I spent a few days in Shreveport, Louisiana with my Brother and Sister in Law and took a series of family portraits while I was there. So, here are all of the slideshows from those portrait sessions.

The Middents Family Portrait from Jared Platt on Vimeo.

This family and child portrait session was shot in Shreveport LA.

Photography: Platt Photograhy
Music: Nancy Falkow, courtesy of Triple Scoop Music

The Beard Family Portrait from Jared Platt on Vimeo.

This family and child portrait session was shot in Shreveport LA.

Photography: Platt Photograhy
Music: Never by Roy Ashen, Triple Scoop Music

The Turley Family Portrait from Jared Platt on Vimeo.

This family and child portrait session was shot in Shreveport LA.

Photography: Platt Photograhy
Music: I Wish You Love by Nancy Falkow, Triple Scoop Music

The Neil Family Portrait from Jared Platt on Vimeo.

This family and child portrait session was shot in Shreveport LA.

Photography: Platt Photograhy
Music: I Wish You Love by Nancy Falkow, Triple Scoop Music

The Gresgston Family Portrait from Jared Platt on Vimeo.

This family and child portrait session was shot in Shreveport LA.

Photography: Platt Photograhy
Music: Nancy Falkow, courtesy of Triple Scoop Music

The Dyer Family Portrait from Jared Platt on Vimeo.

This family and child portrait session was shot in Shreveport LA.

Photography: Platt Photograhy
Music: Kevin Burdick

The Brownell Family Portrait from Jared Platt on Vimeo.

This family and child portrait session was shot in Shreveport LA.

Photography: Platt Photograhy
Music: Roy Ashen, courtesy of Triple Scoop Music

The Babboni Family Portrait from Jared Platt on Vimeo.

This family and child portrait session was shot in Shreveport LA.

Photography: Platt Photograhy
Music: Kevin Burdick

Jim and Eileen: A Wedding at the Sanctuary in Scottsdale, Arizona from Jared Platt on Vimeo.

Jim and eileen were married at the Sanctuary in Scottsdale, Arizona.

Photography: Platt Photography
Music: Kevin Burdick
Location: The Sanctuary, Scottsdale, Arizona

A FEW PHOTOS FROM THE WEDDING

This is the bride’s mother and daughter helping her get the shoes on.  Aside from loving the bright airy look of the photograph, I was struck by the three generations all together.

I love the desert!  And here at The Sanctuary in Scottsdale, Arizona, while you are in the city completely, you are also at the very edge of the desert mountain preserve.  It is a perfect spot.

The Sanctuary has a very modern feel to it.  And with all of the glass and metal there, the flash bounces a bit and creates a very even lighting throughout the photograph, which makes the image look almost like an HDR (High Dynamic Range) photo, but it is not.  It’s just the way the light is bouncing around enough to fill in and even out the shadows and highlights.  This portrait of the groom is shot with only one light.

Again, another off camera one light shot.  My assistant is holding a flash off to the right of the group signing the wedding license.   I love the effect of this side, almost back lighting.  It gives the photograph so much more volume.  Notice all of the shadows on the faces are facing the camera.  We see the shadow first, then the highlight.  It is also nice to have a piano to sign the license.  A piano is the perfect hight and is a beautiful instrument and large enough for everyone to fit around.  If you have the option to sign a wedding license on a grand piano, I recommend it highly.

Of course, I love photographing children at weddings.  They are always looking for something to entertain themselves, and are a great diversion from the wedding itself.  So when nothing else is happening, I start searching out the little children and watching them.  This little guy was dressed to the nines and just hanging out on the floor between a few couches. Such a cute kid.

This is my favorite series form the wedding reception.  As the Jim and Eileen fed each other the cake, Eileen’s daughter got a little impatient for her own taste.

With no intention to wait for them to finish their kiss, she simply stole the fork and went got herself a bite of cake.  It was the funniest thing I have seen at a cake cutting in a long time.

