Hey peeps! Sometimes I get thoughts and I just want to share them with you. This post is really directed to all the future brides and grooms out there. Whether we’re shooting your wedding or not I want to share this piece of advice to with you all. Today’s topic is video and why you need it…

So many time’s I sit in my office meeting with brides and grooms or even on the phone. I always ask them this question. “Are you having a videographer at your wedding?” The answer is usually 50/50. Some couples know its super important and are 100% dead set on it. Some couples say tell me they don’t think they’d watch it more than once. That answer is totally not true, you’ll watch it more than once. I just received my video back in late December and I think we’ve hit double digits in plays and its only the 3rd week in January. Then I have some couples who unfortunately video does not fit within their budget and I understand that, maybe when it get’s closer to your date you’ll have extra funds and if you’re lucky a really incredible videographer will be available.

My personal opinion is you will want your ceremony, vows, rings, readings etc covered. You’ll also want your cocktail hour footage, intros, first dance, toasts, parent dances and cake cutting. If you’re doing a first look you’ll want to capture that as well. After receiving my video I have to say for me it completes the day. Sure I have incredible photos to cherish from our day but now I can see it all in motion and hear it. It’s a whole new and different experience when you sit down to watch your wedding video for the first time. As a photographer I can only capture so much. I can make time stand still and you can paint a picture of the sound and feelings of whats happening but with video it really completes the story. For me it was watching Kris Ann’s father walk her down the aisle, hearing the readings and vows and ceremony music. So much happens at once it really is all a blur. Also I enjoyed hearing our toasts, watching my dance with my mother and just seeing peoples smiles and laughs throughout the video.

A couple quick examples..

I did a wedding this summer that had one of the funniest toasts I’ve ever seen only to find no videographer in the house to professionally capture it with not only a solid shot but solid audio. In my opinion a flip camera (even if its hd) ain’t cutting it. Another time back in 2008 we shot a great wedding with the most incredible first dance I ever saw. I mean this was dancing with the stars type stuff and not one video camera in the house. I know that couple regrets not having a video. One more, when I went to a brides page on facebook who’s wedding I shot this year for something I noticed this image below. This post on facebook was the inspiration of this whole blog post, I felt awful reading it and then was compelled to share my thoughts with you all.

Lastly this post isn’t about pushing my videographer friends or pals. It’s about educating you guys on something I feel gets overlooked and shouldn’t. If you read this post and want my recommendation on a videographer I’d be more than happy to point you in the right direction.

Peace,
JP

Here is a video recap of our wedding that Al Woodard filmed..

For those of you who’ve been following my blog for a while might have noticed a trend in my engagement sessions. It’s alway the last image you’ll see in my engagement session blogs. It might be silly or whatever but it’s become a must get shot for me. It all started back in the summer of 2008. June 9th to be exact. I call it my “bling shot”.

So here’s the deal. I was shooting Jaimee and Sean’s engagement session and we were just winding down. I had them sitting on the ground next to one another. I actually wonder if they even remember me saying to them, “Jaimee, show me your ring like you would show someone after you just got engaged.” Isn’t the universal “I’m engaged” sign left hand up facing outwards ladies? Sure you can point your hand down but thats wack. I prefer digits up so you know. Sean naturally looked at Jaimee when she stuck her hand up shook his head and smiled. Anyway after I took that shot I looked at the camera and said ” Yes! This is how I’m ending all my engagement sessions from now on.”

Peace,
JP

Had there been no bling shot this is how their session would have ended..

Here it is.. my first ever bling shot. Who’d a thunk it would become a must do shot for me.

The bling shot does get around… Last June the famous bling shot was spotted in Hoboken… check it out

and a couple years ago it was spotted in Fenway Park too. Click to see their awesome e shoot.

This past December a freshly “I just got engaged” bling shot was captured.. check it out here.

Even when I proposed to my now lovely wife Kris Ann I was able to capture a bling shot of her.. You can still see the tears in her eyes.

All kinds of trademarks in this one.. Red Sox, Starbucks and oh bling shot. Have I mentioned yet I’m a Yankee fan? You’d think from this blog post all my couples are Sox fans.. boo to them! Their engagement session.

Big rock alert. A big bling shot of a stunning couple.. their session is here

Sometimes you might bump into a potential bride who happens to be a mega blog stalker.. When she told me she’s now engaged and planning her wedding I said “Well you need a bling shot then.” Not shortly after I captured this image Marie made it official and added us to her wedding day roster for this upcoming May…

But before her and Chris would tie the knot they needed a bling shot. Here’s their session..

Jamie and Eamon at the fair.. A favorite of mine. Have a look.

I love when couple’s have fun with the bling shot.. Here is Elisabeth and Jon’s awesome summer session..

Keeping with the fun factor Alissa was never too shy to ham it up for the camera. See theirs.

A diamond blings and so does the backlight in their engagement session.

