The Art of Wedding Photography: Capturing your always and creating legacies

August 23, 2023 Whitney Warne

For many photographers, the journey into wedding photography begins with inspiration from other talented professionals in the field. For Amanda Parker, Ivory House’s seasoned Wedding Photographer, that inspiration was "…found Jasmine Star and the late Jessica Claire's blog. I was enamored with their work. I thought if they can do this, I can do this." This initial spark of inspiration lead to a deep desire to learn and master the craft of wedding photography.

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The Power of Anticipation and Calmness

Amanda's approach to wedding photography is rooted in a strong foundation of experience and knowledge. She spent two years second shooting with various photographers, learning the ins and outs of wedding day logistics, posing techniques, and problem-solving. Her dedication to understanding every aspect of the wedding day ensures that she is prepared for any situation that may arise.

One of the key qualities that sets Amanda apart as a wedding photographer is her ability to navigate the chaos of a wedding day with grace and calm. She thrives on the challenges and sees them as opportunities to showcase her expertise.

I love having the little things that come up that are like, okay, how do we work through this? How do we push past it? What do we need to do?—Amanda Parker

Amanda understands that her role as a photographer goes beyond capturing beautiful images. She sets the tone for the day and helps to create an atmosphere of calmness and reassurance. Whether it's dealing with a bridesmaid's meltdown or adjusting to unexpected weather conditions, Amanda's presence and professionalism ensures that the couple can relax and enjoy their special day without worry.

The Heart and Soul of Wedding Photography

Weddings are not just about capturing pretty pictures; they are about preserving family history and creating a lasting legacy. Amanda's passion for preserving legacies shines through in her work. She goes above and beyond to ensure that every detail is captured, from pinning boutonnieres to a couple's grand entrance. Her experience and knowledge allow her to handle any situation with ease, making her the least stressful part of the wedding day.

The Ivory House Approach: Holistic and Professional

As an Ivory House standard, our work is grounded in holistic representations, understanding that weddings are not just about the couple but also about their families and the relationships they hold dear. Our goal is always to create an environment where love, support, and kindness are tangible from beginning to end.

This starts from the beginning of our process. From the initial contact to the final delivery of photos, Ivory House prides itself on our attention to detail, clear communication, and promptness. We believe in being a trusted partner to couples who value hiring professionals for both their skills and values.

The Ideal Client: Relationships and Practicality

Ivory House clients are those who value relationships, practicality, and quality over superficiality. Our photographers thrive in environments where families are fully invested in the couple's union and where love and support are palpable. Our clients are not focused on the show or the production; they are focused on the meaningful moments and the legacy they are creating.

Looking To The Future Together

The art of wedding photography is ever-evolving, and photographers like Amanda are at the forefront of this dynamic field. The ability to navigate the chaos, anticipate challenges, and create a legacy through images will remain the cornerstone of successful wedding photography.

By embracing both the technical and emotional aspects of the craft, Ivory Houses creates a truly immersive and meaningful experience for all of our clients. The key to success lies in finding the perfect balance between professionalism, creativity, and a deep understanding of the sentimental value of weddings.

As we move forward, let us celebrate the incredible photographers who dedicate their lives to capturing love, preserving legacies, and creating memories that will last a lifetime.

Amanda Parker

While technical skills and professionalism are essential, what truly sets Amanda apart is her deep understanding of the sentimental and legacy aspects of weddings. For her, weddings are not just about capturing pretty pictures: they are about preserving family history and creating a lasting legacy. As she reflects on her own family's wedding photos, she understands the importance images have in telling a family's story.
Amanda's passion for preserving legacies shines through in her work. She goes above and beyond to ensure that every detail is captured, from pinning boutonnieres to a couple's grand entrance. Her experience and knowledge allows her to handle any situation with ease, ensuring that your photos will be the least stressful part of your day.

Ivory House Senior Portrait Sessions Interview with Megan

July 24, 2022 Whitney Warne

How did you get involved in Senior Portraits? This is a niche-type session.

When you’re young, you want to do anything just to shoot, but now I feel like Senior sessions are like Extra sessions but for high school kids. It’s their way of expressing themselves in different locations.

Ah, I’ve never thought about it that way! Senior sessions are just moments of being EXTRA.

My Senior photos were a bit more of what my mom wanted, but I think nowadays, kids get to do what they want. I think Senior photos are really all about style, who you are, and what you picture for photos.

That’s true! Okay, so someone signs up for a Senior session. What are the things they should do to prep? How does someone even go about deciding on a location?

I have a few subjects that I ask people to think about:

Style
Location
Outfits
Poses

It feels overwhelming but the main question to ask yourself is what do I want these photos to look like? Do I want a timeless, classic portrait? Do I want something stylistic? Do I want to show off my sport?

You have to start with the baseline of what is your main vision and then go from there.

Should people go on Pinterest and send you Pinterest pictures?

The plus side with Senior photos is that you can do a little bit of everything. My main goal going into the shoot is knowing what the client wants out of the shoot so that I can do it justice. I don’t want them to say, “let’s go to this location because everyone does it” if that is not really their look.

My opinion when it comes to Pinterest is that it is a fun place to get ideas and vibes, but don’t go looking for exact photos that you want to recreate because a photographer is going to make their own vision come to life; however, it is nice to see the vibes and the styles that a person likes.

What are the vibes and styles that are super popular right now?

For girls, a classic one is a flowy dress in a field. For boys, a lot of them will wear their basketball jerseys or a button-down shirt and they go to a brick wall background.

I have seen a big trend lately of going to parking garages or having big, city skyline views in the background. I think urban has become the new thing.

Oh!

