Then I had to burn a DVD.  Oh no, the dreaded 0×80020000 unknown error message pops up.  I had this result from trying to use both my internal and external burners.  And then to my dismay the same problem happened on my MacBook!  The only common thread was the loading of the new Wacom Bamboo software.  I spent hours on the phone with Apple care, to no avail.  We did every reset under the sun.  I even reinstalled the OS.  Even though Apple told me it made no sense that it’d be a driver problem, I on a whim emailed Wacom about the problem.

As a result, Apple Care told me I had to bring in my 40 pound iMac into the store. At the genius bar, after more attempts at fixing the problem, they finally just wiped the whole thing clean.  Now, frankly this is probably something I should have done with the computer a long time ago (more on that later), but still it’s never something fun you want to encounter.

So I get home tonight to find an email back from Wacom.  Boy do I wish I’d received this email before lugging that big iMac in!

“Vail, Thank you for contacting Wacom. For our products, only one driver can be installed at a time.  I will include driver directions to follow:

Open your Applications folder and locate any Bamboo or Pen Tablet folders you have
Use the Utility in each of these folders and click ‘Remove’ under ‘Tablet Software’
Once the software is removed, restart the computer
Once this is complete, download and install the latest 5.32 driver from:
http://cdn.wacom.com/U/Drivers/Mac/Consumer/532/PenTablet_5.3.2-2.dmg
As always, make sure your tablet is connected directly to your computer.
Avoid using USB hubs, keyboard/monitor ports, or docking stations with the tablets, as they can cause inconsistent behavior.

Linda, Customer Care Technician, Wacom Technology Services, Corp”

I just followed these instructions to the letter, and now my MacBook is able to burn DVDs again.  Hooray! This makes me quite happy, but I don’t feel I should have ever had to go through this.  Since this can be a really serious issue, Wacom should mention this driver removal protocol right up front.  That or the install program should look for old driver versions and remove them before installing the new ones.

What I learned from the Apple Genius bar today is NEVER EVER use the install discs that come with the product.  They are highly likely to be outdated and buggy.  It is best to just go to the website of the product and download the latest version of the drivers.  Another thing I learned from apple is in general it is a bad idea to directly transfer all your computer contents from an old computer to a new one unless they are basically exact copies of operating system and hardware.  By the time I got to my current iMac, I had transferred everything from a 2000 Powerbook, to a 2006 MacBook, then to a 2009 MacBook, and then finally to my iMac.  Consequently there were all sorts of files on my iMac that were functioning poorly because they were trying to talk to my computer like it was running the original versions of OSX!!!! So now we wiped it clean.  It’s like a brand new computer.  I will have to go through the irritating process of installing all my software again, and possibly even calling the software companies and getting special codes to use because I have already installed the software before, but in the end, having a computer that works the way it was intended to will be worth it in the end.  I hope by sharing this experience I will help others who might fall into this same pitfall in the future, since I couldn’t find ANYTHING on Google about it when this first happened to me.  Wishing you all happy computing!

Additional note: In addition to the wacom tablet drivers causing an issue, one other part that was causing problems was the length of the file names I was trying to burn.  I recently started to make the file names longer so it is easier for my clients to find the files on their computers.  Apparently I hit the wall of file name length.  I’m not certain as to the exact maximum number of characters, but if you ever have a problem burning discs, try shortening the file name.

Brittany, who grew up in Texas, made the bold leap to go to college up in the frosty Northeast.  Boy, did that decision ever pay off!  There she met her freshman year roommate Tyger, who would become her best friend and eventually her maid of honor, and she would meet Jamahl.  So even though they have since moved back to Texas, the couple thought it best to have the wedding up North where they had met.  They choose to have their wedding in Jamahl’s hometown church and their reception at the historic Liberty Hotel in Boston.  While it’s typical to say a wedding is all about the bride and what she wants, all Brittany wanted was for Jamahl to be happy that day.  She’s very shy and isn’t big on having lots of attention on her, so while eloping to Bora Bora seemed quite appealing, she knew how much it would mean to Jamahl and his family to have a traditional wedding.  So that’s just what they did.

Brittany went for a classic silhouette and understated accessories, with one small exception, her fabulous Yves Saint Laurent cap toe heels.  Her hair was expertly swept up by Kris Pavao of Just Hair, and her makeup was simple yet elegant.  All this put together with Brittany’s inner and outer beauty made for stunning bridal portraits of her by her hotel suite’s window.  The look on Jamahl’s face as he saw her come down the aisle was just priceless!  Brittany, being a bashful bride, kept her head down most of the way down the aisle, but as soon as she found her way to Jamahl’s arms, her face lit up with joy. After their first kiss as man and wife, you could see a weight lifted off of her.  All the anxiety of being in front of all those people just flew away.  That feeling of joy was carried all the way through their reception.  Their guests were a riot.  Jamahl doesn’t usually drink at all, but the crowd egged him on during the toasts and the room erupted with hoots and hollers when he finished his glass of champagne. The dance floor was always full with DJ John Dudley playing a full range of the couple’s favorites.   Jamahl’s little brother even brought out his very best MJ moves.

