When you’re a photographer, you’re always the one taking the pictures, instead of being in them. So when my friend and Charleston photographer extraordinaire, Virgil Bunao of CVI Photography asked me to take some family pictures for him, I said, “Sure!” Virgil and Courtney were awaiting the arrival of baby Claire, so this was one of their last opportunities to capture what life was like as a trio with little Jacob, who made sure we got our exercise running around the field!.jpg "charlestonfamilyportraits")
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After making a quick trip to Charleston, SC this week to shoot an engagement session, it couldn’t be more perfect timing to blog a Charleston wedding! I recently second shot Alli & Ben’s wedding for my buddy Virgil Bunao, in the lovely little town of Mt. Pleasant. Before the wedding, we met up with Alli to capture all the “getting ready” fun – including makeup courtesy of makeup artist Leslie Moore, and of course putting on the gorgeous Judd Waddell gown:.jpg "charlestonweddingphotographer3")
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Can you tell her dad’s a big Clemson fan?.jpg "charlestonweddingphotographer5")
I took off to meet up with the dapper groom at the wedding site, The Creek Club at I’on:.jpg "charlestonweddingphotographer8")
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I couldn’t resist putting Ben and his boys on the dock. They look pretty studly, don’t you think?.jpg "charlestonweddingphotographer2")
Ooh Events did a fabulous job with the event planning, including the floral design and decor:.jpg "charlestonweddingphotographer14")
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After the ceremony, the guests enjoyed a cocktail hour courtesy of Cru Catering, who provided the entire menu for the evening, including their award winning macaroni and cheese (an award they totally deserved, because I tasted it and it was goooood!):.jpg "charlestonweddingphotographer15")
Of course, the cocktail hour is designed to give us time for pictures – which was awesome because there just happened to be some juicy light!.jpg "charlestonweddingphotographer11")
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I love the hint of her smile in this one:.jpg "charlestonweddingphotographer16")
As it got darker, the night lit up with lanterns and candles, and all the fixings for s’mores were set next to the outdoor fireplace:.jpg "charlestonweddingphotographer13")
Inside, everyone danced the night away to the sounds of the band, Loose Chain….jpg "charlestonweddingphotographer18")
…until it was time to say goodbye to the new Mr. & Mrs., and an awesome night!.jpg "charlestonweddingphotographer10")
Thanks Alli and Ben for being so sweet and letting me be part of your day!
Last week, I made my annual trek to Las Vegas for the WPPI (Wedding and Portrait Photographers International) Convention. This is the biggest convention in our industry, with 14,000 photographers attending, and a gigantic tradeshow displaying all of the latest products. There’s always something new to see – and not just in the convention. One day on the Vegas strip, I took a couple happy snaps of the new City Center:.jpg "wppi2010lasvegasawardwinningphotographer3")
And a few more abstract shots, just for giggles..jpg "wppi2010lasvegasawardwinningphotographer2")
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But enough random pictures of Vegas. 🙂 WPPI’s 2010 Awards of Excellence 16×20 Print Competition was held during the convention – over 3300 prints were entered, and the prints that scored high enough to receive an Accolade of Excellence were displayed in a print exhibition. I was excited to walk through the exhibition to find 5 of my prints hanging! (I’ll post the images bigger at the end of this post in case you missed them before.) .jpg "wppi2010lasvegasawardwinningphotographer4")
Then as if that wasn’t enough, I got a HUGE surprise at the awards ceremony that was held at the end of the convention. The Grand Awards for the 2009 8×10 Competitions are awarded then, and apparently my face said it all when I won the Grand Award for International Commercial Print of the Year!.jpg "grandawardinternationalcommercialprintoftheyear")
Apparently I was such a bundle of nerves that I practically ran off the stage after accepting the award, which is so funny to me, because I felt like I was up there forever! I blame it on the shock of them handing me a $1000 check along with the plaque (I know – shut the front door, right???). Thanks to WPPI for giving me a heart attack in the best way possible!
And as promised, here are bigger versions of my 16×20 prints that made the cut and hung in Vegas:
“In Hot Water” – Accolade of Excellence in Wedding: Bride & Groom Together.jpg "wppi2010lasvegasawardwinningphotographer8")
“Dapper” – Accolade of Excellence in Portrait: Individual.jpg "wppi2010lasvegasawardwinningphotographer6")
“Old Soul” – Accolade of Excellence in Portrait: Animals/Pets.jpg "wppi2010lasvegasawardwinningphotographer7")
“Old News” – Accolade of Excellence in Commercial: Illustrative/Editorial.jpg "wppi2010lasvegasawardwinningphotographer5")
“The Riff” – Accolade of Excellence in Commercial: Illustrative/Editorial.jpg "wppi2010lasvegasawardwinningphotographer9")
Back in November, I posted a sneak peek of a little something I was working on, an editorial style shoot inspired by the retro style of the tv show “Mad Men”. For lack of a better name, I temporarily called it “The Ty Project” – but now it’s finished, and it has a new official name. I designed an album called “Ty Eiland: The Style Session” and here it is! Special thanks to the fabulous Ty for being one fierce model!.jpg "madmeneditorialshoot01")
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You know that feeling you get when you find a surprise in your mailbox and it makes your day? I had that today when I opened mine and found that I received a WPPI (Wedding and Portrait Photographers International) Accolade of Photographic Mastery (aka APM)! So if you’re not a photographer, you’re thinking, “what the heck is that?”, right? Here’s the deal: you have to accumulate 20 exhibition points to get an APM. You earn exhibition points through WPPI print competitions – you get one point for each Accolade of Excellence award you receive, and more points if your prints place first, second, or third in a category. So I’m excited because I remember when 20 points seemed like it was so far away, and I made it (plus “Accolade of Photographic Mastery” sounds pretty cool, lol)!.jpg "wppiawardwinningphotographer")
beautiful photos Julie. Thank you for taking these! We had so much fun! Come visit again,,,please….