Artistic wedding photographer North Carolina

When I make my pitch to potential wedding clients I always say that I am an artistic wedding photographer. Recently the WPS announced the quarter 2 photo contest results and one of my pictures got 1st place in the artistic category. You can imagine I was tickled pink. 2 quarters in a row I have gotten 1st in this category, yaayyyy.  During the photographing of getting ready shots I had envisioned this shot of Julie sitting in front of the mirrors. I didn't know if I would be able to do it b/c I normally don't do any type posing with the bride before the ceremony, but in this case we had extra time to kill so I said," Julie we have extra time on our hands and I really would like to try out this shot, if I can pull it off you will love it." She was totally game.  I turned the 2 lamps in the room off, kept on the over head light and then directly behind her I used one of my pocket lights to light up the back of her hair.  If I had not put the light on her hair you wouldn't have been able to see her curls or the detail in her dress. I then exposed the picture to darken everything out but the available light. I LOVE it when a plan comes together. The judges comments are below the image. They got it, they saw what I saw.  This wedding picture took less than 3 minutes to get but it will be an artistic photo to be remembered for a lifetime. The image was taken at Crenshaw Hall in Wake Forest NC.

"Artistic photography": "A frequently used but somewhat vague term. The idea underlying it is that the producer of a given picture has aimed at something more than a merely realistic rendering of the subject, and has attempted to convey a personal impression"^wikipedia Just in case you missed it here is the last quarter winning image for the artstic category.

 

Wake Forest NC wedding venue | Crenshaw Hall Photographer

Julie and Derek had their wedding reception at the historic Crenshaw Hall venue in Wake Forest, NC.  "The venue includes a beautiful wedding garden and an all-weather, completely lighted and hard surfaced reception tent." I have photographed at Crenshaw numerous times and I must say I love the house and the beautiful grounds, and of course love me some Christie. The wedding venue is a great place b/c you have the option of an inside wedding or outdoor wedding.

The caterer was Laytons, you talk about some good BBQ, yum yum!!!!

raleigh wedding photographer

What is trash the wedding dress? Facebook Contest Raleigh NC

Its contest time again here at Michelle Gunton Photography. The winner will get a free trash the dress session with the digital files. The winner will also have their hair and make-up done my Made-up. Contest winnings valued over $800.00.  I would like to give a big thanks to Lindsay Morse with Made-up for her contribution to the contest prizes. Lindsay Morse actually had a trash the dress session about a year ago with me and of course did her own make-up for the session. I love the work she does and I am excited to work with her again soon.

So you might ask what is Trash the Dress? Trash the dress can be a little misleading because I have done photos in the past where brides contact me and say,"Michelle My wedding dress came clean after our session, can you believe it?" Honestly sometimes no I couldn't believe it. Trash the dress to me just means that photos are taken in unusual places that are not your normal location for a bridal shoot and no worries about getting the dress dirty. Whether rolling in mud, floating in water, run down cars where there is a lot of rust, in the ocean, etc,etc. A regular bridal session you have to be very careful with the dress. There have been numerous sessions I wanted to try something new but couldn't b/c  I would risk getting the dress dirty. You will see in the pictures below that I start off doing creative wedding shots and then move into getting the dress dirty :-)

Photos like these are not for everyone. There are still some who believe that the wedding dress should be preserved and stored in a closet in the hopes that one day day their daughter will wear their dress 20 or 30 years later? I have been a photographer for a lot of weddings and I have to say the biggest thing people are wearing from the past is the veil. To the best of my knowledge I have not photographed a 2nd generation wedding dress. If you do not want to get your dress dirty then this contest is not for you, do not enter.

This contest might be best for this type bride

1. Do you live a little on the edge and want something different than everyone else?

2. Did you get married years ago when trash the dress wasn't in?

3. Did you get crappy photos from your friend who photographed your wedding for free?

4. Do you want some beautiful, creative, artsy wedding pictures for free?

5. Most importantly are you ok with getting the dress dirty?

So here are the rules of the contest.

You must be a fan of Michelle Gunton Photography on Facebook or become a fan before the deadline to be eligible.

Raleigh wedding photographer in NC Facebook fan Page

Rules:1. One entry per person 2. Once you submit your picture you cant change it. One vote per person, duplicates will not be counted. 3. All votes subject to verification.  5. Winner must have at least 75 fan votes to be eligible to win, past winners of the facebook contest ARE eligible to participate. 6. Prize must be redeemed in August or Sept 2011, prize will be forfeited if not done in these months. Prize is non-transferable. The winner is the person with the most votes on their picture, must be at least 75 votes.

Submit  your favorite wedding photograph from your own wedding to michelle@michellegunton.com, in the subject line put your first and last name. If I was your wedding photographer please do not send a picture with the watermark on it. Photos must be submitted by July 15th,2011 and by submitting your image you are agreeing to allow me to post your image to my blog/FB. On July 17th I will send you instructions on voting that will begin on July 18th,  2011. Very important, any votes cast before voting begins will not be counted.

If you have any questions please don’t hesitate to ask. I look forward to seeing your wedding pictures. Session to take place in Raleigh or surrounding areas.