Speaking of dancing, Brittany and Jamahl’s first dance was so romantic.  It was like the two were in their very own little world.  The best way to describe the look on Brittany’s face during that dance is bliss.  I really think those two were the happiest people on earth at that very moment.  But then it quickly went from romantic to comedic antics when it came to their cake cutting.  Brittany pulled a fast one on Jamahl at the last second and gave him a HUGE cake smash to the face.  Cake went flying EVERYWHERE!!!!  I was so glad to have Jenn Alton and Shawn Black with me 2nd shooting so that we could get that moment from all the different angles!  Tyger quickly went to block Brittany from any retaliation.  What a great Maid of Honor!  Jamahl and Brittany were not only concerned about their guests having the time of their lives that night, they also checked in with us multiple times to make sure we were having a great time as well and even provided us with the same DELISH dinner all their guests got, instead of just getting us vendor meals.  After working so hard for hours, a dinner like this is MUCH appreciated!  Jamahl and Brittany were so kind to us, I honestly felt more like a guest than a vendor.  This was just one more way we saw how beautiful Brittany and Jamahl are both on the inside as well as the outside.   It was so great getting to capture a couple that are so incredibly there for each other, as well as their friends and family, in every way.

Tips and Tricks from this wedding:

Personalization:

• Jamahl put a wreath with their family initial on it on the front door of the church.  This was a great decoration and a way to make the front door of a church much more personal.

If you’re anxious about being the center of attention there are many ways you can combat this on your wedding day:

• First and foremost, just concentrate on looking at the person you are getting married to.  Having this type of tunnel vision can help you focus on what is the most important thing that day, and keep you from getting distracted by everyone looking at you.
• Remember why they are looking at you.  You are looking unbelievably beautiful that day.  You are a total vision.  It’s hard NOT to keep their eyes on you. They are looking at you with love, not nit-picking what you are wearing, how your hair is, etc.
• Eliminate or shorten as many situations as possible that make you uncomfortable.  For example, during family and bridal portrait photos, don’t have everyone and their brother around while you are getting the shots taken.  Speak to your photographer in advance about this so that they can direct people for you, so you don’t feel like the bad guy.  For events like your first dance or the cake cutting you can talk to the DJ in advance and ask them NOT to announce it to everyone that you are doing your first dance or cutting the cake.  Just be sure to let your photographer know when  you are doing it, so they get shots of it. But you don’t need every eye in the room on you.  First dances and parent dances can also feel like they go on for an eternity if the whole song is played.  You can either pick a short song, or let the DJ know in advance that you’d like the song to fade out in the middle at a specific point, or instead invite everyone else to come up and dance with you at that point, so that all the attention is no longer on you.

Gretchen and Brian had their wedding at the beautiful rustic Red Lion Inn in Cohasset.  The red woods in the venue have a way of giving everyone a beautiful rosy glow.  I had quite the team assembled with me that day.  It was my very first wedding I was shooting while pregnant, so I wanted to be totally prepared in case I was more tired than usual.  Shawn Black and Jenn Alton were my fantastic second shooters and Artur Rajczyk was my assistant.  In addition to getting beautiful shots, this trio did an outstanding job of making sure I never lifted anything heavier than my camera the whole day.

Gretchen and Brian elected to do a big reveal, their bridal portrait session, and all their family formals before the ceremony.  That way the whole rest of the time they could totally enjoy themselves.  This is something I suggest all my couples do if they can fit it into their timeline.  Not only does it allow you to have a private moment (which are few and far between on your wedding day!), it also gives you the time necessary to get all the romantic bridal portraits that you will want to have hanging on your walls for years.  One of the greatest things about the Red Lion Inn is even if it is raining, like it was on Brian and Gretchen’s wedding day, there are so many locations that are covered that still allow you to get beautiful natural light.

The short and sweet ceremony was conducted by Gretchen’s brother. Artur scored my favorite shot of the first kiss that day. When possible I love having members of my team capture unconventional angles because of shots like his from above. After the ceremony the couple only had two formal shots to take, leaving them able to enjoy their cocktail hour with the rest of their guests. During that time the staff at the Red Lion turned the barn, which was the location for the ceremony, into a lovely reception site, complete with center pieces that reminded us that Spring has finally sprung in New England.

The toasts were a combination of heartfelt sentiments and humor. Gretchen’s sister had Brian place his hand on top of Gretchen’s, and suggested he savor the feeling, as it would be the last time he would ever have the upper hand. Brian’s best man ended his toast with a perfectly delivered traditional Irish blessing. He pulled off this feat with the aid of a green post-it stuck to the side of his champagne flute. After the toasts I got the rings from the couple since Brian had them off-site that morning. I gave them to Jenn to work her creative ring shot magic. Knowing how much Gretchen loved the band’s red Converse shoes, Jenn got one of the band members to cooperate for one particularly original ring shot. Once the cake was cut it was time for Gretchen to finally get to enjoy the Smoking Jackets. When I say this bride really got down, I mean it! And even though Brian normally isn’t much for dancing, he was out there dancing right along side her. On the dance floor it became clear where Gretchen got her love of dancing from. I don’t think there was a single song that went by that her dad wasn’t dancing too. He was a riot! In the end it was definitely the incredibly fun party that Brian and Gretchen had dreamed of having, and I was so glad they picked me and my team to cover it!

