ex • photographers » Favorites

The Orchard with Landon

ex•tyler — Sat, 08 Oct 2011 18:00:23 +0000

When asked if he had fun…

“I did… I wanna take my pictures again.”

We want to take your pictures again too.

ex•Tyler

Melissa + James

ex•tyler — Mon, 12 Sep 2011 13:00:48 +0000

Welcome to Petersburg.

Home of the 2011 IHSA State Discus Finals Second Place finisher.

And a really awesome wedding.

Why can’t every bride get ready in a room like this?

As you’ll see, this was the perfect dress for the occasion.

Meanwhile back at the ~~ranch~~ vineyard…

Our groom takes care of the last minute details.

And his groomsmen join him to prepare the hay bails.

(Four shots of the sky though out the day.)

I long for the 20′s and 30′s when people just dressed like this everyday.

One of my favorite groomsman pictures ever.

Rachel said “I wish we could get this one printed and put it up on our wall”… but that wouldn’t make any sense.

Detail overload!

The flowers…

The signs…

The classic literature…

The textures…

Even look at this lettering they found!

And nature decided to match the look.

After a lot of practice while out taking photos, they show off their honed skills with a kiss to start the reception.

Shortly thereafter, the brother of the groom helped himself.

This simultaneously was one of the most impressive, foolish, outrageous, dangerous, and memorable things to happen at any wedding I’ve been to. This is only funny because no brides were harmed in the making of this .gif

The 4-man base.

And what has been my desktop background for the last 3 weeks.

Thank you for the thoroughly British experience. After we met you at our house, I told Rachel I was really looking forward to this wedding. It certainly did not disappoint.

ex•Tyler

Jill vs. Scott

ex•tyler — Wed, 17 Aug 2011 02:37:30 +0000

Game on!

The ladies were able to get ready on Jill’s grandparents’ beautiful property in Villa Grove.

Gettin’ all pretty and stuff.

Their First Look.

A less romantic picture of some dudes follows.

2 friends from medical school in this group. It was a pleasure for me to get to know Scott as we were paired in a study group starting on day 1 of first year. 3 years later he marries a beautiful girl, still wearing Bonobos pants.

Back to the Shunk land.

Time for a wedding.

Bonobos.

Paris. London. Villa Grove.

Scott’s Alma Mater, Jill’s future Alma Mater.

Enough of this foolishness. Let’s head to the stadium.

The toasters didn’t pull any punches.

Not a dry eye.

It’s nice when you can’t take a bad picture of someone. We had a hard time picking pictures for the blog. Can’t wait until you get to see them all.

And to the rest of my classmates who have never commented on this blog… whaddyathink?

ex•Tyler

Shirley + Chris

ex•tyler — Sun, 03 Oct 2010 00:55:45 +0000

Our destination wedding started at Egyptian Revival Day Spa.

And then moved to Blue Sky Vineyard on a hot but picture-perfect day.

Shirley looked a little daunted as she approached the Marine’s sword arch.

And then she laughed a sign of relief after a successful passing.

The faces closer up.

And lastly to the Holiday Inn Conference Center in Carbondale for the reception.

The bride and groom graciously shared a heart-felt thank you to their supportive crowd.

Thank you so much for taking Nelson and me along with you.

ex•Tyler

Michelle

ex•rachel — Sun, 18 Jul 2010 03:04:42 +0000

Michelle, you’re gorgeous! Thanks for choosing us and making our job so easy.

Hope you have a wonderful senior year.

ex-rachel

Favorite Wedding Photography of 2009

ex•tyler — Sat, 10 Apr 2010 22:59:31 +0000

Lots of wedding photographers like to recap their year with their favorite pictures. Instead of posting more than 200 pictures, we were really selective. Each one of our photographers picked 3 favorite images that they took. You get to hear why.

We’ll start with ex•Tyler.

You’ve got to give me props [to work with]. That’s what Becky did with this car. We had about 15-20 minutes for photos with it. In fact, we did a whole blog post featuring the Ford Model E. This picture was my favorite of the bunch. The light beaming on her face, her dress style with the car, the framing with just hints of white-wall tires, the colors of the bouquet (which match her toenails), the scenery out of focus in the background, and her perfect expression combined to make this one of my favorite (and classiest) bridal portraits of the year.

Eva & Matt, if nothing else, knew how to party. We traversed downtown Chicago for hours, going from location to location, stirring up trouble in Millennium Park, bars, Walgreens, shopping centers, and the middle of the street. Some clients don’t want to move or are very timid about some situations (which is OK and we respect). Matt was not that kind of client. I was thinking this was going to be a shot of Eva and him in the middle of the street quickly. He thought it would be better suited for the whole bridal party. Oncoming traffic just had to deal with it. What resulted was possibly my favorite wedding photograph of the year – though I doubt it will be their very favorite. The picture told the story of the day from our perspective better than any I have taken. The car whooshing in front of the (relatively) numerous wedding party, beautiful Eva striking a glamorous pose with new husband standing at her side, and the grandiose Chicago buildings in the background. Chaotic? Yes. Fun? Yes. Forgettable? No way.

