My Top 10 Favorite Wedding Pictures of 2010

Yesterday I posted my top 10 favorite portraits for the year.  Today it's a countdown of my favorite wedding photographs from this year.  It's been a great one!  Here's to many, many more.  :)  And now, without further ado...

My Top 10 Favorite Wedding Pictures of 2010

#10: Tiffany & Shawn's Wedding Formal

 

  

Tiffany & Shawn's colors were green and orange, and the colors at Temple Square on their wedding day matched perfectly!  I love it when special things like that happen.  I am also a fan of duo-toned photographs, where there are two major colors.  It makes a nice effect.

#9: Bekah's Bridals

 

This photograph seems almost magical to me. The blossoms with the pink in the background looks so beautiful.  I also love the texture in this picture.  Her hair, the tree, and the blossoms all have different, interesting textures that together make a lovely composition.

#8: Mike & Emily's Engagements 

 

I love it when couples bring their own unique ideas and props to their engagements.  Emily's old window pane made a really fun prop that paired with the sand, tall grass, and cloudy sky made for a great portrait.  I love their expressions and how happy they look.

#7: Irina's Bridals

  

This is one of those pictures you only get one chance in a lifetime to take.  The odds of me being at the salt flats again when there is a rainbow are next to none.  But not only is the rainbow amazing above the expanse of salt, but the bride looks great with her hair slightly blowing back as well.

#6: Jacob & Carissa's Wedding Candid

  

I am in love with pictures of people laughing.  I really am.  This one happened during the cake cutting.  I love how darn cute the bride looks.  This photograph just makes me happy every time I see it.

#5: Chris & Jocelyn's Wedding Detail

 

As you may know, I am a big fan of ring shots.  What I like most about this one is that I took something that has been done a million times, but put my own twist on it.  It's different than most of the 'ring in the bouquet' pictures because it isn't the usual 'sit-them-on-top-of-each-other-on-the-daisy,' but I found a different angle that included the surroundings to make it just a little bit unique.  I also love the color and how the rings don't get lost in the array of flowers.

#4: Tara & Ryan's Engagements

   

 I know, it's another laughing one.  But maybe that lets you know how much I really do like them.  This was the very first image I took at their session, and I'm kind of proud of that fact.  This session was one of those I look back on and am still as in love with it now as I was then.  I love how the out-of-focus background really makes them stand out, and I think the colors look great.  Most of all, I love how pretty Tara looks while she's laughing.  This is another one that makes me want to smile when I see it.  :)

#3: Katie & David's Engagements

 

This photograph invokes quite a different mood.  I love the how romantic it is.  Her hand placement makes the picture even more romantic.  They look so peaceful and so in love.  I also love how he's wearing a collared shirt and nice coat.  It's super classy.  Add to that the black and white finish to emphasize the emotion and you've got yourself a pretty nice photograph.

#2: Jacob & Carissa's Wedding Detail

  

 This is my favorite bouquet shot EVER.  I love the texture of the chair next to the soft smooth texture of the flowers.  I think the dangley things are really cool (I should probably know what those are called, but I don't.)  This one also has the duotone thing that I like.  The green of the stem, leaves, etc is echoed in the chair and the bush in the background, and the pink of the flowers is mirrored in the bricks behind the chair.  Overall it's a beautiful and very pleasing photograph.

And now....

Drum Roll please......

The #1 Wedding Picture of the year....

Wil & Kim's Wedding Formal!

 

I do my best to coach couples on how to kiss.  It sounds silly, but in so many kissing pictures the couples have 'duck lips.'  For some reason that's what we naturally do when we kiss.  But this picture is the absolute perfect kiss.  No duck lips here, and it's just a split second before the lips actually touch, which always looks better than lips smashed together.  This picture is timeless, classic, and beautiful.  I don't think romance can look any better than these two.   

Have a happy New Year everyone!  I can't wait for all the adventures we'll have and the amazing people I"ll meet in 2011!

My Top 10 Favorite Portraits of 2010

Wow, what a year.  It's hard to believe we're at the end of 2010 already.  This year has really been a great one, and I am grateful for all of the things I was able to experience this year.  I learned so much this year and grew in so many ways.  Most of all I have to thank my husband Blake for encouraging me, helping me through the hard days, and believing that I can do anything.  I would never have started my business if it wasn't for him.
I thought it'd be fun to choose my top 10 favorite portrait and top 10 favorite wedding pictures from this year.  Each one of these photos are ones I am proud of, and I think they show my style and who I am.  I hope you'll enjoy looking back on 2010 with me.

