Author Archives: aliceandjames

A Little Editing Makes a Big Impact

July 25, 2011 – 3:45 pm

We are proud members of the Artistic Guild of the Wedding Photojournalist Association (AGWPJA).   What is the AGWPJA?  It’s a great organization that recognizes photographers who blend their photojournalist talents with creative post-production skills.  We’re not big believers in “photoshopping” images, but we do think that sometimes, a little editing can go a long way to enhance a great moment.

Being such minimalists with our photo editing, we were pleasantly surprised when the AGWPJA honored 3 of our photos with awards in their first quarter contest.  That makes us the most-awarded AGWPJA photographers in the country  for 2011.   That’s a nice way to start out the year!

One of the winning images was a portrait taken in the Tuscan Garden at Celebrate at Snug Harbor in Staten Island.  Kristina & Dan got married at Snug Harbor on 04/02/11.  With the recent heat wave, I’m sure we’ve all forgotten how cold the Spring was.  The snow had melted just in time for Kristina & Dan’s big day, but unfortunately, the flowers and trees hadn’t bloomed yet.  With the right perspective, however, Mother Nature can be beautiful, regardless of the weather.  We had a happy couple and some sun, sky, water and trees.   That might not sound like much, but after a little editing to bring out the clouds and a change in the color tone to complement the setting, we had a winning combination!

The other two winning images were candids from an Egyptian wedding at the Valley Regency in Clifton, New Jersey.  As you can see, the groom was enjoying the ride much more than the bride.

Like most other cultures, Mona & Wael and their friends & family celebrated with lots of dancing.  We captured the celebration and changed the colors a bit to enhance the look of these images.

Weddings are full of great moments.  And with just a little bit of editing, these moments can look even more magical.

It’s always an honor to have our work recognized.  But the real reward comes from our couples when they tell us how much they love their wedding photos.  To all of our happy couples – thanks so much for entrusting us to capture your special day!

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Mahati & Rahul’s Engagement Shoot at Snug Harbor and Brooklyn Promenade, NYC

July 1, 2011 – 10:53 am

In April, we hosted an engagement shoot giveaway with our friends, Landmark Hospitality, Celebrate at Snug Harbor and Mari Milani. Mahati & Rahul won the giveaway and we recently did the shoot with them at Snug Harbor and the Brooklyn Promenade. Below is a sneak peek of the pics. Gorgeous couple, gorgeous venue and gorgeous photos (in our humble opinion and hopefully, you will all agree!) Stay tuned…more images to come.

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Michelle & Steve’s Wedding at Round Hill, NY

June 29, 2011 – 3:15 pm

Here’s a sneak peek of Michelle & Steve’s wedding at Round Hill.  Weather was a bit rainy and unpredictable, so they had to move their ceremony indoors.  As you can see, the happy couple didn’t let that get them down though!  Many congrats to the newlyweds & the Philips & the Ankrom families!

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Felicia & Andrew’s Wedding at Cipriani Wall Street, NYC, NY

June 24, 2011 – 11:34 pm

Felicia & Andrew had a “Downtown NY” wedding with all the festivities located by the Financial District.  The day started off at the Millenium Hilton hotel where Felicia and the ladies (“ladies” also include adorable flower girls) got ready.

bride gets ready at millenium hilton hotel before wedding reception at cipriani wall street

Then, off to St. Andrew’s Church to get married.  The church is on federal property and by the federal courts, so security was very high.  The limo bus actually couldn’t get through and Felicia had to walk part of the way!

couple gets married at st. andrew's church nyc

After the ceremony, we went to Tribeca for some shots with the urban cityscape.  What do you get when you mix a fantastically fun wedding party with a cool graffiti wall?  Some very edgy “posed portraits”!

