Amazing Light At Spring Creek Ranch Wedding

Posted On May 5, 2013
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C02_4389 C02_4302 C02_4397 C02_4445 It rained again this weekend. While that makes for wedding day challenges, it CAN offer incredible light. That was the case for the beautiful wedding of Jennifer Smith and Dr. Ben Gibson, IV, at Spring Creek Ranch. I was so excited to awake to beautiful skies in the morning, and thought that perhaps we’d make it without rain. At the end of the night, Ben asked me how the shoot went and I think he was surprised when I told him that the light was incredible. Rain often seems to dampen the spirits of couples because they are afraid their images will not look good. Of course a lot of that has to do with their image makers! But, that being said…I was so pleased with the flattering light we had. It made shooting even more fun! As always, I loved working again with Tony and her team at Spring Creek Ranch, Lauren Nugent who always does such a beautiful job of planning, and two of my favorite photographers to share the dance floor with – Savannah and Phillip Kenney. Enjoy a few stills I grabbed from the video last night to see the light I mentioned. Love it! Stay tuned for the video!

Equestrian Wedding

Posted On April 30, 2013
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Couple and horse I had such a good time shooting the wedding of a friend and former wedding planner this past weekend. Don’t they look great? Even the horse posed! Dressing bride I was (as they say) “sick as a dog”, but loved being with my industry friends who all pulled together to help Stacy and Michael tie the knot…and have a great celebration! Flowers Snapshot 940x520 Smores 940x520 Heritage Park in Rossville is beautiful! Angela Dacus and her fun team at Southern Event Planners did a wonderful job of planning all the details, and Cindy Krag Catering added the great taste and florals!

Marissa + Andrew at The Canon Center

Posted On April 8, 2013
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m24 Wow! Wow! Wow! What a wedding! I’ve been dying to share this trailer of one of my favorite weddings and favorite couples shot at the magnificent Canon Center in downtown Memphis. Hope you enjoy it as much as I do!

We loved working with all the great A-list vendors including infamous photographers Hal Jaffe and Steve Roberts, the fabulous Gary Escow Band, Hollidays Florist, The Marriott, Dinstuhl’s Candy, and planner extraordinaire, Janis Kiel. Check out the video at Marissa + Andrew.

Capturing The High-Points of Your Wedding

Posted On February 13, 2012
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I think most of us are not happy with our bodies or health and want to make improvements. Age has a way of causing one to look for answers…fast. I’m there!

Today, while reading the popular book “Body For Life” by Bill Phillips, I was drawn to a chapter called “The High-Point Technique”.

In the chapter, Bill explained that he had worked with a lot of professional photographers on many magazine photo shoots. He noticed that most of them would shoot for as many as 11 hours and not get a single photo that was worthy of a magazine cover. That’s the way it goes with most photographers. It can be frustrating. He also noticed that there were a few photographers who worked differently. They began sessions with a quick calculated setup. Then, they find their position, take a “warm-up” photo or two, and proceed to capture “the moment” on film. That’s it. Photo shoot over.

If you’ve seen the photos on covers like People, Time, or Vogue, you can see that the results are impressive. Sometimes breathtaking.

How does this story relate to your wedding? First of all, it’s very hard to photograph or capture “the moment” on film. It takes lots of skill and practice and, I think, a unique ability to read people and situations. I would say that most photographers and wedding videographers are like the majority of magazine photographers that Bill mentioned. They technically know their craft, but their approach is wrong and they often miss “the moment”. Their images are ok, but not spectacular.

I think really great wedding photographers and cinematographers have that little something extra…that special ability to patiently wait…anticipate the action by reading the people…and then capture that “special moment”.

I’ve observed a lot of wedding photographers and videographers since digital cameras become so prominent. Digital makes it affordable to over-shoot. I think the majority are shooting everything that moves in hopes that they will get something usable. I call that “spray and pray”. In television, we used to call that hosing (like firemen).

