Nashville’s documentary wedding photographer
and headshot studio.
Bath England street photography
One of the reasons for this trip was Fujifilm photographers wedding photography conference in Bath, put on by my good friend, Kevin Mullins. I’ve known Kevin for three years, and was one of my earliest Fujifilm documentary wedding photographers who inspired me. We arrived in Bath the day before the conference so we could do some street photography and meet up with fellow conference goers. More pub time that day than I had been used to in a while, lol. But it was a blast! Steve and Sam took me on a scenic route to Bath. What a lovely historic city, and I hope you enjoy this Bath, England street photography!
I was sitting at an outdoor patio table with my friends at the Bath Brewhouse and noticed the way the sun and shadow hit this wall mounted lamp. Finally decided to take the photo.
This garage was across the alley from our Airbnb we stayed at on top of this steep hill. The view was so nice, more hilly than most of England that I’ve seen. I just grabbed a few on the way to the conference that morning. It’s a good thing Steve and Sam were there to keep me focused or I’d have wandered off. No worries though, I got to do that the next morning.
Inherently, my first instinct is to go black and white for this architecture. But as my friend said, color shows the patina and texture in these buildings.
Some slight shutter drag to emphasize the motion of this older man, and capture different dimensions.
The Abbey in Bath.
During the conference, I left site for the coffee break they provided, which was a good plan. Getting some exercise helped me stay better focused for the remaining speakers. This was the view by the hotel, of the Avon River.
After the conference. a group of us went back to the Brew House, which didn’t hurt my feelings at all. The sun was setting as we approached the Brew house!
One of my friends from the conference was on crutches from a knee injury. His unusual sense of humor would no doubt appreciate this.
The rest of the Bath, England street photography is from the next morning before going back to Oxford with Steve and Sam. It was interesting to see how the conference inspired my street photography, which in turn, inspires my wedding photography.
This theme was people working, and me documenting it. It wasn’t planned, just what was available. So, I took it.
This was the Roman Bath House, which is a major tourist attraction. Though it’s been a hundred years since used, there is a lot of history there.
I hope you’ve enjoyed this Bath, England street photography. Next up, more from Oxford, soon.
Oxford United Kingdom street photography
I just had an amazing UK getaway that included a Fujifilm wedding photography conference in Bath, and time with friends. Of course lots of time doing street photography and hitting pubs. After a multiple stop transatlantic flight with no sleep, I quickly got my second wind when my friend Steve was kind enough to collect me from Heathrow airport in London. Steve and his wife Sam have been good friends and fellow Fuji wedding photography group admins, this was the first time we all met. Of course they’re fellow Fujifilm wedding photographers! They were so nice to house me on my trip, it was so much fun! More on that soon, here is some Oxford, United Kingdom street photography! That was our first stop after breakfast and collecting myself.
I forgot how tired I was by the time we got to Oxford. Aer Lingus never dimmed the cabin lights, it was impossible to sleep, and there were a couple screaming toddlers. Not much anyone can do about that. My goal was just to make it through the day and have fun, and sleep well that night, which I did! I loved the energy of the streets on this perfect English Summer day. Like many British cities, Oxford is a university city, lots of affluence and shopping, pubs, everything that’s good!
Something about this man making his way through the open air market caught my eye. Street photography is not only about people and architecture. But also dimensions and depth, texture, reflections, contrast, multiple layers of the photo, etc. That’s why I tend to work close and wide. It helps me think about more of the frame.
I love the Fuji X100F, that was my only camera along. In a case like this, dragging the shutter is easy with the build in neutral density filter.
Reflections with color and contrast.
Afternoon cream tea and scones, my God those were amazing. Of course local friends admonished me for putting the cream on first, so I tried it their way the next time. LOL! Yes, it tasted the same, but was more visually appealing their way.
On our way from Oxford to Bicester, we stopped at a real authentic British village pub, was so amazing! I think it was built in the 1700’s.
