Fellow photographers are always some of my favorite clients to work with. They understand the importance of trusting the photographer they hired and their vision and artistic style, but they also bring their own experience and creativity to their shoot. Lately I’ve been working with other wedding photographers a lot, which is both humbling and exciting. Once of my favorites has been Caroline Joy, an incredibly talented photographer formerly of Dallas, now located in Austin Texas. I have always adored her work, so I was literally jumping up and down with joy when she first inquired with me! When I first met her, I thought to myself, this is the closest anyone can possibly get to a real life Disney princess. She is petite, beautiful, has flawless skin and perfect hair, is always happy and laughing, always supporting everyone around her, and generally just a wonderful person inside and out.
Unfortunately, the stars did not align for me to photograph their wedding, but we did the next best thing and headed to Keller City Hall Park to do an engagement and Day After session. Considering Caroline’s gorgeous photos, I wasn’t the least bit surprised that discover that she and Aaron have impeccable style. I especially loved her bright red lipstick and the vintage bridal hairpiece she wore with her wedding gown, as well as their brand new adopted whippet Steve Z (who is already so in love with them, he whined whenever they weren’t within arm’s reach), and most of all their amazing creme Stella scooter that they bought for their wedding day. In fact, I was so obsessed with it that I immediately put it as the #1 item on my Christmas list! Maybe Santa will be kind to me this year, so I can look as cool as Caroline and Aaron! Here are some of my favorites from their day.
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Click to continue reading “Caroline and Aaron’s Newlywed Day After Session”
Melissa and Philip are pretty much the embodiment of my ideal clients. They are both gorgeous to look at, incredibly nice, warm, funny, easy to be around, they both have classic and sophisticated style, and most important of all, they are head over heels in love with each other. There’s a joy that radiates from them when they look at each other, and a feeling of love that is so strong it’s nearly tangible when they’re in each others’ arms. They’re also two of the friendliest people I know, and they have made me feel like an old friend since the day I met them. Publishing this session is bittersweet for me, because it means my time photographing them has come to an end, but luckily I still have plenty more photos of these two hot lovebirds to publish here! For now, here’s a look at some of my favorites from their Day After Session at White Rock Lake in Dallas:
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Click to continue reading “Melissa & Philip’s Day After Session”
4 Comments
- Stacy- thank you so much for these beautiful images! We are sure going to miss taking pics with you. And Congratulations on your marriage!!
- absolutely beautiful. what a gorgeous couple. Love the second last B&W. Love it.
- I love the super close up pics. Beautiful.
- I always love your full sun photos. Beautiful.
I do Day After sessions all the time, but I can honestly say this is the first time I’ve done one BEFORE the wedding! Paige and Uy wanted to have a large canvas of themselves in their wedding attire to display at their reception, so we met at the Japanese Gardens in Fort Worth to get a few quick shots of them together. The Japanese Garden is one of my favorite places to shoot, everywhere you turn there’s a new and even more beautiful spot. Here are some of my favorites:
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Click to continue reading “Paige and Uy at the Fort Worth Japanese Gardens”
9 Comments
- LOVEEEEE the bridge one. The detail of her veil on the rail make my heart go "pitter-patter"
- That bridge, the location, the green, the beautiful couple... these are amazing. Killer job!
- Beautiful session! Not every day you get to photograph a bride and groom in full attire before the wedding... great job!
- I second Kim. All the pictures are gorgeous as aways, but the bridge with the willow in the background is just perfect.
- Love how the green pops out of each photo, my fav shot has to be the one with the couple on the bridge, so picturesque!
- [...] Wedding in a Japanese garden. [...]
- Love your work as usual! Such a dreamy set! Beautiful location! Keep on inspiring!
- Breathtaking shots and so classy yet not boring! I love it all! Consider me a new fan, Kat ^_^
- Wow, what an awesome session! I loooove your unique ways of working with her veil :) Your post processing is quite marvelous (as always) as well!
