10.10.09 Meg + Tyler are Married!

Tyler and Meg held their ceremony and reception at the Milford Hills Hunt Club. Which is a beautiful setting for a wedding, especially in the fall. The weather may have been a touch colder than they may have wanted, but besides that they really couldn’t of had a more perfect wedding day. There’s a phenomenon called ‘golden hour,’ which occurs about a hour before dusk when the sun is at a perfect angle, and when the rest of the atmosphere cooperates, creating a beautiful golden light that is amazing to shoot photos in. It doesn’t happen everyday, and we often aren’t shooting photos at that time during our more summery weddings, as it occurs later in the evening when dinner and or the reception are taking place. However on Meg and Tyler’s day it seemed to last forever, allowing us to get some really ‘magical’ shots around the grounds of the club. Their outdoor ceremony went off without a hitch, and the reception was full of close family, good friends, great speeches and lots of dancing. I had a great time documenting their day and have to say this this was one of our more favorite weddings, photographically and otherwise, of the year. Below is a preview of some of their proofs.

10.3.09 Jessa & Brett are Married!

Wedding lore dictates that it’s good luck if you have rain on your wedding day. Jessa and Brett got that extra slice of luck on their day. Thankfully though, things cleared up and dried up enough to still spend plenty of time outside on photos with the two of them and their wedding party, and even when it didn’t an umbrella was close by. Not wind nor rain deterred this great couple, and between the church, the capitol, a near by alley way and the Edgewater; we were able to get plenty of great shots. Thanks again to Jessa & Brett for letting us be part of their day. Below is a preview of some of many proofs.

2 huge surprises, 1 week...

First we found out 'it' was a Boy, even though we were overwhelmingly told by family, friends and clients for the last half of a year or so that it had to be a girl (you had us almost sold on it too!).  We decided not to find out through ultra sounds this time around, there's only so many big surprises life has to offer so we decided not to cheat ourselves out of this one and it was well worth the wait.

Then we got a call, the day we got back from the hospital, that we had been voted 'Best Of' by the readers of the Knot for Photographers in Wisconsin.  This really is a huge surprise and honor for us as we did no kind of campaigning for this award and actually weren't aware that voting was taking place at this time.  So thank you, thank you, thank to everyone who voted for us!  We truly appreciate it and can't be more thrilled that you've enjoyed working with us as much as we've enjoyed working with you.  We were fortunate to receive a similar award through Wisconsin Bride Magazine a few months back, which was also a real honor, but the Knot is the premier and largest publication and website for brides ( and grooms ) planning weddings in the US.

We'll continue striving to offer the highest level of service and quality of work that we can.  And this award is definitely motivation to step it up even another notch.   Thanks again!  

A new Look

We walked behind a woman being pushed in a wheel chair on our way up to the birthing

triage center at the Hospital.  April had begun going into labor 18 days sooner than predicted.  We took our place at a curtained off hospital bed and were instructed to relax and they'd check in on us.  A few curtains over we heard a nurse tell the woman in the wheel chair she was going to see 'how far along she was.'  We heard something to the effect of 'wow you're about to have a baby.'  A few moments later we listened as  doctors and nurses filled the cramped triage area and the woman gave birth.  The curtains didn't do a great job of dampening the sounds associated with this event.  Not exactly the best environment to relax in.  Our little one wouldn't come in such an expedited manor.  It was 9pm Sunday night.  Fast forward to the middle of the next day and you'd find April still courageously progressing through the process.  She had to have a last minute cesarian with our first child which opened us up to additional risks and issues associated with having baby number two the old fashioned way.  On top of that, when April would have contractions it would cause the babies heart rate to dip.  This concerned the doctors and nurses, who were keeping a careful eye on everything and trying all kinds of different things to over come this problem.  More than once it seemed we were on the brink of being sent to the operating room to deliver in order to keep baby and mom safe, just to have the decision overturned at the last second by some small glimpse of hope that a second cesarian could be somehow safely avoided.  Finally around 4pm the doctors felt it was time to try to deliver before defaulting to plan B.  After about a half hour and some more scary drops in babies heart rate, the doctors decided to make use of a 'super vac.'  Tension was high in the now crowded room, equipment and new faces popped up everywhere.  Orders were being shouted back and forth and April bravely proceeded doing her part.  Things seemed to move quickly, yet time past slow.  Then suddenly there he was.  Kohen arrived into the world at 4:59pm, and even though he was a little over two weeks early, he was almost just as large as our first son who was 1 week late.  Both baby and Mom are healthy and doing fine.  We're proud parents, again, and happy Koeplin now has someone else to introduce to the world of monster trucks, tractors and all the other things little boys seem to be so interested in.  On a business related note we will be out of the office until further notice and will do our best to get to all of the messages and e-mails we've received in the past few days in a timely fashion.   Orders that were received on and around the Holiday deadline will be still be placed in time for the Holidays.  Please bear with us over the next few weeks as we get to know baby Kohen better.  Below are some of the many photos from the Hospital.

