Shooting a band is oh-so-slightly different than shooting a wedding, and it gives us a chance to play in ways we normally don’t. We love the playful aspect of shooting musicians, but the other side is that there are a lot of clichés to avoid (think railroad tracks and brick walls).  For this shot, we decided to draw inspiration from the same source that the band did.  The title of Divided by Friday’s new EP, The Constant, is a reference to Lost–specifically the fact that Penny (the one whose boat it isn’t) is Desmond’s constant–the thing that keeps him anchored in time/reality/whatever was going on. If you haven’t seen Lost, go ahead and watch all seven seasons. The rest of us will wait.

Okay, I guess you’re back. Wasn’t that great? Well, yeah, maybe not the last episode, but otherwise, awesome!

Anyway, Wendy and I were discussing the idea of a constant–something that draws you back to a central point, like home. We decided that food is something that draws people together (think holidays like Thanksgiving), and it could be cool to see the guys drifting away, yet pulled back together by the fellowship of a shared meal. Admittedly, I also liked the idea of putting a rock band in my mom’s kitchen (thanks, Mom!). This is what we got:

If you have some free time, feel free to use this like a Highlights magazine and circle all the floating food in the image.

If you prefer your band pictures with more gravity and fewer calories, here’s another from the shoot:

Now, the event that actually inspired this post is the release of Divided by Friday’s latest video, their version of “O Holy Night”. Are you looking forward to Christmas? Do you like to rock? Yes? Then check it out!

After that, go check out the rest of their music on Myspace.

No, seriously. Last pic.

To start with, we’re going to celebrate the wedding of Chris and Joie. These two were married on a beautiful (if famously hot) South Carolina day at the Seibels House and Garden. Chris and Joie are a fantastic couple and obviously overwhelmingly in love. Wendy and I both love the way they look out for each other, even if it meant Chris shooing us away so that he could have some alone with Joie before the wedding. And Joie–when she looks at Chris, you can just tell she has his back and that she knows that he has hers. They’re a beautiful pair.

Anyway, enough of my blathering. Here are the pictures!

(Don’t forget about the guys.)

I swear we did not set up these next two photos.

Chris and Joie opted to have a “first look” before the ceremony. That gave them a chance to spend a few moments alone together and gave us a chance to get these uninterrupted photos of the two of them seeing each other for the first time on their wedding day.

The party next moved on to the Columbia Museum of Art…

We don’t know exactly what was hanging from the ceiling, but it looked dangerous!
[Update: The chandelier is by artist Dale Chihuly, who looks fairly dangerous, himself.]

Chris dancing for joy at his good fortune in marrying Joie.

Chris and Joie, it was wonderful celebrating with you and your delightful family and friends. May you continue to delight and delight in one another for many, many years to come!

Anyway, we put together a slide show of some of the photos we took. We hope you like it!

At one point, while I was either hogging Michael and Katie or looking over Lee’s shoulder, Wendy grabbed Megan, who also graciously agreed to pose for us that night, and got these glamorous shots…in the bathroom. Yup, for some reason that’s where they keep the really cool furniture at 701 Whaley.

Thanks to the PPofSC and to Lee for putting this together, to 701 Whaley for having us and providing a great backdrop and to our lovely models Katie, Michael, and Megan. You guys rock!

Meet Ethan.  Ethan loves to read and play, and he insists on giving you a full tour of the toy box as soon as you walk through the door.

I love this next picture Loren took of Ethan watching J.P. juggle some blocks.  At the time, I was helping my mom prepare for our family photo.  Just look at those bright eyes and that smile!

Here he is opening up some cardboard blocks that took the adults about half an hour to assemble (actually, I’m not sure how long it took us, but those blocks are not coming apart again for some time… too many little cardboard teeth).

Ethan wasn’t as excited about the shark poncho we picked out as he was the blocks, books and puzzles.  I can’t blame the kid, but I sure am glad we got this picture out of it.

This is Brooke, Ethan’s beautiful baby sister.  She is sweet and sociable and thinks Ethan is the funniest thing around.  Brooke’s laugh alone is enough to make my day (this is what I’m talking about).

Here’s Poppy snoozing with little Brooke…

…and Pop holding  Brooke after her nap.

Ethan is a wonderful big brother who will frequently bring his little sis toys to hold and even try to make sure she’s present for story time.  But even the best older siblings will sometimes compete for attention…

The trip was awesome!  Mainly, we lounged around, played with the kids, hung out with Betsy and Loren, and ate their food.  My mom and dad were there, too, so we had some bonus family time consisting of caroling, continued eating, and of course a family photo shoot.

Betsy and Loren are amazing parents and, honestly, first class human beings.  They are family and friends we continue to look up to.