I constantly preach to my crew to plan ahead. Have an idea for the storyline before you shoot. Know your subject as much as possible. But, then watch patiently, anticipate the action, and look for “the moments” that tell the story….and to edit in their head. Whether it’s your wedding album or wedding film…isn’t that really what you hire your photographer and cinematographer to do- to catch “The High-Points” of your wedding day?

For more information or to share your thoughts, contact Don Lawler, Chief Story Officer at Storytellers. www.WeTellYourStories.com. 901.485.3027.

Snow Globe Wedding

Posted On December 28, 2011
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Don’t you just love snow globes? I love snow and anything Christmas, so I was excited when I learned that Kristin & Adam chose Christmastime for their wedding! The wedding was held at the beautifully decorated Our Lady of Perpetual Help Catholic Church in Germantown, and their reception was held at the popular and beautifully decorated Germantown Country Club. We’re knee-deep in editing weddings so in an effort to share a little holiday cheer and feature a few of the almost 1600 photos that Dale Pearce, Darin Harrison, and I shot…I created this snowball montage. Doesn’t it make you want to get married in a snow globe? Here’s the video: Snow Globe.

Save The Date

Posted On December 27, 2011
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Whitney and Adam love their dogs which they call “The Boys”. When I met with them a few months ago, we wanted to think of a creative way to invite their family and friends to their wedding. Since everyone knows how much they love “The Boys”, it was important to include the dogs in the “Save The Date” invitation. Since I’m a video producer, I wanted to create something really cool with video. And, since it was December and the holiday season, we decided to create a Movie Trailer announcing their wedding just like the big holiday season movies announce the big films of the holiday. Here is : Save the Date We also created a matching album cover like the movie DVDs you get at Blockbuster or your local video store. I’ve been dying to post this, but had to wait till Whitney and Adam mailed their invitations. If you’ve got an idea for your wedding, tell me. We can create just about anything you can imagine!

Allison + Matt- The Movie

Posted On December 7, 2011
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[vimeo]http://vimeo.com/33190795[/vimeo]Allison and Matt chose to exchange their marriage vows at the beautiful Immaculate Conception Cathedral in mid-town Memphis. They shared some very touching moments together before they said their I dos. I especially like their “first look” outside of the cathedral! You can see the love and excitement on their faces. It is obvious that Allison and Matt value their family, faith, and an enduring love for one another. We wish them many years of happiness as husband & wife!

Allison + Matt

Posted On December 2, 2011
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[vimeo]http://vimeo.com/33010676[/vimeo]Oh man… some beautiful trailers being created this week… so grateful that we have a team that is so passionate about people and love.
I’m happy to post this sneak peek of Allison and Matt’s wedding at Immaculate Conception and their hopin’ reception at the Cadre!  GOOD times!!!

STORYTELLERS
www.WeTellYourStories.com

Elissa + Michael at Woodland Hills

Posted On November 9, 2011
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[vimeo]http://vimeo.com/31830143[/vimeo]We had such a good time with Elissa and Michael! They were married at Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Germantown, TN and then had a blow out, thrown down, incredibly fun swaray at Woodland Hills in Cordova! What a great reception! Hope you feel the same way about this edit that we do. Enjoy!

Call me! We’d like to tell YOUR story, too!
www.wetellyourstories.com
Don Lawler
901.485.3027

Happy Halloween!

Posted On October 31, 2011
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I love Halloween! It’s one of my favorite holidays and at my favorite time of year. I can still smell the sweet potatoes baking in mom’s oven when I was a kid and I can smell the pumpkin as we carved it.
I can remember the excitement of picking out my costume and getting with my friends to run door-to-door to trick-r-treat. On Halloween, I wish I was still that young! But, for now, I enjoy taking my grand-daughter Trick-r-treating with her cousin. Looking forward to tonight! Since I’m all about weddings and families, and preserving memories and telling stories…I’ll be practicing what I preach tonight. You do too! Take your camera with you and start making memories! Please share the good ones with me! Happy haunting!