When I am photographing a wedding or an engagement session it is all about the light. Composition and creativity are important to me, but I try to embrace the light around a scene to bring out the best possible image. Lighting can change a subpar image into a beautiful moving moment that the couple will cherish forever. My goals are to always flatter my bride or couple through positioning, to keep us on the timeline, to have a great time, but also capture the moments in a beautiful way. Incorporating lighting techniques in the correct way can often take these moments to the next level.

I love natural ambient light just as much as any natural light photographer but I wanted to be a photographer that if put in any circumstance could rise to the challenge to shape light to capture the beauty of the moment. As a wedding photographer who is on the move all day I need to make things simple because sometimes you only have a few seconds to capture that fleeting moment in the day. Also, if you ever find yourself without an assistant, having an easy light setup can be a lifesaver. This is why I fell in love with off-camera flashes and modifiers. Magmod makes the best light modifiers that are durable and super easy to use.

Engagement Sessions

Most of my sessions tend to be outdoors. The soft summer breeze or fall leaves slowly tumbling from the sky make it my favorite place to be.
I have found the best time to meet a couple is one and a half hours before sunset or up to thirty minutes before sunrise. This will give us a bit of time to talk and get comfortable before we start shooting.
Often I will use the sun to backlight my couple, then use a touch of off-camera flash, or sometimes on-camera flash with a Mag-Bounce. The sun will create beautiful rim light, but we won’t lose the detail of their faces in a silhouette.
I really like to use the ring of fire at engagement sessions with the sun to make things unique and frame the couple with light.
While I like to stay away from mid-day sun for these sessions there are times when it’s unavoidable. In these cases, I embrace the harsh light and will compensate with OCF to overpower the sun.

Getting Ready

I love using beautiful window light without flash in the getting ready spaces just as much as any natural lighting photographer. When light shines in through the window it forms a cone of light, I look to place my subject at the edge of that fall of the cone light. Keep in mind that a North facing window will difuse the light the most.
If the light is harsh you can use a sheer curtain to diffuse the light much like a softbox, or have the subject step away from the window a bit more.
Side Lighting is great for photographing a bride or groom with a bride I have her turn her face to the light and keep her body towards me. Just ask them if they have a preferred side.
If there are no windows I will often use on-camera flash and bounce it off of the wall or ceiling. I point my flash at 45* or 90* depending on location. You will want to be careful doing this in a room with green paint, etc because that color will be cast on your subjects.
I also carry a super mobile light stand for getting ready photos to capture the hairspray shot or If the room doesn’t have natural light or has red walls or something. When using my flash I am diffusing my flash with the Magsphere or narrowing the light with my MagGrid.

First Look
I can’t tell you how much I love the first look. My couples love them too because they get to see each other the first time and spend a few moments together before they walk down that aisle.
First looks typically happen between 10 a.m.- 3 p.m. when the sun is still high which doesn’t make for the best light. Given the situation of the first looks you may not be in a beautiful location so we look for either open shade (sometimes deep shade) and something interesting to place them in front of.
It is great when there are clouds in the sky because they are natural diffuser making the sky overcast
When using open shade I love to use a fill flash, I will either bounce it off of a surface, use the Magbox or one of my Godox V860II’s with a Magsphere. When I shoot in open shade or deep shade I will use a 1/4 or 1/2 CTO gel because in the shade you lose a bit of warmth.

Ceremony
I love an outdoor ceremony and I get to photograph those pretty often. The lighting can definitely be a challenge and I always suggest that my couples get married after 3 p.m.
With it being a ceremony you can’t control positioning of the couple or lighting conditions. The only thing you can control is where you are shooting from- so work those angles.
I will chat with the Officiant to ask that we use fill flash during the Processional & recessional. Depending on their Officiant you may not be able to use flash. If that is the case I just use good angles to overcome the harsh light.

Family Formals

When we do family formals it can still be a time of the day that isn’t the best so it’s important for these that we overcome the lighting.
We look for a space that is shaded, beautiful or interesting for the backdrop such as a fireplace, or where the ceremony took place.
We almost always use our MagMod Magbox for these. It is so easy to set up and is a great way to diffuse the light from flashes, creating soft light that is very flattering for family portraits.
I also like to use the available ambient light and typically photograph these a little brighter than most of the day. Sometimes if you are getting too much sun you may have to use a scrim which will help diffuse the light coming into your scene

Couple Hour/ Romantics/ Bridal Portraits

I love photographing these about an hour to an hour and a half before sunset but that usually isn’t the case. We will typically try to use the same techinques from our engagement sessios.
We backlight/rimlight with the sun, turning the couple in the light to get catch lighting.
I will use fill flash if in open shade or will bounce off a neutral / white space with the MagSphere and a CTO gel. I will use OCF using two V860II’s and using one as a transmitter or will use my Godox Xpro to control both of the lights depending on the effect I am trying to achieve.

Reception/Party time
I love to set up my lighting in a triangle or a square shape, depending on the venue shape, configuration & coloring of the walls & ceiling.
Keep in mind when setting up your lighting that you need to avoid unsightly shadows that are being cast by columns, people or large floral centerpieces on the tables.
It is great to go high with your flash system; I like to keep mine at 10 feet or higher pointed up at the ceiling at 45 but it is totally according to the venue space.
I use Godox V860 II’s or Godox AD200 it just depends on the space.
I love doing starburst shots when getting a room shot for my couples and my vendor friends

Night Shot

We set up the night shot before ever involving the couple then I grab my couples when they have a few minutes of downtime during the reception. Couples usually love this time when they can cool off from the party and spend a moment to celebrate each other.
We set up rim lighting when photographing a night shot I use My Godox AD200 or my V860II’s depending on the ambient lighting outside. It is often pretty dark.
A kiss of light is usually what I am going for because I like a moody vibe to my night shots.
I love to use the MagGrid to funnel the light on just my couple to create a romantic nighttime vibe and keep from lighting up the scenery around them.
Depending on the shot I will use two to five flashes to create something unique & artistic for my couple.

