andi & brett: trash the dress, round 2

a few more favorites from last week’s trash the dress session with andi & brett:

view the radtastic slideshow HERE.

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featuring a homemade psuedo-macguyver 60-inch umbrella-turned-octabank fired at full power for fill light at sunset with denver’s front range in the background.
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last, but not least.... one of my favoritemost shots from our session.
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wedcomp '08

photography contests are not the end all be all. they are great if you win, and a slight bummer if you loose... especially when you don’t know WHY you lost. we realize is most important is what our clients think about their images. however, being measured up by the industries finest is a great thing to boot.

why wedcomp?

- judges are paid for jurying the competition (the way it should be!).
- the judges know their stuff. big names like zack arias, jennifer bebb, rachel lacour niesen, and cliff mautner will be judging. learn more about the judges.
- you don’t have to be accepted & buy into a money-making organization to participate.
- they are investing a portion of the proceeds into thirst relief. we like!
- the contest got great
image categories: getting ready, ceremony, portrait, reception that are NOT bottlenecked into one style of photography called photojournalism.
- cool prizes

to learn more, check it:

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andi & brett: trash the dress

just to show you things get better with time... one year later + a fresh burned mountain at 6300 feet + and kern-photo light...

thank you for such a wonderful evening tonight you two!

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danielle & chris: wedding

the big day - 09.20.08
wedding & reception - the barn chapel at evergreen memorial park
weather & atmosphere - 4 stars!

after many years, their day was finally here. they savored the feeling all day long.
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danielle grew her wedding flowers in her backyard garden.
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a perfect bridal bouquet:
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shoes made for dancing:
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chris, the most super chill and laid back groom, helps his father get ready about 4 minutes before the ceremony.
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the excited couple!
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free reign for portraits...
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i like to think a shot like this could have been taken a generations ago. in 50 years, i’d be safe to bet that not much would change here. and that would be a wonderful thing!
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the bridal party.
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a special thanks to third-shooter trish eberlein for her infectious enthusiasm and intellectual-photographer curiosity! we like these two she shott:
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with a slightly different perspective:
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fancy footwork with her brother:
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i went outside to check out the sudden downpour and snapped the ring bearer playing the rain :)
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kids know how to have fun at weddings, too!
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sign the guestbook & view more images HERE. view their slideshow HERE.
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alt-f inspiration

i found this piece by john michael cooper on jared wilson’s blog and thought i’d post it here. based in vegas, john is among the industry’s leading wedding creatives i’m and looking forward to spending an entire day with him at image-x ’08 workshop held in new orleans in two weeks.

the “zero” wedding package offered john & dalissa 100% artistic freedom to produce this:



mark twain once said, “never let school interfere with your education.” the above illustrates real-world learning inspiration at its best!
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l.l. bean adventure

after decades of receiving mail-order catalogs from l.l. bean, we finally voyaged to freeport, maine not long ago to see the goods in person. once upon a time, i was a cartographer for national geographic maps and design trail illustrated maps sold in outdoor stores across the world. funny seeing a sample of a map that i worked on for a few hundred hours of the adirondack state park hanging in the entrance of the flagship l.l. bean store.

a goosebump experience:

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my dad, moi, my aunt and uncle with the famous boot in the background, fit for a giant:
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in lawton, oklahoma, where my folks live a “sporting goods” store generally sells high school sports gear and guns & camo, NOT skis, bikes, kayaks, climbing gear, and freeze dried ice cream. that’s why we love rei. however, at this flagship store, it is a combination of the two :)
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the place is more like an rei campus on steriods, complete with fish ponds, archery range, fireplaces, you name it!
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what’s wrong with this photo? no door locks. that’s right, l.l. bean is opened 24/7 365. cool factoid.
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danielle & chris: a sneek peek

two favorites from saturday... stay tuned for more in a few days:
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our take on a fresh. modern. american gothic.
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nicole & kevin

a diamond engagement ring, clipped on a carabiner, and stashed inside a bathing suit at hot springs pool in glenwood springs seemed like the perfect ingredients for a proposal. and there was no doubt in kevin’s mind that it was perfect after nicole said “yes!”

and here are a few favorites from their engagement session earlier today:
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and they brought janie, their four-legged little one, along with them during the shoot.
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janie is quite a free-spirit :)
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with red rocks in the distance...
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some more janie fun, waiting for the ball:
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good:
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better:
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how to (re) photograph cars

“come for the cars, stay for the people” was mentioned more than a few times at the chrysler 300 club international fall 2008 meet held last weekend in boothbay harbor, maine. so true, i found.

