Every wedding should have one!

The power and meaning of a great photo never ceases to take my breath away. I love watching my clients get giddy over their photos, and every so often it happens to me!

This photo was from the "smilebooth" at Katie and John's wedding earlier this month . This was my favorite of many of us that were taken. Honestly, I'm not sure I have a good photo of just Keith and I since our wedding, and I'm now going to make sure all of my future clients get a photo of just the two of them from their session. It's lovely to have proof of your identity as a couple and not just as parents!

Katie posted all the smilebooth photos on facebook and there were so many fantastic images of couples, individuals, groups of friends... I have to imagine that it takes the right photographer and the right kind of wedding and guests to make it work so well, but I now believe that all weddings should have a photobooth! For the bride and groom, they get fun photos of their guests they would never get otherwise, and what better gift for their guests than love-worthy photography?

Katie is my photographer friend who took these wonderful family photos at the end of the summer. Congratulations and thank you Katie and John and thank you to their photographers Our Labor of Love! Can't wait to see the wedding photos!

nyc baby, child and family photographer & architect alethea cheng fitzpatrick is based in brooklyn. she specializes in baby photography as interior design & interior design for babies. view her portfolio of babies, children or families or send her an e-mail here!

A wedding... my own

About a month ago, there was an amazing live online, well, "course" is kind of an understatement... it really was an event. I'm talking about the CreativeLive Wedding Photography Course with Jasmine Star.

I know - I'm not a wedding photographer! But I heard such good things about this five day event, which included complete live coverage of Jasmine shooting a real wedding in Seattle, that I purchased the download and I've really been enjoying listening/watching on my iphone while working or doing stuff around the house (eg while matting, framing and installing my new wall and ledge galleries and generally doing the biggest purge in the house since having a baby).

The whole Jasmine Star experience has been fantastic - I've loved it. Audio is becoming a great way for me to learn. Not only can I multi-task and do other things at the same time, but I feel like I'm really internalizing what I'm learning. And I learned a ton from Jasmine that meshes well with what I've already been learning about building a brand based on who you are and what you love, attracting the clients who are right for you and giving them an incredible "branded" experience. A lot of what she talked about was relevant not just to wedding photographers. I know many people watching were not photographers at all!

I'm not a wedding photographer but I love weddings. I haven't thought too seriously about pursuing wedding photography, and I'm not ruling anything out, but to be honest, I'm less inclined to consider it now after this experience, just because it is even more clear to me how it is an entirely different market and mindset. Yes, I've been a bride and can relate to brides, but my whole world revolves around motherhood now, so the path I'm on makes sense, and it makes sense to keep focused on building from what I love most, which is being a mom.

But it did really inspire me to go back and look at my own wedding photos, taken by my friend Kymm Zuckert. I loved my photos then, and I do now, maybe even more so, and no really, seriously, I am finally going to pick my images and put together my album very very soon I mean it no really I do!

Kymm shot almost entirely on film and she and I were just texting back and forth wondering whether darkrooms even exist anymore. Anyway, I thought I'd share one of my favorite "getting ready" shots, and I'll probably share more as I revisit them. Having just been through a wedding photography course, I can say that Kymm did a great job (even though she sprained her ankle on her way out to Montauk where we got married). Looking through some of the photos over four years later, I can see that she captured all the details, moments and emotions that I need and want, now and in the future. Hey, maybe it's a good thing I'm putting together my album with some perspective!

nyc baby, child and family photographer & architect alethea cheng fitzpatrick is based in brooklyn. she specializes in baby photography as interior design & interior design for babies. view her portfolio of babies, children or families or send her an e-mail here!