This weekend, Kathleen & I and are good friend Meagan got to spend Saturday with Sarah & Michael for their wedding. You may remember Sarah & Michael from their engagement session that we photographed back in January in New York City. They are a completely down-to-earth and relaxed couple which really set the tone of their day. Their ceremony took place right over the line in Springfield, MA and their reception was at the Riverview in Simsbury.
When planning for a March wedding you really have no way of predicting what the weather is going to be which is why Sarah & Michael had a really solid indoor backup plan for photos; Hartford City Hall. Lucky for them it was almost 75 degrees and we actually spent more time outdoors at City Hall then we did inside. They had a really fun group of bridesmaids and groomsmen so we made the best of the beautiful weather and photographed some of our relaxed wedding party shots right on the steps of City Hall. We loved the feel of this one so much that we just had to share it with you all.
We are working very hard on their full post and can't wait to share the rest of their amazing day. We are also working hard on our TO DO lists as we are heading out to Europe in just a few days for our first "Taking Off" Seminar and photo shoots in Paris. We have some truly amazing things planned so make sure you check back often.
Six years ago, when our business was brand-new and we were still learning the ropes there was one place we were dying to do a session. We would have done just about anything to go there and photograph a couple on the busy streets of the city that we both love: New York. But we were just beginning and the opportunity just wasn't there. We knew it would come in time but we couldn't help feeling frustrated. Especially since that very city we wanted to photograph in was just about an hour away by train. But we worked hard and the opportunities started to come - soon we had engagement sessions, anniversary sessions, weddings and now we can say that we have photographed in many of the distinct Manhattan neighborhoods. And each time when we're taking the train in, we both get the same nervous excitement like we did the very first time we had a session in the City - thinking just how cool it is that this is the equivalent to a day in the office for us, walking around with a couple and photographing in the most incredible cities in the world.
As you probably already know, in just over a week we will be on a plane with some nervous excitement - heading to Paris for our very first "Taking Off" workshop. We can NOT wait for you to see the unbelievable things we will be doing over there (check the blog often, we will try to do some sneak peeks if the European internet will allow us). But we wouldn't be us if we didn't decide to add one more thing to our plate before we went away.
So we decided it was officially time to announce our next "Taking Off" workshop. We were blown away by the response we received about this workshop with tons of requests for us to schedule more, specifically here in the U.S. With that in mind, we knew exactly where we wanted to launch our first U.S. location - in that very same city that still gets our hearts pumping- NEW YORK!! (There is just something so special about shooting on the street with a taxi whizzing by and then going to grab a hot pretzel all within just a few minutes. You've got to love New York!!)
Since we are doing Springtime in Paris, we decided the best way to follow that up would be Fall in New York City with a TWO-DAY workshop taking place on Tuesday, October 12th thru Wednesday October 13th.
We are delighted to be joined by the ever-amazing Candice from Jubliee Events (and many more insanely talented wedding professionals) who will be creating a gorgeously styled mock wedding set in one of the historic sections of the city. This will be a once-in-a-lifetime experience, offering hands-on learning about photography and business from the two of us AND two days you won't soon forget.
This will be a small intimate workshop(with only 12 spaces) and spots are already filling up fast!! Click on the link below for more details and to secure your spot today!!
*** For more info and to Sign Up for “Taking Off” {NYC} CLICK on the link below ***
People often ask us about our workflow, about how we technically do things and often tell us to share more of those types of things on our blog. I thought that it would be really fun to do just that. Today I will be talking about the film workflow process and what it takes to get to a high quality image from film. We of course will probably be doing many posts like this about all kinds of topics so if you want to hear about something specific, let us know so we can write about it!
Today we had lunch at our place with our good friends Vicki & Erik Souza and Robin Dini. Robin has one of the cutest little baby boys and of course he also joined us all for the afternoon. His name is Harrison and he just turned 27 weeks. I told Robin that I wanted to take some film portraits of him just for fun (I am always itching to photograph something or someone with film). I took out a roll of medium format film and loaded it up into the Hasselblad and started shooting.
After I quickly made my way through a roll of film (which is only 12 exposures) I thought that it would be interesting to share not only the images of Harrison that I captured but also the process (from start to finish) that goes into getting to a complete image when shooting with film. So here it goes! You can read step-by-step under each image below. And when you get to the bottom you will get to see some of the incredibly cute images of Harrison that I captured today. Hope you enjoy!!