• The rings: This means not just your engagement ring, but the wedding bands as well.  So often these are given to the best man the morning of the wedding, and the best man usually isn’t getting ready at the same location as the bride.  This results in frantic phone calls to the best man asking him to hightail it over to the location to bring over the rings, or promises of getting these shots later in the day.  The trouble is, as soon as the reception starts going, things get crazy, and most people don’t want to separate from their wedding bands after they have just had them put on.  Frankly, it’s often even hard to get them off.  So my number one piece of advice is do yourself a favor, have the rings WITH YOU, in their ring boxes for safe keeping.  They can be given to the best man minutes before the ceremony, and then he’ll be less like to lose them too.  Also remember to have your engagement ring cleaned before your big day.  Soap residue can ruin how sparkly a diamond can look in a photo.

If you don’t, this is the type of boring ring shot you will likely end up with…rings in the best man’s hand:

• Jewelry and other special mementos:  All your finery that you will be putting on after your dress should be in one place.  This includes your earrings, necklaces, bracelets, rings, garters, hair combs, veil (if it wasn’t put in at the hair dresser’s), fancy perfume bottles, and any belts that go on your dress. Photographers will often come up with artistic ways of presenting these pieces in conjunction with say your shoes, or flowers, etc.  Other elements to consider are if you have special mementos that you will be carrying with you or are used in the ceremony, say your grandmother’s handkerchief, or your great aunt’s ring, your mother’s rosary, or your father’s bible. Having these extremely sentimental pieces photographed often yield some of the most treasured photographs from the day.  So be sure to have these safely set aside in the bag for your photographer as well.

• Shoes: Depending on the bride, the shoes might be her very favorite accessory that day.  So photographers have taken to doing creative “shoe shots”.  If you have anything written on the bottom of the shoe that you want the photographer to get a shot of, be sure to let them know it is there.  In the short amount of time a photographer has to get the detail shots, they might miss that little blue crystal “I DO” on the bottoms of your shoes unless you remind them about it.  If the shoes are very expensive and came in a designer bag or box, you may want to keep them in their original box for the photographer to grab a shot of as well.  Either way, the shoes (in the box or not) should be placed in the bag/box with the rest of these key elements.

• Invitation and program: you probably spent tons of time picking out beautiful stationary to use and created personalized programs.  These elements are great for use in albums for setting the stage for the day.  Bring with you at least one complete invitation, meaning the invite, envelope, any response cards, directions, confetti, etc.  For programs, bring at least 3, the photographer may want to fan them out.  Place these paper items, and anything else you’d want photographed say a menu, church bulletin with your names in it, etc, into a folder.  This way they will stay nice and crisp and clean and will not get beat up in transit to your wedding. After the photographer is done photographing them, you can keep them as mementos from your wedding.

• Wedding license: while I don’t typically photograph these, some photographers do, and it is a good idea to put this in with your other paper items in the folder so you don’t forget it.  Some officiants are so by the book that they won’t even perform the ceremony unless the wedding license is present, so this is NOT something you want to forget at home or misplace.
• Wedding Dress: Ideally you want to be able to have the dress out of the bag before the photographer arrives.  This way the dress can be checked for wrinkles, and loose threads.  But if the room is chock full of people, I suggest keeping the dress zipped up in the garment bag tightly until the photographer arrives and is ready to take shots of the dress.  The last thing you want that day is someone inadvertently burning your dress with a curling iron, or having a pot of eye shadow fall on it.

• Flowers: This is the one part you unfortunately can’t put in a bag or a box in advance.  You will be a the whim of when your florist brings the flowers by.  But do keep in mind that the photographer would like to shoot at a minimum, the bouquet.  So be sure when speaking with your florist about delivery of the flowers, that if possible the bouquet is delivered to the room where you are getting ready, NOT to the ceremony location.  While some photographers will insist that all the flowers are delivered to where you are getting ready, it isn’t as important as having your own bouquet there.  If you are concerned about your bouquet wilting, if your bridesmaids bouquets are similar, have one of those delivered to the bridal suite instead and the photographer can use that to take shots with in its place.

If you have all these items put together in advance, your stress level will be much lower on the day of your wedding while you are getting ready, and your photographer will then have more time to get high-quality, artistic, detail shots that you will love.  One last tip, if you want to give your photographer even more time to get great shots, make sure to have your bridal party keep all their things to one side of the room.  Usually about 10 minutes of my time is spent clearing a room of bags, food, trash, luggage, and iPhone chargers, just to name a few, before I ever take a single shot in the room.

Here are a few more examples of detail shots you can have your photographer take while you are getting ready.