“itching and scratching in the parking lot ‘til 2 a.m,” nicole and my mom jest.

regardless how one may look at it, last weekend was spent creating great memories with my dad, aunt, and uncle in land of the lobster rolls.

this experience inspired me to write this article and share photograhic insight with new friends and car lovers alike.
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if you every try to photograph cars, the approach can be difficult in comparison to the work we see in the big leagues. motor companies pay top dollar to have their vehicles looking their best so they can sell them. to the antique car collector, car photography is just a slight margin below a family portrait.

“good” car photos go along way:  they can help to boost a car sale or can serve as an invaluable document for insurance purposes. but reasons to photograph cars go much farther than that. as a photographer and a son of a car lover, there something exciting about sharing images of a car, restored completely to show-room shine after years of patience.

i offered a pseudo coffee-shop class to members to offer them tips on how to photograph their classic cars.  many of them have a digital cameras and asked me how they can take "better photos” because they couldn’t get the results they were hoping for.

since not everyone was able to make the mini-class, so i’ve jotted down a little bit of what was discussed. the golden nugget:

*** there are rules. and there are rules to be broken.  if you choose the latter, do so with creative intent and purpose.***

after considering this, here are 21 tips on how to photograph your car (in no particular order)

1. shoot in the "golden hour." this can be either at dusk or dawn.  generally, these are good times to photograph, and occur 30 minutes before and after either sunrise or sunset.

2. shoot long. a longer focal length lens minimizes distortion and helps to increase background focus blur, drawing your eye towards the subject, rather than a distracting background.

3. shoot with perspective. a telephoto lens helps to compress the car, adding a dramatic perspective.

4. about face. turn the front wheels so you can see the wheel face.

5. chimp and look at the screen on the back of your camera. use your tools to their fullest.  if the picture looks too dark or light, change your exposure.  white-balance off? adjust it.  nailing your shot in camera will save hours of time in front of the computer later.

6. keep your background interesting, yet not distracting. trees, a clear sky, or a field works well.  a white car against a gray sky can appear boring. contrasting backgrounds can create more interesting images.

7. change up the angle. slant uphill or downhill simply by tilting the camera angle. tilt the camera to make the car look like it is going up or down a hill, offering more drama. for added drama during twilight, turn the headlights on.

8. clear background clutter.  a slight adjustment to camera position can make a big difference. unless, of course, you want powerpoles growing out of the roof (which can be cool if that is your thing :)

9. shoot 4 wheels. lower your camera angle to view all four wheels of the car.  cars look bold & aggressive when shot at this low angle, which helps to "ground" the car and make it appear more "solid."

10. know when to use filters.  a polarizing filter on an SLR lens can reduce reflections on paint, windows, and chrome. learn how to use it. in addition, a neutral density graduated filter can help to keep skies rich in color and minimize loss of shadow detail of the subject. again, learn how to use it. the goal is getting it right first in camera and then no having to do heaps of post-production in photoshop later.

11. look for good light. photograph the car with the shadow on the other side of the car for the 'best' light.  however, rules can be broken. this is a good one to break if you are creative :)

12. megapixels has nothing to do with making a good photo -- YOU do.  don't believe the megapixel myth.

13. shoot when the sun is low.  overhead sun casts heavy shadows leaving the sides of the car in the dark.

14. size matters. when you are ready to print, remember the aspect ratio of most cameras is 2 x 3.  that means you'll get a "full-frame" 4 x 6 image with no worries, but cropping will occur if you intend to fill an 8 x 10 print. plan ahead with your composition if you know you are planning to crop a photo to a different ratio.

15. use good glass. professional-grade SLR lenses may offer improved contrast, sharpness, and minimal distortions over older point-and-shoot cameras.  my favorite car lens: the nikon 70-200mm f/2.8 af-s vibration reduction.  we invest in good lenses before we invest in cameras.  a digital camera is obsolete after a few years, while good lenses can last for decades and not become obsolete. learn how to manage obsolescence.

16. light, composition, and a strong idea are the three ingredients for a *great* photo.  a *good* photo has at least two of the three.

17. if you don't have good light, create it.  lightpainting can yield some creative results talked about on the kern-photo blog here.

18. for low-light shots, use a good tripod with a timer or boost up the iso. this will greatly extend your working time past sunset. good cameras can shoot in almost no light and still pull off great results. practice and creativity is key here. a street light can be an effective lightsource. don’t forget about subtle ambient light as well.