This was the garden area in the back. There were kids and dogs, was like being at someone’s house party, I enjoyed the experience. I hope you’ve enjoyed round one of Oxford, United Kingdom street photography! More to come.
Terian Farms wedding | Nashville wedding photographer | Matt and Mina
I met Matt and Mina over the Winter to discuss their wedding photography needs. Time for them was a commodity, as they’re both busy medical professionals, but we got it all worked out. They are from Wisconsin and came down here to study at Vanderbilt University. Now they’re keeping Nashville well, one patient at a time! Matt and Mina would finally have their day, at Terian Farms wedding and event center. This lovely Terian Farms wedding was Memorial Day weekend of 2018, and is this ever an amazing photo story! Starting with arrival.
It was a fairly hot day, but still pleasant, partly sunny, and as always, the farm was beautiful and welcoming. Speaking of welcoming, Matt, the lucky groom showed up with his groomsmen and family visiting. I would document some of the pre-wedding fun. I saw some beer, I knew then that this crowd would not disappoint!
Sometimes I like to use other people in the foreground to help accentuate the intended part of the subject. A good subtle documentary wedding photography method and no wasted motion.
Mina had arrived with her bridesmaids, and I was thoroughly impressed with their hair and makeup skills! Using mirrors are another way to create multiple dimensions with photography and storytelling.
Mina’s hair had beautiful detail!
My assistant did say earlier that the sky looked like rain. I brushed it off at the time, then I told her, hey it looks like rain! I got a nice eyeroll, lol!
More guests and family had started to arrive, I love documenting greetings.
Groom party chilling before the storm, and the ceremony.
Terian Farms is always a beautiful canvas, horses roaming about.
Final quiet moments before the wedding ceremony, it was about to begin! Thankfully, plan B had been executed, a tent for shelter. By then drizzle had started.
Revealing moments for wedding guests and particularly grandparents was a lovely observation. You could hear a gentle rain tap on the roof of the tent.
Venue keeper and coordinator, Teri encouraging a shy flower girl, and she rocked it!
It was a beautiful sight seeing Matt and Mina walk in together, as they walk out. We’re all breaking tradition together and that’s cool!
An emotional speech about a dearly departed friend of Mina.
You can see love and emotion radiating off of both of them!
The kiss! Yes! it’s a done deal. They relished that moment.
Matt and Mina really valued the documentary approach for their wedding. Like all of my couples, they just wanted to enjoy their day and not feel awkward doing long periods of posing for photos. But they did want the organic story documented. This doesn’t always excite the families as much, but their families were loving it as well. Everyone wanted to enjoy the day and keep it a relaxed feel.
After greeting beloved guests, time for a quiet moment between the couple.
The couple makes their entrance and guests were already having a great time, as I knew they would. After a lovely catered dinner from Blue Moon BBQ, I was ready to get to it again.
At times, the rain became heavier, but now the rainbow let us know we can play after the rain.
Everyone enjoyed these speeches at this festive and fun Terian Farms wedding. Both Matt and Mina have so much support and encouragement.
Cake, your days, I mean minutes, are numbered.
No words, just emotion, love, and energy.
Watching for the memorable moments is the foundation of documentary / photojournalist wedding photography. This Nashville wedding photographer was ready. Mina will either love this or want to kill me, lol! I’m betting the former.
The energy of the crowd and couple would not disappoint at all. I blended in and captured their energy, unposed and natural.
Photo booth fun.
I don’t normally hallucinate, but I thought I had a Patrick Swayze sighting! They were killing it!
Shout from the rooftops!
The party was rocking, next is the sparkler exit! I hope you’ve enjoyed this remarkable Terian Farms wedding and I wish Matt and Mina all the congratulations in the world!
