Kevin's Blog

Megan and Coby's Wedding!!!

We had a FABULOUS wedding last Saturday!!  Megan and Coby had an amazing wedding and we got a TON of great photos!!  The wedding took place at the new Marriott by the Texas Motor Speedway(Formerly the Doral Tesoro).  Joy Israel at the Marriott was as usual incredible to work with and she took care of all the details!   Bella Flora did the flowers and the cake was by the always wonderful Lauren of Fancy Cakes by Lauren!

Here are just a few of my favorites from the day...

Megan's Incredible dress!

Megan getting ready...


The Bouquet...


The girls all helped out...


Great looking girls!!!




Joy pins Coby's boutonnière...

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The crazy guys...



How cute is this!!!


For all you brides out there, the following sequence of photos is why I think it is ESSENTIAL to have multiple shooters at your wedding! 

I got a great expression of Megan and her dad as they walked down the aisle...


Alycia got a cool angle here...


And Andrew got a shot of Coby tearing up while watching...

The above shots were taken by the three of us at almost the same time!  How cool is that!

Another one...


Some of the beautiful decor...


A cool one from above...



The Kiss!


Walking out...


I love the way Megan's dress flows here!


A sweet moment...


One of my ABSOLUTE favorite shots!!


A cool one on the piano...



A bit sexy!  Love the colors too!



A couple of reception details...





Lauren's masterpiece during the first dance!


Coby getting down on the dance floor!


And a fun shot to end the evening...


Congrats again you guys!!  Have a wonderful time in the Dominican Republic!!

Brandi and Brian's Wedding

Brandi and Brian had a wonderfully elegant and emotional ceremony and reception at the Dallas Arboretum on Saturday!  The AMAZING Roxie and Cindy from Something Blue coordinated the whole affair and I just love these guys!!  The beautiful cake was once again provided by the FABULOUS Lauren of Fancy Cakes by Lauren!(Lauren, I am going to have to make you an album of all these cakes you have done at my weddings!!)  Darryl Ward did the great decor and William Ryan did a wonderful job with the music!(William is one of my favorite DJ's for sure!!)

Andrew, Aubrey, and myself had a great time with everyone and we got some INCREDIBLE shots as well!  Here are few highlights from the day...

Brandi getting her makeup done...

Putting on the Veil...

Her Stunning Dress!

I caught a VERY emotional moment between Brandi and her mom...

A couple of Brandi alone...

All the girls...

Brian looking good for the camera...

And the guys...

The overall ceremony location...

More ceremony decor...

Brandi collects frogs, so she incorporated these guys into the decor...

Here's a great moment that Andrew caught of Brandi and her brother right before they walked down the aisle...

I used the beautiful light on this one as they made their way down the aisle...

And a signature shot of mine...

A great shot of Brandi hugging her dad!

Another sweet moment as Brian wipes a curl away from Brandi's face...

The Kiss...

The exit using my popular muted tones action...

Aubrey got this great shot of Brandi and Brian walking out..

More gorgeous light...

One of my favorites from the day...

They wanted a fun "American Gothic" type shot and here is what we came up with...

Some reception details...

Lauren's yummy cake with White Rock Lake in the background...

The napkins and favors...

Tables and centerpieces...

The first dance...

An emotional moment during the bouquet presentation...

The rings...

Ok, just goofing off with the rings here!

The exit...

Congratulations again guys!!  I'll have all of the photos edited and online in about 4 weeks.  Well, I'm off to the Caribbean to shoot a wedding this week and will be back in Dallas on the  23rd.

Brian and Lindsay's Wedding!!

Yesterday, I had another great wedding!  Brian and Lindsay got married at Stonebriar Country Club(One of my FAVORITE Places!) and everything turned out wonderfully!  These guys looked amazing and all of their family and friends were so much fun to work with!

Susan Moore at Stonebriar is simply one of the absolute best at what she does and we had no worries all day long as she took care of us and everyone else!  The Flowers were done by Sahana Floral Design and it was such a joy to see Judy again as she really does a GREAT job!!  The gorgeous cakes were done by Romano's and the evening's entertainment was provided by Austin DJ Barrington Miles.  It was my first time working with Barrington and he was absolutely wonderful!

Lindsay and Brian were a referral from Bridget and Gibran whose wedding I shot a few months ago!  It was fun to see so many familiar faces all night!

