Pittsburgh Wedding, Boudoir, Senior Photographer

Sweet and Spicy Boudoir

While wedding photography slows down in the winter months, boudoir photography is in full swing! We are booked for boudoir through May, and I couldn’t be happier because I love photographing this genre!

This lovely lady had her boudoir images taken for her one year anniversary. The theme for a one year anniversary is “Paper” which ties together beautifully with a Little Black Book as an anniversary gift! I absolutely love the fun and personal items she included in her boudoir session (a record from their favorite band, a fedora and black jacket, his Pens jersey to name a few!)

Take a look at some of the boudoir images from this sweet and spicy lady’s session!

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Boudoir images are always pre-approved by the client prior to featuring them online or in print.

The Importance of a Wedding Album

Let me tell you a story about a little six-year-old girl. Day after day, this little girl would plop herself onto the floor next to her parents’ bed, open up their nightstand, and take out a tiny 4”x6” cream colored wedding album with a gold gilded border. She adored this wedding album, admiring how beautiful her mother looked in her ivory wedding dress, and how handsome her father was in his wedding suit. She especially loved the picture of her mother looking out the church window before the ceremony, and also the picture of her mother and father embracing each other in front of a colorful stained-glass window at the church they got married in. The little girl’s mother would explain to her that her Aunt Barbara, Aunt Susan, and Aunt Julie were the pretty young lady bridesmaids wearing the pale pink dresses, and that Uncle Kevin, Uncle Glen, and Uncle Rex were the handsome young groomsmen in the pictures. Her mother pointed out her grandmothers and great grandmothers, and the little girl would remark about the funny hats they wore (pill box hats), the funny shoulder-length, outward-flipped haircut the bridesmaids had, and asked why the ladies’ glasses had pointy edges (wing-tipped.) Although the album didn’t have many pages, maybe 20 pictures in total, the little girl would spend hours looking at it. Something about this album meant so much to her, and day after day, she would find herself sitting on that same left-hand side of the bed, opening up the nightstand doors, and reaching for the cream colored wedding album. This was her parents’ wedding album. It was special to this little girl at the age of six, and is one million times more special to me today.

Wedding albums are an absolute heirloom.

While most of the pictures taken in this digital age are stored on a phone, USB, or a computer, there are certain occasions that *need* to be printed, presented, and preserved in a way that distinguishes them from the average day. Your wedding day certainly warrants this distinction! Raise your hand if your wedding photos have not yet been put in an album and are hidden away on a USB, collecting dust on a shelf. It is time to take action! Put those lovelies in an album!

Last year, I made it a goal to search through a ton of professional wedding album companies, looking for an album that was unique compared to every other album that is being offered in our market. I wanted to give my clients something truly special, because that is exactly what they deserve. I wanted luxurious fabrics, with a variety of sweet and subdued color options, and textures to die for. I wanted thick pages that will stand the test of time (and many hands flipping through them.) I wanted an album that was noticeably in a class by itself. Which is when I happened upon the album that I offer in The Elegance Collection. This album hit every mark, and then some.

The Elegance Album Collection

Raw silks and dimensional fabrics create a simple yet stunning presentation in the Elegance Album Collection.

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Raw silk can line the spine or cover the entire album. This raw silk color is called Sage. There are many color options available!

This specific cover material is light yellow and called English Garden. When you run your hand over it, you can feel the soft texture of the brocade. There are many other cover fabric options!

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The album pages are thick and will stand the test of time.

The rectangular album size displays images beautifully! Full page spreads will leave you in awe. The pages have a luster sheen, lay flat, and the images are crisp and colorful.

A velum first page can be included, and is a soft and romantic introduction to the album.

Rectangular pages impressively display large images.

Dimensional fabric examples on the left, raw silk fabric examples on the right.

As a side note, I still offer the Modern Album Collection, too! Both the Elegance Album Collection and the Modern Album Collection offer a variety of leather cover options. To view samples of The Modern Album Collection, click here and scroll down to item #3.

My parents recently had their tiny, cream colored wedding album professionally remade into a large, leather coffee table album. It holds the exact same prints as the original album, but the new album is a much higher quality and presents these sentimental and meaningful pictures in a way that they deserve to be displayed. After showing me this “new” wedding album, my dad closed it, laid his hand on the back of it, and said, “To have an heirloom so special, one that can be remembered and passed down, well, the cost is priceless.” I couldn’t have said it better myself.