I try really hard not to play favorites with my clients… I’m extremely, EXTREMELY lucky to have some amazing clients that are kind, friendly, understanding, appreciative, and generally awesome in every way. I’m proud of the fact that I’ve never yet had a bridezilla – knock on wood – and I’m blessed to really enjoy every wedding I shoot. That said… When a couple tells you they want to fly you out to Paris and Venice to do some portrait sessions, and they happen to talk your boyfriend into coming along and proposing while he’s there.. Well, that’s a pretty tough act to beat. Abby and Zach will always have a special place in my heart, and I truly loved getting to know them more during our travels throughout Europe. You can’t ask for two better friends than these guys, something I’m sure their bridesmaids and groomsmen would echo in a heartbeat! I’m also very thankful that they’re both completely gorgeous and photograph so well! Here are some highlights from their Paris and Venice Day After sessions.
We got started at the Tuileries, a garden near the Louvre, and eventually made our way through the Louve courtyard and to the Arc de Triomphe du Carroussel. It was absolutely freezing but Abby was a total trooper in her little strapless dress and high heels!
As the sun set and the temperatures plummeted we hopped on the Metro (followed by more than a few strange looks) and managed to snag a few quick shots at the Eiffel Tower before the snow and wind got the better of us.
We finished the session on a high note and headed back into the warmth of our hotel. After a few days of sightseeing and a very interesting overnight train ride, we rose at the break of dawn to get things started in St. Mark’s Square in Venice.
I love Abby’s accessories in these shots. She had actually picked them up the previous day at Murano, a tiny island off the coast of Venice famous for its glass (which they use to make incredible and very pricey stemware, jewelry, chandeliers, and statues).
We finished the photos off with a really neat tradition. If you ever travel to the Ponte Vecchio in Florence, you’ll see hundreds of padlocks along the river, with initials scribbled onto the sides. As legend goes, if you write your initials and your beloved’s initials onto a lock, attach the lock to a city fixture, then toss the key into the river, you’re destined to be together forever. Abby and Zach loved this romantic idea, so they incorporated it into their wedding by handing out locks to their guests as favors. They also brought along padlocks for every city they were going to visit. As we stopped by a bridge on the Grand Canal, they decided to attach their lock there and toss the key into the famous waterway!
A & Z, Jason and I will always love you guys for giving us such a great opportunity to be your honeymoon paparazzi and for being part of such a special event in our lives. I’m so happy to have you as clients, and we’re both thrilled to call you both friends! Congratulations on your fabulous wedding, we know you guys are a perfect pair!
43 Comments
- I think I've said wow to myself at least three times looking at this post! WOW! I love the European vibe, the perfect posing, the gorgeous couple... all of it is absolutely stunning.
- Impressive! Gotta love that Paris light.
- These photos are awesome!!!!
- Okay, Stacy...seriously..just breathtaking photos! I can't pick out just one favorite! Congrats on a fantastic job!
- The second image of the set is stunning!
- These are AMAZING! The groom looks like the Adam Levine from Maroon 5
- BEAUTIFUL!!! What a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity! We love our "models," Abby and Zach!!!
- You are completely right, you are 1 lucky girl! Clients flying you to Paris, then the clients is willing to wear a wedding gown in the middle of winter, then your bf proposes to you in the most romantic place on earth, I think those are all in the list of a photographer's dream! :) Btw, you're photos rock, but you probably know that already.. :)
- Can't think of any girl that wouldn't want pictures in front of the eiffel tower like that. How perfect!
- AHHHH-MAZING!!!!
- [...] Pretty darned romantic. Lots more photos from this fantastic European-day-after-shoot on Stacy’s site {here}!! [...]
- Wonderful work Stacy!
- Stacy, Every image here is just absolutely stunning! What a dream to photograph not only a gorgeous wedding, but also bridals and day afters and everything in places like Venice and Paris, and THEN get proposed to! What a fantastic trip for you. Beautiful work...they must be thrilled with their images.
- GORGEOUS!!
- wow. not only are you SOOO lucky to have clients who'll fly you all over the place for shoots, they are going to have an impossible time picking out images to print huge for their home! So they're lucky too! They're all gorgeous! How do you think of new poses for a wedding, and two days of shooting the same couple?! lol Congrats on your engagement and all the best to the newlyweds!
- Wow is right. Wow. Wow. Wow. These are just unbelievable.
- These are breathtaking!
- Ok, this is just ridiculous and nothing short of epic. So many fantastical images!
- Stacy I have been a blog stalker for quite some time now, but I must tell you that these images are just insane !! Seriously, I am drooling over each and every one !!
