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Storytime

we're waiting for the bride and groom to get ready. So I thought maybe we pick up some more questions, really about 10 minutes before they're done. Some questions from yesterday that maybe you guys would be interested in hearing the answers to. So I don't know if you want to come up with some, I can also explain Our first segment that we're gonna do is his first look. I shoot a lot of Jewish weddings and other weddings as well, where it is probably more beneficial to get the formals out of the way before the ceremony so that the transition from ceremony the reception is smooth, uninterrupted. And to do that, I do the first glance so that the bride still has the opportunity to have her husband to be see her first and go Oh my goodness, and get that expression on his face. So we'll talk a little bit about that. How I set it up, why I marinate him for a while and let him sit and stew in the feelings before I allow him to turn around. But I don't know if we have any questions that we could...

address. Absolutely alright, Quindio cool. How about if we start out with a story? Because there is, Ah, a request from Golden Golden? No photo from San Diego. His name's Joe and he says, I was in the front row first seat at the WPP I in Las Vegas and you told the story about the couple. You shot their newborn in the hospital. Please tell it all my goodness, Roy, if your timing in Right now it's Roy from Triple Scoop music and his lovely wife, Liza. I photographed their wedding Ah, few years ago and, ah, a couple of years ago, A little longer than two years ago. Um, Liza got pregnant and they were obviously having a baby, but she had to go to the hospital. There were complications, and unfortunately, they lost their son after being a life for, I think, a couple of hours or less. So it was devastating to them and all of us that knew them. And lo and behold, I get a call from Roy one day a little over two years ago, and he says So Joe lies is pregnant. I said, Oh my goodness, that's great. We're taking all the precautions this time the doctors air on it. This is gonna be great. But would you do us a favor and photograph the birth? I said what? Yeah, And again, Well, let's go back really fast of what I said yesterday, I become embedded in the family. I get really, Ah, close connection with my clients, all of them pretty much. And I stay connected with them over the years. So here was again and another opportunity for me to photograph a new family. So Roy said, Listen, it's gonna be early because there may be complications, So she's gonna have to go through a C section. Um and, uh, you know, no people are allowed in the operating room unless your family So you're gonna have to be Uncle Joe. So I'm Uncle Joe, and I think I talked about that yesterday as well, so I said, Sure, call me up. So the night before, he says, Can you be here? It's 66 30 in the morning. I said, Yeah, be there with bells on and I was able to document the birth. It was Gavin came out and while there was some concern and you could see lies is expressions in, in the in the actual slide show about how nervous she was. And Roy was bending over her, touching her face, and he was whispering things to her that I couldn't make out. But clearly Liza could and you could see the angst lever faced. And then you see a relaxed face and then you see a smile creep out, and the whole time the doctors are working on her, Gavin comes out and you can hear him belt out a screen three stories down in the hospital. That's how loud. So initially there was a concern about his development of lungs. But the concern is over, and Liza burst out into tears and happiness, and it was amazing time again. When I say to you like this is the most honored time to be in people's lives. Weddings. The other one is births to be present for that, I think those two occasions I think that our photographers are incredible opportunities to be witness and be part of moments like that. So I that was my story for Roy Analyzer in Gavin. Yeah, well, and the thing is, is that, um he's been Teoh my son's birthday party as a little baby in a stroller s. Oh, yeah, I'm probably gonna use to now and he's a little dude and Uncle Joe is gonna definitely seem when he gets back. I actually talked with Roy via texting last night and said, See, when I get back, families going to do something together and so that's what we'll do. That's excellent. Yeah, it was fun. That sweet. Alright, how about another story? Ah, Photoshopped girl this morning asked if you could tell us more about the bride with the roses book of the rows of Okay and the circular staircase Think that's on our creative life. Eight website Kellie Pickler. And can you talk about the editing you used to make that just so vibrant and beautiful how you captured that moment with her? All right, so that shot that you see, looking down, remember when I said yesterday that, uh, my clients need to be camera underwear? So before Kelly, she actually got married in the middle of the ocean. I convinced her to get married in the middle of the ocean. What happened was, uh initially you all know who Kellie Pickler is 1st 1st off, she was part of American Idol and the