All weddings are unique in one way or another, and most brides and grooms spend lots of time figuring out ways to make their wedding “their own.” For some it’s as simple as personalized decorations. Others make nearly every detail of the day a reflection of their personalities.

For Beth and Dan, their faith is a central part of who they are, so it was only fitting that the role faith has played in their lives and in their relationship was central to their wedding day too. It was marvelous and inspiring to see how they took that part of who they are, which is so important to them, and unabashedly infused it into their wedding day. It was just awesome.

So if you’re a bride or groom planning your wedding, you no doubt are looking for ways to make your wedding unique. But before you start looking for the most unique flowers or table settings, take a look at yourself first.

What makes you and your fiancé unique?

What’s important to you?

Take your answers to those questions and run with them. Don’t be afraid to think outside the box and weave those things into every part of your wedding. After all, the day is a celebration of you two.

Here’s a couple of images I made to hopefully capture that part of Beth and Dan’s day.

Beth spent a few minutes in the sanctuary before putting on her dress.

Beth and Dan had a moment of prayer together right after the ceremony.

I’ve been doing a lousy job of sharing photos lately. What can I say, with two little kiddos and a full plate of work, I’m not sure where time goes these days. Seriously, I can’t believe it’s August already!

I was so excited last night to take a look at some of the photos from Beth and Dan’s wedding yesterday that I downloaded them to my iPad before letting myself fall asleep. Here’s just a quick couple of my favorites I wanted to share.

One thing to note: Since I’m writing this from my iPad, and iPad doesn’t have any significant photo editing capabilities, these are organic, direct from the camera – no editing. I’ve also decided to start sharing more “organic,” unedited images. I’ve never been into heavy editing or effects, but even more so now that I’m interested in creating the best images possible right out of the box and I’m excited to share them! Enjoy!

Here’s just a quick post with a favorite image from yesterday’s wedding while I get prepped for today’s wedding.

I love what I’ve been doing lately with brides and grooms and wedding parties. I feel like I’ve grown quite bit and become more comfortable using creative lighting, energetic posing, and off-road locations. I still have a pretty strong mix of photojournalism in my wedding photography, but I’ve grown more confident in the area of formal/creative portraiture on wedding days.

Although I really like that I’ve grown in that respect, usually at every wedding I get images that remind me why I love photojournalism so much and just how powerful it can be. Yesterday was no exception.

Moments like the one below are the reason why I stay with the bride and her dad until the very last moment they walk down the aisle. I love the connection between Shannon and her dad – some last minute planning about how they will walk I think. I love how real and genuine it feels, and the image is important to me here on the day after the wedding. But just think of how important the image may be to Shannon and her dad. Not just today, but in five years or fifteen years or longer.

How cool is it that as photographers we’re able to create something that you know will be important to people for so long? That’s why I love what I do. The image below is why I love what I do.

Cheers, and happy Saturday!

I think it’s important to be willing to try new things and see what happens.

That’s why I wanted to experiment by putting the blog into hibernation for a while. I wanted to see if there were benefits to only using Facebook and Twitter to keep clients and fans updated with what’s happening. There were definitely benefits, like not having to publish things in three places and being able to tag people in photos, but there were also drawbacks.

Firstly, not all of my clients were among the 500 million people on Facebook, or if they were they weren’t very active. So even though it was easy to tag them in photos, they didn’t always see it. I was never a big fan of how images appeared on Facebook either. Their small size and low quality meant that they had less impact and were much less impressive than I want them to be.

And I’m not sure if other photographers feel this way, but I’ve never felt entirely comfortable posting images to Facebook. I can’t pinpoint why, but I always felt uneasy putting my images in their hands and having to submit to their rules. I feel like Cameron did when Ferris Bueller left the Ferrari with the parking garage attendant. When I’m putting my images and images of my clients out in the public, I need to trust that they are in the right hands.

There were also things a blog can do really well that I didn’t fully appreciate until I wasn’t blogging anymore. It’s so nice to have my own space that I can customize just how I want, and I’m able to turn the blog into a valuable resource for brides that isn’t really possible with Facebook alone.

