Texas Bridals
Styled Shoot at Redbird Ridge
I’ve shot a lot of bridals over the years. They’re definitely among the coolest shoots I do.
And a recent shoot at Redbird Ridge proved that there is always some new lane you can explore. Night time shoots. The sky at this venue is just insane. It’s so quiet and intimate out there, that you can see so many stars with just your eyes.
And that’s how shots like this are possible, along with a lot of luck with the weather and whatnot!
Flowers by Wish & Whimsy Floral
Gioia and Rob first found me through a post I made in a facebook group for photographers. The post detailed how 2019 was a really rough year for me photography wise (only God knew what 2020 was yet to bring haha), and they wanted to meet up!
I am blown away with these two. They have a chemistry that is so unique to just them. They’re not the kind of couple you know everything about within an hour. I learn more and more about them every time I spend time with them.
So these meetings all happened before the pandemic happened. But throughout it all, Gioia and Rob managed to make this wedding still happen. They scaled things way way down and decided to have the wedding right in the backyard. They required everyone to get tested right before and to continue wearing masks and social distancing. They had their closets friends on a zoom call so they could still witness their ceremony. They should narrate a masterclass on how to navigate a wedding through a pandemic.
I can’t wait until next NYE when they will be hosting a larger anniversary party with everyone who couldn’t make it. I’ll be ready!
I wanted to take a moment to update my blog with some fresh photos. I’ve been working hard under the hood trying to get lots and lots of wedding photos edited, bear with me!
This is Jacey and Nic. They are a truly fantastic couple who got married recently at The Milestone. The last time I spoke, they were trying to gain custody of some children in need of a stable home. That’s just about the most selfless thing anyone could do and I was so proud that they trusted me to capture their special day!
Here are their engagement photos and I’ll update soon with their wedding!
Alicia & David
It’s 2005. A high school sophomore learns from a friend that there is this website where you can journal you thoughts and feelings and no one you know will see it. This sophomore already had a myspace account but he figured “okay, I’m 16 and I have feelings… let’s give this dang ol thing a shot.”
You may want to sit down for this, but spoiler alert, that sophomore was me.
Little did I know I’d be writing in this website for the next 15 year. Granted, I did take long breaks here and there, but overall, it’s nice to go back and read through. It’s like a history of how I grew up and the experiences I gained. I actually grew close to some of the other authors on the website, commenting on their profile pics and then commenting back. I didn’t know any of them in person which was nice because I felt like I could be totally honest.
One of those friends on this website was Alicia. She had been writing for a long time and, while I don’t remember how we first connected, my oldest memories were reading about her complaining about nursing school. So, as a fellow student, I could relate! I followed her journey for years, and then one day she starts writing about this guy named David. As a fellow David, I could tell this dude was probably good looking and charming as heck (and probably hilarious like me).
Well, fast forward to last year and she sends me a quick Facebook message explaining that she will be visiting Austin with David. She suggests meeting up for some couple’s photos, although she wasn’t engaged at the time. I’m like “yo this sounds great to me! Let’s do it!” So, unlike 99% of my other relationships on that journal website, I finally met someone in person. Although it was brief, it was really surreal meeting someone whose thoughts you know so well, yet you have no clue who they are in person. I wish I could explain it better, but I’m not complaining. Alicia and David were warm and fun and while the photo session was just a little mini session, it was a lot of fun and the photos turned out great!
More fast forwarding… Alicia reaches out and says “hey yo dawg what up fam, we’re actually engaged you down to fly over to V-town to shoot our wedding?" (Probably not her exact words but that’s how I remember it). Of course, I’m super down… but we had no clue that the world was about to fall out.
February, March, April all pass and we all know the story. Weddings are being reschedule, cancelled… everything is up in the air (thanks a lot Covid). Props to Alicia, for real. She works as nurse AND planned a wedding through a pandemic. I can’t even imagine how difficult it was to juggle those two super difficult jobs. There should be an award for multitaskers.
Anyway, the wedding day comes around and honestly, besides the cloudy weather, everything felt so perfect. Hand sanitizer and masks are readily available. People seems to be in good spirits (I guess they were just excited to be out of the house!) and from what I could tell, were wearing masks and social distancing as well as they could. Hooray!
Well, after a lovely ceremony and most of the way through the reception, the sun comes out. I’m like “dope! As soon as the sun sets a bit more, the light will be just right and we can grab some sunset photos!” I look at the sky and don’t see any clouds coming back soon, so great news! Because it was definitely a bit early for sunset photos, I like the sun to be pretty close to the treeline for the optimal lighting conditions. However, disaster strikes. Clouds come back about 20 minutes before the sun was getting where I wanted. At this point, I’m pretty freaking sad because I risked it all and lost. I am getting ready to tell Alicia that we should just shoot our couples photos while there is still light outside, albeit, cloud lighting.
