In an effort to find new and interesting spots for E sessions, Shannon, Bill and I had a great time a couple of weeks ago shooting at Crissy Field...which has a similar view of the Golden Gate Bridge as Baker Beach does but from the opposite direction. This means all kinda cool silohuette shots, as well as a bit more variety in background and different lighting than the west side of the bridge has.
When we were walking around, I mentioned the Trash the Dress concept to Shannon--this is something I have seen other photographers do and I've been dying to find a bride who was into it. The "Trash the Dress" shoot gets it's inspiration from fashion photography, and the idea is to have a post wedding photo shoot in the wedding dress, once the wedding is over and the dress is no longer needed for wearing you are free to do all kinds of fun, wet, dirty, sandy, sexy things in the dress that you couldn't do before. This shoot can be with or without the groom, although if he comes along there is the opportunity for lots of very sexy shots of the two of you rolling around on the ground.
Brides who have done it say that the whole process is very cathartic, providing a nice coup de grace to the process of wedding planning and allowing them something unique and special that they can "do" with their dress, other than suffocating it in plastic for the next 20 years or making it into a throw pillow. Most women never really have the experience of doing the kinds of dramatic, illustrative photo shoot that high fashion models do on a regular basis--there is something about frolicking around in fancy clothes, not having to be careful or composed, that is very freeing...just like when you were a little girl and you went jumping in the mud puddle in your Sunday best. Obviously this unselfconsciousness is the ideal state of mind to have during the wedding day pictures, but after spending 3 hours in hair and makeup and with another 6 hours to go wearing all white, very few brides are able to achieve it.
The shoot doesn't HAVE to totally ruin the dress of course, it doesn't even have to involve water or the beach...but the idea is to be able to have fun in the shoot, without worrying about the fate of the garment.
Well anyway, sadly Shannon liked the idea of the shoot at first but changed her mind later once she saw the pics--so I'm still searching for a bride to do this with. Any takers?
Shannon and Bill's Engagement Session--Crissy Field!
New Website is Here!
I am so proud of this site! In addition to being much easier to update, and therefore consisting almost entirely of brand new work, it really represents a new era in the way I see my work.
Before I bought the site, I sat down tried to write out what exactly it is that characterizes my style of photography. This proved to be much harder than I thought--it's one thing to do it, it's quite another to be able to talk about it: I am so involved in my work that it was very hard to see it from the outside. But I got some feedback from Brian, who has seen my work evolve over the past 10 years and looks at everything I shoot, and that got me started in thinking about my work in a more detached way. I was able to make a list of all the things that I do well, those things that continually define my work and set me apart. Then I narrowed this list down to four key themes: real beauty, real emotion, real moments, and real decor; and divided all the images on the site into one of these four categories. I then wrote a "style" page that explains the four themes, what they mean to me and what they look like, and what they mean to those who hire me. And everything just kinda fell into place after that...
www.cohnfrankelphotography.com
Puppy Update, 3 weeks
Well, we finally got to visit--the last 3 weeks positively CRAWLED by, especially with only one wedding to shoot (no one gets married on Easter, apparently). Here are some pics of the puppies and mama at 3 weeks. It was really cute when we got home, Luna spent about 20 minutes sniffing us from head to toe and searching for the puppies. Finally she decided there weren't any in my shoes and gave up with a sigh. 
EDIT: 4.5 week individual pics are up on Carrie's website:it's a little too early to tell yet but so far we are leaning toward "Honor" or "Gizmo" as faves. They're all so consistent in quality, it is really hard to tell who is better than whom--I do believe Tonka really watched out for us in helping us find this amazing litter.
When we see them again next weekend (at 6.5 weeks) we should be much closer to knowing who we like best, although final evaluations and choice wont happen until 8 weeks. The puppy's coming is finally seeming like a reality, and I can't wait to get him home and start raising him!
