EPCOT TEA HOUSE

Taking us back to 2012 for this beautiful shot. We had the pleasure of doing a post bridal shoot in Disney World for one of our couples. The Bride is a huge Disney fan and originally wanted her wedding there, but once she found out that outside photographers were not allowed, she had a change of plans. She wanted Neal and I to be there. We told her not to worry, we’ll get to Disney! And we did!

The Bride and Groom got us passes for all of the theme parks. We were only there for 3 days and needed to do photos in all 4 parks, Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Animal Kingdom, and MGM Studios. Photo shoots are not allowed in any of the parks, unless you hire the parks’ photographers. So Neal and I brought the bare minimum into each, looking like we were guests.  The Bride had special passes that let us into parks after closing time too. We were doing photos in the Magic Kingdom until about 2:00am! Amazing! She even had specific outfits for every park!

This image was taken in Epcot, one of my favorite places. It is most beautiful at night! There are eleven countries to visit in Epcot. We started at one end and worked our way through all of them. The Bride knew every inch of the park, which was great. We had our own personal tour guide!  We were coming up on the United Kingdom. The Bride said one of her favorite places was here. A tea house!  We had to stop! Once we saw it, we knew we could get something good. We didn’t want to take away from the scenery with a crazy pose either. We wanted to keep it very simple and tie the whole image together. Here comes the hard part! How do you get the Bride and Groom alone in the photo with thousands of people walking by. The key is...You don’t!  We had to shoot every time there was a lull in the crowd. It was pretty fun. We had a few delays, in that the Bride was dressed in a beautiful white dress (not a wedding dress). But she looked like one of the Disney princesses. So, a lot of kids stopped to talk to her and wanted pictures with her. It was hysterical!

We only had some extra lighting on their faces. There was enough back light from the tea house. After being pretty patient, Neal got the shot! We knew from looking at the image in the camera, it was going to be beautiful. And it is! The Bride and Groom absolutely loved it! We liked it so much, we have a print in our home. Well, minus the couple haha!

The Bride and Groom are celebrating their anniversary today as well! So Happy Anniversary! Time to go back!

-Danielle

Disney Wedding Photography by Neal Urban Studio

CABANA BY THE BEACH!

Shooting by the beach can always be tricky. Sure, you can get sand all over you, or get splashed by a wave if you get too close. But the end result can be beautiful if your Bride and Groom are willing to go for it!

We traveled to Miromar Lakes Golf and Beach Club in East Miromar Lake, Florida. It is near Fort Meyers. We arrived the day before the wedding to scout out the location. Little did we know, you can’t get into the resort unless you are on the “list.” A quick phone call to the Bride and we were in. We were greeted by the wedding coordinator, who gave us the ok to go anywhere we wanted on the grounds.

The ceremony took place at the golf club and the reception was to follow. That didn’t leave us much time for photos. We had about 25 minutes to get family portraits, wedding party, and the Bride and Groom portraits. Good thing we scouted the day before and knew exactly where to go and how far away it was. We had the limo take us to the locations. Time was ticking away! We got to the beach and saw the lonely cabana. I brought the couple to where Neal wanted them and set up some lighting behind them. We left the couple alone and let them have some time together. Right as the sun was peaking out from the clouds, they had a kiss. It couldn’t have been more beautiful. Neal turned the photo black and white to make it a bit more dramatic. 

Getting lost in the magic, we almost forgot the time. We had about 5 minutes to get back to the reception and one more stop on the way. We had everything ready to go for the last shot. All the lighting was ready and we told the Bride and Groom what we needed them to do. 3 minutes to go! We all jumped out, got the last shot and got back to the reception with about 10 seconds to spare. Close call, but we would do it all over to get another image like this!

This image is also featured in "How to Photograph Weddings" by Michelle Perkins from Amherst Media!

-Danielle

Desination Fort Myers, FL Photography by Neal Urban Studio

Ceremony, Photo Session & Reception - Miromar Lakes

Destination Wedding Planner - Jet Set Wed

THE MASTERS!

In honor of the 2015 Masters coming to a close, it felt only appropriate to share this image with you all.

 

No, it is not Augusta National, in Georgia, but from our very own Park Country Club in Williamsville NY. We have done many weddings there. This image was taken by Neal nearing the end of a reception. He went outside to see where we could take the Bride and Groom for their last photoshoot. While testing out some ideas, he took this image. It worked out beautifully that there were spot lights on some parts of the course to light it up. He took it from the clubhouse balcony and never had to step foot on the course. It turned in to a beautiful shot! We have a huge canvas of it in our studio if anyone wants to check it out! And of course we took the Bride and Groom out there to take advantage of it and got some amazing images!

Something you may not know about Neal, is that besides weddings, he has a strong passion for golf photography. He has been to many different courses taking pictures for either their websites or for the golf enthusiast. He has done many for Niagara Frontier Country Club in Youngstown, NY. He has also been able to photograph the most widely known course Pebble Beach and an affiliated course SpyGlass Hill. Both of these are located in California. To see more of Neal's golf images click here!

