Wedding Photography Columbus, OH : Shannon Williams Photography : Columbus, OH Professional Photographer

Bridal Session . . .

Enjoy this quick video of one of our favorite bridal sessions from 2008! Looking forward to more of these this year, with our stellar brides!

Kim and Kyle . . .

. . . were married Saturday, March 14, at the North United Methodist Church in Columbus, OH.  I had a great time shooting their engagement session this past fall, and their wedding day was no less enjoyable.  This fabulous couple followed their meaningful wedding ceremony with a posh, uptown reception at the Hyatt Regency.  Thank you for choosing us, Kim and Kyle!  Enjoy your sneak peek here, and remember to click any image you want to see larger.

 

Model: Allie Desantis

Earlier this week I worked with 19-year old Allie Desantis, from Cincinnati, OH.  This Miami University cheerleader is represented by Cincinnati's Wings Model Management.  In the short time Allie has been modeling, she's already achieved notable success - like winning Miss Teen Ohio AND Miss Teen International - in 2007.  As a result, Allie was chosen as the spokesperson for charities Josh Cares and the Ronald McDonald House - both of whom, as you may know, offer care and support for hospitalized children.

Allie is a currently a marketing major, and plans to continue modeling throughout her undergraduate and graduate work, and beyond.  Keep an eye on this girl - I have a feeling we'll be seeing a lot more of her! Thanks Allie - for a great shoot this week, and thanks to Brit for being so helpful during the photo shoot! Enjoy these few samples from our work together, and remember to click on any image you want to see larger.  

Win the Perfect Honeymoon Get-away!

We're so thankful for the brides who have chosen us to be their photographers in 2009!  It's a privilege, to say the least, and we couldn't be more thrilled about spending your big day with you and your family, and doing our part to help you celebrate such an incredible moment.  Columbus has been very good to us, and to show our gratitude - we're offering complimentary honeymoon accommodations for one very lucky couple this year!  Through our travel partner, the Travel Advantage Network, one of our 2009 or 2010 couples will receive a one-week stay at the T.A.N. travel destination of their choice!  

Normally this luxury item is available exclusively as part of our "I Do" collection.  But the winner of this contest will receive it as part of ANY purchased collection we offer.  Book your 2009 or 2010 wedding with us between now and April 11, and you will qualify for the drawing which will determine the winning couple! Contact our studio today for details about this limited time offer.  We've been promoting this since February 11, but there's still time to join the fun.

Thanks again, Columbus!!  

Model: Amy Crandall

Wednesday I had the privilege of working with model Amy Crandall, represented by the Heyman Talent Agency of Columbus, OH - and make-up artist extraordinaire Melissa Roshan, also a Columbus native.  The collaboration was more than successful, and I'm excited about the work we did together.  

The Heyman Talent Agency has been in business since 1989.  The agency is recognized in the industry for superior service and a diverse talent pool. Because of their expansive representation of Actors, Models, and Voice-Over Artists they have become their Clients' Agency of choice.  With three offices in the Midwest (Columbus, Cincinnati, and Louisville) they book talent from N.Y. to L.A., Chicago to Miami.  They are located in a key production market with clients including Nationwide Insurance, McDonald's, Wendy's International, Totes, Procter & Gamble, and many more.  Their talent can be recognized in national commercial and fashion print campaigns, feature films, television commercials, industrials, websites, radio spots, and trade shows.  

Melissa says her passion for makeup began as a little girl, and that you could find her painting the faces of her dolls for hours.  She tells me she would offer her "services" to aunts, uncles, cousins, and neighborhood friends, and that It wasn't uncommon for her to get in trouble for sneaking into grandmas mahogany rouge lipstick, or cold cream.  She began her career as a cosmetics counter manager in an upscale department store nine years ago. After growing tired of retail/sales, Melissa branched out and began freelancing as a makeup artist.  "I have been blessed to have worked with many models, celebrities, brides, and photographers. I take this role very seriously, and try to convey this in my work. I have a true love for working with people, and feel very blessed to be able to do what I love."  Melissa has also been modeling professionally for nine years, and has been in numerous print ads such as: Verizon, Fisher Price, Glamour Magazine, Essence Magazine, Pittsburgh Bride, YWCA, PNC Bank, Whirl Magazine, Today’s Black Woman, and the list goes on.