February 8th was a real dream come true for me.  Since the very first season of Project Runway I have been completely hooked.  I still long to buy Jay McCarroll’s Chrysler Building dress.  So to get to shoot from the riser for the finale of the Project Runway Teams edition at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week in New York City was just about as exciting for me as it was for the designers that were showing that day.  I was seated directly beneath one of the cameras taping the show, so I did my best to sit as still as could to prevent me from running into their tripod at all. I certainly didn’t want to ruin their steady shot!  The show started off with Heidi and the other 3 judges walking down to the end of the runway for a quick photo-op.  I couldn’t believe super-model Heidi Klum was there standing less than 20 feet right in front of my lens!  The audience was star studded as well, with the likes of Kristin Chenoweth, All-Stars winner Mondo Guerra, previous season cast members, Sammy Sweetheart from the Jersey Shore, and stylist Phillip Bloch.

Unlike in previous years where the designers would come out and introduce their collection, Heidi came out and let us know the real scoop.  Since only 3 episodes of the season had been shown on TV so far, they didn’t want to ruin the season with spoilers by having the designers come out with their collections.  Consequently the collections ran back to back.  Also, a lesser known fact, many more designers get to show at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week than are chosen to be the final 3 or 4.  Because the season wraps taping so much sooner than the date the finale is aired they like to leave it a mystery to all those out there who are tweeting, blogging, and instagramming the looks from the show as to who actually made it to the finale.  So if you were super sad for Daniel not getting to show his looks, don’t be.  They got just as much time on the runway as everyone else did.  The following are shots of the collections in the order they were presented. For some of the collections it was tough to tell who the designer was, and others it was very easy.  So for some I’ve just labeled them as that designer’s collection, but in fact it is really just my own guess based on the order they were auff’ed and the style of the garments.

Layana Aguilar

I am guessing that the first collection down the runway was Layana Aguilar’s.  The hats some of the models wore looked very similar to the one she wore for the group photo at the end of the show.  The collection had some strong pieces and some weak ones.  I liked the opening dress, the hats, the choice of dark tights with the booties, the hats, and the use of white in a fall collection (making it quite on trend for the season).  My favorite piece was the flowing peach top with black lace overlay and skin tight faux leather leggings.  The pieces that included the mottled red velvet did not read as well as the other pieces, and the material looked cheap.  This was also the case for the red macrame mini-dress. With the exception of those pieces the collection looked fairly expensive and fashion forward.

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Daniel Esquivel

Next up was Daniel Esquivel’s collection.  I think his brain was still in Berlin when he was creating these pieces as well as choosing how to style his models.  The collection was mostly black and felt very hard and military and 40s inspired.  The hair and leather gloves were straight out of World War II and I haven’t seen pumps like that since the 80s.  I wished he’d used more of the bold red that was sprinkled through the collections.  His dress forms in his studio were red, and it really made the clothes pop more.  For future designs, Daniel should stay away from chunky knits and fabrics.  He found a way of taking stick thin models and making them look almost plus sized with his choice of fabric.  I wish he had stuck more with his strengths, like the molded and beautifully tailored black leather jacket.  That piece felt modern and edgy.  But unfortunately the rest of the collection felt dated and old.  Hopefully in the future he will do some pieces with some color that bring out the happy bubbly side of Daniel we liked so much in the TV show.

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Samantha Black

The next collection I am guessing was Samantha Black’s.  It was the most youthful and fashion forward of the collections presented that day.  I’m sure it had the judges second guessing their decision to Auff’ her so early in the season.  I liked most all the pieces she presented that day, and felt like it was the collection that fit in the best at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week this season.  The collection did have a few misses, specifically the black satin bell-bottom pants, the hunter green braided knit piece that seemed to add at least 30 pounds to the model, and the shiny burgundy leather overalls paired with black strappy stilettos.  All I could think of was the line in Clueless, “She could be a farmer in those clothes”.  But she ended the collection with an absolute knockout black dress that I could totally see on a red carpet in the near future.  I also really like the black satin skirt paired with the bustier-like top, and the mustard colored dress with the fringe.   It felt like it was made out of material made for a modern motorcycle jacket.  The little holes in the fabric would allow your skin to breathe.  The styling from head to toe looked great on the runway.  I love a strong eye and strong lip so that you can see girls’ faces all the way from the back of the runway.  Her over-sized mustard colored coat was also right on trend.  It looked like it could almost fit right into the line Michael Kors presented that same week.  If she was still in the running, I’d say she would be a real contender for the winner.

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Richard Hallmarq

Richard Hallmarq’s collection was up next.  I am sure this was his collection as my model from my Calumet Fashion Week Photography class was one of the model’s in the show, and Richard had his name engraved on the side of some of the sunglasses the models wore in the show.  Richard’s collection was pretty much an extension of every other piece he made while on the show.  It was primarily all done in jersey knit and he focused much more on the creation of accessories instead of the actual garments.  If the show was Project Accessory, he probably would have won, with his leather arm cuffs, studded baseball hat, and space age style glasses.  The only things that felt new to me were the accessories.  The shapes of all his garments had all been played out on the show time and again.  Some were flattering and wearable, and I could see them being a commercial success in department stores.  These were the all black long turtleneck dress, the off the shoulder black and white short dress, the one shouldered turtleneck dress, and the high necked short black and white dress his original model, Aisha Gunnel, wore.  Others seemed next to impossible for the model to walk in and were downright unflattering.  The choice of lip color wasn’t helping either.  The dark purple tone tended to make the girls look almost cadaverous.  The final dress seemed to border on Gothic chic and a modern coven.  The look on Phillip Bloch’s face after that dress came by says it all.

