Well my “vacation” is over and we are on our way home! Went to an island on Florida’s Gulf Coast for my sister’s wedding and ended up shooting about 4 days worth of evening shoots. It certainly didn’t hurt having a gorgeous bride and groom (& I am not saying this as the sister) but also 2 more models on hand who came all the way from Florence Italy. Fabulous is all I can say! This also gave me a chance to build up my male model side- usually my only access to these guys is the dads that would prefer to just watch a shoot than be in it 
photogs don’t forget about these guys! They can be helpful even I they bow out of the shot.
Sunset on the Gulf is a beautiful time. That magic hour truly is alot of time – and I hated for it to end. These were great shoots where I was makeup artist, hair stylist and wardrobe director. Plus I really put my new canon 70-200mm 2.8 lens to the test! Whoa was I thrilled with the results! Also discovered some great products for my models (& me too).
The initial wedding was on the beach and we wanted a very windswept but retro feel for the bride and her party. Just imagine bamboo arbor on the beach, Louis Armstrong’s “I love Paris” and a birdcage veil! I discovered a cool hair product in of-all-places Walgreens. Sally Herschberger’s line for wavy hair. Perfect for all the different hair types to get a look that was not too “done” but with a little hairspray held all day. Plus it smelled very beachy. The makeup was the same thing. I use physicians formula and found that was perfect for a soft natural look paired up with maybellines colorstay lip, we barely needed touchups. A good “somethin’ blue” for a beach wedding is a quick pedi finished off with blue polish- we used OPI. I sound a little infomercial but want to take the chance to let clients know what worked for me when it is time to plan for their big day.
I know I am a huge fan of music at a shoot- I think it just gets everyone relaxed faster and keeps a great rhythem and momentum going. We found a cool cord free speaker for the iPod called the “tailgater” at Bed Bath & Beyond. These will be a must for my next outdoor on location shoot- it really puts out great sound and you can control the mood with your playlist of choice.
For fun I packed a bunch of little props and accessories- glad I did. This gave my models a chance to personalize and collaborate their looks. Eyelashes, hair embellishments, vintage earrings (clip are the way to go-any one can use em) and hats. And for any bride having a tropical beach wedding- faux flowers are key! I don’t mean frayed fake silks from walmart but roses like you will see featured in this post. Passersby thought they WERE real even to the touch and they don’t wilt so for your later couture shoot (I hate “trash the dress” btw) you still have flowers to use. (available at Michaels- but right now your choices are slim).
I had a great time and a great team to work with while in my little slice of heaven. A special thanks to my best girlfriend Jennie Gump- she is my new “light finder and style queen. She has her own thank-you shoot coming! The only problem was I had to put the camera down eventually! Good luck to any brides getting close to the big day this June, especially Kristen Beal! Wish I could get there.
shots are on their way- wordpress app for iphone has some bugs and has crashed on me too many times. Back to trusty desktop in the am…
Let me know!!