Enjoy a sneak peek at what we shot that day:

Winter photography in Boston can be challenging….color tends to be a bit drab and nature is still asleep for a few more weeks but we love catching all that people tend to overlook. The nooks, the corners, the crevices – that’s where the good photos are. Jen and Neil were so excited to explore the unseen and we’re happy to share a few. Can’t wait for August and we’re anxious to see what sort of ‘flashy’ situation Mr. Cervone concocts!

Let’s thank the great Almighty people for making this monumental moment possible. And Giselle Bündchen’s helicopter flight instructor.

Stacey Howe states: “Let’s celebrate the newly-married, Mrs. Cagwin’s wedding! She’s been married for months now and we haven’t celebrated yet!”

Please.

Right there, that should have been my red-flag. Stacey Howe would never allow such an important event to go uncelebrated. She celebrates like she gets paid to celebrate….she specializes in it. Brendan couldn’t have chose a better person to involve in his well-planned, thorough, Excel spreadsheet-laden proposition. They’ve never even met….but her legend precedes her.

“Meet Mipsy and I at Copley and we’ll head up to Top of the Hub and wait to meet the Almighty ladies, in all of their post-pedicure fanfare, and we’ll celebrate the newly married Emily!”

Stacey baits the line, and I bite. We meet, because I’m always up for some Almighty interaction. We 3 head up to the 52nd floor & we check-in with the hostess (who, in retrospect, seemed a bit bajiggity.) She struggles with where to seat us and I make the brilliant suggestion to seat us near the window while we wait for the rest of the group and despite other people lingering at the bar, waiting to sit, she ok’s my suggestion and we settle in.

We chat about teaching. India. Running. Ex-girlfriend’s coffee cups. It wasn’t necessarily deep conversation, but it was important, nonetheless, as girlfriends always work to know their friends on a deeper level. And the whole time, I’m thinking “How long can a dang pedicure take? They’re just a block away, for God’s sake….”
Mustafa, the TOTH manager, swings by our table and asks how things are and shares a pair of binoculars with us, saying “Ladies, you have a great view and we like to share binoculars with our customers so that they can enjoy the scenery from this high up.” Nice touch, I thought. Sounds reasonable.

So, Stacey oohs and aahs over the view…..takes her time looking around. Melissa does the same. She’s excited and she’s pointing things out. They finally hand the binoculars to me and I gaze out a bit. Look some things over. Put them down for a minute so that I could get back to gazing at my wine. Then, they point out that “Look! A helicopter is coming this way!” So, I look. I see it coming. I’m not all that overwhelmed – I mean, it’s not like it’s Air Force One flying in the airspace between the Hancock Tower and the Prudential.
But, I notice it’s coming in quick and as it begins to get closer to the windows, I can make out the word “Marry”, so I immediately say “Oh, look! Someone’s getting proposed to.” and I hand off the binoculars so that Stacey can see. And she pushes them back at me and says “Yeah, it’s you!”

Natalie: “Huh?”
Stacey & Melissa, in unison: “That’s Brendan! This is for you!”
Natalie: “For who? Wait…what?”

…and then, with my mouth hanging open and sheer confusion all over my face, Mustafa comes over with a big sign that reads “YES” on one side and “NO” on the other and everyone tells me to stand up and respond to him! To put the sign up against the window and tell him YES! Photographer friends appear out of nowhere and are snapping each dim-witted look on my face.
Everyone in the Top of the Hub is standing up and clapping and waiting. BRENDAN is outside, in a helicopter, hanging in mid-air with a sign that reads “Natalie – Marry Me!” and I still am just standing there – punch drunk and speechless.
Finally, I make it to the window and I put my hands up to the glass and I hold that YES up high. He waves – and he flies away.

People are clapping. Two photographers are shooting at me (now I know how you feel, brides) and I’m dazed. Stacey tells me that Brendan is landing the helicopter at Logan and coming over right away. I wait. Champagne appears. Hugs. Shrieks. Questions. Congratulations.
…and finally, he was there. Wearing the same DC sweatshirt that he was wearing when he left the house earlier that day, telling me he was going to wash his car. The same sweatshirt he was wearing when he weaved a web of perfectly organized fibs – all with the plan to enact the most epic of proposals. And epic it truly was. TOTH staff noted that this was the very first helicopter proposal where the man was outside the window, waiting, ever. They almost exclusively get planes with banners.
More clapping. Kisses. Huge, silly, loony-looking smiles. He’s on his knee with the most perfect ring for me – a ring I couldn’t believe he was capable of choosing himself. An ideal blend what he wanted for this moment and what he knew I would want for myself.