19. zoom in and fill the frame.  10% car and 90% landscape isn't necessarily "good." again, another rule to break if you have that extra dose of creativity.

20. bring extra batteries & memory cards on location. flip used cards face-down in the case to remind you they've been used. nothing like getting all setup with perfect lighting and a clean car and something minor technical glich rams its face your way.

21. back-up. back-up. back-up. after every shoot & before i lay my head on the pillow, i try to have everything backed up in at least three locations (external harddrive, computer, and memory cards). keep the most important shots backed up to DVD off-site if possible.

in sum, we kept it simple and to the point, then followed it up with a light painting demo which was a "light-bulb" experience for many :)

below is the final shot we did with the group watching with the before lighting painting and after (post questions on the comments section below and i will try my best to answer them):

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and after a 20 second exposure, lighpainted with about 5 pops of a lumedyne battery pack at half-power diffused via a small softbox. notice the subject changes while the background remains the same due to the lightpainting effect.
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chrysler 300 D with the atlantic ocean in the distance:
chrysler 300 D with the atlantic ocean in the distance

chrysler 300 G:
chrysler 300 G:

the nostalgic “forward look.”
the nostalgic “forward look.”

personally, one of my favorite models, the chrysler 300 C convertible:
chrysler 300 C by kern-photo

we waited for a few minutes for this shot of this chrysler 300 F to be just right.
chrysler 300 F by kern-photo

clean light with a scenic backdrop:
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to view more images on the event website, click HERE.

and to view a few images from the fall 2007 meet, click here, here, or here. and here’s a bunch of favorites from the 2006 fall meet in lawton, oklahoma.
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photographer headshots

photographer headshots are a two-part tricky thing: 1. you are photographing a fellow photographer. 2. you are photographing a fellow photographer.

‘nough said. the pressure is on, in a good way.

in our line of business, having a ‘good’ head shots helps bring our clients closer to us... giving them a glimpse into the warmth and humanity of us... humans. we are not just a name, buisness, but are fun loving people who love to use our cameras to bring out the best in people.

nicole marie needed some currently headshots for her photography business website. we met up last week for coffee and had a wonderful time talking shop. i enjoyed learning more about her, her family & business. she even allowed me to check out her spiffy canon 50 f/1.2 glass... tempting, but i still like nikon :)

i told nicole i probably wouldn’t post the shots on the blog, but i was wrong. the bokeh of the 85 f/1.4 with the full-frame advantage of the nikon d-700 was too much to resist, so i had to post a few favs from our 15-minute mini-portrait session in lakewood;

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one of the final shots, smack dab in front of a kinda stinky dumpster... but it made for a simple backdrop that i thought worked.
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is a headshot more than just a portrait? add your comments in the section below.
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spencer the yorkie

one part velcro-dog +
one part love sponge +
two parts wind-up toy

= spencer the yorkie.

spencer has logged more miles on bike rides than any other dog we know. you see, he rides along in his mom’s burley ‘roo bike trailer and comes back after a 16-mile ride as an exhausted, happy dog.

after catching up my with my aunt & uncle in the great state of maine this weekend, i surprised them with a mini-photo session of their beloved pooch. they’ve decided to clear some walls for some big beautiful gallery canvas wraps of their little man.

spencer the yorkie by kern-photo

spencer’s warddrobe provided by: pattern and paw.
yorkie photography by kern-photoyorkie photo by kern-photo

a curious explorer...
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spencer is dash’s older cousin, so we can see how energy runs in the family. spencer is the brother of my parent’s dog, duke.
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...winding down from a portrait session and a long day of play:
spencer the dog ...winding down from a portrait session and a long day of play:
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vote for us!

we’ve been nominated to be on the a-list of denver’s best wedding photographers. click here to cast your vote.

Best of Denver's 7 A-List Nominated: Best Photographer in Denver

once you click on the link, please fill out the simple form with your name and info. takes less than 60 seconds.

cheers to the stellar nominator!
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pet of the week

wouldn’t you know it, our little man is knighted “pet of the week” by the one and only, pattern & paw. woop woop!

check out the full interview. here’s a snapshot from the pattern & paw blog:

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what to submit your pet? details below. head on over and get your pet nominated.