- Gorgeous!! And I love Abby's purple hair flower. How fun to shoot in Paris and Venice! Love :)
- These images are fantastic! I'm sure the bride and groom are beyond excited by them! My favorite is the horizontal in front of the the Eiffel Tower.
- Stunning work! I love all of them, especially the B&W in front of the Arch De Triumph and the first shot in Venice at St. Marks at dawn. I'm going to these places in a few months and can't wait! :)
- Ah-Mazing! I need more clients like these...whisking me away to Europe, getting my boyfriend to propose! Haha. You can only dream! It makes my heart ache though...I wish I was in Italy again, it brings back some great memories of Venice and Florence...
- Love these shots and the vibrant purple. How romantic is that lock legend?!
- [...] more of Abby and Zach’s European honeymoon photos in Stacey’s blog post. Inspiration , Photography Wedding Ideas No Comments March 1st, 2010 About... Tara Andrews [...]
- These are ridiculously perfect, I couldn't pick a favorite if you forced me to. Fantastic!
- Amazing photos!!! Just shoot me an email next time you come to Paris! I'd love to meet you! :)
- These photos from the wedding and honeymoon are amazing! They are a beautiful couple and fortunate to have the European destination wedding I would love to have some day! Great photography skills with the different times of day. I have been to Venice and I loved how you were able to get pictures in the square without tons of tourists.
- To die for. I hope I get to do something like this soon. They are so beautiful. Love the Venice shots especially.
- These are SO incredible! What a dream come true!
- .......WOW. Stacy, you have totally outdone yourself with this series. It looks like you captured their emotions and the trip perfectly. And of course, stunning processing as always. Awesome job!
- AWESOME! AWESOME! AWESOME! Incredible job girl!
- I am in love with anything and everything PARIS. It is truly my favorite city in the history of this earth. So for me...these were pieces of art!! Just gorgeous.
- Such a stunning couple! You nailed everything...I am speechless!
- These images are stunning. There are so many lovely locations there and you captured them beautifully.
- Oh my goodness, how many stunning shots from one shoot! Amazing!
- amazing.
- I absolutely LOVE your work, I always look forward to your pictures on your website! These are absolutely amazing- The lighting, the details, the poses all so beautiful!
- Wow you can not ask for better clients than that...totally dreamy!
- [...] Europe to shoot a “Day After” session with the bride and groom. You can view the entire European Day After Session on her blog – here’s just a small snippet of this gorgeous [...]
- Hi Zach and Abby, your pictures are stunning!! My fiance loves Zach's wedding ring so I'm curious where it was purchased? He has been looking for a wedding ring forever now and still has not found anything he cares for. Your help is greatly appreciated!! :)
- [...] Abby & Zach’s European Day After Session, Stacy Reeves Day after sessions at the Arc de Triomphe, the Eiffel Tower and Venice? YES, PLEASE! Even better was the Parisian proposal for the photographer. Now that’s what I call a fabulous client/session. [...]
- [...] Europe to shoot a “Day After” session with the bride and groom. You can view the entire European Day After Session on her blog – here’s just a small snippet of this gorgeous [...]
I can’t say this enough – I LOVE DAY AFTER SESSIONS! They are easily my favorite thing to photograph. It is everything I love about bridal sessions, engagement sessions, and weddings all rolled up into one. I especially love it when a couple as much style and personality as Jenny and Casey. I could photograph these two all the live long day and never get sick of looking at their beautiful faces and how loving they are with each other. Posting this session actually makes me a little sad because I won’t have any excuse to put them back on the blog after this! Here are some of my favorites from their Day After session at the Old McKinney Cotton Mill.
There are so many benefits to doing a Day After session.. For starters, you don’t have to spend much/any time getting these photos on the wedding day, so you get to your reception faster and don’t have to leave your guests waiting for as long. You can also go to whatever location you want, and it gives me much more freedom to pose you because I don’t have to be so worried about getting dirt on the dress or the tux. We’re not rushed at all, so we can take time to try new and unique things and get a much more diverse collection of images for you to choose from. Even though the session is called a Day After session, I rarely do them on the actual day after the wedding. Jenny and Casey’s session was done a week after their wedding, and many couples choose to wait until after they return from their honeymoon and have had time to relax and unwind from the flurry of wedding activity. I’ve even had a few couples choose to do their Day After session during their honeymoon – this January I’ll be traveling with one of my couples to Paris and Venice to do their session! If you’re interested in getting gorgeous images of you and your spouse-to-be, let me know!
