Ian Labennett is my friend. Correction, Ian Labennett is one of my best friends. I met the guy back in college, and we’ve been very close friends ever since. Our passion for all things videogames, movies, black comedians, lack of sports knowledge, outdoor Man trips, creative arts, and general goofing-offness led to a great friendship that will last a lifetime to come. Ian had told me earlier this year that this was the year he would get married. Next thing I know, he was engaged to one of my other friends named Hagar… literally 3 months after our discussion. I was not only super happy for him, but I was ecstatic for the beautiful relationship they would soon form. Though I didn’t know Hagar as well, I still knew that she was a wonderful girl, and it made perfect sense for them to be a couple. The chemistry between Ian and Hagar is just incredible. Spending 5 minutes with them together will make you realize that they not only compliment each other perfectly, but can spend the rest of their lives being their goofy selves… and be perfectly happy together. Nothing in this world makes me happier than seeing the people I care about be truly happy. I believe with Hagar, Ian has finally found his true happiness.

Oh man, I got all sentimental there… let’s get back to the topic of this post. Below you will find some images from an E-session we did on a very hot and humid day. By the end of this session, we were all drenched… so it’s a good thing we got some nice shots early on. I personally think these are some of the best images I have gotten to date, so I’m very excited to share them with everyone. I think it’s pretty apparent how natural these two are with each other once you see some of these shots. After the E-session, there are also a few images of the actual Katab Kitab ceremony. The Katab Kitab is an Egyptian ceremony where the couple signs the marriage contract, and is legally married under the Islamic laws. The Katab Kitab’s are usually a small ceremony, so it’s not usually very large scale or extravagant as the actual wedding (which will take place later in the year). Anyway, without further ado, here are the images:

E-Session

Read More

Hello everyone. Hope Summer is going well. Just thought I share a recent session with you all. Not too long ago, Nikita contacted me and inquired if I would cover her Sagai ceremony. Now to those of you who are not familiar with the term, a Sagai is an Indian ceremony where the couple gets engaged, and the families unite. It’s a ceremony to not only bond the two couple for their future matrimony, but also for the two families to officially meet and establish a good relationship. It mostly consists of prayers (pujas), but gifts and rings are also exchanged between the couple, followed by a dinner. Most of you may know already, but I absolutely hate covering events that are exclusively indoors.  The reason being is because working indoors always mean dealing with inconsistent lighting, and the pictures are not as pleasing as they are outdoors. This is why I’m always a bit paranoid when doing any event indoors, simply because other lights or factors can change it dramatically. However, the rec center where the Sagai was held was just brilliant. The entire ceiling was made out of glass, and the whole room was lit completely naturally by the sun. The event was even nicer because it was fairly small with only close friends and family members, just the way I like it.

On top of the Sagai coverage, we also decided to do an E-session type shoot outdoors before the sagai, just so the couple could have some nice images away from the ceremony setting. The outdoor session was quite challenging to say the least. I absolutely love doing sessions outdoors, but I hate to do them with the sun fully out and it’s hot or humid. Now it’s partially my fault since I underestimated the time frame because of the seasonal difference, but we ended up doing the session on a very hot day, in the full mid-day sun. However, the key to being a true professional photographer is to know your surroundings, and to improvise the situation you are in, and make it work. I took a minute to look around, found some spots that would work, and we went ahead and did our thing. Both Nikki and Raju were troopers with the shoot, and complied to all of my requests. The result? You can see for yourself below.  If you have a favorite shot or just want to show some love, please leave a comment below 😀

E-Session

Read More

Hello everyone. Here’s a quick little update for a Holud and Wedding ceremony for Syed and Nadia. For those of you who may be unfamiliar, a Holud is a traditional Bengali ceremony where a turmeric paste is applied to the skin of the bride and groom. Henna is also applied to their hands often, and sweets are always fed to symbolize the sweet times the couple will spend in their lifetime. I came a bit early and was able to get some shots of Syed and his relatives setting up the stage area. Now Nadia was a bit shy and wouldn’t smile for the camera much, but I worked my magic and was able to capture some of the smiles… and she didn’t even know it 😀 All in all, we all had fun, and got some great images in the process. You can check out all of the details, colors, and full emotions below. Just a heads up though, it’s two sessions in one post, so lots of images to load.

Holud Ceremony

Read More