ENGAGEMENT PHOTOS IN THE LOBBY

Another fun image that I took from Hayley and Wes's engagement shoot at the Barton Hill Hotel and Spa in Lewiston!

Hayley and Wes gave us a lot of laughs on their shoot. They were always joking and had giant smiles. They loved the piano in the lobby and asked if I could use it for photos. Sure!

I had them just sit and get really close. They had a wonderful moment together. I have no idea what Wes said but it sure brought a beautiful smile to Hayley. I also loved the row of lights on the ceiling. It showed nice depth in the image. Neal also assisted with lighting. It was a little dark, so we needed to brighten up their faces.

-Danielle 

Buffalo Engagement Photography: Neal Urban Studio

Buffalo Engagement Photo Location: Barton Hill Hotel and Spa

BARTON HILL HOTEL ENGAGEMENT

Here is another image I shot from Hayley and Wes's engagement shoot at the Barton Hill Hotel & Spa in Lewiston!

The sun had set and it was getting dark. The outside had an amazing deep blue color to it. But, it looked like it was glowing as well. Instead of going outside, we decided to stay inside and shoot in front of the big windows the lobby has. 

Lucky for us, there was already a sitting area in the place we wanted to shoot. We had Hayley have a seat and Wes stand to the side of the couch. I asked for some serious faces at first. They both started laughing so hard and we ended up with this natural reaction shot! Not everyone can pull off a serious face. I know I can't! But, I think it is great! It is showing the true Hayley. Always smiling and laughing!

-Danielle 

Buffalo Engagement Photography: Neal Urban Studio

Buffalo Engagement Photo Location: Barton Hill Hotel & Spa

AIRPORT ENGAGEMENT FUN!

Happy Wedding Day Amanda and Kevin!

Here is one more image from their engagement shoot at the Akron Airport. Kevin used to be a pilot and now he inspects and fixes planes. He told us we had the run of the place and could pretty much go anywhere we wanted. Amanda also helps Kevin out at the airport. They even had her fixing parts of the planes!

We saw this cool plane and the pilot brought it out for us! Isn't it really cool? We put Kevin and Amanda in front of the plane. We have them off to the side, so you could still see the propellers. Everything fell into place. Their outfits were great! The color of the plane is so much fun! (Click here to see the photo of this plane in flight as it flew right over Amanda & Kevin)

Congratulations Kevin and Amanda!

-Danielle

Neal here, I'm here to talk about the post processing of this image. The plane is vintage so I wanted to make sure that the overall feel to the image matched the plane. I love looking at old black and white photos that have been colorized. When artists add color to image they do it by hand with paints. When my grandmother passed away last year we were looking at a lot of her images from the past. Most of them were black and white at first but she colorized them by hand. They were very, very well done! I was impressed and inspired. That was my inspiration for this image. I converted the images to black and white and slowly painted in the colors from the original image. It was my first time doing it this way and would like try it some more in the future. Stay tuned.

Buffalo Engagement Photography: Neal Urban Studio

Buffalo Engagement Photo Location: Akron Airport 

Jetsetters!

Amanda and Kevin are getting married tomorrow!

We did their engagement shoot almost 2 years ago. I felt like their wedding day was never going to get here! We are so excited to be a part of this amazing couple's special day tomorrow! 

In the hangar where Kevin works, there was a private plane he was working on. Right away we both asked, "Can we go in it?' I mean, it's not everyday you get to see the inside of a private plane. We decided this part of the shoot would look great in their formal outfits. It reminds me of the movie Pretty Woman, when Richard Gere whisks Julia Roberts off in his private plane to see the opera!

We played around with lighting for a while on this one. Neal explains in more detail below... I was not tall enough to hold the lights where Neal needed them. Time to bring in a ladder! Once everything was in place, we told Kevin and Amanda to pretend we were flying. You can imagine the laughs we got from that. But, we got a nice, intimate, private moment between them!

We'll see you tomorrow Amanda & Kevin!

-Danielle

Neal here, it's funny because the simple looking images are often the most complicated to "create"!

I agree with Danielle, this was a great opportunity, it's not often we have a private jet at our disposal. The Jet was parked inside a hangar. This was when it was getting dark outside. When I took a test shot you could see the hangar walls & equipment outside of the windows. I wanted to make it look as if we were flying high above the clouds so it had to be BRIGHT! Amanda & Kevin were getting changed so this bought us a few minutes to get setup. We took four speedlights and blasted the plane with light from the outside. All lights were set at different power levels. This washed out the windows making it look as if we were above the clouds! I even had Danielle point one of the lights towards the camera so it created a natural lens flare and that light acted as the sun (highest power). Like Danielle said, Jet's aren't low to the ground, we put lightstands on the wings and ladders. We also had a handheld light inside the plane for some fill light on their faces. We used 5 lights total, it literally looked and felt like a movie set. All of this was done within ten minutes. I live for moments like this!!!

As for the post processing, this jet wasn't very old but the interior screamed 1950's to me with the tan leather seats and the woodgrain trim. I used this illustration from a LIFE Magazine from 1955 as inspiration for the color palette. 

-Neal

Buffalo Engagement Photography: Neal Urban Studio

Buffalo Engagement Photo Location: Akron Airport

A DANCE AT THE BARTON HILL HOTEL

Here are Hayley and Wes on their engagement shoot!