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Michelle Lesniak Franklin

If I was a betting woman, I’d put my money on Michelle Lesniak Franklin winning this season.  Her collection, inspired by a female lone wolf, was by far the most cohesive, modern, flattering, and Fall appropriate.  She took the judges notes into consideration for the final show.  The hair and makeup was much better, and she edited down the number of pieces of hardware being shown as accessories on the garments.  You could feel her inspiration of a warrior woman on the hunt in almost every piece.  I liked her integration of large pieces of fabric tied into windsor knots at the top of the collars both on the front and backs of some pieces.  Giving feminine pieces a distinctly masculine air to them.  I was not a huge fan of the hats and the outfits that looked like they would fit very well on the set of a production of Robin Hood.  But I did love her quilting work.  I would have stayed away from neoprene as a fabric choice though, as it generally makes one look much bigger than one is.  The use of black tights with the bootie-wedges was nice as well.  I loved her inclusion of pockets into some of the garments, as well as the decorative turtlenecks.  The chaps were a bit beyond me as well as the bleeding heart sweater, but the sweater with the pattern created with the wolves was very nice.  The layering was very on trend for the season.  The choice of large rings with pieces of bone really fit the huntress theme well.  Her final piece was a blood red long dress.  Something about it just felt too casual to me, and it was a bit unflattering.  The clutch created with the wolf pattern was very strong though.  Overall, from the looks on the judges’ faces, they looked impressed by the collection as well.

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Amanda Valentine

The day of the runway show, at first I thought this could be Patricia’s collection, but now I’m fairly certain it is Amanda Valentine’s.  The collection showcased a multitude of fringe techniques that Amanda went on to use during the rest of the season. In addition to fringe, the collection was full of mystic symbols like pyramids and the evil eye, many combined into hamsa symbol.  Amanda also took her signature pop-top necklace with interwoven golden over-sized pop-top tabs, and included it in the front and back of some of the garments.  The collection felt very disjointed to me, with the only continuous thread being a sort of tribal feeling to the items.  Some more Native American, others more African in influence.  I liked the mustard colored sweater dress and the intricate cutouts on the arms.  Many of the pieces looked like they would be more appropriate for her brother to wear on stage at a Maroon 5 concert than on a woman walking down the street.  I loved how many times Zac Posen cocked his head to the side looking utterly perplexed by the looks walking past him.  For Amanda, I see a good future for her in jewelry design, but not clothing.

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Stanley Hudson

Stanley Hudson’s collection was fairly consistent with what he produced throughout the show.  The pieces were well tailored and fairly well executed, to use one of Nina’s favorite terms.  But unfortunately they read really old.  1960s was his inspiration, and that was apparent.  But I think the people who would be most interested in buying clothes from this line lived through the 1960s.  The choice of booties with pale bare legs I found jarring.  It just cuts a woman right off at the ankles and is very unflattering.  I liked seeing that he took some of the judges notes, like cutting the tea length gold dress off much higher and making it into a peplum top, but it still lacked Heidi’s request for “Va-Va-Voom”.  Only the short ivory dress with gold elements had any sex appeal at all in my opinion.  To bring the collection to a bit more modern state, most of the models had very large chunky rings that extended across 4 fingers.  From afar they looked like decorative brass knuckles. But this modern flourish couldn’t save this collection from itself.  The final piece of the ball gown didn’t seem to flow at all with the collection.  It felt like you think to yourself as a designer, ok you end with a fancy dress, here is my fancy dress.  The only common thread it had with the rest of the collection was his use of a high collared neckline, and use of expensive looking fabrics and appliques.  I appreciated the workmanship in the jacket he opened with and the gold peplum top with the black flower breast plate, and the gold sequin dress, but in the end it just felt like too much of an homage to different looks from past decades, and not a fresh take on them at all.  It was like watching a costume show, instead of a fashion show.  This was a real shame, because with all Stanley’s amazing tailoring skills I think he really could have pulled off something beautiful.  But instead we got many 60s inspired shapeless dresses, one which frankly looked more like a mauve potato sack than a dress.  I’m really hoping that one was something he had to make at the last minute!

