Category Archives: News

Published: Occasions Magazine Fashion Feature, Part II

Photo shoots are a funny thing. Sometimes when you have a very controlled environment and a well defined goal, the images you get at the end are just what you envisioned. Other times, you just wing it and hopefully your ego doesn’t take too bad of a hit when the editor sees the images. This shoot for Occasions Magazine was closer to defined than winging it. Danny Wilson from The Savage Garden, Heather Vreeland and I met beforehand and discussed a few ideas and mapped out the day. Since the brunt of the work fell on Danny to provide all the florals, he needed a strong idea of how to prepare. And prepare he did!

But let me back up a little bit. When I think of the beautiful, historic Swan House, this is what I see in my head:

I think of the rich history and all the stories this building could tell if it could talk.

Remember what I said above about photo shoots? The image above and the next two didn’t even make the first round of cuts. Yet, fast forward a couple months and there it sits… a big, beautiful two-page spread to open up the fashion feature. This is quite easily my favorite image from the entire shoot.

And now I’m going show you something to make your jaw drop. I say that in complete humility because it really has nothing to do with me, but everything to do with our stunning model Madison Olson and the fabulous makeup by Raney O’Keefe. This image is basically straight out of the camera. No photoshop actions. No retouching. No fixing. No nothing.

I took the image out of the camera in RAW format, adjusted my color and exposure in Lightroom, and exported it. In fact, I didn’t retouch Madison in a single image in the entire magazine feature. Just amazing.

Remember what I said above about photo shoots? We had a little bit of free time (by “free time” I mean that we had 7 minutes and 35 seconds) and I said “Madison, let’s play.” So I grabbed Heather Vreeland’s new 50mm f/1.4 lens because I was really curious how the lens would perform and I wanted to play with it. In fact, a number of the images in the magazine were shot with that little 50mm lens she carries around with her in the camera bag she got from Target. So Madison and I ran around in the grass and came up with Heather’s favorite series of images from the shoot. This is just two of them…

Have you been paying attention to the beautiful floral headpieces Danny created for us?

Yes, she is IN the fountain. By this time, it was pretty much dark and we had to get creative with the lighting sources.

Here’s Danny with one of the props he brought along for the shoot — ya know, just in case — and Raney doing a little touch up work.

One more behind the scene’s shot, complete with my assistant hard at work in the background. He was probably tweeting about how hard I was working him.

Published: Occasions Magazine Fashion Feature, etc.

We’ve been very anxiously waiting the last few months for the stork to deliver this one! I’m super stoked about the latest issue of Occasions Magazine. We have 14 luscious pages of images captured at the beautiful Atlanta landmark, the Swan House, with florals by the A-MAY-ZING Danny from The Savage Garden and stunning hair/makeup by Raney O’Keefe.

I’ll be posting a bunch of images from the shoot in a few days, but for now take a look at the images Heather Vreeland chose for the magazine:

While you’re at it, check out the Catering spread starting on page 26 and Hayden’s birthday party photos they featured on page 130. Oh… and check out our back cover advertisement for Ben Vigil Photographers featuring Erika & Leroy atop the one an only Ventana’s rooftop venue styled/coordinated by Eliana from ellyB Events

How cool is that!!!

Usher’s New Look: World Leadership Awards 2010

Now for something totally different on this wedding blog…

Last month I was asked to do double duty for the Cobb Energy Center for the Performing Arts and for Occasions Magazine. Some guy named Usher (a.k.a. @UsherRaymondIV) was in town with Usher’s New Look, a youth mentoring program he founded, for the 1st Annual 2010 World Leadership Awards and they both needed it covered.

I spent the afternoon shooting decor and all the details that went into the VIP reception and the evening covering the red carpet, the VIP-only Reception, and finally Usher’s performance to cap the evening. During some downtime in the middle of the day I was able to get some of my favorite images during Usher’s rehearsal with Ciara…

Later in the evening Usher spent the better part of 45 minutes on the red carpet talking to every single media outlet there.

But in the end you probably came here to see Usher, and Ciara and Justin Bieber performing… there was a fair amount of media there and we all had our designated spots to shoot from. I managed to get mine changed at the last minute for a better vantage point. You’ll notice that there aren’t any images of Bieber below. As he was getting ready to perform we were told that no pictures of him were allowed to be taken whatsoever. In fact, I had a PR guard behind me during his entire performance to ensure I didn’t take any pictures. Sorry all you Justin fans! :(

But here are a bunch of Usher… :)

Here’s Ciara looking MUCH more dashing…

Did I mention that former President Clinton was on hand to receive an award?

You can’t afford to NOT hire a wedding planner

This is a post that’s been percolating for a few months and I think the time is right to post it. If you’re a bride and you’re on the fence about hiring a wedding planner, I’m going to give you a bunch of reasons why you should VERY SERIOUSLY consider hiring a planner for your wedding and why “I’m on a budget” is not only a bad excuse 99% of the time, but why it’s one of the best reasons why you SHOULD hire a planner.

Disclaimer: One of the reasons I’ve put it off blogging about this for long is that it I’ve had a number of weddings this year who did not hire a wedding planner and I’d never want one of my brides to think that I’m talking about them. So I’m going to be careful here and stick to my collective experiences.

So let’s cut to the chase and deal with the objections.

