Samantha and Paul, Marriott Waterside Wedding

Now that the holidays are over, wedding season is here. This past weekend, I was second-shooting with MJ, so most of the setup shots are her poses that I was shooting from a second angle. Samantha and Paul had both the ceremony and reception at the Marriott Waterside in Tampa. Things went smoothly thanks to the coordination of Weddings by Georgia.

We had plenty of time for pictures since everything was at one location and the couple saw each other before the ceremony.

The hotel has lots of great lobbies and hallways that make nice backgrounds. The hotel was fairly empty which allowed us to roam freely. Here, I started by underexposing the image slightly and adding a snooted flash on the couple. The orange painting in the upper right gives a good indication of the ambient level of the hotel lights. I used a snooted flash in several of the following shots. See the difference between their faces and her waist? The snoot concentrates the light, allowing me to draw the viewer's eye exactly where I want it.

This lobby faces giant windows and always has very nice light. But I wanted a different look so I used the same principle as above. Underexposing the image adds some drama and mood while a snooted flash lets her "pop" a little bit. You can see the flash starting around her knee. Sometimes a flash can be used for a very dramatic image, but it's always nice to blend it with existing light for a very natural look.

MJ was shooting Samantha from behind so I swung around and got some profile shots. And yes, when you have two Tampa Photo shooters covering your wedding, you may feel like a celebrity!

Then we moved downstairs where we found these monstrous paintings. I was still using a snooted flash aimed at the couple, but for this image I placed a second flash on a table behind the groom to light the painting.

Samantha and Paul weren't very interested in standard formal shots for their groups, so we mixed things up a little bit.

This window was throwing some really cool light into this upstairs lobby so I just had to play around with it. My snooted flash helps Samantha stand out against the bright backlight.

Knocking the exposure way down darkened the room, but still allowed the veil to be blown out from the window light. The effect of the snooted flash is more obvious here since I have lowered the ambient exposure level so much. I noticed that the window light was not covering the full veil with this new pose, but we had already spent enough time on this theme and I didn't want o bother repositioning her farther back.

There were lots of cute kids at the wedding, and as a new father I am sure I am more drawn to them now than ever before. It was tough to edit the images down to a reasonable number, but I managed to choose two (and it just so happens they are of the same kid!). Awww, look at that face!

I just love the closeness and the interaction of the family in this image.

I usually light the cake with my flashes, but the Marriott did a pretty good job with their house lights. While shooting room shots before the ceremony, I was happy to find that the interior lights were fairly close to the ambient light outside. And the color difference between the cool cloudy light outside and the warm incandescent light inside makes for a pleasing separation of foreground and background.

Samantha and Paul had a really great first dance. They came out to the band jamming "Good lovin" and did a choreographed dance. It was really fun to see something a little different.

Congratulations Samantha and Paul! It was a pleasure to document your special day. Good luck and have fun!

Heather and Jarrett, Marriott Waterside Wedding

I had the opportunity to photograph Heather and Jarrett's wedding this past Saturday. It was a lovely affair, and convenient, since both the ceremony and reception were held at the Marriott Waterside in Tampa. The hotel was busy with weddings and events, but the venue is so large you can always find a lovely spot to take some pictures. Rob from Grant Hemond was an excellent DJ as always (he was actually the DJ at my wedding, too)! And special thanks to Al who was second-shooting; he got some sweet shots as usual.

I had a great time with Heather and Jarrett (you guys are awesome!). In fact, the entire wedding party and both families were very friendly and easy to work with. I practically felt like a guest that had known these folks for years. Now on to the images!

This is actually one of the last shots from the night. As usual, there wasn't enough time to shoot the bride and groom together between the ceremony and reception. We did have some time, and we probably had enough pictures, but I just wanted to make sure they got plenty of nice images! Heather and Jarrett were cool enough to jump out in to the hallway for 5 minutes after cutting their cake for a few quick shots.

Here is Heather in her "hiding" room. We didn't have lots of time and we didn't want to risk seeing the groom, so we used this room in every way possible! A window on the right is providing the main light while Al holds a reflector on the left to fill in the shadows. This lighting setup provided some very nice, soft and bright images.

Here's Jarrett before the ceremony. The huge windows in the main lobby usually provide nice even lighting.

I had to throw this one in the mix. Jarrett got his guys guns (yes, they're fake) as gifts, and they really helped the fellas get into the right mindset for a serious group photo.

Back to the bride! Heather has beautiful eyes, as you can see. I wanted to make an image to highlight them. Using the veil and overexposing the image helps draw your attention to her eyes.

There were some curtains that I was able to draw to provide an alternate background. The windows in the room provided perfect lighting for this type of shot.

Still in that same room, I wanted to get one more shot but with a different feel than the others. I placed a flash behind her and aimed it at the wall. This is an easy way to get a white background in any situation. Al is holding a second snooted light that focuses the beam of light on her face. We already had soft window-light stuff, so I wanted to go with something a little more edgy and dramatic.

The bridesmaids' dresses were beautiful and great for photography. I love how those shiny, silky reds show up in pictures. This was during a prayer in the ceremony. I'm glad I snapped it when I did, because the little girl picked her head up and was looking around right after this.

A quick shot of their lovely cake. I decided to let my flash sneak into the image because I thought I would like the spotlight effect. An on-camera flash bounced off the wall provides enough fill to bring out the texture and detail on the front of the cake.

And one final parting image. Heather and Jarrett share a quiet moment between the ceremony and reception. A flash placed directly behind Heather is aimed at them both. The idea is for Jarrett's white shirt to reflect the light on to her while providing that cool edge light on both of them. My on-camera flash is bounced off a wall to provide some fill light on them both.

Congratulations Heather and Jarrett and thanks for letting me be part of your special day. You two were really great and all of us at Tampa Photo wish you the very best!