Alana + Matt are Engaged!

We began Alana and Matt’s shoot at the Capitol and progressed to the street and ally’s around Jenna’s, where Matt and Alana got engaged.  We had great lighting, not too much wind, and Alana and Matt made things easy on my end.  I’m sure we’ll be wishing for a touch of this cooler weather when they say “I do” next July.  Below are some of our favorites from their shoot. -Derrick

Meg + Tyler are Engaged!

With Meg & Tyler living out of state, it was difficult to get together for a couples session.  So even though we don’t recommend waiting to schedule an engagement session until the week before your wedding, in this case it was the only opportunity we had.  We met up downtown, outside the Orpheum, and took advantage of a lot of the great backdrops in the vicinity, including inside and on the rooftop of M.M.O.C.A.  It was a fun session and definitely a great warm up for the wedding day.  Below are some of our favorites from their shoot. (wedding day images to follow soon!)

Elizabeth + Jed are Engaged!

Elizabeth and Jed’s couples session had to get rescheduled a couple of times, so I was glad when we finally got to meet up with them for their shoot at Olin.  With their wedding still coming up this year in December, it was great to get to work with the two of them and build a little more chemistry.  They were easy to work with and had some great input for shots.  I look forward to shooting their wedding next month, we’ll keep our fingers crossed for a little snow, no wind, and tolerable temperatures.  Perfect elements for a winter shoot.  Below are some of our favorites from their session.

The Rustler Family...

Shooting one rambunctious toddler can be a challenge, shooting two is an experience that is in a whole other league.  We were fortunate to work with Ryan & Michelle when they got married a few years back.  So it was awesome to get them in front of our cameras again to do a child/family session.  It really was a lot of fun chasing their two little ones around and watching them interact with one another.  All of us non-twins out there have definitely day dreamed at some point about what it would be like to have a twin.  And though it’s still to be seen if they’ll resemble one another enough when they’re older to stand in for each other and pull tricks on people, it’s just got to be nice to have someone your age by your side to play with and confide with as you grow up.  It was nice seeing Ryan & Michelle again and meeting the Nolan & Cameron.  Below are some pics from their session.

Welcome Baby Kalia...

Unless you plan it, I don’t think anyone ever considers the possibility that you’ll have your baby at home.  Well Darby & Erin definitely didn’t plan a ‘home birth,’ but as crazy as it sounds, Erin didn’t realize she was in labor until the Baby was well on it’s way.  Darby barely got 9-1-1 dialed when he had to assist in delivering his second child, a beautiful baby girl.  Thankfully everyone was healthy and are doing great.  We had the privilege of photographing baby Kalia just a couple weeks into her time in this brand new world.  Below are some photos from their session.

Boutique Style Christmas Cards...

We have a lot of great Designer Holiday Cards to choose from this year.  Use a photo from a recent session or schedule a new one to create a personalized and chic card to send your friends and family this year.  I know we’re biased, but in our opinion you won’t get this sort of quality in a card from a big box or chain site.  Here are some previews of some of the designs.  If you’d like to see them larger or schedule a session contact us.  Keep in mind next week is the last week we guarantee delivery for the holidays...

