Military Wedding at Wicker Park

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Today we have another sneak peek.  These are images from Nichole and Nathan's military wedding.  The couple met as fellow soldiers and will be moving soon to Hawaii where the groom will be based.  Let's start with the above image taken in front of the gazebo in Wicker Park where the outdoor ceremony took place last Friday along with the reception.

The day started at Salon Platinum in Schererville for some fun getting ready shots of the bride, her bridesmaids and family...

The bride's sister tended to maid of honor duties along with lot's of hugs...

I couldn't have asked for a nicer bumch of folks who welcomed me into their home for some close up shots of the bride's dress.  Northwest Indiana had the threat of rain all day, but no one panicked and we had a great day of wedding photography.

Our groom and soldier Nathan poses in front of the outdoor ceremony site at Wicker Park.  He was a most gracious gentleman and my photography assistant remarked how well he and his groomsmen treated her throughout the day.

Soon it was time for Nichole to walk down the aisle arm and arm with her Dad toward friends and family and of course, her groom the soldier...

The wind was volatile at this time and Nichole's veil got whipped around quite a bit.  The bride and groom were very laid back and just enjoyed their own ceremony.  I hung on tight to my cameras and we are going to have some terrific wedding photos with dramatic skies and fun moments.

The reception also took place at Wicker Park Banquet hall with the bride and groom dancing their first dance in front of an illuminated American flag...

I look forward to showing this wonderful couple all of their wedding photos.  To see more from Nichole and Nathan's outdoor military wedding, please subscribe to this blog and also visit the SBV Photography Facebook page for more updates.  Much more to come!!

Modern Wedding Album Designs

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I'm about halfway through the Northwest Indiana wedding season and I've already showcased quite a few recent wedding images from throughout the year.  Today we show off some wedding album designs.  These are straight from the pages of three recent clients.  I'm currently working on a few mom brag books, but we will save those for another day.

The photo above is the front cover for Ryan and Sara's wedding book which just arrived this week from the printer.  I can't really do these wedding albums justice without putting them in your hands when we meet for our intitial wedding consultation.  Let me give you some of the finer points about them:

• custom designed pages
• protective coating on each page for smudges, fingerprints and light liquid
• 12x12 hardcover
• coffee table design 

After your wedding, I begin the editing process for all of your photos (think film developing, except for digital) and perhaps adding special effects, etc.  Then we have Premiere Night where you will see a video of highlight images from throughout the wedding day.  The next step is seeing all of your images on a large screen in the viewing room of my portrait studio in Crown Point.  Out last step this night is to pick out a dominant color for your wedding album.  Usually we go with the bridesmaids colors or wedding theme color, but not always.  We will discuss our options.  I then ask the couple to pick out front and back images with some guidance from me. From these selections I then design a custom cover that usually contains the newlywed's name and wedding date.

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One of my favorite fonts is this heart font on the front cover of Michele and Nick's wedding album.  Other times we go for a more classic look as with Stacey and Steve's album from their Spring wedding at St. John the Evangelist.

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Couple's often choose a walking away or waving image for the back cover of their book...

The inside page designs will continue the color theme of the front cover, sometimes with more intense colors such as this deep purple design with glowing purple flowers and a tinge of red.

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These coffee table style books will often hold most, if not all of the wedding images.  They have become quite popular and are what I consider the modern wedding album.  These comtemporary looks are almost always chosen.  I do offer a more traditional flush mount album as an add on option.  It's called the Leather Craftsmen Luxury Album because of it's hand crafted leather exterior and super thick pages.  These are perfect for showcasing a few of your favorite pictures from the big day.

I sometimes will incorporate a champagne bottle design when featuring reception images such as first dance.

Famous quotes are often a hit with my clients and I try to match them up with an appropriate image such as this one of Ryan and Sara overlooking Lake Michigan at The Dunes Lakeshore in Northwest Indiana.