Even the famous Mona got her bling on back in September of 2009

Bling it up with airplanes.. check this one out.. one of my favs from 2010.

I’ll end this one with my favorite “bling shot” of 2010. Julia was so funny with this… have a look at their session.

We’re back with our 3rd annual behind the scenes blog post! You might remember when I first posted one 2008 and then again in 2009. I have to say this is one of my favorite things to blog. A little history on these images. Every season basically from everything we shoot we always have behind the scenes shots. Sometimes they are lighting/location test shots. Sometimes they are just goofy shots of us. Often they’re shots of  fellow friends and vendors we work with. These images are all pulled when in editing and placed in a folder called random shots. Our random shots folder dates way back to 2001 when we started shooting digital and today is somewhere around 150 gigs of images. Pulling shots from our 2010 year was tough since we now shoot all year knowing shot’s will make this very blog post. I tried hard to narrow down the choices but I couldn’t get them under 95 images! I know I know, my blog posts run long sometimes but isn’t that why you come back? You’re here to see pictures right? Well sit back relax grab a cup of coffee, a cocktail or whatever and enjoy!

Peace,
JP

Back on the first day of January I snapped our first shot for this blog.

“Seriously? You’re making me come outside?”

It wasn’t as cold as it looked. The next day though, well that was another story.

I love more than anything to mess with my pal Donna from Mansion Catering. Those who are in the biz know Donna and love her.

Jan 2nd was freezing! It did have awesome photo opportunities though.

After these cold images we had a big gap before the reception started. Big Joe, Al Woodard and myself headed across the street for buffalo wings. That warmed us up!

Highjacking a shot 101..

Fact: Before every reception during cocktail hour you’ll find New York Players trumpet legend Tony Gambaro practicing in the ballroom..

It was a cold winter. One day I found Lexie curled up behind my Mac Pro because the fan blows out hot air. Too cute.

In February Anjella was excited to show me her gown..

At her wedding I was upstairs in the Hall of Springs taking a photo and noticed March’s schedule on the wall. Particularly the 6th ;)

I had to throw a random shot of us on our wedding.. This was seconds after we walked down the aisle. I love this one.. Image by Jessica Claire.. Check out our wedding if you have not yet. PS… How beautiful is my wife?

He looks lost..

Sometimes I have to show a bride what I want.. Brian’s like dude what are you doing here?

“Paging Dr Elario for surgery.” We shot the annual report for Albany Medical Center. One of my shots was to capture a real live operation. It’s not always sunshine and kittens. It was wild.

Kris Ann of Fleurtacious Designs finishing touches on an April wedding..

Sandwiched between CASL Productions. (Cheryl left, Mandy right) I wonder if we’re running on time.

I think the tie made his head glow..

Talk about accidentally matching something.

Yes you look pretty with your bouquet.

What do you think girls?

Dodging cars in Troy..

My bubbles..

Sometimes you have the luxury of relaxing with the bride. I think we were waiting on the groom somewhere.

Still waiting..

For the couples who had an Elario Photo Booth at your wedding I’m sure you all remember Kat right?

Girl in blue: “Why are you taking my picture?”

Wups..

Double fisting my Canons in spa city.

Al Woodard raising the roof.. Well, the lady behind him was for sure.

Trying to blend in ;)

Where did he get the cheeseburger?!?

On Memorial Day Weekend Christine Wheat brought her army of wedding planners. It was a big wedding.

“Cover up, I’m coming in!” by the way everyone gets ready in 627

Same big wedding, Kris Ann driving a big truck. She drives it like a pro too.

Same big wedding. Executive VP of Operations for Mazzone Management Group Mark Delos has a staff meeting..

I wish I knew what we were talking about here…

Highjacking a shot..

With neon earplugs in tact I bust a move for a second.

The wedding planner says it’s time to cut the cake.

Ladies and gentlemen, Al Woodard!

Ok one more of Al in the butter light.

Big Joe setting the scene.

How’d he get up there?

Shooting into some harsh light.

Meanwhile in June I headed north..

“OK Kristin this is what I want you to do”

April K helped me shoot this wedding. It’s always thumbs up with her.

The girls from Fleurtacious Designs taking a break during a ceremony..

Wedding planner Katie O’ enjoying a moment with a bride and groom.

Ok I’ll remind you all again. It’s Al Woodard. Not Woodward. ONE W!

Here’s something you don’t see quite often. DJ Paul Malo and an empty dance floor.. This was during cocktails obviously ;)

“Ok what are we doing?”

Haha..

The stranger watches…

A little configuration.. oh see the dude again lurking in the background. I bet he’s a blog stalker!

Here Katie carry my coat, lens, some glasses and a bouquet. Wedding planners are so great to have a around.

The outcome of this shot from this July 3rd wedding rocked.

I spent my 4th of July with the famous David Michael Schmidt from Renaissance!

New York Players trumpet legend Tony still practicing 7 months later.

“Bring me over there please.” FYI, I did tip him.