Boutique Christmas (2 sided 5x7's)

Joyful Christmas (2-sided 5x7's)

Damask Calendar: (5x5 tri-fold)

Mini-Holiday #1 (1 sided 5x7 flat card)

Mini-Holiday #2 (1 sided 5x7 flat)

Modern Calendar: (5x5 tri-fold)

Red/Green Couture (5x5 tri-fold)

Couture Holiday (2 sided 5x7)

Burgundy Vintage (2 sided flat 5x5 & 5x7)

Boutique Holidays (2 sided 5x7s)

Aqua Damask: (2 sided 5x7's and 5x5 tri-fold)

(The images in these card layouts are not work of Creative Look Studios.)

Seniors...

We were sort of bad about blogging about senior photos this past season, but still wanted to post a few shots from a couple of our favorite ‘late’ sessions that came in right before yearbook deadlines.  Though we don’t recommend waiting until a few weeks before the deadline to schedule your shoot, it worked out great as we had a lot of fun working with Jeremy and Brittany.  As with all of our portraits we like to keep things as fresh and fun as possible, limiting the use of stale studio backgrounds and keeping things more creative and fresh by utilizing the ‘different’ backdrops that surround us in the everyday world.  With Senior photos we really try to find a nice blend between fashion and photojournalistic style shots and poses.  Playing off of available colors and textures in clothing and the environment.  We’ll be taking applications for ‘senior models’ in the early spring, so contact us if you’re currently a junior and interested in potentially being a model and getting a free session and other great incentives that go along with these positions.  

9.19.09 Katie + Dan are Married!

Not that every girl isn't ecstatic about their wedding day, but Katie may have been one of the most excited brides that we have had the chance to work with.  We had the opportunity to shoot her sister Brooke's Wedding Film and we thought she was a high energy bride at the time, but Katie was literally counting down the days over a year before the day that her and Dan said, "I Do." Anytime we got an email from Katie or happened to run into her, she would immediately tell us how many days until the wedding, whether it was 352 days or 8 days, her excitement never withered. It's always refreshing to work with such an excited and genuinely happy bride and groom. Katie also happened to be a very organized bride, along with her wedding planner Lori from Capitol Weddings and Events, a great day was put together, that not only exceeded Katie and Dan's guests expectations but hopefully exceeded Katie and Dan's as well.  They even found a way to work Bucky and their love for UW football into the mix; they actually had Matt Lepee (UW TV Announcer) pre-record an awesome grand entrance track for them to all come into dinner with.  I'm sure this was extra meaningful for Dan, who grew up across from Camp Randall and later became part of the UW marching band himself.    Now I am sure that Katie and Dan are just excited to be husband and wife. Derrick and I had a great time documenting their day with both photo and HD videography.

Katie and Dan's wedding was my last wedding of the 2009 wedding season, as the remainder of our weddings are being covered by Derrick and his assistant as I count down the days until our new addition joins us in November! What a great wedding for me to end the season with...

Katie and Dan thanks for choosing us to document your day! Much Love-April

9.12.09 Elan + Chris are Married!

Whenever a couple books the two of us to shoot their wedding it's exciting for a couple of different reasons.  One being that we know that we're going to get to shoot with one another on that day, and the other that we know they'll be getting the best coverage we can offer and more than likely end up with a larger than normal selection of proofs to go through in the end (and we already typically present far more finished proofs than most of our colleagues).

Elan and Chris came to us as a referral from Trisha and Andy (who also served as one of Chris's Groomsmen), and really couldn't of been a better fit for us.  Their personalities and style make them easy to work with.  And after shooting their Couples Session last year (it was probably one of favorite shoots of the season), we couldn't wait to get them in front of the camera again.  They put together an awesome wedding in Downtown Milwaukee, and after having shot primarily in Madison for the past month or so, it was a welcomed change of pace and backdrops.  (Minus the speeding ticket we got on the way in.  I swear I didn't see it change to 55 mph).  They had their reception at the Lake Front Brewery, which was rich in character of it's own, and a good time was had by all.