This is a quick note about one image I captured last night at Lindsey and Brandon’s wedding last night at the Inter Continental Montelucia in Paradise Valley, Arizona.  It was a beautiful wedding which was designed and styled by Embellish (a fantastic team) with Flowers by Amy’s Floral Design.

BEING READY FOR THE MOMENT

On taking this photograph, I was reminded of the importance of being ready for the shot, which requires an intimate knowledge of photographic principles of light, exposure and of course skill of execution.

This was not a posed shot.  And when photographers today say that, they often mean, “I didn’t tell the bride to stand here and put her finger here and tilt her head just so.”  When I say, it was not a posed shot, I really mean it was not a planned shot.  I was down the hallway taking a snap shot of the bride’s father and a few friends, when her father saw his daughter down the hallway looking at the place card table and remarked upon it.  I spun around and saw this shot.  Had I planned it, I would have asked her to put down the drink in the right hand and then we would have shot a much less natural shot.  But it was this moment that was important.

I left the candid shots I was taking and moved quickly to get close enough for the shot.  As I moved there, I spun the dials on the camera to the correct settings for the best exposure and spun the flash head around into the right direction for a pleasing bounce and set the flash at the correct setting to produce an appropriate amount of fill light.  All of these changes were done while speed walking toward Lindsey.  Once I was in position, I stopped, aimed, focused and shot three frames.  That was it, that was the end of the opportunity.  I got the first two shots off before Lindsay became aware of the camera, but I encouraged her to ignore me (which she did), and I got one more of her looking at something on the table.

It was the first two shots in this moment where she is almost touching the flame of the candle that grab me.  It was late in the evening; she left the party for a moment and was all alone with one of the many beautiful tables, admiring the beauty of the decor and resting from the excitement of the day.  No doubt some happy thought was floating in her head in that half conscious state we all experience when mesmerized by the flicker of candlelight.  And this thought brought a peaceful look to her face (that is not easily fabricated).  That thought is the moment I captured here and that I am now so thrilled to pass on to you.

At the end of such a beautiful day, I am so glad she had an opportunity to step out alone and reflect on how well the event came together and to appreciate the wonderland she created with the help of the professionals at the Montelucia, Embellish and Amy’s Floral Design.  And I am glad to have been there at that moment, and glad for the training and practice that allow me to be ready for that moment because a knowledge of exposure is just second nature.  Don’t misunderstand, it is not about the equipment and the technical stuff, it never is.  It is about the moment.  It’s just that those who know their technical by heart, have more opportunities to capture the moment.

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For those of you interested in camera setting, the camera is at the following settings:

-ISO 800 – good for indoor lighting exposure with minimal grain on the Canon 5D Mark II.
-f5.6 – allows me to have a little extra depth of field to get some focus on the entire table, but still wide enough to allow some additional light in.
-1/15 Second Shutter Speed – This is called dragging the shutter.  I needed the candles to glow nice and brightly.  And since the shutter speed controls the ambient light without regard to the added flash, the best way to get the candlelight at 800 ISO at 5.6 was to drag the shutter at a slower speed.  In normal lighting conditions, this would cause camera shake concerns, but it was so dark in the hallway, that the only thing that was going to be exposed by the slow shutter speed was the candles themselves and a little bit of glow on the bride.  So, I was not to concerned about movement on the part of the bride or the camera.  Of course, when I took the shot, I planted myself firmly on the ground and practiced my snipper breathing.  Of course these settings would not work with a moving subject quite so well.
-Then comes the flash.  Bouncing the flash off the right corner of the ceiling with a slight bit of forward flash then filled in the areas of the scene that needed to be seen, but were obscured by the darkness.  The flash also served to freeze the movement of anything darker than the candlelights.  I had the flash on TTL with a slight flash compensation reducing the power output of the flash by 2/3 a stop.  This kept the flash from overpowering the ambiance in the hallway and the general glow on the brides face, but allowed the dress to light up along with brightening up the face enough to soften the contrast that would have been in the shot without the fill of the flash.

