New Orleans…the gothic city of romance & grunge is a perfect place for a Trash the Dress style photo shoot. The scene was perfect…a bride in an antique wedding dress, amongst the grime of the French Quarter, the beauty of the architecture, & oak trees lit up by old street lights. Frenchmen St., the locals’ Bourbon St….without the strip clubs & cheesy DJ’s…with extra soul and character….my favorite place to meet…and a perfect backdrop. The sunlight dropped fast, but with the amazing ISO capabilities of my Nikon D700 camera, low light and night time photography becomes a welcome challenge. Thank you Michelle for going all out on this shoot, with the antique lace veil and feather eyelashes to top it off. If you want to see more pictures from this photo shoot and other trash the dress style shoots, please go to my website and click on “Sexy & Fun Gallery.” Whether it’s the day after your wedding, your 2 year anniversary, or just a fun shoot in your mom’s 1970’s wedding dress, trash the dress photo shoots are a great way to get that dress out of the closet and shown off like it should be! And of course you don’t have to literally “trash” the dress…that’s just become the modern term for a post wedding day bridal photo shoot. With no ceremony to rush off to or formal pictures left to take, the bride becomes free to relax and do as she wishes…or dares.
Enjoy!

I recently attended Pictage’s Conference for professional photographers held in New Orleans where I was able to meet and learn from some of the country’s finest photographers. It was an amazing conference full of workshops and lots of opportunities. Below are a few of my favorite shots of a couple of models I caught in the street. I wasn’t officially a part of this workshop and at first thought I just happened to catch a couple of beautiful girls walking down the street, until I noticed following behind them was a swarm of photographers. Luckily I’m small enough to hide between a doorway and was able to quickly grab a few shots right before the workshop ended.

Below are pictures from Nathan Holritz’s shooting workshop where he taught us some tips for working during the worst time of the day – in the harsh noon sunlight! He found a couple from the conference to volunteer and since they were actually photographers themselves it really helped them to know how to pose for the camera.

Here is a shot of the hundreds of photographers cramming the main room for the closing ceremony.

Above is a shot of dozens of photographers ready to volunteer their skills for families of Katrina. I was so thankful and happy to hear that Pictage organized free family portrait sessions for local families.  Even though I was fortunate to have all my scrapbooks, yearbooks, and digital images saved from the storm, a lot of my family and friends were not so lucky. When I evacuated New Orleans for the hurricane my photo albums where the first thing I packed into my car. However, so many people forgot to take with them their photos or just assumed it was a false alarm (like so many ones before) and thought they would soon be back home.  Compared to all other material possessions, your pictures are really the only things that are not replaceable, making their value truly priceless. I can not imagine the thought of loosing all my photos, much less those that have been passed down from previous generations.  We may not have been able to replace those pictures lost in the storm, but at least we could create new memories for many very appreciating families.