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Patricia Micheal

One of the collections I was most excited to see was Patricia Micheal’s.  It definitely was the most theatrical of all the collections shown.  If project runway was renamed project textile, Patricia would definitely win, hands down, but…it is project runway.  While Patricia created some really cool and interesting textiles, how she used them to create clothes  left something to be desired.  There was no cohesion to the collection at all, it was the “circus” Nina feared.  Many of the color choices and cuts felt more appropriate for a Spring collection, not Fall.  The only common thread between some of the pieces was Patricia’s use of these hand made “sequins” she created, which looked more like washers than sequins to me.  The ombre effect on the velvet she no doubt created herself was interesting, but put in combination with her design, which looked like something I’d title, hippy-gypsy costume, just wasn’t anything I could see someone wanting to wear.  Her kaftans felt like something more appropriate for Lane Bryant, than for Mercedes-Benz Fashion week.  The A-line short orange dress looked poorly constructed and the hem looked poorly finished.  The cut of the shorts were very unflattering.  Her collection did hit some high notes as well though.  I was a fan of the yellow and gray draped shirt over the leather pants with punched out holes and the low back.  The use of the horse hair for the model’s hair was great with that look as well.  I loved the eagle feather scarf.  I wished she’d paired it with something much simpler and cleaner so that it could stand out on its own merit.  Then came the hair pom-poms.  I actually loved these.  They were great to photograph and really made it feel more like a show with some fantasy thrown in.  This was highlighted with the final dress in blue with hand made paillettes that was showcased in the first part of the finale in the show.  This and the horse-hair jacket were the two most well executed looks in the show.  If she had focused more on looks like these, I think she could have really given Michelle a run for her money.  For the horse-hair jacket, if she had put in studs where the loops were at the ends, I think it would have looked more polished and less like hair swatches.  In the end I think the biggest problem with this collection was that it was just ideas upon ideas upon ideas, and nothing was really edited out.  I look forward to future collaborations she might do with designers to utilize her unique take on textiles, as I think this will likely be the best use of her talent.

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At the end of the show, Heidi and Tim came out, which made me so happy, because frankly the person I wanted to see most was Tim Gunn!  I absolutely love him.  After that the rest of the cast came out for a brief photo-op, and then it was all over.  On a total side note, I would love for Heidi to get to take a little bit of time with the models in the show to work with them on their walk.  Many of them looked completely scared stiff out there!

In a matter of moments, we had to grab all our stuff and it was on to the next show.  It was a total whirlwind, but I was so very glad that I got to be there to cover this wonderful event.  I can’t wait to see what future Project Runway contestants will bring to the table.  Speaking of contestants, after heading out of the theater, I came across some past Project Runway contestants.  I even got to talk with Chris and Sonjia a bit.  It was surreal!  Only at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week!

A little over a year ago I was honored to shoot Marlo and Mike’s wedding.  Soon after their wedding Marlo and Mike found out they were pregnant with their first child.  When I heard, I was thrilled for them and offered to do an in-home newborn shoot.  I loved doing this shoot so much that now all Fucci’s Photos brides receive a complimentary in-home newborn session for their first born child.  It was so wonderful seeing the full evolution of one of my couples from engaged, to newlyweds, to loving parents of their sweet baby, Domenic.

From the day he was born, Domenic had a full head of hair and had his eyes wide open to the world.  He was one of the most alert 2-month-olds I’ve ever seen.  Marlo spiked his hair up for the shoot to show off just how much hair he has.  I had done a newborn shoot before, but Domenic was my first 2-month-old subject.  What a difference 2 months can make!  He was far more active and roly-poly than my newborn subjects.  It made for a completely different shooting experience.  Newborns can pretty much be put into whatever position you’d like (within reason, safety is always the most important thing!), but a 2-month-old can squirm out of just about any pose you get him into.  So we were at the whim of little Domenic that day.

I was determined to still get detail shots of his little feet and hands.  It took a bit more time, but eventually we got them.  Then at the end of the session I invited Marlo and Mike to be part of the picture.  Domenic was starting to get tired and was ready for a nap, so the time was ripe for Mike to rock the little one to sleep. Domenic completed his trip to dreamland with the help of a binky and Marlo’s warm embrace.   The joy on her face and the light from the window that highlighted it brought a tear to my eye.  It was just so beautiful.  During this shoot I was 3 months pregnant, and seeing this lovely vision of motherhood before me just made me sooooooo excited to get to be a mom soon.  We finished the session with a little family portrait with Mike behind Marlo, caressing little Domenic’s head. I was so glad we got to take a shot with all three of them since it is rare for new parents to get shots with their baby with both of them in it since the other one is usually on the other side of the camera.  Congratulations Marlo and Mike, and thank you for sharing your bundle of joy with all of us!

Lauren and Erikk have known each other for quite some time.  Ok, let’s be really honest, a long, LONG, time! They met all the way back in 5th grade.  Even though Erikk subsequently went to many different schools the two remained friends.  As time went by they realized they’d be perfect together as more than friends.  This was a couple after my own heart, as my husband and I didn’t start dating until over 7 years after we first met back in college.  Spending time with these two you can see how they really are soul mates as well as best friends.  Erikk and Lauren choose beautiful Duxbury Beach for the site of their engagement shoot.  Unfortunately, the New England weather wasn’t doing us any favors that day.  It was windy and cold, but the two were troopers.  At first they tossed their parkas in the car, but with a half mile walk on a bridge across the water I knew they would be missing their warm downy jackets, and suggested that they grab them and that we just take them off for the shots.  Not even 100 feet from their car, the wind began to howl, and the parkas quickly went back on.  Making sure my couples are as comfortable as possible during as shoot is paramount.  Be it them being warm enough or cool enough depending on the situation, because if they aren’t comfortable it will show in their photos.  When they are comfortable, they can relax and be themselves.

