WASHINGTON DC WEDDING: SARITH & ROB

Rob and Sarith had a classic downtown wedding. I started with the girls down at the Mayflower Renaissance Hotel and loved having plenty of time for portraits all over the hotel. Then we all hopped in a limo and went down to the Capitol to take some formal photos. After that, the party really got started with a ceremony and reception at the Tabard Inn, a super swanky venue/restaurant/hotel near Dupont Circle in DC. It was a really fun day for everyone, myself included, partly because we ran AHEAD of schedule and had plenty of time to get great photos. The other part was working with  a fun and relaxed couple who were enjoying every second of their wedding day.

PORTRAIT PREVIEW: ERIN AND I

This weekend Erin and I made a point of working on some creative projects together. This was one of them, some portraits we took of each other for fun. I also used this as an opportunity to play with some HDR software that allows me to tweak the color and contrast range, making it look slightly surreal. The software is HDR Efex Pro 2, which I'd read a lot about and finally got around to trying out. For this certain look it makes the process so simple and adds quite a bit of drama! I toned it down in Photoshop, blending layers together to get bold contrast in the background and smooth skin tones on the subjects.

TOP OF THE TOWN RECEPTION: ANCHAL & JASON

Jason and Anchal had their wedding in New Zealand a few weeks earlier and then had a reception for friends and family in the States at Top of the Town in Arlington. The view was amazing! And despite the dark and some winter wind up on the 14th floor, we were able to do some quick portraits outside, which I love!

LOCKHOUSE MUSIC PORTRAITS

Every time, I get finished with personal projects like this and say, "I should be doing more of this." It's always fun, I always learn something, it expands my creativity, and it reminds me that photography is more than just a job.

After an engagement session with Bridgette and Greg at Lockhouse 6, Erin came by to do some musical portraits. It was perfect—we played some music, made some photos, and relaxed—no timelines to follow or clients to wow. She took the photos of me, and I the ones of her. And I think we got some pretty interesting stuff after processing it to look like a grainy film.

I should be doing more of this.