But then, I take another look at the sky and see a small break in the clouds coming. Did you know that photographers are short term meteorologists? So I run over to Alicia and I’m like “Hey we need to get to the field like immediately because the sun is going to peek out briefly and then go away forever!.” She runs over to David and he replies with “Word homie, I’m finna rock these photos you feel me?” (again, that’s probably not exactly what he said but it’s how I remember it).
So we run over to the field and just as I thought, the moment we arrive the sun peeks out… for legitimately, like 90 seconds. I couldn’t have been happier with the way the photos turned out honestly!
I’m super looking forward to continue following Alicia’s story with David on our new journal website (rip DE…. we will miss you). Okay, onto the photos… enjoy!
Photographer - David C. Allen Photography
Venue - Madison at the Mill
Florist - Endless Creations Flowers and Gifts
HUMA - Charlottesville Makeup Artist
DJ - 804soundz
Cake - Sugar on Top Cakes
Dress - Madi Lane Bridal
Coordinating - Jes Frank Events
Villa antonia
with Haley & Jason
In March 2020, I photographed a wedding (shocking I know hehe). I’d like to think that if I had known it was the final wedding I’d shoot for 3 months, I would have slowed down and soaked in the experience a bit more.
COVID-19 definitely ranks number 1 on “biggest challenges for a wedding photographer” ever. From social distancing practices, to wedding rescheduling, this has really put a strain on the entire industry, which relies on gatherings of friends and family. As eager as I am to get back to work and get back to working the best job in the world, I recognize the importance of these sacrifices and my official position is to follow whatever the WHO and the CDC recommend. It’s not easy to see, but I want to assure everyone that following these guidelines gives people more precious time with their immunocompromised loved ones.
Okay, so back to the wedding. It was …. AMAZING. Of all the venues I could shoot at in Austin, Villa Antonia ranks pretty high on my list of “Prettiest Venues around Austin.” If you’re in the market for a wedding venue in the area, I highly recommend you check them out. And of all the couples I could photograph, I feel like Haley & Jason also rank pretty high on my “Easiest Couples to Work With” list (I should mention all of these lists are hypothetical hehe). They’re warm, inviting, and just a lovely couple to be around. And their absolute trust in me to grab the images I needed was just a breath of fresh air and very much needed right now.
Okay, enough of my ramblings, onto my favorite images from that day. Be sure to follow me on Instagram for more images and stories!
Flash Or No Flash?
The internet has revolutionized shopping for anyone who likes to compare products before purchasing. I can get lost for hours researching a $10 purchase but I’ll be darned if I don’t always end up with a better product/service. And wedding photography services are no exception to the rule. Brides spend can spend weeks comparing different photographers online, asking questions about their style and process.
One concern I did not expect was my use of flash at a wedding, however, I have been answering this question a lot more recently. Not that I feel like it’s a bad thing, I do have some opinions on the use of flash at wedding and I wish the answer was as simple as “yes I do” or “heck no, never!”. But, like many things related to wedding planning, the answer is not so simple.
Most ceremonies (even indoor) are well lit enough to shoot with little or no light modification.
I think it goes without saying that flash during a ceremony should be a big no no. I’m no expert on every photographer’s philosophy on how to conduct themselves during a ceremony, but I can guess that the general theme would be “be present, but not seen.”
I personally would be horrified if anything I did during a ceremony was distracting to the guests or couple. Yes… slapping on a nice portrait lens and getting right up next to the couple during their vows would result in some stellar images. However, I find no justification for anything that would be such a big distraction to the wedding experience. Of course I haven’t shot in every situation imaginable, so be sure to communicate with your photographer and see what their plans are for lighting during your ceremony.
The reception is the time where a photographer can really stretch their legs. The pressure of the ceremony and the formal photos are far gone, and now you can just focus on documenting the evening. Here, is where I feel like flash photography is totally acceptable, and oftentimes can be advantageous.
Let’s start with the obvious benefits of flash photography. Most receptions take place during late evening or at night. This low light environment can be challenging to capture, even for professional grade camera equipment. A moderate amount of flash can go a long way to fill in the gaps that reception lighting often leaves behind.
Another benefit of flash photography can be some unique lighting opportunities. An old event photographer trick is to freeze an image using a flash while keeping the camera shutter open to get some neat looking light trails.
