Stellar Year Wedding Photography

There are some couples whose devotion to one another oozes out of them when they’re together.  Sarah and Nick are one of those couples – a pair of people so completely dedicated to their relationship that selflessness reigns supreme.  Nick is best friends with Antonis’ girlfriend, and they and Sarah had gone to high school together.  That connection and life-long friendship (even though it only developed into a romantic one recently) makes for a level of comfort and familiarity between Nick and Sarah that allows them to be completely in tune with one another.  It’s fantastic to witness when spending a day with them.

We love couples who choose a location that either has meaning to them or is a favorite spot.  Cleopatra’s Needle, behind the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City is the background on Nick’s phone.  When we were discussing locations and Central Park came up, he immediately picked it.  Not only did the location’s name offer a day of hilarious innuendo, but the obelisk is right in the middle of several blooming trees and is adjacent to the baseball fields in the middle of the park which offer a nice juxtaposition of the huge park and the imposing city skyline.

Without further ado, on to the images of the happy couple!  We, obviously, started the day at the obelisk (and may or may not have climbed past the ropes preventing anyone from touching it…).  It was chilly to start out, so we let Sarah keep her jacket on initially.

The way they hold each other…

…is outdone only by the way they look at each other.  Pak’s angle on the left, Antonis’ angle on the right.

The benches in Central Park are a favorite prop of ours.

Pak’s angle on the left, Antonis’ angle on the right.  Sarah dropped the jacket and rocked the little black dress.  Gorgeous!

Again, check out the way they look at each other.  Their eyes tell the whole story.

A standard shot on the left, and a creative one on the right done with a remotely-fired, off-camera strobe, shooting through cherry blossom leaves.

The ease with which Nick makes Sarah laugh is incredible.

Cherry blossoms in peak bloom and a couple in love and comfortable in front of the camera.  You can’t ask for anything more.

Rocking the bling.

Oh, look!  A magnolia in full bloom.  Cherry blossom: ousted by pink!

A change to less formal wear for Sarah and the blues complement the grass and magnolia perfectly.  Couples, take note: willingness to sit on the ground is a huge point in your favor!  The creative boundaries know no limits!

The magnolia gave a gorgeous warm pink tone to our images.  Sarah’s bling (and awesome nail polish) on the right.

The lawn, with baseball and cityscape in the background.  And don’t you just love Sarah’s hair blowing in the wind?

Using long lenses to give the couple some space to be themselves.  Again, done with an off-camera strobe at camera-left.

Antonis’ angle of Nick playing Photographer’s Assistant on the left, with the resulting shot on the right.

When we asked Nick and Sarah if they had any silly shots in mind, this immediately came up.  They use “rocks-paper-scissors” to make many decisions, so this combination of inside joke and bling was logical.  Antonis’ view first, then Pak’s angle below.

That’s all for our day with Nick and Sarah.  An awesome shoot with a fantastic couple and a great location.  Nick and Sarah, you guys are a pleasure to work with.  We can’t wait to spend your big day with you next year!!

- Pak and Antonis

Our first event of 2012 was this awesome engagement celebration for Anita and Sevag, a couple from New Jersey.  Anita’s father, a colleague of ours, asked us to document their big engagement party and we were honored to accept.  Everybody gathered at Sayat Nova Restaurant in Hackensack, NJ on a cold February afternoon.  The joyous occasion was full of music, food, laughter, food, dancing, and food.  Both families are Armenian and they welcomed us with open arms.  We were fed like kings and both felt like we’d known these people our whole lives.  It relaxed us and our subjects and yielded some truly extraordinary images.

We started with some formal images of the happy couple.  We brought our portable studio and put two speedlites in a softbox off to camera-right.  The softbox lit the couple and the wall behind, providing flattering (but dramatic) light.

Time to get creative with that softbox!!

We made sure we took shots of the details Anita and Sevag had worked so hard to perfect.  And her ring is gorgeous!

There was a traditional ring blessing ceremony.  The entirety was conducted by a family member in Armenian and was a very nice touch.

Anita was showered with jewelry after the ring ceremony.  Crazy amounts of bling!  A necklace with a cross pendant, a gold bracelet, a pearl necklace, and a pearl bracelet!

Halfway through their celebration, we pulled Anita and Sevag aside for an intimate series of images in an isolated corridor.  We were aiming for a slightly more sensual feel and they were more than happy to play along.  Thanks for being such great sports, guys!

Both Anita and Sevag wanted shots with their closest friends.

And then it was time for everyone to hit the dance floor!  The mix of Armenian music and modern pop was awesome.

Anita and Sevag gave very heart-felt speeches thanking their family and friends for their love and support in their relationship.

The night concluded with the cutting of the beautiful cake.

We end with this image.  We don’t think Anita and Sevag knew we were shooting, and this little moment of intimacy between the two in the midst of the crazy celebration is the best sign you’ll get of how close these two are.

For those who want to see more of Anita and Sevag’s event, we’ll have a slideshow up very, very soon.

Congratulations, Anita and Sevag!  We’re sure November 17 can’t come soon enough.  We know you’ll have a long, happy, fantastic life together!

Shnorehagal em!

- Antonis and Pak

What an odd day we had for Jeanne and Alex. It was October 29, and yet mother nature had dumped almost a foot of snow on the ground! Jeanne and Alex had chosen the date in the hopes of having colorful fall foliage, and we had an eclectic mix of snow, ice, and great leaves.

