I love to photograph the excitement, the energy,  and the planned events of the day.  But even more so, I love the quiet moments that genuinely profess the couple’s love to one another.

This photo of Meghan and Mike is very special to me.  I was watching them carefully during the speeches.  Meghan leaned closer to Mike and Mike instinctively leaned into Meghan  until they touched.  It was only for a brief moment as it was soon interrupted by the raising and clinking of glasses.  But in that soft little moment, there was a love, a connection and a energy that made me realize how perfect the two of them are together.

50 years.  That’s a long time.  And it’s something I think about on every portrait session that I photograph.  “Will you be happy with these photos now and in 50 years?”)

I was photographing Erin in the tulips earlier this spring when her mom Jill started to tell me about her grandmother’s farm.  Every spring, an area in the woods is just filled with bluebells.  I could tell by the way she spoke about it that it was something very meaningful to her and that there were fond memories about the area.

So, like the adventurous “artist” that I am, I told her we had to plan a session with Erin in the bluebells and that it would also be an opportunity to get photos with her great grandmother.  (I still have a worn and yellowing photograph of me and my great grandmother in a green porcelain frame in my hallway that I think about every time I photograph generations together.)

It took a bit for everyone to arrange their schedules, but I believe we can definitely say it was worth the effort.

Thank you, Jill & Pat, for letting me have a part in  photographing your family.

This spring we made plans to extend our Las Vegas trip to include an engagement session in Los Angeles with Jamie and Bill.  We had so much fun with the two of them.   I am so very excited about their wedding.  Below is my favorite photo from the session.  I absolutely love how the two of them are so into each other.  I adore the way Bill is caressing Jamie’s hair.  Couples who are so well matched warm my heart.

(Note, it’s always a good idea to keep track of the Zettls’ travel plans as we rarely travel anywhere without taking photos of people.  We don’t charge travel fees if we are already on the road.  We’ll be in Chicago the weekend of May 15th shooting 2 engagement sessions and a bridal session.  We still have room for more portrait sessions.  Contact us if you’re interested in some stylish and creative portraits that show a more intimate and beautiful view of your life.)

This past Sunday I invited a friend to model for me on a very specific personal project.   It was one of those “go shoot something you really want to shoot and don’t worry about getting paid for it” projects. (Falls also under the heading of dream, dream, dream, practice, practice practice.)  These projects are very important to artists for many reasons.  Personally, they help me develop my creative vision, allow for artistic freedom and hone my skills.

The shoot was inspired by a book I just recently bought about Norman Parkinson.
Norman Parkinson: A Very British Glamour

Thanks for looking.

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The 72 hour sale!

It’s Spring, the tulips are in bloom and we are running an incredible promotional offer on all our portrait collections.

Receive $200 off all regular priced portrait collection gift certificates purchased from now until 12 midnight Tuesday April 13^th (Sale priced collections start at $150.00)

Offer good for Children, High School Seniors, Family, and Engagement sessions.

Click here to purchase gift certificates

Portrait session price list (take $200 off the prices listed.)

Choose the portrait collection you would like the purchase, the discount will be taken at check out and we will send you a gift certificate to use anytime between now and November 1, 2010.

Any print scoring above an 80 in print competition is recognized as a print of excellent skill and craftsmanship.  Over 3500 prints were judged this year.  We entered 7 prints and had 4 prints receive accolades of excellence.  Two of our prints received additional recognition for superior craftsmanship by scoring an 85 and 91.

I consider it a special honor that our top scoring photograph was a print from my personal project , “Mentors and Muses.”  This is an on going project of mine to photograph all the people that have made a difference in my life and  taught me a valuable life lesson.

Below are the images that received honors:

(Personal side note:   Peter and I survived a 4200 mile road trip to  Las Vegas and Los Angeles, and back home to St. Louis  without arguing, killing each other or leaving one of us on the side of the road in Utah.  And  most importantly, we still like each other.  Seriously, I think that says something!)

June 7 & 8, 2010

How do you become a better photographer?  What makes a photograph dynamic and full of life?  Do you know where to find inspiration for your work?  Are you comfortable using all different types of light?  Do you want to connect better with your clients?  Do you need practice and advice on your work?

Discover the answer to these questions at an  intense two-day workshop and shootout with Chuck Arlund and Stephanie Zettl.  The workshop will be held June 7 & 8, 2010 at Stephanie Zettl’s studio in St. Louis, MO. It will focus on getting those creative juices flowing and giving photographers the opportunity  to apply what was learned.  We’ll be shooting a whole range of people and models and then finish the course with kind, helpful guidance and advice about the images shot during the two days.

The workshop is recommended to all photographers interested in portrait, fashion and wedding work.  Basic understand of how your camera works is required.

What you will take away from the workshop:

Knowing how to see, use and shape the light
Knowing how to use your flash on and off camera
Knowing how to find inspiration and apply it to your work
A review of your work and an understanding of what you can do to improve
Some sweet Photoshop techniques
Advice on how to make a better album and be time efficient.

