Square Root of Red Photography Blog» DC Area Engagement Photos Archives – Square Root of Red Wedding and Lifestyle Photography Blog

Portraits in a Speakeasy

squarerootofred — Mon, 17 May 2010 18:24:42 +0000

Sarah was the winner of the contest that District Weddings held for the best proposal. Joe saved up for months and planned a suprise getaway to propose in the most romantic city, Venice. He told Sarah that they were just going on a weekend trip to New York. She had no idea the trip was happening until they arrived at the airport, walked up to the curbside checkin, and her tickets were scanned for DC to NY to Venice!

When Sarah first called me, she had some fantastic ideas, including a Man Men themed shoot. Words cannot describe how much I love that show! All of the dresses are so cute and the men always look so dapper. Love it. I was all about this idea! Then she mentioned that she might be able to get us permission to do so photos at PX since they knew one of the bartenders that work there. Right then, I knew we would be making some serious photo magic.

My very favorite:

How adorable is Sarah’s headband? And the shoes!

*Updated*

Just a few more!

Kristin + Dave II: Engagement Portraits at the National Cathedral

squarerootofred — Mon, 10 May 2010 03:32:26 +0000

Ever get that kid in a cupcake store feeling? I think the typical expression is candy store, but I’ve got cupcakes constantly on the brain lately since I’ve got the Red Velvet cupcake store about two blocks from me, and the Curbside Cupcake twitter/facebook updates constantly following me. Ok, refocusing. So, kid in a cupcake store is the exact feeling I got when Kristin told me that we’d be able to photograph on the grounds of the National Cathedral. Typically, commercial photography is not allowed on the grounds, but Dave had special permission to photograph on the grounds because he rings the bells at the National Cathedral. Isn’t that crazy? It never occurred to me before that the booming church bell music originates from some people in a room swinging ropes, attached to bells, with precision.

Kristin and Dave are hilarious. One minute, they’re striking Top-Model-worthy poses…the next, they’re bursting with laughter at something that the other has said. They actually met because they both ring handbells. I’ve never seen handbells before, but they’ve assured me that there will be plenty on hand for their wedding in Williamsburg, Virginia. I can’t wait!

I love everything about the National Cathedral, but oddly enough, the wow-this-is-amazing-point came when we first pulled into the parking lot. Check out these stripes.

Rocking the “10″….they’re getting married in October.

Remember what I was saying about Top-Model-Worthy?

The architecture at the National Cathedral is just breathtaking.

Kristin + Dave, Part I, Engagement Portraits in the Bell Tower

Slow Bloggin’

squarerootofred — Thu, 06 May 2010 01:04:05 +0000

So I’ve been terrible (awful!) at blogging regularly lately…but I swear it’ll be worth the wait! Here is a preview pic of a recent shoot. More to come!

Kristin + Dave Part I in the Bell Tower

squarerootofred — Mon, 19 Apr 2010 13:11:45 +0000

There are tons more photos to go through, but I couldn’t resist putting up just a few shots from this past Saturday’s engagement photo shoot at the National Cathedral. We met up with Kristen and Dave and headed straight up to the bell towers, where Dave gets to ring the giant bells. It’s pretty unbelievable up there…giant bells in these old looking wooden structures. While it was pretty dark, we were very lucky and could bring in lightstands, which definitely made all the difference in these shots.

This last shot is in the parking lot of the National Cathedral, which may just be the most amazing parking lot I’ve ever seen.

Maggie + Jason Engagement Photos at the Jefferson Memorial

squarerootofred — Wed, 14 Apr 2010 00:12:47 +0000

We met up with Maggie and Jason at the Jefferson Memorial where there was all sorts of construction going on, a wedding happening on the side of the Jefferson Memorial, and then on top of that, tons of people there for the Cherry Blossom Festival. It wasn’t quite the original plan, but after pushing through the crowds, we set up a blanket in a patch of grass nearby and managed to get a whole other perspective on the monuments from the other side of the Potomac. It’s neat how that can turn out…you start out with an intention to get a certain view or perspective, it goes wrong, but then you end up getting a whole other amazing look.

