Patrick Sweeney Photography

I met this family about 5 or 6 years ago doing a dancing school. Well Renee and Evan (who are twins) will be leaving for college in a few days, so they wanted to do a family portrait before they left for school. Poor Amy still has a few years left. So I drove up to their home and very close to their home is a beautiful lake. Scott went out the day before I came up there and took his own photos of what the area looked like so I would have some ideas when I got there. He sent me photos email and he picked out his favorite spots. Well away we went. Scott, Rose, Renee, Evan, Amy and the little white furry one Shaba. Shaba thinks she is tougher then she really is. Out of nowhere she just ran off and decided to take on a much bigger dog.

Jennifer and Keith were so much fun to work with. They didn't care if they missed their cocktail hour or not. They knew they didn't have enough time in between the church and the reception but they wanted to make sure they got the pictures they wanted. They figured the food isn't going anyplace and in 20 years down the road they aren't going to remember the food. They would remember their wedding by the photos I took. Just a little thing to think about. They do feed you at weddings after cocktail hour too. I let me couples eat while I am taking the pictures if there isn't a lot of time. I let them drink and eat and enjoy the food too. This is a post for another time.
Here I tried something a little different on here with my images. I would love to know what everyone thinks. I added some blue tones not just black and white. I added the borders to the prints with my name on the bottom. I don't think I will keep the name on the bottom but then again who knows. Everyone that is on the site knows who I am because they punched in the name to get here.

You might remember this couple from a few posts back. July 19th or so. I did a family portrait and then their engagement photos as well. Well this was their wedding day. Suzanne said about 4 times that she knew as soon as she stepped outside it would start to rain. Well when I tell you it was the exact moment she stepped outside it started to rain, you wouldn't believe me. It did. Flooded roadways and bolts hitting the church during the first reading didn't stop this group from having a good time. We were able to sneak in a few shots between the rain drops but most of the photos had to be done inside. I don't mind inside photos. I am a big fan of available light. I try not to use flash that often, only to fill in under the eyes so you can see them. When I was looking around for someplace inside the reception hall I was looking for some available light still to make everything look natural. I found window light which is always a plus. Then I found some candles on a fire place. I moved some of them onto a table and put the bride and groom on the couch leaning into the light. I got the shot I wanted. The glowing light of the candles on their faces gave me a soft look with that orange tint that just makes the picture glow a bit. I showed them in the back of the camera and they loved it. So did I. It's not everyones taste but it kind of grows on you.
The night went on and before you knew it, the night was over. The day goes fast for me when there is a lot going on at the reception. It's easy to enjoy a wedding when you have a good group of people.

I am a firm believer in making people do stupid things. Think about this. How many of you have even been part of a bridal party? How many of you are annoyed at the photographer because he is making you stand there with your hand in your pockets or holding the flowers at your waist and forcing you to smile. I know I want to beat those photographers over the head I can just wonder about bridal parties. I want my bridal parties and my bride and groom to be having a good time while they get their photos taken. Do I make them do stupid things? Yes. Do they look at me like I am off the wall and crazy? Yes. Do the pictures come out like they are having the best time? YES! Take a look at these few below. A Typical bridal party shot. I can almost bet that your parents and grandparents have the shot with the couples lined up like you a firing squad. Then making them walk with their arms locked and looking at each other. Take a look at their expressions. A big huge difference. They might think they are doing something really stupid but they are making great, fun photos for the bride and groom to remember forever. The close up shows it all. You can't pose fun. You have to make it happen.

So if the photographer wants to put you on the ground or make you run or jump or do something really stupid. Let them. How many time are you going to wear these dresses again? The tux will be returned the next day. Don't worry. We will keep you clean.

My experiment couple are Kelly & Kevin. I can't tell you how much fun I had at this wedding. I am crazy about Kevin's family. I did his brothers wedding just over a year ago. I had fun then and I had fun now. They are so at ease and they all treat me like I am part of the family. I can't tell you how much that means to me to have made such an impact on these people. I have done my own family members weddings before and I have done friends families before that I have been close with forever. I have known these people just about 2 years and I treat them like I would treat my own family as well. I make fun of them and joke with them and put myself down in front of them when I do something stupid and they just go with the flow.
From Kevins brothers father in law coming up to me and telling me to stick the camera out in front of us and take a picture of the two of us to an inside joke that I will get to at another time by his daughter, I felt very comfortable and felt like I belonged to this group. They have gotten me several weddings through the year and I thank them for that and I thank them for bringing me into their world of wackiness.

I met this couple at a Bridal Show I did a few months ago. They really liked my work and wanted to do an engagement session. They haven't booked me for their wedding yet but I am hoping that the photos that we shot yesterday will convince them to come out and look at more work. I really enjoyed them. I felt like I already booked them and have known them for sometime. We just started talking about anything and everything while we were taking pictures. It was very comfortable for me and I it sure seemed for them. They had no problems with the wacky things I had them doing. It's such a pleasure just to be able to say do this and that and not have anyone say what?? I met them at Liberty State Park. We spent our time along the water front with so many people looking on at this couple. I had a ball with them and I really think they did too. I hope to deal with them again real soon.