Yeah, I think growing up in my time, nature is where you would go, but I think urban is taking over that a little bit now.

Should someone prepare differently based upon their location? If they are shooting in an urban location versus the countryside?

Outfits would be different. I would say, everyone should have two to three outfits, and all of that depends on your location. The rule of thumb for me is have one timeless or neutral outfit, one fancy outfit that you wouldn’t wear on an everyday basis, and one that is more stylistic to what you do wear on an everyday basis.

It’s not required preparation because we will always make magic out of whatever someone wants to wear.

Do you have a favorite location to shoot?

For Seniors, my favorite location is just wandering downtown. We have a starting point but then we will walk a couple of blocks, and we’ll find a different backdrop. That to me is my favorite: when we are not trying to recreate a certain image. Let’s just play around and get good images.

What is the advice for hair and make-up?

Don’t do anything super dramatic. You want to look like yourself. You don’t want to look back on these and be like “What was I thinking?!”

What is a big mistake you see people making before or during their session?

When people overlook at Pinterest or when they have an exact picture in mind. Not everyone has the same lighting, the same hair and make-up, or the same outfit. Photographers also have different shooting styles.

That is the thing about photography: it is art. Not everyone pictures something that same way as another person. Expecting something specific can be a downfall.

Also, trying to do what other people are doing just because it is the cool thing like choosing a location because other people are doing it or wearing an outfit because everyone wears this outfit. I think THAT to me is hard when you come in, and you are already not excited because you are doing something that you are doing for someone else and not yourself.

Yes! It is all about being unapologetically you.

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This entire backpack is filled with food. We’re in route to San Diego for our very first family vacation AND I made a commitment to my wellness 10 days ago. I am committed to resetting my nutrition, getting in touch with what fuels me, and dedicated to eating food that creates energy and focus, and that mission doesn’t stop just because I’m getting on a plane. This means I bought a cooler backpack and filled it with fresh veggies and lean proteins. I boiled and peeled eggs. I baked sweet potatoes. I stuffed that sack full of energizing food so that I wouldn’t be tempted to snack in the airport or be a burden to our hostess when we arrive in San Diego. Making a commitment to my wellness has been simple, but it is not easy. It’s meant meal prepping for hours every week, saying no to the plate handed to me at a fundraiser, making special requests of my family when they have me over for dinner and saying no to cocktails and my favorite dessert. This journey is still in its infancy and I have already uncovered old limiting stories: I don’t get to be the person who is accommodated. I don’t deserve to ask for special privileges. I will not be honored if I ask for what I need. It’s meant confronting the feeling that I am a burden to people when I stay committed to myself. I am so pleased to report that these old stories were just lies I told myself to feel unsupported. The truth is, everyone is rooting for me. Everyone wants me to win. Everyone has been on my team. This is a very long way to say, this food adventure isn’t really about food. Its about freedom. Freedom from food, freedom to ask for what I need and freedom from all those old stories that have kept me isolated and restricted for too long.

Achilles protected his heel. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Superman succumbed to kryptonite. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ The Wicked Witch withered from a water bucket. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ In the Enneagram world, we uncover how we protect our fear. We protect this soft spot because there is a fundamental belief that if it's targeted, our "self" will crumble. So we build walls to protect it, re-route battles to hide it, and defend our right to live in our fear at all costs to maintain. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Here's the tricky thing with fear. It's just information. In fact, fear is our greatest source of direction. When we're triggered by fear, we have a choice. To take action to protect our fear OR to take action to launch ourselves out of it. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ So next time you feel your chest tightening, your heart pounding, your anxiety rising. Stop. Wait. Listen.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ What is your fear telling you? ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ And for a moment, stop and consider, should you believe it?⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Photo credit goes to the magical @annajon.es

These are my guys. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ On the left is my love @erik.j.dominguez and on the right is my bro @hunter.warne . Can we just take a moment to talk about how handsome they are?? And how cute it is that they dressed to match each other?⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Yesterday we went and played golf and let's just say, I'm a natural 50% of the time. My love encouraged me and told me how good I looked swinging a club, and my bro gave me all his pointers on how to get the ball to where I wanted it to go. Together, we made it through 9 holes before I declared it my dinnertime. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ We laughed, sweated, and chased a tiny ball through the grass. I birdie 1 hole! And these two rode in a cart, chatted it up, and bonded the whole time. My heart is full❤️

I really want to weigh myself. I started working with a health coach this week. I’ve been working on my wellness diligently since January and have made lots of progress but started feeling stagnant. My initial strategies were no longer working. So I brought in reinforcements. In our first conversation Terri was clear that she didn’t believe in diets. Instead she wanted to create a sustainable food environment for me AND we got too find my neutral - which is going to require diligence and removing inflammatory food from my rotation. Then she listed out a food regime that can only be described by any sane person as a diet. I said, “Terri, no one who’s not on a diet eats like this,” but I hung up the phone and went to the grocery store. And I cried the whole way there. I cried because food is fun. I cried because binge eating at night feels like reward. I cried because cooking with butter feels like love. I cried because I love ice cream. I’m one week into this new adventure and I thought I’d be dying. I thought I would have found a way to cheat myself or make excuses. But that’s not happening. My energy is through the roof. My mental acuity is on point. My workouts have never been this good, I can already feel my clothes loosening and I’ll be super honest, sex is amazing. Why? Because I’m fueling my body, rather than calming my emotions. I’m paying attention to the way I feel instead of focusing on a number on the scale. I asked Terri the first day we met how often I should weigh myself and she said, “the less the better.” Because it’s not about the number. The number is a limited way to measure success. I’m shooting for the feeling, the energy, the freedom I get to experience in my body, and that, my friends, feels limitless.