Susan Solo – Photographer | Traveler | Adventurer

Category: weddings

  • Facebooth Debut: The Results!

    Amy & Scott’s 5.14.11 wedding was the first time we officially implemented the facebooth, and it was a big hit! The facebooth is perfect for the following uses at a wedding:

    Sweet portraits (hey look, it’s Kara & Greg!):

    Mug shots:

    Fish-faces:

    Interpretive dance:

    Gang signs:

    Flexing a muscle:

    Smooching:

    And prop usage! (These were actually courtesy of the bridal party who brought them for other purposes, but they were fun to use in the photobooth so I’ve ordered my own set!)

    The facebooth is not so great for extreme close-ups, but this is still funny:

    And of course, the facebooth is perfect for newlyweds!

    More photos from Amy & Scott’s 5.14.11 wedding coming up soon! Check back here, or “like us” on Facebook to be notified of more sneak peeks!

  • Whether Or Not the Weather

    We are super excited to kick off the 2011 wedding season tomorrow with Amy and Scott! The weather forecast has us all wondering if we’ll have a dry sky, and I started reminiscing about some of our past weather-challenged weddings!

    There was Leslie and Bill’s June wedding at Rust Manor, where we had experienced several days of torrential rain prior to the wedding. So even though we had a clear day, the grounds were really soggy and the ceremony was moved indoors, which resulted in this really beautiful arrangement on the stairs:

    And the drizzle never quite let up on Marjorie and Nick’s October wedding day, but we all happily braved the elements for some shots around DC.There was Stephanie and Mark’s wedding one balmy day in June, where temperatures reached well over 100 degrees! But we did our best to stay cool and take cool photos. 😉

    And then of course, we’ll never forget Patty and Travis. Their wedding was right smack in the middle of the big blizzard of 2009, where we had almost three feet of snow coming down DURING their wedding day weekend.

    So I don’t want to jinx it, but whether or not the weather is “ideal” tomorrow, Amy and Scott are getting married and we’ll work with/around the weather to take pictures of their beautiful wedding day. And that’s really all that matters!

  • Introducing…The Facebooth!

    The other day, I was wondering about how to get even more great pictures of guests at my clients’ weddings…

    And then I had an idea!

    Introducing…the facebooth! A self-operated remote control photobooth-studio with professional camera gear and lighting, set up at your wedding reception!

    Your guests can hop in and strike a pose…

    …or toast to the bride and groom…

    …or you know, practice ideas for their album cover photo.

    Yeah it’s THAT cool.

    Current brides/grooms and future clients, please feel free to contact us to ask about the facebooth! (P.S. Yes, that first picture is what I really look like when I’m deep in thought.)

  • SSP Behind-the-Scenes: The Album Process

    This is the time of year where I’m spending a lot of time designing and ordering albums, so I thought it would be fun to share a quick little overview of my album process! After a wedding or a portrait session, I give my clients the opportunity to go through their images and to decide one of two ways to design their album. As a client you can either: 1.) select your own favorites for the album and I will incorporate those images into the design or 2.) I can hand-pick the details, portraits, and important moments to tell the story of your day or session. Once the images are selected, I create a timeless, uncluttered custom design and then present the design to you online.

    At this time, you can review the design and send me your notes on what changes you’d like to see – images swapped in and out, cropping, specific retouching, etc. I will implement the changes, and also do detailed retouching on each image. After your final review and approval, the order is submitted off to print and bind!  The timing for this part of the process depends on the type of album you select, but typically you can expect your album to arrive in 4-6 weeks. (During the holiday season it may take 6-8 weeks.)

    The albums are shipped directly to me first so that I can review them and make sure they’re absolutely perfect before sending them to you. Plus, I’ll be honest – this is the part of the whole job that makes me fall in love with photography all over again. I love seeing the final product in the form of a beautiful heirloom art piece! I think about future generations of family and friends enjoying the images of these memories, and I just…I don’t actually have words for it. At this point in the process, I secretly want to keep your album. After all, the moments of your wedding or portrait session sort of become my own memories, too, in a way. And for a split second, I don’t actually want to send the album to you!  😉  But I always do, I promise.

    And to end the post with an image or two, here is Lesley & Stephen’s beautiful wedding Custom Flush Mount Album that was lovingly shipped off to them earlier this week:

  • Candy Jar Reuse Ideas

    One of our favorite features at weddings the past few years have been the candy bars/buffets that couples set up for their guests. Everyone loves treats, and it’s also a great way to provide some colorful personalization for the wedding reception. It’s literally eye-candy! That and sugar rush + dance floor = all-night-FUN!

    There are tons of posts out there on tips for setting up the bar, but I thought it would be helpful to share some ideas on what you can do with your collection of candy jars after the reception. Of course you can always pass them along or sell them for another bride and groom to use, or you can (Captain Obvious) use them as candy jars, but here are some creative reuse ideas!

    1. Rainy Day Jar or Date Night Jar: Take turns with your new husband/wife writing down fun suggestions for a rainy day or a date night on small pieces of paper, and store them in the jar. Next time you need an idea for one of these occasions, draw randomly from the jar!

    2. Thanksgiving Thanks: For the month of November or even throughout the whole year if you’re both feeling ambitious, write down things you are thankful for on little slips of paper and put them in the jar. On Thanksgiving Day, take turns reading the thanks to each other. Aw!

    3. Office storage: I can’t think of a cuter way to store paper clips, rubber bands, or maybe even pens/pencils. Craft supplies would also make a really pretty display – think colorful ribbons, scrapbook embellishments, and markers.

    4. Memory Jar: Decorative jars in various sizes are perfect for corralling small mementos. I happen to collect movie ticket stubs, and I purchased two jars just for that reason. Some other small collections that can be displayed in the candy jars: fortune cookie paper fortunes, post cards, concert tickets (or any kind of tickets, really), seashells, etc. Here’s the original post about some of my jarred memories.

    So what did you do with the jars from your wedding? Did you find a creative use for them, or are they sitting in a storage closet?