Currently, Loren, Betsy, Ethan and Brooke are reunited after Loren’s recent trip to help out in the aftermath of the earthquake in Haiti.  You can view some of his pictures from the trip here.  Welcome home, Loren!  We love you!

It’s pretty exciting to have two brides to share with you in two weeks. Melissa also got married last Saturday, but since Wendy and I were in Greenwood photographing Leah and Greg’s wedding and Melissa was down in Florida, getting hitched to Jon, we didn’t get to spend the day with her. Fortunately, she asked us to photograph her for her bridal portrait, so we got a sneak peek at just how beautiful she was going to be on her wedding day.

Melissa told me that she and Jon were getting married in a swamp in Florida. I’m still not sure how literally to take that, but nonetheless we figured it would be a good idea to reflect the outdoors in Melissa’s bridal shoot, so we headed down to Sesquicentennial State Park, where there was still some beautiful fall foliage on the trees.

Of course, we didn’t just stick this bride out in the woodsand make her stand around –we also gave her a chance to sit down…

…and generally be gorgeous while the sun set behind her.

Yup. She’s barefoot. We seem to attract that kind of bride. Thank goodness!

Finally, as the sun went down, we decided to have a little more fun with a bunch of balloons we brought along just for the occasion. They didn’t carry Melissa away cartoon-fashion which was, on the one hand, a bit of a disappointment, but on the other, kept me from having to explain to Jon why his finacée was floating over the city of Columbia in her wedding dress.

Jon and Melissa, we hope marriage is as magnificent for you as it has been for us. You’ve both found someone very special!

To everybody else, check back later in the week for adorable children and next week for Leah and Greg’s teasers!

Way back in September, though, Leah came down to Columbia and we got to capture these lovely images of her in her wedding gown.

Since she was a little girl, Leah had wanted to have her bridal photo taken at the South Carolina State House. We certainly weren’t going to argue with a little girl’s dreams.

Wendy got this picture of Leah that really shows off her amazing blue eyes. Greg’s eyes are almost as bright as you can see from their engagement photos. Their kids’ eyes are going to be gorgeous! (Not that we’re rushing you, guys.)

We had so much fun with Leah that we wound up shooting until the sun went down. Even though there wasn’t much light to work with, we decided to get in a few more shots featuring the lights of Columbia. This was one of our favorites.

We have a lot of pictures to go through, but we’ll be sharing a few quick teasers from Leah and Greg’s wedding next week. Be sure to come back and check them out!

‘Twas the night before Christmas
And strange as it seems
J.P. and Wendy were relaxing
Their apartment was clean!
They’d watched Lost off of Netflix,
Ten episodes or more,
Odd since they’d just started
Watching two days before.
They’d sung ‘long with Sufjan,
Read some Lord of the Rings,
Watched Peanuts and Garfield
From Bittorrent streams.
And soon they’d be dreaming
Of lenses and lights,
Softboxes and snoots
To make portraits look right.
But first to their blog
They posted scenes of cheer
To thank friends and clients
For a wonderful year!

Wendy and I are celebrating our third Christmas together as husband and wife and, if you’ll pardon a little bit of bragging, I’m reminded that I am the luckiest man on earth. Seriously, how many guys have a wife who can decorate cookies like this?

I’m guessing very, very few.

I’d also expect that there aren’t too many wives who would indulge their husbands in decorating their gingerbread men to resemble web comic characters.

Meet Faye and Marten…

…and Winslow and Pintsize.

Now say goodbye to Pintsize.

Besides decorating cookies, we got ready for Christmas by going to “The Lights Before Christmas” at Riverbanks Zoo.

(I think Wendy looks good in red, don’t you?)

I don’t know if the fish were in the Christmas spirit or not. Some of them were kind of sparkly, though.

Meanwhile the Lizards were decked out in their best Christmas green.

Wendy and I wish you a very merry Christmas and suggest that you put a star on your tree…

(Not this one)

…snuggle up with someone you love…

…or in my case…

…and have a happy New Year!

]]> http://www.lumosstudio.com/blog/2009/12/merry-christmas/feed/ 1 http://www.lumosstudio.com/blog/2009/11/dog-portrait-sir-chubbs-ii/ http://www.lumosstudio.com/blog/2009/11/dog-portrait-sir-chubbs-ii/#comments Tue, 17 Nov 2009 04:24:39 +0000 J.P. http://www.lumosstudio.com/blog/?p=534 Amie and Chris are an absolutely awesome couple whose wedding we’ll be photographing next May. When Wendy and I sat down with them to talk about their photos, we asked if there were any specific photos they felt they absolutely had to have. It turns out there was only one: a photo of their pug, Sir Chubbs II, wearing a tuxedo.

(Is there really any need for more introduction than that?)

