my blog isn’t big enough for J&C’s morning after shoot

Remember this shot?

I’m about to show you the rest.

I’ve narrowed this post down as much as I can, but it’s still ridiculously long, because these are some of my favorite pictures we’ve ever taken. So, um… I’m sorry? You’re welcome? I don’t know if extra long posts are a good thing or a bad thing, in BlogReaderLand…

It’s like the stars aligned just for us… perfect weather, perfect light, gorgeous people who take direction well, good music… I really couldn’t have planned a shoot better than this.

I feel like my blog is a seriously sub-par way to display these images. The internet, in general, is really letting me down. What I need is a gallery. I need all these shots to be at least 4 feet long, on huge canvases. Then I’ll just invite you all to a gallery opening… deal? No?

Fine… this will have to suffice. But believe me when I say, “OH! You should see them BIG!”

We started Jeremy and Christy’s morning after session at their hotel room at the MCM Elegante in Odessa. Although I really REALLY hate that area of the state, I’ll go ahead and give it up to that hotel. I stayed there a few years ago, and it’s really top notch.

Our first shots are an absolute true take on “morning after”. I made sure to put a pretty colorful shot up top, so that no one would see these pictures and run screaming thinking I did something totally x-rated. Rest assured, everyone stayed covered. We’re classy! But I think the following shots are going to make some INCREDIBLE art for J&C’s bedroom… and I won’t be surprised if I start getting calls for these types of images within an hour of the blog going live:

My personal favorite… if such a thing doesn’t sound too creepy…

Now that I’ve lost all the readers that are scared of the sexy, let’s move on to their REAL Bride and Groom portraits!

I tried to put a logo on this shot, but couldn’t. I just couldn’t do it. Not because I don’t want to claim it… in fact, I sincerely hope that people will yank it and repost it and give me tons of credit. I couldn’t put a logo on it, because everywhere I stuck the watermark, it just distracted me. This picture, in my little humble opinion, rocks the entire world. It will be going in my office. HUGE.

For those of you who are wondering where we found a willow tree and water in the soul-sucking desert that is Odessa… the city park, that’s where. Creative angles are where it’s at, baby!

After the park, we headed out on the highway to a stretch of fence I’d seen. I had a really grand idea in my head for how I wanted the pictures to look, and I got just what I wanted. BUT… what Mack got is even better. The flower shot is mine, but the two portraits are his. If it was a competition, I’d have to say Mack totally schooled me in this location.

Slapped a little vintage lovin’ on this shot… a shout out to a “barefoot hippie bride” .

Now, this next shot… I spent WAY too much time playing with. I’ll show you the full color, which is a really pretty shot that earned Mack multiple cheers from me. I love the way her dress falls, and the way the wind is messing with their hair… just a good moment altogether:

But, inspired by some really incredible work I’ve seen lately from Angelica Glass in NYC, I spent a ridiculous amount of time in RAW coming up with a really cool desaturated take on the image. Your thoughts?

Christy specifically requested that trains be used as part of their session, and I was happy to oblige! One of my favorites was used as the original sneaker, but we have several others I think are worth sharing.

Here’s another shot with a similar grungy desaturated treatment. This image just had “desert” written all over it for me… even in full color. This certainly isn’t an editing style I’m going to over-use, but for this session, I keep being drawn back to it…

This image with the motion blur of the train is a total Mack McGowan creation. Have I mentioned lately how stinkin’ proud of him I am? I love our little team…

I recognize that this session has been a lot of sweet, and a lot of steamy. But we had a great deal of fun, too… I think this shot proves that. My direction? “Now, Run at me! Really fast!”

I don’t want headless shots to become my signature or anything, but it seems like those always end up being some of my favorites. I just love the emotion you can see in this shot, even without any faces. The way her body is angled toward his, and you can just barely see her chin to know she’s looking up… the way he’s leaning into her, and holding her hands… yes yes, I’m happy with this one:

For our last location, Jeremy and Christy directed us to this old… um… building? I don’t really know what to call it, except awesome. Four graffiti-covered walls, no roof, and awesome shadows. A good time, indeed.

This shot, as you can see, is actually a compilation of shots, and the main reason why I hate the limits of my blog right now. I wish you could see the detail in it. Mack worked so hard, and I really think he did an outstanding job. Plus, eight versions of this hot couple in one image? Ain’t nothin’ wrong with that.

Who’s the smokin’-est bride around? Oh yeah, it’s Christy.

Jeremy was hot and sweaty, and we were all getting pretty worn out. So, ya wanna know how I captured the next two shots? I said, “Sit down, have a cigarette, and be in love.” Simple direction, right? Watch them totally slay it:

It’s a shame they’re so hideously unattractive, huh? I mean, I absolutely do NOT want to just sit and stare at them all day… (note: dripping sarcasm should have been obvious here)

On our way to the car, we saw this huge stack of pallets and decided to wrap things up with some peek-a-boo images…

And that, friends, is how I spent my Sunday. I gotta say, I don’t think I could have come up with a better use for it. This is the kind of shoot that makes me sit down hard and pinch myself, and praise God that this is what I do for a living. I still call it work because, well, it is. But man… it’s work I love to do.

J&C, again, thank you for being game for anything. Your shoot was totally inspiring for us, and we feel re-energized to tackle our hefty calendar of fall weddings.

Oh, and remember, I made a deal with you blogstalkers. In exchange for that little teaser, you guys are totally going to drown me in feedback on these photographs… right?

Mack’s still working on the collection of photobooth images we chose for the blog, so expect those in the next day or so. And then after that, a sweet family I shot last night, and a bridal I’ll shoot Friday. Don’t change that channel!