Finally, the benefit I notice the most is just the good feedback from guests in the photo. After they see the flash and me put the camera down, there is almost always a small hug or hooray involved! Without flash, the guests have no way of knowing I’ve snapped the photo and always look a tad confused when I put the camera down as if they’re thinking “Wait, did he actually take the photo? That was too fast….” before I turn the camera around and show them their lovely group photo. So yeah, tell your photographer that using flash during a ceremony is not only okay, but sometimes fun! (again, I know it’s a super weird way of thinking hehe).
Low light image shot with a subtle flash fill.
With anything there are exceptions to using flash. If your photographer is too reliant on the light from the flash and doesn’t use the proper gear and/or the proper camera settings, you can be left with images that don’t look super great. If you’ve ever seen a photo from an instant camera or disposable camera, you’ve probably seen what I’m talking about. The person is brightly lit, but the background is completely dark and looks nothing like what your eyes are seeing. This is because human eyes are still far better at working with low light than cameras, so there are tricks photographers must use to properly represent low light receptions.
My personal trick is to set the camera to as low light setting as I’m comfortable with (without introducing too much noise to the image) and then using a flash to fill in the rest. This results in a nice bright image, but with a background that is still clearly visible. These kinds of photos more closely mimic what the human eye sees.
It’s important to communicate with your photographer beforehand to determine their shooting philosophy. If your photographer seems frustrated or uninterested in answering your questions, there is a good chance they will be also uninterested with making sure they aren’t making your wedding feel less like a fun party and more like like a photo shoot. They may be okay with using flash photography during the ceremony and overusing flash during a reception.
While checking your photographers portfolio that you ask for a full wedding gallery example, scroll down to the bottom of the gallery and see how they handle the more challenging reception lighting situations. You’ll be surprised how many photographers display incredible natural lighting photography, but their low light photography is very lackluster. Your wedding reception is arguably one of the most important parts of a wedding to capture properly, as it is likely the one time you will ever have all your friends and family in one place. It’s not a responsibility that any photographer should take lightly (unintended pun but I’m leaving it in hehe)
Good luck with the rest of your planning!
I just wanted to make a short post about a wonderful wedding I shot a while back but never really spent the time to share, which was really a shame.
Victoria and Micah held their wedding at The Homestead at Old Potato Road. This was one of my first weddings to shoot in Central Texas, as I had recently moved here from East Texas. And what a way to kick things off!
Victoria and Micah were just about the coolest couple I’ve ever worked with. Even with perfect weather, I can only imagine a rainy wedding day not phasing them a bit! They both demonstrated an incredible confidence that was so infectious, I have no doubt that it helped me capture some of the most excellent images I’ve shot.
They exchanged their vows directly under one of the largest trees I’ve ever seen at a venue. I like to think that the ceremony area was one of the reasons they chose to get married there. The family formal images afterwards (which are usually long and frustrating) flew right by without a hitch and we were able to dance the night away, celebrating the union of a very very cool couple!
Okay, enough of my yapping, here are some of the highlights!
Chloe and Tyler are the kinds of couples I have trouble forgetting. The energy and love they shared was such an experience. I feel super bad for the other photographers Chloe may have passed up on before she hired me!
Chloe and Tyler’s venue choice, The Plant at Kyle, was also such a treat to shoot at. It was the perfect size for a smaller intimate wedding, with plenty of space for dancing indoors and some seriously lovely looking architecture. A lot of venues I visit look like they were residences that were converted over to a venue, but this is one of the venues that you can tell was built from the ground up to serve as a venue (I could be wrong, but it just looks that way!). I’ll leave a link to their website at the end of the blog. Check them out!
Okay, enough of my ramblings. Onto the photos!!!!
Just wanted to quickly update with how AWESOME this place is. Highly recommend staying at this estate if you plan to visit. Be sure to bring some friends because they have 5 bedrooms, each with air con and restrooms! I’ll be updating the blog again soon with some photos from the wedding I’ll be shooting here tomorrow!!!
So this will be slightly sad, but not for the reason you may think.
Earlier this year Breanne reached out to me about shooting her wedding. After spending some time talking to each other, we both decided it would be a good idea if I shot her and Eric’s wedding! Well after some unfortunate planning issues, she had to move her wedding date back a few months and I was unavailable to move my date with her, so she was forced to find a new photographer (luckily we found an amazing replacement photographer in the area who was free!).
