Adam is a senior at North Olmsted High School and his Mom Liz has been our kids’ preschool teacher since we’ve moved to Berea. So I was really looking forward to this session.

We started in the studio for some headshots and formals and then headed to downtown Olmsted Falls. Adam is really active in marching band so we definitely wanted to get some pics with his trombone. We had a lot of fun and got some really great images too. Thanks Adam!

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It was a very long time coming but I finally took some new photos (in our soon to be “officially” open new studio!) of the kids Monday night. Since we knew how difficult it would be to get all six kids to sit together cooperate and smile we decided to do head shots and then put them in a composite. Natalie had the vision for this before we even started shooting. The print will 40x20 when it’s completed and will be displayed in our office.

For those of you who don’t know are children are from left to right: Abbi (12 yrs), Alex (10 yrs), Noah (7 yrs), Julia (5 yrs), Anna (2 yrs( and Ian (1 yr).

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I had a great time photographing Danielle and Seth’s wedding. They were so fun & easygoing. We had a great time taking photos!

I started at Danielle’s parent’s home where she got ready. Once we finished up there we were off to St. Basil the Great in Brecksville for the ceremony. Afterwards we headed off to University Circle for photos around the lagoon at The Cleveland Museum of Art. The sky was perfectly overcast and provided beautiful, soft light for their photos.

The reception was held at Ridge Manor Party Center in Brooklyn. After a great meal and plenty of dancing we ended the evening with a few photos with some sparklers in honor of Independence Day.

Here are some of my favs from the day.

Ken

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I met Mary and Matt at Coe Lake in Berea for their engagement session. The sky was a little overcast which worked really well for that time of day providing soft, even light for their photos. Throughout their session it became obvious how much Mary and Matt enjoy just being together. They gave me their best smiles every time they looked at each other.

Thanks for the great session guys!

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It was a beautiful April day for Melissa and Jason’s wedding. We started at The First Church of Christ in Barberton where Melissa was putting the final touches on her makeup before getting into her dress. Jason arrived a little bit later ready to go. Both were extremely excited and just a little nervous. After their ceremony I could see a noticeable change in their countenance. They both had that happy, relieved, just married glow about them. I love that!

Once we finished up photos at the church we went straight to Firestone Country Club for the reception. We took some photos on the golf course before we headed into the dining room. During dinner Michael Sonata offered an incredible tribute to old blue eyes himself as he sang several Sinatra favorites. He sounded so much like Frank Sinatra I found myself forgetting that I wasn’t listening to a CD. Bill from Pro Disc Entertainment was the MC and DJ for the evening and packed the dance floor. Everyone seemed to be having a blast!

Here are a few of our favorites from the day. Enjoy!

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If I had to use one word to describe Katie and Andy it would be chemistry. There’s no doubt about it. They’ve got it. This session was so much fun to shoot because of how comfortable Katie and Andy are with each other and how much fun they have when they’re together. And it was infectionus. In fact, it seemed we spent almost as much time laughing as we did taking photos. When I get to work with couples that have this kind of chemistry it reaffirms why I got into the wedding business in the first place. What a blast!

Though it was difficult to narrow it down here are some favs from the shoot. Enjoy!

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The right place. The right time.

Most couples know each other for a few years before they tie the knot as did Kim and Ron.... plus another decade or two.

Kim and Ron had met years ago and had fallen in love but they knew that as much as they wanted to follow their hearts they knew that they answered to much higher Authority. It wasn’t their time, yet.

On Saturday, March 7th, their time finally had come! The ceremony and reception were at Cuyahoga Valley Church. Afterwards we took a few photos just outside the church building. I was so glad to see that we had such a warm day in March!

Renee came along to help shoot this one. Here are some of our picks.

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This past weekend the kids spent some time on the swings, (all except for Alex who was a little under the weather). They all had a great time and Ian got his “inaugural” ride. It’s amazing what a little sun and warmer weather can do for your mood. C’mon spring!

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The girls and I have been working on our jig.



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Tricia and Brian was my third session of the day. To mix things up we took some photos around downtown Olmsted Falls and also a few in the park. My personal favorites were by the railroad tracks.

