Congratulations, Tom & Jenny!

To say that I'm exhausted beyond belief, would be an understatement right now, but we had an amazing time photographing the wedding of Tom & Jenny! Tom and Jenny currently live in Colorado, however came back to Jenny's hometown of Ellicottville, NY to wed this weekend... we were very excited to be a part of their big day.

I definitely overdid it a bit on this one as far as the travel is concerned and still can't believe what we accomplished in a 24 hour period. We left Albany yesterday morning at 6am and drove all the way to Ellicottville, which is about an hour southwest of Buffalo (5.5 hours from home).... we got a hotel room there, but it was warm with no A/C, so we decided to grab a quick bite out in the town, check things out a bit, and then rest up for the wedding. We shot the wedding for close to 8 hours, and by 12:30am I was wired and decided, rather than go back to the hotel and sleep like I should, we should make a run for it and drive 5.5 hours back home all in a straight shot (not the smartest thing I've ever done, but makes for a great story I suppose). Anyway, we pulled in the driveway this morning at 5:30am after spending all night on the road after shooting the wedding..... to think we did what we did in 24 hours is crazy, and am a complete zombie today as I'm sure you can image...... even though I'm tired, it's great to be home, and was happy to be able to make the trip for such good people as Tom and Jenny!

We are still sorting though hundreds of photos (in between napping every other hour today), however are hoping to have things uploaded as quickly as possible for all the family and friends to see from this wedding. For those interested, you can pre-register your email at the link below to automatically recive notification when images are live this week (that's right... this week!) Here is the link to find the event (password is lowercase last name of the couple):

http://mattramosphotography.instaproofs.com/enterEvent.php?id=19020

A special thanks to Tom and Jenny.... best of luck and happiness in your new marriage!!!

P.S. Here's a few shots from the day I quickly grabbed to share.... my favorite is the night shot of the ski lodge where the ceremony & reception were held :)

Kevin & Nicole Cain Album Completed!

Less than 3 months after their wedding, we have completed the "rough draft" album design for the newly wed, Mr. Kevin & Nicole Cain! I've known Nicole for quite some time now, so it was an absolute pleasure to not only be able to photograph the most important day of her life, but to be able to design a beautiful fine art album for her and Kevin using all their favorite photos from the day.

For those that are new to the blog or are researching our services, one of the unique things our clients can do is view and customize their own album before it's printed and delivered. I think we have a great layout to start with, and with the edits Kevin and Nicole make, this will make an amazing 12X12 leather album that they can enjoy for years!

Click the link below to check out the slideshow of their album design.... make sure you turn those speakers up first!

www.mattramosphotography.com/cain

Happy Birthday, Mrs. Ramos! :)

Just a quick note to say, "Happy Birthday" to the wifey...... I'd probably get smacked in the head if I tell you how old she is today, so I will refrain from doing so :) I'm sure she'd love some emails to wish her a happy birthday! - tonya@mattramosphotography.com

P.S. We are headed for an overnight trip to lovely, Elicottville, NY to shoot the wedding of Tom & Jenny.... be sure to check back Sunday afternoon maybe for some samples from the wedding!

Congrats to Tom & Jamie for Paying Attention :)

Congrats to Tom and Jamie from Staten Island for paying close attention, and finding the hidden discount offer in my last blog entry..... they will automatically receive a 10% off coupon for any Graphi-Studio album of their choice for their upcoming, 2008 wedding! I know it's hard to see since the photo is small, but as you can see they will have a great time going through all of the amazing options to pick out the PERFECT album from one of the most amazing wedding album companies on the planet - congrats, guys!!

P.S. I may just continue to do these little hidden discount offers from time to time, so be sure to check back from time to time and see what you find! :)

New Leather Graphi-Studio Albums!

Graphi-Studio albums are some of the most sought after products by brides and grooms wanting the very top of the line products when it comes to showcasing their wedding images. We carry albums with various colors, shapes, and styles already in our packages, however due to growing interest, decided to order a few more of the Graphi-Studio show albums for our client meetings. We didn't have any in leather before today, and so was really excited to see what they looked like. I got half of the order in today and thought I would share for those interested in the leather option, rather than the fiberglass, metal or silk cover options we offer with these amazing books. These come in black leather also by the way, but this is a sample of the brown leather, which I think looks really cool in my opinion.... either way, you can't go wrong with a huge 9½ x 13 album of plush Italian leather with all your favorite images in them! (I wish Tonya and I had one for ourselves!) You can also see above what the parent albums look like in a nice sized 8x12 option.

So, how about a little test to see who actually reads this stuff.... the first couple (upcoming wedding or already taken place and haven't ordered albums yet) that contacts me via email and mentions the code "Blog-Graphi," will get an automatic 10% off a master 9½ X 13, Graphi-Studio album in any color leather (black or brown) or any cover for that matter of their choice! These are expensive albums folks, so 10% off is a great deal! Please note this is a one time offer and will only be offered to the first couple that contacts us regarding this blog entry with the valid code....... tic-tock, tic-tock.......