Lauren made a wonderful Pinterest board full of inspiration and shared it with me prior to the engagement shoot.  This was very helpful as it really solidified what style of poses they were looking for, allowing us to be able to get them nailed down quickly so that they wouldn’t have to be popsicles for any longer than necessary.  She had pinned a variety of shots from my own engagement portfolio and re-pinned poses from several other Pinterest boards.  If you are looking for ideas, Pinterest is definitely a fantastic place to start.  We ended their shoot with a cute series of little messages involving scrabble tiles and Lauren’s engagement ring.  The two brilliantly had picked out all the letters they would need in advance and put them in a ziplock bag instead of bringing the whole velveteen bag of scrabble tiles.  With their excellent preparation we were able to get all the shots they wanted and at the same time had lots of fun taking them.  The hardest part of the shoot was to get this amorous pair to stop smooching for even a shot or two.  Barely a pose would go by without the two getting in at least a little kiss.  Usually I have to remind couples to hold kisses  longer for a great kiss shot, but in Lauren and Erikk’s case, I have no doubt this will not be a problem for them on their wedding day.

A few weeks before Christmas I received an email from Cheryl, whom I had the pleasure of meeting  (and dancing with) back at Angela and Dave’s wedding. She wanted to do something special for her son Chris and his fiancé Patty to celebrate their engagement.  So we put together a gift certificate for an engagement shoot.  It was an unusual shoot for me as I usually have met my couples in advance at a consultation before I get to do a session with them.  But Patty and Chris were comfy in front of the camera right from the get go.  The two had such an electric connection between the two of them, it was next to impossible to get a bad shot of these two love birds.  I suppose I shouldn’t have been surprised by the spark between them, after all, Chris is an electrician. Chris was so incredibly romantic, tender and sweet with Patty, and you could see in Patty’s eyes how much she adores Chris.  I love in one of the shots on the stairs how she looks blissfully happy in his arms, even though it was about 30 degrees out and windy.

Patty choose Boston’s beautiful Esplanade and Longfellow Bridge for their shoot, as she takes that bridge to work every day and loves the view.  After our session…so do I!  What a fantastic location it was!  Clear shots of the Prudential Center and Hancock Tower, the beautiful Charles River below.  This is definitely one of my favorite locations to shoot in the city now.    We ended the shoot with a pinterest inspired shot.  Patty had an ampersand symbol with her so that they could do a Mr. & Mrs. shot.  They braved the cold and switched to shirts with the Anastasi Electric Corporation logo on them.  Patty is so excited to get to be his partner in life, as well as in Chris’ business, she wanted to make sure they had a shot of the two of them in the new company shirts.  I loved it!

Shoot notes:

• Patty wore a lovely brand new white coat for the shoot.  You’ll notice though in some of the shots we are sitting down.  To ensure my clients’ clothes stay clean for the entirety of the shoot I wear a washable lightweight scarf that when I take it off can double as a barrier between their clothes and the things I have them sitting on or leaning up against.  After the shoot is done the scarf goes into the wash, and comes out like new ready for its next adventure in the city.
• On the day of the shoot it was very windy.  Luckily Patty had remembered to bring a headband with her.  I try to remind all my clients to have a hairband on hand for their engagement session.  I always have a hair tie on my wrist just in case, but a pretty headband photographs much better than a wind-swept pony tail.
• Patty also had her nails done.  This is a great idea for your engagement shoot. Your photographer will likely want to prominently display your beautiful engagement ring in several shots.  Having your nails done will eliminate any worries you might have of your hands not looking their best.  For color choices, I usually suggest a traditional french manicure, or classic colors so that later on the photos won’t look too dated when say the neon trend is back out of fashion.
• Some of my clients end up getting poses named after them.  Angela came up with a trick on the fly during their engagement shoot that I use almost every time.  To mimic the look of a piggy back ride without the guy nearly being choked in the process have the girl stand on a bench just behind him, and then place her arms around his neck.  The key is to get their eyes in the same plane of focus, so the girl has to come forward over the guy’s shoulders.  So I tend to call that set up the “Angela”.  During Chris and Patty’s shoot, Patty made the fabulous suggestion of showing off her ring by placing her hands lovingly on Chris’ face.  It was perfection!  So Patty, you can be proud to know you’ve joined the ranks with Angela,  you now have your very own pose named after you.

To help plan their wedding, Caitlyn has diligently followed the knot’s 12-Month wedding planning countdown.   This is normally a great idea as it helps you get everything done in a timely manner and helps decrease your stress when planning a wedding.  So when it said get engagement shots 6 months before your wedding, that’s when she decided to schedule the engagement shoot.  What the knot’s countdown couldn’t account for was New England’s crazy winters.  Some years you’d be in light sweaters in February, and other times in parkas.  The day of their shoot was one of those days that a parka was in order.  There were over 40mph winds and a wind chill of -7 degrees!  Even in this freezing weather Rob was still a good sport and got out there and tried to keep Caitlyn warm during our session.  In between set ups we all ran back to the car to warm up.