To see some older albums from past weddings have a look at the gallery page in the wedding album section.  The next step would to fill out my contact form and set up a time to take a look for yourself.  See you soon!!

Newborn Studio Photos

Hello world, my name is Nathan and I had a blast at my newborn session st SBV Photography in Crown Point, Indiana!!  Yes, this is one of those post where brides and grooms take a backseat to my studio photography.  This time around I'd like to share a recent newborn studio session.

As some of you may know, I separated my photography business into general photography (newborn, portraits, kids, high school seniors, sports) as SBV Photography from my wedding work as Region Weddings.  I did this to give brides a simple site to view wedding photography only.  Same photographer and owner and same quality, just a simple way to find different generes of photography.  Once in awhile I break my wedding only rule here on the Journal.  Hey, who can turn away a cute little guy like this one?

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The Crown Point portrait studio is on the bottom floor and can be quite cool in temperature sometimes.  This is great for adult and older child sessions (especially this summer), but not so good for newborns.  To compensate, I have a room heater going for newborn sessions and I also use a heating pad underneath the blankets that the baby lays upon.  This way our naked newborn can be comfortable and dream away in comfort.

I ask the parents to bring in their newborn a few days after birth and to not worry about clean up of their skin and so forth.  Some parents like this natural state in the photos or I can clean up any markings in post production after the session.

I ask parents to keep their baby awake as much as possible on the drive in.  Just keep badgering them to stay awake and then let them sleep during their session.  We can then easily move them around for the poses we want.  Another best practice for newborn sessions is to feed them at home before the trip over to the studio.  We expect an accident or two so it's no big deal.  Let's have them content for their time here getting photographed for the first time.

I will sometimes take detail shots such as this big hand, little hand image with mom holding on to her baby boy.  These are great for inclusion in a photo book.

I often like to include mom and dad in some of the shots, so be prepared with some attire for the sesion.  We can talk about this prior to scheduling and it is only an option.  Our focus will be on capturing the newborn child first and foremost.

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Nathan's father is Chinese and he asked that Nathan's name be spelled out like that for wallets to hand out to that side of their family.

This wide awake shot of the little guy in seeming wonderment is one of my favorite photos from our newborn photography session of last week.

My studio is located in Crown Point.  I have a viewing room for all clients to look and order images with a studio in the room below.  It's very laid back and people love the unrushed atmosphere, not to mention the creative imagery we can give as opposed to the big box retailers.

Wedding Reception Decorations at The Chateau in Merrillville

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Ryan and Sara's wedding reception at The Chateau Banquet Hall in Merrillville, Indiana had some wonderful decorations.  Let me take you around the room to view some of details.  The above shot is the entire cake display with a pedestal and majestic blue fountain underneath.  Let's get a little closer...

You can see the head table in the background.  We had just come from doing formal photos at Portage River Walk and I was able to capture much of the decor before the guests arrived for dinner and dancing.

Sara really loved this photo of the couples rings inside her colorful bouquet of flowers.  It makes for a great image in the wedding album as well.  Many times these details shots serve as background pages when I design the custom made wedding album.

One of the more unique features of this latin flavored wedding was the Mariachi band that performed for much of the evening.  They sounded great, provided some nice color to the ambience of the hall and entertained from the beginning until dinner ended.

The couple provided a wedding bell on every table for friends and family to encourage them to kiss.

It worked....

Sara paid tribute to her dearly departed grandparents by displaying their photograph.

Guests were able to transcribe their best wishes on a large memory board adorned with childhood photographs of the bride and groom...

Ryan and Sara get the award for most wedding cakes at a single reception.  Okay, this one isn't an actual cake, but it sure looks like one!!  The couple's last name intials on this gift box disguised as a white cake was a nice touch...

The thank you card displayed on the gift table was a classy touch from a couple who tremendously cares about all the friends and family who came out to celebrate their big day.

Thank you Ryan and Sara for having me capture your wedding day this summer.  Let's get those family portraits in this Fall.  :)