Sarah & Matt's Engagement Photos

Friday I had the chance to meet Matt and Sarah to shoot their engagement photos. The couple is getting married this summer in New York, but wanted to have some portraits shot in the area before then and I had a great time working with them. They're a really sweet, kind couple and I hope their wedding is amazing.

Mikel & Katie's Engagement Photos

Yesterday I had the chance to shoot Mikel and Katie's "formal" engagement photos. Since it was about 10 degrees outside, we decided to do a shoot inside the studio and hopefully we'll be able to fit in an outdoors shoot before their wedding this July. I had a great time working with them and getting to know them better and I know their wedding is going to be terrific.

New Contests!

I hope everyone had a great Christmas! Now that the holiday is over I'm going to squeeze in two more contests before the end of the year.

Now up is Best Senior Portrait of 2007 and Best Engagement Portrait of 2007. Just email me with your votes and tell all of your friends to do the same!

Best Senior Portrait

Caitlyn


Whitney


April


Bradon


Melanie


Renae


Marianna


Ben


Olivia


Tracey


Lauren

Best Engagement Portrait

Luke & Laura


Erica & Jamie


Brooke & Eric


Krysta & Bill


April & Sean


Jennifer & Corey


Lauren & Randy


Erica & John


Ann & Norm


Rachel & Ben


Nicole & Tim


Lisa & Yaron


Jeremy & Liane


Brad & Danielle

Luke & Laura's Engagement Photos

Monday I met with Luke and Laura to shoot their engagement photos. We'll be shooting their wedding on New Year's Eve and I'd shot some formals for them earlier in the year. We headed to Laurel Hill State Park to get some shots at the Pumphouse Falls and despite making a brief detour on the hike to the falls, we made it with daylight to spare. I had so much fun chatting with them (I actually went to high school with Laura) and I loved how the shots came out.

Jennifer & Corey's Engagement Photos

This afternoon I met with Jennifer and Corey to shoot their engagement photos. The couple was actually referred to me by Christy and Chris, whose e-pics I shot last October, so it was fun to meet their friends. I had a blast working with Corey and Jennifer and I managed to get as much fall foliage into the shots as possible. My little town has it's drawbacks, but it sure is pretty this time of year.

Michele & Rich's Engagement Photos

Earlier this week I shot engagement photos for Rich and Michele. The couple is getting married in Hawaii next year (needless to say, I won't be shooting their wedding photos). I had actually donated a portrait session to the Somerset County Humane Society to be auctioned off for a recent fundraiser and Michele and Rich were the winners. I had a blast working with them and hope they have a great wedding!

Erica & Jamie's Engagement Photos

Friday afternoon I met with Jamie and Erica to shoot their engagement photos. I'll be shooting their wedding next May and it was so much fun to have a chance to work with them last week. I know their wedding will be a blast!

Heather & Jason's Engagement Photos

Sunday afternoon I met with Jason and Heather to shoot their engagement photos. We had a blast hitting several different locations in and around Somerset. I'll be shooting their wedding in a few weeks and I can't wait to work with them again!

Brooke & Eric's Engagement Photos

Tuesday afternoon Brooke and Eric made the trip into Somerset for their engagement photos. I'll be shooting their wedding in October and it was actually our first "face to face" meeting. The shoot was fantastic. Eric and Brooke are so hot together and really had some cool ideas, including wading into Lake Somerset for some shots! We didn't finish until almost dark so I even grabbed some cool moonlit shots.

Krysta & Bill's Engagement Photos

Sunday afternoon I met with Krysta and Bill to shoot their engagement photos. I'll be shooting their wedding next June and I had a blast working with them. I can't wait for their big day as I know it will be a lot of fun!

Erica and John's Engagement Photos

Monday afternoon John and Eric stopped in for their engagement photos. We'll be shooting their wedding this fall and it's always great to be able to photograph a couple before their big day. I had a great time working with them and the shoot went great. They even had some photos taken with their cat. I've photographed people with dogs before, but this was my first cat and I'm happy to say it went well. He was one well-behaved kitty. And don't both Erica and John look super-hot in the black and white photo below? I love that shot!