So why is this sad you ask? Well because we decided it would still be fun to do our engagement shoot together (and possibly a bridal shoot later) and I just really heckin enjoyed their company so much. Like many couples they seemed a bit reserved at first when we started shooting. (Believe it or not, not everyone works as professional models as their day job!). But by the end of the shoot, they were very relaxed and comfortable, and I even caught a few glimpses of their goofy love in action, such as when they decided to do their secret handshake in front of me. Which, I may add, was very impressive and well coordinated (and cute!).
Also I will add that Breanne was so thoughtful. I would have been willing to drive anywhere she wanted, but she tried her best to choose a location that was between us both to keep traveling to a minimum. She suggested Faust Street Bridge in New Braunfels, TX. I highly recommend you check this place out because it was amazing!
Here are some of the images from that engagement shoot and I’m not at all jealous of the photographer who gets to be there on the big day in mid 2020! (he lied…)
Wow this Sunday was a blast! I am just recently starting to shoot more weddings in Austin and I couldn’t be happier with these first few.
Danie and Anthony were such a lovely couple to work with. So relaxed and laid back, the ideal clients in my opinion. Here are some of the images from the wedding. I can’t wait to look through these more and get the rest of them edited!
I remember the moment that I knew I would be shooting Jennifer and Jordan’s wedding. They were guests at a different wedding I shot and Jennifer stopped me during the sparkler exit to tell me that she had a dream I shot her wedding. She told me that it made her cry and she was so excited to hire me. I found that super endearing and was so pleased when she followed through with her dream and hired me!
Jennifer and Jordan, I really wish you good luck in your future in Louisiana. Your wedding was beautiful and so chic! Looking forward to seeing great things!
So you’re planning your engagement shoot… awesome! I’m here to help you understand what time of day is best for engagements, because there are definitely right and wrong answers here.
So first of all, if you’re thinking “Okay let me knock these out during my lunch break” or something similar…. STOP. Photos shot mid-day are almost going to look less than stellar (unless your photographer is a magician or something!). You’re going to want to either shoot super early in the morning, or late in the evening. I’ll explain further below.
Images such as this one, shot by @timothypaulsmith, during mid-day may look nice (due to the photographer’s skill level), however it would benefit greatly if shot with the sun lower in the sky, casting softer/more flattering shadows.
So when the sun is lower in the sky, several things are happening. Shadows falling across someone’s face is far more flattering during these two times. Don’t believe me? Have someone stand below directly below an overhead light (such as a ceiling fan) and snap a photo on your phone. Then do the same thing, but next to a desk lamp. You should see a very noticeable increase in quality!
This photo, (shot by yours truly!), demonstrates how the sun can act as a rim light during an outdoor shoot. Notice how the edges of the couple are lit really brightly, resulting in a more dramatic appearance.
When the sun is lower in the sky, several things are happening. The light takes a longer path to reach you, so during that time, more of the blue light is filtered out due to chemical composition of the atmosphere. This results in an overall warmer tone, which is far more flattering to skin tones and feels more intimate (I personally think this is why tungsten lighting is more popular for lighting homes).
Also, a greater proportion of the light for your photos comes from the scattered light in the sky, resulting in softer shadows. Softer shadows are one of the primary reasons why photographers spend unforgivable amounts of money on light modifiers. Many of these modifiers can be boiled down to “light softeners”. The softer the light, the more flattering it is to the photo subject, such as you and your loved one!
And finally, when the sun is lower in the sky, the sun can act as a rim light to your photos. For the photography layperson, a rim light is a backlight that helps highlight the edges of your subject, helping draw your eyes to the subject and away from the background. See the included image for an example of natural rim lighting!
Another example of how sunset photography creates that warm soft lighting that couples love so much!
So there isn’t a single good time that is good for photos. The sunrise and sunsets in your area are affected by your time zone, location relative to the equator, and whether or not you observe daylight savings. Luckily, the internet has our back here. Most weather apps can tell you the sunrise and sunset of any given day for the foreseeable future (assuming robots don’t take over the planet and destroy the sun, obviously). So my advice is to check the sunrise/sunset of a date close to when you’re planning your shoot, and then create your timeline from there.
If you plan to shoot around sunrise, then be sure to meet with your photographer 15 minutes before sunrise, so that way you’ll have plenty of time to get familiar with them and comfortable in front of the camera. The best shots are going to happen right as the sun is rising above the horizon.
