OLD FORT NIAGARA SOLDIERS AND THE HAPPY COUPLE!

More from Heather and Clay's wedding at Old Fort Niagara, just like I mentioned yesterday.

And Clay is in the photo! I think this is just hysterical. I love how Heather & Clay wanted the Old Fort reenactment actors in some of their wedding photos. Neal asked them to be serious here to act like they are protecting Heather and Clay. Neal said that one of the guys could not stop smiling. You could tell he was happy to be a part of the photos. But he couldn't keep the serious face like the other guys at first. Well, they all did a great job here. You can definitely see Clay laughing. I know I would be laughing too.

I love this image. We have done so many photos at Old Fort Niagara and this is the first time any of the staff has been involved. We normally try to stay in the shadows and not get in the way. In this instance, how could you not have these 3 guys part of the shot! So much fun!

-Danielle

Buffalo Wedding Photography: Neal Urban Studio

Buffalo Wedding Ceremony & Reception: Youngstown Yacht Club

Buffalo Wedding Photo Location: Old Fort Niagara

STUNNING BRIDE AT OLD FORT NIAGARA

Look at this amazing image of Heather at Old Fort Niagara!

Heather and Clay were married in July at the Youngstown Yacht Club. They did their photos inside of Old Fort Niagara. Heather grew up close to the entrance of the Fort so it was personal that they went there for photos! Neal shot this wedding with another assistant, as I had my own wedding that day. I still took a quick look through Heather and Clay's images though.

And I am so happy I did! Heather looks stunning! I know she is walking/running away from the camera, but I still love it. It was super bright out as you can see. This is one of the tunnels in the Fort. Neal had her go toward the light. You would think she would have been super blown out because of her white dress. The material was so lightweight, that Heather could carry it no problem on her own. The way she held it helped to catch shadows and create detail in her dress and not wash her out. The tunnel sometimes acts as a wind tunnel so it creates beautiful movement in dresses and veils.

Simply beautiful! 

A lot more to come from Heather and Clay's wedding!

-Danielle

Buffalo Wedding Photography: Neal Urban Studio

Buffalo Wedding Ceremony and Reception: Youngstown Yacht Club

Buffalo Wedding Photo Location: Old Fort Niagara

BEAUTY AT THE OLD FORT

Yes we are bringing you back to Old Fort Niagara. Like I mentioned before, it is a popular location for us to shoot, but again, we found a new spot!

Erin and Dan got married in September of 2011. After working with the wedding party, we sent them back to the limo to party. It was time to get some nice and intimate photos with the lovely couple. We walked all over the Fort and came across this area. Does anyone else get a Diagon Alley from Harry Potter feel from this image? It’s probably just me!

Neal was looking around and saw that he could get a higher vantage point. You could tell he was really excited because he started running! I was below completely facing the couple. I did not see until after what Neal was going for. I loved it! I love how you can see more of the roof and some light from the sky!

-Danielle

Buffalo Wedding Photography: Neal Urban Studio

Buffalo Wedding Ceremony: Prince of Peace Church

Buffalo Wedding Photo Location: Old Fort Niagara

Buffalo Wedding Reception: Rapids Theatre

I SEE YOU!

We showed you a dramatic photo of Stephanie and Michael at Old Fort Niagara earlier in the week. Well, we definitely needed to show you a fun one as well!

There is nothing like looking at your just married spouse through a view finder! Too bad none of us had quarters so they could actually see one another. All they could see was black. But that didn’t stop them from having fun with it. 

Not all of our photos are crazy, artistic or dramatic. We do like to have fun with our couples. This is a prime example of all of us just having a great time.

-Danielle

Buffalo Wedding Photography: Neal Urban Studio

Buffalo Wedding Ceremony: Prince of Peace Church

Buffalo Wedding Photo Location: Old Fort Niagara

Buffalo Wedding Reception: Niagara Falls Country Club

ALONE IN THE OLD FORT

Stephanie and Michael had a beautiful wedding in August of 2011. We went to Old Fort Niagara for their photos.

We shoot there often, so we always try to find a new place to use or shoot from a different angle. This wall did have two wooden benches in front. We decided to pull one aside. Now, Neal had a blank canvas with one lonely bench. 

We had Stephanie and Michael have a seat. Stephanie laid right into Michael’s arms. It looked so good. We wanted to make them feel as though they were the only two people in the Fort. I think it worked!

-Danielle

Buffalo Wedding Photography: Neal Urban Studio

Buffalo Wedding Ceremony: Prince of Peace Church

Buffalo Wedding Photo Location: Old Fort Niagara

Buffalo Wedding Reception:: Niagara Falls Country Club

OLD FORT NIAGARA BRIDE AND GROOM

Jennifer and Jay got married in June of 2011! 

We went to Old Fort Niagara for their photos. They had a giant wedding party, so we worked with the party first, right in the entry of the Fort and then took Jennifer and Jay in. We only like to bring the bride and groom in because it is open to the public and tours are usually going on. We still like to be respectful of the tourists and grounds.

This close up of Jennifer and Jay is so cute! Jay went in and whispered something in her ear. I wonder what it was? What ever it was sure made Jennifer have a giant smile and the image turned out beautiful!