Use this link to save 5% Off at Magmod Coupon Code: ELLOYD https://magnetmod.com/discount/ELLOYD

I feel so incredibly grateful that I get to be a curator of the creator of important memories for my couples on their most important day. I am honored to share this information with you & love living out my passion photographing & mentoring other photographers.

Happy Wedding Day!

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Hey, guys, I have to share this incredible wedding that we had the joy of shooting recently at Wild Carrot. This couple is so special to our hearts and we were filled with love to be the ones to capture their special moments. Their gorgeous was wedding was at a new boutique event space called the Wild Carrot.  We just love this Wedding venue in the Shaw neighborhood of St. Louis by Tower Grove Park. The people who run the space are also incredible. It has become one of our favorite venues to photograph wedding days.

Sarah and Torrey are high school sweethearts just like me and my hubs who is my second photographer on wedding days, and like us, they love spending lots of time together. They met in class when Torrey used to fly paper airplanes at Sarah to get her attention. I love how they incorporated that into their wedding day as the place cards on tables for guests at the reception.

We were fortunate to have the perfect weather and everything came together just beautifully for their celebration the style vibes were a modern classic with dramatic flair. The ceremony was outside in the grassy courtyard at Wild Carrot with a cocktail bar outside for guests after the ceremony. We photographed them all around the space during cocktail hour and we had blast at the venue. The wedding party photos were basically an epic dance party and we were able to grab some stunning sunset photos with Sarah & Torrey.

The most anticipated part of the day was definitely their first look they enjoyed the alone time together and it was a moment shared with lots of laughs and emotion. Sarah really loves the gangway at Wild Carrot so that is where we had their first look. First looks are amazing I definitely recommend them for your wedding day it a great way to have those emotions authentically photographed and you get to spend more time together. It also makes our couples relax and enjoy the day more.

My passion is photographing these love stories rich in authentic, moments mixed with the important people and details of your wedding day. Sarah and Torrey have close friends and loving family that we had so much fun capturing all the fun during the day like when we captured photos around the venue we had a dance party outside on the sidewalk in front of the white wash brick walls of the venue. We love the details that make wedding days special and the amazing vendor friends we had the joy of working with made this wedding absolutely stunning.

Sarah has a passion for design and wanted it to be a major component fo their day. The kept the ceremony decor simple but with the reception space, they made their dream wedding a reality with rich gray chiffon draping and a stunning display of florals created by Roses and Mint They suspended an 8ft drape of incredible greenery above the dance floor that enchanted the guests. In the back of the wedding party table, there were crawling vines of greenery over the exposed brick. There were textures of velvet and silk and lots greenery to make the venue lit of up candlelight romantic and dramatic. Allissa owner of Altar’d Events made everything an absolute dream, reach out to them to plan your amazing wedding!

It was truly an honor to photograph this awesome couple with our favorite vendors. My passion is this and my hear overflows it is so hard for me to put into words just how much I love this job and the opportunity I get to tell beautiful love stories! Cheers!

Sharing the Vendor Love:

Wedding Planner & Event designer Altar’d Events

Wedding Venue Wild Carrot

Caterer The Social Affair

Videography Juniper

Florist Roses and Mint

Makeup & Hair Savannah Summer

Invitation Design Paperkeet Re
entalsAn affair to remember

Rentals Millenium Productions

Rentals Aries Company

Rentals Weinhardt party rentals

DJ DE LUXE DJS & ENTERTAINMENT Daryl Luster JR.

Photobooth Fisheye Fun

Wedding dress Bridal Parlour

Grooms Tux The Black Tux

Bridesmaid dresses BHLDN

Brides jewelry BHLDN

Transportation Best Transportation

Musicians Rosewood Ensemble

Fragrance Chanel

Brides Shoes Ted Baker

Brides gift Louis Vuitton

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Check out the ones that made it in the competition I entered this year. There were over 412,000 Images submitted and I had 7 Top 100, 10 Finalist Images and all but three made it in to the top 30% of the comepetition! check it out!

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We are meeting super rad couples right now for 2019 and it is looking super amazing too! We also have our Photobooth at a-lot of weddings this year and we have a-lot of new exciting things taking shape and we can’t wait to tell you more about all the new things happening over here at ELP!

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They too were high school best friends and sweethearts just like us. My favorite time for Engagement sessions are in September. The weather is just perfect and here in the Mid West the leaves are getting ready to turn so you get a combination of summer and a bit of fall in your images.

Shane surprised Rachel with a proposal and ring on New Year’s Eve at The Botanical Gardens  where he had actually given her a promise ring to her five years ago. What a romantic!

Shane’s love for adventure keeps him busy as an electrical lineman traveling around the country. So it was important for them to incorporate that into their session as well. I love getting to know my couples and letting their personalities come through in their images.

Shane and Rachel absolutely love going to Savannah, GA and their wedding is inspired by the romantic ambiance of the relaxing feel of the park like city. They want to have the feeling of hospitality and grace, the green park like spaces covered by shaded trees and twinkling lights. They want their guests to relax and take in the charms of the evening at their wedding. We are so thrilled that they chose us to photograph their day Patrick actually proposed to me in Forsyth Park in Savannah so when they were explaining what they were going for I knew exactly what they meant! It is so awesome to get such great couples!

When Rachel and Shane have down time you can find them hand in hand, going on dates to their favorite pizza place Dewey’s in Kirkwood, (our favorite pizza is Socrates Revenge) playing with their fur babies and Rachel finishing up school as a surgical nurse.

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