Well this was definitely my favorite place to shoot in 2011… How can you beat shooting at the Borgata and the Water Club in Atlantic City.  I spent quite a bit of time at this venue prior to the wedding day trying to get the most from all that we had to work with… and it definitely paid off.  Meghan and Jim were fabulous to work with, we had so much fun running around the Borgata, I think the only thing we didn’t do was place some bets at the Black Jack tables.  Maryetta Borkowski is the wedding coordinator there, and helped so much with getting us access to pretty much anywhere we wanted to shoot.  Thanks to Meghan and Jim for such a great day!

Great day with Stephanie and Mike!  2012 is here and these two will be getting married at the Westin Hotel in Mount Laurel, New Jersey.  Great place for a wedding, this will be the third time I have shot there and there are plenty of areas for great images in that area!  For this engagement shoot we headed out to Smithville Park in Eastampton, Burling County New Jersey.  These two picked the location and we came out with some fantastic photos.  Had so much fun with the two of you!  Enjoy!

Ok, so I didn’t think I wanted to shoot anymore Coast Guard images, but I hadn’t done any personal work in a long time and I knew I could top the older Coast Guard photos from a lighting stand point.  One of my good friends, Pepe Carire, a fellow rescue swimmer sat for me, and Simon Bartlett helped me out as an assistant.  The challenge here was lighting the helicopter.  I had never really lit an object that large before and wasn’t sure if my lights would be strong enough to over power the ambient light, but I thought I would give it go.  I used three lights to illuminate the helicopter.  I had an Alien Bee 1600 for the tail, an Alien Bee 800 for the body and an Alien Bee 800 for the nose which was later photoshopped out.  Pepe was lit by an Alien Bee 800 and the light was modified with a beauty dish and Grid spot.  In camera I underexposed the image which really gave the clouds a dramatic effect.  I was rushed for time because the helicopter was scheduled for a flight but I think we still managed to get a respectable picture out of the shoot.  I think the only thing I would change in retrospect is adding one more light to the left of Pepe’s shoulder which would have separated him from the background a bit more… Live and learn.

The second picture was created rather quickly as we wrapped up with an Alien Bee 800 and grid spot from positioned above Pepe.  A little photoshop magic and Booya… Pepe immortalized.

Behind the scenes photos give everybody a better idea of what time of day it actually was as I shot the images.  Thanks Simon… next time try a wide angle buddy Ha ha!

Thanks for your help fellas!

Air Station Atlantic City Rescue Swimmer Pepe Carire

Chris Razoyk and Pepe Carire

Ummmm... How am I going to light this?

This past July I had the honor of being one of the feature articles in Rangefinder magazine.  Pretty crazy actually Ha Ha!  This is one one of the most well known and respected photography magazines in the country geared towards professionals.  I have always wanted to get a photo published in the portrait issue, so I thought I would go out on a limb and send a photo to the editor.  All I was really looking for was a small photo to be included anywhere.  The editor had checked out the “New Portraits” section of my site, and wrote back to me stating that there were a lot of great images in there, and they would like to have me as a feature article in the Portrait issue!  Let me just say that I was completely floored when I received that email!!!!  So I had an interview with a writer and a couple months later there I was in Rangefinder with a six page spread.  When the article was posted online in July I went to the site.  At the top of the page they have some flash that scrolls through the featured articles.  As the Flash rolled through the articles I saw a picture of Jeff Bridges, then Brett Favre, then my photograph of Rob Simpson one of the Helicopter Rescue Swimmers I work with!  So crazy to be featured next to a photographer who’s coffee table book I bought  a year ago Ha!  Well I thought I would share the article with everyone so you could check it out!  I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!  Clicking on the image below will bring you to the full PDF article.

Christopher

Page one and two of my spread

What a day!   Christopher Photography was at the Ram’s Head Inn located in Galloway  with Katie and Ian, what a fantastic couple!  The day began with Katie and the girls getting their hair done at Sorella’s Salon for some getting ready pictures.  All the ladies were a lot of fun, and easy to get along with which made my job a pleasure.  Right before we left, I had the idea to sit Katie down under one of the hair blower thingys (yep I just did that) and try to create an image that was a little different with my lights.  We scrounged up a bridal magazine and I asked her to look up at the camera as she read it.  It took a little work, and some help from her sister, but we came out with a pretty cool picture that I think will fit nicely into her album.

