Abby Rose Photo

JVS workshop coming to abby rose photo!

Sun, 14 Mar 2010 23:04:20 +0000

I'm super-excited to announce that I'll be hosting JVS's one-day speedlight seminar at my Ann Arbor studio!

What better way to jump-start wedding season than with a full day of hands-on learning and shooting with one of the best in the biz? Seriously, JVS knows his stuff - check out this gorgeous bridal session he just shot with photography superstar jessica claire.

Some more deets on the workshop:

"The Speedlites Workshop is a long, 12 hour day that will be jammed packed full of learning, eating, shooting and more eating:) By the end of the day you'll be beyond excited about shooting with your Speedlites. You'll learn to shape your Speedlites with grids, para reflectors, umbrellas, snoots, gels, soft boxes and a beauty dish made specifically for Speedlites."

Tuition is $500, and includes all meals, snacks, drinks, and a full day of learning. Attendance is capped at 15 photographers - so hurry up and sign up! To register, please visit http://www.jvspictures.com/Workshops and click on "Register". Also check out his workshop blog for some more great info and inspiration.

Hope to see you there!

new photos | of me!

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 20:09:50 +0000

I'm super-excited to finally have some great photos of myself! I met up earlier this week with my pal Kristen Taylor, who also needed some photos, for a little shoot-off (one of the benefits of having photographer friends, HA!). Kristen was actually one of the first friends I made in the biz when I was just getting started, and I must say, it's pretty awesome to see us both doing so fabulous all these years later.

Here's a few of my faves

and here's one of my shots of the lovely Kristen - see a few more on her blog

thanks K!

abby rose photo scrubs in | commercial shoot

Sun, 07 Mar 2010 18:00:35 +0000

It's always fun to shoot special projects in the wedding off-season. Tommy and I were recently commissioned to create some portraits for a team of doctors. We had a great time chasing them around the hospital to capture these shots (doctors are BUSY!).

In order to shoot in the OR, we actually had to put on scrubs, which was a trip! Check out Tommy - I guess this is what he would like if he were a surgeon!

not necessarily my best look......

and a couple of the guys in action

stay tuned for some fun stuff coming to the blog this week - a rad bat mitzvah, and a portrait shoot - starring yours truly!

ooh la la | heather's eye candy shoot

Wed, 03 Mar 2010 21:16:27 +0000

I get emails all the time asking if I do boudoir photography, and the answer is YES! Quite a bit of it, actually. For obvious reasons, most girls prefer that their shoots be kept private. But the lovely miss heather was brave enough to let me share a few images from her session (and with a body like that, can you blame her!?).

my fave

thanks heather!

I think *every* woman should do a shoot like this for herself (I have!). Interested? Hit me up for some more info!

virginia + michael | engaged!

Tue, 02 Mar 2010 21:49:37 +0000

These two booked me from Chicago - I was so excited to get to meet them last weekend while they were in town for some planning. We met up to chat and did a mini e-shoot (it was COLD out!) - here's a few cute ones - not bad for 5 minutes of shooting ;-)

isn't she just stunning? What a gorgeous bride Virginia is going to be

great to meet you guys - looking forward to the wedding!

ISPWP | quarterly contest winners!

Fri, 26 Feb 2010 19:36:00 +0000

If you're a fan on facebook, you've already seen this, but figured I should post here, too ;-)

I was so excited to get the results of ISPWPs latest contest. ISPWP is one of the most prestigious organizations out there in the world of wedding photography. I was invited to join a couple years ago, after I placed in PDN's top knots competition . I've really enjoyed participating in their contests through the years, and have always done pretty well, but this last time I had a first place - and did well enough to place 14th overall - like, in the whole country. Kind of a big deal, if I do say so myself! ;-)

So much of what we do as photographers is subjective. But it is really gratifying to get such positive feedback from a community of respected peers. One of the things I like most about ISPWP is that it's not a big popularity contest, like so much else in the world of wedding photography. It's not about who has the hippest blog, or hosts the best WPPI party. It's just real, working photographers, creating amazing imagery. It's also not something you can just buy your way into, like a lot of other "professional" organizations out there. Members are vetted carefully by a panel of pros.

Here is my 1st place winner, the lovely Deb:

and here are the other winning images:

You can browse all the winning images here - there are some truly stunning images in the galleries!

david + ashley | album share!

Sun, 14 Feb 2010 17:50:06 +0000

another BEAUT of an album to share, from Ashley and David's lovely meadowbrook wedding last May.

apologies in advance for the slight color cast to these images - probably wasn't the best idea to photograph this album in a room with one orange wall ;-)

beautiful photofront cover (that's Tommy's image - woo-hoo!)

and I just LOVE the vintage-y brown leather we chose - it really works well with the cover photo

the opening page:

a few more spreads:

and the closing page:

Ashley and David: I know you guys will LOVE this album as much as I do!! Enjoy!

lindsay + bryden | album share

Fri, 12 Feb 2010 17:38:00 +0000

Just got in this BEAUTIFUL album that I can't stop looking at! Lindsay and Bryden's wedding was just lovely - and I'm so pleased to see the story of their day told within this gorgeous book.

the photofront cover is stunning

some closer details:

and a peek at some of my favorite pages:

here's a gatefold page, which actually folds open from the rest of the book. cool!

As probably any wedding photographer will tell you, designing albums is one of the most challenging and rewarding parts of the job. For me personally, I am so emotionally attached to the imagery and to my storytelling vision that I probably obsess over the design more than I should. This year, I even hired a designer to work alongside me, which was a HUGE help (thanks Liza!). Each album we produced was a true labor of love, and I think it shows ;-)

Lindsay and Bryden - I know you are going to cherish this book! Can't wait to get it into your hands!

