When these clients booked us they said how much they liked our creative style and really wanted to do something outside the box on their wedding day. They didn't want anything traditional and really wanted some fun shots to express their personalities. After some thought into what we could do with them that would stand out, be fun and really show some personality we purchased flammable magian paper at a local store. Originally we were going to do some things outside once it was dark but the rainy weather didn't allow for the ideas we had with our fire paper. So we did these inside with much caution and a fire extinguisher nearby! We did do our homework and knew that it burns quite fast and wouldn't be too dangerous before we brought it to the wedding. The groom actually had experience in magic as well so he was familiar with how it worked and the precautions to take. Because we knew most people seeing the photos would not of seen this before we wanted it to really look like magic and since the groom was the important one in the group of guys he, of course was the magician with all of the guys around watching. The cool part was that the groomsmen had not seen this before so they had natural reactions! Because this was done in the dark we wanted to make sure all of the guys faces would be lit, so in addition to the light from the fire we used simple warm video lights on the guys around.

I tried to find unusual angle in the unusual place (over the Park Avenue in Manhattan). This was an wedding ceremony in a central park (on the rock) and have a unique reception location in a balcony over the Park avenue. I stood on a chair and held the camera over my head and shot it completely blind (I wan't looking to viewfinder).

I had such a blast photographing Rinsy & Sajay's wedding! We met around 5pm at the Friendship Park Conservatory in Des Plaines, IL. It was November, so we were losing light quickly. This was one of the final shots from the session. The actual conservatory was closed, so we used this little pond right in front. The reflection was not intentional at first. I didn't notice it until I walked across to the other side. Post Production (spot color) work was done in Photoshop; I wanted to showcase the rich colors of their beautiful clothing.

This couple had a modern, and somewhat casual, small wedding at an art gallery located in an old meat-packing district in Chicago. In recent years this area has slowly become home to several small art galleries, but despite that change, it largely remains surrounded by very industrial urban grit, and pretty much looks the same as it did in the 1960s and 70s. The couple included two hours special coverage before their wedding for "city safari" shots and requested to do non-traditional, more conceptual, portraits, in the same vein as the samples they viewed in my portfolio. Since I have nearly three decades of experience scouting and shooting various locations for my advertising clients, I have hundreds of little gem locations like this up my sleeve. For over 20 years I've also been photographing weddings, and couples always appreciate my alternative suggestions to overcrowded Chicago landmarks like the "Bean" or Buckingham Fountain. The colors in that alley are real, but just brought out to be more vivid with some dynamic work on the levels and selective saturation in Photoshop.

Story Behind Photo: We were at the Pioneer Village in Phoenix, AZ and there were no visitors that day except for us. We scoured the property for photo opportunities and hit up location after location for different shots. As we were walking to another spot, we passed by this barn and I kept looking into it to make out who was inside and saw this guy working with hot metal talking to this other man with a patch over his eye. I wasn't sure if they were actors, playing the property townspeople, but to me they looked interesting as heck. So we walked by and I said forget it. I didn't think the bride would get my artistic idea behind that shot. About a minute passed by as we continued walking and I asked her if we could just go back and do this "one shot". I promised her that she would not understand it but that she will when she saw the final image and se loved it! I really didn't have a story lined up behind the actual reason for the shot, except that I LOVE having random people and objects that seem like they don't belong in the photo, creating confusion for the person looking at the image. That was really my intent in this shot, and it turned out just like I thought it would.

This image was shot in fall 2008 at a beautiful wedding in Wisconsin. I had the couple posed by the trees utilizing the soft sun-light in the background. In Photoshop, the color was made warmer with strong orange color to add the “fall” feeling, and the overall image was softened. The couple was so much fun to work with; in fact the bride has a degree in photography and we came up with so many cool ideas.

Jordan and Chad had an amazing wedding at The Inn at Rancho Santa Fe in Southern California. The ceremony was over and all of the guests were enjoying cocktails. The bride and groom wanted some time alone before joining the party. Even though all the organized photographs were completed earlier in the day, I was so happy that Jordan and Chad wanted more photos at this time. The sun had disappeared behind the Spanish inn making for the yummiest light. I asked them to sit on the old bench and left them alone for a bit. I used one of my favorite long lenses and shot them through the surrounding eucalyptus resulting in one of my favorite intimate photographs ever!