Here are a few fun shots that Andrew, Paul, and myself were able to get of the whole day...

Lindsay had a very cool dress!

Lindsay touching up her lips...

The BEAUTIFUL flowers provided by Sahana Floral Design!

I decided to have a little artistic fun with Lindsay's bouquet...

The girls helping Lindsay get the dress on...

I love this shot of Lindsay's Grandmother and Mom pinning the garter(Mom's) and  handkerchief(Grandma's) on...

A dramatic shot in the bridal room..
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Since the wedding is over, I thought I would post a couple of my favorite shots from Lindsay's bridal session...

A more dramatic one...

Brian and his guys...

And the gorgeous girls!

And another...

Lindsay and her dad are all smiles walking down the aisle...

Brian got a bit emotional seeing Lindsay for the first time...

OK, this is one reason why I ALWAYS use a team approach when shooting weddings!  Here is the kiss after the ceremony and here is how my team and I covered it from 3 different angles...

I got an email this week asking how I pose my family formals.  Well, here you go...

A cool shot of the wedding party afterwards...

I REALLY love these next two as I added a bit of texture since we had a white sky and desaturated the colors a bit to add to the mood of the photo.

And another...

I love Lindsay's look here...

Along the winding path...

These really neat purple trees surrounded the ceremony, so I wanted to make sure to use them as a backdrop for some shots!  Here is one...

Love in an elevator...

The cakes...

The centerpieces...

And table setting...

The first dance...

A fun moment during the cake cutting...

The rings...

Barrington and his assistant had the party going all night!   Lindsay doing the Limbo!

They HAD to know they would make the blog!

The last dance of the evening...

And a GREAT sparkler exit!

Congratulations again guys!  I will have the rest of the wedding online in a few weeks.  Have a GREAT time in Hawaii!

Aveion and Danielle's Star-Studded Wedding!!

As you guys know, I had an AMAZING week, so what better way to top it off than with the fabulous wedding of Detroit Lions Running Back Aveion Cason and his beautiful fiance Danielle's wedding!  The wedding took place in Arlington and Karmen with KP WeddingDesigns was on hand to make sure that everything ran smoothly!  Both families were great to work with and I had such a great time taking photos all day long! 

Karmen also did a great job with all of the decor as the place looked great!  Lumen Event Lighting provided the reception lighting and Elvision provided the videography.  The beautiful cakes were provided by The Cake Guys.

OK on to the photos...

One of the pew arrangements Karmen made...

And a cool shot of the programs laid out...

I LOVE this detail shot of Danielle's bouquet with the dress in the background!

And a closeup of Danielle's gorgeous dress!

I just had to take this one of Alijah as he is so adorable!

Aveion getting ready...

Aveion enjoying a laugh with his guys.

And a moment alone right before the ceremony...

The kids were excited about someone's arrival!

Karmen helps Danielle get into her dress...

A cool shot of the dress getting zipped up...

Danielle and her Grandfather walking down the aisle...

The Kiss!

Walking out after the ceremony...

All of the gorgeous girls!

A cool shot of Aveion and his guys!(Photographing athletes is soo much fun as they all know how to pose naturally!)

The wedding party...

A romantic KJ styled shot...

And a more traditional one...

Under the veil...

One of my FAVES for sure!

Some reception details...

The Rings!

The reception entrance...

The first dance...

Just a fun shot!

DJ Mike Garrett kept the dance floor packed all night!

Dallas Cowboys center, Andre Gurode, presented Danielle with this cool Pink bottle of Armand de Brignac!(This is also my drink of choice for those of you looking to buy me a gift for my birthday.)=)

I had some fun with Aveion's best man, Rams running back Steven Jackson!  (Steven, your NIKE commercial is still one of my all-time favorites!!)

Here's me with both Aveion and Danielle at the end of the night...

And one in front of the Rolls Royce...

Congratulations again guys!   It has been great working with you guys and getting to meet your wonderful friends and family!  I look forward to our continuing friendship down the road as well!  I should have the rest of the wedding photos online in a few weeks.   Have a great time in Turks and Caicos!

Before and After Shots

I get emails like the following all of the time from folks wanting to know how I get my images to "pop" and my "colors" so beautiful, so I thought I would show some before and after shots and discuss them here.