  • I’m ultra organized and I can do it all myself
    You may be right on both accounts. And that there is the problem. Instead of being able to sit back, relax and truly enjoy the emotion and momentous events of one of the most important days of your life, you’ll be endlessly answering questions from a whole plethora of family and friends. Of course, they’re just trying to do their best to help but in the end, when the buck stops with you, the bride, YOU are their only choice to get an answer. And you’ll remember your day for every little tiny glitch. Wouldn’t it be better to look back on your day and hear the words from your planner “everything is taken care of, it’s time to get married!”
     
  • My sister/aunt/mother/bff has offered to help me
    This is the flip-side of the previous objection. You want to celebrate your wedding day with those closest to you, not put them to work.
     
  • The church/venue/dj will handle everything for me
    There are very, very few venues that can live up to that promise. Or more accurately, what the hotel/dj means by “handle everything” and what the planner means by “handle everything” are two entirely different things. What they really mean is that they will take of everything that pertains to the service they provide. In other words, if the table center pieces at your reception being provided by an outside florist are the wrong color or the wrong flower or just plain wrong, guess what? The venue will wash their hands of it (and they will), because that’s not their job. And you aren’t going to find out about it until you waltz in for your first dance. The planner would have been on top of it when the florals arrived two hours earlier. When the groomsmens’ tuxedos arrive with a missing pair of pants, the planner will take care of it (this actually happened about 3 months ago). When the limo goes to the wrong location (this has happened too many times to count), your planner will be on the cell phone talking directly to the driver making sure they get where they are supposed to go. When plans change at the last minute your planner will be there to let your photographer know so they don’t miss an important moment.
     
  • I can’t afford to hire a planner
    This is my favorite. Why? Because it’s so simple to explain. Planners, like all wedding vendors, work with other vendors over and over again. They come to know their policies, how they work and what their preferences are. Moreover, they come to know which vendors, be they photographers or caterers, will serve their brides with spectacular service and quality products. They save you money when they steer you away from vendors who nickel and dime you with hidden charges and fees. They save you money when a venue gives you a preferred rate because they know the event will go smoothly with a planner involved. They save you money by guiding you to vendors who do it right the first time.
     
    So let me tell you a little secret… if you come to me and tell me you are working with a planner, there’s a pretty good chance that the money you save with Ben Vigil Photographers will come pretty close to entirely paying for your “day-of” coordinator.

Does that last statement shock you? It should. It should shock you into going out and hiring a wedding planner. Something goes wrong at every wedding. Without fail. Every vendor makes mistakes. They’re human. But every reputable vendor I know will breathe a sigh of relief when you tell them you are working with a professional planner. The planner is there to make sure everyone is on the same page, that everyone does their best to perform as they have promised and in the end, to take care of all the “little things” so you can enjoy your day. It’s really quite simple from my prospective as a photographer. I deal with emotional intangibles on your wedding day and this is how a planner helps me preserve those moments:

  • A good planner = a smooth stress-free day.
  • A smooth, stress-free day = a stress-free bride.
  • A stress-free bride = a happy bride.
  • A happy bride = great photos.
  • Great photos = a satisfied bride.

Do you see the relationship between “a good planner” and “great photos”?

That’s not a guarantee of course, but it sure does help.

Atlanta Wedding Professionals: June Luncheon

Okay, all my brides-to-be will have to forgive me for another industry related post. I promise that tomorrow I’ll get back to showing images of stunning brides… because on the deck for tomorrow is Sarah’s bridal session. I’ve had to embargo that one for a while and I’ve been anxious to share it.

Back to the subject at hand… every month Linda Surles (twitter | facebook) from the Bride & Groom Planner and Heather Vreeland (twitter | facebook) with Occasions Magazine team up to produce the Atlanta Wedding Professionals Networking Luncheon. I was excited about this months luncheon because it was being held at the Fox Theatre, Grand Salon Ballroom.

I’ve been to The Fabulous Fox many times for shows, but I’ve never shot or even set foot in the ballrooms and I finally got to see what I’ve been missing!

Our speaker was professional productivity expert Peggy Duncan (twitter), who I personally REALLY enjoyed listening to. She is the kind of disciplined person that makes me quake in my boots… as in, I’m ashamed to be in her presence quake in my boots kind of way.

These amazing florals were provided by Bloom Floral Design

Look at this amazing cake from Sharon Alexander at Sweet Sensations.

A BUNCH of industry friends were there but here’s just a few that I managed to grab. My apologies to the photogs that I didn’t get.

First up is Nadia with nadia d. photography who creates some awesome dramatic portraiture!

Next up is Laura with Artstar by Laura Stone, whom I famously told how annoyed I was by how good her photography was. It really is.

Next is the über chic Hollie with Lytle foto, who shot The Not Wedding recently and has been featured all over the national blogs.

And last, but not least, is David from Optimum Productions who helped shoot the behind the scene’s video for our recent Occasions Magazine cover shoot at the beautiful new 200 Peachtree in Atlanta. By the way, he’s single…

Here’s a list of the industry professional involved:

Venue: Fox Theatre, Grand Salon Ballroom
Catering & Decor: A Divine Event
Cake: Sweet Sensations
Florals: Bloom Floral Design
DJ: Joel Rabe, Lethal Rhythms
Media Sponsor: Bride & Groom Planner
Media Sponsor: Occasions Magazine

You can view more images over at our Facebook gallery of this event.