My Top 10 Favorite Portraits of 2010

#10: Chelsa's senior portrait

I love the drama in this photograph.  Her hair blowing back just perfects it.  The green everywhere is stunning, and I am in love with those ferns (I wish we had ferns in Utah!)  

#9: Larsen family portrait

 

In case you don't know, this is actually a picture of me, my husband, my parents, and my siblings.  I know it's kind of silly for me to put this in here, but I really do love it.  I set up the camera on a tripod and then ran as fast as I could into place.  What I love about this picture is the expanse of green above us, as well as the color scheme of our clothes.  We spent so long trying to figure out what to wear and finally I came up with this look.  It just clicked.

#8: Owen family portrait

   

I love how just plain silly this is.  I mean, who thinks to play Hide and Seek at their family session?  I love how the turquoise and lime look with the surroundings.  Again, I love the ferns, and the light coming through the trees is almost magical.  

 #7: Byron family portrait

  

 I love the surroundings here, especially the texture of those mossy pebbles on the ground.  I think it's beautiful.  But the thing I love most about this photograph, is that I really didn't think I could pull it off.  You probably can't tell, but they were standing in dark shade, and the water and land behind them was in the brightest noon-day sun.  It would have been so easy to over-expose and ruin the background.  I was so scared that I wouldn't be able to make this picture happen, but with the help of Blake and some flashes, I pulled it off.  So now this one is one I am quite proud of, and it's made me more confident in my ability.

#6: Holland family portrait

  

I think what I love most about this one is how funny this family is, and them doing a super 'bad' pose like this just cracks me up.  But the thing is, they actually look good doing it.  The black and white tops it off.  Way to go guys.

#5: Stanger family portrait

  

If you've been following my blog you'll know this is actually an engagement session.  But I thought I'd count it as a family portrait, because that's kind of what it is.  I love how cute the baby is, and I love how in love the couple looks. Having it in black and white really accentuates the emotion portrayed here.

#4: Chelsea's model portrait

 

I think this girl is so beautiful.  I love the way she put her hand through her hair.  The grass popping out of the rocks pretty much makes the photograph.  I think her gaze is mesmerizing.

#3: Anna's portrait

 

Oh the colors!  The turquoise she's wearing looks perfect by the yellow wall, and the fact that her eyes are blue and her hair blonde (yellow) make it all the better.  And isn't she just a cute little girl!  

#2: The Christensen kids

 

Let's talk about fabulous.  The purple color scheme works great with the other colors surrounding them.  I love the lush greens and the beautiful flowers.  The fact that I captured four kids and a dog looking great in one photograph is awesome.  And to top it all off, this picture was taken in their backyard.  Gorgeous.

And Now......

The #1 Portrait of the Year...

 Gracie's portrait!

   

 It may be a sin to have her as number one and number two, but hey, just look at her.  She is seriously the cutest thing ever and this picture captures her just as I remember her: an absolute doll.  Her pose is perfect, but I didn't direct her at all!  She seriously just posed herself like this when I told her where to sit.  The flowers around her set the perfect scene and her adorable little outfit looks perfect.  This photograph is just overflowing with cuteness.

I hope you enjoyed, and be sure to stay tuned for my top 10 wedding photograph picks for this year!

Merry Christmas!

From my family to yours.  Enjoy your holiday!

Stephanie's bridals

I love Stephanie.  She's beautiful, she's fun, and she's amazing.  Even though her session happened at the harshest time of day (lighting wise), we were able to get beautiful pictures without compromise, thanks to the incredible assistance of Blake.  I'm very happy with these photos.  Stephanie looked wonderful.

 

She also brought her daughter in for a few cute pictures.

 

To see the rest of Steph's cute pictures click HERE

  

The Tew Family

Meet the Tew family.  They really are a great group.  I have some great memories of this family (mostly of the father, he's a hoot).  They chose a lovely location and I like how they chose to dress up.

  
And my personal favorite....
  
See more of the Tews HERE

Emily & Michael's wedding, pt. 2: Rodizio Grill luncheon and Fruit Heights reception

 As promised, here is part two of Emily and Michael's lovely September wedding.  First is their luncheon.  I think Rodizio Grill is a great location for a luncheon. 
 
  
The servers brought out a little flan of some sort and sang what was clearly "Happy Birthday" in what I assumed was Portuguese.  That made me laugh. 


Then it was off to the reception.  Their reception was held in a beautiful backyard of friends of the bride.  The crazy thing about this is that a friend of mine (who's wedding I also photographed) used to live in the apartment on that property.  Talk about a small world.
   
One amazing thing about this wedding is that the groom designed and made the rings himself!  Incredible! 
 

See the rest of their photos HERE
If you missed it, part 1 is HERE

PS This is my 100th blog post!  How cool is that?