Maybe one day he'll get to photograph the Masters! Happy golfing!

-Danielle

Park Country Club Photography by Neal Urban Studio

CAKE SMASH SATURDAY!

It’s time to get messy and have some fun! First Birthday cake smash photo shoots are just the ticket! There are definitely no forks or napkins for this cake. The messier the better!

This image was taken by one of our photographers, Shane. It is also his beautiful daughter. She was celebrating her first birthday, so it was only natural to bring her into the studio. She even got all dressed up in her tutu and pearls for the occasion. We sat her down and put the cake in front of her. (The beautiful cake was made by Andrea Amodeo from Blackbird Sweets in Buffalo).  At first she just stared at it. She wasn’t sure what to do. Shane gave her a little taste of frosting and that was it. She dove right in. It got to the point where she had so much frosting on her hands, she couldn’t move her little fingers. She was having so much fun, while daddy was clicking away with the camera. Every image was a keeper. 

Neal and I were helping behind the scenes. We got to jump around and be silly to make the baby laugh. What a great collaborative effort by all and a beautiful image by Shane!

-Danielle

Buffalo Baby Cake Smash Photography by Neal Urban Studio

GIANT WEDDING PARTY!

A wedding party of 31! That is crazy. But that is how many people were in this wedding party, including the Bride and Groom. (imagine how many guests were at the reception)

What to do with a party of 31 people? We had our work cut out for us on this one. The funny thing is that the entire party are mostly family members. Can you imagine if all of the couples’ friends were in it too? Aahhhh!! 

When we found out how many people were involved, we needed to figure out locations for pictures. The couple wanted to go to the waterfront in Lewiston near Water Street Landing and the Silo Restaurants. A great place for pictures, but also a nice place for people to walk around and enjoy the scenery. Neal and I are very familiar with the area, we just needed to figure out where to put everyone. We knew there was a big wooden stairway that lead to the water and that could work.

It was pretty busy when we arrived. The wedding party was exiting the limo and the group just kept coming. People passing by had the look of shock at how many people got off the limo. They were wishing us good luck too. It was hysterical! We had to talk pretty loud to get everyone’s attention and tell them where we wanted to start. Neal and I walked down to the bottom first and told everyone to file in behind. As they were following, all I was thinking was, “I hope there are enough steps for everyone." And thank goodness there were!

Meanwhile down below, people were watching and waiting to get back up the stairs. We had to get moving and the only way to do it was to keep it simple. “Everybody smile and look at the camera”. Done! The wedding party could turn around and head back to the limo. We had gone to another location first and worked with the party as well, so the Bride and Groom only wanted one quick shot by the waterfront with them. We showed them the image in the camera quickly. They started laughing and couldn’t believe they all fit. They loved it!

We still laugh about this image with the couple. They have thanked us so many times for staying positive, keeping everyone under control, and having fun with the wedding party! 

This image is featured in “500 Poses for Photographing Group Portraits: A Visual Sourcebook for Digital Portrait Photographers”.  It was written by Michelle Perkins at Amherst Media Publishing in Buffalo.

-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

FOUNTAIN OF LOVE

We love doing night photography. Nearing the end of receptions, we like to take the Bride and Groom away for one last photo shoot. 

This image was taken in the courtyard of Samuel’s Grande Manor in Williamsville, NY. The reception was almost coming to an end and we noticed the Bride and Groom going outside to get some air. Luckily, the courtyard was specifically for the wedding we were photographing so we didn’t need to intrude on another couple, which we would never do anyway. Neal and I decided to test out some lighting against the fountain. It looked amazing. All we needed was the couple for the finishing touch!

We placed lighting behind the fountain and had the Bride and Groom sit on the ledge in front. We also had some extra lighting directly on the couple to brighten up their faces. Neal took a series of shots with them looking at us, looking at each other, and then having a kiss. All of them looked beautiful. But the kiss really captured the couple in the moment. It seemed as though they were in their own world, not in a courtyard at Samuel’s. We got it! 

What a great way to end a beautiful wedding with an amazing Bride and Groom! 

-Danielle

Buffalo Wedding Photography by Neal Urban Studio

Ceremony - St. Joseph's of Niagara Falls, NY

Photo Session - Niagara Square of Buffalo, NY

Buffalo Wedding Reception - Samuel's Grande Manor

EXCITEMENT IN BABEVILLE!

Wow! I know what you’re thinking, “A guy with a sword at a wedding”. How crazy is that?  Well, it did happen, among some other amazing things.

This reception was one for the books. It took place at Asbury Hall in Buffalo, also known as “Babeville”. The Bride and Groom had the guests sitting on the edge of their seats. The couple are very into the arts. The Bride is a belly dancer that travels all over performing. The Groom is a videographer that films many of these performances and helps bring them to life.