Wedding industry professionals
As a professional wedding photographer, it’s smart to stay with the times and stay relevant. To me, that means keeping a relevant brand, website, marketing materials, and always having current work and sample albums to show. Even following social media and communication trends and using that to relate to my audience. I enjoy keeping things fresh and learning the psychology, in both my work and communicating with my audience. Also, establishing relationships and networking with other wedding industry professionals could be beneficial.
I’m not a natural with networking events, but I’ve challenged myself to branch out and meet people. In fact, I’ve attended wedding industry mixers and events, open houses, etc. for about 7 years now. There is value to that. I just don’t know if wedding industry functions are still for me. I mean, you have to do something to keep your face out there if you’re a wedding professional, in my case a wedding photographer. Lately, I’ve felt as though it’s forced and I’m questioning everything.
Over the years, with wedding industry events and mixers, I’ve seen a lot of people come and go. Usually the ones that come in with the most noise and build hype are the first to go. I’ve met a lot of great wedding pros and I’m grateful for the connections I do have. I always will be, I value relationships and connections. I do not value the superficial and the cliques, which is how it can sometimes feel. Everyone’s experience with these things will be different. It is what you make it. It also depends where you are at in your career and how many are likeminded and common passions. The latter point is where I am coming up empty lately.
I’m not saying this is wrong, but so many wedding industry professionals are inundated with style and trends. For many vendor types, that’s their job, especially if they are providing decor or other visual services. These trends and styles, and overall image of a person seem to be bringing people together, more so than talent and ability. This is where I feel like a pink elephant. Everyone sees weddings differently. For me, it’s about the personal aspects. The human interaction, telling the story about the couples’ lives and their day. Sure, I do photograph the flowers and table settings, but that’s not the focal point of my wedding photography. Trends are trends, people and their memories are forever relevant.
What I offer is a niche style of wedding photography, but it’s perfect for couples looking for documentation of their day without orchestration and time away from their event. Not a trend. It’s timeless, and therefore, I can’t fake interest in cosmetic trends. This seems to be the disconnect between me and many other wedding industry professionals. Not hostility or anything, just a missing common link.
I love servicing weddings and storytelling, and offering a unique signature style and experience to my couples. Lately, events for wedding industry professionals are falling flat for me. I’ve met great people, and trusted professional colleagues. More of that happens from working events rather than being a “face” at mixers. That’s the thing. I’m not a face. I like to visit and mingle, but I’m always going to be the wedding photographer that is recognized as having talent, but is different. As in, not one of them. I’m not everyone’s cup of tea, and that’s just fine. But I’m not out to impress them with words or image. I bring it every time when I work a wedding, that is all that should impress anyone.
Isn’t different good? I think so, although not for everyone. Do you want to be ideal for everyone? Is that possible. I think not. It’s not about closing doors, but opening new ones.
Corporate headshots in Nashville
Recently, I’ve had the pleasure of doing some individual headshots in studio as well as other corporate headshots in Nashville for their businesses. The advantage for any business or corporate professional having professional headshots is having a better representation of yourself. A skilled headshot photographer uses proper lighting and composition / positioning to bring out confidence and polish of each subject.
These are for a relatively new law firm in Nashville, Brazil Clark PLLC with an office in Berry Hill. I truly enjoyed working with them and helping them get professional imagery for their new website and social media pages. The key for them is looking confident, strong, vibrant, and compassionate all in one. Hard balance, but I hope we did that with their headshots. It never hurts to have attorney friends, and I hope to help bring these super ladies and gentlemen some business.
It doesn’t end there. I have met and served different walks of life, from compaby CEO’s, entrepreneurs, professionals applying for new jobs or for their new business ventures. I’m always eager to meet and capture new faces, helping prepare them to shine as they’re intended.
Don’t do a cell phone snap or have a friend with a camera do your professional headshot. You’ve invested in your education, appearance, and worked hard to get where you are. This is where you need a strong representation to sell you. To sell your company or your abilities to others. When would you like to get in? You can trust me as your provider for corporate headshots in Nashville.
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