DRAMATIC SKIES AT THE ALBRIGHT!

If you have been following Neal’s work, than you know he likes windy days and dramatic clouds. And today’s image gives us a little bit of both!

Albright Knox Art Gallery in Buffalo is a very popular wedding photo location. On a typical Saturday wedding, this area can be flooded with wedding parties having their pictures taken. Luckily, this wedding took place on a Sunday, so there was only one other wedding at this location. The other party was on the main staircase of the Art Gallery. Instead of waiting for them to move on, we decided to do something different, but still give the Bride and Groom the Gallery in the image.

We were actually across the street on another stairway. The Bride had a very long veil and it was blowing beautifully in the wind. Neal was definitely not passing up on this. We started off working with the Bride alone and got amazing images. Now it was time to bring in the Groom. They both wanted to be in a photo with the Art Gallery in the background. We decided to try an action style shot. Neal was shooting from a lower level of the stairway and shooting up, so we would get just the top of the Gallery with the sky.

We had the Groom stand on one side and had the Bride strut her stuff toward him. We asked the Bride to gently hold out her veil and let the wind do the rest as she walked. You can see by the Groom's expression that he was loving the approach of his beautiful Bride. As Neal was snapping away, he turned to me and said this image was screaming black and white. I couldn't have agreed more!

-Danielle

Buffalo Photography by Neal Urban Studio

Ceremony & Reception location - The Mansion on Delaware

Photo Session - Albright-Knox Art Gallery

Jewelry - Tiffany & Co.

Engagement with Boomer the dog!

We love when couples bring their dogs on engagement shoots. Dogs can be so unpredictable. It is always so much fun to see what they will do!

The photo shoot was at Knox Farm in East Aurora. The couple mentioned they would like to have their dog in some photos. We all met in the parking lot and when the dog got out of the car, we couldn’t believe our eyes. He was huge! We knew this was going to be fun! We always like to get acquainted with pets before we start shooting. What a lovable dog this was too. We just wanted to play with him.

The dog was actually pretty calm to work with. In this image, the dog was taking a break by a bench and we asked if he would be able to get up onto in. They said no problem. The dog was so big I didn’t think he would fit on the bench, but he got up there no problem. I was trying to get the attention of the dog while Neal was shooting. He just wanted to play and lick his owners’ faces. Once he heard the clicking of the camera, he looked our way. He was zoned in. He looked so happy with his tongue hanging out. Perfect! Just a nice simple family portrait.

When photographing dogs (or any animal with people), you have to see what they are going to do first. Then you place the couple in with the dog. It’s always good to have the pet owners have another person accompany them on their shoot to take the dog away when we are finished with them. Or, if the dog looks like they need a break. If you can remember, find out what kind of treats they like as well. Treats and squeaky toys work wonders!

-Danielle

Neal Urban Studio

NATURAL LIGHT!

Finding the best lighting can make or break a photo. Taking advantage of natural light is always beautiful if it's available and used properly.

We definitely found the light for this image. It was taken at the Avanti Mansion in Buffalo.  There are beautiful archways throughout the outside of the building. We were getting ready to end the photo session and head into the reception, when we noticed amazing light pouring through one of the arches. We had to take advantage of it. 

Neal wanted a simple, natural, but slightly artistic pose in the arch. Brides and Grooms do not always need to be looking at the camera or each other to get a beautiful image. The light continued to pour through as we were getting the Bride and Groom in position. There was another arch to the side of them that had light coming through as well, so we didn’t need to add artificial light.

You can see how it casts a glow around the couple. The cement block on the ground had a glossy finish to it, so it picked up the glow as well. We showed the image to the Bride and Groom right away. They were in love with it! The Bride said it was a beautiful, timeless, and worth the few extra minutes! And now it’s time to party!

-Danielle

Buffalo Wedding Photography by Neal Urban Studio

Buffalo Wedding Ceremony, Photo Session, Reception & in-house DJ - Avanti Mansion

BRIDESMAIDS IN ACTION!

You never know what is going to happen at a wedding, especially with the wedding party. They always give us a good laugh and great pictures!

For photos, the Bride and Groom wanted to go to Niagara Square in Buffalo. The wedding party had sunglasses to put on for some of the pictures. Nice and easy. You would think... They Bridesmaids wanted to have their picture taken with the Groom in front of the fountain. No Problem! Until somehow, someone dropped their sunglasses into the fountain. We have no idea how it happened. But there they were on the bottom.

The Bride and Groom didn't mind at all. They were just fun props anyway. But before you know it, one of the Bridesmaids took off her shoes and asked for a boost from another girl. One Bridesmaid is holding the other by the legs so she can reach over to get the sunglasses out of the fountain. It was so funny. None of the Groomsmen helped because they were too busy laughing.

