I was flattered when The Atlantan Brides approached me a few months ago to shoot new headshots for Elizabeth and Celeste. I was jazzed because they are honestly two of my favorite people in the industry. We had a great time shooting some great images and chatting over lunch. These certainly are two women to watch in Atlanta.

I wasn’t sure what images they were going to use, but these are the ones the magazine ran with.

Elizabeth Ralls, Editor-In-Chief

Celeste Couvillon, Associate Publisher

And speaking of The Atlantan Brides, the Fall/Winter issue just hit the newstands and it looks A-MA-ZING!

Seriously, it’s the best wedding magazine in Atlanta for sure. Nevermind that I have a full-page ad up front in the magazine and a few weddings in the hitched section…

If you’re a bride and looking for some great ideas and great imagery, definitely pick one of these up. You can even thumb through the entire digital version of the magazine here.

Ben Vigil, blessed.

Last week Bold American Catering hired me to come out and shoot details at a wedding at the Callanwolde Fine Arts Center for which they were hired to do event design and catering. Being one of my favorite vendors, I was happy to help them out. Steve and Stacy and Todd and the whole staff are fantastic at what they do. I am always amazed at the level of effort they put into every tiny detail. I won’t say much more, just enjoy…

Remember that attention to detail that I mentioned? Here’s the front of the program, hand made on real fabric, next to Steve’s (the Creative Director) tie, which he picked out especially to match the motif used throughout the wedding on the custom made runners (see above), the china, the programs, etc.. Okay, so he’s a little embarrassed now.

Ben Vigil, High-end Boutique Weddings

Okay, I’ll be honest with you. This was my first time covering a Bar Mitzvah but I can’t imagine that they get much cooler than this one. I’ll give you the details as we go.

This was taken at the family home over part of the meandering pool and waterfalls that Alex’s father designed.

Huy Cat was on hand to help me out and got some amazing detail shots at the rehearsal and on the day of the Bar Mitzvah. These next four are his shots taken at Temple Emanu-el.

As you take a look below and wonder why the details are so amazing, it’s because everything was handled by Susan Graham Signature Events/Bella-Sera here in Atlanta.

Alex loves skating so naturally all the guests got little skateboards.

Decor was handled by EventScapes and Marjorie Pruitt at DecoMarj handled the invites and whatnot.

The party was held at The Compound a very well-known Atlanta night spot where they hung these big huge letters above the pool for Alex. He was super jazzed that his party was at the Compound. Leah Peteet and her staff pretty much nailed everything and we had as much fun watching everything as Alex’s friends had being there.

All the guests were treated to soup shooters as they arrived, served up in style by Bold American Catering…

Emcee Sunnie Dae and DJ Legacy from Abstract Rhythms kept the kids rowdy. Mike from SCG Productions got it all on video.

Alex’s father and grandfather just before the Havdalah blessing.

This was a mini candy store where all the kids could eat as much candy as they wanted. Free.

Did I mention that adults were there too? Everybody had a blast!

Ben Vigil, working the Bar Mitzvah

Pure Fashion has been getting a fair amount of press lately and I’m sure the escapades of the likes of Britney and Paris are simply adding credence to the cause of promoting modesty in clothing styles and fashion in general. Every year (several times a years actually) I help out Pure Fashion covering their events, doing headshots and each year it culminates with a huge fashion show for teens. It’s a full-scale production with 60-80 models and attracts in the neighborhood of 1,800-2,500 guests. TOP NOTCH production. Seriously. Brenda Sharman, former Ms. Georgia, Supermom of three, and the National Director of Pure Fashion, is going to be on the Dr Phil show in a few weeks.

Anyway, the July 23, 2007 edition of Newsweek ran a story about the modesty movement and ran one of my images from the Pure Fashion Show in Atlanta in April. I’m so glad they picked Margo who is an eleventh grader at a local Catholic school and has been involved with Pure Fashion in Atlanta for a few years now. Her parents had absolutely no idea the image was running and were completely blown away when they saw their daughters full-page image in Newsweek. They must be proud.

Ben, Pure Fashion Imagery

As I’ve mentioned before, I am honored to have been involved this year with the Pure Fashion Show as the official photographer. This year’s show was really fantastic on a lot of different levels — from the behind the scenes to the star power involved.

Naturally some of my favorite stuff went on behind the scenes. Like David Foster playing…

Or Nita Whitaker practicing while laying down…

I wish David Foster would come to my place and hang out…

I am going to write more about Christina in another post but here’s a cool moment I caught while the crowds unknowingly filed into the ballroom on the other side of the curtain just before the show. It’s 12:30 and Christina is rehearsing for the first time with David Foster just one hour before she takes the stage.

Nita Whitaker sings God Bless America!

The Divine Dancers

I always say, you can’t go wrong with pictures of the little ones

Rebecca St James performed

One of the cooler moments of the show for me was when the models lined up in silhouette to start the show…

Of course you gotta have models…

Colleen won the design contest and walked away with her own prom dress made by a hollywood designer. You want to take bets that her mom cried?

A very special thanks to my OSP friends Nathan & Amber Holritz and Liana Lehman for helping me with the photography coverage.

Ben

A few days ago I got wind that Christian Living Magazine (www.christianlivingmag.com) had arranged a photo shoot for a story on the Pure Fashion Show (www.purefashionshow.org). So when you’re not the photographer, what’s a guy to do?

Simple. I shot the shoot.

Special thanks to Robin the photographer who was a real professional and a good guy to boot.

Take care and see you at the Pure Fashion Show!

Ben

I’ve mentioned Pure Fashion (www.purefashionshow.org) before. There are around 80 teen “models” all ready to take to the runway on April 30 at the Georgia World Congress Center. Part of the formation program for the young women included a “hair and makeup day” where they were treated to one-on-one tips and instruction from a whole slew of Atlanta’s top working models and a makeover from the professionals at Siggers Hairdressers (www.siggers.com).

Let’s just say that this day at Siggers was definitely testosterone challenged.

One of the professional models working with one of the teens…

Admiring her handiwork…

At the end of their makeup and hair, it was time to head up to the studio (upstairs) for their headshots…

Nearly 80 models, 1400+ headshots and 8 hours later it was time to call it a day!

Ben