I have had a few emails lately asking about glow stick exits from receptions.  Its all the latest rage. Here is a recent example, followed by how it was accomplished….

1. Make sure the venue exit is dark. And when I say dark, I mean DARK. Any ambient light will interfere with the effect. Glow sticks are much dimmer than any light bulb.

2. Use the long skinny kind that really move when you wave them, the more motion, the better.

3. Unlike sparklers,  glow sticks will not provide enough light to stop any motion in the picture, especially not a running bride or groom.  So unless you are going for something especially creative, you are going to need to drag the shutter, big time.

To give you an idea, the above image was shot at ISO3200, 1/10 shutter at F2.8. I tend to shoot them wider angled to keep as much of the crowd in the shot as possible, just a personal preference. The Flash is on a TTL Cable, allowing for more directional lighting, again, personal preference. The flash is firing rear sync, to help keep any ambient motion off of the subjects.

Hope that helps, please email me your shots!

Amanda and Jason are getting married in 2010 and decided to do a fun engagement session. This is something I always recommend to couples as it is great practice for the wedding day. A level of comfort is built between the couple and the photographer which really shows in the results. The nice thing about having a studio in NoDa is that you are just a short walk away from endless interesting shooting opportunities.

Here are a few we came up with….

Josh and Emily were married at Temple Israel in Charlotte. The day started with an extremely lively tish and didn’t slow down from there. Their reception took place at the home of Emily’s parents which added a nice personal touch to the day. Emily, Josh and many of the guests are visiting from the UK. They were an energetic and sincere group of friends and family, an excellent source of support for the couple for years to come.

Here are just a few of my favorites from the day…Emily and I discussed her appreciation for high contrast black and white images so I am including a fair amount of those in this blog post.

Emily and Ryan were married at the Salem United Methodist Church in New London, NC and held their reception at the River Run Country Club in Davidson, NC. They have a very lively group of family and friends which made for a great party at the country club. All the Right Grooves provided the entertainment and did a great job as always.

Here are a few of my favorites of the day…

Rhiannon and Ron were married at the Hawthorne Lane United Methodist Church and had a rooftop reception in uptown Charlotte. The weather forecast was grim, but the weather managed clear up just in time. After the ceremony, the three of us took a trolley around the streets of uptown Charlotte for an impromptu photo session which is always fun, you never know what opportunities are going to be given to you.

Here are just a few of my favorites from the day…

Bonus: Rhiannon and Ron were up for a scandalous pic, well done you two (really hope Rhiannon does not kill me for posting this…but hey, what a fun pic)

Yuri and Art flew from Los Angeles to Charlotte and held their wedding and reception at the Ballantyne Country Club in south Charlotte. I don’t think I have shot a wedding for a more laid back and fun couple. All the RIght Grooves provided the music and did a great job as always. KA Studios was there as well providing the videography. I had not worked with them before, but they seemed very creative and did a great job as well.

Here are a few of my favorites from the day…

Just felt like sharing a few portraits from a recent Trash the Dress session. Whether you call it Trash the Dress or Mess the Dress, it seems there is no real definition out there for it. Most all involve portraits of a bride in her wedding dress doing something she would not have done before her wedding day. So I think this shoot applies.

Bride + Cornfield = Very Challenging

Big thanks to Sarah for being a real trooper and walking through a corn field with bare arms. I think it was worth it.