We started the day at the Bow Bridge bright and early. Antonis almost didn’t make it thanks to some ice on the highway that almost sent his car into the woods. Disaster averted for the first time, we met with Jeanne and Alex at the base of the bridge. There was a coating of ice that sent several passerby down to their rear ends despite our warnings. Even dogs, despite their four-legged advantage, couldn’t stand up!

Without further ado, on to the pictures. Ladies and gents, meet Jeanne and Alex!

The Bow Bridge looked gorgeous in the low morning light.  The foliage added a fantastic background.

The mix of backgrounds, snow and leaves, provided great color and lighting opportunities.  As in all our engagement shoots, these images were shot with the aid of a small flash umbrella to make sure we got balanced, flattering light.  While shooting the image on the right, Pak lost his footing despite having seen 15 people fall before him.  He landed in perfect push-up position and barely prevented his camera from hitting the ground.  Disaster averted for the second time!

The architectural detailing on the bridge parapet is phenomenal.  We used a couple of vantage points to highlight this.

The next stop was Bethesda fountain and the arches nearby.  The light was coming from the southwest, which highlighted the stone masonry and allowed perfectly lit portraits at the edge of the water.

The arches provided great context for a variety of shots both outside the tunnel and within its confines.

Under the arches, staying away from the cold, was a great singer.  He was doing classics from every decade and threw in both Halloween and Christmas songs in celebration of the freak snowstorm.  He was more than willing to play along with our photography.  Jeanne and Alex got some dancing done in anticipation of their wedding day!

The detail on the ceiling and walls of the arch tunnel is brilliant and colorful.

Antonis then climbed the stairs up to the balcony that overlooks the fountain.  At the very top, he turned and slipped on a protective metal grating.  He went down onto his rear and the camera he was carrying (which happened to be Pak’s) slammed into the stone parapet.  Thankfully, everything was in working order.  Disaster averted for the third time!  This shot, taken from the balcony, is a meant to simulate a “tilt-shift” image (usually done with specialized lenses).  We love the miniature effect it yields!

Meanwhile, Pak was down below capturing secondary images.  It was just too cold to ask Jeanne and Alex to stay jacket-free, so we let them bundle up for the last few images.

Our last stop was the mall with its gorgeous treetop canopy.  The color photo on the left shows some of the tree damage caused by the massive snowfall and freezing the night before.  The black and white image on the right accentuates the varied lighting we had to contend with and showcases the canopy’s brightness.

While Pak was shooting the images above, Antonis was next to Jeanne and Alex holding the umbrella.  Between shots, he captured this close-up image of the couple.

This is a shot of Antonis capturing an image Jeanne and Alex requested.  It stems from an inside joke amongst their friends that Alex is Jeanne’s bodyguard.  The paparazzi won’t be able to touch them!

Here’s the shot Antonis ended up with.

The image on the left shows the personality Jeanne and Alex share that makes them so good together.  They’re so happy, so in love, and comfortable enough in front of the camera to really be themselves.  The image on the right demonstrates our lighting technique.  Alex thought he could do a better job lighting himself, so we let him have his chance.

That covers our amazing (and cold) day with Jeanne and Alex.  The images can’t do their love and happiness justice.  Their inside jokes, common interests, and positive outlook are just some of the things that make them an awesome couple.  To see more of their shoot, check out this slideshow.

Jeanne and Alex, we cannot wait to spend your big day with you in June.  Congratulations again on your engagement, and we’re looking forward to your wedding day on Long Island!!

- Antonis and Pak

Neither of them had been looking for a relationship. Alia (an old friend of Antonis’ from High School) was working at a local diner in July 2009.  Scott ate lunch often at the same diner with his colleagues.  Eventually, he started asking Alia’s colleagues about her and finally mustered up the courage to leave his cell phone number on the bottom of the check.  Alia decided to call him out on the lack of nerve his method showed.  They started talking regularly, but it was just small stuff.  Then, while at a Bachelor party in Florida, Scott took leave of his friends and called Alia to have a 20-minute conversation about how her day was going.  This small gesture convinced her that he was the real deal, and they got engaged on April 1 of this year.

Alia asked us to do her engagement shoot and, as she works near Central Park and they’d gone there on one of their first dates, she and Scott chose that as their location.  We started at Harlem Meer and walked around the lake.

These aviators were a theme during the day.  It took a lot of coaxing from Alia for Scott to take them off at first…

Re-enacting the proposal with a Ring-Pop we’d brought from home.  We love when clients are willing to play along with our silliness.  It relaxes everyone and yields awesome results!  Thanks for being so cool, you two!

Can you say Hollywood moment?!?!

What absolutely beautiful people you guys are.

Do you see what we mean by infectious?  Their smiles make you want to smile!

After an outfit change and a stop for lunch at Five Napkin Burger (highly recommended!) we walked to Belvedere Castle, the Bow Bridge, Bethesda Fountain, the Mall, and the Great Lawn before making our way back to Broadway and the car.

A perfect color combination for the city and the park.

Bethesda Fountain with its gorgeous red brick and foliage in full bloom.

Bling!  Simple, understated, but beautiful.

Overall, an absolutely perfect day.  Alia and Scott are a complete joy to work with and are incredibly comfortable in front of the camera.  They make each other laugh with no effort at all, and even my cheeks were sore from having such a good time with them.  Our most successful shoots are the ones that don’t feel forced, and this one was so easy to do we completely lost track of time.  Even the heat that day didn’t bother us.

For more from this session, please check out this slideshow (please note: the show requires Adobe Flash and includes music).

Alia and Scott, you guys are absolutely awesome.  It’s obvious how much you love each other.  Your love is infectious.  We wish you the absolute best together, but have no doubts you’ll make it look easy!

- Antonis and Pak