Bethany Ann Photography – Nashville, Tennessee Wedding & Portrait Photographer » Southern Weddings & Portraits

Alicia, Mike & Zac – Family Photographer

You might remember Alicia & Mike, but I would now like to introduce you to Zac, as well. Alicia asked me about family photos during their engagement session and I was so happy we scheduled these images last fall. We may or may not have stopped at a random barn along a back road for a few of these images. ;) Either way, it turned out great! We laughed and I got to know more about them as a family. It was so nice to meet Zac! What a sweetheart! :) They sent out Christmas cards with a few of these images. (They sent me one, and it was adorable!) I loved the colors last fall, and it makes me happy that they had such vibrant colors for their Christmas cards. I’m so looking forward to Alicia & Mike’s wedding in June! We will have a blast as always. :) Enjoy these images!

Click HERE for more of my favorites on their slideshow.

Have a great day!

Bethany

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A & L – Hermitage Hotel Wedding – Nashville, TN Photographer

The day started out with laughs. Lots of laughs. I walked into the hotel room where A & her bridesmaids were getting ready and they were all laughs. Not only was A gorgeous already, but she radiated pure joy. The kind of joy that is only evident on a wedding day. After taking a few photos of the ladies, I entered the groom’s hotel room. And what did I hear? Laughs from the groomsmen. It was fantastic. Even though the weather outside was cold and cloudy, I knew with such warm and inviting bride, groom & bridal party, that 1-21-2012 was going to be a glorious day no matter what.

A & L planned an intimate mid-day wedding for Saturday, the 21st at The Hermitage Hotel in Nashville. It was the type of wedding where guests, from different places in the U.S., were friends by the end of the day. With so much love and admiration for A & L in the room, it was hard not to feel like even I had known them for years. And the toasts? Don’t even get me started! I don’t think there was a dry eye in the room. The Maid of Honor and Best Man recounted the types of qualities in A & L, that many can only hope to be associated with. And with A & L, their personalities – strong, independent, loving, generous – just match. They match in a way that even I, who have only known them a short time, feel obligated to say that they were truly, truly meant for each other.

In between the wedding ceremony & reception, we took images of the bridal party and a few of A & L. Then, after all the guests left, we took more images of just A & L. They were so amazing to go outside in the cold for a lot of these images! We were able to take some by the Capital building because it is close to The Hermitage. I’m so glad A suggested it, because those images were so much fun.

I am beyond thankful to A & L for choosing me to photograph their wedding. It was the absolute best way to start off 2012.

Thank you, A & L! I adore you both and wish you all the best.

Have a great weekend,

Bethany

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Working for an Image – Nashville, TN Wedding Photographer

In a perfect world, I would always try to make the image as perfect as possible straight out of the camera. However, that isn’t possible a lot of times on a wedding day. A lot of different events take place on a wedding day, whether or not they were a part of the timeline. Therefore, as a photographer I have to work hard for the images.

Working for an image is more than just snapping the shutter button. It means capturing moments in the moment, and sometimes, that means not having the settings correct and editing the image later.

Editing in this day and age has taken on a whole new meaning. Anyone, and everyone, can edit images with all of the free editing programs out there. However, it’s not the same for professional photographers. Editing as a professional photographer is more than just adding a black edge (called a vignette) or lifting the exposure.

In additional to using professional editing software, it means making an image powerful, yet subtle. It means making the image POP without taking away what is happening IN the image. I edit all of my images for basic color, contrast, and style preferences, but sometimes I have to really work on an image to make it look effortless.

Here I am going to show you two images that I captured in the moment, regardless of my camera settings, because I knew ahead of time three important facts:

1) the moment was not going to last long enough for me to correct with my camera settings PLUS capture the image that was unfolding,

2) I anticipated what was about to happen and

3) my couples WANT these candid moments, so will I edit them later, if need be.

These images were taken at last weekend’s wedding at The Hermitage Hotel. Gosh, I love that place. I definitely want to go back! ;)

Image 1 – Straight out of the camera ( SOOC ):

As walked out of the bride’s hotel room to go down to the ceremony room, A & her bridesmaids were putting the finishing touches on A’s gown. I looked back and saw her laughing through the door frame and knew I had to capture it. Because my settings were previously set for inside of the room, I knew my settings would be a bit off since I was now in different lighting than before. However, A was laughing and was about to stop laughing. So I snapped the image and then edited it later for this image below:

Image 2 – SOOC:

This image was captured as the groom, L, his groomsmen, & I waited for the elevator to take us downstairs. I knew my camera settings were a bit off, here, too, but in a split second, the groomsmen made L laugh which turned into a nice grin from him. Here’s the edited version:

I am happy that I captured, and then edited, these two moments for my couple, A & L. I know they will cherish the sentiment of each image for years to come. :) Check back in the next few days, because I will post images from their wedding day soon.

Have a great rest of the day!

Bethany