After we had all turned into popsicles I suggested we head back to their place for a quick indoor session so that we could get a few more relaxed shots.  There I got to see some of the amazing artwork Rob has created with some of the driftwood they have collected.  I particularly liked this session because it brought out the different sides of the couple.  The sweet and passionate side, as well as the side that comes out most of the time…cracking each other up at nearly every turn.  We ended the shoot with a little portrait session of Caitlyn.  Her eyes were just so intensely beautiful that day I couldn’t keep myself from taking a few shots of her.  Last but not least, I grabbed a few shots of Caitlyn’s lovely engagement ring placed on one of their favorite pieces of driftwood.  After seeing the shots, the two decided it would be great to include pieces of driftwood into their wedding decor as well.  I can’t wait to shoot their wedding this summer when it will be sunny and warm out, which will compliment their warm personalities as well as their beautiful DIY beach inspired centerpieces…far better than the snow and ice we found on the beach during their engagement shoot!

Tips to remember: Just because a countdown calendar suggests engagement shoots 6 months prior to your wedding doesn’t mean you have to follow it to the letter.  If you are using the shots for Save-the-Dates, it is a good idea to have this shoot done at least 6 months prior to your wedding.  This way you’ll have time to get them printed out and sent out early enough for them to be useful to your guests.  If you aren’t using them for Save-the-Dates then you can be much more flexible with your schedule for an engagement shoot.  I often suggest about 6 weeks to 2 months before the wedding so that you still have enough time to order prints if you’d like to use them for a guestbook or matted signing portrait, but still close enough that what you learned during the engagement shoot will still be fresh in your mind during your wedding.  For locations, while natural light is always wonderful, being freezing can put a real damper on your engagement shoot.  So if you need to schedule your engagement session during winter, consider looking into some indoor locations that are close to your outdoor location of choice to have in reserve in case it just gets too cold to be comfortable.

As perfectly matched as Gretchen and Brian are you’d likely be pretty surprised that they met on a blind date.  Neither one usually went for that type of thing but their friends were sure that the two would hit it off.  Gretchen watched the door of the restaurant nervously for what her friends had in store for her.  When Brian entered, she thought to herself, “No way am I THAT lucky, if only my date was THAT guy!” But she was THAT lucky! To her astonishment the maitre d’ showed Brian to her table. Gretchen and Brian hit it off perfectly, keeping each other in stitches the whole night. The two have been keeping each other laughing ever since.  I was connected with this pair through a previous Fucci’s Photos bride, Kim, who is a co-worker with Gretchen.  Like Kim and Chris, Gretchen and Brian will be getting married at the beautiful Red Lion Inn, in Cohasset.  When Gretchen and Brian went in late 2012 to book this popular venue they were given the option of a date in 2014 or April 12, 2013.  The April date meant they’d have less than six months to plan their wedding, but 2014 just seemed too far away, so they took the plunge and choose the earlier date.  I assured Gretchen at our first consultation that this was the right decision as my husband and I faced a similar decision when picking our wedding date in 2009 and couldn’t be happier with our decision.    Without a doubt, planning for a full scale wedding in less than 6 months isn’t the norm, but when done in as organized and calm a fashion as Gretchen did, it is not only possible, but it can actually be less stressful than having over a year to plan.  You just don’t have the time to worry about all the little details that often stress out so many brides.

For their engagement session Brian and Gretchen wanted quintessential Boston, so we headed to Acorn Street in Beacon Hill.  I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, the light on that street is just magic.   You couldn’t ask for better!  Gretchen warned me in advance that Brian had a bad case of the “Chandler Smiles” and wasn’t a big fan of getting his picture taken.  Anyone who was ever a fan of Friends knows what those haunting words mean.  I promised her that I had dealt with many a “Chandler” before and told her to assure Brian that the shoot would be painless.  The key is to make the shoot as natural as possible.  Normally a groom-to-be gets a natural smile on their face when looking at their bride-to-be.  So instead of having them pose with big “CHEESE!” grins on their faces like you’d ask a 4-year-old to do, instead let them be in their element.  Let them enjoy cuddling with their beautiful fiance.  Finding a private spot without any onlookers can really help many grooms get more relaxed.  At the very end of our session on Acorn Street I briefly let out a “Hey Brian, over here”.  Caught totally off guard he looked over towards me, still with his natural smile in tact. Within about 2 snaps, the Chandler Smile overtook his face.  Luckily Gretchen knew in advance that I would use this little trick, so she knew to turn as well.  So in the end we nabbed a shot with the two of them having great smiles together.  Once we had everything done Brian told me that the shoot was so much easier than he thought it would be and it was actually fun.  I was thrilled…another photo shoot convert. I told him the wedding day photos would actually be just as easy, if not easier, because on that day it’ll be next to impossible to wipe the natural smile off his face.