Stacey Vaeth Photography Candy Colored Houses and Jolly Rancher Eyes
Posted on March 9, 2009
I had the great joy of working with Daily Candy Editor Erin Hartigan this morning for a fun photoshoot. In addition to the first three notes of every good song produced in the 1970’s, a list of shoot locations always floats around in my head. For this beautiful spring days shoot, a nearby wonderful street loaded with endless colorful rowhouses seemed like the perfect fit. Then Erin shows up in this green shirt, her green eyes glowing in the light, and I thought, yeah, that’s about exactly what I was looking for. So we went over to the location and she rocked it.
And one that pulls me back to some image that I saw of Joan Baez years ago…Erin sure looks great in color, but I love this antique treatment of her as well. Her soulful, creative self just shines through.
If you haven’t before checked out her work on the Daily Candy – take a look. Small businesses owners like me owe her the world for the support she gives us, and women like me are crying mercy because of all the great things we find and have to have on the Daily Candy each and every day. Check it out – it’s the best local resource around.
Giggles, pouts and reconciliations
Posted on March 8, 2009
I had a great shoot yesterday to ring in this new spring weather. Headed down to the waterfront in Old Town, Alexandria, with family Melody, Kyle, Aya and big sister Maddie. We had a blast enjoying the 70 degree weather and sunshine, after being socked (and i say that relatively…) with 4 inches of snow on Tuesday.
These guys were so much fun and up for a relaxed morning being followed by paparazzi….
Here the girls are beginning to warm up for the camera:
Getting ready for her close-up:
Getting swung around by dad…what glee!
Feeling ready to have this photoshoot done already!:
Showing a little love to little sister, Aya:
Maddie is prepared for those spring showers!
Calling all Wedding Bloggers!
Posted on March 6, 2009
The new Washingtonian Wedding magazine is on the search for a blogger for their new site:
“Are you engaged and planning a wedding? Do you want to share your lessons learned (and your questions), your most (and least) favorite parts of wedding planning, and lots more with Washingtonians? We want to hear from you. If you’re a bride-to-be (or groom-to-be!) who’s willing to share your story, send us an e-mail with why you think you’d be our next great wedding blogger. Details on how to apply are here.”
This is a great new publication that’s full of resources for planning local special events….so pass this along and get applying!
Bridal Dress Shopping….
Posted on March 4, 2009
Sorry guys, this one might just not be for you today.
Shoestring mag posted this article on finding a great deal on a bridal gown. From the stance of a woman who has seen a lot of weddings, the dress must fit. That’s what it comes down to. When you find “the dress”, you’ll know….it might as well have your name embroidered on the inside, it will be so you. So when you find it, buy it in the size you are now, and budget to have it altered so that it fits you like a glove.
And if you’re getting married in the area and want to have a photoshoot of trying on dresses, what the heck, give me a call. I’ll do it for free. First three to call get it, so let your friends know.
I was struggling to tie this post into photography … so there you go.
more later
-sv
Winter is Here….
Posted on March 3, 2009
All these months I have been waiting for a winter scene in which to bring out some clients and shoot them having fun. I heard recently about a friend of a friend who had an Iowa wedding…in December. Guests sat on bales of hay, monogrammed blankets were the party favors, the bride had a white fur stole. A photographers dream. At least this crazy photographer. See, I grew up in Rochester, New York, and then voluntarily moved further into the deep freeze, to Buffalo, New York. Until the age of 24 I lived in a world of 4 seasons: snow, snow, snow and construction. I have love affair with the way the sun falls over a hillside of freshly fallen snow, how light glints off of a dripping icicle. And here in DC, well, we have none of that. Although school is canceled when the temperature drops below 32 degrees (4 feet of snow in 24 hours in Buffalo and outdoor track practice is still on), I have not yet felt a true winter here. So, when four inches of real, god-honest snow fell yesterday, I grabbed the first clients I could and got them out there. Actually, they are potential clients. They called me to talk to me about their wedding, and I practically pushed them into the street before answering their questions. Sorry guys! Anyway, here are a few grab shots of Jonathan and Jackie:
It’s a Major Award!
Posted on February 16, 2009
And this one is not F.R.A.G.I.L.E!
In its inaugural year, the Bride’s Choice Awards recognizes and honors vendors that demonstrate excellent quality of service, responsiveness, professionalism, value of cost and flexibility. Stacey Vaeth Photography has been recognized for these qualities, and ranked in the top three percent of the over 100,000 wedding vendors in the Wedding Wire community.
Unlike other awards in which the company selects winners, exclusively recent newlyweds determine the Bride’s Choice Awards.
“We are excited to launch this annual award program to honor high-performing vendors based solely on the experiences of our WeddingWire community,” according to Timothy Chi, WeddingWire’s Chief Executive Officer. “This year’s recipients have set the bar high, exhibiting excellent service and expertise in the wedding industry.”
Thank you so much to all of you who spoke on our behalf and helped us win the 2009 Bride’s Choice Award!
