Glitz and Glamour Styled Shoot: Part Two

November 16, 2013

Time for another installment from our awesome styled shoot from the end of last year!

Glitz and Glamour Styled Shoot

While I had a general idea of how I wanted everything to look for our shoot, when we actually got everything to the studio, the "how" of arranging it got a little overwhelming! We had all sorts of stuff to work with, it was just HOW to put it together that we had to figure out. With the help of Kristin Huyck, who also did the paper details and invitations, we came with a pretty awesome set up.

In addition to the table settings and other details, you'll see the beautiful bouquets we had to work with. The gorgeous flowers were put together by Events by Ludemas. Allison, who listened to all my ideas and morphing plans outlined everything that went into the bouquets: "The bouquets were created with deep purple hydrangeas, purple miniature Calla lilies, burgundy peonies, magenta phalaenopsis orchid blossoms, eucalyptus pods, deep purple feather eucalyptus foliage, dark purple kale leaves, deep burgundy 'Black Magic' roses, a touch of frosted cedar and a lot of bling!" They did a wonderful job. They even did a ring attached to a chain for the model to wear that hooked to the bouquet. Very cool. My original though was just lots of blue but thankfully they had so much more than the blue in the bouquets, it really made everything pop.

The cake was a fabulous addition to the shoot as well. If you guys know me, you know how much I love dessert. I spoke with Lori of Dessert by Lori, who created a cake for us to use for the shoot as well. The gorgeous shimmering fondant and rich colored details, accented with the obligatory jewels and glitter, made the perfect touch to finish out our detail set.

Models: Karie S, Ashley K, and Lauren H
Hair and make-up: Latesha Lipscomb and Elliott Yared with I GOT FACE Cosmetic Concierge
Invitations and paper details: Kristin Huyck - Graphic Designer
Florals: Events by Ludemas
Cake: Desserts by Lori
Table setting: Mikasa
Styling: Jenna Hoekstra and Kristin Huyck
Dresses: Badgley Mischka, Scala from Renee Austin Weddings

^Used these silver and while candleholders as our "centerpieces" flanked by our bridesmaid bouquets. Perfect.

^These plates are the fine china I got for my wedding. Love the rock candy favors too, thanks Kristin!

^Though the idea morphed a bit, we wanted to at least get a few of Karie in the bridal gown we had on hand.

^The bride with our table set up.

^Now for the dessert table!

^Gorgeous cake by Desserts by Lori.

^Nothing like some colorful candy to set off the whole thing.

Tomorrow post will show off the models at their best!

Glitz and Glamour Styled Shoot: Part One

November 16, 2013

This one has been months in the making! I've been looking forward to editing it for forever, but due do end of the year sessions and the holidays, it wasn't until the new year that I really was able to work on everything. It took a lot of planning and such, but we finally got it done! I'm so excited to show off...

The Glitz and Glamour Styled Shoot

This past year, I got married. It was fun planning a wedding. I took all the details I've seen over the years and decided what I wanted (or didn't want, in some cases) and made it my own. The perfect day for my husband and me, and all our friends and family. The only thing I didn't get to do? Photograph it! While I have tons of awesome photos from the day (and yes, I took a few myself!), I would have loved to have hired myself to get it all.

Since that's pretty much impossible, I did the next best thing, while simultaneously checking 'styled shoot' off my list; I created my own "wedding". While we left out the groom and a few other key details, I was able to create (with the help of a few other very talented individuals) a mini-wedding set that was lots of fun and super glitzy!

The lovely Karie and her two lovely friends, Lauren and Ashley, were kind enough to be my models for our 'wedding shoot'. The idea moved around a lot throughout the planning process (from elegant, peacock themed to rock star chic and then finally settling on glitter glam) but I love how it came together. We settle on lots of glitter and deep, rich colors, which came across wonderfully in all the little details. My graphic designer friend, Kristin, was so kind as to assist with some of the styling (in addition to the invitation and other paper details she created for the shoot).

This first post is here to show off a few shots during the preparation process, and a few of the fabulous details we had to work with, that you'll get to see 'in action' in our next two posts!

Models: Karie S, Ashley K, and Lauren H
Hair and make-up: Latesha Lipscomb and Elliott Yared with I GOT FACE Cosmetic Concierge
Invitations and paper details: Kristin Huyck, Graphic Designer
Florals: Events by Ludemas
Cake: Desserts by Lori
Styling: Jenna Hoekstra and Kristin Huyck
Dresses: Badgley Mischka, Scala from Renee Austin Weddings

^My paper artist and assistant stylist, Kristin, working hard on getting everything together for the shoot.

^Latesha and Elliott getting Karie's hair and make-up ready.

^Looking glam, girl!



^Our "bridesmaids", Lauren and Ashley, and our "bride", Karie.

^Invitation by Kristin Huyck.

^Love the glam paper details.

^Gorgeous glam florals created for us by Events by Ludemas.

^Close up of the rich colors... the dark purple kale and the burgundy peonies look awesome here.

^All three bouquets, gorgeous!

Check back with us tomorrow for our next set of images from the Glitz adn Glamour shoot... the table arrangement and your first shots of Karie as 'the bride.' The best comes in our third installment, so stay tuned!

Dooge Veneers Head Shots (Grand Rapids Portrait Photographer)

January 16, 2014

As many of you know, I also have a full time "other" job. While I still do photography here at Dooge Veneers, I usually focus on inventory image and architectural project mock-ups. However, this week, they had me bring in my "real" photography equipment to take corporate head shots for the whole staff. I'm always a little leery of doing this because a lot of the people I work with aren't big fans of photos. They were pretty good sports about it though, and now that I'm done shooting and editing all of these, I'm oddly proud of the photos we came out with. They aren't without some issues (after all, I do prefer more natural shots and more relaxed posing) but since the blog is slow this week, I thought I would share with my "other job" fans :)

And yes, that IS me and my husband in there :)

Love the company I work for, these all are great people!

Baby Bradley (Grand Rapids Newborn Photographer)

January 3, 2014

What better way to start out a new year than with a brand new baby! Although this little man was born in 2013, he came to see me for his first portrait session just after the new year. He took a little bit of convincing (they always do!) but he slept nicely for us for quite awhile. About halfway through the session, Bradley decided he wanted to be wide awake. Surprisingly, I didn't mind. He was calm and very focused, so he looked and did great. It was wonderful to see Caitlin and Dustin again, it's so fun to see my former brides and grooms starting their families! Congrats to you both on this awesome little guy!

^Daddy is the baby whisperer for our session today!

^We used the heater to make this spot the coziest in the room!

^Wrapped up in Caitlin's grandma's blanket.

^So alert!

^Showing off daddy's tools :)