11 Comments
- WOW! LOVE this shoot! The location, the lighting, everything...just gorgeous! Perhaps one of my favorites of yours. And the empty warehouse...did you sneak in? What a fun place to take some photos!
- You use the locations so well Stacy...! Another great series, congratulations.
- I love your work!! These pics are so romantic and sweet. The feet shot is great and I love your use of the flare in the last shot!
- i LOVE this session, SO much!! it's romantic, beautiful....just perfect!
- I love the last pic Stacy, very serene and romantic. Kudos!
- Stacy, you say you don't use grey card to set your camera to the right white balance. How do you get it just right then? Is it experience and you just simply know what K you need for the particular light situation or you use AWB and fix it up in Photoshop later? Thanks :) P.s.: Your work is still a big motivation kick and thank you for that! :)
- I shoot in RAW so it would be pointless for me to set the white balance as it just resets to the default in Lightroom anyway. But even if I didn't, I would likely use AWB because the lighting during a wedding can change dramatically in a matter of seconds, and if I were busy always shooting my grey card and changing the WB, I would miss out on a lot of great moments.
- I LOVE this shoot! Especially the photo of them in the middle of the barn when Casey has his cowboy hat on and they're kissing... love!
- This is my favorite session ever - of anyone - EVER. :) Your skills are amazing, am totally digging your style. Ahhhh, the tones!!
- Oh my goodness...I am just in love with your work! You are a true artist =) The last one is my absolute fave--sooo romantic!!
- I can tell why Day After Sessions are your favorite! These are gorgeous images! You are a master at backlighting - inpirational!
Okay, so it’s sort of a Day Of Session.. Since Mark and Jaclyn’s wedding ended fairly early in the day, we went ahead and did part of their Day After session as soon as the reception ended. It happened to fall at the perfect time of day, just before sunset, where the light is the most beautiful. Since Kelly and I didn’t know the area at all, I had to rely on Mark’s amazing-photo-op-location-scouting abilities for our locations, and he certainly knew how to pick them!
Our first major stop was in a little town called Helen, where everything is German-inspired, from the food to the architecture.
Jaclyn is definitely not the type of girl who loves to be the center of attention.. Wandering around in the middle of a busy city square wearing a huge wedding dress was not exactly her cup of tea, but we are so proud of her for toughing it out. Hopefully the photos are worth all the unwanted attention!
After scarring poor Jackie for life, we managed to find a secluded park where we could get some more romantic shots. I love parks!
The next morning we headed to an old abandoned building that we had seen on the side of the road. I love old worn-out warehouses almost as much as I love solid color walls!
Then Kelly spotted an amazing parking lot filled with old vintage gasoline pumps.. What a cool find! We didn’t stay long for fear of someone getting tetanus, but we did get a couple of really awesome shots.
The goal of this shot was to capture the lovebirds surrounded by “tree monsters”… Don’t ask.
Finally we finished the day at a small airport tucked away in the forest. We nearly got run over by a couple of planes trying to take off. Whoops!
Jaclyn and Mark, I cannot thank you enough for allowing Kelly and I to photograph your awesome wedding. We fell in love with the both of you, and I just wish you guys were closer so we could hang out more! If you’re ever in Texas, you know who to call!
Kelly Niemann, thanks so much for taking so many amazing photos and being the perfect second shooter. You’re awesome! Go check her out!
13 Comments
- I love the last fifteen. They all are gorgeous, but the last fifteen are amazing!
- awesome awesome photos stacy (and kelly)! jaclyn's smile is so beautiful!
- Tree monsters... haha! Kudzu is pretty. :D And yes, I was totally stoked about gas pump find. Like nerdy - excited. Jackie and Mark, y'all are amazing! Stacy, thanks for being brave under the airplanes with me. ;) I had a ton of fun the whole weekend!
- these are hotttt!
- Beautiful photos and beautiful couple!!
- Fantastic set! Better and better with every post. Keep rockin it!
- I really love the shots at the old building. Such great textures and feeling.
