Modern Photographers » Kellan Studios

Lara and Matt~Engaged

Kellan Studios — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 21:20:05 +0000

The first thing I notice when Lara and Matt walked over to greet us were they have the most gorgeous peepers and amazing double row of teeth smiles! This is going to be easy. Lara is the picture of class with her side chignon bun and satin pants….wowsers. Then we started shooting and I realized she could do the most amazing vulnerable, intense gaze into the lens. Jackpot! Poor Matt was getting sidestepped for Lara, not because he wasn’t killing it, but Lara was stealing the show. Rule number one of couples sessions, the girl always gets more camera time!

We spent a beautiful afternoon out at Leo Grande Vineyard. Although the leaves and grapes were long gone, it was still a rustic fall view with it’s own beauty. Lara and Matt and their dog Hoagie fell into rhythm quickly as did we.

You can’t shoot at a winery and not indulge in some wine, a complete hobby and past time of this couple.

This pergola is not only cute it boasts an amazing view. If it is this beautiful in the “dead” season…can you just imagine?

Classic first family photo.

I always love photos where you go from a serious shot to a laughing one but in the same position. Someone always breaks the ice.

Matt brought a family heirloom to the shoot. An amazing curved bench with this awesome yellow velour on it. Lara pretty much made that bench look the best it ever has!

I mean really….REALLY?

Yup….some purdy children in their future….wowsers! So great Matt and Lara, seriously! Thanks for ending our 2011 season with your awesome sauce all over it! We hope these keep your motor running till the big day in May. I can’t wait to get my hands on you in the spring Lara…bridals will be such a treat! Many blessings.

Monica and Tim~Engaged

Kellan Studios — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 16:50:48 +0000

The Pamer brothers have a reputation with those that know them. They are highly creative, have some killer style and are incredibly witty. Ryan and I were so excited when we got middle brother, Tim’s, inquiry earlier this year. Not knowing Monica, we were pretty sure that Tim was marrying up and we wanted in on it.

We were totally right. Monica is kind, sweet, fun and an amazing compliment to Tim. She has an explosive laugh and “smiley eyes” that I adore. I told her the whole session that every time she looked at Tim her face settled into the most loving and sincere expression. It was really amazing. This is one of those sessions that flip flops feelings. Starting out in downtown Charlottesville and ending up at a rustic vineyard, you get a little bit of everything for the eyes. Happy Monday!

So beautiful Monica!

Want some fries with that shake? Oh snap….

Working the wall like he’s gettin paid.

I had to copy and paste this quote from Tim and Monica’s questionnaire because it is so sweet and honest and why they chose this spot for part of their session. “Having spent so much time downtown together there are many sentimental places here in Charlottesville. The most sentimental being the walk back to Monica’s old apartment where it took probably 20 to 30 attempts before I mustered up the courage to tell her how I felt. There’s a railroad bridge right off of the downtown mall on 4th St SE near Water St that we both cherish as a milestone in the journey to her front door.”

It was time to completely shift gears and go from urban to rustic. Tim and Monica chose a winery about 20 minutes outside of Charlottesville for us to explore. Castle Hill Cider to be exact. The sun was getting lower and the wind picking up but it was gorgeous everywhere the eye could see.

A quick game of Bocce before we headed to the tree line.

Digging the mustache socks

Emilie and Grayson Engaged

Kellan Studios — Fri, 28 Oct 2011 19:46:26 +0000

“The first ten minutes are the most awkward for all of us, after that we will get in a rhythm together and it will be super comfortable” This is the usual line I lead with when we start a portrait session. Afterall, we easily could have been changing diapers and giving bottles just moments before we arrive to shoot. We have to shift gears from being parents to being professional photographers and that doesn’t always happen at frame one. Unless…..UNLESS you are handed a couple like Emilie and Grayson. I knew I liked them when I met with them for coffee in Richmond last year about booking their wedding. Easy, kind, loving, thoughtful, and full of great wedding ideas. Ryan wasn’t able to join me for that meeting but when I got home I said, “You are REALLY going to like them, they are totally our speed and a great fit for Kellan!” I was right. From frame one, the ease and delight they have in each other’s presence radiated through the moment the shutter clicked. It was a metaphor if I ever saw one! The next couple hours FLEW by and we shot until it was literally dark. We then spent the next hour/half warming up our fridged bodies over some Indian food and terrific conversation. They sent us off for our ride home with the most ADORABLE goodie basket of soup, bread and dessert….who does this? Wow! We felt so loved and still do.