First dibs on your wedding album, Mom and Dad.

Top 10 (Okay, 12) Candid Wedding Moments in 2016

One of the most rewarding aspects of being a wedding photographer is experiencing first-hand the rush of emotions throughout each wedding day that we capture. These unorchestrated moments are beautiful and tell the story of a wedding day to a much higher degree than any posed picture, which is why it is so important for us to be 100% mindful of every single person and interaction going on around us throughout the wedding day. To be a good photographer, you have to preemptively prepare for these fleeting moments to capture them. Today’s blog post pays tribute to my top 12 favorite emotional moments that we captured in 2016 (in no particular order.)
1.) Flower Girls’ Excitement as Bride Puts on Her Wedding Dress
This moment was completely candid, as all of the below moments are. The flower girls were standing in *just* the right spot to have their reflection captured in the hotel closet mirror, as I was focusing on Hannah putting on her dress via her reflection in the hallway mirror. The stars aligned!

2.) Mother of Bride Buttons Wedding Gown
Germaine had to fight back the tears as she helped her beautiful daughter, Kara, button her wedding dress.

3.) Bride’s Reveal to Mother
I just love this image sequence… Lindsay turns around to show her mother, Wendy, what she looks like in her wedding dress.

4.) Groom’s Reaction to Seeing Bride Walk Down Aisle
A moment of awe for Jeff when he sees Lauren walk down the aisle.

5.) Bride and Groom’s First Look
Risa and Andy were on Cloud 9 when they saw each other at their first look. The world just melted into the background, and their moment was the only one that mattered.

6.) Bride and Groom with Parents
These sentimental moments were taken from the same wedding. You can feel the love and appreciation that David and Morgan have for their parents. The image immediately below was a moment captured after David’s father pinned his boutonniere on him, and the other two moments were captured during Morgan and David’s reception.

7.) Bride Dancing with Her Grandfather
An emotional moment as Lauren’s grandfather got up and out of his wheelchair to dance with her. I had to wipe away my tears.

8.) Sister of Groom Sees Groom
Jamie’s reaction when she sees her little brother, Joey, dressed in his wedding attire.

9.) Bride’s Reveal to Grandparents
Kara and her grandparents the moment they walk into the getting ready room.

10.) Groom’s Reaction to Seeing Bride Walk Down Aisle
Another one of my groom favorites- Andy sees Jess walking down the aisle (they also had a first look!)

11.) Bride’s Father Sings a Surprise Song to Her
Lindsay’s father, Dave, surprised her by playing the guitar and singing “I Loved Her First” while Lindsay and Joey danced. There wasn’t a dry eye in the house. Including mine.

12.) Flower Girl Fun
The flower girl had a ball taking pictures throughout Risa and Andy’s wedding! One of the bridesmaids had to rein her in!

2016- Our Accomplishments

Happy New Year, dear friends! I hope that you all had a magical holiday season! December is always the craziest off season month for us- of course there is the hustle and bustle of Christmas, but both Barry’s birthday and my birthday are in December (in addition to quite a few of our friends.) By January, we are ready for some major down time! I bet many of you feel the same way!

So, thanks for your patience since I haven’t posted a blog in a few weeks! But this one’s a goodie because it recaps some of the great things we did in 2016, from a professional and personal standpoint! Let’s start out with some of Lavender Leigh’s accomplishments…

1.) Twenty-Two Weddings!
By some stroke of luck, the most amazing people find and book us to photograph their wedding, and we honestly feel so appreciative of this, and the relationships we establish with them. We photographed in Pittsburgh and New York this year! Congratulations to our wonderful 2016 couples!

2.) Fifteen Boudoir Sessions!
I absolutely love photographing boudoir, and in 2017 am planning to have even more time to dedicate to it! Boudoir sessions take place in my home studio. Boudoir sessions keep growing in demand, so early in 2016, we decided to dedicate a room just for boudoir- see item #6 below! Together with my dream team makeup artist, Mandy at Pure Beauty Makeup Artistry, and Callie at Auria Salon, we have the best time producing our boudoir clients’ visions!

3.) Senior Photography
Say what?! Yes, you heard it correctly! We have decided to break into the Senior Market, friends! And, we are looking for 2018 Senior Representatives! If you know of any families with high school seniors in the Class of 2018, I would be so appreciative if you sent them our way!