More info…

Schedule:

DAY ONE

Inspiration: 9:30 – 12:30   Seeing, Using and Shaping the Light.  (Instruction and demonstration)

Lunch & Portfolio review: 12:30 – 2:00  Casual lunch provided at the studio with a chance to talk with fellow classmates.  Take advantage of having up to 10 of your images reviewed and discussed by the instructors in a safe environment.

Application: 2:00 – 6:00  Shooting.  Students will be split into smaller groups and will be given the opportunity to apply of what was learned in the morning.  Instructors will help coach students on how to direct people and problem solve lighting situations.  There will be a lot of interaction and coaching during the shootout.  The shootout is intended to teach how to create better photos, not just shoot pretty models.

Dinner: 6:00 – 8:00  (Local restaurant.  Students are responsible for their own meals.  Hang out with your classmates.)

DAY TWO

Inspiration:  9:30am to 11:30 pm – Life and Light – the essence of any good photograph.  A conversation about what makes a good photograph, how to find inspiration and how to apply it to your work.

Lunch & Portfolio review: 11:30 – 1:30  Casual lunch provided at the studio with a chance to talk with fellow classmates.  Take advantage of having up to 10 of your images reviewed and discussed by the instructors in a safe environment.

Inspiration and Application:  1:30 – 3:00  Chuck’s awesome Photoshop techniques.

Inspiration and Application: 3:00 – 4:00 Stephanie’s advice on album design

Advice: 4:00 – 6:00  Review of photos shot the day before.  Photos will be reviewed in small groups to provide critique and guidance.

Cost of workshop: $595.00 for 2 days.

Class limited to 14 students.

Click Here to Register Online for the Worshop or call Zettl Photography at 314.454.6612

Chuck Arlund has an incredible amount of experience and talent and it shows in the gorgeous and stylish images.  He’s been shooting commercial photography since 1999 and prior to that he was a graphic artist and a part time art and music industry photographer.
He started shooting wedding and portraits in 2004.  In 2008 Chuck was hired to shoot Hootie and the Blowfish and that stimulated his passion for the  music industry and fashion photography again. While he is still shooting weddings and seniors, his attention these days is all about commercial fashion and music photography.
Within the 5 years he has been apart of the wedding and portrait industry Chuck has won multiple awards and accolades for his imagery.  He’s also gaining a lot of attention for his commercial work.  See more of his work at www.chuckarlund.com and his blog at: www.arlundphoto.com/wordpress

Stephanie Zettl began her career as a newspaper photographer and shot everything from Ram’s football games to Pope’s visit to St. Louis.  But she quickly fell in love with the powerful emotional images she could create on a wedding day. The majority of her current work is weddings and portraits.  She credits a lot of her success to her ability to connect with her clients to bring out and capture the best in them.
Stephanie also has a great deal of interest in the music and fashion world and her work is often inspired by great fashion photographers, painters and musicians.  She’s recently garnered a lot of attention for her music inspired fashion shoot and cover of St. Louis Bride Magazine.
She and her husband Peter have owned Zettl Photography for 7 years.  www.zettlphoto.com

More news on some incredible sponsors (including FundySOS and Simply Canvas) will be coming shortly.

What makes this award special and meaningful to us is that the contest was open to any photographer in the St. Louis area and was not restricted to a certain group of advertisers or members. It was a legitimate contest of skill and talent.   The photos were judged by out of state wedding photographers, photography professors, professional artists and other working professionals. We had to submit 15 images (45 total) from three different weddings to show consistency in our body of work.

This is our first big award in photography.  We owe a great deal of gratitude to our mentors, our fellow wedding vendors and our fabulous clients.  Without your support and trust in us, we would have never have come as far as we have in the past seven years.  We want to sincerely thank you from the bottom of hearts.

Other winners include:

Ellen Gutierrrez – Bride’s Vision Wedding and Events (incredible coordinator!)
Rich West – Rich West Designs
Shelli Alred – Alred Wedding Consultants
Randall Greg Shamel – Artistry Florist
Erin Horn Schulte – Exclusive Events
Megan Kniffen  – Chase Park Plaza
Jeff Hill – Westview Media
Pat Rutherford -Sugaree Baking Company (love love love this bakery!)
James Robert Schaefer – The Coronado – winner of the 2009 St. Louis Wedding Award’s Wedding Professional Hall of Fame

We also want to extend a special thank you to Ethan Woods and Nancy Slade of St. Louis Bride Magazine for all their hard work in creating these awards.

Below are the 45 photos we entered into the contest.

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Megan and Mike will be getting a 13×19 copy of the photo in the contest and a copy of their favorite photograph from the same shoot.

BUT WAIT!  There is a second winner from the contest.  We randomly chose one person  from all the votes cast for an extraordinary portrait session, a 13×19 art print from the session and a $300 print credit. (A $550 value.)  The winner is: Chrissy Stojan

Thank you all for entering.  We’re excited to see how our prints do next month at WPPI.