I absolutely love the look and feel of film but even more so I love the thought process that goes into shooting with film. You can't simply shoot and hope for a good photo because there is no immediate feedback, there is no screen on the back of the camera. It really slows you down, forces you to think about the composition, about the subject and truly makes you to think about what settings to choose to shoot with. One camera that is truly a favorite to shoot with (for me) is the Hasselblad 500C/M. It is a completely manual camera, you set everything right on the lens. There is no auto-focus either. This camera certainly makes you work for your photo but the outcome is something really beautiful.
My lens of choice while using this camera is the 80mm f/2.8. It is a great portrait lens and produces really sharp images and beautiful bokeh (the blur in the background). Notice all of the manual settings on the lens. There is no electronics at all.
Our personal favorite film is by far Fuji Color Pro 400H film. It produces incredibly gorgeous skin tones and colors and has a subtle contrast which suits our style very well. We also use Kodak and Ilford black & white films. If you are interested in shooting film, these and many other types of films are all available at B&H Photo.
Once we shoot a roll of film we have it developed at a local camera store. Although I used to develop film during my darkroom days in college, it is definetely a tedious process that is quite time consuming. Plus the developing chemicals leave you with quite a headache. Most color films (even pro films) can be developed in about an hour at most professional photo stores. At our store we simply have them develop it, we do not have them make prints or scan them. In addition we tell them not to cut the negatives and to leave them in the original strip. This way we can have complete control over image quality in order to produce the highest quality photo.
So what exactly is medium format film? Well, very simply stated the actual film is much larger than 35mm film which most of us are used to. In addition the image you get when you shoot with medium format is square as opposed to either horizontal or vertical. The square image (in my opinion is really great. It actually makes the shooting process nice in the sense that you don't have to think about what type of photo you want (horizontal or vertical). The benefit of having larger film is the ability to produce much larger enlargements compared to 35mm film. Medium format film and now medium format digital is used heavily in commercial and portrait work such as what you may see on the pages of high fashion magazines. This is not to say the 35 mm format isn't also used in those areas as well.
Once we get the developed film back from our photo processor, I cut the negatives into sets of 4 images each. Medium format film comes in either 120 which is 12 exposures (photos) per roll or 220 with is 24 exposures per roll. Cutting them down to sets of 4 just makes it easier to handle and easier to store. This is truly based on personal preference.
Once the negatives are all cut, it is time for the scanning process to begin. This is truly a tedious process but I like the feeling of putting work into something. It makes you appreciate the finished product that much more. We use a good (but not very expensive) flatbed scanner that has inserts which allow the scanning of 35mm and medium format negatives as well as good old fashion slides. There are certainly much more expensive scanners on the market that go much faster and can scan many more images at a time but for now we are happy with this one. It does a great job and capturing accurate colors from the negative and removing any dust spots that may have appeared on the image. For those of you who are interested the scanner model that we have, it is the Epson V500.
I scan each image from the negative at 300DPI (or pixels per inch) which produces (as you see) a very large file size. It also allows us to make large enlargements if we so choose. Of course we can always scan the negative at much higher DPI if we so choose.
Once the photo is scanned we bring into Photoshop. I usually scan a little outside the image showing the black from the negative. Once in Photoshop I crop the black out of the image and of course remove any spots or blemishes that may be on the image. I don't do many (if any) adjustments to the image as I want to retain the look and feel of the film that I chose to use.
The final and complete image!! This was Harrison just today. He is such a fun baby to photograph and I love how the window light really brought out his eyes.
I hope you enjoyed learning a little about the background work that goes into creating a film based image. Please e-mail or leave a comment with any questions you may have I would love to answer them.
In the meantime here are a couple more images of Harrison from this afternoon. Enjoy!
Based on the beautiful weather we have had the last couple of days it's pretty hard to believe that about two weeks ago it was snowing at JFK as we boarded the plane to head out to California to meet Saryn & Dave. We were hoping that we'd get a little dose of that famous California sunshine when we arrived but we didn't have our hopes up since the forecast was predicting a soggy weekend for the LA area. Not exactly the dream scenario for a destination engagement session, but we would make it work. We gathered together our rain gear and planned to shoot in the rain if need be and Saryn & Dave scouted out indoor locations in case it did indeed turn into quite a downpour. When we landed we were delighted to notice that the sun was indeed shining as we walked down the stairs off the plane (at the Burbank airport they have you exit right on the tarmac, climbing down the airplane stairs - feels so Hollywood).