"Your images are some of the most beautiful that I have EVER seen.  How do you do it?".....Sean in Michigan

"Can you show a few shots straight out of the camera compared to the final image?  I am amazed at your photos and I bet your clients LOVE you."..... Doreen in Ohio

"OK, what is your secret?  My images never look like yours!  Any tips you can share?"..... Cindy in Texas

" I have been a photographer for 18 years and I have seen your work published all over and I always know which images are yours!  You have a special gift and I'd love to get any advice you can give me so that my images can look half as good!" ........... Bob in California

I think these emails bring out a GREAT point in that a lot of what I do as an artist comes "AFTER" the photo has been taken!  I think it is VERY important to start with an well lit, properly exposed image, so that in post processing, it is easy to manipulate and bring out the best in each image.  I honestly believe that my clients realize the value of my retouched images versus those straight out of the camera and I love them for that!

OK, with that said, here are a few examples...

I like to underexpose my images in camera just a bit to ensure that I do not blow out any highlights. I think that when shooting digitally, this is a MUST!

Straight out of camera....

THE FINAL IMAGE

I really wanted to add some texture to this image and give the moment a darker moodier feel to it, so I desaturated the colors and converted it to sepia with my "Dark Sepia" outdoor action and then I added a texture on top of the image and blended it in to make this photo one of my favorites from the session.

Straight out of the camera...

Once again, I underexposed on purpose so that not to lose any background detail.  I then bumped up the contrast in the image to bring out the colors and then smoothed out the skin just a bit.

THE FINAL IMAGE

Straight out of the camera...



Similar to the first example, I underexposed to keep detail in the background buildings.

THE FINAL IMAGE



I upped the contrast a bit and then overlayed a texture to really give the image a nostalgic feel!

Ok, one more for now...

Straight out of camera....

I really like the initial image as their expressions really make the shot.  They are thrilled to be married and it shows!

THE FINAL IMAGE



Here was my vision for the final image as I wanted the emotion to really come out.  I desaturated the color upped the brightness a bit so that the focus is really on them and their connection.  I really love the result!

If you guys like seeing these, let me know and I'll make sure to post a lot more down the road!!

I'm off to Las Vegas for a couple weeks for the big WPPI Convention!

Thanks to everyone that signed up early for my SOLD OUT Class that I will be giving!!  I will also be judging the print competition as well as making a few surprise appearances, so I'll be sure to blog about them and post tons of photos!!

Thanks!

Kevin

   

Missy and Greg's Wedding!

Yesterday, I shot Missy and Greg's wedding in Dallas and it was an absolutely gorgeous wedding and reception!  The ceremony took place at St. Andrews United Methodist Church(which is absolutely gorgeous, but in my opinion, a bit too strict when it comes to photography rules) and the reception at Stonebriar Country Club(One of my All-Time Favorite places!)  Missy and Greg both looked amazing and both families were a total joy to be around!

Emily Youngblood of Blessed Unions was the coordinator and she did a marvelous job of keeping everything running smoothly!  The Gorgeous decor was done by Fete De Fleurs and the stunning wedding cake by the very talented Lauren of Fancy Cakes by Lauren!  Reagan and her wonderful staff at Stonebriar, as usual, provided exceptional service and I truly look forward to my next wedding there!  The reception entertainment was provided by one of my favorite bands---Inside Out.  They always put on a great show and yesterday was no exception!

Paul and Aubrey helped Andrew and myself on this wedding and we all had a ton of fun!  Ok, on to the photos...

The folks at The Evelyn Kershaw Salon in Plano did a GREAT job of getting the hair and makeup done for the girls!  I was VERY impressed with this salon for sure!  Here is one of Missy getting her hair done.(She was all smiles all day!)

Missy's cool Jimmy Choo's and her GORGEOUS dress!

Gentry is simply one of the most adorable flowergirls!

Greg and the guys...

Missy had a VERY cool veil!

And the great looking girls...

I love this moment I captured in the bridal room before the ceremony...

Paul caught a great moment as Missy and her dad are about to walk down the aisle...

And one of my signature shots getting Greg's reaction as Missy and her dad make their way down the aisle...

The ring exchange...

The Kiss...

I happened to catch some really tender and emotional moments right after the ceremony...

Missy's sister, Hayley, tears up a bit...