It was a blustery afternoon at Carter Mountain Orchard in Charlottesville, VA but it was so insanely gorgeous that none of us minded. Enjoy this beautiful fall session.

We headed over to Ashlawn Highland, James Monroe’s summer home, for a change of scenery.

Emilie and Grayson wanted to incorporate some vintage elements into their shoot. She scoured some vintage stores in Atlanta to find some of these great details to help pull off their looks. She is positively DARLING in her hat and hatbox! We literally had 10 minutes of daylight left so we tried to squeeze as much as we could in.

Can you not just eat them up with a spoon? Gah, we adore you guys! What a spectacularly easy evening of shooting we had. Gorgeous views, great conversation, and incredible company. You have spoiled us rotten for what our 2012 season is going to look like! We can’t wait to see you guys soon!

Jessica and Drake~Married

Kellan Studios — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 01:09:01 +0000

I can’t lie…I play favorites. It’s a well known fact that October is the BEST month to get married. I always wanted a fall wedding but was teaching at the time and couldn’t have a honeymoon if we got married during the school year, so like so many, we had a blazing-hot summer wedding. Even though wedding photographers are running on fumes by the fall a new sense of energy seems to emerge. The swampy summer humidity is traded for crisp evenings and leaves starting to blush their new shade to be. It’s invigorating and inspiring. I love it!

We met Jessica a few years back when shooting her brother’s wedding. She was sweet, kind and laid-back. Everything we love in a bride. When we got her inquiry over a year ago about her 2011 fall wedding plans we were happy for two reasons. One, we LOVE keeping it in the family. It’s so great to walk into a wedding and see so many familiar faces. Two, it was in October and it was local. YES PLEASE!

Jessica and Drake have a quiet love. The kind you see across the room at a restaurant. They don’t demand attention, they are quite unassuming in nature. They deeply and truly enjoy and love one another. It radiates from every glance you see them give one another and the kind gestures of affection they exchange. You just like them but more than that, you like them TOGETHER!

Jessica was the easy breezy bride you hope for that literally let everything go on the wedding day. An unbelievabley relaxed demeanor as she waited to see her groom standing at the end of the aisle. We enjoyed hitting some staples of Lynchburg with the bridal parties before the main event at St. Johns. Enjoy this beautiful fall celebration of two very incredible people.

Big Drake and Little Drake

Jessica’s grandma and her brother, Aaron

The beautiful matriarch of Drake’s family.

The uber manly groom’s cake. Apparently, Drake’s nickname is red dragon. This is the cake to symbolize it.

We stole the last moments of daylight for some private moments with the new couple before the festivities really kicked into gear!

Now that’s a dip!

Jessica made a quick change into this adorable knee length dress to finish out the evening!

Welcome back from your honeymoon and welcome to your new life as husband and wife!

Maria and Luke~Expecting

Kellan Studios — Wed, 28 Sep 2011 19:22:53 +0000

Kind, gentle, genuine, sweet, loving, talented, godly, and expecting. Just a few words to describe Maria and Luke. Seriously…you can be around them for like two seconds and you will marvel at how incredibly sincere this couple is. A few of the Portnoy brothers have known Luke and Maria for some time now. Luke is also our amazing worship leader at our church. How blessed we are to be lead into the throne room in scripture and song by Luke’s beautiful voice each Sunday.

Like I said before, we make a few exceptions to the no family/babies/bellies shoot rule and I am so glad we did for the Hayden’s. This session turned out so beautiful and so “Kellanish” that I couldn’t wait to get home and upload our cards. Enjoy some of my favorites.