Hoping that the sunshine would carry over to the next morning, we headed down the Pacific Coast Highway toward Santa Monica stopping occasionally to take some pictures. During one of the stops we were right near the Santa Monica pier, admiring the colorful backdrops and many, many lights around it. We thought what better way to start Saryn & Dave's session than with a night shoot at the pier?! The weather was cooperating, their was plenty of lights and a fun atmosphere - it was perfect. (Plus, we don't get to do night shoots too often, so we were excited at the idea.) So we got in touch with Dave, calling him immediately from the beach. And they were up for it!
We met up at around 9:30pm PST (really about 12:30 EST for us, since our bodies hadn't adjusted to the time difference yet, so it was truly a night shoot for us!). But we had a blast, talking to Saryn & Dave, exploring the pier together and capturing the vibe of California beach night life. And we got some shots in without any fear of a downpour, which was a total bonus. The next morning we met at the Venice canals (as you've seen from Part I of their session), and finished up literally minutes before the rain started to fall. Someone was pulling for us somewhere - after all those weather predictions we somehow managed to have a rain-free session and got a touch of that California sunshine.
So without any further ado, here are some of the night session photos we captured!
A night shoot is something we always have wanted to do and the Santa Monica Pier was such a perfect place to do our first night session. We also want to point out that all of these photos were shot using only available light, no flashes or video lights were used to capture any of these! We really love natural and timeless photos and shooting without any additional light sources helped us capture the true essence of the Santa Monica Pier at night.
We love the emotion in this one. This is Kathleen's shot...
...and this is mine just a second later.
We headed into the amusement park part of the park where we got to have fun with the rides, the lights and the crowds which all added such great energy.
How much fun is this?!!
Thank you again Saryn & Dave for being up for anything. We had such a great time with you both and can't wait until July for your wedding!! ~Rob & Kathleen~
It's possible that Saryn and Dave could have gone their entire lives and never crossed paths. They lived thousands of miles apart. She was in NYC, he was in California. Luckily, they did happen to have one very important thing in common: a friend. A smart friend, at that. A friend that saw something in each of them that he knew the other would like. So he talked to each of them. He told Dave about the gorgeous girl he knew back in NYC that was totally his type, he told Saryn about his handsome friend out in California that would definitely make her laugh. It worked. And with those simple conversations and the exchange of contact information their friend started them on a path that would end up changing their lives.
It started with e-mails. Over the course of several weeks they slowly got to know each other in written messages - a modern day story of love that began through the written word. Love letters sent through cyperspace. What a romantic idea, getting to know one another slowly and steadily through the things you chose to share in each message. Big things, little things, the ins and outs of your daily life - the e-mails serving as not just simple chit chat, but as a glimpse inside. This is me, this is what I like, this is what I do. Tell me about you. You can almost picture each of them, sitting at their respective computers, excitedly checking their inbox to see if there was another message.
The e-mails turned into phone calls and not long after Saryn found an excuse to head out to the West coast, conveniently giving her the opportunity to finally meet Dave in person. After a very successful first date they made plans to see each other again the next night. That night ended much the same way, with plans to see each other again the next night. And the night after that. By the end of the week they had seen each other every single night that she had been in town. After that whirlwind week, it was hard to say goodbye and go back to life on separate coasts. But they texted each other regularly. Short, sweet, romantic little messages - reminders that they were thinking of one another.
When Dave sent her flowers just a few days after she had returned home, all of Saryn's thoughts and feelings were confirmed. He was different. This relationship was different. They didn't have to wait too long to see each other again. Dave made the trip to her coast just a few weeks later for a fourth of July family barbeque. He invited Saryn to join him and introduced her to all his friends and family. It was that weekend confirmed it for both of them. Over the course of that one weekend, they realized that in one another they had found something that had never know before. They knew that this was the beginning of something big.
For two years they made the long distance work with a steady flow of e-mails, calls, texts and bi-costal visits. Finally, Saryn moved out West to join Dave and they were officially living in the same state for the first time. From then, it didn't take long for Dave to ask the one question they had both known was coming. Dave had been planning it for a while. He picked out the ring and planned out the afternoon. While she was at work, he filled their apartment with balloons, candles and flowers. He picked her up from work, drove her home and led her inside. Confused by all the stuff in the apartment, she looked at him to find out what was going on. He got down on knee, smiled, and asked her to be his wife. Overcome with emotion, she said many, many words (mostly "oh my god!"s) but no official yes. Dave asked again, looking for the definitive answer. She laughed, shouted "Yes!", and hugged him as tightly as she could. She laughed because there was no question. She had known that she would wanted to marry Dave since that fourth of July weekend three years before.
This fourth of July, she'll do just that.