The hoops that were jumped through, the walls that were scaled, the roadblocks that were overcome to make this possible cannot be explained. City permits for helicopters. For landing at Logan. Police permits for flying an aircraft between two buildings. My words cannot truly do it justice – he had it all figured out, down to the smallest detail.

And today, we spent the day in Montpelier. Killington. Woodstock and Rutland. It was a perfect day of aimless driving with no plans, that followed yesterday’s perfectly planned, perfect day. One year ago today, we were in Derry, Ireland and I sat there at dinner, wondering when this would ever happen. And now, I’m thinking that this year went by way too fast. Don’t miss out on enjoying the moments with the person you love, preparing to enjoy future events. It’s taken just 24 hours for me to realize that, now that I’m faced with preparations, all I want to do is enjoy the moments.

So, now….a Boston Wedding Photographer is just….a bride. And a groom.

So, Almighty & Emily – it was because an opportunity and a celebration were dangled in front of me that I was coerced over to TOTH, so keep on being your bad selves.

We’d like to take a minute to thank everyone that made this possible. Stacey Howe, Stuart Matsumoto, Melissa Mips, Don Lavange, Amol Patankar, Jessica Lavange and lastly, but surely not least, Mustafa @ Top of the Hub Restaurant. Also, the FAA, BPD, Boston Properties and probably Homeland Security (You can take the undercover van off our property, now).

Our friend Serjeo of Boston for crafting the perfect, fine hand sculpted diamond ring: Serjeo of Boston

Our friend Stuart of Metropolitan Helicopters: Metropolitan Helicopters.

Mustafa Hadria(Manager Top of the Hub Restaurant): Top of the Hub.

…and most important of all to Brendan, for choosing me – and for hovering and waiting for me to say ‘YES’.

Finally, the Photos & Video:

Preparing for takeoff from Marshfield, holding my 5DMKII with 14 2.8II and Rode Videomic:

Coming in over Quincy:

Here we come over South Boston:

Destination Top of the hub!:

Amol is shooting away, Stuart is questioning how i talked him into this:

Holding sign and 5D:

Holding sign and 5D:

Holding sign and 5D:

Holding sign and 5D:

Whoa, a plane in the background. Good timing Don!:

Tiny, but still visible:

I was told the whole restaurant gasped. Then they stood up and cheered:

Visual Trickery, we are less than 400FT away from the Prudential and about 800ft away from the Hancock building:

Stacey telling Natalie, check that out, it’s a helicopter:

Natalie doesn’t see her name on sign, tells Stacey someone is getting proposed to:

Natalie learning it’s me on the Helo and it’s she getting proposed to. Notice deer in headlights look:

Dumbfounded:

Dumbfounded and excited?:

Natalie Excited, TOTH’s Mustafa looking on in background:

Probably questioning why i wrote ‘yes’ and not ‘no’ also.:

Don Joking with Natalie:

Natalie trying to catch her breath, and Don shooting away with his 500mm:

Natalie still comprehending:

Looking back out at us, still comprehending:

Giving Stacey Howe of NewBalance a big hug:

Stacey and Melissa of NewBalance enjoying the view:

First thing first, call mumma :

Can’t believe what just happened:

Can’t believe what just happened:

Said Yes/No sign:

Finally arrives from landing at Logan and driving back:

The ‘proper’ on-knee proposal:

Admiring Ring:

Loves the ring! Score!:

Symbol Photography Proposal 3 from Symbol Photography on Vimeo.

Symbol Photography Proposal 1 from Symbol Photography on Vimeo.

Symbol Photography Proposal 2 from Symbol Photography on Vimeo.

Our Boston Indian Wedding really took off. South Asian Bride picked it up for their next issue!

Look for it in next months issue!

To see some photos click here

usually don’t get a break until late November or Early December. We decided this year to visit beautiful India. We already miss it…

They say India’s society is an exercise in “Survival of the fittest” and the same could be said for its tourists.