P.S. We may continue to offer little special deals like this in the future on various items and services, so it might pay off to continue checking back from time to time!

Tom & Rachel Engagements!

Our second engagement session today was with, yet another super fun couple to work with, Tom & Rachel. (I know it seems like I say that about everyone, but we seriously just have such amazing couples to work with this year). Tom was a bit out of his element having his picture taken, and he did such a good job toughing it out for Rachel, and despite the fact he was probably counting the minutes to get out of there, you'd never know it from the photos. Thanks for a fun shoot, and hope you guys have fun at dinner tonight :)

So.... two great couples and two great engagement sessions today that were a lot of fun. Weddings are obviously an extremely important event, and we love the fact that we can further build our client relationships with these engagement shoots.... Not that I don't work hard for all our clients, but I find it a bit easier to get into my creative niche when I feel more of a connection with the couple, which is a plus on both sides I suppose.

Next week, we'll be working heavily on album designs and finishing up some of these miscellaneous shoots from the week, and then are off for an overnight road trip and destination wedding for Tom & Jenny.... check back later for more updates!

Damian & Nicole Engagements!

After a long week of presentations/meetings with up and coming clients, it was nice to get back behind the camera today and shoot some engagement photos with Damian & Nicole. Many of the 2008 couples are waiting until the fall to have their engagements in the fall foliage, but there is an amazing rose garden that we've had the opportunity to use with tons and tons of flowers in full bloom, which makes for some awesome photos. Nicole and Damian are such a great couple, and while a bit reserved, are a ton of fun and super easy to work with. The engagement photos today were literally "a walk in the park," and I can't wait til the actual wedding day of these two next year. Here's just a few samples from our session this morning - thanks for a fun shoot, guys!

P.S. You'd be amazed how many people request the infamous "sunburst shot" and so of course, had to post the one from today. Due to the time of day, I had to lay on the ground to get the shot, and have a funny shot of me laying on the ground with the couple hovering above me that our assistant, John took - maybe I'll post later :)

Giovanna Lepore Works....

As I've probably mentioned before, photographing artwork not as easy a task ad you'd think it might be..... keeping things perfectly straight up and down, the right balance of light evenly spread, and keeping the acrylic from looking too shiny in spots is rather challenging. Either way, I love the challenge, and had fun today photographying some of Giovanna's latest works.

Giovanna is a great artist who'd I've done work for in the past (you can probably find it on the blog about a year or so back), and is always a pleasure to work with. Much of her work finds it's way into various galleries and shops in the city, she is working on an upcoming showing of some of her work as well.

I have no idea whatsoever where I would even begin if asked to try and do something like this, and find it interesting how some of the creative minds work when it comes to painting. (for example, take a look at the last sample, and try and figure out where the first marking was made when she started the project) - If I were a betting man, I think I'd fold on that question :)

As a reminder, we have two upcoming engagement session for this weekend, so be sure to check back for some updates and samples if interested!

Engagements w/ Matt & Lindsay...

Another crazy week as usual, and I'm behind again on my blog entrees. We have quite a bit of stuff going on for the rest of the week, so will do my best to to get back on track with things! (I've been spending way too much time playing with my new truck I bought over the weekend, I think :)

We had another engagements session this evening with one of the upcoming new couples getting married this year. Matt & Lindsay make a great couple, and we look forward to shooting their wedding next month.... they are starting to feel the pressure as the days count down a bit I think, however am confident it will be an amazing day for them. I'm still going through photos, but here's a quick one I can share!

We'll be shooting some artwork tomorrow, which is always interesting - check back tomorrow to see some samples if you like.... also, more meetings and engagement sessions coming up this week, so should have lots of updates :)

Headshots with Eric...

How bout that.... two blog entries in one day for ya - am I on top of things or what!?

After my shoot this morning at the Burnt Hills U.M.C. I had the opportunity to work with Eric for a quick headshot session. Eric is a real nice guy, who is in law school and needed some new headshots for his portfolio. Here's one of the samples from our shoot (I'm working on the rest still, Eric) Thanks for a fun shoot and wish you the best of luck!

Sooo.... After a long week, I'm going to take the next couple of days to relax and spend some with the wife & dogs. We are meeting with good friends, Gregg & Lindsey tomorrow morning to discuss their upcoming September wedding, and then are headed out of town for a night to visit some family and relax. I'm sure I'll go insane being away from my computer for a bit, but I'll try to make the best of it :)

Burnt Hills United Methodist

I spent the morning at the Burnt Hills Methodist Church with Don, Dick and Dolly to shoot some updated portraits for their wall of fame. As you can see, these three go together as well as their names, and had fun listening to them joke with one another. Anyway, just a quick entry, but here's a few shots from our session - aside from their fun personalities, I was very impressed with the beauty of the sanctuary, and hope to have a wedding here sometime in the future!