A rare image of us both thanks to blog stalker #1 Mona. Mona also told me she prefers Canon to Nikon. Sorry Big Joe.

I don’t even know!

Just chilling with a b&g..

On this engagement session Big Joe joined me..

I don’t even know what my man is doing here?

I’m on a boat!

The purple house!

Oh I’m sorry did you not want me in this shot?

All summer Big Joe covered the Saratoga Racing Scene for NYRA. I just love this shot.

Wow it’s September already?

The legend! Joe from Franklin Plaza.

Busted!

I don’t even know how these things ended up on me.

Oh hey Alayne!

Enjoying a laugh with the ladies..

The Elario’s lurking in the background.

We almost caught Donna busting a move.

October at Michels wedding. Mirrors are just too easy.

Rocking a 300 2.8

Just another mirror shot.

Hand delivered from the florist herself.

Overnight it became chilly. This was minutes after their first look.

The next day I had myself a nice little canvas to work with.

Floral designer On Thai from Surroundings Floral Studio.

Courtney from Alb Country Club couldn’t understand what the “blue light” was I kept talking about.

My friend Jason tagged along and shot some video of me in action. In this scene we’re outside the brides room but there’s no bride to be found. We had a great 20/30 minutes to chat ;)

Where’s a bridesmaid when you need one huh? Just kidding we’re always happy to help out.

Superstar Tracy from the New York Players and I are always clowning.

The infamous mirror shot at the Hall of Springs.

It’s now October 30th! Wow!

Happy Halloween from Lexie!

I couldn’t agree more with this list. Although you left off “Old time rock and roll” I hate that song.

When its freezing outside I try hard to keep everyone distracted from the cold.

Thats it! It was a fun year behind the scenes!

I don’t even know where to start with this one gang. Well a little history for those who are new here. I love the Dave Matthews Band, I’ve been going to shows since 1999 and look forward to seeing them multiple times in a year. If my schedule permits and its close enough I’m there. I also love photography (duh). When I used to shoot Alive at Five’s and Tulip Festival concerts for the City of Albany I always wondered what it would be like to photograph a band of this caliber. When I shot for them I always left those gigs with a smile on my face because I loved photographing bands and whatnot. There was that one time on stage when I was like “man I wish this was the Dave Matthews Band”. I mean I know the band, not personally, but I know the things they do and who to shoot when and why. It’s sort of like photographing weddings because I know what to expect and when to expect it. So many concert experiences went by and I watched many photographers capture images that probably meant nothing to them but a photo credit in a local paper or whatever. For me, getting to shoot this band was truly something I only dreamed of doing. That being said the fairy godmother and a former bride of mine Sarah made my dream come true. Sarah works for the City of Albany and made a few call’s for me. To say I was ecstatic when she called me with the good news would be a complete understatement. So I have to thank Sarah big time for making me feel “so damn lucky”. So with that, lets get into this post!

Peace,
JP

ps.. Nothing is for sale so don’t ask. I am not allowed to sell prints. This is strictly for your viewing pleasure. If you repost anywhere do not crop my logo and link back to this post. Thanks!

No I wasn’t stalking Mr Matthews. I simply parked in the right spot at the right time and captured this. When I took it I looked at my wife and said  ”This is my opener for the blog post.”

Some details.. This is referred by Dave as “the tiny guitar” a crazy fan like myself knows there are only a handful of songs he plays on this. Don’t you love the picks?

This band has one of the most ridiculous horn sections out there.. I just love how these epic instruments wait to be played..

A few more details.. their lighting was insane at this show.

The moment where the place erupts in cheers. I imagine this has to make you feel good when taking the stage.. I had 2 songs to shoot which was just shy of 16 minutes.. this is what I captured…

A sip of tea (or perhaps something else?) and then its time..

For the fans he opened with Squirm.. for the photographers I shot all my images ISO 3200 1D MK4 5D MK2 and wide open on whatever lens I had on..

drum beats louder…

drum beats louder.. Carter is seriously a machine up there.

I love all this crazy lighting..

The sound that comes from this mans guitar is just nutty…

One of my favorites from the whole show..

classic Dave scream!

The infamous boots…

After a surprisingly short opener song it was onto “You might die trying”.. at this point I had 9 minutes to tear it up and shoot like a maniac.

Stefan Lessard is the man and the most accessible band member. Follow his twitter if you’re a fan.

Oh you know I brought the old fish eye.. I bought this lens years back strictly for concert shooting.

Classic Dave Matthews with eyebrow thing
]

I think this is making my wall..

Another eyebrow thing…

Oh hey Dave, I see you too.

Boyd Tinsley on the violin..

Another compilation..

Another fav.. I just love the fisheye look in b&w..

Love it..

Starting to get down..

Yes, it sounded that good!

The Dave Matthews Band.. 2010 style..

One more of Stefan..

I was totally dancing a little while shooting this stuff.

and I’ll end with this.. classic Dave. What an experience!