We met up with Hayley and Wes at the Barton Hill Hotel in Lewiston NY. It was absolutely freezing out, we decided to do a few photos inside of the hotel. The main lobby is really pretty and has some nice open space. Why not have Hayley and Wes have a little dance?

A little background first. Hayley loves to be "dipped," especially in photos. So, we asked Wes to dip her at the end of the dance. What we did not know, was that he gave her a "dipping allowance!" He told her she only had so many left to spare for the wedding day (their wedding is not until October)! This was so funny! I wonder when the countdown began and how many are left?!

It was pretty dark out, so the lobby was not very bright. Neal added in some extra light behind them, on both sides. He also added some light to their faces, which gave them a nice glow.

Hayley and Wes were so much fun and I can't wait to capture their wedding day!

-Danielle

Neal here, I was Danielle's assistant on this shoot which is always a lot of fun for me. I get to do dorky things and play with lights throughout the shoot which is something I really enjoy. I stay quiet and out of the way while Danielle works with the couple. This shot is all Danielle, her idea for location, the pose etc. Danielle even directed me how she wanted it edited in post production. It's a classy image. Great work Danielle!

-Neal

Buffalo Engagement Photography: Neal Urban Studio

Buffalo Engagement Photo Location: Barton Hill Hotel

TABLE FOR TWO IN LEWISTON NY!

Kristin and John had an awesome engagement session in Lewiston NY!

It started to get dark and all of the store front lights went on. And to top it off, the trees all had Christmas lights on them. We love incorporating the surroundings into our photos. This was outside of one of the restaurants on Center Street. There was one lonely table for two. Have a seat Kristin and John!

The great part was that the area was so well lit, we didn't need any extra lighting. The natural street lighting was perfect. It wasn't too harsh either. Luckily, it wasn't too busy there either. We had the whole place to ourselves.

Kristin and John had a seat and just enjoyed each others company. Now only if I had a bottle of wine/beer and some cheese for them! I'll have to keep that handy for all of our shoots! I think this is so romantic. We love night photography!

-Danielle

Neal here, as Danielle mentioned above, everything was ambient light. The ambient light is the reason why we chose this spot. Yes, there was a nice table for two on Center Street but the lighting above the table put them in a spotlight so we had to shoot here. If we added our own lights then we would've lost the intimate setting. We did multiple poses at this table, some looking/smiling at the camera and some when they were more intimate towards each other... This pose was one of their chosen favorites for me to edit... I imagine this is how they probably sit and look at each other when they're out on a date. Hands interlocked with each other. Sometimes we find a spot with good lighting, place the clients in that spot, do a couple poses for me and then let them have a moment while we capture it. Note: Kristin's reflection in the store front window! 

Buffalo Engagement Photography: Neal Urban Studio

Buffalo Engagement Photo Location: Fort Niagara State Park, Village of Lewiston

LEWISTON ENGAGEMENT SESSION

Sorry for the delay folks! Today was the first Saturday since our season began, that we have off. I slept in!

Here we are in Lewiston NY for Kristin and John engagement session. The Christmas lights were up around the village and we decided to walk around. We had to stop at this house. We had Kristin and John in the walkway, Neal taking the shot from across the street and me doing lighting. Now, it was pretty busy that night and a lot of traffic. Neal was yelling directions to me, I was yelling back, and Kristin and John were laughing. It couldn't have went better.!

When Neal joined us again, Kristin said there were rocking chairs on the porch and could they sit on them. We were not sure if this was a private residence or a business. Neal started to check it out and came back with a "Yeah there is a man watching us from the front door." We'll take that as get out haha.

At least we got this image!

-Danielle

Buffalo Engagement Photography: Neal Urban Studio

Buffalo Engagement Photo Location: Lewiston NY

DECEMBER LEAVES!

Leaves in December!

Kristin and John had their engagement shoot at Fort Niagara State Park and the Village of Lewiston area. John's kids came along for some family portraits to start off the session! Four boys! Holy cow! But they were awesome and so much fun. For this shot, we had them throw leaves up! We told them to throw them behind Kristin and John. We knew that wasn't going to happen. They were thrown right at Kristin and John and it was perfect. They did such a great job. And they had so much fun with it. They helped to create a beautiful image with so many laughs!

-Danielle

Buffalo Engagement Photographer: Neal Urban Studio

Buffalo Engagement Photo Session: Fort Niagara State Park, Village of Lewiston

PEEKING THROUGH THE LEAVES

I love this image from Erica and Justin's engagement session!

They also had their shoot in the Village of Lewiston. But this looks completely different from the recent images you saw from Kelsey and Jarrett. We love shooting through trees or leaves in the foreground. The yellow leaves are so pretty paired with the colors of their outfits!

-Danielle

Buffalo Engagement Photography: Neal Urban Studio

Buffalo Engagement Photo Session: Village of Lewiston

HAPPY WEDDING DAY KELSEY & JARRET!

Kelsey and Jarret are getting married today! They are getting married at Salvatore's Garden Place Hotel.

One last image from their engagement session in the Village of Lewiston. I love when people bring a few props for a save the date. This was super cute. I love the black and gold. We hung it on a telephone pole and had Kelsey and Jarrett in background out of focus. I really love this!

-Danielle

Buffalo Engagement Photography: Neal Urban Studio

Buffalo Engagement Photo Session: Village of Lewiston