- Stacy, these are fabulous! I'm especially in love with the Veronica Lake peekaboo eye shot, which really features her gorgeous coloring perfectly. What an adorable couple! They must be thrilled with these. :-)
- Stacy, Great work as always, I'm sure it was a lot of fun to shoot. Man, why can't I find an old gas pump graveyard in my neighborhood?
- MAN! Stacy! I just LOVED LOVED the images from this session! They so rocked!!! Cheerio -Melissa E Earle
- this is a awesome day after session! the old gas pumps are a cool backdrop. love the style.
- You are so lucky to shoot this beautiful couple and they are luckt to have you as a photographer! Amazing mix!
- wow. i've been stalking around on your site for hours. these are my favorites. amazing!!!!!!
Dear Nikole and Chris’ parents,
If seeing steamy, sexy, awesomely hot photos of your two little darlings makes you uncomfortable… You should probably stop reading right now! I tried to keep it G-rated, but.. well.. newlyweds will be newlyweds!
XOXO,
Stacy
Day After sessions are, hands down, my favorite thing in the entire world. No contest. One of main reasons I am a photographer is because I love making people feel beautiful and capturing that beauty in images, and I feel that everyone is at their most beautiful when they are dressed up all fancy-like with the person they love most in the world, which is exactly what happens in a Day After session. It also gives people a chance to be totally narcissistic and fill the walls of their home with amazing portraits of themselves, which I of course fully support.
As I mentioned before, I absolutely adore Nikole and Chris for many reasons, but I especially love them for taking some time out of their honeymoon to wander around Puerta Plata with me and roll around in the sand and water. Check out some of my favorites:
Nikole and Chris, thank you first of all for being so easy on the eyes, making my job ridiculously easy, and thank you for being so great to me and allowing me to have a blast with you both during your wedding and honeymoon. I’m just sad that you’re so far away now :( I guess I will just have to make the trek up north to come visit!
Random side note: I am seeing a lot of hits to this post via the NAPP forums, and a friend on those boards informed me that a lot of you all are discussing this post in regards to use of actions and plug-ins. I want you guys to know that virtually every image in this post, aside from the B&W/Sepia images, is pretty much SOOC, with minimal tweaking in Lightroom. In fact, only one action was used, and that is Totally Rad Action’s Old Skool, used on the last pair of images in this post. In the past I have been a big fan of actions, but these days I am leaning more towards the school of leaving images mostly as-is, and letting their beauty speak for itself. In the future, if you have comments or thoughts about my images, I would love to hear them in the comments section of this blog. Thanks! It’s always great to know that my work is inspiring discussion :)
11 Comments
- Wow so fun! I wish people around here would get into the idea of the day after, I REALLLY want to do one!!
- Stacy these are BEAUTIFUL!!
- These are some smokin' pics Stacy. I especially ADORE the b/w one of them on the beach, wow!
- sweet pics Stacy! You never cease to amaze!!!
- Beautiful! You tempt me to want to pull out my dress and trash it!
- Stacy, These are gorgeous!!! If I ever get married and can't shoot my own destination wedding-- you are so there!! Mariana
- Honestly, just fabulous. Fabulous.
- Ha! steamy session! absolutely gorgeous.
- As one with a modestly good eye for a good shot, there are a lot of very interesting and well composed photo's with attractive subjects in a great environment. Very nice job and a lovely wedding.
- [...] I came home to find the best gift ever, a pair of awesome Luxe Deluxe earrings from my new favorite bride ever, Mrs. Nikole Bordato! [...]
- [...] after session myself! You can see my day after photos over at my wedding photographer’s blog here. My day after photos were even featured on Elizabeth Anne [...]
Bryan - Holy smokes! I don't think I've ever seen so many great images out of a single session! And I'm loving the look of VSCO!
Bec - amazing! Truly loved every shot of this session.
Shayla - These are beautiful Stacy, great job! Caroline & her new hubby look amazing!!
sarah der - OH MY GOODNESS! These are so, so beautiful and they are so cute it is almost too much! Really, really lovely set, Stacy--the tones, the gestures, the moments, all of it!
Roberto Farren | wedding photographers in MA - wow, what a stunning set of images!! Love the processing of them as well!! Regards, Roberto