I’m pretty madly in love with the whole feel and tone of this portion of the shoot. It had been pouring on and off all day and quite dark by the time we got into the woods. We totally winged it on location and just started walking into various parts of the woods until we stumbled onto this fallen tree covered with lime green moss and incredibly intricate fungi. It was perfect, magical even!

This sign was made by our talented friend, Sunshine Lewis. You may remember her from some portfolio shots we did last year to launch her new shop. She is very good friends with Luke and Maria and wanted to make this sign for little Evangeline or “Evie” as she will be called.

Maria and Luke brought a few props that they wanted incorporated into the shoot. This dress was worn by Maria and her sisters when they were babies. Representing her heritage from El Salvador. How adorable is this dress to be handed down to Ms. Evie?

Luke bought this little dress for Evie

Representing Luke’s gene pool, a rocking MOOSE from his home state of Maine.

Favorite

Literally squeezing out the last moments of daylight…..

Sigh…..love the miracle of new life. Maria and Luke, you did amazing. Such a fun and EASY few hours. We rejoice in your precious, precious girl and can’t wait to meet her in just a few short months! Have a blessed third trimester Maria!

Serene and Doug~Married

Kellan Studios — Fri, 16 Sep 2011 19:47:29 +0000

Like a blind date, we rolled up to Raspberry Plains Mansion one beautiful August afternoon with nervous butterflies in our stomachs. Would they like us, would they think we were funny, would we all have chemistry? Oh yes, yes we would! Serene is like that old friend from college that you had a blast with but hadn’t seen for awhile and you pick up right where you left off. Sure we had one Skype date and a couple phone calls…but this was the real deal…face to face on game day! We couldn’t have been more happy with how relaxed and fun this group was. Despite the threatening rain, there was NOTHING that could wipe a smile off of Serene’s face. She was just minutes away from marrying the love of her life….someone she met on the street outside where she was attending a bachelorette party for a bride we shot a few years ago…how cool is that? Who knew that Heather and Tim were paying it forward with their wedding weekend for another couple in the future!

I love the fresh palette of greens, gold, and ivory both inside and out…natural and manmade. A beautiful and fresh feel everywhere you looked. Huge thanks to Lauryn Galloway for coming up to assist us for this wedding!

Let’s get started by first oogling over her gorgeous Maggie Sottero gown and gold Kate Spade shoes! Uber feminine and mama likey!

Serene’s twin sister and her beautiful mother.

These girls were a blast and looked stunning in their grass green J.Crew dresses.

I can’t even explain how much Doug looks like my cousin but with blonde hair. It’s crazy!

Caught Doug’s dad shooting over our shoulder.

This grandma had some serious sass. Every time she passed my camera she would flash that great smile and do a shimmy for me. Haha…it makes me chuckle thinking about it right now. Hope I have that much spark in me when I get older!

Always love the moment that a couple gets after they finish walking down the aisle and get whisked away into the holding pen. They look at one another and you know the knowledge they are FINALLY married washes over them and they are giddy.

Despite the fact it constantly went from drizzling to flat out raining the rest of the night…Serene was determined to get in a private session outside and I was THRILLED!!! The gown was debuted, now it was time to have some stolen time away with her beloved.

Love with a side of steamy!

Her grandfather giving the blessing over the Challah bread.

I do believe we have caught a bonafied Roger Rabbit going on.

I have to end with this series because this crew LOVED to dance. This gentleman literally killed it on the dance floor by doing the most legit “Dougie” ever. Would you like him to teach you how to Dougie, t-t-t-t-t-teach you how to Dougie?

Serene and Doug, I’m so glad our first date turned out so well :-) We are beyond thrilled for you guys and were honored to play such a huge role in your big day! Many blessings to you as you start your new life together!