Elan and Chris, Thanks for letting us be a part of your day.  Below are some sneak peaks of your proofs.

Jim + Pam are getting married! PROMOTION!

Because we are so excited that Jim & Pam are finally going to be tying the knot on tonight's episode of, "The Office" we will be offering anyone who books a wedding package prior to this Saturday October 10th @ noon $200 off any package when mentioning Jim & Pam's wedding & this blog entry. So if you are already considering our services, this is a great way to get an additional $200 off!

Isla...

Isla & her Mom met us at our gallery, and unfortunately what started as a beautiful sunny day had quickly become overcast and rainy. We decided to deal with the weather and capture some shots of Isla "playing" around the area in downtown Middleton that surrounds our gallery.
Fortunately, Isla was extremely easy to work with...and we were able to capture some great shots in a limited amount of time.  If only all 14 month olds cooperated so well! We had a lot of fun playing with Isla and getting some shots of her in her adorable hats and colorful outfits!

Endres Family....

A few weeks back Derrick & I had the pleasure of shooting some 6 month photos of baby Isabella and also had a chance to grab a few shots of Isabella with her Mom & Dad & big brother Dylan. Isabella's Mom brought the most adorable hats for Izzy to wear at her shoot.

Here are a handful of their images....

9.5.09 Amber + TJ are Married!

When TJ set out to build a house he hired a father son building company who had been long time family friends.  At some point during the process, TJ’s status as a single man came up in conversation and Amber’s Father (the son in the father and son building combo) was showing TJ a picture of his daughter.  One extended first date later and the rest is pretty much history as Amber and TJ have been together ever since.  The house Amber’s Father and Grandfather  built has become as much her’s as TJ’s and that’s where our coverage began.  With TJ’s parent’s home conveniently neighboring theirs, it made it easy for the guys and girls to get ready in close proximity of one another with out crossing paths.  And with a great cocktail hour planned at their place, prior to the reception, it made it easy for them to oversee all the last minute details as everything came together flawlessly.  Amber and TJ had a fantastic wedding filled with great moments, good friends and lots of fun as these two made things official.  In the beginning TJ set out to build a house, but instead along the way he ended up meeting Amber and building a home.  Congratulations guys.  Here is a sneak peak of their photos.        

9.5.09 Amy + Peter are Married!

Amy & Peter were married at Quivey's Grove surrounded by their closest friends and family. Not only were the grounds of Quivey's a beautiful backdrop for the ceremony & reception...the details that Amy & her Mom put together along with the ladies at Personal Expressions were phenomenal. Every time I thought I had shot a majority of the details, I would see something new. The day went by very seamlessly with the help of some great vendors including Personal Expressions and Amy & Peter's wedding coordinator Angela Dupont from Top Shelf Events.  But more importantly then any of the details and events of the day, was the apparent love shared by both Amy & Peter, and the great time that their friends & family seemed to be having on their special day.

Congrats Amy & Peter, I wish you all the best! April

The details were endless at this wedding....

Alexis + Ben are Engaged!

We were fortunate enough to catch up with Alexis and Ben while they were back from California, for an extended weekend, to do their engagement session. We shot the session in the downtown of Alexis’s hometown of Viroqua and, with both of them being avid golfers and planning their reception at the Legend next year, made a stop by the 10th green of the local golf course to take a few shots. We had a lot of fun shooting with them and as always photographing with totally new backdrops. We look forward to shooting their wedding next June. Below are some previews from the session.

Amy + Eric are Engaged!

