Dia De Muertos
If I’m being honest, I have never been too close with the traditions of Dia De Muertos but I probably should be because my whole family is from Oaxaca ( Pronounced: WAHAKA). I’ve done a few shoots similar to this in the past. This year I wanted to add some props/ideas that made sense and actually went with the photo. So first I’ll go over the flowers used, Marigolds, It is believed during Dia de Muertos that the spirits of the dead visit the living during the celebration. (Source first thing that popped up on google) . Second, a bottle of Mezcal, this one is Montelobos and it is actually made in Oaxaca. Third, El Rebozo, and that is just a garment used by women in Mexico and honestly all of Latin America, so I figured I’d feature that in there.
Credit where Credit is Due:
Model: Marifer Romero
Hair/Makeup: Marifer Romero
Wardrobe: Marifer Romero/ Naty Doris
Props/Styling: Marifer Romero/ Naty Doris
Location: Emerald Park, North Little Rock Arkansas
Maria & Haniel (Post Covid)
A few weeks ago I had the honor but more importantly the privilege to shoot Maria and Haniel’s Wedding.
I’ve known Maria for a while now, since 2014, so that’s like a good 7-8 years. Haniel and I are both Marines so that basically means we are brothers. Semper Fi! So I guess in my own way I’m close to both of them.
Maria first reached out to me in 2019 to schedule her wedding and due to a series of events (Covid) it was postponed until Sept of 2021, which is the biggest gap I’ve had for my Covid Weddings. During the event, I kept looking back at 2020 and realized I was one of the few that made it through financially, sure I struggled and had to find other sources of income, but I’m thankful that most of my clients kept me on for the following year. With that being said 2021 has been truly great to me. I love all my clients and if we weren’t friends before, we definitely are now. Your loyalty is much appreciated.
Maria and Haniel thanks for sticking with me till the day of your wedding. I had lots of fun and your laid-back, fun, and extroverted family wants to make me change my mind about having a small wedding and go big! I could write for days I guess but I’ll let the photos do the talking.
Mariana & Ryan
Mariana and I go way back, 2017 I think. I’ve been to her house in Colombia, served at a church in Colombia with her aunt, drank some cold beer with her grandpa and I’m good friends with her brother, so i think we are close. Some may go as far as saying, “they are tight”.
When she found out that I was a photographer, she said, “when i get married, you are going to shoot my wedding.” Fast forward to June 5, 2021, I covered her wedding and I’ll let the photos speak for themselves.
In 2017, I was “aight” with photography some might have called me an amateur, so she kind of took a gamble when pre-hiring me in those days but I’m glad I improved a lot since then and also happy I have enough gear and experience to make her wedding photos and videos impeccable as my appearance.
Anyways check out the photos below, we traveled all the way to Kirksville, MO (middle of nowhere) to this beautiful, rural location. Ryan & Mariana, we wish you the best in your future endeavours.
S A V A N N A H S H A Y
I realized that I need to start posting more than one photo from an individual session. Instagram has become very saturated and pretty much everything is the same. Its all trendy stuff or whatever. With that being said, here are more photos from this shoot with Savannah.
Mishayla & Stephen | Last wedding of 2020
The last wedding of 2020 | Booked 2 days before the wedding which has more of a back story but Mishayla wrote it out way better than me. ESL. Read below her original post.
The story behind our wedding flowers is that they actually came all the way from Eugene, Oregon and were handmade by my very own Aunt Deli!! @deljeanbenton They are dried flowers and the fact that not one single petal was smashed in the mail was seriously a miracle. Check out @flowersandthyme for the full story!
Estes was such a good girl and even joined us for our canoe send-off!!
We had a “unity” fire, but we had all of our family light it with these awesome stick torches @dougabrown1 made! This symbolizes all the support, love, and light our family is showering us with! I also snuck a little love song in for @stephen_hays
Our original photographer we had planned for got covid just a few days before our wedding. Stephen and I pulled together our resources and with a little help from our friends, we were able to get in touch with @tuff_labs !! We couldn’t be happier with our photographs and are seriously thankful and stoked it all worked out!
...Enjoy the photos below.
