5 minutes after I finished this shot today, a thunderstorm rolled through.  More to come from this session next week, but I've got two weddings this weekend, so have to get some rest!

We're a week away from our first wedding of the year, and today is that happiest of days around here-- the two big lenses just arrived from Canon's clean 'n' check service-- it's like having new equipment, really.

Last month, I did an engagement session with Ann-Maria and Kevin, this week's bride and groom, at Talon Winery.  I was really looking forward to this one, but while I was packing the bags that morning, I get a call from our good friend, wedding planner Jackie Lee of Every Last Detail-- it seem the hair & makeup person is down with the flu and we need a replacement on the fly.  We get on Facebook and Twitter, and start crowdsourcing like crazy.  Well, Jackie got a hold of Deata Sexton Gregory from the The Wedding Center (warning for those at work-- website has music autoplaying), who took Ann-Maria in on short notice and did an awesome job with a nice, understated feel on the makeup that was perfect for Ann-Maria.  Can't say enough about the job she did, and it only knocked us about 20 minutes off schedule, too.

Had one adjustment I had to make-- this was mid February, and while it was unseasonably warm (I walked around in a t-shirt!), that didn't mean we had any greenery around.  Your choices were stark… and stark.  I decided to grab some flowers and some fabric ribbon beforehand and quickly put together a couple of bouquets to add just a little splash of color.  It also helped that Ann Maria wore some nice strong colors that helped her stand out against the backgrounds.

Apparently we're on page 123 of the Winter 2011 issue of Tops In Lex.  Looking forward to Leslie and Stan's wedding this summer!

I know, I promised this post for about 36 hours ago.  Then I, um, fell down a flight of stairs yesterday.  Nothing broken, but a pretty pair of deep bruises on my ribs and right hip.  Note to self:  no more trips up to the twins' room with just socks on your feet.  Egads.

***

Getting back to happier things, I had a lot of fun with e-sessions this past year.  In fact, it feels like I've done engagements in almost as many states as weddings in 2010!  From a quirky fun plant nursery to historic homes like Waveland to a snowy shoot on the bridge that served as the prototype for the Brooklyn Bridge, the locations have been outstanding.  I've had a bunch of adventurous couples who wanted to try new things like night shoots-- the streetlight sessions are quickly becoming my favorites.

More images after the jump...

I try to give some basic thoughts out to help you prepare for an engagement shoot, to help you not only have a successful session in terms of images, but in terms of preparing you for your wedding day.  First thought:  Don't treat this shoot as part of a normal day.  Use this as an opportunity to try out hair and makeup artists, maybe get a massage earlier in the day.  Spend time together beforehand.  Give yourself extra time before the shoot, and don't be afraid to schedule some time off for that day.  The last thing you want is to come in stressed from work, hungry, dehydrated and then try and  force yourself to be natural for the camera.  It doesn't work that way.  The more relaxed you feel coming in, the better we're going to do together.

Now, I hear what you're thinking: But Ian, isn't a wedding day stressful, why should this be so different a scenario?  Well, for one thing, on your wedding day, you're surrounded by people and things are going on around you and there's lots to get lost in.  For the engagement session, it's the two of you and a camera, and you haven't done this before.  (Part of why having an e-session matters is that it lets you get used to that 77mm eye looking at you...)  I've famously termed my shooting style Love Unscripted because I concentrate on letting your wedding day tell its own story, but there aren't all the things to push that story along on your wedding day (unless you have a concept planned!), so yes, we pose a lot of your e-session in a gentle, friendly manner that's designed to bring out the part of you that's already comfortable being with each other.

A word about outfits:  Don't feel like you have to both wear similar clothes, but do make sure you talk about what you plan to wear.  Go for things that make you feel attractive and confident while being comfortable enough to move in.  Make sure (his) clothes are clean and pressed and don't look wilted.  If you dress up, make sure that you're both at about the same level of dressiness, and if you're going more casual, make sure that both of your looks aren't conveying clashing moods.  Seasonally appropriate is good too.  When you work with me, I'm always happy to let you get in multiple outfits/locations, but plan ahead for changing locations.

When picking locations, try to think of places that have meaning for you-- there's emotional content in that.  If you can get away from the usual cliches, that's good, too.  Whether it be Times Square in Manhattan or Triangle Park in Lexington, some places have kinda been done to death.  Be aware of the rhythms of daily life locally-- if you think you're going to be able to get a quiet looking photo on a Saturday afternoon in April at Keeneland, you might be in for a rude awakening when 32,000 of your new closest friends are intruding on your photo opportunity.  At the same time, don't expect to find beautiful floral backgrounds at the botanical gardens in mid-March.