Venn Workshop Wrap-up Finale

Kellan Studios — Wed, 07 Sep 2011 01:13:14 +0000

I can’t believe this is the final post and it is literally full of DELICIOUSNESS! We had one final styled shoot modeled by the lovely John and Kristyn. Kristyn sported another vintage 60’s wedding dress from Etsy and John sported some southern summer goodness. They can pull of some seriously intense looks directly into the lens! I adore the pops of saffron that Elisha from Petal Flower Co. put together for us. So striking against the wood and green backgrounds. After this final shoot we headed down to the AWESOME sperry tent to behold the superpowers of Lynn from Sunshine and Rainshower styling some fantastic tablescapes and Maria of Pharsalia Events cooking us some of the most memorable food of my life. ONE TWO PUNCH to the senses. Most of the food was literally picked from the gardens that day as well as the floral centerpieces being trimmed from the gardens around the grounds. Can you spell FRESH? Let’s dive in and I will break down some more details as we go.

Lynn made the runners and napkins as well as all the paper products. She also assembled the silk flowers petal by petal and printed the wood leaves. So stinking amazing!

Now buckle your seat belts to view some tasty vitlins!

Figs picked fresh from the tree outside the kitchen window. The combination of a sweet fig and tangy blue cheese…oh my word. One of my favorite choices on my plate.

The smell of this smoked pork filled the entire tent.

Special Thanks to:
venue/reception florals/furniture: Foxie at Pharsalia Plantation

caterer: Maria at Pharsalia Plantation

tent: Liz at Skyline Tent Company

stylist/paper goods: Lynn of Sunshowers and Rainshine (and also her husband Chris!)

bouquets and bout: Petal Flower Company

Kristyn’s vintage dress: VintageVortex | shoes: Threadsence

hair piece: One Little Dove | gloves: Seventh Vintage

Kristyn’s hair: Fusion salon | makeup: Body Works

John’s gingham shorts: JCrew | shirt & belt: H&M | bow tie: Wickham House

shoes: Amazon | suspenders: Suspender Factory

Venn Workshop Wrap-up Part 3

Kellan Studios — Mon, 05 Sep 2011 20:58:12 +0000

Chugga Chugga Choo Choo. Moving right along to our third and almost last wrap-up post. Today’s installment covers the mock engagement shoot. This was a highly propped, staged and styled “garden shoot”. Playing the roll of lovebirds to-be are none other than our favorite schexy couple Sara and Todd Ernst. I know you’ve seen this beautiful couple before and that is because they are our dear friends whom we never grow tired of photographing. We aren’t selfish, we shared them with the attendees. I mean, let’s be honest, there isn’t an ugly bone between them! They also have a killer sense of humor and play off one another so well for very honest and genuine interactions.

Lynn from Sunshowers and Rainshine took all of these FABULOUS props laying around Pharasalia’s grounds and turned it into the sweetest gardening corner. She even sewed Sara the adorable apron for more pop!

Sara caught some sweet air!

Thank you Sara and Todd for generally just being awesome and amazing friends….but for also giving up your Saturday to hang out with all of us at Pharsalia! We love you guys!

Sara’s dress: Ruche | shoes: Urban Outfitters | apron: Sunshowers and Rainshine | belt and ring: H&M Todd’s pants,shoes and hat: JCrew | shirt: H&M

Venn Workshop Wrap-up Part 2

Kellan Studios — Wed, 31 Aug 2011 21:02:16 +0000

When I say this is one of my favorite shoots ever, I mean like EVER!!! I mean no offense to all the awesomeness we’ve shot in the past. This is just different. I mean for starters….a PINK vintage wedding gown was worn. This gown is literally topped off with the most banana’s headpiece EVER thanks to Melanie at One Little Dove. Pulling this entire look off is my stunningly gorgeous friend, Kristin. Take this incredible look and plop it into a 200 year old bedroom at Pharsalia Plantation and it is pure magic.