India is the type of place that can chew up and spit out the most seasoned of World Travelers… and ask for seconds. The minute you get into a car in India you will see the God ‘Ganesh’ on the dashboard of even the most desperate auto-richshaw. And there is a reason – you’re going to need that God at every corner, every intersection and maybe even just in your hotel’s parking lot.

One wonders why you don’t see Ganesh on shoelaces and on bicycles, because Ganesh knows, they need it more. But all of that aside, once you let go of your preconceived notions and just let the chaos envelope you, then and only then are you are truly ready to be a tourist of this fine country.

Colors, odors, animals all congregate here. And usually on the streets. All living things are abound and all it takes is the leveling of your camera to invoke a smile of even the most destitute of people. And that’s where the love comes in. How could one not fall in love with people who persevere and smile in the face of life’s most ardent adversary – daily life in a third world country. I hesitate to call India a third world country, as it surely doesn’t feel like one to me. But alas, true to definition, it is.

However, as third-world as it may be, there is a newly injected liveliness which is occurring there as their stock market, their housing situations, and with the country as a whole starts to rise and become more modern. Being there 8 years ago, we’ve witnessed seemingly small but obvious changes such as everyone having a cell phone and everyone having a cool aftermarket CD player in their cars. Oh and many families have cars now, even more than one in many cases. It’s amazing to witness an entire country modernize in the face of recession in other parts of the world.

But beyond the material things and stock markets will always be the spiritual aspect of India. The deep rooted history in things such as Astrology, and Jainism. Some temples and other sacred sites goback several thousands of years. And they aren’t locked behind some vault or 3″ lexan. You can visit these sites and walk amongst those that have walked the same path for thousands of years. It’s truly magical.

This year we traveled to many cities Delhi, Agra, Jaipur, Udaipur, Jodhpur, Jaisalmer, Goa and Kerela. North to South. It’s quite a treat to be in a small town and have a bunch of schoolchildren crowd you for chocolate. It’s worse to have none and feel like a heel for not having any… we didn’t make that mistake again. From the desert in the north to the amazon-like jungle in the very south, we had an amazing trip and are once again reminded of what a beautiful and great country this is to visit. We wholeheartedly recommend visiting India to anyone who reads this. You will never be the same after coming back.

Go through the full gallery below: Enjoy!

Brendan and I had our ideas, as usual, and Richard and Allison were up for everything we threw their way. Not some typical engagement photography destinations, but unique and so well-suited to these two, nonetheless. And just when I thought I couldn’t enjoy these two any more than I did after some coffee and great conversation and a few laughs, they mentioned getting some shots at their favorite used record store.
Finally. A client that wanted to go record shopping during their session.

The perfect diversion and distraction. I’ve been waiting for you, Richard.

And so after spending some quality-time with Shepard Fairey, having some fun city steps and some city lights, Father Miles Davis – in all of his jazz wisdom – looked down over this couple, presided over this engagement photography session and blessed this union.

…and lastly, I just love the boots. Had to sneak in a photo of those.

Enjoy!

So you bought the Elinchrom Octabank as one of your largest light sources. It’s a fantastic unit for sure. And at $1000USD it should be. This is a highly coveted unit and is used by Annie Leibovitz and other very well known photographers including Scott Kelby and Frank Doorhof and the like.

There are plenty reviews on the net, so i’m not going to get too deep into that. Instead i’m going to list some Elinchrom Octabank modifications out there on the net, what i’ve used with success and also some operational photos.

Photos on operation:

See the spread of light here:


Mounts for modifiers.


Keep the cable close to the unit, as opposed to sloppy. Dont want to see it in a catchlight!

First off. The included tilt-head with the unit is fine for some uses but really leaves something to be desired at times. If you’ve ever mounted the Elinchrom octa Bank on a boom, the stock Head grip wouldn’t suffice as it would lose its grip quite easily.

Solution: Avenger D200 Grip Head. This process while not entirely reversible, is at least reversible to be used with the stock grip head again.

Parts needed to perform modification:

• Drill
• 3/8ths Bit
• Avenger D200 Grip Head

Steps:

• 1. Unscrew the stock grip head from the elinchrom octabank mount until it removes itself from the unit.
• 2. Reinforce the attached mount and prepare your 3/8ths drill bit and drill a perfect hole within the existing hole.
• 3. Unscrew the D200 grip head and start removing all the pieces. Don’t worry they are listed in order below.

