Passion

I love Michael Grecco's work. He's very, very passionate about his imagery and true to his philosophy. I first came across his photography through the Seattle chapter of ASMP, the American Society of Media Photographers. Grecco passed through Seattle late last year to discuss his new book "Lighting and the Dramatic Portrait." He initially worked for the Associated Press but later filled out into commercial work. Realizing he wasn't much for photojournalism with the AP, he began to focus on advertising & editorial work.

Check out his website: www.michaelgrecco.com You'll love his advertising shots!

His book talks about different obstacles and lighting scenarios used. Other photographers initially ridiculed him for "giving away" his secrets in explaining his light setup. Truly there's only one Grecco, regardless if people knicked his secrets, it wouldn't make any difference. Sharing is a good thing. His book is under $50. Its a good one for the photography library.

A GREAT story of his: shooting snaps with Will Smith. Michael visualized a gritty image, showing off Will's chiseled abs in a wet wife beater. Will's reaction to the idea was really negative and he even insulted Michael. The whole shoot could've gone awry after that. Instead, Grecco bucked up, trashed his own ideas and eventually got Will to trust him enough to open up for this shot. It ran the cover and thus, was a great hit. Will was getting jiggy. Funny to hear that even at the top people don't always dig your ideas.


His philosophy is simple:


My images are conceptual and dramatic.I often use humor and irony to emphasize an idea.I delight in inspiring people, I want them to stop, think and feel. Each shoot is a creative journey that takes us beyond the expected and into new realms.My ultimate satisfaction lies in creating memorable images for clients, advertisers, consumers and myself. I love what I do and enjoy collaborating with those who share my passion.Life is too short to do it any other way.

Last funny story: Grecco asked for a stand in when shooting with Jet Li. Li's translator was adamant to the point of anger that Li did NOT need a stand in. Grecco needed Li to jump kick many, many times in order to set up lighting and figured Li could not repeatedly carry out this task and still maintain enough stamina to perform once the lighting was ready. Needless to say, Li refused the stand in nailed the jump every single time. Shazamm!

Let's get hitched!

Ray and I can't decide on anything in regards to planning our wedding! Call me crazy, but even amidst talent in every part of the wedding industry we are utterly indecisive! We need to move in a forward motion with planning, obviously! My mom recommends a "small" wedding, which is funny because they have lovingly volunteered every penny of their 401k plan towards our fabulous wedding, I understand she wants it to be 'affordable.'

Rumors are flying that my dad offered to sell his G35 Infiniti with heated seats for my wedding and donate his Aprilia motorcycle nicknamed: Jalla, for Ashley's wedding. Dad is such a generous guy. hee hee With those generous donations in mind here's a little poll for everyone to give their 2 cents. The first step: where on God's green Earth should we host this wedding? Thanks in advance for voting and there's a "other" box for those of you with more brilliant ideas than we discovered so far. Thank you!! Check's in the mail!

Marketing Update

mywedding.com recently updated our banners & tiles in 5 different states with a snapshot from Elizabeth's bridal fashion shoot. She's fabulous in front of the camera, her session produced some killa images; she styled herself, created her own posing routine, her dress and everything else involved flowed like water.
I admire her sense of confidence; regardless of how she posed, she 'owned' it.
Its a great feeling to create beautiful imagery together, the collaboration involved makes it a very satisfying experience, not to mention, fun!! If interested in a bridal fashion shoot, please call me or email me: april@aprilgreer.com

Sneak Peek

Ta-dah! See it here first folks: sneak peeks of Wesa & Carl's beautiful wedding album!

Bad news is that I have a splitting headache from the PC today, booking logistics and album prep for longer than my eyeballs can handle; so its lights off at the office. From the 'getting ready' to strikes & spares down the lanes, it was a fantastic day to shoot a wedding! More importantly, it was vital to incorporate bowling into the whole theme because W&C are a ball of laughs! The full spreads debut Thursday afternoon. Yay!

Tinseltown

Just a few more weeks until we shoot Emily & Daniel's wedding in LA. Their fabulous wedding kicks off a whirlwind of travel for us lasting through August! We're looking forward to one amazing and BUSY summer! If you haven't scheduled your e-session, bridal fashion shoot or portrait appointments yet, now's the time to get your photo shoot on the books! We're down to a few midweek appointments starting in June! Yay for summertime & exciting travels~

Soakin some rays

After a very productive morning of album design and photoshop, I planned to reward myself with an enjoyable afternoon walk in the sun! The Surgeon General recommends at least 20 minutes of sunshine each day to maintian healthy Vitamin D levels. Also, sun helps clear up the psoriasis on my face.

Go figure, soon as I walked out the door, a few tingles of rain landed in my lashes. Within minutes, a downpour. Totally peeved, I caught some damaging UV rays elsewhere. 3 cheers to the local tanning salon. In live in Seattle because ???

Crossroads

Over the Easter weekend, Ray and I visited some great friends whose wedding we shot last year. Last night, for the first time it was all sans camera! Conversation ranged from celebs in rehab to political agendas and finally touched on the crossroards of life. If the bride had chosen her path, she might not have met her future husband and vice versa. All in all as we said our goodbyes and headed home, Ray and I both realized the incredible number of crossroads we've taken in life leading up to today. It cracks me up to think about it, in 2003 I held 4 jobs: stocking shelves, assisting photographers, working as a diner waitress, and a dayjob at Wells Fargo. Ray was a printer, a shelve stocker and a pizza delivery guy. We kept our heads down, hopes high, and worked our tails off to make it in the US, because accepting defeat was not an option! If I had slacked off, lost hope, been involved in illegal activity to get us ahead, any number of things could've changed our situation! Along the entire way, what kept us together was our interest in the same goals. Our goals are the SAME! Like yoked strenght, two heads are better than one, whatever you want to label it, it led us to the crossroads and beyond.

Life is grand! Now if anyone could help us figure out when, where, and how to do our wedding, that would help us through the next crossroad. Ha!!!

Tiffany & Co.

04.07.07 Tiffany + Josh Beautiful floral design by Kendra with Loves Me Flowers. We snuck into a "private" courtyard, it had a 'no trespassing' sign that was momentarily overlooked!
Josh had the coolest cufflinks I've ever seen, robots!!! Ray snagged this shot of me during portrait time...thanks babe!
At last, they tied the knot at the DAR in Seattle, Yay!!! Their wedding felt extremely genuine, both Ray and I got choked up during the ceremony, not only was Tiff the super sentimental bride while sharing her vows, but the minister explained to the guests that she was priveledged to be present at the Groom's birth and felt even more priveledged to be at his wedding... a tear-jerker!!!! Here's a shot of Josh seeing his bride walk down the isle.

A great buffet spread in the dining room

We had such a blast with T&J and the families involved, not to mention we worked with a studio hopeful, Lannie! You were awesome Lannie, thanks!!! We'll definitely see you next time!

Tiff - Josh, have a blast in JAMAICA!

Fly, fly away!

Stayed up late booking tickets and doing logistics last night for the trip to Pensacola in just a few weeks! I can't wait, I've only been to Florida once before. Back then, my parents went to Hawaii for their honeymoon and the grandparents took my siblings and I to Disneyland!! I think I was 11 or 12 years old. It was my first "photo trip", my Aunt Sandy gave me a 110 size neon green film camera, the long skinny camers from the early 90's. I wasted a ton of film, snapping away at everything! I can't wait to go back and try that again...

The only downside to this flying to Pensacola is the departure time from Sea-Tac airport. 6am! I'm not much of a morning person! 6am, I can't get over it. My appetite isn't even awake at that hour!

Well Ray and I are off to Redmond for a wedding today, stay tuned for images from Tiff & Josh's first day of the rest of their lives together...

Cheezing from ear to ear

In the editing room, Ray and I sit facing each other with our PC's back to back. This evening Ray looks over at me for a second and asks ' Babe, what are you smiling about?!' I must have been smiling like a big dummy, because I was SOOO happy; one of my most favorite lovey dovey couples that married in June of '06 had a prego shoot today. I was browing their prego pics and apparently grinning from ear to ear like a big cheezball!

Can't help it, I'm just SO darn happy for them! Pallas and Ted make an devilishly cute pair and dynamic duo together especially since Ted Jr. is on the way. Here's a few pics that I'd like to share- Love you guys!!!

Rose Canon

See the NEWEST and hottest wedding vice: the Rose Canon.

How does rice & bubbles in your eyes sound? Not so fun, huh? Rose canons are purchased online for an affordable $41, buy 30 dozen rose petals get 30 dozen free! The petals shoot up 10 meters in the air (without the big kaboom) and float slowly and beautifully to the ground. Fedex 2 days... you could have it by the weekend... www.bimbambanana.com or see it directly here.

You still have time!

picture by photo elan

Its April 3rd, your wedding is weeks or months from now. You're feeling nervous about the invitations, the program layout, the caterer is not behaving, stress is building, its like too many things on your plate and all you can do is dream about when it will all be over! The good news is: you still have time! Meet the bubbly and beautiful Keri Cooper .

Keri Cooper founded Bliss Events, a blissfully chic wedding planning and design company based in Seattle. Keri has great taste in linens and is articulate in her vision and professionalism. I requested a brief overview for my blog readers and she was more than happy to shed some light on her profession, the wedding industry and a few other odds and ends. Check out her interview~

Keri, tell me about yourself and how you were introduced to weddings!

Let’s just say I’ve always been attracted to the art of fine living. I'm fortunate to have turned my passion(s) into a career! I'm simply a local girl with a passion for fashion, food, fun, and friends. With a degree in Public Relations I set out to make my mark on the event world and began planning tours across Alaska to lavish fund-raising dinners for local non-profit organizations. Only, in the corporate world, most of my clients were companies only concerned about the bottom dollar . . . not creativity or originality. It was time for some serious soul searching . . . what made me happiest, what were my talents, where could I be the most help to those seeking the perfect party? Ah ha, weddings!

photo by John & Joseph Photography

Let's hear about Bliss Events, what is it and how did it come to be? Bliss Events came to life after months of interrogating professionals in the wedding industry. I believe in doing things the right way. . . so I prepared. I met with florists, wedding coordinators, caterers, brides- to-be, and interviewed the heck out of them. Then, I had them ‘review’ me after I planned/designed their event. HUGE thank yous to my mentors – who know who you are J! I’ll say it again and again, it’s all in the details people!!

photo by barbie hull

Aside from your corporate experience and PR background, what do you bring to the table? First and foremost weddings are my passion! I always want the best for my clients. I continually educate myself in the latest and greatest wedding trends and seeking out strategies that make planning just a little bit easier (and a lot more blissful!).

What do you LOVE about your job? Share an experience! My favorite story is about a groom I worked with last summer. He was skeptical of me (wedding planners in general). He was one of the nicest, funniest grooms I had ever worked with, but he was a businessman and voiced his disbelief, often, in hiring a wedding planner. On the big day, the same skeptical groom surprised me with a bear hug and said, “Thank you, I’m officially converted!" Following the honeymoon I receive the most thoughtful note from the newlyweds. They were in awe of the wedding. Not only did every aspect of the wedding express this couple’s great, fun-loving personalities, but they were able to enjoy the day without having to lift a finger it was flawless! Being able to give that gift to my clients . . . that’s what I love about my job!

Name a few common mistakes made by couples without an experienced planner.I hear stories about hiring vendors that couples do not connect with and hoping to squeeze $1,000 out of a one dollar bill! Also, delegating a friend or family member to play ‘wedding coordinator’ is a popular issue that can go awry.

picture by photo elan

Sum it up for us: Remember, events that are sophisticated, chic, and yes, even a little bit magical aren’t a coincidence . . . they are a result of the delicate art of planning!

Check out Keri Cooper's services, personally, I can't wait to work with her and experience the design myself!!! We're excited to work with her & the fabulous couple to be in early October! The wedding photographs shown in this post have photo credits of other wedding photographers that Keri's worked with previously.

Free Stuff!

The Knot magazine sent me tons of copies of their LAST edition, they're discontinuing the magazine to accomodate the shift in brides shopping for vendors from print ads towards online services!

SO...I'd be happy to share the last copies of this magazine with anyone who wants them, plus its on me! 15 copies remain on my desk currently, if you'd like a copy (a $4.99 value) Please email me here : april@aprilgreer.com and let me know where to send the copy or copies to. I'll cover postage and handling, etc..... Its a great last edition! Get yours today!

Meet the Sweney's

Ray and I trekked all the way to Duvall (somewhere near Canada) to shoot the Sweney's docu-style family portraits. Its not everyday that I work with TWO photographers in one sitting. I was prepared to administer Valium for Greg if he asked again where he should stand or if he should smile. The more you're behind the camera, it seems the more uncomfortable you become in front of it! I met Greg Sweney through Motofish. I feel very priveledged to work with these pro photographers on a regular basis and get to know their families as a result. Seattle has been SO good to us in many respects, but certainly in meeting cool families! Also, big news Chris & his lovely wife had a strapping young chap this week; check out his fluffy baby pics here.

For the Sweney's its lovely kids and stupendous parents! Dana is a way hot mom from Alaska, little known fact that Greg sort of dissed her back in their college days, what was he thinking?! Glad he came to his senses.

Meet Dana, Greg, Carson & Cassidy!