Because Chris and Amie’s wedding is outdoors, Chubbs won’t be able to be in attendance. We learned from them that due to pugs’ shortened breathing passages, they can’t really stand to be out in the heat for extended periods. So, since Chubbs couldn’t be a member of the wedding party, Amie and Chris dressed this precious pooch up in tails and a bow tie for his own pre-wedding portrait just before their engagement session.

Meet Sir Chubbs:

After a few casual poses on the pillow, Chubbs changed into his formal attire.

(Wendy’s mother said she thinks he looks like Winston Churchill in this picture.)

(Yup, his tail is sticking out from between his tails.)

(If they ever make an all-dog version of Oceans 11, Chubbs is a shoo-in.)

I have never seriously tried to photograph dogs before, figuring that it would be too hard to pose them and that the noise of the camera and the light from the flashes would spook them. Chubbs, though, was a real trooper, and Chris and Amie were terrific at keeping him where he should be and looking in the right direction. Still, after hundreds of shots and two different outfits, Chubbs had pretty much had it…

(Don’t feel too bad for him. That expression could be exhaustion or the look a dog gets when he has been stuffed to the brim with doggie treats.)

We actually did photograph Chris and Amie, but we figured Chubbs deserved his own post. Nonetheless, here’s Chubbs with his mom and dad, of whom you’ll be seeing more soon.

Remember, sharing is caring, so if you’d like to share Sir Chubbs II with your friends, you can do so easily by clicking on the links below for Facebook, Twitter, or the social whosamawhatsie of your choice. I’m not saying the ghosts of Christmas past, present, and future are going to visit you if you don’t share, but why take the risk?

More to come!

Among other things I do, I (J.P.) teach Rhetoric. Rhetoric, simply, is the art of persuasive speech.  In my class, the students primarily study Aristotle’s aptly-named Rhetoric, but sometimes I want to share with them something a little more contemporary, something that truly speaks to their generation. I think that infomercials are one of the best modern examples of persuasive communication and it’s for this reason I introduced them to the Snuggie™: the blanket with sleeves.

The students seemed to appreciate the simple structure of the commercial:

1) Present a problem: “You want to stay warm without raising your heating bill and you are incapable of performing mundane tasks like answering the phone while entombed in the shroud-like confines of a blanket. Also, for some reason, everything is in black and white.”
2) Offer a solution while footage switches to color and peppy music begins: “Now, you can own a Snuggie! You’ll be able to stay warm while enjoying a wide range of activities!”
3) Show how the benefits of the solution makes life amazing!

Little did I know how much they had appreciated it…

Two days after my birthday, just as I was getting ready to begin Rhetoric, our headmaster called me down to his office to help him with a computer problem. I asked a student to tell the rest of the class what the day’s assignment was and to have them begin on it, and followed the headmaster. After talking with me for a few minutes, the headmaster walked with me back to my classroom so I could retrieve a USB drive that contained some diagnostic utilities. When I got back to the room, the lights were off, the kids had their heads down on their desks and I was led by the headmaster to the far side of the room.

What followed was nothing less than amazing. My students has remixed and personalized the Snuggie commercial for me: “Mr. Stephens, do you find it miserable teaching in a freezing cold classroom? Do you find it difficult to write on the board when your hands have frostbite on them?”  After presenting the problem, the lights came on, the music started (“Wannabe” by the Spice Girls), and the dancing and singing began. Oh yeah, and one student burst from the closet skating on a scooter while wearing a leopard-print Snuggie.

They didn’t skimp on the benefits of the solution, either. “Mr. Stephens, with your new Snuggie, you’ll be healthier, taller, stronger, more athletic, smarter…your hands will be nice and warm and you’ll be able to give us all A’s!” “You could even make it the official costume of Lunch Money!” At this point the students all dropped to their knees (approximating Lunch Money fan height) and waved their hands in the air while screaming “I love Lunch Money!”

In the end, I was presented with an awesome card, my new Snuggie…

…a DVD copy of The Iron Giant (they may have felt sorry for me after I showed them my copy on VHS)…

…a handmade Snuggie user’s guide…

(Note the chart.)

…and a cookie as big as my head!

At this point, it’s probably gratuitous to say that I have the greatest Rhetoric class ever. That’s one thing about Rhetoric, if the suck up this well, then they’re obviously getting the idea! As a small thank you to them, I will now conclude with a photo that I hope captures the magnificence of my birthday celebration, my students, and of course, my Snuggie.

P.S.- If any potential clients are reading this and you’re interested in a Snuggie-themed engagement shoot please contact us–we are definitely the photographers for you!

P.P.S.- After lecturing my students about copyright, I should probably mention that the first, second, and fourth pictures were taken by students and they retain all rights to them.