-Danielle

Buffalo Wedding Photography: Neal Urban Studio

Buffalo Wedding Ceremony: First Presbyterian Church of Youngstown

Buffalo Wedding Photo Location: Old Fort Niagara

Buffalo Wedding Reception: Sheraton at the Falls (Crown Plaza back then)

GQ STYLE AT THE OLD FORT!

Happy Wedding Day to Nina and Vinny! Here is one last shot from their engagement shoot at Old Fort Niagara that we did last year!

We told Nina and Vinny to dress really bold! Their shoot was in the fall and we knew it wouldn't be that bright inside the Fort. Nina chose very well wearing red! Her and Vinny looked stunning! Both of them were pretty nervous at first. Once we starting and got them laughing, they were naturals. You would think they were both models. They looked like they belonged on the red carpet!

I think we did photos in every building we were allowed to go in. We pretty much covered the entire Fort! This was one of the Fort tower walls that looks out onto the water. We wanted it to look like a magazine image. That is why they are not looking directly at the camera. We asked them not to smile for this one too. We all know how that goes! Nina starts laughing and can't keep a straight face. Vinny starts to laugh. A quick 5 minute break was in order! We finally all calmed down and Neal got exactly what he was going for. 

We are so excited to be a huge part of their day! Congratulations Nina and Vinny!

-Danielle

Buffalo Engagement Photography by Neal Urban Studio

Buffalo Engagement Photo Session - Old Fort Niagara

NINA, VINNY, AND MICKEY AT FORT NIAGARA!

Nina and Vinny are getting married Saturday! Here is one of their engagement images done at Fort Niagara State Park in Youngstown NY.

Nina is a huge Disney fan! They actually got engaged in Disney World! We began their shoot inside the Old Fort (take a look Saturday to see an image from that part of the shoot). She brought a Mickey balloon and it really didn't work well inside the Fort with their outfits. We decided to keep it to use down by the water. We found a lonely picnic table facing Lake Ontario. This shot wasn't as easy as you would think. It was a little breezy and it kept moving around the Mickey balloon. Nina and Vinny couldn't really see what was going on because we needed them to look straight ahead. But, we really wanted to get a cute shot for Nina. It took about 10 minutes for Mickey to be visible haha! We knew she would love it! 

-Danielle

Buffalo Engagement Photography by Neal Urban Studio

Buffalo Engagement Photo Session - Fort Niagara State Park

THE GROOM AT OLD FORT NIAGARA

Last week we showed you a beauitful image of a Bride (Dana) at Fort Niagara. Here is fantastic image of her Groom (Chad) in his solo!

Their images were done at Old Fort Niagara in Youngstown, NY. Like I mentioned before, we love shooting here. There is so much history brought into every shot. We can always find locations to do things with the men or the ladies.

For Chad, we found a room that had an amazing old fire place and chair. There were windows to the side, but they didn't let in as much light as the other room Dana had her image in. This was perfect for Chad. We needed to give him a more manly scene. Next to the fireplace was an old, ornate, wooden chair. He actually took it upon himself to sit there while we were scoping out the scene. He did a great job because that's exactly where Neal wanted him. We asked him to sit how he normally would if he was just hanging out.  A casual male cross of the leg! It fit him perfectly. Chad was cracking jokes the whole time too. He had so much commentary during all the photos. But he could be serious right on que when we needed him to be. Neal asked for him to look toward the window and all talking and jokes immediately stopped from him. This shot also had that old vintage feel to it. It turned out really nice for Chad.

The posing for the guys is usually a lot more simple than for the ladies. Most of the time they do not want to be in pictures. Luckily with Chad, he was all about being center stage!

-Danielle

Fort Niagara Wedding Photography by Neal Urban Studio

Lewiston, NY Wedding Ceremony - First Presbyterian Church of Lewiston

Niagara Falls, Wedding Photo Session - Old Fort Niagara

Buffalo, NY Wedding Reception - Classics V

ELEGANCE AT THE OLD FORT!

Today we take you to Old Fort Niagara, in Youngstown NY. It is a piece of history to go see. And now a great place to take photos. Neal and I love shooting there! 

Normally when we shoot weddings at the Fort, we work with the wedding party in the main entanceway and take the Bride and Groom through the rest. It is a historic and public landmark, so we do need to take that into consideration. Most of the time, there are tours and reinactments going on as well. Sometimes, there are cannons going off in the background! We like to walk around the property with the couple and stop in all different areas.

This image was taken in the largest building on site. We walked from room to room and came upon this beautful spot. The light was pouring in from the window. There was on old wooden chair in the corner that we pulled forward for the Bride. I did a quick test to make sure it was safe to sit on first! If I fell, no big deal haha! But it was good to go! While Neal was positioning himself for the shot, I was making sure the Bride looked perfect. We wanted her to have an elegant and graceful feel. At first we did not have her bouquet in the photo. But we noticed, there wasn't much room for her to put her hands and it looked a bit awkward. The simple addition of the bouquet and a tilt of the head away from the window was the ticket! Since her head turned away from the light we used a bounce board for some fill light to light up her face. There was so much light pouring through the window, we didn't need any other light source. The Bride looked stunning and it turned out to be a beautiful image!

-Danielle

Buffalo Wedding Photography by - Neal Urban Studio

Church - First Presbyterian Church, Lewiston NY

Photo Session - Old Fort Niagara

Buffalo Wedding Reception - Classics V

Buffalo DJ - Premier Sound