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don’t have good pooch or feline photos? don’t fret, contact us and we’ll help you out!
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the samz family

17 m.o. avery had her debut photo performance with kristen & dean serving as supporting roles. every five minutes was a whole new emotion, which keeps us happily on our toes :)

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kristen was looking for headshots for her wedding coordinator website, a current affair weddings & events. if you are looking for a wedding coordinator, kristen’s spirit & zip & phenomenal attention to detail make her a valuable asset to any wedding day plans

her husband, dean, had a few minutes to spare while kristen was tending to “mommy stuff,” so i grabbed a few of him. what a cute couple!
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let’s not forget avery:
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a few feet away:
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kristen wanted a few kern-photo’s of her and dean... so we *brought* it.
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coffee-shop class #8: wrap-up

as the old chinese proverb goes, “ you can give a man a fish, he’ll eat for a day. you can teach a man to fish, he’ll eat for a lifetime.”

while i am no teacher of fisherman, a few from the denver photography community enjoyed tonight’s coffee-shop class. the goal of our 90 minutes was to explore simple one-light techniques on metering with a flash. the cliff notes version goes like this... when using off-camera lighting:

1. be the boss of your camera: shoot in manual
2. remember every image has two exposures: the subject and the background. the shutter speed controls background exposure while aperture controls subject exposure.

chatti & matt from savady photography with john heisel (lower left), doing his thing:
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here’s our group self-portrait shot putting together a bit of what was discussed (pictured left-to-right: kevin von qualen, moi, jennifer schumacher, dawn gioia, cheri pica, vania hardtle, chatti & matt from savady photography, john heisel, and steve gaudin).

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tech notes: manual metered using a nikon d-700, 28-70mm lens, 1/180 at f/8, iso 100, white balance 5300K, and lit with a lumedyne strobe at 100 W/S at distance of 10-12 feet:
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angela & brian: fun-booth

a case of fun-booth fun was opened at brian & angela’s wedding. guests beings guests are just part of the reason why we love wedding photography!

first off, a family portrait, fun-booth style:
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a favorite:
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shirley temple red tongues... then fast forward 15 years:
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working it with the coconuts:
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brian’s grandmother hopped in on the action:
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angie snapped our portrait on the right... darn that auto-focus!
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my muse:
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be sure to check out angela & brian’s wedding photos.

want your very own fun-booth? reach out and contact us.
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angela & brian: wedding

i can’t keep secrets. and it turns out, i’m not the only one. brian proposed to angela 2 days before valentines because he couldn’t keep it a surprise. when you meet on the golf course, have your first date on the golf course, it was only fit they got married at the fort collins country club golf course.

after a killer engagement session, i knew we would have a blast at their august 30 wedding. and we did :)

as an awesome momento, they presented us with two bottles of homemade wine featuring their colorful engagement photos on the label. mmmmm.... we want to save the the wine almost as bad as we want to drink it! thanks again for a super fun time!

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i first met angela shortly before she *won* her dress at the bridal show sponsored in part by mountain avenue bridal back in februrary. she modeled the dress so well on her wedding day.
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feeling the stress of the bridal prep just melt away :)
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moments before the ceremony.
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grinning from ear-to-ear.
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sunie & her wonderful team at the fccc put forth a fab effort coordinating all the ceremony and reception details.
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brian’s uncle, leonard, over at colorado sound set the stage for an entertaining evening including an elegant first dance:
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as the party rolled on, we busted out a record-breaking fun-booth. stay tuned for the full showdown. here’s a prelude to the greatest hits:
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sign the guestbook & view more images HERE. view their slideshow HERE.
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coffee-shop class #8: metering with a flash

missed any coffee-shop classes? now’s your chance to catch up. in the next coffee-shop class, we'll discuss a hodgepodge of lighting 101 questions and go over the kern-photo style of metering with an off-camera flash. we’ll also cover some spiffy photoshop tricks and address some hot business-related questions.

there’ll be a special surprise guest, there to share some of her experiences as well. you won’t want to miss this back to school special!

who: those wanting to some basic off-camera lighting tricks and a bit more about creatively enhancing images

when: tuesday, sept 9, 2008 from 5:00 - 6:30 pm

where: forza coffee company, 3013 W 104th Ave in westminster, 80031, map.

why: to teach and learn and have fun, plus an opportunity to network with other photographers

cost: *free,* as always.

