this was one shot i took with KJ. i initially thought the lighting was poor but as you can see it was good enough

i really love summer! as there is nothing like taking outdoor portraits!…nothing! anyway…

ray and heather are quite and attractive couple as you can clearly see! usually guys don’t like to have their picture taken (including moi) but ray wasn’t a problem at all…no fighting, biting or kicking! i am looking forward to taking their wedding pictures as you could easily see that they love each other and they both have great personalities and smiles. i think heather had the hardest time trying to give a serious look so we will see if she can hide her smile during the ceremony

shandrea was there helping me (thank you!) and she believes she knows what type of dress heather will wear…of course i disagreed but we ’shall’ see won’t we?

here are some of my favorites from the session:

well i had the opportunity to shoot with a wedding photographer based in dallas whose work i really admire, kevin jairaj from www.kjimages.com, and if you look at his website and the images that he creates…this is the direction of wedding photography that I would like to move towards. i like to call it fashion wedding photography.

my flight was scheduled to leave at 6am (got up around 4:30am) but my flight was canceled due to bad weather and so I was originally scheduled to be in dallas by 12pm and I didn’t arrive in dallas until after 9pm EST, so needless to say i missed the wedding rehearsal waiting at the airport just plain sucks! i hate it and now i feel a lot more compassion for those who are stuck at the airports…especially around the holidays.

anyway, i really believe that if you want to be the best you have to hang around or be taught by one of the best…this helps you step your game up. put me in a 2nd grade classroom and i will eventually behave like a 2nd grader. put me around adults and (in theory!!) i will behave like an adult.

kevin was kind enough to let me assist him at a wedding last weekend and i learned a great deal about what shots to look for, customer service and how to attract the type of brides who would be interested in the style i want. So i am ‘most’ eager to put some of his principals to work!

one of the things that surprised me about kevin was his laid back style…boy is he laid back and that was the complete opposite of what i expected! i was expecting a stern person who barked commands most of the time and he wasn’t like that as he often reminded me to relax and just get some cool shots. plus i like how he dressed for wedding…no SUITS!! it was more business casual! but i guess with dallas having temperatures in the mid-90s that might have something to do with it!

i’ll post images from the wedding later on!

a future bride joy, gave me a call and told me that people either loved this engagement image or hated it

what about you? do you love it or hate it?

some churchs have guidelines that restrict the photographer from moving during the services or ceremony so my only choice was to shoot from the balcony area and this was a very large church! i was still able to get some shots that i liked.

p.s. congratulations to souleatha and allen! i have known souleatha from a couple years back when were members of our singles ministry and choir so it was great to see her getting married!