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We have been very lucky to have many couples that happen to live on the West Coast but are getting married in Connecticut. We always give them a lot of credit because it can not be easy to plan a wedding from halfway across the country (we know it was no picnic to plan one just two hours away). But Saryn and Dave are smart - they got some professional help and they chose wisely. They'll be working with our friend Candice from Jubilee Events and we can't wait to see what she comes up with for their wedding, no doubt it will be gorgeous.
It could be a challenge, living on one coast and having your photographs on the other, but it can be a total bonus. We love it because it gives us the chance to give them the best of both coasts with their photos (engagement on the West, wedding on the East). It seemed even more appropriate for Saryn & Dave since a lot of their relationship had involved both coasts - making the long distance work for nearly two years. Of course, we loved the idea too. Not only because we love going out to California but also because we love taking pictures in new places. We love the challenge of it - going to a place that we don't know, jumping in and going for it. As you have seen from our own little photo adventure trips to NYC and just recently to Nevada, we love discovering the colors, textures and people in a new place and capturing it all through images. Destination engagement sessions give us the chance to do those exploration journeys with a couple, uncovering what a place has to offer together and getting some fabulous engagement pictures in the process.
We were very lucky that Dave and Saryn just happen to live in one of the most beautiful places in California, Santa Monica. To have a bit of variety in their session, Dave suggested we included not only Santa Monica but also the nearby town of Venice. With a large bohemian population filling the streets with art, canals styled after the Italian Venice, and tons of VW buses, Venice, California was pretty much a photographers dream. And the perfect fit for Saryn & Dave - the whimsical quirky vibe of the community totally matched the dynamic between the two of them. It also happens to be one of their favorite places to spend a Saturday afternoon.
I know what's you're thinking...how do we go to Santa Monica and not photograph around the famed pier? Well don't worry... we did. We actually went there the night we arrived, doing a night session incorporating the many lights on the pier. We'll be posting that as Part II of their session - check back soon!
Before we boarded our plane out to Burbank we checked the weather from our iPhones one more time. It was calling for 100% rain throughout the day on Saturday, the only day Saryn & Dave had available for their session. They really wanted a dry outside session to really show off the unique areas around the Venice CA canals as well as Venice Beach, and of course we really wanted to give it to them. Since we arrived the night before we decided to suggest to them that they meet with us late at night 9:30pm their time, 12:30am (the time we were on) for a night shoot on the Santa Monica Pier just in case the weather didn't cooperate on Saturday and we had to find some indoor locations. We were very excited when they were all about it because a night engagement session is something we always wanted to do. We will be sharing that part of their session (a little out of order) after this post, you don't want to miss it, it is really fun! The morning after the night shoot we met up with Saryn & Dave really early 7:45am as to shoot outside before the rain came. We had a good two hours so it was completely worth getting up early!
Ahhhh, our couples are really incredible!
This is one of our personal favorites from their session! I mean seriously look at how great they are, they are such a sweet couple and the way they feel about each other just radiates through these photos!! We feel SO lucky to be able to spend our time with really wonderful people!
Can you say model?!!
The reflections of the Palm trees in the canal... it doesn't get much better than this.
Southern California neighbor hoods with their perfectly manicured lawns, little streets and palm trees really are all like little movie sets.
We really loved all of the small bridges crossing the the canals, it is such a unique and fun location... and seriously look how sweet Saryn & Dave are.
Many parts of Southern California are filled with VW Buses from all years. We LOVE VW and always wanted to own a bus, preferably from the 70s. Something about a VW Bus shouts California to us so it only seemed fitting to incorporate one on the side of a street. I think their might have been someone sleeping in this one! :)
After spending part of the morning around the Venice Canals we went over to Venice Beach where we got to take advantage of the really cool storm clouds rolling in. There is always such an amazing energy right before a storm comes in, it is one of our favorite times to photograph a session.
It is one of the most amazing feelings being able to shoot on the beach bare feet! :)
One of the many things that is so great about Saryn & Dave is how they interact with each other, it's like they have their own language filled with smiles, little laughs and sweet looks.
While I was capturing this shot of Saryn & Dave under the pier...
...Kathleen was capturing this one at the same moment. It's one of the great thing about shooting everything together!
Did you know that most palm trees are not actually native to California. They were imported back in the 1920's and 1930's. Either way, we love them and love that they are all over California.
Here is one of my shots...
...and this is Kathleen's at the same moment.
Saryn & Dave - thank you for an awesome two days! Can't wait to see you both again in July.
