Through out a wedding day Ashley and I are constantly shooting photos of each other as we work. Mostly we are just goofing off together. We like to have fun. We want to have fun, we want the bride and groom to have fun, the wedding party, the families, everyone. So we start by having a good time and goofing off some.

These outtake/behind the scenes photos are all from Carrie and Tyler's wedding. There are photos of Ashley helping me setup the formal lighting, photos of me testing out the photo booth location and setting, some of us working where we just got caught in the frame on accident, and some of us plain goofing off. Enjoy.

Posted by Steve Nuzum at 5:13 AM | Permalink

The first sight is one of the biggest moments of the wedding day. Whether it be during the ceremony or before hand like this photo below. While some brides and grooms are still choosing to see each other for the first time during the ceremony, 90% of our brides and grooms do a first sight like this one below where we setup the groom in a location and the bride walks up behind him and taps him on the shoulder to turn around and see her for the first time on their wedding day.

Shooting the first sight is tough. You want to get several reactions and angles and it all happens very fast. If family and friends are present it complicates it even further. Here is a quick list of the reactions/shots I want:

1. The groom waiting.
2a. The bride approaching.
2b. The bride approaching in the background with the groom in the foreground.
3. The grooms reaction to seeing his beautiful bride.
4. The brides reaction to seeing her studly groom.
5. The kiss that inevitably happens.
6. The reaction of any family or friends who may be onlookers at the time.
7. The bride and groom's behavior when we don't tell them what to do next.

It is tough to cover all of that with just one person. Luckily Ashley and I work on a different level than most and know exactly what the other is doing. That allows us to capture these moments from many angles and perspectives very quickly without taking the exact same photo. There is no other team like Ashley and I and that comes from the fact that we are married and know each better than anyone else. It allows us to be completely open and honest with each other regarding our photography and how we work together.

This first sight is from a recent wedding with Amber and Brian. We shot these first sight photos in the Sculpture Garden in Downtown Des Moines. There were a lot of people in the garden that day, but you wouldn't be able to tell from these photos. (Another important aspect of how Ashley and I shoot.) These two photos show the different angles Ashley and were working from for this first sight. We will always recommend an outside first sight, but we also do them at church alters if so desired. Congratulations again to Amber and Brian!

Posted by Steve Nuzum at 1:53 AM | Permalink

The photo station is one of the coolest things we offer. I could talk all day about some of the things that have happened in and around the photo booth. Photo booth's are definitely a new trend and technically ours is not a booth at all. It's more of a photo station of sorts. You can fit large numbers of people into the photos and you can take as many as you'd like. The photos are remote controlled by the guests as they have a great time and instantly displayed on a TV as they shoot away. Then all of the photos are delivered to the bride and groom on a CD. You can find more information on our photo booths here, here, and here.

This photo is from Kelly and Brian's wedding last year on the Iowa State Campus. You can see the guest are enjoying themselves at the photo booth while this sign is the only security around. They were free to enjoy and express themselves accordingly.

Posted by Steve Nuzum at 9:32 PM | Permalink

I shot Heather and Treye's engagement photos a while back on the ISU Campus. We hit several cool spots and despite the really cold temperatures we had a great time. This particular shot was taken in the open area just north of the Campanile. This wasn't the first time we'd done a snow/snowball fight during an engagement shoot but it was one of the most intense. As you can see from this photo Heather was playing for keeps. I tend to take a "hands off" approach when it comes to shots like this. I want them to just have a good time and enjoy the moment. I will take care of the photos through whatever means necessary, but they just need to have fun and have a fun story to tell later. I hope that these two enjoyed the moment and did have a fun story to tell (with photos to prove it.)

Posted by Steve Nuzum at 12:01 PM | Permalink

A photo is worth 1,000 words, but sometimes it takes 1,000+ to tell the whole story. There is a story behind every photo we take. Why did we choose to take this shot? What lead us to this location? What was the reasoning behind the pose? How long did I make them sit there like that? Who's idea was it? Etc. So today I am choosing one photo to give you that behind the photo look at.

This is an engagement photo from Angela and Adam's session last year in Omaha. This photo was taken near Gene Leahy Mall around the Old Market area. It was the first time that I'd been able to shoot in this area and there was certainly plenty for me to use in the shoot. It was a cold and rainy day and I had actually been a bit under the weather, but as is usually the case as soon as I started shooting everything else, including feeling crappy, faded away.

There are a couple of giants slides at the east end of the park. How could I not have them take a few on these giant slides. So they, Adam a little reluctantly, climbed to the top and proceeded to try and slide down. About half way down they got stuck. The slides are metal and not really, well slidey. Apparently using cardboard is the way to go since there was a bunch of discarded cardboard sitting around. So when they got stuck half way we all had a good laugh, Adam is even laughing in this particular photo, and I told them to kiss. Imagine that, me telling someone to kiss in front of the camera. Anybody who follows this blog knows the power of kissing photos and that we take a ton. After we finally stopped laughing they scooted off the slides and we continued on around the park. Great photo, great story.

Posted by Steve Nuzum at 1:45 PM | Permalink