Nicole & Tim's engagement photos

This afternoon Tim and Nicole came in to Somerset for their engagement session. It was actually my first time meeting them and we clicked right away. I had a lot of fun working with them and it's easy to tell that their wedding will be a blast.

The shoot was a nice, relaxing way to end a really, really busy weekend.

BTW, did anyone watch The Sopranos? That finale? Wow!

Lisa & Yaron's Engagement Photos

This afternoon Lisa and Yaron made the trip in to Somerset for their engagement photos. I first met the couple a few months ago when they booked me for their June wedding and I had a terrific time with them today. They're a gorgeous couple and both Yaron and Lisa are naturals in front of the camera. Needless to say, I can't wait to shoot their wedding next month!

Ann & Norm's Engagement Photos

This afternoon Ann and Norm came into Somerset for their engagement session. It was great to get out and shoot again after a few days "off". It was my first time meeting Norm and Ann and the shoot was a blast! We hit some of the usual spots as well as a few new ones and I love the variety we got. Their wedding this summer is going to be great!

This evening, while I began editing the photos, I started watching "Freaks and Geeks" on DVD. I watched it when it first aired and I loved the show. I was crushed when it was canceled early. I can't remember a show that better captured the awkwardness and confusion that surrounded the teenage years. I never did get to see the final few episodes, so I can't wait to not only revisit the show but to see what I missed.

Engagement Portraits (x2)

As mentioned in my earlier blog, today I shot two engagement sessions. The first was with Lauren and Randy whose wedding we'll be shooting in July. Coincidentally, I ran into them yesterday at Amy and Mike's wedding and it was fantastic to get to spend more time with them today.

Later in the afternoon, April and Sean came in from Pittsburgh for their engagement session. April was a real trooper as I had her slogging through the mud and water (in heels, nonetheless) en route to some new locations. I'm sorry, April! Hopefully she won't hold it against me. I think the location was worth the extra effort and their playful spirits really made the shoot a blast.

I had a ton of fun with both of today's couples but I am absolutely exhausted so please forgive the brief blog and enjoy the photos (there are lots of them, Randy & Lauren's are first, followed by Sean and April's)!

Rachel & Ben's engagement photos

This afternoon I was scheduled to shoot Rachel and Ben's engagement portraits. Early in the day the weather was miserable and I was afraid it would be another session filled with rain, but we lucked out and the rain stopped about an hour before they arrived. We hit several locations including a few new spots. At one point, they even broke out their Steelers jerseys so we headed to the railroad tracks to play into the "Steel City" theme. I loved working with these two, they're just so much fun and obviously very much in love. I know their wedding will be a blast!

Luke and Laura's engagement photos (part 1)

Early this evening I met with Luke and Laura to shoot their engagement portraits. It was pouring down rain so we decided to wait a few weeks for their outdoor shots, but we went ahead with some in studio shooting so they'll have a "newspaper photo" to use for their engagement announcement.

Laura and Luke are great people and so easy to work with. We had their formal shots finished in just a few minutes and I can't wait to see them again in a few weeks to shoot the rest of their engagement photos.

Karyn & John's Engagement Shoot

Before I begin today's blog, I want to apologize to my regular readers for not posting more often lately. The past two weeks have been very hectic with work stuff and life stuff. Things are finally getting back to normal and I should be back to daily or semi-daily posting.

This afternoon I met with Karyn and John to shoot their engagement portraits and I finally lucked out and had nice weather. This was my first engagement shoot of the year that I didn't have to deal with rain, and I'd nearly forgotten how nice it is to shoot in sunny weather!

I'll be photographing John and Karyn's wedding in May and it's always nice to work with a couple beforehand. I had a blast with these folks and now I'm even more excited for their big day! Some of my favorite photos from their engagement shoot are below.

Shooting in the rain

This afternoon I met with Jeremy and Liane to shoot their engagement portraits. I thought we were going to catch a break with the weather as it was decent all morning and early afternoon, but it began raining about 30 minutes before their shoot. I hate shooting in the rain because it's so limiting in terms of locations and poses, but we didn't have a choice. They were both troopers and toughed out the rain and bitter cold and fortunately, you can't even tell how miserable the day was in the photos. We hit some new locations which I think worked great. This time of year, it's hard to find "pretty" spots, with scenery and flowers, so instead I was after cool colors and textures. I'm really happy with the results.