Maggie and Jason met on Match.com and besides both being super-adorable, they both love English! Maggie is getting her PhD in Medieval Renaissance literature and Jason teaches English to high school students. We met up to do some faux-reading and some serious ham-ing for the camera. They have this amazing connection and it was tons of fun sharing in all the laugher they have. Congrats guys and I can’t wait to photograph your wedding later this year!

Check out the smoldering eyes…Maggie doesn’t actually have red hair, but I think it’s the light reflecting off of Jason’s shirt.

How great is “The Divine Comedy” for a book in a pre-marriage shoot? =)

Doesn’t Maggie just look so in love?

And my favorite…I love how fantastical this photo feels.

Cherry Blossoms!

Cherry Blossoms and National Monuments with Reese & Chris

squarerootofred — Mon, 05 Apr 2010 13:59:05 +0000

The day was unbelievably gray and at any minute the skies threatened to open up and just rain buckets on us, but we pushed on through. Reese & Chris were great sports –totally willing to walk around the monuments and find places where we could somewht avoid the huge crowds of people that descend upon DC each year for Cherry Blossom season. Here are some of the photos from the session — aren’t they ridiculously photogenic? Also, if you can believe it, Chris can actually do that crazy eyebrow thing with both eyebrows.

This is my absolute, hands down favorite photo of the day!

Preview: Reese + Chris Photos With the Cherry Blossom Trees

Making Sure Your Photos Don’t Look Like Poo When They Hit the Web

squarerootofred — Thu, 01 Apr 2010 04:04:05 +0000

I’ve been noticing a rather unpleasant phenomenon with my photos lately. I edit them on my beloved Mac and they come out all vivid and shiny and bright. But then, I looked at those same photos on a different PC monitor and the images look flat and desaturated. I realized (rather slowly….) I was doing something wrong. A quick dig around photoshop and some googling, and I realized that I haven’t been looking at the right color profiles while I edit.

To avoid my rather silly blunder, go to View –> Proof Setup –> and select Monitor RGB. Then, go to View –> and select Proof Colors. Finally, go to Edit –> Color Settings –> and for RGB row, click on the pull down menu and select the last sRGB option.

Here is a before and after of one of the photos I posted yesterday. On a Mac screen, the difference is pretty subtle.

Before

After

It’s back to the drawing board with some more color profile fixing.

Cherry Blossoms! Engagement Photo Session with Reese + Chris

squarerootofred — Wed, 31 Mar 2010 13:25:18 +0000

Here’s a quick preview of our cherry blossom filled engagement photo session with Reese and Chris. Tons more to come tomorrow.

Jackie & Mark at Meadowlark Botanical Gardens

squarerootofred — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 23:01:01 +0000

Jackie & Mark are totally adorable. They moved out from Oregon only a few weeks ago and wanted to take some engagement photos to create their save the date cards. Between checking out geese and dodging a giant killer bee, we had a great time wandering around Meadowlark Botanical Gardens in Vienna, Virginia. While the day started out gray, as the day went on, we managed to get some great sunbeams!

Checking out some of the geese hanging out by the pond.

And my absolute favorite shot of the day!

Had a wonderful time doing the engagement shoot and wandering around Meadowlark with you both, Jackie and Mark, congrats on your engagement!

Engagement Photo Session at the Jefferson Memorial

squarerootofred — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 03:22:17 +0000

We met up with Sandra and Sal for engagement photos at the Jefferson Memorial. They’re a striking couple, both tall, put together and with a great sense of style. Sandra is from Spain and Sal’s family is Afgani…together they’re quite the international couple! During the photo shoot, we learned that Sal can actually speak five languages–isn’t that crazy? They’re planning two different weddings–one in Spain for her family and the second in Virginia for his family. Shots from the wedding will be coming soon! We had a great time walking around the monuments and managed to catch a great sunset as helicopters whizzed by overhead.