Erin Covey Creative Blog

Did some portraits of standout teens who went far in an Envirothon competition recently.  They’re outstanding! Their full story here.

I promised the kids that I wouldn’t blog all of the family images, so I’m just giving you one of my favorites from a recent senior session/family session in Syracuse, NY:

She is lovely! Congrats to Anna, class of 2012!

We were done with our portrait/headshot session and after I threw my equipment in the back, I sat on the driver’s side seat and turned to my assistant.  “Wow, she’s vivacious.”  Silence.  I heard back a moment later, “She really, really is.”

We were both taken by what we had just experienced.

I have never used that term to describe anyone.  I barely knew what it meant.  But when you meet Joleene, it’s easy to see why new words and emotions pop into your head.

She inspires and motivates.  It didn’t surprise me that she does this for a living. She oozes energy and taking photographs of her was an absolute pleasure…

I can’t take credit for the awesome location.  Totally her! The texture and color of the above barn was really perfect!

She is so relaxed and natural in front of the camera, I barely worked…(hey, what else is new?)

She’s really gorgeous at ANY angle, so I’m glad she didn’t care that I made her move around a lot!

Joleene, thank you so much for the honor…continued success in all that you do!

The day was exquisite.  There was sunshine and flowers.  There were belly laughs, hugs, and tears.  Best of all the wedding had a backdrop of central New York’s finest landscapes.  Some of my favorites from the day:

Yes, she is stunning.  I mean, LOOK at her! The entire bridal party was personable and fun…and may I say, incredibly photogenic?

Leaving the altar and facing the world… These two just could not be more beautiful…

There was a moment when we were about to do some couple’s formal photos and they were just looking at each other…

The ceremony and reception took place at the phenomenal John Joseph Inn.

The grounds were spectacular (understatement of the year)

During a little break in the action I saw the groom’s sister wander off.  I love this shot of them in their own world, just enjoying the place…

A few words about Georgiana’s sister’s speech.  It was heartfelt and lovely.  There was not a dry eye seen among any of the ladies in the room…

I will end with one of my favorite highlights of the evening.  The groom’s cousin, who does a mean Jim Morrison impression, grabbed the mic and the audience’s attention by doing some get-off-your-feet-and-dance Door’s songs.  Every time I hear “Break on Through” I will think of him.  He was THAT good…a natural on the mic and in front of the camera…

A sure sign of a magnificent wedding is when everyone lingers after the last song is played.  People stayed, talked, laughed, hugged.  It was a perfect day.  For a perfect couple.

Georgiana and Jesse, thank you so much for the honor.

This wasn’t your typical show-up-and-have-some-fun wedding.  It was a take-a-deep-breath-you’re-in-for-the-night-of-your-life wedding.  There was spontaneous applause, guests flying in from another continent, beautifully kind people, and even…wait for it…a rousing tribute to the Doors’ Jim Morrison.  Wait.  Wait.  I’m getting ahead of myself.  Let’s start with the couple at the center of all of this.

Georgiana and Jesse.  They are beautiful inside and out.  They are kind.  Personable.  They look as if they just stepped out of a magazine…and so did their wedding…

The ceremony and reception took place at the lovely John Joseph Inn in Groton, NY.  The Innkeeper could not have been nicer.  The staff was on top of everything.  Above all, there were so many places to shoot all of these great details…I could shoot here all day!

The bride’s fantastic dress – by Romona Keveza – had a removable skirt that made the gown cocktail-reception-dance ready in a matter of seconds!

Makeup by the incredibly talented Viola Artistry out of Syracuse, NY.  (violapx@aol.com)

Everyone loved her work…and Viola is just a lovely person! (I had to get in the bathtub for the shot below and literally climb over makeup.  Viola didn’t bat an eye, just smiled and kept on working! Love her!)

Georgiana is simply stunning.  At all angles!

While the girls finished their last minute touch ups, the men were looking incredibly dapper downstairs…

I ran back upstairs and the bride…was exquisite! The paparazzi in the room approved…

And then…that spontaneous applause I told you about!

I have never seen a lovelier bunch of ladies!

Tomorrow, part 2!

…or at least I’m back shooting it…

It’s still really hot here.  Still doing hot weather photo assignments.  Not that I will complain.  Can you imagine being these guys out all day? No thank you.

Is it possible to love what you do too much? For an assignment, I had to shoot a political event.  A run of the mill political event…run of the mill space and set up.  But I’ve been really trying to push myself to make things less ordinary.  I’ve been carrying lights with me on pretty much every assignment.  And I dont mean the stick-a-flash-in-my-bag, throw-it-on-my-camera light set up.  I mean — off camera lights, umbrella, flash stands, radio transmitters.  The works.  Even to an ordinary political assignment.

I’ll fast forward to the part where a woman in the audience of this political event muttered (if it was loudly…is it still a mutter?) “How many pictures does it take?” I am sure she was referenceing the flash – which I had set up in the corner with… wait for it… a giant white umbrella.  (A non-photo comparison? Basically it’s like driving a ferrari to your kids soccer game, while they’re eating fast food)

This assignment called for a ten minute allocation of energy.  Show up, throw a flash on your camera, fire, leave.

But I had some time.  And I’m pushing myself.  So I stayed a half hour and lit this thing like it was the last thing I was ever going to light.  And maybe no one will ever notice that it’s professionally lit…but that’s not the point.

Go exceptional or go home.

Yea, we’re in a heat wave too.  But imagine being one of these workers.  That asphalt comes out of the truck at about 280 degrees.  So if you think you have it bad…well, maybe someone has it worse! These guys are my new heroes! See the rest of the story here: