Colby’s Work: My Second Shooter September 25, 2009

Ok, so I’m finally getting around to starting to showcase some of Colby’s work as my second shooter. Here are some of his photos from Ryan and Laurie’s wedding. Colby has been an amazing helper since day one of my business. We are in the process of making a website for him, but in the mean time, here is a blurb from his “about me” page.

Hi there!
I’m Colby, Jen’s husband. I’ve been helping Jen from the start of her business. It’s been amazing watching her go from just a dream of being a professional photographer to blossoming into the professional she is. I’ve been helping her since day one, which was March 24, 2008. I remember it like it was yesterday. I was finishing installing the baseboards in our living room while she was on the couch, pondering starting her own business. Like she usually does, she just made the decision to jump in with both feet. She grabbed her computer, came back to the couch, went to the IRS website and read up on everything she needed to do to start a business. Then she decided to apply for a tax ID. Part of the tax ID required a name. That’s where she got hung up and I stepped in! At the time, she had planned to do both graphic design and photography. She said she wanted something with the words, “Art and Design” in it. To me, Starlight fit perfectly in front of it, but she didn’t like it at first. She loves stars and I like to call her my, “sweetness in starlight” so why wouldn’t starlight work? After she thought about it for awhile, starlight began to grow on her and before I knew it, she was officially Jen Avril-Rae Shannon DBA Starlight Art & Design. She applied and received her tax ID right there and off she was. In August of 2008, she decided graphic design was not for her and went full force with photography. She kept the name Starlight Art & Design for awhile but decided Jen Shannon Photography was her best bet to have people know her name as a photographer.

So, this section is supposed to be about me right? Well, here is where I fit in. I help her in any and every way that I can. In the beginning I helped her with all sorts of technical stuff, then when she’d go on photography jobs I’d set up her equipment while she chatted with her clients. When she started doing weddings I started second shooting with her which is also what I currently do. So… I help her on her portrait sessions with her equipment, accompany her on every job and I second shoot for her at weddings. I also help her when she has IT issues. I’m her “go to” guy

So, with that said, you’ll be seeing more of his work soon!

Colby's Work: My Second Shooter September 25, 2009

Ok, so I’m finally getting around to starting to showcase some of Colby’s work as my second shooter. Here are some of his photos from Ryan and Laurie’s wedding. Colby has been an amazing helper since day one of my business. We are in the process of making a website for him, but in the mean time, here is a blurb from his “about me” page.

Hi there!
I’m Colby, Jen’s husband. I’ve been helping Jen from the start of her business. It’s been amazing watching her go from just a dream of being a professional photographer to blossoming into the professional she is. I’ve been helping her since day one, which was March 24, 2008. I remember it like it was yesterday. I was finishing installing the baseboards in our living room while she was on the couch, pondering starting her own business. Like she usually does, she just made the decision to jump in with both feet. She grabbed her computer, came back to the couch, went to the IRS website and read up on everything she needed to do to start a business. Then she decided to apply for a tax ID. Part of the tax ID required a name. That’s where she got hung up and I stepped in! At the time, she had planned to do both graphic design and photography. She said she wanted something with the words, “Art and Design” in it. To me, Starlight fit perfectly in front of it, but she didn’t like it at first. She loves stars and I like to call her my, “sweetness in starlight” so why wouldn’t starlight work? After she thought about it for awhile, starlight began to grow on her and before I knew it, she was officially Jen Avril-Rae Shannon DBA Starlight Art & Design. She applied and received her tax ID right there and off she was. In August of 2008, she decided graphic design was not for her and went full force with photography. She kept the name Starlight Art & Design for awhile but decided Jen Shannon Photography was her best bet to have people know her name as a photographer.

So, this section is supposed to be about me right? Well, here is where I fit in. I help her in any and every way that I can. In the beginning I helped her with all sorts of technical stuff, then when she’d go on photography jobs I’d set up her equipment while she chatted with her clients. When she started doing weddings I started second shooting with her which is also what I currently do. So… I help her on her portrait sessions with her equipment, accompany her on every job and I second shoot for her at weddings. I also help her when she has IT issues. I’m her “go to” guy

So, with that said, you’ll be seeing more of his work soon!

Bob and Colleen’s Wedding June 7, 2009

I love details of weddings. Details are one of my favorite things to shoot. Why, you might ask. I love shooting details because there is SO much planning that goes into a wedding. Every single little detail is planned, thought about, and eventually the detail is created. I love photographing the details because 10 years from now, you may not remember the details that you took so long to plan and the photographs of the details may be your only memory of it.

When asked how Bob met Colleen, Bob grinned and said they met in college in Iowa.  They had dated for five years with one year being long distance from Iowa. He was happy that their big day finally came. As the groomsmen arrived, it began to sprinkle rain and concern for outside pictures grew. Luckily the rain held out for the formals took of the men before the wedding. Doug arrived at the church shortly before the wedding with the bridal party where I met Colleen. As many brides usually are, she was being pulled in about a million different directions but kept her focus on one thing.. She was about to marry her Prince Charming. Here are some photos I second shot for Doug McGoldrick yesterday.

Jen Shannon Photography, Chicago Wedding Photographer

Bob and Colleen's Wedding June 7, 2009

I love details of weddings. Details are one of my favorite things to shoot. Why, you might ask. I love shooting details because there is SO much planning that goes into a wedding. Every single little detail is planned, thought about, and eventually the detail is created. I love photographing the details because 10 years from now, you may not remember the details that you took so long to plan and the photographs of the details may be your only memory of it.

When asked how Bob met Colleen, Bob grinned and said they met in college in Iowa.  They had dated for five years with one year being long distance from Iowa. He was happy that their big day finally came. As the groomsmen arrived, it began to sprinkle rain and concern for outside pictures grew. Luckily the rain held out for the formals took of the men before the wedding. Doug arrived at the church shortly before the wedding with the bridal party where I met Colleen. As many brides usually are, she was being pulled in about a million different directions but kept her focus on one thing.. She was about to marry her Prince Charming. Here are some photos I second shot for Doug McGoldrick yesterday.

Jen Shannon Photography, Chicago Wedding Photographer

Second Shooting for Doug Today! June 6, 2009

I’ll be leaving here soon to go second shoot for Doug again today. I have a few new things I’m going to try out. #1) Losing the battery pack for my camera and am just going to carry one extra battery (the battery life on my camera is “the stuff” so I will definitely get by with one extra) #2) Made some optimization adjustments on the way my camera processes images so I will get to see what that looks like and hopefully have less back end editing to do #3) Losing the Gary Fong Lightsphere. It’s a big thing to carry and doesn’t fit in my Shootsac very well so I’m going to try with the regular diffuser for now and #4) I got my Shootsac shoulder pad in so this time my shoulder won’t get rubbed raw by the fabric on the strap of the Shootsac. SOOO excited to try that out. Happy Saturday!

More Photos from Menachem and Sharon’s Wedding May 31, 2009

I am slowly but surely getting through editing all of the photos. I’ve narrowed them down to 700 pictures, I’ll probably get rid of some more. I got through the getting ready/bridal portraits of Sharon. Here are some more good ones

Jen Shannon Photography, Chicago Wedding Photographer

More Photos from Menachem and Sharon's Wedding May 31, 2009

I am slowly but surely getting through editing all of the photos. I’ve narrowed them down to 700 pictures, I’ll probably get rid of some more. I got through the getting ready/bridal portraits of Sharon. Here are some more good ones

Jen Shannon Photography, Chicago Wedding Photographer

Menachem Mendal and Sharon Married! May 28, 2009

My brother, Matt, converted to Orthodox Judaism quite awhile ago. He’s studied for several years in Israel and another few in New York. When I heard from my mom a few months ago that he met the woman he knew he wanted to marry, I was shocked. My brother, who has changed his name to Menachem Mendal from Matthew James, has never dated or even kissed a girl. He’s beens solely devoted to God and serving Him. I’ve Facebooked back in forth with Sharon and have gotten to know her. She is such a sweet young woman. I am proud to say I finally have a sister! I was delighted to meet her for the first time in person yesterday. One thing I love about her is that she is even funnier in person than through Facebook chats. She has such a wonderful personality. I also got to meet her family. Her mom and dad currently live in Guatemala and is planning to move back to Israel. Her sister, Rebeca, has the same sweet spirit and personality as Sharon. I’ve gained two sisters and couldn’t be happier! Rebeca lives in Miami.

The day started early. Colby and I got up at 3am, were out the door at 4am, at Midway at 5am, and caught or 6am flight to Islip. We arrived shortly before 9 where we learned we would pay ridiculous amounts of money in public transportation costs. We went from the airport (McCormick?) in Islip in Long Island to the LIRR (Long Island Rail Road). After an hour ride we switched to the Flatbush train, rode for about 15 minutes, then switched to the subway and finally arrived in Brooklyn. As we were walking to the hotel, we ran into my two other brothers on the street. I thought, “Oh how nice! They came to greet us at the subway and show us where the hotel was.” Uh, no. They were leaving to go explore Manhattan while they still had time. Apparently we weren’t that special. We saw how it was… hahaa JK Love you guys! Colby went with the guys. I had photos to take so I couldn’t waste any time. I got to the hotel just after 11am and quickly did my make up, ate some lunch, got dressed and got my gear together. From there I took the subway 20 minutes to Crown Heights. All these trains… Good thing I live in Chicago or I would have been totally lost… The train systems are similar, but of course, much better in Chi town

I arrived in Crown Heights and made my way to where Sharon was getting ready. I saw a woman with what appeared to be a bouquet of flowers so in my head I said, “Follow the woman with the flowers!” Sure enough, it was Devorah, the wedding planner for their wedding so I had no trouble finding the house It was there that I was met by Sharon’s best friend who took me to see Sharon. She was so beautiful! Pictures don’t do her justice! From there I started snapping away. To make a long day short, the wedding was beautiful. I was confused for awhile because I’ve never been to a Jewish Chassidic wedding but after all was said and done, I was so happy and proud of the two of them.

Unfortunately for Colby and I, we had to leave the wedding early (just after 9pm) because we had to get up at 4:30am to be out the door at 4:40 (yes, I can get ready THAT fast!) catch the subway and all those other fun trains back the airport to catch a 7:45 flight. Well, let’s just say we didn’t get to bed until midnight, woke up at 4:30am and started the day. Brian, my oldest brother, decided to join us we we ended up out the door a few minutes late, missed the subway train (the next one didn’t come for HOURS!!!) so we ended up taking a $40 cab ride to the LIRR. Everything went smoothly getting to the plane and then getting home around 10am (11am NY time). We came home and went straight to bed. I slept until just after 5pm. I’ll be going to bed again here soon… I’m a sleeper. What can I say? Anyway, here are some photos from the wedding. Enjoy!

The boys in my family… They are so goofy! From left to right. Brian, my oldest brother (glasses), Kevin, my youngest brother (right behind Brian), Menachem (the obvious one… hahaha), Jerry, my Dad, and Colby, my husband.

Jen Shannon Photography, Chicago Wedding Photographer

My First Wedding Shoot-2nd Shot for Doug McGoldrick! May 24, 2009

The weather prognosis appeared grim the night before Chris and Erica’s wedding. Thunderstorms were to be expected throughout the whole day of their wedding. Saturday came and there wasn’t a cloud in the sky. I headed out for a long drive to Evanston. I met Doug through the Pictage forums when I asked if anyone would let me second shoot for them. He offered for me to second shoot at two weddings with him, which I was STOKED about! After a few emails back and forth, I found Doug was a teacher at my college, Columbia College, which I will soon be leaving. What a small world! I arrived about 20 minutes or so early in Evanston. Still a gorgeous day! I met up with Doug who I couldn’t mistake for a photographer. He had all of his gear on him with two great cameras with huge lenses attached. I was very nervous to be shooting my first wedding, but I was confident in my knowledge of my camera, so I knew as long as I focused, I would do just fine. And I did! Doug introduced me to the bride and groom. I suddenly became very intimidated when I learned the groom was also a photo teacher and photographer as well as most of the groom’s wedding party! I thought, “Oh no! How can my first wedding be for photo pros?!? The pressure was on, but I was up for the challenge. This wedding, by far, was the coolest wedding I had ever been to. They passed around this ball of nylon material and intertwined it through the rows of chairs, then slid the ring down the nylon, down each row of chairs, everyone touching the rings, to symbolize being intertwined with the people that love them and will support them in their marriage. Also, instead of having a unity candle, they used darkroom chemistry to pour together to create a purple color, symbolizing the creation of a new union. They also had the coolest center pieces, which you can see below. It was such a creative, beautiful wedding, and I am so thrilled that Doug gave me the opportunity to second shoot for him. Doug was so easy to work with and laid back. It was the best first 2nd shooter job/wedding job I could have ever asked for.

Jen Shannon Photographer, Chicago Wedding Photographer