Robyn and Sean were fortunate to have beautiful weather for their wedding.  They got ready at the Bentley Inn, a 19th century bed and breakfast in Bay Head, NJ.  We walked to the beach nearby for a few portraits. The ceremony was at the River House in Brielle, NJ. A few favorite photos:

Years later it became know as a place to go not only to enjoy the country air, but also sample world renowned smoked salmon.  Perona Farms, still known for its salmon and good fresh country air, is also currently known for its friendly and very attentive staff as a really wonderful place to have one’s wedding.

Kristin and Doug’s wedding, which I photographed there recently was all about children, beauty, love and romance; not to mention the great food, and the relaxing atmosphere that the venue is known for. 

These images have been toned to a desaturated color pallet with some grain added to evoke some of the nostalgic feelings I experienced that day. I felt as if I were seeing images that could have been made with no longer available films from 30 years ago. -Steve Burns-

Young brides maids.

A child’s wonderment.  

Brides maid’s dress detail. 

Kristin dancing with her dad. 

Kristin and Doug.

Photographs not only bring us great memories of special times, but also let us remember those that have passed on. Portraits are no different and are even often overlooked today on a professional level. Think about it for a second. When was the last time you had a professional photograph taken of you and your family, immediate or extended? Most likely it was at a formal event, like a wedding, birthday or family reunion. But why not do it just to preserve the moment?

I try to get family photographs done by a professional every year. Yes, I’m fortunate to know alot of photographers. But sometimes, I become the photographer for this portrait. Here is a photograph of my entire immediate family (my mom and dad, brother, sister), plus my wife and daughter, my grandmom, aunt and uncle, as well as my sister’s husband and daughter.

Yeah, its a nice photo on the beach in the Outer Banks 2004. Pretty typical actually. But when I see this photograph, a lot comes to my mind, some good and some bad. My wife is expecting our 2nd child, our son Kristian. My brother is no longer seeing his girlfriend in the picture. This was a time that was also important for my career, as from this vacation, I was a full time photographer.

But most importantly, it is the last photograph of my family (mom, dad, brother and sister) together as I lost my dad to cancer the following year.

So, don’t wait! Get a professional photograph done of you and your family. A photographer that I look up to greatly, David Williams in Austrailia, said to me and some other workshop members, “These portraits/photographs are not just important to us now, but more important to our kids and their kids in the future.”

]]> http://groupof10.com/unveiled/2008/09/16/favorites-from-the-past-few-weeks/feed/ http://groupof10.com/unveiled/2008/09/12/scenes-from-a-wedding/ http://groupof10.com/unveiled/2008/09/12/scenes-from-a-wedding/#comments Fri, 12 Sep 2008 00:46:48 +0000 Steve Burns http://groupof10.com/unveiled/?p=152 We put a lot into our days, both wedding photographers, as well as the families of the bride and groom.  When it is all said and done, we all look forward to unwinding for a few moments.  

I recently  had the pleasure to photograph the wedding of Eileen and Jason at New York City’s wonderful and historic Roosevelt Hotel  which is just across from Grand Central Station.  After the wedding was over I most certainly was looking forward to going up stairs where earlier we had done some “quite photography”, to enjoy a “Mad Mojito” at the hotel’s roof top lounge Mad46, before heading out of the city.

Eileen, a most elegant bride; helping her loving father Raymond with his boutonnière.

Eileen and Jason exchanging wedding vows by candle light.

 Eileen and Jason, quite moments together.

After it was all said and done, a well deserved chance to unwind with some close friends towards the end of the wedding reception.  - Steve Burns-

For the uninitiated “Uncle Bob” is the name given by wedding photographers to any wedding guest, male or female, who appears at a wedding with either with a bigger, fancier or even Lord forbid, a newer camera than the actual hired photographer or someone who appears to take as many photographs as the aforementioned photographer. Generally speaking though we don’t often see classics like this at weddings. This is a 8X10 field camera and it belongs to Mike, the groom. He’s just come home from honeymoon in Canada and can’t wait to process those negs. I can’t wait to see them myself and despite not having shot any large format film for many years I must confess to just experiencing just a twinge of “lens envy”.

Some photographers may be not always be happy when they see “Uncle Bob’s” big fancy, read expensive, new equipment, can you say “lens envy”?

So what’s wrong with that and why is he cursed?

Absolutely nothing at all and “Uncle Bob” is not cursed despite those few photographers who may say inwardly or outwardly

1. He’s in my way, he’s in everybody’s’ way and he’s distracting.

2. His behavior is disrespectful and people will think he’s with me

3. He’s stealing my shots, i.e. profits

Here’s a quickie multiple choice question for you all;

When confronted by wedding guests with cameras do you

a). Throw a hissy fit demanding that he put down the camera or else you’ll go home declaring all contracts null and void?

b). Wear a sandwich board that states “he’s NOT with ME”?

c). None of the above?

d). All of the above?

From high school days you’ll know that the correct answer is of course c).

Or you can simply consider any or all of the following;

Make them part of the shot.

Wait for them to move, even in rare cases asking them to move.

Move yourself and re-frame the shot from a different position.

Talk to him, obtain his cooperation for those times when he might actually be a distraction.

Most photographers who have been around the block have learned how to deal with the phenomenon of “Uncle Bob” recognizing opportunity when we see guests with cameras and just get on with doing the job we were hired to do, namely finding images. Have fun!

While helping my friend David M photograph a wedding recently, the maitre’d excitedly came to tell me that there is a full rainbow outside after a rainstorm had blown through.  I grabbed the wedding couple, and went outside, and saw the beautiful rainbow and set the couple up for this simple, but romantic portrait.

Yet, it wasn’t that simple.  Here is what the reality looked like:

While looking at a scene, we tend to not see the clutter and the things that detract … until we get the photo.  The camera tends to be relentless in how it reports something.  At the time, we would tend to only see the beautiful rainbow, with our brain ignoring the uglier parts such as utility wires.

It then often needs the Photoshop skills of the photographer to recreate the image as we perceived it at the time.  And that’s the subtle challenge for me as a wedding photographer, not just capturing the memories of the day, but also creating the images of the day as we would remember them.

Clients usually choose their wedding location very carefully. In telling the story of a wedding, one of my goals is to create photographs that give a sense of the location. This may include architecture, weather, patterns, details, lighting effects, window views and other visual elements. Here are some examples from a wedding at Tribeca Rooftop in Manhattan.