Completed Unit:

• 4. Place the elinchrom mount on the avenger bolt, in the order located in the photo above.
• 5. Reuse the elinchrom black friction rubber plate for the other side of the cork piece provided by avenger.
• 6. Tighten and enjoy true strength in mounting in any position.
• 7. TIP: Store the outter baffle around the mount when storing in its case, so the metal mount inside the reflective fabric doesn’t start to rip into the reflective fabric!

Elinchrom’s official guide on using the Octabank

Well the Frank Doorhof Workshop is finally going to happen.

First, a bit of background. Frank Doorhof is a very well regarded figure in fashion/glamour photography in Europe. He hails from Denmark and his studio outside of Amsterdam is home to countless amazing photography ads featured in print magazines all over Europe.

What does this have in common with Boston Wedding Photography as a Boston Wedding Photographer you ask? Well, as you progress as a photographer, you get into lighting and lighting technique. After all, we don’t write with pens or paint brushes, we write with light.

Frank has mastered different techniques with his lighting and his workshops are recognized the world-round as being some of the most informative and easy going in the industry. Frank is honestly one of the nicest people out there in the fashion/glamour photography world. We initially wanted Frank here in the USA for a workshop. But nobody showed initial interest in sponsoring such an event. So we worked with Frank on the numbers and come up with a solution to bring him over with no corporate sponsorship. We are in talks with Elinchrom and Leaf, though at this point, neither have committed.

So there we have it, April 24 and April 25th, 2010. New York City. We will be joining Frank for both events and helping organize locations and studio time. Later in the year we are also joining Frank for his 1 on 1 workshop in Denmark. We are very excited for that.

To view Frank’s portfolio, view it here: Frank Doorhof Portfolio

If anyone is interested in attending, please visit: www.frankdoorhof.com/ny

Stay tuned for more info!

Tip #1
You can save yourself an enormous amount of money if you are open to being married during the off-season months of January, February, March and November. A Boston Wedding in December becomes a bit hectic with the holidays, parties and shopping, so we’ve omitted that month here. With Boston Weddings, it’s important to remember that if you DO decide to hold your wedding during one of these ‘off’ months, to hold them early in the day, as the sun goes down by 4:30pm and outdoor shots are next-to impossible without additional lighting during this season.

And if a winter wedding is not the wedding you have always dreamed of having, consider being married and holding your wedding on a Sunday. It’s another great way to save some cash, as vendors do most work on Saturday’s and a Sunday is not typically a popular day. A Sunday wedding can be elegant and chic. Be unique!

Tip #2
There isn’t an official name for this disease and it isn’t regional to just Boston brides, but many brides get it. If you identify it early, you can save yourself (and your family & friends) hours of anguish:
1st Symptom – Just about 3 months before your wedding, you begin to second-guess your every decision.
2nd Symptom – You grow increasingly scared and spend (what feels like) every waking hour obsessing about what more you can do to make your wedding better or more unique or more creative or more shabby-chic or more retro or more zen or more elegant or more….
3rd Symptom – Then you’ll ask friends, family, co-workers or essentially anyone that will listen to you about what they think of your new ideas and cry foul when they don’t seem to feel as strongly or as passionately about making improvements as you do.
4th Symptom – and most dangerous…you make a few phone calls and start upgrading a few of your packages.

The Cure – Trust. Just trust. Stick to your original budget. As the wedding draws near, your emotions, nerves, excitement, or gasp! the Martha Stewart in you begins to take over…ignore them (or her.). If you’ve outlined the vision that you have for your day from the beginning, your day will be beautiful. This includes your wedding photography. The only time you may want to upgrade is if your timeline has significantly changed for reasons beyond your control.

Tip #3
Holding your reception in a hotel has good points that you may not have even considered. Hotels can often decorate, have professional services (concierge, planners, etc.) and most likely will include the honeymoon suite as a part of your booking, with discounted rooms for out-of-town guests. Especially the larger hotels like Taj Boston, Langham Hotel, Intercontinental and Copley Marriott.