Which leads me to my final point. Sunset engagement photography sessions are so much better because you can end the shoot with the best photos. Your engagement shoot is likely the first time you’ll work with your photographer, so there will be that awkward time where you’re all getting familiar with each other and getting comfortable in front of the camera. So the less awesome photos that are shot while the sun is still in the sky can be almost like a small “meet-and-greet”, and then later when the sun is super low in the sky, you’re mega comfortable with each other. It most definitely shows in the photos!
I hope this is helpful for planning your engagement shoot. Your photographer will likely have their own opinions, but I feel like most of them will agree with what I said here. Good luck out there!
Could these images from my latest engagement shoot be any more perfect?!?!?! This is a couple I’ve been waiting to work with for a really long time, and now it’s like a dream come true! So happy for them!
A few weeks back, I had that pleasure of working with Amber Chaffin on her bridal photos. When you first meet Amber, she is very shy and reserved. However, after working with her for a couple hours during her bridal shoot, I learned that she just needs some time to get comfortable. She was very focused and easy to work with that day!
One of the things I loved about working with Amber is how comfortable she was telling me what she wanted, and also if she didn't like a photo that I shot. My feelings do not get hurt easily, and my main goal is to help deliver a product she loves. So if there was a photo she did not like, she was willing to let me know, which is something not all brides do unfortunately. This helped us work together and create images that she and her family will cherish forever!
As a child, my father's side of the family was very close. I knew all of my cousins, aunts, and uncles very well. However, as with most families, time caused us to drift apart. Most of my family moved away and started living their own lives.
Now, there is nothing wrong with that at all. I feel like relationships with people should always be treated as temporary. Because most of them are, and that makes them even more special. This is why I was so excited to shoot my cousin Tatiana's wedding. We haven't reconnected (other than on social media) in over ten years. While I had very little time to catch up with her in between shooting the wedding photos, it was very refreshing to see how happy and excited she was to get married!
Enjoy the photos!
Here are just a few preview images from a wonderful wedding I had the pleasure of shooting a few days ago. Congratulations to Sidney and Preston!
Bridal portraits coming soon!
Because I'm finishing up my degree in chemistry, I don't usually advertise my ability to travel very much. I will definitely do it though, but because of my lack of outreach, I don't do it often!
However when Lauren & Kody approached me at a local wedding show, I knew I just had to shoot their wedding. We just immediately hit it off, and I could sense the strong connection they had with each other, even through all of the overwhelming stress that comes with wedding planning. I feel like wedding planning is the first major test in a relationship. If you can handle that, then there is little you ca't handle together!!!
Lucky for me, they hired me to shoot their wedding at the absolutely gorgeous Inspiring Oaks Ranch in Wimberley, TX. Let me just say something, wow at that place! You get to stay at this really nice house in what feels like the middle of nowhere surrounded by hills and trees. They had an excellent ceremony spot and and an equally amazing reception spot. They didn't pay me to say this hehe, I just loved it!
Anyway, I loved shooting this wedding! The weather and lighting were perfect. Lauren and Kody were obviously deeply in love. The ceremony was perfect. And the reception? I swear they hacked my spotify playlist and copied my favorite songs! haha
Okay I'll stop talking and get to the photos now! Enjoy!!!!
It's not very often that I pull up to a venue which is still under construction on the day of the wedding. In fact... it's never happened to me before Brittany and Ryan's wedding! Long story short, Brittany's father turned his home into a vineyard/venue for his daughter's wedding! I believe he plans to host weddings in the future, but his daughters would be the first. Let me just say this... it was amazing. I'm so very excited to think I may get to shoot over there again!
However, my favorite moment during the day was their first look before the ceremony. I literally cannot recommend doing this enough! Not only does it help because you can shoot all of your family photos before the ceremony and go straight to your reception, but the moment is also far more intimate. I must admit that I've shed a few photographer tears over the years while Okay I'll stop writing and let you see the rest of the images!!! Enjoy!
On March 5th I shot a very special wedding. It was my first wedding to shoot at Villa di Felicita. It was also probably the shortest ceremony I've ever shot!
So what people may not realize is that when I meet a client for a pre-wedding consultation, I'm not only being "interviewed" for a job, but I'm also deciding if I want to accept the job. It doesn't happen often, but sometimes I meet people who I don't really feel a good connection with and I'll recommend them to another photographer.
Why am I writing about all of this? Well I got to meet Heather and Brant at The Foundry Coffee House a few months back and almost instantly decided that I wanted to work with them! It usually takes me a few minutes to the entire meeting before I make my decision, but they had such a good positive energy that it took almost no time at all.
So anyway, I'll stop talking and get to the photos. Congrats Heather and Brant! Your wedding was awesome and I loved the venue you chose!