Amy & Eric are a sweet couple planning a wedding during a very crazy time in their lives as Amy just finished pharmacy school and is traveling half way across the state each week to carry out her residency, and Eric is working full time as a Nuclear engineer. Of course never having had the opportunity to meet a nuclear engineer before I had to ask Eric if he got to wear ‘the suit’ at work.  I was implying the yellow radiation suit from tv and movies, but Eric didn’t catch my attempt at a bad joke and said that it was mainly business casual.  I had to ask though or I would of always wondered.  With all the bad jokes out of my system the shoot went great, even with the added craziness of campus move in day.  We got some great shots by the Union, the lake and the Red Gym.  Below are some previews from their session.  

8.22.09 Megan + Andy are Married!

I can't tell you how many Saturday evenings I have gotten home from a long day of shooting a wedding, and thought to myself how lucky we are to work with such great couples. It's really funny how it works out that we end up working with couples that have such similar interests & personalities as Derrick & I.  We always say that we are looking for couples that are a good fit for us, as much as we are a good fit for them. (since good chemistry can go along way in our creativeness) It's a bit nerve racking on the rare occasion that we don't meet a client ahead of time, when booked over the phone or through email. Which was the case with Megan & Andy who were planning a long distance wedding, making it tough to get together for an engagement session or consultation. Of course, we had no idea what we were getting into.  However, when we showed up for Megan's getting ready coverage we were immediately greeted at the door by an exhuberatingly happy, smiling Megan, and later met an equally friendly & outgoing Andy. It was apparent right away that these two were going to be a lot of fun to work with! 

Megan & Andy said I do, on her Grandparents island outside of Pardeeville. I'm sure that when her Grandpa purchased the land nearly 40 years prior he hadn't anticipated that his Granddaughter would one day be getting married there. The island provided a very organic and beautiful backdrop for the ceremony and pictures. Megan also received a ride to the start of the aisle in a retro car (Chrysler Windsor Deluxe) once owned by her Grandpa, that added even more to the nostalgia of the day. 

We ended our coverage with some more urban shots in Pardeeville. We had a great time working with Megan & Andy & wish them many years of happily ever after! -April

Casey from Bacci did a great job on Megan & the girls' hair!

Blakley Family....

We did an extended session with Quincy and his parents, with a mix of urban and natural backdrops.

This shoot was extra special for the family, as its the last time they will have a family session with just the three of them, because a new addition to the family is on the way in just a few weeks!

Sawyer...10 Months Old...

It seems like only a few months ago that we shot Sawyer's Mom & Dad's maternity session....the last year has truly flown by, it's crazy to think that baby Sawyer is almost a year old. And will soon be approaching a toddler rather then a baby. We always enjoy the chance to work with Sawyer and his parents...with Sawyer's 10 month session being no exception.

(Sawyer has the bluest eyes)

Trash the Dress...

We're sure you've heard it a 1000 times already... Your wedding day will go by so quickly, will be an absolute blur, and in the days, weeks & years following your event you'll be referencing your photos and video just so you can take it all in. We know we're biased, but we feel it'll be these photographs & video that you'll find are the most important investment you can make toward your wedding day. With that being said, it can be tough to spend as much time on portraits (on the wedding day at least) as some brides & grooms desire....so we started offering sessions, that can be added to wedding packages, that allow us to have a little more fun or to visit locations that we may not have been able to have and gone to on the wedding day itself. This can mean doing a bridal Vogue session prior to the wedding day to show off at the wedding (or to give as a special gift to your future husband) or it can mean the bride & groom doing a session prior to or after their event. One of our favorites though, is when the bride wants to have even more fun in her dress than is typically allowed on a wedding day, here enters a Trash the Dress Session. Trash the Dress Sessions are where we start out shooting some fun beauty shots of the bride (and sometimes groom), much like a Vogue session, but then progressively start to put the bride in situations that may not be "normal" on a wedding day, eventually leading to the demise or trashing of her wedding dress. Don't worry this isn't always done with the actual wedding dress, plenty of brides purchase more economical dresses to do this session in. Contact us to discuss ideas for pre or post wedding day sessions.

Below is a recent Trash the Dress session we did:

Damien is 3 months old!