Group Party Photos, How to?
Here is a rundown on how to take group photos. The most stressful time to think about these photos is before the wedding or quinceañera or whatever but remember we don’t have to reinvent the wheel. These photos can be very fun to do especially if you and everyone in the party are somewhat aware of what the outcome will be. This is why I decided to create this blog as an inspiration. These are some Go-To poses:
Bouquets Out
It’s as easy as the name makes it sound. Simply get those bouquets out and let em fly!
2. Arms Locked
This pose always reminds me of that pose where you swing your legs to one side and then the other. When you do this make sure you are super dramatic.
3. Fake Laughs can be fun
Fake laughs usually spark up real laughs. I always leave it to the funny one in the group to make the most significant laugh to get everyone else going.
4. Mix & Match
Typically you have the guys on one side and the girls on the other. Sometimes its cool to mix and match. Just go wherever the world takes you. Guy, girl, guy, girl, two and two its whatever.
5. Hat Tricks
If you have hats or any other type of accessories use them, Throw them in the air put them in front of your faces or in other peoples faces. Get crazy.
6. Tear them apart
This is a classic bride on one side groom on the other and simply tear them away from each other.
7. Center of Attention
This one is easy put the couple or quinceañera and they are the center of attention.
8. The Lift
Pick them up
9. The Basic
No brainer here, easy peezy
10. Last, but not least, Kiddos First
Kids are somewhat impatient with photos, make sure to get their photos done first! That is all
Sindy + Giovanni
I have known Giovanni for years, which is why I was so stoked to cover their wedding. They actually asked me to cover their wedding on my birthday at bar louie, which is where business is done. In lieu of this it was only right to party with them at their wedding.
Before the party we faced a lot of challenges, mainly during our photoshoot. Those include, but are not limited to; rain, uncertainty,sneaking in to locations, and driving around houston which gives me anxiety because if you have ever been to Houston, you know, traffic is the worst. In spite of this, the photos came out amazing and I couldn’t have asked or a better couple to go on this adventure with. Not everyone is willing to go out in the pouring rain and risk their wedding dress getting dirty. So I applaud you guys and also thank you for being adventurers and dare I say Risk Takers.
The art of group photography
I remember the first time I covered a quinceañera. There were 9 Chambelanes, for those who don’t know Chambelanes are the Escorts for the quinceañera, often helping throughout the day and participating in a traditional waltz dance. Anyways. shooting 9 Chambelanes and one quinceañera is challenging because you don’t have an even number on each side. I didn’t know what I was doing so the photos came out “meh”. Over the months, dare I say years, I have mastered group photography so I am going to share some tips and techniques with you guys. This is useful for both photographers and people who are having events. (I.e. Weddings, Quinces, etc.)
Establish Authority: The Bride or Quinceañera along with the photographer should work together on establishing authority. What I mean by establishing authority is having that command presence of telling people where to stand and how to pose. Most people get comfortable as long as you say somehting that kind of makes sense.
Height Order: If you align the group to height order you usually form a triangle. Triangles are your friends when it comes to putting a group photo together. Always use height order too much mix&match just looks weird.
Have a name for your “go to” poses: I have an infinite amount of names for different poses. Make sure you use names people know or that they can relate to. I’ll list a few you probably know of; “ White girl poses, Charlies angels, Arms crossed, Everybody jump on 3, Gang signs, The bro hug, Sweet victory. These are jsut some ideas and it usually gets people going!
Maria & Bruno and the beginning of an ERA
Maria & Bruno were my first couple that was affected by Covid 19 back in the spring. They were also one of the first people to hire me as a wedding photographer, booking me nearly 2 years before the actual wedding day, which was October 24, 2020. Since then I have been booked nearly every weekend.
I have heard of the nightmares of working as a wedding photographer. They said it was stressful, tedious, and sometimes not worth the time but I have had a blast working as a wedding photographer and I think that is because I know how to pick the good ones and also I’m a hard worker (Latino Genes). That is why I want to take the time to show my clients some love! You guys are awesome and a joy to work with. I expect great things for 2021! I ran out of things to say but in the meantime enjoy these photos of Maria & Bruno.