Family Portrait, Mesa Arizona: The Biggs from Jared Platt on Vimeo.

This Biggs family portrait was taken in downtown Mesa, Arizona.

Photography: Platt Photography
Music: Roy Ashen, courtesy of Triple Scoop Music

A FEW OF MY FAVORITE FAMILY PHOTOS

A FEW OF MY FAVORITE PORTRAITS OF THE KIDS

AND A SENIOR PORTRAIT AS WELL

Sedona Wedding: Alison and Scott from Jared Platt on Vimeo.

Alison and Scott were married in Sedona, Arizona at the Sedona Golf Club.

Photography by: Platt Photography
Music by: Kevin Burdick
Wedding Location: Sedona Golf Club, Sedona Arizona

SOME PHOTOS FROM THE WEDDING

I love a wedding in Sedona. It is a magnificent place. Alison and Scott were married in Sedona, Arizona at the Sedona Golf Club. Here are a few of my favorite images from the wedding day.

Finding an interesting place to photograph the dress is one of the more challanging things we do early on in the wedding.  If you are getting married, you might consider two tips:

1: Get ready somewhere with an unique space for photographs of the dress and for photographs of putting on the dress.

2:  For some reason, you spend a lot of money on a dress, and they can’t give you a decent looking hanger, it is always an ugly plastic one.  You might consider buying an attractive hanger to go with the dress.  Perhaps a wood one, or maybe a padded silk hanger, but if you show up with a plastic hanger, we end up taking it off that hanger and using a wood hanger from the hotel.  But you will end up with a much more interesting and unique shot if you bring a hanger that is unique to you.

Of course, if you have Sedona as the backdrop to your wedding dress shot, it’s going to turn out nicely…

Here I enjoyed the shape of the mirror and the bright colors of the wall.  There is nothing more important, by the way than having a good make-up artist at your wedding.  And if you can have the make-up artist there throughout the day that is even better.  Alison had a fantastic make-up artist, which makes all of her images that much better.  I highly recommend Deanna Rene, I was very impressed.  She is very skilled at using an airbrush, which gives you the very best results.  At any rate, there is no question that a make-up artist is worth every penny.

The country club had a set of parasols for use by the guests to guard against the sun, but they also made for some great props.  They just added to the entire scene, and kept the sun off the girls.  Why not…

The Sedona Golf Resort’s view is quite nice despite the fact that it is right off the main road.

Here it is, the last moment for a father and his daughter.  I think Alison looks so good in Black and White.  Color suites her well too, but I think she was made for Black and White.  Her hair and skin and dress work so well as subtle shades of light gray and white, so I ended up converting a lot of images to black and white because she just looks so great that way.  That is part of the act of photography… capturing the image is only the beginning of the process, there are still many decision to be made by the photographer, for instance, how to crop the image, how to treat the images, how to adjust the image, what kind of effects to use, how much vignetting to employ… and all of these decisions can enhance the image, or get in the way of the image.

Glare and sun spots are sometimes problematic, but sometimes they can enhance the image.  I thought this was one of those times.

I loved the way the golf course began to look as the sun was setting.  It started to feel a bit dreary and almost mysterious out there, as I was shooting the photos, I was seeing the scene in a tones black and white.  I was convinced, as I shot, that this set of images would be quite serene when seen in a sepia toned black and white, much more so than with color.  The color image would only call too much attention to Alison and in this case, I wanted her to be a part of the photograph, not to compete with it.

Even in this photograph, you will notice that I muted the colors.  It was important not to let this series of photographs (back and white or color) not to be ABOUT color.  That would take away from the soft, subtle and quiet nature of the images.

And finally, as I have been spending time with my new daughter, I am starting to understand the feelings I watch on the dance floor during the daddy daughter dances.  There is something different about a little girl, and while I don’t think I lover my only daughter more than my boys, I do think I lover her differently.  We’ll see what that feels like in twenty-five or so years, when I walk her out onto a dance floor in a white dress.  I suspect I will look a lot like Alison’s father, minus the hair.