It seems more and more of our past wedding couples are making the move from newlyweds to new parents. And we’re always honored when we get to continue to be their photographers, photographing them as their family grows. Below are some shots from the three month session we did with baby Damien.

Liza + Brian are Engaged!

We shot Liza & Brian’s Harley inspired ‘city shoot’ across 3 different locations. Though parked cars didn’t allow us to shoot with all the walls we would of liked to, we still got plenty of gritty and brick laden backdrops to photograph them against. Liza & Brian were laid back and comfortable with the camera, making for some great moments and plenty of proofs to pour over in the end. It also was a learning experience for us because we've shot plenty of people who've informed us of their 'good side' before, but we never realized the same can apply to a motor cycle. Hopefully we captured Brian's bike from the most flattering angles. Below are a few previews from their session.

7.25.09 Karla + Dan are Married!

Dan described it as “an obvious, indescribable, connection.” However you sum it up, Karla & Dan’s wedding day was incredible to experience and be part of. Even though we’ve shot weddings now for a little over 10 years, we some how hadn’t yet had the opportunity to shoot at the Masonic Temple in downtown Madison. What an awesome location for a wedding and reception! On top of the 1001 places to do photos in and around the building, it’s located close to a number of our favorite spots in down town Madison making it easy to get a lot of shots. We were also excited to see so many photos (about 3 per table) from our Couples session with them incorporated into all of the centerpieces. We always feel like so many great pictures of the couples we get to work with go unused from this shoot, so it was really nice for us to see so many on display like this. We really enjoyed shooting photos and HD video of their day. Below are some previews of their photos.

Mike + Jess are Engaged!

I joked with Mike & Jess that the theme of their shoot was yellow (obviously beginning with Jess’s shirt), everywhere we went there was yellow fliers, yellow boats, yellow pay phones, yellow Union chairs, and even yellow shorts on some guy running in the background. I could even swear I heard Chris Martin and Coldplay singing somewhere in the back of my head, of course the song ‘Yellow.’ Whatever it was about yellow it made for a fun and relaxed shoot at one of our favorite locations. I’m sure Mike and Jess’s laid back personalities and the what (this year at least) seems to almost be strangely warm July weather factored in as well. Mike & Jess, I had a great time shooting with you guys and we look forward to working with you on your wedding day next May. It’ll be here before we know it! -Derrick

7.4.09 Michelle & Lawrence are Married!

We wait all winter for summer to come. Then we get really busy shooting and summer is over before we know it. We’re not even sure where July just went, so we apologize for the gap in our blog.

We had been excited to shoot Lawrence and Michelle’s wedding ever since we first met with them. These two may have the shortest time dating before engagement of any couple we’ve ever worked with, but it’s obvious when you see them together that it’s a done deal and that they’re really meant to be together (so why waste any time, life’s too short). With the 4th of July as their wedding date, neither of them should have any problems ever remembering their anniversary (though I’m sure they wouldn’t anyway). They had a great day put together with the Crown Plaza as their ceremony and reception site, which also definitely made it easy for the guests. We went downtown for portraits, in between events, and took advantage of some great alleyway walls as well as the capitol. Sparklers capped off a perfect day for a perfect couple. Congratulations again guys. Below are some previews from their day.





















What would the 4th of July be without sparklers!

Albums

We don’t get around to blogging about albums very often like we should. They are really the ultimate culmination of our work from a day (or any session(s) for that matter). The sorting down of what can often be 1000+ images, to maybe 50 to 100 pictures that will forever tell the tale of the day. We spent years shopping different publishers, and though I’m sure our offering will continue to evolve, we’ve brought together some great ones to handle the publishing of our books. One of our higher end Italian publishers is GraphiStudio, these books compliment our images so well and display the work as we feel it should be displayed, so we’re always very excited when we have a client decide to go this route for their book. Megan and her mom had different ideas about what photos best told the story from the day, so instead of just ordering a parents copy, Megan’s mom had her own book created. It was nice for us to see the same day told though two slightly different visions, set off in true Graphi fashion. We were sad to see them go, but happy to know they’d be loved.