It all started before we even got out of the car at Babeville. In the parking lot, there were fire twirlers, also called POI. It was amazing to see in the middle of a downtown Buffalo parking lot. We could only imagine what the rest of the night would be like. During the announcement of the bridal party, there were belly dancers leading the way. Then during dinner, the lights dimmed and out came performers using neon light hoola hoops and swinging around neon light ropes. The reception hall was glowing. And just when we thought it couldn’t get any better, a guy with a sword comes out. He was swinging them around and doing all sorts of crazy acrobatic moves. People were in awe. You can see the Bride and Groom in the background watching in amazement. I was a bit scared and stayed further back. Neal was all over the dance floor trying not to get sliced by the swords to get some great images. He was head on with the swordsman when he took this shot. What an awesome image! All that was going through my mind was, “Oh my God, don’t slice Neal in half”.

-Danielle

Buffalo Wedding Photography by Neal Urban Studio

Cermony location & Photo Session - Delaware Park

Buffalo Wedding Reception - Asbury Hall

Buffalo DJ - Premier Sound

Buffalo Videography - Candlelight Productions

LOOK OUT BELOW!

This is an angle you don’t see often for a wedding ceremony! But it’s pretty cool! Thank you to one of our awesome assistants, Leah, for capturing this image.

This wedding took place at the Barton Hill in Lewiston NY. The ceremony was on the balcony. There were three of us shooting this wedding, so we all needed to try to get different angles. The space was not very big either, so it was time to brain storm and figure out a way for all of our images to look different.

After a few minutes, Neal noticed there was another balcony above the ceremony spot. Neal thought it would be great to put one of us up there during the procession. He asked Leah if she was up for it. All she needed was to figure out how to get up there. The Barton is also a hotel, so Leah went upstairs and noticed there wasn't public access. Little did we know, the balcony above were private to the guests who booked those rooms. Leah traveled downstairs to the lobby to see if she could have room access but all rooms were booked. Leah came back up the the second floor to give us a status update. Not giving up, Leah went back up to the thrid floor anyway and knocked on one of the doors. She explained to the guest that she was photographing a wedding and would love to grab a quick shot from above. The guests were so nice and let her in. They even stayed out there to watch the ceremony! Leah got quite the work out going up and down the stairs but the shot was well worth it!

As you can see in the image, Neal is at the front of the aisle capturing the procession. I am getting a shot from behind the Bride in the doorway and Leah is above. You can even see the mother of the Bride and a guest behind the judge who wanted in on the action too with their iPhones/iPads! But the person who got the best shot was Leah. Great shot Leah!

-Danielle

Buffalo Wedding Photography byNeal Urban Studio

Buffalo wedding Ceremony & Reception - Barton Hill Hotel & Spa, Lewiston NY

Buffalo Wedding DJ - Shy Guy Shawn of Kiss 98.5

SPLISH SPLASH!

If this image does not put a smile on your face, than I don't know what will. It is great for a Monday!

This little guy was amazing to photograph. He is one year old and a bundle of fun! Most of the time working with little kids is tricky because it takes awhile for them to get used to us and their surroundings. Not for this guy! He was smiling from the time he got into studio until the time he left.   

Before the shoot even took place, we were throwing ideas around with mom. We told her our vision and she absolutely loved it! A week before, we needed to test out the bubbles. At home, I was experimenting with all different kinds, baby friendly of course. They were not lasting very long. So, we tried good old dish soap. And it worked. Mom was completely fine with it and said she uses them for the kids to play with all the time. 

While Neal was shooting some basic portraits of the baby and his big brother, I excused myself to start making the bubbles. We do not have a private restroom in studio, so I had to make them in the public restroom. The women who walked in asked if I was doing a science experiement. My response was, "Nope, just making bubbles". It took about 10 minutes to get the amount we would need. Walking back to the studio with a bucket of bubbles was pretty interesting too. I was just praying I didn't drop any and have to start over.

Neal was all ready and had the baby set up for the shot. For lighting we used natural light coming in from our HUGE windows that are facing the Northeast which is beautiful light for photography, we also used bounce boards on the other side of our subject to keep it natural as possible. All I needed to do was fill in the bubbles. This little guy was having so much fun and didn't want to get out. It was such a fun shoot, we didn't want him to leave.

This image is a great way to start your Monday!

-Danielle

Buffalo Baby Photography by Neal Urban Studio

HAPPY EASTER!

Everyone is feeling Spring in the air. (Well trying to). This is a time where people get bright, new, fun outfits and want to show them off!

We had the pleasure of photographing these two cuties in their colorful matching dresses in Neal Urban Studio. After we got some basic portraits, we decided to have some fun with these sisters. We have a bed for photo shoots in studio and the little girls kept eyeing it. After we cleared it with the parents, we asked the girls if they wanted to jump on the bed. They were ecstatic! Neal was set up with his camera facing the bed. I stood to the side of the bed incase the girls got too crazy jumping. We told the girls to have fun and jump. Neal kept clicking away to see what would happen. We got more fun images than we thought. We loved this image the best! They are having so much fun. Just look at those faces. The one sister definately got some air!

When all was said and done, the girls looked exhausted. It looked like it was nap time! Mom and Dad said they were going to bring them by every morning to tire them out!

-Danielle

Buffalo Family Photography by Neal Urban Studio