wedding party before cipriani wall street wedding reception

After some fun on the bus (where Alice danced with the wedding party), we all arrived at Cipriani Wall Street.  And, what a breathtaking venue Felicia & Andrew chose for their reception!  This is definitely an occasion where a picture is worth a thousand words.  Look at that jaw-dropping architecture and those beautiful lighting enhancements…WOW!  Perfect setting for fun and dancing through the night.  We’re going to be photographing Monica & Rick at Cipriani 42nd Street in September and can’t wait to shoot at another Cipriani location.

cipriani wall street wedding reception

Andrew’s brother, Max, made a great best man’s speech.  He seemed so quiet the whole day, we had no clue that his words were going to be so heartwarming, poetic & funny. Kudos to Max!

funny best man speech

We really enjoyed our time with Felicia & Andrew and we were glad to hear that they were happy with us as well. According to Felicia, “the pictures are fabulous!!! They are absolutely beautiful! We are so happy we chose you two as our photographers!”

To see more photos from the happy couple’s wedding, click on the following image:

We actually used a new slide show program for this wedding. Aren’t the effects great? You can now even watch our slide shows in full screen! In the above, click on the icon that looks like the below image to see the slide show in full screen. Hit the “Esc” key to exit full screen and come back to this page.

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Celebrating Italian Heritage with a Few Celebrities

June 10, 2011 – 4:10 pm

Last night, the National Italian American Foundation (NIAF) had a kick-off reception for their annual golf tournament at the The Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum and we were invited to photograph it. We’ve been the golf tournament’s photographers for the past few years now and this year, they also wanted their guests to have some nice photographic mementos from the kick-off reception as well.

The photos were a big hit with the NIAF members. Particularly, since they could have their picture taken with actors Michael Badalucco and Tony Lo Bianco!

Bill de Blasio, the Public Advocate for NYC, was also at the event. We didn’t know until last night that he’s actually the highest ranking Italian American official in NYC public office right now.

CBS’ food expert, Tony Tantillo, was the master of ceremonies and the crowd was entertained by singer Christopher Macchio. And, of course, what fantastic pastries! We had the best cannolis ever last night and they were provided by the Artuso Pastry Shop.

Mark your calendar…The NIAF Annual New York Golf Tournament will be on August 22, 2011 at the Old Westbury Golf & Country Club on Long Island. Due to its huge popularity, the NIAF actually had to move the tournament to a bigger golf course this year.

Congratulations to Nick Caiazzo and the NIAF for a great event at the Intrepid last night and best of luck on a successful & fun day of golf on August 22! And, as always, thank you for inviting us to be part of such a great tradition.

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Why Hire Ninja Wedding Photographers?

May 27, 2011 – 12:06 pm

Some of our happy couples have called us Ninjas because we suddenly appear when there is a moment to be captured at weddings. Over the years, we’ve acquired a sixth sense for when something is going to happen and have perfected our techniques to capture it. Take for example the dance floor. Navigating through intoxicated dancers with camera equipment is not an easy task. James has it down to a science when it comes to getting a great photo in the midst of a rocking wedding reception. With his arms stretched above him, weaving to the beat, he can accurately point his camera to get a shot from above. One of these shots recently won an award from the Artistic Guild of the Wedding Photojournalist Association.

The bride and groom were both very active in Indian dance groups, so of course, they love to dance. And so did many of their wedding guests. The winning photo captures the groom in the middle of a group hug on the crowded dance floor at the Hyatt Regency in Jersey City. Can you feel the love?

Indian wedding reception at hyatt regency jersey city

This overhead camera technique is only effective if you can get to the moment in time. James prides himself on his ability to navigate through a crowded room in record time. How good is he? Well, while taking this photo of people dancing, James’ sixth sense detected that the groom was at the bar and about to have a shot with his buddies. Can you see it in the corner by the window? Do you think you have what it takes to get there in seconds to capture the shot? Note the distance to the corner of the room and the crowd he will have to navigate.

Within seconds, the Photo Ninja appears and gets the shot of people doing shots. If you look closely, you can see James’ arms stretched above his head reflected in the window.

Ninja Phototography

Our lawyer has told us that we should warn you that we are professionals with years of experience. Do not attempt to do this with your camera when you go to your next wedding.