little blonde, cute country Western singer who's totally incredible, both personality wise, heart wise and her voice is sick. But anyway, she hired me to shoot her wedding. And then there was an issue with paparazzi and the press finding out where it waas. So they had, you know, I don't know. 203 150 people lined up toe to be at the wedding. The wedding was canceled because she didn't want the press to be involved. So one day she called me up, says, Well, we were trying to come up with a new date and families didn't quite agree, could make it whatever. And I decided, You know, it's about myself, Kyle and God. So we're gonna run away and get married. So what do you doing? New Year's Day, Joe? And this was, uh, not this year. But last year what you doing New Year's Day? And I said, Well, I'm at home. I said, Uh, what's up? She's well, we're getting married, were running away. So I said, Fine. She said, You want to come? I said, Absolutely, I'm there. So I said, Where is it? Antigua small little island outside of Antigua called Jumbe Bay. I said, Okay, and eso I said, Who's coming? Because I remembered 300 people. Or so she's Well, it's me, Kyle the coordinator. You and a videographer, the five of us, five of us. That's it. So I'm thinking right away. Oh, I've only got two people to photograph what I'm gonna do. What I remembered was that she said, It's me, Kyle and God, that's what it was about. So as we came onto the boat towards Jumbe Bay, I asked the boat captain, Where did they get married? Out here? And I was looking at the resort and the beach, and he said, For 18 years, right there in front of the resort on the beach at Sunset Time, I said OK, but I didn't want to do what everybody else had done for 18 years. So I looked over to my left and I saw a sandbar out in the ocean. I said, What about there? And he said, No, it will be under water. I said, underwater. Yeah, that sunset time. The tide goes up in that sandbars underwater, I said, Well, how deep is it he says, Well, toe walk out. It's mid thigh. And then to stand out there, it's mid calf, I said OK, so Kelly, I'm thinking you, Kyle, God in the middle of the ocean at sunset time and she said, Wow, great. But how do I get there? So what? You gotta walk through a little bit of water. What? I have this dress, expensive dress. I said, What lifted up? And like the Trooper she is, she lifted her dress, walked through the ocean towards Kyle. The most incredible photos I think I've ever taken other wedding between just two people, nothing else around it, but a beautiful sunset. God for them, the ocean. It was amazing. Before she went out to the ocean, there was an outbuilding. The oldest part of the island that had a spiral staircase looked like a turret. Right. It went up and I said, Let me go up first. So I ran up the spiral staircase and looked down. I said, There's my shot. Okay, Kelly, you can come up. And so I hung over the edge on the bar because it was shot with the 14 millimeter wide angle and I kept seeing from my knees down in the shot, and I don't like Photoshopped, so I try to not have anything that I need to do in post production. So I had a bigger gut back then and I was able to wrap this a little belly over the banister and take my feet off the ground and I hung and she didn't know she was paying attention to her dress. And when she was halfway up, I said Kelly and she looked up. Click. That was the shots, and that's the shot you saw. I have a shot after that when she's smiling, cause now she recognizes the camera and she's grinning from ear to ear. But that initial shot, that shot that you see now is the essence of who she is in this moment on Lee, she knows what she was thinking and feeling in that moment, because when she hit the top of the stairs, she raised her arms up and she screamed that she was marrying her best friend, and that's what she wanted to do there postproduction. It's basically color correction, and then I slightly vignette at the edges. That's all that was done. It was done in light room. Nothing else was done to it. So as far as post, there are times where the images get dragged into photo shop for the final book. So, in other words, what goes on to pick Taj in terms of the J packs, the editor J pegs that the client see is strictly light room produced only. And so that is color correction, maybe some light vignette ing. And then, if there is blemishes to be removed, that gets dropped into Photoshopped. If I have to smooth out the wrinkles, that's photo shop. I try not to edit out all the wrinkles. I want it to be real. I don't want plastic skin, and we do it in layers. If he does do it, Um, and pretty much that was done for Kelly shot that you see her coming up the stairs is simply light room with the little vignette ing. That's all There was done. Color corrections, absolutely stunning. It's a beautiful photo looking at it over, and I like how the staircase is kind of cool and then around. It's warmer and her eyes destroy you in every time because it was that look of almost prize. And like, there's no she wasn't expecting to before. Exactly. Yeah. Still finding like that. Recognition of Like, Who called my name? Well, yeah. What am I looking at? Yeah, beautiful me. A beautiful moment.