The importance of a great make-up artist

Ladies, this is the biggest day of your lives and your photos will last a lifetime. Is is essential that you hire a make-up artist
that you are comfortable with and that does a FABULOUS job. Pay the extra dime to do some make-up tests prior to the wedding day so that you know exactly what you like and there are no surprises. An expeirenced make-up artist knows how to adjust your make-up so that it looks best on film and in digital photos. If you are having a destination wedding, consider inporting a make-up artist with you, if the budget will allow. In the fashion/commercial industry many make-up artists now do hair as well. Ask
around, get referrals... or just ask me! I know some wonderful artists. Good luck!

Bacara Wedding

Liz and Ross are just the cutest couple ever. Not just gorgeous on the outside, but, they are soooo in love and always have smiles on their faces. What I really enjoyed about this wedding is that, although attending as a guest, I couldn't resist taking photos of their beautiful day. I finally tried to put the camera down at the reception and just have a good time- it worked for a while. My camera is sort of an extension of my body... ask anyone who knows me. Seriously, it might be a problem!

Hartford, Connecticut Wedding

I think what I liked most about this wedding weekend was the intimate, family environment. It was a 20 person wedding at a private residence on a lake in Connecticut and just spectacular! Kris and Nate asked me to join in on all of the weekends activities, from peaceful fishing on the lake with Grandpa and the children to the home cooked meals, served family style. Most of Kris' family came from Omaha for the weekend and wow, they sure know how to cook! This was definitely a memorable weekend for me and I've learned that they are now expecting their first child. Thanks to both sides of the family for welcoming me into your home.

Angel

To be honest, I don't typically have a ton of time to do many pregnancy & newborn photos, however, when a girlfriend of mine came to me with her vision, I just couldn't resist. She was open-minded with my suggestions and through some creative brainstorming, this is what we created. I love this photo! So moody, yet beautiful. Baby Skylar is now here! She's healthy and happy and just the cutest thing you've ever seen!

Detail Photos Are Important!

I was asked to photograph a wedding theme based on the element of Fire for a magazine layout. Co-photographed by Bryan Brunick and the design concept by Michelle Buckley (www.mintjulepinc.com) this is what we came up with. I've heard of more and more cigar bars being added to wedding receptions. A new trend?! Anyhow, the photos should be on the newstands very soon!

Four Seasons Beverly Hills Wedding April 26, 2008

Aimee and Mike's Wedding was so beautiful. Both of them being doctors and each of their fathers being doctors... I'm pretty sure that there were more doctors combined at this wedding than in an emergency room. These gorgeous photos are just a few from the wedding and Bryan Brunick was my co-photographer.  Michelle Buckley of Mint Julep, Inc. did a wonderful job fusing the Korean & American decor and traditions and is a great coordinator.  Thanks also to Miss Katelin Journigan for her valuable assistance.

Peninsula Beverly Hills Engagement Dinner

After being hired to photograph Aimee and Mike's wedding at the Four Seasons Beverly Hills, Aimee's sister, Aran, asked me to photograph her Engagement Dinner. It was an exquisite and intimate dinner at the Peninsula Beverly Hills and I had a wonderful time. Congratulations to Aran and Tom!  A special thanks to the talented Michelle Buckley, owner of Mint Julep, Inc.  

Ben & Renee's Hollywood Photo Session

Ben & Renee have become such good friends and I love that because their wedding was scheduled in the beautiful Cabo San Lucas, they wanted to juxtapose their engagement photo session to their wedding and take some edgy urban images. What a fun day with outfit and location changes! Bryan Brunick and I co-photographed this dynamic duo and if my memory serves me correctly, the day ended with all of us unwinding with a nice glass of wine.  Check out their wedding photos. Gorgeous couple and the locale was insane- on the beach for the rehearsal dinner, the most gorgeous rustic church for the wedding & a multi-million dollar private estate overlooking the ocean for the reception.  Lastly, thanks to Alison for her hospitality.  Always a pleasure.