We then headed over to one of Katie’s friends for more pictures, and were then off to meet up with Ian and the guys at the Ram’s Head.  Katie and Ian decided that we would try and get the majority of the images done prior to the ceremony, which I always recommend if there is not enough time during cocktail hour.  With a goal of being able to have a special moment when Katie and Ian see each other for the first time, we set up a meeting point in the courtyard of the Ram’s Head.  All went well, and we got a terrific silhouette of the two of them as they kissed against a crisp blue sky.

Well it was now time to hurry off to all the areas I had researched for their wedding photos.  I spend a lot of time trying to find scenic areas around the venue, and last Friday I think that really paid off.  As I was heading to one of the areas one day, I noticed a street where all the branches from the trees overhung the road and I just knew this would make for a terrific image of Katie and Ian.  As they walked down the road hand in hand, Katie reached up and gave Ian a kiss.  Fortunately I was lucky enough to capture the tenderness of the moment.

So I got what I needed there and we headed off to the boat ramp and then to a small park in Galloway.  Katie, Ian and I headed down to the end of the dock of the boat ramp and we got a couple great images against the sun.  The park was a lot of fun as well, and the groomsmen and brides maids were up for some fun individual portraits, which will also be great for the album.

A beautiful outdoor ceremony behind the Ram’s head followed all the pictures and then it was off to the reception for some serious partying where we got some great portraits of the whole gang.  This was a really fun group, everyone was super friendly and when that happens  this job is a breeze…  Well, I still work my ass off, but it definitely helps Ha!

Thank you so much Katie and Ian for choosing me to capture such a special occasion.  I am honored to have been a such an important part of your day : )

Christopher

What an unbelievable time I had last Friday with Amy and Joe!  I have been so fortunate with the clients that have chosen me to capture their day, we always have a blast and Amy and Joe were no exception .  As all my clients are aware, I work extremely hard to give them the best experience and product possible.  I like to get a way from the venues to create images that are a bit more striking.  Friday we traveled to  a park in Haddonfield that I had found while doing research for another wedding I shot last year.  It was close by to the Westin in Mount Laurel  where the wedding and reception were, so we took full advantage.

Amy looked absolutely stunning, and Joe was a complete stud, which made my job super easy.  Her sister was quite the character and had me laughing… she secretly asked me to photograph her as much as possible… Just kidding that didn’t happen, but I don’t think she would have minded if it did Ha!  So I photographed Amy (her sister) and the girls getting ready at Amy’s house while my second shooter Chad “the man” Pennington photographed the guys at the Westin.  We then hit the Park for photos and were off to the Westin for the Ceremony and Reception.

Amy hired a lighting guy come in color the room with purple which made for some ridiculously awesome party images!  I love it when people decide to add some uplighting to the room, it really gives more personality to the photographs, and I highly recommend it!  The party was a blast, and we were able to squeeze in my trade mark portrait session of the bridal party.  They turned out unreal!  I even got Joe’s Dad to give me some Travolta… you sir are a rockstar.

Another highlight was Amy’s party dress and converse sneakers… Very cool.  Joe gave a pair to all the guys as a gift, and I must say… they rocked!

Thanks so much Amy and Joe for inviting me to capture your day, I can not express to you how much it means to me.  Here are some images from the day to keep everybody busy : )

Christopher

Christopher Photography

Amy getting ready

Oh man!  Yep, Christopher Photography has begun the blogging.  This is completely foreign to me, I feel like I just entered a whole new world…  I plan to use this blog to post my most recent work, let everyone know a little more about the man who is Christopher Photography of South Jersey, and maybe even post some photo shoots and how I go about creating my portraits : )  So I guess maybe I should make a post on what I was up to last weekend.  Welcome everybody!