For a lot of the same reasons that I like the wedding photograph of Becky, I like this image of Laura. A photographer cannot control many of the factors going into the day. We can’t make the beam of light come in a window perfectly when the wedding pictures have to be taken, so we use flashes to create it. Flashes make for some awesome pictures that can look surreal or otherworldly; they can also fix lighting situations and still look natural. However, when the natural lighting is just right, you can’t beat it. That’s what happened here at our first wedding of 2009. All the black and white wedding photography wasn’t bad from that day either.

ex•Rachel

Since Tyler showed off some of the glamorous images we capture at weddings, I decided to focus on our e•sessions. I love doing engagement sessions because, unlike the wedding day, there is no time limit or unexpected crises. We love meeting the couples and just chatting while we walk around their desired location having fun and taking engagement pictures.

The first two images were both taken in Alto Pass, IL, where Tyler and I lived last year. Now, I love downtown Peoria with it’s countless little spots, but it’s always a delight to shoot somewhere fresh. No worry about recreating your favorites from the past…everything is new and unique to that couple.

Martha and Stan made the trip when they heard about all the beautiful scenery in Southern Illinois. Here they are at the top of Bald Knob where the old Bald Knob Cross towers. I love how it’s just the two of them and the wide expanse of sky behind. The framing is also fun with so much grass out of focus at the bottom. Another thing I love is that Stan is the focus of the picture. All throughout the shoot, he loved just looking at Martha and took any chance he could to give her a smooch.

Becky and Keith gave us another chance to explore the area. After roaming through peach orchards and enjoying the scenic overlook, we had fun in the tiny downtown of Alto Pass with their famous Rootbeer Saloon. I love this picture because of the colors, the depth, and the expressions. The hue of blue is so beautiful and looks great with their outfits. Becky couldn’t look happier to be in Keith’s arms. (This is a little off topic, but can I also add that they are expecting their first baby this summer? Abigail will have a little friend.)

Last, Ebony and Evan. This shoot was especially romantic because he proposed the night before then told Ebony about the esession set up for the next morning. So love and excitement were in the air. This image is another great example of using a fun, old structure to frame the couple. I love the warm lighting that hits the couple in just the right way. And like the other two images, you get the feeling that there’s no one else around. Since the subjects aren’t looking at the camera, it’s like I wasn’t even there and they were just spending a special moment together. Those are my favorite types of pictures.

Here’s ex•Beau’s.

This photo from Michelle and Andrew’s wedding is special to me because it was from one of my very first weddings with exposure, perhaps the first. Since the beginning it’s been nothing but fun for me, a wonderfully happy marriage! I’m drawn to the photo itself because of the beautiful spotlight of natural light on the rings which brings life and shine to these rings. The nice blur and sharp focus add a little something to it’s beauty as well.

Guys appreciate flowers too! This photo is from Amy and Kevin‘s wedding which happened last summer. The subject is what attracts me to this photo, because it shows the relationship of groom to groomsman. In this case it is the groom pinning flower on groomsman, a friend helping a friend. It is very easy to think only of the special couple on their big day but the bonds between friends at weddings are very strong and special as well. From a photographers point of view, I also enjoy the lighting conditions in the photo; the outdoor summer sun was very hot that day as I recall, but it produced some great contrast.

Also from Amy and Kevin’s wedding this image captures a very specific moment in time. It reminds me of a photo assignment I had in photography class in which we were supposed to capture a defining moment, it was so difficult to try and find something and just happen to be there at the correct time and place within our 2 week time period – we all ended up manufacturing our own “special moments”. In this case I was in the midst of a special moment and luckily the cameras were rolling … or shuttering. I find the potential energy in that garter shot to be incredible and then the unique capturing of another camera’s flash, what luck. For that’s what it was, like a behind the back half court shot, but I think it’s those moments that photographers really live for.

ex•Nelson presents his favorite wedding pictures from 2009 last:

This is a picture of the bride and groom for the bride and groom. It is a portrait of them, their playfulness, their intimacy. The picture does not adhere to conventional compositional technique – I left a lot of room above the couple. This divides the photograph into two parts, and the couple has their space which, to me, feels private in this image. As I look at this image I find myself trying to not intrude on their moment. That dynamic, the decisions about where to direct your eyes in the frame, make this an interesting photo in my opinion. Not to mention the general cuteness going on in the moment.

Weddings bring people together for a beautiful rejoicing, fellowship and celebration experience. That important concept is what this simple image summarizes.

It’s hard not to love a happy candid moment. We try to balance getting great organized shots and a photojournalistic approach, and I love how this image fills the role of documenting a simple delightful moment without intervention on our part.

Here’s to a photogenic 2010.

Hopefully you’ll tell us what you think. If you haven’t ever commented before, now is the perfect time!