At one point we thought the grip was slipping and she was going right in. Could you image. Great photo, but not so good for the Bridesmaid. Good thing she had super long arms and she got them out. She did it without getting her hair and only a little bit of her dress wet too!

It's pretty true what they say about the Bridesmaids doing almost anything for the Bride on her big day. Great teamwork from the Bridesmaids!

-Danielle

Buffalo Wedding Photography by Neal Urban Studio

Ceremony - St. John the Baptist R.C Church

Photo Session - Niagara Square, Buffalo, NY

Buffalo Wedding Reception - Hotel Lafayette

Videography - Harris Films 

Buffalo Wedding DJ - Premier Sound

LOVE TAKES FLIGHT!

So many people have asked if this image was fake and photoshopped. But to show everyone it really happened, we decided to show the sequence of events leading up to this amazing shot, taken be me (Danielle)!

This was an awesome engagement shoot at the Akron Airport. The Groom to be used to be a commercial airline pilot, now he has a hangar there and inspects and fixes planes. The Bride to be also works there sometimes. So, what better place to do their engagement shoot, but at their Airport. This shoot ranged from a vintage car on the runway, fighter planes in the hangar, to glider planes flying over and behind the couple on the runway. At one point, there were even sky divers! Pretty cool!

These images were taken directly on the runway. We spoke with the pilot before take off and asked him to fly right over the couple and let out some smoke on the way up. Besides Neal and I, another one of our photographers, Shane was working with us. We needed all hands on deck for this engagement shoot. We all positoned ourselves in different spots. I decided to lay completely flat in the middle of the runway. Yes, I was the crazy one this time.

The couple was all for standing in the runway. We placed the couple where we needed them to be and prayed haha! As you can see, I started clicking away right from take-off. As the plane was getting closer, my whole body was shaking. I was terrified. A plane was going right over our heads! "Don't panic, just keep taking pictures." Before you know it, the plane was well past us. None of us got up off the runway. We all looked at our cameras while still on the ground. Once I began to look, I knew I got "the shot." I yelled over to Neal, "I got it!" At first he didn't look up from his camera. So I walked over and shoved my camera right at his face and said, "Neal, I got it. I got the whole plane!" He put his camera down and said, "Wow, you sure did!" His eyes didn't move from the camera screen.

We went over to the couple so excited and told them it was going to be amazing! The Bride to be was still shaking as well. She was pretty scared too having a plane go over them. From begining to end, this engagement shoot turned out absolutely amazing. The couple loved the images so much, they sent out 6 different "Save the Date" cards because they couldn't choose just a few pictures. We can't wait until the wedding!

I won my first award with this image at this year's WPPI - Wedding and Portrait Photographers International Competition in at the MGM Grand, Las Vegas. Photographers from all over the world come to this event to compete. This was the first image I have ever submitted. It was actually questioned as well if it was fake or not. We had to supply the sequence of shots to the judges to prove it was real. If we didn't then it would have been disqualified. It was so exciting walking through the winners gallery and see my photo hang with an award on it. Neal took home two other awards as well. Three more awards for Neal Urban Studio!

-Danielle

Buffalo Engagement Photography by Neal Urban Studio

ROCKIN' THE buffalo PHOTO BOOTH at Trimania 2015!

If you were not at Trimania last night or didn't stop into Neal Urban Studio, shame on you. What a great time. We had music blasting, uplighting, and an awesome photo booth! 

Our booth was perfect for the day. Not only was our theme, "Party Like a Rockstar," but it was also "National Record Store Day." What better way to support both, but with a backdrop of old record album covers. This backdrop was made by Neal and I and has taken us over a year to find what we wanted. The final result was awesome!

There were about 3,000 people at Trimania. Our studio was packed all night. Once people saw the photo booth, they couldn't get enough. All they needed to do was put on some funky hats or glasses and click away at the camera. They could take unlimited amounts of photos. And you could have about 10 people at once. People started to get adventurous and were jumping, picking eachother up, and all different kinds of crazy things. We had a huge tv screen up that was doing a slide show of the images as guests were taking them. So, even if you didn't go in, you could watch and get some good laughs! 

Thank you to all who came and supported the Buffalo Arts Studio (host of Trimania). And a huge thank you to everyone who visited Neal Urban Studio. We hope we provided you with an awesome experience. If you missed out, you have 2 years to make yourself available for the next!

View and please tag yourselves on our Facebook page!

View and order prints through our online store!

-Danielle

Buffalo Photobooth by Neal Urban Studio

TRIMANIA!

Ok people..Today's the day! Trimania is here! 