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Free Photography for Our Nation’s Servicemen and Women

May 17, 2011 – 2:40 pm

Bin Laden’s death reminds us of the many Americans in the armed forces who risk their lives every day to protect the rest of us.  Our last wedding also reminded us of their great sacrifices.  The groom’s brother (who was also his best man) couldn’t make the wedding because he was deployed in Japan to help with the devastating earthquake.  And, of course, whenever we go to West Point Military Academy to photograph weddings, we are again reminded of our servicemen and women’s great service.  Duty, Honor and Patriotism are three words we hear again and again from our West Point couples - three very powerful words.

West Point Wedding Photo

To show our appreciation, we’ve joined Yellow Ribbon Photographers, a non-profit organization that offers free professional photography services to soldiers who are about to be deployed.  Our contribution includes a free photo session in Manhattan, two 8×10 prints & two 5×7 prints, and an online gallery.  The pictures are nice mementos for both the soldiers and their loved ones until they can again be reunited once the tours of duty are complete.

Yellow Ribbon Photographers

Anyone interested in receiving the shoot should contact us.  We may also offer our services free of charge to family members of soldiers already deployed if there is a special circumstance, for example, the birth of a child.

We hope that our small contribution will go a long way to showing our appreciation.  To our nation’s military personnel – a big thank you!

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Lauren Loves the Riviera Maya

May 6, 2011 – 4:42 pm

We love all-inclusive resorts, particularly the ones in Mexico.  Our last visit was at the end of 2009 and we’ve been dying to go back!  Now that our daugher Lauren is almost 2, we figured it was time to introduce her to Mommy & Daddy’s favorite vacation spot.

What did Lauren think?  Hmmm….she looks pensive, almost sad, in this picture.  Maybe she doesn’t like the Riviera Maya?

The resounding answer is NO, Lauren LOVES the beach…

…and playing in the sand.

And she loves her new favorite drink, the Pina Colada (virgin, of course), which she calls “Colada.”  Not sure when she came up for breath in this picture – she sure was sucking away at that straw.

And, she loved the beautiful resort where we stayed.

All in all, it was a great vacation and our daughter was the perfect travel companion.  She LOVED everything about the Riviera Maya, just like her Mommy and Daddy.

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Janna & Kevin’s Wedding at The Manor, West Orange, NJ

April 23, 2011 – 12:19 am

Janna & Kevin got married at the chapel at Seton Hall University and had their wedding reception at the Manor in West Orange, NJ.

To see other images of festivities at the Manor, call us at 646 234 8927 or CLICK HERE to contact us.

First things first, gorgeous Janna needed just a little primping to become “Janna the Bride.”

bride getting ready for wedding

Congrats to the new Mr. & Mrs. Lillis!

The groom really cracked us up during the family photos.  He used to model, so was definitely not shy in front of the camera.  Love that face, Mr. Lillis.

groom and family at the manor west orange nj

This is one of our favorite images of Janna & Kevin.  Sweet love & tenderness all wrapped up in one photo – beautiful!

bride and groom at the manor west orange nj

It’s funny.  Before you get married, you think of your wedding as just your special day.  When you find that someone special and start planning your wedding, however, you realize that this day is just as important for your families.  For your Dad….

…and your Mom and your sister and it’s nice to have little traditions like the father-daughter dance to commemorate your relationships with them.

One of the last dances of the evening.  It was touching for us to see Janna & Kevin so caught up in each other and in the moment.  Romance was alive and well that night.

bride and groom dancing at the manor west orange nj

To see highlights from the wedding, click on the following image:

We always find it very sweet when we meet a romantic groom and Kevin is definitely up there as far as romance is concerned.  He recently told us that he wanted a copy of the above slide show because in his words, “the pictures look amazing!!!…I love the slide show so much that I still watch it once/week or so to remind me of our day!” Well, Kevin, we’re very happy that you like the photos and Janna is one lucky woman to have such a sweet husband!

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