Raleigh wedding photographer | NC wedding photography

Michelle Gunton Photography, wedding photographer in Raleigh, NC  has again been nationally recognized by the AGWPJA.( The Artistic Guild of the Wedding Photojournalist Association.) The judges comments were "Very funny image and nice toning. I think that as strong as this image is, it would be even stronger if there were a tighter crop. The left side of the image is really not needed and distracts from this wonderful caught moment. " The reason that I chose not to crop in on the picture was b/c with a tighter crop you would  not know that the photo was from a mirror, not straight on. Yes, as a creative photographer when I snapped the photo I really wish I had the other bridesmaids face in the picture but I wanted the moment and I was afraid it wouldn't last long enough. My split decision still paid off in the end.

 

There are soooo many Raleigh Wedding photographers in NC, so why hire me? You should hire me for my creativity and ability to think out of the box. I go above and beyond what your being charged. You have a chance of having a nationally recognized wedding photo.  Another thing to consider is my photography studio is built onto my house so I am able to keep my cost lower than another high end wedding photographer who might be paying rent for their space. I am also able to keep my wedding package cost down because I do not out source my albums nor do I out source the processing of my images. If a photographer has these added cost they have to basically raise their prices to cover this cost. I dont know how many times I have heard " Michelle you need to raise your prices, your worth more than you are charging."  It makes me feel good to hear this from photographer's who are charging 4000.00-6000.00 for services.  You are getting a GREAT deal when you hire me as your wedding photographer.

Crabtree Marriott | Raleigh NC Wedding Venue

Allison and Alex's wedding was held at the Crabtree Marriott wedding venue in Raleigh,NC. This was my first time photographing the Marriott venue and I must say I fell in love.  I loved the light in the ceiling and also the white curtains and lighting behind the bridal table. I was honored to be recognized by the AGWPJAfor a reception image from this wedding that placed 10th in the world, wooohoooo. The image is of the silouhetted bridal party with their heads bowed in prayer. I normally do not take pictures during prayers but this was a great moment but done in a totally creative manner. Here was the comment left by the judge  "The wedding party looks like trophies lined up on a shelf - a strong linear composition supports the partially silhouetted figures. Furthermore, if you look closely - there in the middle just above that wedding cake - you'll find a moment, as the bride looks at her uniformed groom."

 Please enjoy Alex and Allison's wedding, I sure did :-)

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.