And Dad's expression says it all...

The formal portrait...

And a "KJ" styled one...

How is this for a VERY cool shot!!  The Rolls Royce was provided by the fabulous Cloud9coach.com!!

I love this one too!

Lauren's masterpiece...

Some of the great decor...

I loved the Chandeliers!

"Inside Out" getting ready to rock the house!

Greg having some fun on the dance floor...

The Rings...

I think Gentry had her eyes on the cake for a while!

You gotta love "Living on a Prayer!"

And the exit!

Congratulations again Missy and Greg!  Have a great time on your honeymoon!!

Austin and Julianne's Wedding!!

Yesterday, we shot the fabulous wedding of Austin and Julianne!   Ever since I shot Austin and Julianne's engagement session ages ago, I could barely wait for the wedding as I KNEW I would get some great shots!!  Austin and Julianne looked AMAZING and we had TONS of fabulous details everywhere!

It was also great working with Pam and Whitney of Events-3!  They both were on top of all the little details and did a fantastic job of coordinating everything!  The ceremony took place at The First Presbyterian Church of Dallas and the Reception at the gorgeous Adolphus hotel.  Terri and her staff were first class as always!   The Gorgeous flowers were done by Fete Des Fleurs and the cake was provided by Dallas Affaires and it looked Stunning!

The reception entertainment and lighting was provided by Andy Austin and the wonderful LITE Dallas crew.  As usual, Andy and Ashley were a blast to work with and the room looked AMAZING as you might imagine!!  Here are a few highlights that Andrew and myself got from the day...

Look at this AMAZING dress and the gorgeous light I found in the bridal room!

A funny book Austin found!

Austin goofing off here...

Mr. GQ himself!

I LOVE this one of Austin and the guys!

Julianne getting a few helping hands!(She was all smiles all day!!)

I can safely post a couple from her bridal session now as we really got some cool stuff!

And one with her super cool veil!

Julianne and the GORGEOUS girls!

And a cool shot of the bouquet...

Walking down the aisle...

The Kiss!

Even though it was cold, we got a great shot of the whole wedding party outside!

How cool is this one!!

And a casual shot with the beautiful stained glass windows in the background...

I am VERY proud of this one as it is TRULY ART and one of my favorites!!

I like the way the dress flows in this shot...

I mentioned the cool reception decor, so here are a few shots to give you an idea...

The cake...

The first dance...

The rings...

During the reception, the room was transformed into a chic ultra lounge!

Here's a "nightclub" type lit shot of the room...

And a final embrace...

Congratulations again Austin and Julianne!  Have a GREAT honeymoon and I'll speak to you guys when you get back!!

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Thanks for all the kind words everyone!!  Shane, this one is just for you!!

Natalie and Kam's Wedding

Yesterday, I shot Natalie and Kam's wedding at Timarron Country Club(One of my favorite places!).  Natalie and Kam are so cute together that I knew that we were going to get some awesome photos from the day!

Kristin and her team and Timarron did an amazing job(as usual), of organizing everything and making sure that everyone was where they were supposed to be!  On another note, congratulations to Kristin for just getting engaged as well!!!

Jessica Millington did a fantastic job on everyone's hair and makeup and I look forward to working with her again soon!  The folks at Envisage Events did an amazing job with the decor as well as the whole club looked absolutely stunning!  Randal Stout also added some very cool "champagne" uplighting to set the mood!

It was also my first time working with DJ Rick McNeely and he was a thorough joy as well!

I'm headed out of town for a couple of days, but wanted to post a few highlights from the day for everyone....

Natalie's wonderful dress!

Not the typical bouquet shot! (I saw this window and immediately had an idea as I had seen a fine art painting a while back with a similar look and I wanted to emulate the texture of it)...

I caught Kam writing a note to Natalie...

Here is Jessica adding the final touches to Natalie's Makeup...

Here are a couple of fun ones of just Natalie before the wedding...

I LOVE everything about this one!!

The girls having a good time!

Sometimes, you just have to be in the right place!  The girls just got off the elevator and were walking right above me here!  I had my camera ready and love the movement in this very candid shot!

Here's Kam looking cool for the camera!

And a great textured shot of the guys!

What gorgeous chair covers!!