I'll be shooting Liane and Jeremy's wedding later this year and their reception will be held at the Frank J. Pasquerilla Center which is a gorgeous, state of the art facility in Johnstown, PA. They were both extremely friendly and fun to work with and I'm really looking forward to photographing their big day.

Some of my favorite shots from their engagement session are below.

April showers bring... engagement photos?

A few months ago I blogged about booking Danielle and Brad's wedding which will take place this June on Pittsburgh's Gateway Clipper. I'm extremely excited about their wedding partly because of the unique venue but also because Brad and Danielle are such a great couple. Their engagement session was scheduled for today, but the forecast looked more ominous with each passing day. This morning I woke up to steady rain and I made a quick call to Danielle to see if they wanted to brave the weather or reschedule and she said they'd brave it.

As the hours passed, the rain would dissipate only to return with a vengeance. Five minutes before they arrived at the studio it was pouring, but just as they pulled into the drive it slacked off and we quickly dashed off to our first location. Danielle told me they wanted "original and different" photos so we hit some new spots and I had a fantastic time. The rain only returned for a few minutes, but Brad and Danielle broke out their umbrella and we made it work for the shot. Below are some of my favorite photos from the day's shoot.

Last engagement session of 2006

Barring any last minute additions, today I shot my last engagement portrait session of 2006. This afternoon I met Denille & Terry, a great couple whose wedding I’ll be shooting next summer. Fortunately it wasn’t as cold as last weekend so we didn’t freeze while we worked. It was so nice getting to know Terry and Denille and they were a lot of fun to work with. I loved that they wanted photos with their sunglasses on and like a lot of my couples they were also proud to show off their black and gold. I already know they’re wedding is going to be a blast!

Here are just a few of my favorite photos from this afternoon’s shoot.

Almost too cold to shoot

This morning I met with Christina & Brad to shoot their engagement portraits. I’d first met Christina a few months ago when she booked me for the wedding, but I’d never met Brad so despite the cold weather, I was looking forward to the shoot as engagement sessions give me a chance to get to know couples better.

Both Brad and Christina are very friendly and easy going and I had a fantastic time working with them. It was so cold in Somerset this morning that at one point my fingers were so numb that I couldn’t tell if I was pressing the button or not but they were real troopers and didn’t complain at all. They say Penn State fans are tough and this couple proved that to be true!

After working with them this morning, I’m even more excited to be shooting their wedding next year. Here are a few of my favorite photos from the shoot.

A wedding-free weekend

As much as I love shooting weddings, it’s nice having a break occasionally and this weekend brought some much needed “R&R”. Saturday I caught up on recent work (or tried to) and Sunday I had an engagement shoot. Mindy and Sean recently booked me to shoot their November ‘07 wedding and while that’s a ways off, they wanted Autumn engagement portraits so I was able to fit them in for the last weekend of pretty leaves. It was so much fun working with them and they even brought their adorable puppies - Bettis and Porter - in for the shoot. Photographing pets can be troublesome but those little guys were amazingly well behaved. Check out some of my favorite shots of Mindy and Sean (and Bettis & Porter) below!

One Crazy Weekend!

Saturday was a nice, relatively easy day. Around noon we left for Uniontown to shoot Shelby and John’s wedding video. The church the wedding took place in was so nice and spacious and the minister’s sermon was beautiful. Their reception was at the Summit Inn, a very luxurious venue in Farmington. Shelby was such a sweetheart and really made us feel at home. I also have to comment on the cake. That was the biggest and most beautiful wedding cake I have ever seen. It must have stood 4 feet tall - it was just unreal! Here’s a pic of just the top three layers.