My picks below.

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Heather & John were my second session of the day. The ground gets especially slippery and treacherous in the winter time especially in some of the spots where I wanted to take some photos but Heather and John were troopers.

Here are some of my picks.

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I don’t photograph a lot of outdoor sessions in the winter but I happened to have three engagement sessions a couple of Saturdays ago, (purely by coincidence - really!). There was just enough fresh snow on the ground to cover the dead of winter that can make photographing outdoors this time of year such a challenge. Being that I had three sessions in one day I couldn’t travel to various locations which brought about another challenge; to photograph three couples in the same area (in and around the Olmsted Falls David Fortier River Park) and make each session unique.

Marcie and Anthony were my first session of the day. Even though there was a good amount of snow on the ground it wasn’t unbearably cold. Anthony and Marcie both warmed up to the camera quickly and we got some great stuff!

Some favs below.

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Our next 2008 feature is Rachael & Keith’s wedding. Renee and I got to work together on this one, which was a lot of fun. I started with Rachael while Renee went to photograph Keith and the groomsmen. Afterwards we were off to St. Peter’s Church for the ceremony. We were originally going to go to a local park for the in between photos but it had rained earlier in the day and we were all concerned about the mud. I suggested East 4th and Prospect by The House of Blues. Rachael and Keith were so easy and trusting. I really appreciated that, and the fact that the entire bridal party hung in there despite the fact that it was a chilly October day. It may have been a backup plan but we got some awesome stuff!

The reception was held at The Crowne Plaza in Middleburg Hts. TKO Entertainment was there to provide the entertainment and the dance floor was packed all night!

Here are a few favs from the day. Enjoy!

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Almost everyone gets high school senior portraits but Kristen’s mom Donna felt that it was important to commemorate her daughter's college graduation as well. Kristen’s parents are very proud of her and with good reason. Kristen will be graduating with a pharmacy degree this spring.

I went to Kristen's parents' home in Lyndhurst for the session. Kristen was very relaxed in front of the camera and was a lot of fun to photograph. I also had the opportunity to try out a few new backgrounds as we are accumulating more and more in preparation for our new camera room (coming soon). Here are a few of my favorites from the session.

Ken

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I normally wouldn’t use this platform to discuss something so personal but I really felt compelled to do so.

I had to drop something off at my kid’s elementary school yesterday. As I was leaving I noticed a class project that was on display about Martin Luther King Jr. The wall was covered with construction paper portraits of Dr. King and underneath each portrait were the words “My dream is...” along with some lines for the children to fill in their own dreams. I stopped for a moment to read a few. Their dreams ranged from the grandiose ending of poverty, world hunger and global warming to the more personal of wanting to be a professional athlete or a policeman. I smiled at most and chuckled at others.

Then I read one that was quite sobering. A little girl wrote, “My dream is that my mommy and daddy will love each other and stay together.” “Wow,” I thought, “what caused her to write those words?”

We live in an age where personal happiness supersedes personal responsibility. Many people enter marriage with the attitude that if it doesn’t work out then divorce is always an option. But I wonder what would happen if we lived as though there was no option. What if we truly took the marriage commitment to heart? What if we agreed that the word divorce would never come from our lips in the midst of a conflict? Wouldn’t we try just that much harder to make it work?

I am not an expert on marriage. I’m just a guy who’s been married for fourteen years. I can attest to the fact that every (and I mean every) marriage falls on hard times, but I can also testify to how much better things can be and how much deeper your relationship can grow once you’re on the other side of those trials. When I got married I had no idea what I was in for. I didn’t have a clue how difficult things could get. I also had no idea how good things could be and that I could love anyone as much as I love Natalie now.

As important as it is to love each other for better or for worse it is prudent to ask questions before you take the walk down the aisle. As difficult and embarrassing as it may be to cancel a wedding it is far less devastating than divorce, especially where children are involved. When Natalie and I were engaged we went through a book called “Before you say I do” (Amazon link). While it certainly does not offer any guarantees it does help to determine how well matched you and your future spouse are and how you might handle difficult times and decisions.

