Stacey Vaeth Photography Fall Flowers
Posted on September 26, 2009
The rain held off this morning, and we got these beautiful overcast skies and bright colors at a really fun mini session. Rachel and Russ held the session at their home, and invited over some friends who have been a part of the same parents group since their kids were just a few weeks old. Rachel has this great home in DC that provided a lot of fun opportunities for the kids to be, well, kids. I wouldn’t be surprised if that everyone (me included) went down for a nap really quickly!
Thanks everyone! I hope you had a blast! Here’s a sneak peak of some of my fav’s, after a quick glance at what we shot this morning.
Little Faces
Posted on September 25, 2009
Some quick shots from our weekend mini session at Cherry Hill Park in Falls Church. Thanks Sara, for setting this up! It was great fun to work with a previous client once again, and also to meet these lively and adorable kids. Not to mention that the location was beautiful.
More mini sessions to come this weekend…pray for the rain to hold off!
-sv
Inside and Out
Posted on September 23, 2009
Some weekend fav’s – more on this project to come. Wardrobe courtesy of Kaarin Moore, Closet Caucus founder. Makeup by Bobbi Brown makeup artist, Irina Gerasimova.
Musings From the Roof
Posted on September 22, 2009
This weekend I did a maternity shoot, a 5 hour fashion extravaganza shoot (complete with makeup and wardrobe makeovers), a mini session with 18 month olds, and this rooftop shoot with two great models and fellow shooter, my dad. I would like to say that all the work brought out the best in me, but at the end of the last day, having hauled my 12th load of 50 pounds of gear in 24 hours, well, let’s just say it was not my finest moment. I live a blessed life, this I know. Well, with all that gear, the 2 story walkup ain’t much of a blessing, but generally, things are good. Creating images and challenging my brain to figure out solutions day in and day out really makes me feel useful, engaged and ever-growing. But, as life goes, the internal driver that pushes me to get out there and do this every day also is often accompanied by the internal critic that tells me I have no business doing what I do – that clearly there are people way more qualified than I. So with these two little guys spinning around in my head – the pusher and the critic – vying for space and attention in an exhausted body and mind – I gave in and melted down.
But 24 hours of distance and rest gives just enough perspective to realize that the stress on body and mind is temporary. The pusher makes us grow and the critic, while a little irrational, is only trying to make us do better. And now, with my ramblings all out in the open, I have this set of images to share. And, hey critic – that’s enough for today. Just be quiet and look how pretty Kaarin and Sarah are.
Blue Eyes
Posted on September 12, 2009
This little cutie Colin was hammin it up all morning for me. Friends Nate and Maureen brought him into the studio before they head off to their new foreign service post. Colin was just a sweet joy to work with, and had a lot of fun test running all the new props I got yesterday.
Best of luck you three!
more soon…sv
Brian and Jessica – Inn on the Lake | Canandaigua, New York Wedding Photographer
Posted on September 1, 2009
I had the honor of photographing the wedding of Brian and Jessica this past weekend. They are actually old friends, I think I met Jessica when I was 10 years old. So when they hired me to do their wedding, there was a lot of excitement at witnessing and documenting this amazing step in their lives (and a high-strung nerve or two hoping I would do a great job).
They were married at the Inn on the Lake, a beautiful hotel on Canandaguia Lake, in upstate New York. My husband and I stayed at the Inn when we got married in 2001, so it carries some great memories for me.
When I got to the site on Saturday, it was like a flood of memories, as I ran into old friends that I haven’t seen in a decade. The flood of memories were brought in on the tsunami of rain that was pouring down all around us. The rains were so hard that boats were crashing together on the picturesque backdrop of a lake. yikes.
Here’s the exterior of the hotel – from where I was standing when I took this, to that front door, I had to walk through 4 inches of water.
But, as the heavens sometimes do, the sun began to break through just before the ceremony began, and just got more glorious as the day went on.
What was most remarkable about this wedding between Jess and Brian, was the palatable love that infused the entire day and on into the night. Beginning with Jess’ aunt, who sewed rings from the generations of women in Jess’ family into the underside of her gorgeous Vera Wang gown …
Getting ready with best friends Shelby and Allie…
Jessica with her mom (who drove us to and from gymnastics for YEARS….)
