There is nothing more interesting to observe than when a group of talented, creative people get together. Being in New Orleans is amazing because there is never any shortage on artistic, thoughtful people looking to make art in all forms. This bridal shoot was the culmination of many talents coming together for a beautiful final product. Much of the shoot was styled around an incredible space found for us by Hily Trowbridge. Treme Market Branch is a truly historic, breathtaking venue with cathedral ceiling and 15 foot windows that allow in soft natural light. The mother and the daughter who owns the venue, were a pleasure, and after a bit of convincing we were able to have the daughter, Theresa, model for us. She was a natural and seeing her in a wedding dress was magical. Hily also helped style the venue for the shoot, making a aisle out of a vintage Persian rug and adding fresh cut flowers and candles. The entire shoot had an authentic, New Orleans, bohemian feel.
The models were absolutely stunning. Nora and Tiffany were both beautiful and patient throughout the entire shoot. All three girls nailed it. We were fortunate enough to have Pearl's Place loan us all of our lovely dresses. Lauren Chemin did all of the make up, giving Tiffany a more natural look while Nora’s look was more dramatic. She even did Theresa's make-up for us on the fly. Sarah Parvardeh styled all of the hair paying great attention to detail from flowers to braids to curls. She stayed close, hairspray in hand, to make sure the models looked perfect throughout the shoot.
Finally there was our talented photographer, Traven Stout. Using vintage 8X10 and 4X5 cameras he captured everyone’s hard work beautifully. The skill level required to shoot on large format cameras is unparalleled, from accounting for exposure to checking the focus with a magnifying glass. Oh, and then there was me, Kailey, who held the lights and got the coffee and carried the gear in and wrote this blog post.
These final images truly show what creative, driven people can accomplish together. They are truly unlike any bridal shoots you'll ever see between the elegant venue, vintage camera, and a little bit of New Orleans showing through in every picture.
Written by my beautiful girlfriend and assistant: Kailey Geary
I shot all these images on large format cameras that are older than me. "What's a large format camera?" you ask. It's a camera that uses film equal or larger than 4x5 inches. The larger your negative size the better resolution you can get. Think of a frame from an old 35mm negative, now compare that to 4x5 inches. There's more space record the image on the 4x5 negative, therefore you can enlarge the images much bigger. I shot these on a 4x5 camera and an 8x10 camera. An 8x10 negative if scanned properly can far succeed the resolution of today's digital cameras. It also has a completely different aesthetic to it than a digital camera. Large format cameras have a shallower depth of field and I can tilt the front of standard which can give a selective focus. All of this gives the out of focus areas a much more creamier look. AND IT'S FILM! So I get all of the beautiful tones you get from the different film types that are impossible to recreate on the computer.
Here's a Slide Show of the Behind the scenes (click play to view)
Model:
Nora Donnely IG: @norafromatlanta
Tiffany Brooks IG @tiffanymakesameanturkey
Teresa Thomas : IG @teeleethom
Venue:
www.trememarketbranch.com
IG: @trememarketbramch
Hair:
IG: @proziumlove13
sarahparvardeh.com
Floral:
IG: @hilytrowbridge
htnoevents.com
Make Up:
Lauren Landry Chemin
IG: @laurencheminmua
Dresses:
IG: @pearlsplacebridal