If you are unfamiliar with this event, it is held every few years at the Tri-Main Center in Buffalo. This is also the home of Neal Urban Studio. Trimania was created to celebrate the arts, music and culture of Buffalo. This is a chance to see what the Tri-Main Center has to offer and to benefit the Buffalo Arts Studio. This year's theme is "Go Bananas." All of the businesses will have their doors open! It is from 8:00pm-1:00am. So even if you have dinner plans, you can still purchase tickets at the door.

There will be bands, bars, and food stations throughout all six floors! There will be DJ's dancers, comedians, poets, and visual artists everywhere. There is even going to be cirque shows and fire twirlers! 

Neal Urban Studio's doors will be open! Come down and see us! Meet Neal and I and some of our other photographers. Studio 443. Stop in for some music, fun, and have your picture taken at our photobooth! We built a backdrop just for this event and we think it's awesome!

We look forward to seeing everyone and "Going Bananas!"

-Danielle

Buffalo Photobooth by Neal Urban Studio

THE TIME OF MY LIFE!

Perfect title for this image, don’t you think. You would think the women were the crazy ones on the dance floor, but you are wrong. The guys took the win in this reception.

The reception took place at Antonio’s Banquet and Conference Center in Niagara Falls. If you have ever been there, you know they have a huge dance floor. This wedding sure needed it. There were over 350 guests present at the reception. And everyone was dancing. What a party! Neal and I had a hard time getting through the crowd for pictures. We found ourselves standing on chairs to see over people. But it sure was fun!

Everyone gets a little nostalgic when the song “(I’ve Had) The Time of My Life” by Bill Medley from the movie “Dirty Dancing” comes on. Everyone thinks they are Johnny Castle (Patrick Swayze) and Baby (Jennifer Grey). It is so great to see the dance moves. In this case, the Groomsman decided to play the part. Sure enough, that is the Groom hoisted up into the iconic “lift.” The funny thing was the guys knew exactly when to lift him up in the song! I would say the Groom had some pretty good form as well! They must have practiced in water somewhere before the big day!

This ended up being such a crazy party that it went on until around 1:30am. The drinks were flowing and the guests really were having “The Time of Their Lives!.”

-Danielle

Buffalo Wedding Photography by Neal Urban Studio

Ceremony - St. Vincent de Paul of Niagara Falls, NY

Photo Session - The Silo on the lower Niagara River, Lewiston NY 

Buffalo Wedding Reception - Antonio's Banquet & Conference Center

SPOTLIGHT ON THE GROOM!

Most people think that a wedding is all about the Bride. But come on, the Groom is part of the day too! It's important that we show them some photo love!

The ceremony was at St. Joseph University Church in Buffalo. It is a beautiful church and great for pictures. Before the ceremony, Neal sneaks to where the Groom and his guys are to get some photos. He will do some group shots and them some solos of the Groom.

Most guys do not like having their picture taken. Guys like to look and feel cool, strong and masculine! We show them a couple great shots right away and then they're excited to take pictures for rest of the day! In the photo above Neal placed the groom in great light and had him give a masculine pose to look "GQ"! This was all done in the moments before he was to say “I do.” 

We keep it pretty simple and harmless for the guys. We try to keep it a comfortable and fun atmosphere. So, guys are not afraid of the camera on the wedding day. It can be a lot of fun and your other half will truly appreciate it!

-Danielle

Buffalo Wedding Photography by Neal Urban Studio

Ceremony - St. Joseph University Church

Photo Session - Carrousel Museum of Tonawanda, NY

Buffalo Wedding Reception - Byblos

SHADOW GAMES

Today’s image comes to you from Statler City in Buffalo. If you have been to the Statler before, you may be wondering where we could have taken this image.

This wedding took place a few years ago, when the majority of the Statler was under construction. (Well more than it is now). Even though there were renovations going on, this Bride and Groom wanted some pictures done around the building. There were many places that were restricted, so we needed to work our magic. The head wedding and events coordinator at the Statler is wonderful to work with. We saw her walking around and asked where we could go. She said she would take us up to one of the top floors, where eventually there would be hotel rooms. It had views of the city. The Bride and Groom were completely up for taking the adventure.

It was pretty much a blank canvas surrounded by windows and wall paper. We took advantage of the windows with the city in the background. As I was walking around a bit, I noticed the sun was setting and casting an amazing glow across some of the walls.  And my shadow looked really cool on the wall. I grabbed Neal and suggested we play with some shadows. The Bride thought it looked really cool as well, so we had her pose. It took a few minutes to get her shadow exactly where we needed it to be. Then we needed her to be a statue for Neal to get the shot. The Bride did a wonderful job and the end result was beautiful! And don’t worry, the Groom was not left out. We took him to another area that had some graffiti on it. A bit more manly!

-Danielle

Buffalo Wedding Photography by Neal Urban Studio

Ceremony & Photo Session - Christ the King Chapel of Canisius

Buffalo Wedding Reception - Statler City

Buffalo DJ - Signature Entertainment