If you’re having a wedding with 75 guests or under, consider having your reception at your favorite restaurant. You will already know the staff and how the food is and you can often reserve the restaurant or, at least, a portion of it. This can help you to save a significant amount of money, as well.

Tip #4
Photographers charge too much?

Photographer’s equipment and workflow costs alone are quite sizable. There are batteries, flash cards, wear and tear on their vehicle, venue insurance coverage and, most importantly, the hours of work on and after the wedding that is factored into their pricing. Your paying for creative talent, not just in photoshop, but behind the camera when the work of capturing the images is done. You can save money on enlargements and albums but don’t penny pinch when it comes to the photographer. After your wedding day, the tangible memories, the ones that you can put in your hands and hold, are your photos. Everything else resides in your memory. Nothing else will endure and be passed down from generation to generation the way that your wedding photography will be.

Hire a photographer that gives you your digital high-resolution files, that way you can make as many re-prints of the photography from your wedding day as you’d like. However, for particularly special images or those that you wish to frame and showcase in your home, it’s highly recommended that you order the prints from your wedding photographer. Photographers have access to professional printers that use archival quality paper that will last for generations, unlike the print runs at Target, and the inks are UV-resistant and colors remain true over generations.

$1000.00 for a photographer is a great price but if they charge $100.00 for an 8 X 10, where is the savings? Don’t just look at the photo packages or wedding day shoot costs, ask how much their albums and prints are as well. It’s only worthwhile to pay $1000.00 to a wedding photographer if they actually give you the images once the wedding is over. Ask the questions. There is a tremendous amount of fine print and cost associated with photographers that have prices that seem almost ‘too good to be true.’

Lastly, define ‘retouching’ with your photographer. The term ‘retouching’ is used loosely within the wedding photography industry, never mind with clients. Retouching can mean simply ‘color correcting’ (Which simply means ensuring the color temperature of your photos is correct) This is the simplest of retouching practices. We consider this the bare minimum, but many area wedding photographers get away with this technique and call it ‘retouching.’ Few Boston Boutique Photographers go through each and every photo and retouch skin, remove non-permanent blemishes, stray hairs, remove distractions such as huge exit signs behind a stunning photo of a bride….and that’s just the basics. It’s very important to distinguish exactly what a photographer is going to do to your photos after your big day. It’s the difference between spending 2 hours for color correction and 40 hours going through each photo and making each a true masterpiece.

Tip #5
Let’s face it, the only service you NEED to get married is an officiant.

However, most Boston wedding coordinators can save you money because they know…

About all the tips mentioned above plus more..
What to say to and ask your vendors..
Important connections in the industry..

You really don’t need a coordinator at your reception once the dance floor is open to your guests. That usually happens between 9-10pm.

You could hire a wedding consultant to help with the final stages of your wedding: creating a detailed wedding day itinerary, making up a checklist of items for the ceremony & reception locations, and confirming with your vendors. While they won’t be in attendance at your wedding, they have planned the day smoothly on paper. As long as you follow the times closely (not exactly) and hold the events in the same order as the itinerary states, you’ll be fine.

You can appoint a friend or family member to be your honorary coordinator. Give them an itinerary, checklists (ceremony & reception items, photo and music list) and phone numbers for all your vendors. The honorary coordinator should be someone that’s organized, the more obsessive-compulsive the better and not scared to open their mouth when something goes wrong (or right!)

Well that’s it folks – just a few thoughts, like we said. Our Best of Boston Wedding tips is complete. Don’t skip over the hours of sunlight during the winter or forget about Daylight Savings Time. These can both have dramatic affect on your time line when planning your day and your Boston Wedding Photography.

Cheers!

And while we don’t yet have a lifetime worth of photos, we are certainly working to that end… And along those lines, occasionally you surprise yourself with a technically fantastic photograph. While it may not be one of the ’stand out’ photos people see sometimes on blogs, we still feel it’s worthy of mentioning here – though nary a human, with the exception of a fellow photographer, may appreciate.

That said…in Boston Wedding Photography, it’s almost a guarantee that you’ll need to prepare differently for locations in the Winter vs. other seasons. For example, the sun goes down at 4:45pm and this can sometimes be a severe limitation for those looking to do fun, group shots outside, especially if you have an evening wedding.