I thought I was a photographer….
Posted on February 12, 2009
But lately it appears I am actually a web designer and accountant. Which wouldn’t be a bad thing, because see I think that those two career tracks definitely would be a bit more stable, because, see, well everyone has to do taxes, and companies pay a lot for websites, and, and, oh, who am I kidding, I would be miserable…
So back to the subject at hand. Despite that fact that my photo eye is cramped and cloudy and a bit mopey because it is camped out in front of the computer … i am thrilled, thrilled! to share with you my new website. The trouble was worth it and now i even know what color FFFFFF stands for (in RGB). Which i am sure will be very handy.
So, head on over to http://www.staceyvaeth.com to check out the new site – it’s supersized. My web designer hat was fun for a while, but nowhere near as fun as my photographer hat. The accountant hat, well, we won’t go there. And don’t worry, no accounting posts in the near future.
Here’s a few shots from my one saving grace this past week – a fun shoot at one of my favorite restaurants, Vermillion…..thanks Kevin, Dave and Tony!
Fantastic models, old warehouse, legendary teacher….
Posted on January 25, 2009
What else can you ask for?
On Friday I headed up to the Dobbs Ferry workshop, held north of NYC by the legendary shooter Joe McNally. In addition to 30 years of shooting for publications from National Geographic to Sports Illustrated, Joe also conceived of and shot the Faces of Ground Zero. Only Joe could come up with the idea to use the largest polaroid camera in the world to capture the faces of one of the largest and most important stories of our lifetime.
He’s also a hell of a teacher. I was never that kid in school that sat in the front row with my hand up shouting “ooohh oohh!!! call on me!!” – but when you’re learning from Joe, believe me, you want to be in the front. I’m also 5’1″, so that helps give me a little cover as to why i’m always squirming my way up there.
Anyway…back to the day. the models. the environment. the gear. it was all just a big giant candy factory for us shooters. and joe was willy wonka.
Note to non-shooters – gear and tech talk start here, be warned (but the pictures are pretty!):
Here’s a quick shot of the first set up – 2 SB 900’s shooting through a lastolite 3×3 panel from above and one SB800, -1EV through the handheld lastolite tri-grip from below (thanks to andrew):
My shot using this lighting arrangement:
We then moved in closer to the beautiful Martina to create more dramatic light. For this set up we added one SB800 shot through a lastolite panel, which you can see held high and off camera/subject right. There is a gold reflecter being held down below.
Moving on to Valerie, a trainer at Crunch in NYC, where Joe had just met her a few weeks before. She’s unbelievable in front of the camera. These are done using the Elinchrom Octabank and a flick off of a gold reflector on the floor in front of her:
And Martina – now really…it’s hard to get a bad shot of her…
So…more to come and more exciting tools to add into the ‘ol noggin. thanks joe, andrew, drew, martina, valerie, lynn and linda…was a great day.
Valerie and John agreed!
Lilly Is Fighting for Us! Equal Pay Act Passes Senate
Posted on January 24, 2009
Okay, I am well behind on this blog….this week has been just full of shoots and opportunities that I think are incredibly cool and I really want to share them all. But, see, shoots and opportunities don’t leave a whole lot of time in front of the computer…especially when one included 9 hours of driving in a 24 hour period with an opportunity sandwiched right in the middle. More on that in a minute.
The morning after the inauguration, when Sarah and I became popsicles for the cause…interviewing vendors, out of towners, elders and youngin’s down at the inauguration…
And sarah getting the tables turned on her by this interesting documentarian…
I had the joy of photographing the 2009 Inaugural Peace Ball at the Smithsonian National Postal Museum. An impressive space spectacularly appointed and filled to the brim with drinks and vittles by Star Catering…the ball was the most fun formal event i have been to in DC.
The attendees here waiting for the entertainment to begin….1500 strong….very well behaved until Micheal Franti got them to their feet…
Great performers such as the legendary Joan Baez:
Joan was almost disarmingly gentle and sweet…she’s an icon that we would all fawn over, yet after getting off stage, she smiled sweetly for my wildly nervous lens and gave me a hug…
And then one of my favorite event pictures ever, the daughter of civil rights activist Dick Gregory, singing a prelude to his performance…
And Dick Gregory:
And of course, Alice Walker, the writer who made all the reporters in the room melt with respect, envy and a healthy dose of intimidation….
So those are the cliff notes on the inauguration and the ball…not to be outdone by the next day’s honor of photographing Lilly Ledbetter. 70 years old and from Alabama, Lilly’s boldness and conviction in the right of women to earn equal pay for an equal day’s work is silently and profoundly benefitting us all.
Two days after I took these photographs, January 24th, the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act was passed by the Senate and will be signed into law.
I bit off more than I can chew with this blog, so come on back for the ‘9 hours of driving in a 24 hour period with an opportunity sandwiched right in the middle’ post….
Stacey Vaeth Photography 