As relaxing as Saturday was, Sunday was pure craziness! Yesterday was easily my most hectic day as a photographer. The past few weeks, I’ve had so many people contacting me about having portraits shot in the fall to take advantage of the gorgeous Western Pennsylvania foliage. The bad thing is - we only have about 2 weeks where the leaves are “peaking” and look great in photos and I ended up scheduling 4 shoots in one day to work around the time issue. Clearly, I’ve lost my mind.The day kicked off at 11am when I met Kia and Ian at Lake Somerset to shoot their engagement portraits. Kia had emailed me a few months ago to see if I was available to shoot her wedding. I was open for that day, but their wedding will take place near Lancaster, PA which is a few hours from my home in Friedens. While I do travel occasionally, go that far is very difficult, especially when I’m unfamiliar with the location so I unfortunately had to decline. The good thing was she still wanted me to shoot their engagement photos and they were willing to come to Somerset County to have them done. They’re such a cool couple and here are two of my favorite pics from their session!

After Kia and Ian headed home, I was scheduled to meet Michelle and Chuck at 1pm. Michelle booked me a few weeks ago and I’ll be shooting their wedding next October. It’s always great to do a shoot with couples before their wedding day and I had a blast working with these two! We stopped by a few of my favorite locations and got some killer photos. Chuck even had me take some shots beside his car - and let me tell you it’s one sweet ride! Check out the pics and I bet you’ll agree.

As soon as their shoot ended, it was time for us to head to Berlin to shoot a family portrait at 3pm. A few weeks ago I had shot senior portraits for cousins Erik and Kristen. During that time, I learned that they have 12 other cousins and their mothers said how nice it would be to get all the grandchildren together to take some group photos. I was fairly intimidated as I’ve never shot a group that large, but I wanted to help the family out and agreed to give it a shot. While it’s hard to do a lot of creative shots with 14 people, I think we still got some really cool family portraits. Here are my two favorite photos!

As soon as we finished up that shoot, we sped back to Somerset (thank goodness there weren’t any cops around!) to meet Christy and Chris for their engagement session. Christy had contacted me about a month ago in regards to her upcoming wedding. As fate would have it, the same day she contacted me, I had booked her date with another couple. I can’t tell you how many times that happens to me and it’s always frustrating. Christy was disappointed, as was I since their reception is here in Somerset, but she still wanted me to take her engagement portraits and I was happy to oblige. I had a lot of fun working with them both and here are a few of my favorite shots.

We wrapped up that shoot at around 7pm and I can’t tell you how relieved I was that the day was over. It was so stressful and I was constantly worried about being late/missing an appointment. Fortunately everything went off without a hitch and it turned out to be one of my most productive days yet. But I still don’t think I’ll be scheduling 4 shoots in one day again any time soon. =)

A Beautiful Weekend for Photography

This weekend was incredibly beautiful as the fall leaves are at their absolute peak. Fortunately I had lots of outdoor work this weekend to take advantage of the great foliage.

Saturday I shot Kristina and Aaron’s Wedding. They were married at The Hayloft in Rockwood, PA and I’d never had the pleasure of working there before. Well, as I traveled up the long driveway, I knew I was in for a treat. An endless row of multi-colored trees provided the perfect backdrop for the wedding and when you add a couple as good-looking as Aaron and Kristina, it isn’t hard to take great photos. Here are a couple of my favorite shots from the day.

We were able to head home relatively early Saturday night and that was a good thing as Sunday was scheduled full. To kick off the day, I shot Aimee and Steve’s engagement portraits. I’ll be shooting their wedding in May so I was looking forward to having the chance to work with them and we had a great time. Below are a few of my favorite shots from their session.

After we wrapped up that shoot, I was due to meet Trina and Chris for their e-pics. I had met them both about a month ago when they met with me to discuss their May ‘07 wedding. They were one of those couples that, as soon as I met them, we “clicked” and I knew we’d have a tremendous amount of fun working together. They’re both very laid back and relaxed in front of the camera and it didn’t take long for the laughs to start. Be sure to check out my favorite fun pics!

The final shoot of the day was with Nicole and Thad. Like my first two couples, they’re also getting married in May of 07 and also like the first two couples, they were a lot of fun to work with! I think it’s safe to say that I’m going to have a GREAT May because I get to work with these wonderful couples. Don’t miss a couple of my favorite shots of Nicole & Thad. =)