Don't forget to think about time of day, too.  The hours between 11 and 2 aren't just the hottest part of the day, they also come with the harshest light.  Early mornings or late afternoons are best for soft, flattering light.  The hour right before sunset has a certain golden quality to the light, while the 20 minutes right after the sun dips under the horizon bring out this amazing deep dark blue color in the twilight sky.  As I've mentioned, there's something to be said for night, too.  Using streetlights, headlights, and any other light we can either find or make, I've been getting really lovely stuff in early evenings.  Believe it or not, this next shot is actually at night:

That day, we also had snow, as you may have noticed from earlier images in this post.  We haven't had it come up recently, but don't be afraid of a little rain-- it can be really sexy looking, and I'll happily reshoot if you don't feel it was your best look.

Let yourself have fun with all this.  If you guys are a little goofy, don't be afraid to show off your senses of humor.  If you love props, bring them-- not just silly things, but things you find romantic, like little quaint signs and the like.  If you want flower petals, bring flower petals.  If you have access to the right space, you can even go 80's music video and have a concrete floor with a layer of water and a sea of candles throughout the space if that's what makes you feel right.  So long as I don't have to encounter snakes or sharks, I have no problems letting your imagination run wild.

Most of all, let yourselves forget about me and think mainly about the person you're about to unite your life with.  When you let your guard down and let the camera see your love, that's when magic happens.

From Leslie and Stan's recent nighttime engagement session in snowy Cincinnati...

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 11x14 print or a 12x12 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 11x14 or 12x12 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 11x14 or 12x12 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.

I had a pretty good feeling Michelle and Kris were going to sign with me after our first meeting. I mean, when you discover you've been chatting for two hours, it's a sign you've definitely made a connection. We just spent the entire time laughing and occasionally even talking about wedding photography.

On Saturday, we went out to the Lexington Country Club, where they'll be having their reception this summer. Now, the grounds didn't look anything like they will at the wedding, what with the fresh blanket of snow on the ground. We thought it would be fun to show their guests what the place they're going to get married at looks like at this time of year.

Of course the first thing I did as soon as I got out there was to realize I'd planted a flash in the snow. Didn't keep it from working, but did keep my hands frozen solid anytime I held the thing. We ended up taking about 45 minutes worth of shots before the battery died-- in frigid temperatures, batteries drain faster. (The guys who shoot Green Bay Packers games usually tape those chemical handwarmer packets to their battery grips so that they can shoot the whole game.)

We took some by some classic Kentucky stone fencing , then moved to the back and went out on to the golf course in the open space, to take a few walking and talking images, some shots on a stone bench, you get the idea. Afterwards, we went into the clubhouse so that they could show me the space. When I saw the ballroom, I was in heaven. It was still set up from the night before, but what I immediately saw was floods of beautiful, focused lights coming in from the big arched windows on the left. I quickly got them into the center of the room and squeezed off a few last frames with the last juice in the battery.

We're talking about doing a shoot out of town with them for their real engagement session, as Kris lives in Boston these days, and we might even be able to get some of those night shots I've been dying to do. I can't wait to take more images with this fun and engaging couple!

As I was going through some of my recent work this year to make prints to show in my latest bridal show booth, I thought it would be a great time to show you some of my favorites from last year-- for the sake of brevity in my storytelling in the booth, I didn't use the engagement images, but I wanted to get them out there all the same...

]]> http://www.ianlozada.com/2010/01/11/looking-back-favorite-images-from-2009-engagements/feed/ 0 http://www.ianlozada.com/2009/11/11/e-session-slideshow-mary-and-donnie-midway-kentucky/ http://www.ianlozada.com/2009/11/11/e-session-slideshow-mary-and-donnie-midway-kentucky/#comments Wed, 11 Nov 2009 15:44:26 +0000 Ian http://www.ianlozada.com/?p=187

Mary grew up in Midway, and we really had glorious, warm weather, considering we'd had two absolutely frigid days before this.  Downtown Midway is a really cute town, full of little upscale restaurants and boutiques.  In short, a great place to take some romantic photos.  The other location was by the local mill, and with the recent rains, the little waterfall next to it was more powerful than usual.

Most of these images were captured within a two block radius, but when you pick a place that's both meaningful to you and has strong visual resonance, you can make a lot out a rather small area.