Last May, Mr. Masters and I went to NYC to attend a wedding (as well as other festivities) for Rob and Kathy. We were in town for just over a week and felt very spoiled that we were able to spend so much time with the two of them. Rob is an amazing designer, and Kathy works in P.R., and they both enjoy participating in ANYTHING art related. Needless to say, there was no lack of creativity at their wedding. I’ll explain more as you scroll through this post.

Rob & Kathy took DIY to a whole new level. In addition to the homemade place cards, they made these paintings to correspond with their color scheme. The location iCi (a restaurant in Brooklyn), is a blank palette with PLENTY of soft light.

Custom glass “etching” with their monogram:

Waiting for his bride…

“I promise, I’ll take good care of her”…

Kathy made the piece in her hair. I loved the button! (It’s slightly hidden, see it?)

In addition to exchanging vows, a few of the guests did some readings:

Mr. Masters was another participant in the reading portion of the ceremony. Sadly, I have no images of Dave in action since I was sitting right next to him. I shot the ceremony from my seat and there was no way I was going to stand up and ruin the moment to get my shot.

Kathy pledging her vows to Rob, this is where I completely lost it…

“Hand over the bling and nobody gets hurt”

Happy tears are the best kind to capture…

Robs brother, Danny led all the guests to cocktail hour

We were seated at the “Sketching” table. Later in the evening, the paper pad would be used to write notes and draw pictures for our pals

Rob and Kathy made each of these ceramic vases BY HAND. Each one was unique and had their monogram on it.

Danny giving his speech, my favorite part had a line about how the one who wins an argument in a marriage is the first person to admit they’re wrong.

During dinner, Adam, (another high school pal and a New Yorker these days) played and sang “I can’t fight this feeling” by Journey. Everyone joined him and happily sang along.

I still remember the food like it was yesterday. If you find yourself in Brooklyn, EAT AT iCi!

After dinner, the room was cleared and the couple entertained us with their choreographed dance to Elvis.

And then we all had a dance-off. This sassy lady you see gettin’ down on it is Rob and Danny’s Grandma.

Yeah, this shot is blown out. I actually like it just the way it is!

During the reception somewhere in between shakin’ my tookus and eating cake, Rob & Kathy showed us a video they made. I guarantee that you will never see a homemade movie as awesome as this one, WATCH IT HERE!

The following day, we met up again and cruised around DUMBO. We stopped by the gallery where Rob met Kathy, Spring. They also sell his Grandfather Clock. As an added bonus, we got to peep a piece that they had made together and their New York Times announcement. After that, we cruised around and played with the timer on my camera.

I can’t wait to return to NYC in just a few short weeks. Everything about the city just inspires me, including my East-side friends, and especially Rob & Kathy.

About a year ago, I started offering my “portrait” booth as an alternative to the classic photo booth setups that I had seen at many events. At the time, I offered unlimited shooting and 4×6 color or black and white prints on demand, custom backgrounds up to 20 feet wide, custom logo’s and banners on the prints, and free clear bags, glassine envelopes, or custom enclosures.

But wait! Now there’s more!

A couple weeks ago when Anne helped coordinate Oscar & Tanya’s booth, we did so in less than 3 days. Tanya & Oscars friends scoured Party City and picked up a gigantic box of various props, and Tanya chose a plain white background because she knew there would be no lack of color based on her wedding decor and attire.

The night before the booth was ready to rock and roll. It occurred to me that Anne had all of the design files for Tanya’s invitation suite. I gave my buddy a call and begged her to make me some custom labels for the clear bags that were going to be used to hold the prints. Without hesitation, she hung up the phone and got to work.

Anne arrived to set up with a package full of these labels in her hot little hands:

I knew the second I spoke to Tanya for the first time that her booth was going to be fun because her friends were putting a lot of effort into the props. Since that was the focus (in addition to having a good time), I knew that surprising her with these labels would be a great way to give her guests the information without adding any distracting elements to the photos.

As an added bonus, Anne also made me these labels to use on the back of prints, on bags, and to hand out to little kids. Not quite as cool as getting a sticker from a Sheriff, or the Dentist…but not bad for a handout from a random Photographer at a wedding, right? =)

I’ve found that sometimes guests haven’t had a proper family portrait taken in years, and when they arrive to an event and see my setup sometimes they want to make the most of it and get a few shots for their homes and offices. In this case, it’s nice that I can offer them a print without a custom banner so that it will fit nicely in a frame without distractions. Plus, they have the option of getting an enlargement. Since I use a portrait studio lighting setup, it’s easy to grab a few family portraits after guests are done having fun for a few frames.

That’s where the custom label option comes in handy. So many folks are taking the time to work with Designers like Anne, that by the time they contract my services they typically have access to the creative elements they’ve developed to make their own event unique.

I do receive a lot of questions about my booth via email. Because there are few limitations to what I can do with my setup, I’ve found the best way to give interested parties access to specific information is to send out an information packet via email or snail mail after we’ve discussed all of the tiny little details during a consultation in person or over the phone (if you’re out of town).

I can tell you that the most common questions I receive are about cost, prints and about how many photos to expect in a 3 hour block. On average, the portrait booth costs about half as much as a portable classic style booth, depending on the level of customization. The 4×6 photos take about 30-60 seconds to print, and we keep them displayed in any way our client sees fit until their guests are ready to pick them up. Typically, we can do anywhere between 200-300 images in a 3 hour block (our most common package) which varies depending on how long guests spend putting on props and taking breaks to participate in other activities during the event. The booth is really only limited by your imagination, and thanks to my creative pals like Anne, it’s pretty easy to create just about anything you need to put your own twist on it.

Interested in booking the booth for your event? Email me at pamela@pamelamastersphotography.com

Oh, and big ups to Anne. I’m on a mission to learn a hundred different ways to say “Thank you” because of your continuous hard work, support, and friendship.

A good friend of mine asked me to come shoot her dance performance at the Celebrate Dance Festival on a Sunday afternoon at the Casa Del Prado Theater in Balboa Park. Needless to say, I was so impressed that these women inspired me, and I came home with an idea that I’m hoping to turn into a reality very soon.

I digress.

The Celebrate Dance Festival is a weekend event in San Diego’s Balboa Park that takes place each August. It’s free, open to the public, and features over 70 regional dance groups. I had a shoot earlier in the day up here in Los Angeles so I missed every other performance except for “Fimmine”, created by Sarah Swenson, and performed by Vox Dance Theatre . I’m really glad I was finally able to see my friend Alli at work!

I’ll let the festival program describe Swenson’s piece:

“Using only their gowns and Philip Glass’ thundering polyrhythmic score, seven brides face down one of society’s most loaded rituals.  Employing potent imagery and a spirited rhythmic attach, Fimmine exhibits the devotion, sisterhood, and fierce passion these women summon on their way to the altar.  Swenson’s signature work.“

I thought the piece was beautiful, and the ladies performed well. Here are some of my images from the afternoon: