I am commonly asked by friends, family and clients, what equipment I use and also what advice I have on what camera or lenses they should buy. So when I saw this informative article on B&H, I thought I would post it for all of you who want a new lens this holiday season. By the way, feel free to keep asking, I love to talk about photo gear! For those of you here in Louisville you can always try a lens out before you buy it by renting it from Murphy’s Camera, who by the way does a great job of having competitive prices with the big stores like B&H. I like to buy local whenever possible and I have been pleased with Murphy’s Camera.

My favorite lens is probably my Canon 70-200/2.8L IS because it is such a workhorse. As you can see in the image above, it  lets me get right in there while staying at a distance. I use this lens all day at weddings, but that doesn’t mean I don’t use other lenses. One of the most rarely used lenses is my fish-eye, which gives really playful distortion and makes for fun images. I would never leave home without it.

My Canon 16-35/2.8L gives me a really wide angle without distortion. The only way to get the photo below was at 16mm on a full frame camera.

Lastly my Canon 50/1.4 provides an amazing shallow depth of field that blurs the background, prefect for portraits like this one.

If you don’t know what lens is right for then this article may be worth your time. To read it Click Here.

In an effort to increase my web presence I asked my clients to write reviews. Cara got married last summer and posted a review of my services on maps.google.com.  Thanks for the kind words, Cara, congrats on getting your name drawn! I can still use the help and it is super easy! You can just go to maps.google.com and just type in “David Blair Photography“. Click on “Write a review” and write about your experience with David Blair Photography.

These are some examples of Save the Date Cards. They are full color glossy postcards ready to mail. They are prefect for long engagements, when you want to let people know you are getting married before you know all your details and send out your invitations. You can print your return address on the back as well as any other info you like.

For their Engagement Session Steven and Samantha wanted to take some photos in Papa John’s Cardinal Football Stadium. Samantha had been on the dance team at U of L and they are planing to have a whole U of L room. These are sure to make the wall. They also wanted some photos with both colorful Fall leaves and some more urban looking ones with a bridge or the city behind them. We had a great time. I hope you enjoy these.

One of my images just made the cover of Sophisticated Living Weddings. The magazine is also featuring the wedding which took place at the famous Seelbach Hotel in downtown Louisville. Mike and Becky were a complete joy to capture. When Becky exclaimed, “I’m dressed so fancy, it’s like I’m getting married or something today!” we all laughed, but really we were all admiring how gorgeous she looked in that wedding dress. Since they invited friends and family from the East Coast, it made sense to hold the wedding at a hotel to accommodate the out-of-towners and the Seelbach’s elegance and history made it a perfect fit.

These guys sure brought some shame to the “usual” dancers in the middle of a circle… I hope I can get that low in 20yrs! Here are some other images from the wedding that did not make it into the magazine.

Becky and her family are Jewish, but Mike and his family are Methodist so their ceremony consisted of traditions from both a Christian and Jewish wedding, as you may have noticed a Rabbi and a Minister. Following Jewish tradition, the couple was wed under a canopy called a Chuppah. Theirs was made from fabric from Becky’s grandmother’s wedding dress. And the table holding the wine for the ceremony was clothed in handkerchiefs from Michael’s great-grandmother.

After the ceremony, they held an open bar cocktail hour in the foyer where they spent much of their time greeting guests while elaborate appetizers were served. This was also a great time for guests to mingle because so often in a arranged seating reception not everyone gets to say hello.

After a fantastic dinner The Kadillacs, the 11-member band, took the stage and was quite entertaining throughout the rest of the night. The energy from a live band really keeps the dance floor full.

The day went off beautifully without a hitch, even including the riding on chairs! Congrats on your marriage Mike and Becky and thanks again for letting me join in! You can see photos from Mike and Becky’s Engagement Session Here.

You can see more photos on my website DavidBlairPhotography.com

Their other vendors included:

Florist: Nanz & Kraft – Pat Penngrass, pat@nanzkraft.com Bakery: Merts Cakes 502.266.6010 Hair: Looks Salon – Paul Harrett, 502.345.5000 Makeup: Cassie Simon, 502.417.8327 Ceremony Music: Highland Chamber Players Band: The Kadillacs - Rob Kirkpatrick (manager), 859.269.4298 Invitations: Impressions – Helane Cooper, 502.423.1969 Calligrapher: Dillard Graphic Designs & Calligraphy - Terri Dillard, 502.473.8000 or dillart@aol.com Favors: Kentucky Kandy Kitchen

Click Here to see another one of David’s Featured Wedding.

Charley and Karen looked great against all that fall color. I hope you enjoy these as much as I do. I just love how you can see the connection they have.

Charley and Karen were having so much fun all afternoon. I just love hanging out with couples in love. I still have a few more to put up, so look out for part 3 coming soon.

I went to another wedding today and I didn’t take my camera. That’s right, I was a normal guest. It really felt wierd. I just watched, ate and talked with friends I had not seen in a while. It was the first wedding my son Jameson had been to. He loves a good party and this was no exception. During the toast he walked right up in front and sat down at the feet of the bride. It was really cute, but I did not want him stealing the attention. I silently signaled him to come back to his daddy and on his way over the photographer took a few photos of him. It made me feel good. I was almost honored by it. Now I know what parents feel when I take the time to zoom in on their kid. I think I will pay a little more attention to the kids at weddings in the future. Here are some of my favorite photos I have taken. I hope you enjoy them.

Charley and Karen have been looking forward to their Engagement Session for a long time. They wanted to wait for the fall. We had a great time. They were so excited and they made my job really fun. I have a lot more images to share, but I wanted to go ahead and put these up. Enjoy!

Casey and Holly were married this summer, but with all the fall colors why not do a post-wedding portrait session? Wedding days can be very busy for a couple, so it was great taking our time and going to a few locations. We took some at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary here in Louisville were I am pursuing my Masters. Every time I go to class I think about how nice it would be to do portraits on campus. I was right. We ended down at the waterfront.