By the way, it is a faith based book but don’t let that scare you. You need to find out where you and your future spouse each stand on those issues as well.

Ken



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Lindsay & Brian

Now that we (finally) have a blog we thought it might be fun to feature some of our weddings from last year. Our first 2008 feature is Lindsay and Brian’s wedding. Lindsay sticks out in my head as one of the most radiant brides that I have had the pleasure to photograph. She had such a warm demeanor and seemed just to be smiling all day long. Brian is a firefighter with a great sense of humor and when they looked at each other it was magic. It made my job so easy!

They had a beautiful October day for their wedding. The ceremony was held at Lakewood United Methodist Church. We stopped at the Cleveland Museum of Art for a few photos and then headed to Massimo da Milano’s for the reception.

Here are some of our favorites from that day. Enjoy!

Ken

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All of the bridesmaids wrote well wishes on the bottom of Lindsay's shoes.



This was the wall in the mud room at Lindsay's parent's home. I've paid good money for backdrops that didn't photograph this well!

























We took a few photos on the Detroit-Superior bridge across the street from Massimo's













This closing image was taken in the lower level of Massimo's. I loved the texture in the brick.

Man I love shooting with digital equipment. I love the instant feedback. I love the versatility that it affords... but there’s still a small part of me that misses film.

Throughout my high school years my schedule always included a lot of art classes, ranging from ceramics to painting & drawing to screen printing. I loved and wanted to pursue a career in the arts but never felt like I found my niche. That was until my senior year. I took a Photo 1 class and instantly fell in love. I don’t know if it was the feeling I got the first time looked through the prism of my Pentax K1000 or the lingering smell of developer on my fingertips. I just loved it all.

Photography has changed dramatically since those days. Film is kept alive mostly by enthusiasts and the movie studios in Hollywood. With digital I can carry my darkroom (Adobe Lightroom & Photoshop) on my MacBook Pro and process photos while sipping on a cup of coffee at Starbucks. As much as I love digital and all of the cool things that can be done with it, I still get nostalgic every now and then and miss being in a “real” darkroom.

Would I ever want to go back to film? No... but I am very grateful that I started there. I don’t think that I would be the photographer that I am today if it wasn’t for my experience with both film and digital. Together they have helped me greatly to grow in my art and my technique.

Ken

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My first SLR. The Pentax K1000. It was a no frills 100% manual camera and it was awesome!

Natalie, Renee and I have all been busy coming up with new designs for our Save the Date cards and magnets. The colors can be customized to match your wedding. Here are a few of our new designs...

Ken

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Well not really (even though I think I just broke several man laws) but we are very excited to announce the we are now a preferred professional on The Wedding Chicks website. We will be posting real weddings and engagement sessions from time to time so keep an eye out for yours!

Ken

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I traveled to Solon last night for Ashley’s senior portrait session. Ashley was a lot of fun to work with and she really enjoys being photographed. She exhibits a great deal of confidence in front of the camera and it definitely comes across in the images. I brought a new red background that I was itching to try out so you can imagine how stoked I was when I saw that she had chosen a red sweater for one of her outfits I set up the background, posed Ashley and “click!” Oh yeah! We had a winner! In fact we dubbed the new background “The Ashley” in her honor.

Since we started her session toward the evening we scheduled her outdoor photos for an upcoming Saturday. Weather permitting those photos will be coming soon...

Ken

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And there it is. Ashley posing in front of "The Ashley." :)

It felt more like a spring day with temperatures in the 50’s but it wouldn’t have mattered if there was a blizzard. Jennifer and Greg couldn’t wait to be married and it was so evident in their expressions and interaction throughout the day. The ceremony was held at the historic and beautiful St. Bernard’s church in Akron. The reception venue (also historic) was at the Akron Civic Theater and was catered by Taste of Excellence (great, great food!). The reception was immediately after the ceremony so we weren’t able to stop anywhere else between the ceremony and reception but we did get a chance to slip away for a few photographs in the main auditorium.

Ken

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