Bridal Fair Report

I haven't had a chance yet, to update you on how the bridal fair went. This was the second time I did the show, and I was really impressed by how many people showed up this year. Last year, there was a fair amount of brides, and this year, it seemed like there were many more. I gave out a lot more brochures than last year, I almost ran out!!

It was pretty busy, and at points you couldn't even get in my booth!

Gene came along to help, and so did Tanner:

It's a where's waldo kinda photo.

Each year, they put on a fashion runway show of latest dresses. These dresses are supplied by the lovely Shannon Renee's in Maryville. I have shot a couple weddings with dresses from Shannon's and they are really beautiful! Please be sure to check them out if you are looking for formal wear.

This dress was one of my favorites, maybe it's because I wore a great big red, white and blue dress. LOL. Just a guess!

Look at all those beautiful buttons up the back!!


And now for the best/most unusual fall color combination ever!

Aubergine and orange! Oh so pretty. If I were getting married in the fall, I'd SO DO THIS!


And here's something you almost never see at bridal fashion runway shows!.....

A cowboy!!
(for the lovely readers that don't know, and that have just joined us, that's my hubs)

That's not something you see every day.

There were a ton of other great booths. I did want to send a shout out to some cool vendors whose info I gathered up to share.

Marriott Party Decorations and Catering.
They had a beautiful and TASTY chocolate cake there. Highly impressed!
3201 Oak Ave
Braddyville, IA

712-370-2651

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Mobile DJ
Tony Haist
660-652-3477
I've shot several weddings where one of Tony's DJ systems was there (he has 5!), and they do such an awesome job!

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If you are looking for an unusual venue to hold your wedding AND/OR reception, you have to see Paradise Park in Oregon. It's so pretty! You don't have to have a wedding there either, what an awesome spot for a family reunion or a christmas party. They are not that far from Kansas City!

In the center of the park, is a 100 year old barn, and it's surrounded by beautiful landscaping, artwork and even an indoor pond.

OK, I'm thinking paradise park, with purple and orange in the fall. yep. Think I can talk my husband into another wedding?

Paradise Park
Roderick Dryden owner
Oregon, MO
660-446-2407


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Of course, Spectacular Settings was there again. She does awesome decorating, and I swear, she has half the weddings I shoot! cool arches, greenery, tablescapes. You need Teresa!

Spectacular Settings
Teresa Hayes
660-582-0791

Of course there were many others there that deserve recognition, I just didn't get everyone's cards as I was so busy!!

Michelle + Joe = Getting Married!

Meet Michelle and Joe...

They were married at a beautiful local church with many of their closest friends and family at hand.

You can't take prewedding photos, without at least one cell phone shot. Usually it's the bride!

Go Bittersweet Florals and Gifts in Maryville! They rocked the flowers!!

Defjam DJ was awesome, totally had everyone rocking out and dancing!

Thank you Joe and Michelle for letting me be the photographer of your special wedding day!!

You need to see this beautiful girl

I've been busy... have you noticed? I've been working on 493 weddings! Well, not really, just 491.

I had to stop and show you this beautiful bride, Michelle. She has awesome eyes, and was so beautiful! I'll have more for you in the next couple days!

Maryville Bridal Fair

I just wanted to let you all know of the upcoming Maryville Bridal Fair at the Maryville Community Center (armory) at 1407 N Country Club Road.

It will be held on October 18, 2009 from 2-4 p.m. Advance tickets are only $3.00 from MCC, and tickets at the door are $5.00

There'll even be a fashion runway show with many area vendors. It's a small show, but there are some really wonderful local vendors that you wouldn't even think about! Get all your wedding planning done in ONE DAY!

Tips for Momtographers - capturing a great sunrise/sunset

It's been a while since I've brought you a segment from "Tips for Momtographers". I was talking to the very lovely, Heather, the other day and she mentioned (oh lord, I hope it was Heather lol) about taking sunset/sunrise photos and having them look right.

In my head, I said "I can do that!" and realized later, that there are a couple simple things that can make a sunrise look even better.

Below are 3 samples.

{#1, ISO200, F4, 1/4000th}

{#2, ISO200, F4, 1/500th}

{#3, ISO200, F4, 1/125th}

Now, something you should know, is that these three photos were taken within 1 minute of each other. No, there was not a quick shift in the light. I only did one little thing different.

I'm sure you can see, that the first photo, the shutter was open the least amount of time at 1/4000th of a second, the second at 1/500th of a second and the third the longest at 1/125th of a second.

Now, you could just manually set your camera to each increment until you get the look that you want. I'm entirely more lazy than that. LOL.

I do the easy way. First, I ALWAYS set my focus point to the center. I will point at the point I want to focus and recompose my shot. This is also the point where your camera will meter for the light.

So essentially, if you want a dark moody photo, pick a light spot and meter for that spot. {I metered for the sun in the photo#1} That will force the shutter to open and close fastest letting in the least amount of light to expose the rest of the photo, this will make your darker parts of the photo, darker than in real life. This might be the dramatic look that you're looking for.

If you want your photo to be bright, or you want to see the details in a darker area of photo, point, focus/meter off of the darkest areas {photo #3, I metered the trees}

I prefered something in between, that felt like what the real sunset was like, so I might pick something of a medium light or tone to meter off of, like a cloud or the edge of the tree line.

This method works best for a landscape photo where you are focusing on infinity. If you are wanting to focus on one thing, but meter for another, then you should expose for part that you'd like to meter for, pay attention to what your readings are in your camera and go into manual mode, THEN focus on the closer item.

This makes no sense if you're not using a DSLR. This CAN work if you're using a point and shoot to a certain extent. If you want more dramatic skies, point more towards the sky, if you want lighter sky, try to point more towards the skyline. If this doesn't work for the composition of the photo, you can crop the photo in your photo editing programs at home, or if your just uploading to a photo processor, they always allow you to crop with their software.

Hopefully this will help your photos when you take us to the bahamas this January!

Anyone?

Hello?