RSVP: in the comments section of the blog below. class size limited to 10 due to the size of the coffee shop.
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to learn more about the kern-photo 'coffee-shop class,' click
HERE.
if you are lost, call r. j. kern of kern-photo at 303.474.0983.
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private mentoring w/ shannon & robert

i got a phone call from florida a few weeks ago: “we’re shooting our first wedding and need your help,” robert said. “we’re flying in to colorado a few days early and would love to meet you.”

minutes later, their private mentoring photo session was booked.

robert and his wife, shannon, met with me for a few hours last week. the team did the best thing new photographers could do when first starting out: ask lots of questions, learn, then put those experiences immediately to use.

i asked both of them to come up with goals that they’d like to accomplish in our mentoring session. among the things we covered: learning how to shoot in manual mode, raw vs jpeg, how to meter for optimal exposure, selecting which lenses to use & when, learn how to (or when not to) use the flash, figuring out focusing options, roles of a husband & wife team during the day, and how to be yourself while stepping outside the box of traditional wedding photography.... all that in a few hours!

the next day the team invited me back for seconds. armed with the basics, we delved deeper into things like how to “create a candid moment,” buisness 101 tips, and some off-camera flash basics. it sunk in. they will be an amazing team haven chosen the path of a fast track photographer!

before even shooting with a flash/strobe, i emphasized we rarely use a flash for our casual, fun portraits. simple things like sitting under a tree can yield awesome natural light. in addition, on a hot day, this can help the clients relax and not overheat. more important than depth of field or traditional composition, capturing the decisive fun moment is what makes a signature, lovable photo :)
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then we busted out a single off-camera strobe for lighting 101. showing them the back of the camera helped create confidence & fun.
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the below picture is what i showed them on camera, which segued nicely into explaining that making something from nothing is what creativity is all about. using a simple tools of lighting and turning a not-so-hot shot into something a point-and-shoot can’t snap is one recipe for success (all the while explaining that the technical aspects can interfer with a nice conversation flow and genuine humor).

i positioned shannon & robert side in the sun for the image on the left. eh. on the right, i used a single flash off-camera strobe to fill in shadows and bring up the exposure on the subjects. notice the sky and the background is the same, the only difference is the lovey-dovey subjects are now happily lit :)
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... a fairly simple technique with uber profound and unlimited creative potential.

now, the camera turns. it is up to shannon & robert to practice what they learned. “wow!” she said. the lightbulb went on. easy peasy.
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sidenote: my brother still teases me about my 1990s vintage oakley sunglasses, like i’m some volleyball star.
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carrie & nick: wedding

after we packed up and drove off, i commented to nicole that if we didn’t get married at 9am, our evening wedding would be just like carrie & nick’s. she agreed.

an elegant backyard wedding was the perfect stage for carrie & nick’s wedding on august 23, 2008 in greeley, colorado. nothing unreal, 100% love, and 100% friendship is what carrie & nick shared with family & friends... and us :) we wish you many blessings for years to come!

sign the guestbook & view more images HERE. check out the slideshow HERE.
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simple bridal details:
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cuff links really are a two-person project when you’re giddy & excited about getting married.
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nick’s anti-groom portrait:
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the FirstLook:
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she was checking him out!
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some bendytime fun brought to you by the lensbaby 2.0:
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about an hour before the ceremony, after the FirstLook, carrie and nick wanted more photo fun just by themselves. 3 minutes down the road we found our landscape.
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i told carrie to “think marilyn” for this shot:
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cute... love the bangs!
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if only more guys wore pink gerber daisy for their wife, the world would be a better place. nick spots his bride to be walking down the aisle.
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the happy couple ready to celebrate!
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what’s better than a signature bubbly drink?
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more signature bubbly drinks & lots of fun finger food!
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fresh details & stellar coordination by evonne grabauskas over at beautiful celebrations. she turned the backyard into a dreamy festival!
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guests mingled for hours:
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heartfelt toasts:
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sparkers, as seen from r. j.’s perspective:
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the send-off, from nicole’s eye:
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photography was super important to them and they wanted LOTS of kern-photo fun. not only did we do our thing, but we busted out the kern-photo fun-booth and got some not-to-be missed shots HERE.
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mountain olympics... kinda :)

after a turbo-charging mountain morning power-walk, we fueled up on breakfast burritos and were first in line for the alpine slide at winter park on labor day. yippeeee!

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this shot was taken with our nikon 10.5mm fisheye hanging out the cart with the other hand on the gas :)

summer up in the mountains is hands-down better than winter in terms of the relaxation.
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and a super cheesie self-portrait. for those who may not know about the alpine slide, basically you get to ride up the same chair lift, grab yer buggie, and then go as fast as you can. super tip: keeping your body perpedicular to the groud through the turns, yields the most bang-for-your-buck g-force factor :)
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adults have a better time being kids again than kids being adults :)
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