Engagement Photos w/ John & Nicole!

One of the great things about our 2008/2009 packages is that we are offering free engagement sessions with them. Not only is this a perk for the customer, but gives us a great opportunity to do a "test run" as well as get to know the couple a bit more that we'll be working with, which is great for everyone!

I had the opportunity to work with John and Nicole today, and had a blast hanging out with them in a local rose garden we found to do some portraits in. The couple is actually from Virgina and booked our services over the phone, so it was great to finally meet them in person while they were in town - much like most of the other couples we work with, they have awesome personalities and you can tell how madly in love with each other they are.

Here's a few shots from the day I liked and thought would post. Thanks again guys, and enjoyed working with you both! We hope to have all the photos uploaded and ready for viewing within a few days for you. Have fun with your family while in town and see you next year!

2008 Dates - Gone Before You Know it!

More and more couples are getting smart when it comes to planning their wedding by booking in advance to make sure they lock their date(s) with prefered vendors. You'd be amazed at how many phone calls we receive from people getting married in 30-60 days or less and are just beginning to look for a photographer, dj, or videographer.... (sometimes, you just want to ask people what they were thinking :)

It's been an insane month in terms of meeting with all new couples for 2008, and I'm really excited to work all the fun up and coming weddings for 2008! I can't express enough how important it is that those looking for a photographer, should make arrangements immediately - we will only be accepting a certain amount of weddings for next year and at the rate things are going, they will be gone before it's even Fall of 2007!

Here is a list of the recent couples that have booked over the past 30-40 days:

- Kevin & Sarah
- Stephen & Kristin
- Mike & Lindsey
- Matt & Veronica
- Blake & Victoria
- Bob & Thomaura
- Matt & Laura
- Christopher & Laura
- Matt & Kristin

(Enough Matt's for ya?)

If anyone is interested (or knows someone getting married) and needing to find a photographer for their wedding, you can view our calendar and availability by clicking here --> Schedule.

Lots going on this week, so be sure to check back for more updates on things - until then, I leave you with a funny wedding news story..... how does this happen!!!???

http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/europe/07/11/wedding.early.reut/index.html

How it all began.......

I was sort of dared to post this on my blog, so I'm doing it anyway!

One of my uncles (Uncle Kevin) emailed me some photos today from back in the 70's, when I was about 4 years old. I don't ever remember these photos being taken to be honest, but thought it was ironic to see me with a camera at such an early age. (There must have been a bride standing in front of me, but can't remember - haha)

You'll notice I had such great style back then (back in the late 70's/early 80's a Superman shirt and tall socks could be worn with anything), and I'm hoping Tom and Jamie (who's wedding we are shooting next year) will see this post as Tom is such a huge Superman fanatic. (Here's one of the fun engagement photos we did of he and Jamie a few months ago :)

Hopefully, business will explode now as our future clients can visualize some kid in a Superman shirt showing up to shoot their wedding :)

P.S. Thanks for the photos, Kev - I'm always up for a good dare!

777 - Congratulations, Christina & Jerry!

After all they hype, 7/7/7 finally came this year and thousands and thousands from around the world were expected to wed on what is supposed to be the luckiest day ever. Despite the thousands of weddings that occured today, one of the most special celebrations was that of Christina and Jerry. I can't even begin to tell you how many people contacted us about shooting their wedding on this date, and I'm glad that despite everyone we had to turn down, we were able to capture the special day of such an amazing couple!

Despite a little heat, we had a lot of fun today and am really excited to share all the photos we were able to capture today.... We are hoping to have all the images available for online viewing/ordering with 1-2 weeks, and invite those interested to pre-register their email at the link below to receive notification of when images go live (the passord is the couples last name - make sure you spell it correctly, and feel free to contact us if any problems!)

http://mattramosphotography.instaproofs.com/enterEvent.php?id=19016

Thanks and congratulations again to Christina & Jerry.... May you have an amazing marriage and luck for having wed on 7/7/7!

P.S. I had a really hard time narrowing it down for a blog entry, but here's just a few of my favorites from the day!

One last portrait session for ya!

We finished up the last of three fun portrait sessions this week with yet another fun family! While weddings seem to be the specialty these days, it was nice to have a bit of a break and get to work with such nice families this week with some low stress portraits. I did, however, smarten up today and ordered a nice new remote controlled roller system for the studio, that will allow us to automatically change backdrops all at the click of a button (and a few more backdrops to keep things fresh) - I don't know why I didn't figure this out years ago, but I suppose it's better late than never. Anyway, a big thanks to the Lucas family for allowing us to update some of their family portraits, and will hope to have everything online and ready to go in a couple days for you!

On a side note, we will be working heavily on some of the recent weddings this week in efforts to get them uploaded, so those that have anxiously emailed us wanting to see stuff won't have too much longer to wait! I hope everyone has a great week, and be sure to check back for some possible updated 4th of July, fireworks photos!