Goat Farm Wedding – Amelia and Mark

Amelia and Mark were married on a warm June day at Windy Hill Farm in Cedar Grove, North Carolina not far from Chapel Hill. The two prepared for the day in a sweet old farmhouse full of antiques and curiosities. A pair of rabbits dozed in a hutch, Tiger lilies reached for the sun. The ceremony was held on the far side of a sun-drenched field under the shade of a gorgeous stand of trees at the edge of a forest. Amelia and her family made their way across the field on the back of a tractor with parasols for cover. They were met with old time banjo music. Nestled into the shade, Amelia and Mark’s friends and family shared readings and laughter. During cocktail hour guests sheltered from the sun under parasols and ate oysters. The barbecue dinner was scrumptious, the dancing lively, and the goats came out for a romp in the gloaming. It was a storybook day that I was honored to document.

Many thanks to my talented 2nd photographer, Yuri Vaysgant

Vendors

Venue: Windy Hill Farm

Wedding dress: Judd Waddell

Florist: Bluebird Meadows

Wedding planner: C+D Events

Hair: WINK Hair and Make up

Band: Dwight Hawkins & the Piedmont Highballers

DJ: DJ Gonzo (Aharon Segal)

Cake: Details Cake Design & Bakery

Catering: ACME Food & Beverage Co.

Invitations: Dana Cheit; JesSmith Designs

Best Wedding Photos 2017

Hazel Photo Best Wedding Photos 2017

In 2017 I photographed 14 weddings in California, New York, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Maryland, New Jersey, and Massachusetts.

In 2017 more people trusted me to make art about their love than ever before, and I am eternally grateful for that.

My 2018 schedule is shaping up to be even fuller, and I can’t wait for all the unexpected beauty to come.

Here are some of my favorites from this past year:

Boston City Hall Wedding – Briitta & Mathijs

Boston City Hall Wedding – Briitaa and Mathijs

Briitta and Mathijs had such a lovely Boston City Hall wedding. It was just the three of us, and the justice of the peace. We built time in before and after the ceremony to explore the city and make portraits. They were so very happy, and easy in front of the camera. Afterward they took me to a super fun hotel with a great view of the Boston skyline.

San Francisco City Hall Wedding

Low-Light Wedding Photography San Francisco – Emma and Max

Emma and Max

Emma and Max had a delightful low key wedding on a lovely May day. They told me they wanted lots of fun candid photographs, so I did just that. Their guests were good dancers, which made everything easy.

The wedding reception was held in a white tent, so bouncing my flash off the ceiling was always a good option, but I like to mix it up. There are five different flash setups here. Let’s start with simple, and proceed from there:

low light wedding photography san francisco

#1 Bounce flash. This is a very simple technique. My flash is set to ettl and pointed up and behind me. The camera is on manual exposure with a high enough iso to let ambient light in.

#2 Shutter Drag. This is also just one flash. Here the flash is pointed directly at my subject, and zoomed in a bit at 1/4 power. The camera is in manual iso 100 f18 1.6 sec shutter.

#3 Backlight. This is two flashes on light stands at 1/128 with a trigger on camera. Almost all of the light is coming from behind. All settings are manual here. Sets the mood, doesn’t it?

#4 key light plus hair light. This is the same setup as the last, but I am standing in position for one of the two flashes to act as a key light.

#5 Two kickers plus fill. Here I have the two flashes on stands, but I have added bounce flash at 1/4 power on camera as a fill for a more balanced look at a delightfully chaotic scene.

Queer wedding san francisco LGBT Oakland wedding Charles River Museum of Industry

Charles River Museum of Industry Wedding – Joanna and Diana

Joanna and Diana were married in a sweet wee park in Waltham, MA on a sunny September day. A family heirloom served as their chuppah roof. I adored their vows; each wrote their own history of their love, and their dreams for their collective future. Joanna and Diana were particularly attentive to the way that a wedding is a gathering of community. It is not only the couple who make a vow to nurture and protect the partnership, it is also their extended community who make that vow. Family and chosen family eagerly hoisted the two on chairs for the hora, which made for fun photographs. Thank you, Joanna and Diana for your thoughtfulness, exuberance and kindness.

The reception was held at the delightfully antediluvian Charles River Museum of Industry.

Shot for Grasi Favoreto of Rocker in Love.

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Queer wedding san francisco LGBT Oakland wedding chuppah

Queer wedding san francisco LGBT Oakland wedding

Queer wedding san francisco LGBT Oakland wedding chuppah

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Queer wedding san francisco LGBT Oakland wedding

Queer wedding san francisco LGBT Oakland wedding Charles River Museum of Industry

Queer wedding san francisco LGBT Oakland wedding

Queer wedding san francisco LGBT Oakland wedding hora

Queer wedding san francisco LGBT Oakland wedding horaQueer wedding san francisco LGBT Oakland wedding hora

Queer wedding san francisco LGBT Oakland wedding hora

Kaaterskill Inn Wedding – NYC – Rachael & Neal

Rachael and Neal caught a spectacular, toasty June day for their wedding. They chose the eclectic and lovely Kaaterskill Inn, in Catskill, New York for their wedding venue. The house, the barn, the farm, were all a dream to explore. I thought on it this morning, the two things that defined their wedding for me are a freeness and lightness of spirit, and a pair of extraordinary close-knit families. It’s always an honor to photograph a wedding, but, these two, and all their people were remarkably relaxed around me, and this helped me to create just the type of photographs I like best, natural, unposed, emotional, gestural, and joyous portraits. Thank you, Rachael and Neal for trusting me, inviting me in, and being such easy, fun, and loveful people.

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