I RARELY get to stand up front during ceremonies due to many church rules these days, but I had the chance to do so here and caught Natalie and her dad walking up the aisle...

And Andrew caught this view from the back...
 

After the ceremony, I took the whole wedding party outside for a few shots.  We saw these amazing trees and I thought I would give the image a really cool and moody feel...

I love the light right before sunset!

I thought the composition of this shot was very cool as Natalie had an awesome veil!!

One of my favorites of the day for sure!

Some of the wonderful decor done by Envisage Events!

Frosted Art did a great job with the cakes as well!

I got a cool shot of Natalie and Kam kissing with both cakes behind them in addition to an awesome sunset!!

During the first dance, Kam gave Natalie a little dip...

We snuck out of the reception for a couple of minutes to get this "long exposure" shot outside on the patio.  Look at the great colors in the sky!!

They had a neat sign-in plate for everyone to sign and I thought it made a great backdrop for a ring photo!

And the Grand Exit!

Congratulations again guys!  Have a wonderful time in St. John!!!

Kara and Mark's Wedding!

I shot Kara and Mark's wedding on Saturday and despite the cold weather, I had a great time!  Kori came down from Tennessee to help Andrew and myself out and it was fun having her around!  The ceremony took place at the University Park United Methodist Church with the reception at the Ballroom at the Dallas Art Center.

Chelsey Dane and her fantastic team at Bride Associates made sure that everything ran smoothly as well.  It was my first time working with Chelsey and her team and I look forward to working many more weddings with them!

Kara and Mark looked amazing and we got some killer shots!  Here are a few at first glance...

Kara's gorgeous dress and shoes!

And Jewelry...

How can you not like this shot! =) Erin is doing Kara's makeup in the background.

Kara getting laced up...

More getting ready...

Andrew got a cool one of the front of the church...

The girls...

And 1 more...

Mark getting ready...

The guys...

Kara's dog Snoopy was also in the wedding!

I thought this was a cool angle!

You can see both Mark and Bethany tearing up as Kara and her dad walk down the aisle!

I muted the tones a bit for this kiss shot...

Alone at last!

Another in the aisle...

We braved the cold and went onto the rooftop at the reception site for a couple of minutes!!

On the way down to the reception, I saw this really cool blue wall and had to use it!

I also found my future competition!

Kara and Mark's First Dance...(More European textures)

Fun with rings!

The cake...

This groomsman had to be on of the funniest guys that I have seen in a while!

"Getting Low" on the dance floor...

Andrew got a cool shot of The last dance...

The exit...

Have fun in St. Lucia you two!!  I'll speak to you soon!!

Melissa and Gerry's Wedding

I shot Melissa and Gerry's wedding last Saturday and my team and I had a wonderful time!  It was my first time to shoot at The Cathedral Guadalupe Church in Dallas and it was absolutely GORGEOUS!!  The reception was held at Marie Gabrielle and Lisa Yarbro and her staff did a great job of making sure everything ran smoothly!

It was also great to work with some of my favorite vendors again!!  Stacey at the Wildflower once again provided the BREATHTAKING flowers and Lauren's cakes as always looked and tasted simply AMAZING!!

OK, onto some of the highlights...

The GREAT details of Melissa's Dress!

OK, this one is for my friend Melissa Miller(Who I think is second only to Imelda Marcos in number of shoes owned), and all of you girls out there who drool over footwear!  Melissa's stunning pair of Manolo Blahnik's deserved a cool shot, so I found a great backdrop and used it!!

My good friend Stephanie of Haute Facade did the hair and makeup as well!

I found some gorgeous window light and took this quick one of Melissa in the room...

Of course, Gerry had his own GQ look going on!

Some "Fisheye" fun with the outside of the church...

And the inside...

One of Stacey's BEAUTIFUL Altar arrangements...

Melissa and her dad coming down the aisle...

At the altar...

And the "Kiss" shot...

A dramatic shot after the ceremony...

The wedding party...

And another one...

I caught a nice moment as they walked to the car...

Some cool reception details at Marie Gabrielle...

Yummy!

I'm getting thirsty typing this!!

And Lauren's wonderful creations!

I saw them embracing right before they were going to be introduced...

They had a great first dance!!

A fun and sexy shot near the end of the night outdoors...

Congratulations guys!  Have a great time on your honeymoon and I'll speak to you both soon!