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Changed to a custom wordpress blog due to the need to be a bit more flexible. Tumblr has been a great way to lear & grow. Thanks!

(Source: josephnorrisphotography.com)

The past few years of shooting weddings has led me to sum up our shooting style as somewhat unconventional. The following images do a better job of describing it than I could with words. 

We look for a story in every photograph. Following is the brother of the bride conferring with his sister (the bride) about the “kidnapping” & holding for ransom the groom… who is just to the left.

It’s always a delight to see an older couple at a wedding. It has to bring back memories of their day, 40 or 50 years earlier. I shot this wedding with a 50mm portrait lens & no flash. I enjoyed it so much all weddings since are shot like this.

In our consultations we try and gather as much information about who will be at the wedding & who they are to the bride & groom.. This helps us catch those moments that might go missed and forgotten.

Long ceremony. Lost in thought.

Before the ceremony.

Hope you enjoyed these photographs. I feel like they capture real life. Rather than posed we like to capture the candid moments in the bride, groom, parents lives leading up to, during, & after the ceremony.

One of my favorites as it sums up what we really strive for in our photography.

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Cheers,

Joseph

This post is a bit of a departure from weddings, engagement, or portraits. It’s about getting out of the city to big country. Camping.

About two weeks ago I spent a few days camping in East Texas with some friends & family. We camped on their land up near Lake Jacksonville. If you do not camp you really ought to reconsider. It’s a fabulous experience if you plan well… & in advance. This is a photography blog so I will not go into camping details. Following is a photo sampling… enjoy!

Sunset. This is my favorite time of day.

The moon was near full & we were there just after a cool front blew through. The sky was crystal clear. My youngest son is on the porch with a flashlight.

We were camping with friends who had kids our kids age… is there a better way to say that? So, I had more time to take pictures on this trip than most. All that to say I am continually amazed at how much there is to see & hear and smell. It was so fresh out there.

We slept outside in our tent but had access to a ranch house. 

Situated on a pond. 

Anyone who spends a good deal of time outdoors and maintains a disbelief in God has not opened his eyes.

If you are halfway interested in camping in Texas, go to Texas State Parks & wildlife. Every terrain imaginable. A photographers dream. We’ve been to Guadalupe River State Park twice. As a family we started camping two years ago. Our boys have since become the camping cheerleaders of the family.

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The latest engagement session,
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Two weekends ago I met Paul & Amy at the beach to take their pictures. Following are their official engagement photo’s. Their personalities come through pretty well. Enjoy!

The day was overcast & WINDY! We had to time each shot between gusts.

This gentleman caught several hardhead catfish. Need to return with my boys & teach them to fish. It’s time.

The Harley.

There are those engagement sessions where time just doesn’t allow for all the idea’s popping around. Had to let them go. Way past dinner time.

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It’s always fun to be with people who are in love. Following are a few images from an engagement shoot at NASA and a nearby park. I grew up in Houston and had visited NASA several times. That was years ago. I had no idea they had moved Saturn V rocket into a building! I really wanted to spend the day reading the plaques & all the info. So much history there.

Casey & Lamar with Saturn V. How cool is that!

We started at one of our favorite places, Starbucks. With prices going up we may start brewing our own and meeting at a park. win win.

We are looking forward to the wedding. It was a joy photographing Casey & Lamar.

Lamar is an Aggie. Casey graduated from UT. We anticipate there will be an ongoing, if subtle, rivalry… what color to paint the babies room… etc.

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This post is for the brides. Having never been a bride, I write this in good faith. 

Smile. Laugh. Don’t blink. It’s your day, enjoy it!

I’ve heard a few stories lately about brides, on their wedding day, who become someone else entirely. Snippy, distracted, sometimes even, umm… mean. From a photographers perspective, all this is very awkward. Even more so when a bride refuses to acknowledge those she has employed to document, or help make the memories. If you are reading this and, well, are prone to this kind of behavior… I beg of you, plead, to leave it at home on your wedding day! You will enjoy, as will everyone around you. The pictures will be much better too.

My advice to both the bride & groom would be:

• Smile. Obviously not continuously. Some have a natural smile, no effort at all. I do not and feel for those who do not on their wedding day. My face was numb & sore towards the end of our reception. Anyways, look at & smile for the camera. There will be a LOT of good candids, but an occasional photograph of the bride looking directly at the camera with a huge smile… those are priceless! I love that.
• Meet & greet. I recently shot a wedding where the bride & groom, very deliberately, went to every_single_person/ couple at their reception and lingered in conversation. Sweet. Lots of laughter & memories. Lots of pics too. We were exhausted. It was a good.
• Time. Helen & I wish we had lingered with our guests on our wedding day. We took off, thinking thats what we had to do. If at all possible, stay. Linger with family & friends. If your photographer is still around some good, special moments might be caught to boot.
• Acknowledge your vendors. Go to them and shake their hand. Again, this is if time allows. The check is always good, but your expressing heartfelt thanks while looking at me in the eye is like a hot cup of good coffee. No joke. Gratitude expressed is tonic for both the giver & receiver.

That’s all I can think of at the moment. If you are engaged, congratulations & blessings to you.

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Series on smooth wedding photography, http://ping.fm/IW8At

This is to the brides & wedding coordinators out there. 

I’ve been browsing a few discussion boards and the following questions seem to be very common.

• How can I ensure my wedding photographs will be good? 

I’ve seen a lot of really good answers to this question. I will communicate all those and add a few of my own.

Engagement & bridal portrait sessions. If at all possible, these are a must. Now, I am a photographer so this may come across as biased. Stay with me. By the time you finish reading this you will be convinced. From experience, if the bride & groom are relaxed & comfortable in front of the camera… or at least with the camera pointed at them (in a wedding situation thats most of the time) the pictures are going to be fun, which equals good! If you know you are uncomfortable in front of a camera (you know who you are) then the above suggestion is a great way to work that out. You get a twofer… One, you get to know your photographer which is a great plus. How they shoot, their personality, maybe work on a few inside jokes. Two (important), you learn what it’s like being in front of a camera. Three, the win win, you get some great portraits of the two of you, together, happy, before you are married. A treasure. The bridal shoot has all the same benefits, plu

Adam & Kate engagement session.

Side note: A flipside that my wife just mentioned. The photographer gets to know you! Hello! She mentioned when we do an engagement session before a wedding (all our packages include engagement now, we believe it’s that important), we know the bride & grooms personalities, what they like in way of photography… that is the nuances that do not come across during the contract meeting. In the end, the photography is better.

That’s the first entry. I will get another in tomorrow.

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