The End of the Night

Lately I've enjoyed going around to the tables at the end of a wedding and just photographing the mess that is left behind. There is always some sort of evidence of the great time that was had. I love polaroids left on the table and the way candlelight dances through half-drunk wine glasses. Sometimes guests see me styling the table to achieve this, but this time I didn't have to. These were all taken at the same wedding, lit just with available light, shot handheld, and all on the same roll of film.

Violet & David in Elle Japan

Violet and David's beautiful Montauk wedding has been featured in the latest issue of Elle Japan! Here is the spread, as well as a few of my personal favorites!

Margot & Ian on OnceWed

Thank you so much to Emily of Once Wed for sharing with her readers Margot and Ian's New Hampshire wedding!
To view the post, go to: www.oncewed.com
Here are a few of my own favorites that I wanted to add to the mix!


Margot & Ian met playing utimate frisbee in Boston in the summer of 2005. Margot left shortly thereafter to work in Ethiopia for a year. Several months later, Ian bought a ticket out there to visit her in Addis Ababa and ended up staying, which is where their relationship began. They moved together to D.C. in the summer of 2008, after two years in business school (Margot in California, Ian in Connecticut). The wedding was on Saturday, July 31st, in Keene, New Hampshire, at Stonewall Farm.

Oh, What a year!

I just finished shooting my last wedding of the year, and oh what a year it has been! I shot 18 weddings, I've been published in Marie Claire, Brides, Brides New York, and Town and Country Weddings, featured on 100 Layer Cake and Once Wed, I've shot weddings in Colorado, New Hampshire, the Hamptons, and Cape Cod! Phew! But what a joy it has been!
With each wedding, I feel the happiness of every bride that I photograph. And here's to you, my brides of 2010, thank you for bringing me along on your journey and sharing with me the love and enthusiasm that you carry with you on your wedding day. Thank you for sharing a piece of yourselves with me.

Marie Claire Fall Supplement

In case you were wondering what the trends are this fall...
It's all broken-down for us alphabetically in the October Supplement to Marie Claire!

Bump Smitten

Charlotte Jenks Lewis Photography on BumpSmitten.com

www.bumpsmitten.com

"Real Baby Shower: Sweet Sorbet Colors Everywhere"

Town and Country Weddings Fall/Winter 2010

I photographed a section in the Fall/Winter issue of Town and Country called Trends and Traditions. It's full of clever and classic ideas from registry to wedding invites.
We wanted to stick with a cool color palette for these shots, and I think they all hang together beautifully. I always try to give the editors a few options for each shot, so that they can pick which works best. But photojournalists are always surprised at the process of still-life photography. A still-lifer will pick the best angle, and then perfect the elements of a shot, working tirelessly and fussing over the most minute details. It's a much slower-pace than shooting a wedding, but it appeals to the perfectionist in me!

Shree and Miles

Anytime I've done a portrait of a new baby and a new mom, the mother always says to me "Just crop me out. I'm a mess. I don't want to be in the pictures."
But to me, showing the relationship between the baby and its mother is so much more interesting! I took a few shots before this one - baby Miles propped-up on a pillow, baby Miles lying on the bed, but as soon as Shree came into the shot, I knew that was what I wanted. I said, just hold him, I'll crop you out! wink. wink.;)

Emlen and Ayla

"Take a picture of me in my hat!"

Stairwell

I like to think that it's the moments in-between that make my work interesting. Here we were after the ceremony heading to a side yard to take photos of the Bride and Groom. Nothing is really "happening" here, but I love the positions of the bride and grooms bodies, seeing the back of the brides dress, and the beautiful frames on the wall. I love the movement, and I love stairwells.

Panoramas

I've been having so much fun with my Hasselblaad X-pan! It's an antique panoramic camera, and it takes absolutely beautiful pictures! So crisp, great contrast. The lens takes getting used to, though. I've figured-out the trick is to go in CLOSE!

Wedding Party Shots

I've learned over the years that some of the same principles which make a great party, also lend to getting great photos of a wedding party! Cram a lot of people into a space that's just a little bit too small for them, add champagne, and voila! You get happiness, interaction, and great energy!

Nantucket Harbor

I love photographs that look like paintings. When I first took this shot, I could feel my hand shake a bit, so I took another one with my camera stabilized one of the dock posts. But this one is better- the slight blur brings a softness to the photograph which gives it more mystery and romance.

Violet and David's PhotoBooth

At every wedding, I'm always looking for a great photo of the couple at the end of the night. I need a shot to finish-out the "story", or to be a closer in the album, and ideally, I want that shot to have some emotional content. This is harder to accomplish than you would think! Frequently, the bride and groom are talking to different groups of people at this point- he's doing shots with his boys, and she's on the dance floor with her girls. But at Violet and David's wedding, I pulled them over to the photobooth at the end of the evening.
I hadn't set-up the photobooth myself, but the photographer running it was nice enough to let me snap a few shots. I just used the modeling light from the Octabank, which gave me a really soft and warm light. It also created that vignetting at the corners, which is really beautiful.
I love these images, and they're the perfect "end of the night" shots. Congratulations, David and Violet!

Zanna's bachelorette party!

Check-out the coverage on MarieClaire.com of Zanna Roberts' bachelorette party! She had a relaxing spa retreat with girlfriends - including Georgina Chapman and Keren Craig, the minds behind Marchesa- at the Soho House. Fun!

http://www.marieclaire.com/hair-beauty/trends/articles/bachelorette-party-spa-day

A Baby Shower!

It was a happy occasion at Shree's baby shower! Everyone was all smiles as they filled-up on champagne and chocolate cupcakes with coconut topping! Guests made guesses about the baby's birthday and weight, and Shree opened gift after gift!
This is going to be one well-dressed kid. Congratulations, Shree and Damien! Looking forward to having a cute new Brooklyn boy to join us for Sunday brunch;)

How to get Amazing Wedding Photos

An interview that I did for AOL's wedding site, Aisledash.

http://www.aisledash.com/2010/04/02/how-to-get-amazing-wedding-photos/

May issue of Brides!

In addition to featuring our lovely wedding, Brides ran this beautiful shot of one of my Brides putting on her shoes before her wedding. Here are a few more of Sarah getting ready on her wedding day, plus I just love this shot of Sarah and Vinny at their cocktail hour.

BRIDES May 2010

Our wedding in the latest issue of Brides! Thank you, Liz Banfield, for capturing our beautiful day! Hooray!

Shree

Shree is expecting her little boy in May!

Charlotte and Dan

Charlotte and Dan had a classic New York City wedding in Bryant Park. You can see it in print in the Spring issue of Brides New York!

Madison Square Park

NYC Snowstorm

I just love the snow. There's a strong sense of camaraderie among city dwellers as we are all tromping to work together in our Bean Boots and with our $3 black umbrellas. We know that in a few hours, the snow will be filled with mud and we'll be leaping over puddles at each corner, but right now, it's beautiful.

Cocktail Napkins

And.... again with Glamour.com picking us up!
They must like us over there!

http://www.glamour.com/weddings/blogs/save-the-date/2010/02/i-love-this-awesome-cocktail-n.html

Philly Wedding on Glamour.com!

The beautiful wedding of Gabby and Jeff, which was featured on Once Wed last week, was also picked-up by Glamour.com.
Here's the link!
http://www.glamour.com/weddings/blogs/save-the-date/2010/02/a-real-wedding-in-philadelphia.html#comments

And here's the original Once Wed post:
http://www.oncewed.com/25693/wedding-blog/real-weddings/a-philly-wedding/