Tell us your engagement story to win a free e-session!

Well, congratulations then! I love hearing the stories about how couples find each other and how their engagements came together… so much so that I’m going to have a contest.

Pop over to our Contact Page and send us your engagement story– include all those details and fun moments, and don’t forget all the reactions and the rash of phone calls that broke out afterwards.

Get it in before February 28th, and we’ll put you in for a free, special engagement session, and your choice of a free 11×14 print or a 12×12 square print of your favorite image from the session! We’ll also share your story here on the blog with your photos.

We’re offering two new types of specialty portrait sessions, and you can be the first to try them out!

Find out more after the jump…

Option 1: The Film Session. I’ve always shot weddings 100% digitally… with one exception– my first wedding, I shot primarily digital, but also with a touch of film as well, shot on an antique rangefinder camera. It was this great old Canon Canonet, made in the 1960s, and the seals have eroded on it, which means I sometimes get these little leaks of light that create cool vignettes and dark edges. I’ve always been in love with the look, but it takes too much time to the way I do at weddings with film cameras.

However, on an e-session, we have a lot more time to set things up, read the light with the meters, load film, set up additional lighting, things like that. Now, I can do all those things with a digital camera too, but some of those organic things that come out of using film in old or lo-fi cameras are lost in the process.

So here’s how I want to do it: First off, I’m not going to use the standard color film that you can buy anywhere that looks exactly like real life, assuming you get the lighting right. We’re going to use black and white film or color slide film. When we use the color slide film, we’re going to “cross process” it, running slide film through the chemicals used to develop normal color negative film. This gives it this cool oversaturated look.

On top of that, we’re not going to use the usual SLR type cameras that I’ll use at a wedding. I’ll use one of my rangefinders like the Canonet, or a lo-fi camera like a Holga or a Blackbird (these shoot square pictures, by the way) that also are known for cool distortion effects.

Over 3 hours time, we’ll shoot 5 rolls of 35mm film (Canonet, Blackbird) or 6 rolls of 120 film (Holga) on one of these sessions, with additional rolls at $30 each for film and processing. You’ll get proof prints and a DVD of all finished images, plus one 11×14 or 12×12 of your favorite image. For those not lucky enough to win this session, I’m pricing this at $400. Don’t feel like you have to do it as an engagement session either– I’m happy to do this for personal or family portrait sessions too!

Option 2: The Streetlight Session. I’m limiting this one to certain city environments (New York, Lexington, Louisville and Cincinnati) only for the obvious reasons– we’re shooting by available light at twilight and at night. I’m doing this as almost entirely black and white, but color is an option, as the low light will require me to use digital cameras for this one. The goal is to shoot a different type of romantic image. I’m planning one of these soon with an upcoming bride and groom, so keep an eye out here for samples! This session, like our stand alone engagement sessions, will go for $35o, including online proofing and an 11×14 or 12×12 print of your favorite image. Please set aside 3 hours for shooting.

Don't forget to follow me on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/LoveUnscripted

If you win the contest and you don’t feel up to trying one of the adventurous options, you’re still welcome to go with our standard e-session. Good luck, and I can’t wait to read your stories!

contest open to residents of Kentucky, Ohio, West Virginia, New York, New Jersey or Connecticut.

Our good friends over at Jacki Allen’s Kentucky Bride are asking for help with a survey they’ve got going to help guide them content-wise, and they’re offering a free year of Jazzercise to one lucky bride. Click here for details.

… is getting a chance to meet new brides and share with them my work and explain how I try to cover a wedding. It’s such a positive experience, and I get a lot of validation as brides tell me which images speak to them.

So, when I was scheduled to be in Lexington already and a shooting gig got cancelled, I jumped at the opportunity when Kate Webster of Bridal Potpourri asked me if I’d like a booth at their bridal show this weekend. I thoroughly enjoy every aspect of bridal shows (OK, maybe not the transportation of the couch…) and this one was no different. In fact, because so many of you this time were ‘09 brides, it was more fun, because I only had to tell a handful of people I was booked on their date– nearly every one of which had either August 2 or October 4.

I’ll be calling a number of you tomorrow to let you know if you’ve won one of the ten 16×20 prints we were giving away, so look out for my call, and make sure you call me as well about when you might want to sit down and discuss your photography needs– remember, a lot of you were asking about the same dates, so book as quickly as you can!

Some of you asked about copies of my pricelist– sorry about the trouble I had printing it this morning– which you can see at http://www.ianlozada.com/pricelist.pdf In addition, you can also see some of my recent work that hasn’t hit the website if you find us on Facebook.