After graduating with an Art degree in Photo Illustration from Kent State University, Amy Crandall knew she had to work on creating beautiful and meaningful images.  Whether it is working as a model for such companies as Heyman Talent, Aero-Bed, or behind the camera for C Magazine, her talents and professionalism shine through.  Her enthusiasm for the industry does not go unnoticed as she prepares for her next big shoot for Rubie Green, on location in New York later this month.  Amy says, “I love to be in front and behind the camera…anything to be in a photographic situation!”

Special thanks to the Heyman Talent Agency, and to Amy and Melissa, for a great shoot, and I look forward to working with you all again! 

*click on any image you want to see larger!

 

Hope, Coffee, and Melody . . .

I'll admit it.  I was one of the millions of Americans who watched the final moments of Jason Mesnick's journey through this season of The Bachelor.  Having been a single father at one point, a little something about Jason's story resonated in my own.  So I was curious to see what would come of ABC's prime-time shenanigans when combined with a decent guy trying to be good father, and trying to move on after a failed first marriage.  

For weeks, Chris Harrison taunted his television audience with teasers about what would surely be the show's "most shocking, most dramatic conclusion ever."  Please.  I'll save the speculation about whether the entire thing was staged, for other bloggers.  The show did what it was blueprinted to do, one way or another.  And true to Pavlov's theory, the bell rang, we all salivated, and ratings soared.  

That being said, I'm fascinated by our collective enchantment with romance and relationship.  We want to love, to be loved, and to experience authentic connection with a significant other.  Say what you want about the Bachelor's producer, Mike Fleiss, but this he understands.  And he also knows how badly we want our relationships to have a storybook beginning, a journey full of cinematic adventure, and a fairy tale end.  It's no secret though, that few relationships find days when all three of these ingredients are in the mix.  And so we live vicariously through Jason, wishing our adventures included helicopter-rides and happy endings.

Well, it's the morning After the Final Rose, and while reality-television is off scheming it's next bell-ringing spell-binder, the rest of us are entrenched in real life.  It's just another Tuesday.  There are bills to be paid, apologies to be made, and some of the very battles we won yesterday have to be fought all over again today.  Mourn this mundanity if you choose, but it's real.  And if authentic relationship is what we really crave, then today offers more of it than we may wish.  There are no appointments to go bungee-jumping in New Zealand, or to private concerts in L.A.  There's laundry needing done and toilets needing scrubbed.  As depressing as that sounds - LOL - there is hope!  Because today is just that - today.  It's not yesterday.  It's a new day.  And for relationships that are less than perfect, that's good news.  You get to try again.  You have the chance to listen, to say I'm sorry, to decide to do better, to try harder, to love more.  

The song streaming through my headphones as I write, is "A New Day" by the Robbie Seay Band.  The lyrics . . .

I'm gonna sing this song

To let you know that you're not alone
And if you're like me
You need hope, coffee, and melody
So sit back down
Let the world keep spinning ‘round
For yesterday's gone and today is waiting on you to show your face

It might not be
The prettiest thing that you'll ever see
But it’s a new day, oh baby, it’s a new day
And it might not look like
A beautiful sunrise
But it's a new day, oh baby, it’s a new day

I’m a pilgrim soul
I've traveled far and come back home
This land is hard and cold
For those who long to love
And I know it might seem
That the world is crumbling
But it’s me and you dancing in the kitchen at 2 am
And we're still alive

It’s the calm of the storm that comes blowing in
It’s the springtime saying I'm back again
The clouds that roll by
Crossing moonlight
Me and you love – everything's alright
Standing in the rain with nowhere to go
Laughing and we're spinning and I hope that you
Remember this day
For the rest of your life
Me and you love – everything’s gonna be alright

And it just might be
The prettiest thing that you'll ever see
It’s a new day
Oh baby, it’s a new day
If you look outside
To see a beautiful sunrise
It’s a new day

People who really know me, know the line "...if you're like me, you need hope, coffee and a melody..." sums me up better than just about anything.  But the lyric that really sticks to my ribs is "Let the world keep spinning round, for yesterday's gone and today is waiting on you to show your face."  Too many of us are lost in yesterday, in what was or what should have been.  And our white-knuckled grip on forgiveness is choking the life out of what is, or what could be.  I've made that mistake too many times, and it's cost me more than I have room to write about.  But yesterday's gone, and today is waiting on me to show my face.  Care to join me?  Grab a cup of coffee, let go of what was, and sing along ... it's a new day.