikon 105mm f/2.8...  Well...hello...gorgggeous!  

I rented this lens to make sure I wanted to buy it (thanks to Adorama's inexpensive weekend rentals, you too can temporarily own this lens for the weekend for $23 as opposed to an immediate commitment of $900.00 to purchase it) and I pretty much immediately knew I wanted it to be mine forever.  

It was heavier than I expected but it's not a lens that you keep on for an entire event; you capture some details and then swap it out.  (And it's certianly not as heavy as a 24-70mm!)  The weight is a small burden to bear in exchange for how incredibly fast it reacts (I joked it moved faster than I could think) and how its amazing mechanics and glass allow you to capture some truly stunning things.

I had fun taking photos of Astoria in bloom near my apartment.  The cherry blossoms were so radiant I felt fortunate to have this lens on me to capture their beauty.  I started with a 50mm to snap an overall image:

Then moved onto the fun with the 105mm:

I finished my mini-photo-session with some picture of one of my favorite flowers - tulips:

Happy Monday!

Happy 29th Birthday to Me!

I'm proud to say I'm offically 29 today!  Maybe it's because I still look really young :-) but I am happy to say I'm in a great place in my life and I'm feeling optimistic about the future.

In past posts (like my 27th birthday or my 28th birthday from last year) thanks for my family and friends goes out fairly close to the top!  They continue to be the main source of joy in my life.  Love to my family, first and foremost, for being utterly supportive whatever the day or the weather and especially Becca and Lindsey, who keep me sane.

Because this has become an annual tradition I get a kick out of (even though I'm so not the person to post photos of myself on a day-to-day basis), here's looking back on past years of my life... 

My 28th year provided some really great memories.  I was lucky enough to shoot some amazing weddings and be a part of many couples' lives as my photography business has continued to grow.  I was maid of honor in my sister and brother-in-law's wedding, welcomed my "nephew" into the world (my best friend's son), got my first tattoo, paid off my credit card debt (which only those of you who have or had cc debt can appreciate), went on some awesome trips including one to Seattle and on a Disney Cruise, and moved into an awesome apartment I adore.

Last year's birthday post mentioned I wanted to improve on the balance in my life.  I'm happy to say I've focused on that and this year's been all about better balance!  Learning how to better balance my calendar and my ability to say no to others and yes to myself and realizing how true the cliche "time is money" is; I've tried to be a more selfish for a change.  It's taken me a lot of time, lack of sleep and stress to understand I need to say no to people more, put myself and my goals first, and take the steps necessary to balance my life better so I'm truly happy.  (The problem is I find a lot of joy in making other people happy but there's a fine line there which I've defined this past year and continue to do so this year.  Like a fine wine, right?  Better with age?)  

Here are some of the things I'm very much looking forward to this year:

• My nephew's first birthday in July! I love a good reason to celebrate AND craft.  
• Finishing the redesign of my blog and website into a blogsite.  
• Traveling - definitely to Vancouver this spring and hopefully to Europe this summer!
• Working on my photography business that I love so much!

My friend emailed me this week and said, "I have a feeling 29 is going to be a great year," and I couldn't agree more.  You know when you just have a good feeling about something? I'm excited for the things I am expecting and planning for and the even more wonderful unexpected surprises that happen along the way.  

Cheers!  Happy Thursday and HAPPY APRIL 19th!