During the morning session, while the guys were geeking out with one half of the group, Jodi and I took the other group upstairs to go over “getting ready” shots of a bride before a wedding and also how to take a more editorial shoot of a bridal session. The room was simple and clean. We let the interesting lighting and wallpaper be our background and incorporated a stunning bouquet by Petal Flower Co. at different points. I remember when Ryan and I attended Jeremy Cowart’s workshop a few years ago he did a whole photoshoot with us watching him. I found it fascinating to watch how he posed, worked the elements around him and interacted with the models. For this session, just Jodi and I shot and I think we could have gone all day if Kristin would have let us!
These are some of my favorites. Ryan grabbed Kristin for a few outside…so those are his, I won’t claim them!

It has to be said that Lynn of, Sunshower and Rainshine worked tirelessly to correct the hem and lining on this vintage beauty. Amazing job Lynn!

I don’t know that I will grow tired of looking at these. Kristin, you were 8 shades of awesome. It was so hot up there and you never complained once!

Venn Workshop Wrap-up Part 1

Kellan Studios — Tue, 30 Aug 2011 01:23:32 +0000

Whewwww…where to begin? It’s like we all gave birth last weekend. Seriously! Conception of a concept, growing it to maturity over 10 months, and then straight labor pains getting it off the ground in it’s entirety last Friday and Saturday. Have you ever planned something much bigger than yourself with another couple in a different city for a workshop in yet a DIFFERENT city? It’s not easy…I assure you. But thank goodness we were partnered with Jodi and Kurt Baier of Jodi Miller Photography. I can’t think of better teammates to put an idea into motion and execute it with grace, patience, and professionalism. I felt like ticker tape was going to fall down from the tent ceiling after we said our goodbyes to our INCREDIBLE attendees! We did it!

There is really nothing too new in this industry. Workshops pop up all the time across the country. What makes ours different, did we really “arrive” to a place that made us an authority on the wedding photography industry? NO, I can say that for sure. What I do know is that we made LOTS of mistakes but also LOTS of wise choices. We learned what it is to elbow your way into a saturated industry with integrity, humility and your eye on the prize. Not money or fame….instead, satisfied customers and a clear vision of self. Ryan and I also learned that being “successful” in this industry doesn’t mean you have to be working like dogs and traveling all the time. You indeed can run your business without it running you. You can also have an extremely successful and lucrative business and still be (gasp) PART-TIME! We also wanted to partner with Jodi and Kurt..not only because they are amazing photographers…but they represent what the industry can be on a full-time basis. They are wise beyond their years and we are so proud to call them friends.

We love living and shooting in the south. There is so much that the south boasts that our dear SoCal friends can’t replicate. Although we can get frustrated with our shorter wedding seasons or extremely hot, swampy weather there is much more to celebrate: and celebrate we did! Venn Workshops was born out of the idea that we have much to embrace in The South as well as some unique obstacles to overcome. There is a serious lack of vision in this industry and sadly far too many copycats. What would it look like to break away and grab hold of your vision, create a sound business and utilize this area of the country to its fullest?

It was a no brainer for us to take this idea and plop it dead center in one of the most stunning working plantations I’ve ever seen. Pharsalia Plantation is nestled into the foothills of the Blue Ridge and there is beauty on every side of this hilltop home. Apple orchards out the front, grape vineyards to the east, horses to the west. Garden after beautiful garden line every pathway. It was the perfect setting for this workshop. Foxie and her daughter Maria rolled out the red carpet for our guests. The cuisine was BEYOND!!! The girls are STILL talking about what we ate while we were there for the day.

I’m going to do a few posts about the workshop but I wanted to set the scene for the “why” we chose to do a workshop. These are the bags and journals the girls were given. Kurt made the journals all by himself! He did all the binding as well…..slow clap!

A few “action” shots as the groups rotated around to different styled spots.

Jodi doing her thing

Ryan doing an off-camera lesson with one of our models Kristyn.

And just for funsies….a few shots of the awesome mock reception styled by the fabulous and VERY pregnant Lynn of Sunshowers and Rainshine. Our AMAZING Sperry tent was donated by Skyline Tents.

There are many more details under the tent to come. It was a glorious way to end the evening and we ate till our bellies exploded. Oh, I can still smell the BBQ pork if I close my eyes….YUM!