Check back in a few days for more fun wedding photography.

I wish I had made this image sooner to make it a part of my post on Silhouettes and Wedding Photography

Eric

As with most art forms, there are always good times to break rules. Whether it be lighting, composition, focus, movement, etc., it is sometimes a good idea to do something out of the ordinary to produce a photograph that is extraordinary. One of the tools in my bag is the silhouette and when the lighting allows for it, I do my best to use it. Silhouette photographs are strongly backlit with very little front lighting. The irony here is that this situation is typically considered problematic for photographers. Indeed, I long considered it the same until I had a personal breakthrough and began to use this “apparent” disadvantage to make an image that proved far more engaging and appealing than had I otherwise tried to shoehorn the scene into something that didn’t fit. What comes out of this approach is generally very artistic and interesting; not to mention that I absolutely LOVE turning a problem into its own solution

I don’t do it all the time as that would diminish the effect. But when given a strongly backlit environment that works in this manner, I find it to be icing on the cake of already enjoyable photography. Not to mention I love the “ooo’s” and “ahhh’s” I get from my clients when I show them a wonderfully artsy silhouette shot when they weren’t expecting it.

With this in mind I think brides should pay as much attention as possible to how their event location will be lit if they are able. By bringing in colored wall lighting, you can change the entire look of a room. In some cases we will even use gel colored flashes to create this effect if desired. This will let the photographer work with the walls rather than fight them (nobody likes ugly walls) and the effect is fabulous:

Thanks for looking everybody.

Ciao!

Your friendly Austin wedding photographer – Eric Kotara

I recently had the pleasure of photographing Meiling and Paul’s wedding at their Austin home on one of the loveliest days that could grace a February. Their wedding day originally had rain in the forecast. It was cloudy and wet leading up to Sunday. It was even rainy Sunday morning. And then, just like that, the clouds broke and the day truly became the perfect day for a wedding. Two days later, it was frozen and snowing How’s that for a window of opportunity?

It was a very relaxed and comfortable wedding and party. Everyone was in great spirits and happy the sun was out. Good drinks, good friends, and some delicious pastries made for a fabulous time.

Enjoy the pictures. And special thanks to my second photographer and assistant for the day, Kristi Wright!

They topped their cupcakes with custom screen printed cookies! Really neat.

These were Delicious!!!!

And you know how I love ring photographs.

Ciao!

As always love was in the air. Beth and Justin have great families and great friends and I was very lucky to get to document the whole shindig. From killing a bottle of HOT DAMN to cutting a rug to Billie Jean, it was a wonderful night.

Cheers to you Beth and Justin, have fun in the rainforest

Great story with this series. So Beth did her best to keep the flight path of her bouquet below the rafters, but she must have been really excited. In the end Beth’s sister fetched the prize, with the help of a baby’s toy bat. AWESOME!!!

Parts of this next series look like they might have hurt a bit. You took it well Justin.

Well wouldn’t you know it, a wish of mine came true

Thanks guys, enjoy them.

I was working 2nd for Mary Sledd, photographer extraordinaire! while shooting this wedding. It was a ton of fun. Mary was a joy to work for, everyone was in good spirits, the bride and groom were very much in love; all was right with the universe that day

Hope you enjoy!

They had this great cover band that really left me breathless. RadioHead covers as waltzes, YEAH!!!!

They did a good job of keeping the dance floor full.

OK folks, that’s it for now. Until next time

Ciao!

This particular groom was a chef and wanted to have a chef’s hat for his cake. Really neat!

Reed had a thing for football (soccer), even going so far as doing a few pictures in team jerseys for their engagement session.

This was from a recent wedding I blogged about yesterday, but still ranks up there as one of the best.

I am not sure I should even post this image, being an Austin resident now, but still it’s creative merit needs mention. So yes, if you are a long standing Austin resident, like the color burnt orange, or have a fondness for bovines with unusually long horns, then perhaps you should avert your eyes An Aggie Bonfire grooms cake.

Last but not least, and perhaps my favorite still after all these months since seeing it, the beer bottle bucket wedding cake!!!

Hope you enjoyed them. More to come soon.

The guys really knew how to work the camera. And check out that bar!!!

I like doing little sequences like this. Not only do they show the action of the day, but they also look really nice when used in album layouts.

On a final note, any recent visitors confused about an Austin wedding photographer only posting work from San Antonio, don’t worry. This is the result of recently moving and doing all the weddings booked a long time ago. There will be plenty of Austin related wedding and portrait photography to show in the coming months, I promise.

Ciao!