Cabo San Lucas Wedding

Ben and Renee couldn't have been more lovely. They were so accomodating, thankful and kind and I really just
felt like I was part of the family. Since the wedding, we've become close friends and I've now seen them from engagement photos through the wedding... from the pregnancy to baby Drew!!! Oh- and they are gorgeous so it just made my job so easy! Check out their engagement photos and the cutest ever: introducing baby Drew!  :)  Bryan Brunick was the co-photographer and we just had the best weekend.  We certainly felt a part of the celebration and per usual, I had a hard time not smiling from behind the lens.

Milwaukee Art Museum Wedding July 6, 2008

The Milwaukee Art Museum was incredible!  Designed by three legendary architects:

Eero Saarinen, David Kahler and Santiago Calatrava, the museum is ON Lake Michigan.  Wow! I couldn't resist taking some long-exposure night photos (my favorite) from outside the reception windows. Mix the gorgeous locale with the even more gorgeous Lizl and Demetrius and how could you go wrong?!  It was a very memorable weekend and I'm looking forward to seeing them soon at their housewarming party in Santa Monica.  I always love when I become friends with the bride and groom after the wedding!  Check the website for the whole wedding story.  A heartfelt thank-you to Mr. Bryan Brunick, co-photographer extraordinaire, for your patience and talent.  What a fun weekend we had!  David Caruso of 

Milwaukee's Dynamic Events, Inc. did a wonderful job coordinating and Dale Stenbroten, of Stenten-Rowe Studios in Milwaukee did a great job being our 3rd photographer and managing the photo booth.  Just an amazing wedding all around!

Downtown L.A. Wedding Sept. 13th, 2008

This wedding was photographed just yesterday and I'm in LOVE with the couple!  All of my expectations were exceeded yesterday and thanks to Bryan Brunick, my co-photographer and to Braedon Flynn, our 3rd shooter, the images are to die for. Janice and Andy were just the sweetest, kindest and most considerate couple and their families were amazing.  I just want to be part of the family!  Janice loves historic, European-style

architecture and chose venues which reflected that. It certainly made for some dramatic, gorgeous photos! I hope you enjoy them as much as I do. This was definitely a best-case-scenario wedding and I enjoyed every minute of the day. Maybe except for my aching feet! :) Thanks also to Cassandra Santor (www.cassandrasantor.com) for doing such a wonderful job with the coordination and for making sure we were well taken care of.

My sis is engaged and I couldn't be happier for them!

...so much so that I had a hard time putting down my camera at their engagement party and just relaxing.  It's going to be difficult to not be a photo dork at their wedding.  the party was gorgeous, though, and we did have a blast!  A special shout out goes to Evette Knight for her gorgeous coordination & design.  She's the best!

The wedding is in April 09 and I can't wait!  I'm the maid of honor!  

So, my friends say I need to be a Blogger.

Hey, I'm pretty old school.  I'm not too familiar with blogs and to be honest, I've always felt it to be a

bit self-important, so, I never was really interested in learning about them, until now.  After much discussion with my colleagues and friends, I've realized the importance of blogging as a marketing tool.  So, here I am... not totally understanding what to do but feeling that there's really nothing wrong with a little self-promotion.  Especially since I feel I have a lot to share...  What the heck?  I have nothing to lose.

A little bit about me:

I've been a commercial/portrait/celebrity photographer for going on 14 years now and most recently, in the past 2 1/2 years or so, have fallen in love with wedding photography after being "talked into" photographing a wedding.  I was hesitant at first, since I had never photographed a wedding except for my brother's.  But, much to my surprise, I ended up loving it.  I'm not sure why I thought I wouldn't love it, because I'm often hired to document a story.  Perhaps I was nervous about the pressure I'd feel.  Well, now it's just my favorite thing in the world and such a wonderful and refreshing contrast to the commercial world of photography.

I hope you'll enjoy my photos and I invite you to please ask me any questions or offer any comments that you'd like.  If I don't have the answer for you, I can likely find it quickly.  

Here is a link to my wedding photography:       www.joanallenstudio.com

You can also view my commercial work here:  www.joanallenphoto.com

All my best and it's a pleasure to e-meet ya!

Joan Allen