Jess and her dad, heading down the aisle…
Brian and Jess, laughing joyously through most of their ceremony…
That love that I mentioned infused the day really was visible in this unique element of their ceremony. They selected seven locations that were relevant to their relationship (10 years in the making) and lives together, and then asked people from those locations to bring soil or stones from there to the wedding. Those folks then came up during the ceremony, told a story about Jess and Brian in that place, and poured their soil into the large container. Beginning with Jason, Jess’ brother, who poured in soil from Fairport High School, where they first met…
Right after the ceremony…in disbelief….
First Dance….
The SPIRITED bridal party!
Jessica and her aunt
Jessica said to me “I love props” for her pictures, and she wasn’t kidding…a barrel, a fish, a post, and some boat houses later, I think we got a few good ones…
And that sun just got more and more brilliant as it began to set over the horizon…
The people that were witness to their union were the most important thing for Brian and Jess, as evident of Brian’s one image request “to get everyone into one picture”.Thank god for wide angle.
As I was leaving, my good friend Chad said “Parting shot?” and gave me this last image of the night.
Thanks again, Jessica, Brian, Chris, Allie, Matt, Shelby, Chad, Shannon and Mr and Mrs Blank, for welcoming me back into your lives for this brief moment! It was a beautiful day, and the start of a great marriage. Have a wonderful time in Italy you two!
Closet Caucus Struts It’s Stuff!
Posted on August 27, 2009
If you have not yet checked out Kaarin, owner of Closet Caucus…you absolutely must. I’m not kidding. I don’t say this lightly, but Kaarin offers one of the best services you never knew you needed. Have you ever watched “What Not to Wear?” and thought….”I wonder what they would say to me”? Wonder no longer. Kaarin offers a service where she comes to your home, and goes through your closet (I know, I cringed at the thought as well. She’s super gentle and kind.) and helps guide you through what is working in terms of your fashion, and what you can add/subtract to make it more, well, more “you”. This actually isn’t strictly a female service that she offers, Kaarin got her start working with men on developing their personal style. If you want more details, I’m happy to share, but essentially, Kaarin went through my closet, deconstructed all that I normally wear (yoga pants, yoga pants, and, oh yes, yoga pants), and found new ways to put everything together. The result? I feel like I have more clothes than I could wear in a year, feel really, honestly, fabulous when I look in my closet now, and haven’t spent a dime. Oh, and bonus? She gave me permission to get rid of the bridesmaid dress that outlived the marrige, and has been hanging in my closet for 5 years, taking up 5, count em, 5 valuable inches of real estate.
Totally worth it.
In exchange for changing the way I see my body and my clothes for good, here are some pics I did of her for her in-development website. I think I got the long end of the stick on this one.
Here is her info, if you want more info of your own:
closetcaucus (at) gmail (dot) com
The new studio in all it’s glory. Oh, how I love it!!
More soon –
sv
Maternity and Youth
Posted on August 24, 2009
I love shooting little kids, but what is even more fun, is shooting them with their parents. I had a great time this morning, working with a new client, to create photographs of her pregnant belly and three year old. She is due any day now, a real trooper to come out to the studio in this heat!
A few favorites…
more to come…
-sv
Yard ‘O Yogi’s
Posted on August 24, 2009
And we’re off…
Yesterday I continued on the project of profiling each of the Past Tense employees. Again, Irina lent us her time and incredible makeup artistry, and the studio assistants of Past Tense came over for a fun shoot. They got all bendy and strong in the right here on our property, and generally rocked this shoot…
Patrick – Videographer, trained yoga teacher, and amazing yogi
Rob – AcroYogi and arm balance junkie
Tori
Maggie
off to a maternity shoot – more soon!-sv
The Land of In ‘N Out and Up and Down
Posted on August 24, 2009
So, the last of my posts from the trip to CA are finally here. My sister heidi and i remained after the rest of the family left California, and headed from Marina del Ray onto Santa Barbara, with a quick stop off at the famous In N Out…
We then hit upon a great hotel, with a great view, and were comp’d what we thought was champagne, but turned out to be sparkling apple juice (heidi’s favorite!)
The next morning we were off through the Central Valley, a quick stop off at a winery…
then a laugh at the elephant seals… (what a sight!)
and our last evening on the road, a quite respite at the dramatic Ragged Point Inn, at the southern tip of Big Sur, along Highway Route 1.
tomorrow…more yogi’s.
-sv
Stacey Vaeth Photography 