LOTS of beautiful albums are arriving on my door this time of year. Do you guys like seeing them? Should I post more? Sound off in the comments!!

new album desings!

Thu, 11 Feb 2010 21:57:58 +0000

These past few months I've been designing albums like it's my job! Uhmm...yeah, I guess it is. Anyways - though I would share some recent spreads.

When it comes to album design, my personal philosophy is LESS IS MORE. I am a big fan of clean, simple spreads that feature BIG images. I always really encourage my clients to not feel pressured to cram every last photo they can into their album. But rather, to let me pick the strongest, most beautiful storytelling images, and create a true art book.

some of my favorite layouts from joe and heather's album:

from chris and ashleigh's wedding:

from lynn and shane's album

from sean and katie's album:

that's just a little peek at a few of the albums i've been working on. hope you enjoyed!

our wedding | more details revealed!

Sat, 06 Feb 2010 21:33:24 +0000

So Tommy and I are really kicking our planning into high gear this month and I am getting super excited! I am finally ready to reveal our location - which is just awesome. We are getting married at (drumroll please)....the Palmer House! It is Ann Arbor's only Frank Lloyd Wright designed home, and truly a gem. Ours will be one of the first weddings held there, as it's only recently been made available as a rental for small events. It will be a perfect fit for the intimate dinner-party wedding we are planning.

Here are some cool pics of the house (by Chris Arace)

and here's an interesting video with a little more background

I'll be rockin' a custom dolly couture dress (which my mom thinks is weird - sorry mom!), Tommy is on the hunt for the perfect vintage suit, and we've just hired wedding planner extraordinaire Laura Davis to help us make our vision a reality. We're also building up our collection of vintage radios for a special surprise ;-) if you have one to contribute let me know!! I will say, this whole process has really helped me to see weddings in a new light, and to relate to my clients in way I'm not sure I was able to before. We are so excited, and will be sure to share more as it all comes together. Happy weekend!

neil + erin's save-the-dates!

Tue, 02 Feb 2010 22:14:11 +0000

Just thought I'd share these super-cute save-the-dates I made for Neil and Erin:

aren't they fun? they're printed on the most gorgeous felt paper, and have a really luxurious feel ;-)

In other news - who else is excited for LOST tonight?! 4 hours and counting!!

vendor love | elevated press

Fri, 22 Jan 2010 19:17:04 +0000

It's no secret that I adore all things letterpressed. There is something about a letterpressed print that is just so YUMMY. Sometimes I dream about being one of those cool, crafty chicks who does her own letterpressing. Anyhow - I was super-excited to meet Michelle - who actually is one of those cool, crafty chicks - and to learn about elevated press - a boutique letterpress studio right in Ann Arbor.

Michelle founded elevated press with her husband Peter (who is also a great photographer) and together they design and print some of coolest, most beautiful wedding invites I've seen.

She's working on some awesome save-the-dates for Tommy and I (i'll be sure to post some pics once they're ready!) and will also be designing our invitations and some other goodies. If any of my brides are still looking for invites, you should definitely check her out!

I swung by their studio the other day and snapped a few pictures to share with my lovely blog readers (what's a post without some pictures!?)

here's michelle

the artist at work

she has some super-cute cards that you can buy online in her etsy shop

and just for fun, here she is with her doggy - who you will probably meet if you ever visit their studio ;-)

thanks michelle!

during my slower months, I'll be making an effort to blog more about people in the wedding industry doing cool stuff - so stay tuned!

Noah's Bat Mitzvah

Wed, 20 Jan 2010 00:23:19 +0000

So excited to share some favorite images from Noah's awesome Bar Mitzvah!

Another fantastic Dee Dee Hoffman event - this party had it all. The Detroit YMCA was a fun and unique venue that lent itself perfectly to a casual, sports-themed party. There was all the usual dancing, but also rock climbing, dodge ball and hockey for the kids. FUN! And the food was out-of-this-world. 2 Unique really outdid themselves with a delicious strolling supper. There was sushi, pad thai, tenderloin sliders, white truffle mac and cheese (getting hungry now!)....

But first - some photos from our portrait session at Temple Israel

and now for the party! Dee Dee and her team really did a great job transforming the Y.

here's the boys being boys - noah's in there somewhere!

star trax always keeps the party movin'...

Mazel Tov to Noah and family!

lauren + steve | engaged!

Sun, 17 Jan 2010 20:13:10 +0000

steve and lauren are such a sweet couple, and their happiness is totally contagious. we met up saturday for a relaxed engagement shoot in Ann Arbor - and I was in a good mood the rest of the day! I'm super-excited for their wedding this July at Cherry Creek.

thanks for a fun shoot guys!

matt + sarah welcome baby Addy!

Fri, 08 Jan 2010 22:55:58 +0000

two new babies in one week - whew!!

I just adore shooting newborns - and it's especially fun when I also got to photograph mom and dad on their wedding day ;-)

Matt and Sarah were such a fun couple to work with. Who'd of thought when I was shooting their wedding that I'd wind up getting married on the same weekend, two years later? I definitely consider that a good omen!

I was so excited when I found out last year that Sarah was expecting, and was absolutely thrilled to meet their beautiful new baby!

Here they are on their wedding day:

and here's a preview of their newborn session with Addy: (click the big image, and use spacebar to advance)

congratulations to the happy family!!