I also began to realize and really appreciate the fact that I know my blog will be around in three years, or five years, or fifteen years. I can’t say that about Facebook or Twitter for sure. Even if my blog doesn’t exist online anymore, there are ways to easily archive the posts here to keep for whoever may want to see them in the future. So many things online seem like they are here one moment and then gone the next. I really like the idea of my blog being a permanent record of what I do.

Now I’m not vacating Facebook or anything, even though I am admittedly beginning to tire of it. I’ll still have a presence there and on Twitter too, but I’m glad to have the blog back and I’m looking forward to using it as a space for my thoughts and my photos. Stay tuned!

In a constantly changing world, the only constant is change. Either adapt, or get run over by those racing to adapt.

I’ve decided to try an experiment and send this blog into hibernation for the winter. I’m not certain if it will return in the spring. My blogging – sharing personal experiences and photos – will continue, but in another forum. A traditional blog like this one is a wonderful way to keep interested folks up to date with what we’re up to, but I’ve found that Facebook (or Bookface for you Office fans) is just a better way to instantly share and communicate with our clients, family, and friends. There are many reasons why I’ve come to this conclusion, and I’d be happy to chat about it with anyone who wants to email me.

This site will stay live, but will no longer be updated. Check out the above links to our presence on facebook and twitter. It’s an amazing conversation happening over there!

Cheers!

It’s become an annual ritual. The fall family portrait with my sister’s family. As the kids have grown it’s gotten more interesting and challenging, but it’s always fun. This year we visited the UW Arboretum, which was in a lovely state of autumn. Here’s a few of my favorites.

We’re still booking portrait sessions for this fall, both on location and in-studio. Check out all the info here.

When  I’m shooting portraits, my goal is to capture something more than meets the eye; it should convey something more than just what the person looks like. With most people, but especially with kids, it’s all about gaining their trust and letting them relax and be themselves.

Eliza … the silly, giggly one.

Clara … the quiet and shy one.

Garrison … the adventurous and rambunctious one.

I love this image below in particular. I love how it has sort of a “Huck Finn” feel to it.

Chad and Jenny … the wranglers.

So if you’re a regular stalker here you obviously noticed things haven’t been updated lately. The short and sweet explanation is that things during this late summer and fall have simply been so crazy busy that I’ve needed to choose to work on other projects rather than updating the blog. The other factor is that I’m using Facebook and Twitter almost constantly now and I’m finding it a much easier way to connect with everyone. Check us out over there!

Twitter: @narella

Val on FB

Dave on FB

Narella on FB

Keep checking on things here though. Updates will be coming more regularly and we’ve got some exciting things coming down the pipeline that we can’t wait to share!

Cheers!

I photographed Tom and Ingrid’s wedding on Saturday. I arrived at the church well before everyone else, and I scouted around for good light, interesting backgrounds, textures, etc. As I walked out the back of the church I spotted out of the corner of my eye the steps leading up to the balcony. They passed by a stained glass window that had the most amazing light. I wasn’t sure if the light would still be there after the ceremony for Tom and Ingrid’s portraits, but I knew I wanted to use it. I absolutely love the images that I was able to make there and I couldn’t wait to share one of them here. Happy Tuesday!

For a few more of Ingrid & Tom’s photos, check out the gallery on Facebook.

We planned the shoot for evening, hoping to catch a great sunset, and man we did! Emily and Chris are getting married next July, and since they met at the UW – while working with monkeys no less! We hung out at the Memorial Union and the lake side trial nearby. Once it got dark we had to get resourceful with the lighting, but we found some great spots.

Love these shots on the dock. So simple and sweet.

I’m always up for interesting locations. I love out of the ordinary and especially places that are personal to my clients. For their engagement shoot, Emily and Adam invited me out to their farm and it was just a gold mine of great backdrops.

Emily and Adam are such an easy going couple that it made my job easy! They’re getting married in December and they’re hoping for snow. Well, not a blizzard, but enough snow to make it pretty and white.

When I first drove up to their farm I spotted this really old house and I knew I wanted to use it somehow. I don’t think they expected to start the shoot in a dirty, dusty, cluttered upstairs of the old building, but there was great light, interesting textures, and it was a good place to start while the rain moved off.