We wedding photographers needs to be creative during these times to ensure we are delivering the quality photography clients expect. We have a few photos to share and do our best to share a short explanation on why these photos are interesting, from a technical point of view.

This photo is interesting, as we knew the Colonnade might become a bit stale after a few rounds of shots and since we only had the evening light, we wanted to explore a location nearby and decided to use the Prudential Mall instead. We scouted a few locations and found this one, nice area with a single light shining down. We really liked the clean curved lines in the background and how the light only lit the couple:

Here was another lucky find this time of year – large Christmas ornaments that we thought would make for a festive backdrop and the couple loved it..

Lastly, this is the really technical photo we were speaking of. We did a long exposure on this one, used a remotely triggered flash inside the Boston Colonnade Smart Car. We love the playful aspect of the Smart Car and decided that night or day, we were going to find a way to use this in our shot. You can see the cars in the background moving while we dragged the shutter. The flash inside the car had time to fully burn in the scene inside the car as well. Had we not used flash here, it would have been too dark and you wouldn’t see their faces. We just love this photo…

Don’t misunderstand – a winter wedding CAN be a challenge – the kind that helps to separate the good wedding photographers from the not-so-good, but I have to be honest: Despite the imperfect weather being cold and grey, Taylor and Bob lit up whatever was around them, inside and outside of the Fairmont Battery Wharf. A truly elegant and magnificent couple with some serious style….and the woman can DANCE!

Some photos of the rehearsal dinner at Eastern Standard:

Wedding Day:

India is the type of place that can chew up and spit out the most seasoned of World Travelers… and ask for seconds. The minute you get into a car in India you will see the God ‘Ganesh’ on the dashboard of even the most desperate auto-richshaw. And there is a reason – you’re going to need that God at every corner, every intersection and maybe even just in your hotel’s parking lot.

One wonders why you don’t see Ganesh on shoelaces and on bicycles, because Ganesh knows, they need it more. But all of that aside, once you let go of your preconceived notions and just let the chaos envelope you, then and only then are you are truly ready to be a tourist of this fine country.

Colors, odors, animals all congregate here. And usually on the streets. All living things are abound and all it takes is the leveling of your camera to invoke a smile of even the most destitute of people. And that’s where the love comes in. How could one not fall in love with people who persevere and smile in the face of life’s most ardent adversary – daily life in a third world country. I hesitate to call India a third world country, as it surely doesn’t feel like one to me. But alas, true to definition, it is.

However, as third-world as it may be, there is a newly injected liveliness which is occurring there as their stock market, their housing situations, and with the country as a whole starts to rise and become more modern. Being there 8 years ago, we’ve witnessed seemingly small but obvious changes such as everyone having a cell phone and everyone having a cool aftermarket CD player in their cars. Oh and many families have cars now, even more than one in many cases. It’s amazing to witness an entire country modernize in the face of recession in other parts of the world.

But beyond the material things and stock markets will always be the spiritual aspect of India. The deep rooted history in things such as Astrology, and Jainism. Some temples and other sacred sites goback several thousands of years. And they aren’t locked behind some vault or 3″ lexan. You can visit these sites and walk amongst those that have walked the same path for thousands of years. It’s truly magical.

This year we traveled to many cities Delhi, Agra, Jaipur, Udaipur, Jodhpur, Jaisalmer, Goa and Kerela. North to South. It’s quite a treat to be in a small town and have a bunch of schoolchildren crowd you for chocolate. It’s worse to have none and feel like a heel for not having any… we didn’t make that mistake again. From the desert in the north to the amazon-like jungle in the very south, we had an amazing trip and are once again reminded of what a beautiful and great country this is to visit. We wholeheartedly recommend visiting India to anyone who reads this. You will never be the same after coming back.

Enjoy a small listing of photos here. Many more to come at a later date.

And then onto the weddings;

Sheena and Joe so elegantly live up to the promises they made, not just to each other and their family, but to the USCG and in this case, the vow ‘I shall live joyously’ was never upheld so well.

A perfect balance of spirit and stability officially merged on this starry night….

When Natalie and I cannot agree on Black and White or Color… you win! You get both…

Napa Valley Wedding. We flew out to California to capture Andrea and Will’s awesome wedding…. right in the heart of wine country!

And then, Sara and Jim’s Greenwhich, Ct wedding… still processing images from both, but here are a few: