Divided by Friday
Back in May I got a message from Jason (the awesome/lucky dude who recently married Britt) asking if I was able to photograph a band he manages. Thing is, they needed the pictures by the weekend in order to get them to their web designer. This happened to be during one of the busiest weeks of the year for me, and I honestly didn’t have time, but 1) Jason is a great guy, 2) I have a special place in my heart for bands generally, and especially those made up of high-schoolers, and 3) they play music with Christian themes that is actually really good.
They’re called Divided by Friday and they’re based in North Carolina, but this summer they’ll be playing in Virginia, Tennessee, Pennsylvania, Indiana as well as at the Cornerstone Festival in Illinois. Shooting them was pretty cool because my first real ‘photo shoot’ was for Luke Marr’s Unemployed Potential, the band of one of my former students. It was exciting to once again come up against the problem of how to shoot ‘a bunch of dudes’ and not fall into one of a half-dozen cliches employed over and over in band press photos but this time to have a lot more tools in my mental arsenal.
In any case, we squeezed the shoot in between school and another event that I had that evening so the band’s big photoshoot was with a guy wearing khakis and a tie. I’m sure that’s the way they pictured it–very rawk. In any case, they’re good guys and they play good music so check them out if they come to your town.
I absolutely love the lens flare in this image.
One of the questions I hear pretty frequently when taking group shots of guys is, “Are we smiling?”
Yup.
You’ve done it! You’ve made it half way through TEN (business) DAYS OF BLOGGING or, if you haven’t read the other four posts, just scroll down or click on the banner up top…and then scroll down…or click on the tag below that says “TEN (business) DAYS OF BLOGGING”. I’m all about options. Come back next week; there are two more weddings, two more moms-to-be, and a girl swimming in a pink ball gown.
I promise I am not making this up.
My favorite model
I had all ten (business) days of blogging planned out then Wendy had to go and get her hair cut and colored. So today we’re taking a break from the more ‘official’ work to show off my wife’s new hairstyle.
Wendy had gathered a few pictures that gave the direction she was looking for and took them to Laura at Urban Nirvana in Columbia. Laura took those different photos and came up with something awesome that Wendy and I love and I think suits her perfectly.
…yeah, she could only hold the serious face for so long.
Come back tomorrow; we’re not done by a long shot.
Danny & Becky: Married
Danny and Becky were married May 25th at the Corley Mill House & Garden in Lexington, South Carolina. Wendy and I photographed their joyous day along with our photographically and personally awesome brother-in-law Loren. (If you’re in the DC area and need a great photographer, he’s your man.)
Wendy started the day early, photographing the girls as they got ready at Becky’s place. Becky not only did her own makeup, but that of several of the bridesmaids as well.
Meanwhile, Loren and I headed to the Corley Mills House to photograph the guys finishing up their preparations and get a few shots of Danny with his groomsmen.
Finally, the big moment arrived. The ceremony was beautiful. Danny and Becky had written their own vows and immediately after exchanging rings they took communion together for the first time as husband and wife. It was absolutely lovely.
The reception was, like the reception of most Shack weddings, raucous and tons of fun. We especially appreciated the enthusiasm of the folks vying for the garter and bouquet.
Though everyone wanted to spend some time with the new couple, we managed to pull them aside for just a couple of minutes to get some shots of the two of them alone. How did they spend that time? Well…
When it was time for them to go, Becky and Danny’s guests sent them off in a hail of bubbles.
Finally, here’s the slideshow I promised yesterday. Give it a little time to buffer and I think you’ll enjoy some fantastic music along with some more of our favorite images from the wedding.
Danny and Becky’s Wedding Slideshow from J.P. Stephens on Vimeo.
Britt: Bridal
Britt married her sweetheart Jason last Friday, but before Jason got to see her walking down the aisle, Wendy and I got to spend a fantastic evening photographing her in all her bridal splendor.
Although we’d initially planned some outdoor shots, the weather didn’t cooperate, so we found ourselves shooting indoors at the gorgeous Inn at USC.
Britt’s dress was modeled after Belle’s from the Disney film Beauty and the Beast. She even had the shoulder straps added custom to complete the look. As awesome as that was, however, I was thrilled by her choice of footwear…
After we’d finished up at the inn, we decided to do a few simple shots, just to round out the night. Britt, though, is not only lovely, but a fantastic model, bringing serious style even to a simple gray backdrop.
Come back tomorrow as the TEN (business) DAYS OF BLOGGING continues with a slideshow-licious treat!
Kim and Matt: Maternity (and Paternity?)
School is finally out and at long last Wendy and I are able to focus on photography and, more importantly, each other. Now that we have a little bit of leisure, we’re excited to share with you some of the images we’ve captured over the past month. In order to do that, I’ll (J.P.) be posting a new blog entry each week day for the next two weeks. Check back in and see three weddings, three mothers-to-be, one bride-to-be (who’s now a bride), and a band from North Carolina who’ll be appearing at this year’s Cornerstone Festival. So enjoy these photos from Kim’s maternity session and keep checking back to find out what’s been keeping us from hanging out with our friends enough lately.
Kim and Matt are an awesome couple that Wendy and I met when Kim started teaching with me and they invited us over to their apartment to eat the delicious dinner Kim had prepared while they regaled us with stories of life at Bob Jones University. It took us almost a year to finally get them over to our place because, you know, if you have people over you have to clean and, if you have them for dinner, you have to cook. Our solution was to invite them over to document Kim’s pregnancy with their first child. We still had to clean, but all the cooking we did was to brew a cup of coffee–just about my speed.
Kim and Matt’s excitement about this baby is evident in the way they talk about him and in the way they interact with him in his present bump-ish state.
Additionally, they’re pretty crazy about each other.
Unfortunately, sometimes Matt pushes Kim too far.
(Actually, something had blown into his eye, and Kim was very sweetly helping him remove it…but I still say it looks like an eye gouge.)
Wendy and I had a great time with Matt and Kim and are looking forward to meeting the new addition to their family in a couple of months.
Stay tuned for nine more posts over the next two weeks and come back around August to find out how cute this baby is when he’s ditched the uterus for new digs on the outside.
(Update Oct 25, 2009: Isaiah has arrived and you can see his baby pictures here!)