4.) Published!
In 2016, our couples were seen all over- from the Pittsburgh Magazine, to Borrowed and Blue, and even on WPXI! We are happy that so many media channels gave a nod to our amazing clients and their special moments!

Click on the couple’s name to view their feature! In order of appearance- Stephanie and Doug’s wedding at The Club at Nevillewood, Elise and Eric’s engagement session at Kennywood, Courtney and Chris’s wedding at the Pittsburgh Airport Marriott, Calli and Joe’s wedding at the Pittsburgh Field Club, Our award for “Best Wedding Photographer in Pittsburgh” by Credit Donkey, Laura and Dan’s wedding at Embassy Suites.

5.) New Wedding Albums
While we still offer our Artisan Modern Leather Albums, we wanted to give our wedding couples a unique type of album that is incredibly classy and sophisticated. Our goal was to find an original, high-end album, that isn’t offered by other photographers in the Pittsburgh market, and has gorgeous cover material options. After searching through a million album companies, we finally found what we were looking for! The Luxe Album Collection offers the rarest colored raw silks and fabrics, and is such a stunning way to commemorate the most important day of your life! I plan to post more about this type of album and also the Modern Leather Album shortly down the road!

6.) A New Boudoir Room
Prior to being the boudoir room, this room was nautical in theme, a la Pottery Barn style. We decided to put it to better use and create a French Country-Chic boudoir room! It was a fun project during our winter down time.

7.) Client Love
Who doesn’t love a little mail love or surprise gift? From our first touchpoint with a client, all the way through the delivered end package, our clients deserve second-to-none attention and quality in product and service. This is why we keep our studio boutique-style. We only take on a limited amount of bookings per month to keep ourselves fresh, and to put our best foot forward every time. This gives us time to spoil our clients with the highest quality products and presentation!

8.) Pop Up Pittsburgh Weddings
This year, we partnered with the Pop Up Pittsburgh Wedding Co and photographed three Pop Up weddings at the Historic Pump House in July! The couples were the sweetest, and the decor was a beautiful assortment of elegant, fun, and shabby-chic antiques. Thanks to Trish at the Pop Up Pittsburgh Wedding Company for asking us to partner with them! If you’d like to see a more detailed play-by-play of this Pop Up Wedding Day, or to learn what a Pop Up Wedding is, click here!

9.) Networking
We had the pleasure of working with so many talented wedding vendors last year, and had the opportunity to capture some of their special events and products!

Whirl Magazine Wedding Networking Event at DeStefino Beauty Bar
Some of Pittsburgh’s finest wedding vendors were asked to come under one roof to share their talents! There are some amazing small businesses out there- click on here to learn about them! http://www.lavenderleighphotography.com/wedding-networking-event/
Special shout out to our friendor Nicole at Your Big Day for coordinating our participation in this event!

Wanderlust Weddings and Events
Wanderlust Weddings and Events is a talented (and gorgeous) group of ladies that specialize in event planning, event design, and day-of coordination. They have such an attention to detail, and create jaw-dropping events! Just look at some of the details from this Baby Shower they asked me to photograph! Ah-mazing!

A519 Chocolate
Think: ultra sophisticated wedding favor or Welcome bag gift. Amanda is the culinary creative genius behind A519 Chocolate. Her artistic designs are colorful and dynamic, and the chocolate tastes just as amazing as it looks! Amanda has been recognized nationally for her skills, and I can vouch that her chocolates are my absolute favorite. Good-bye, Godiva. Hello, A519! When Amanda asked me to take some pictures of her for a national publication, I was overjoyed to help her out!

On to Our Personal Accomplishments….
A photographer has to learn to block off family and personal time, or else we could *easily* work seven days a week! From April through the middle of December, it can be a struggle to keep it just at six days a week. Here are some of the things we have gotten around to in our spare free time!

10.) Kitchen Renovations
What used to be a Tuscan-looking kitchen, with maize colored walls and pea-green colored cabinets that were built in the 70s, has now become a modern and bright kitchen! Don’t get me wrong- our little kitchen looked cute when it was warm and had the Tuscan country vibe, but it makes a world of difference now that it is bright and clutter free! This project started in February 2016 with the initial concept, and we *just* finished in December! I love designing the kitchen, and Barry did a bang up job with the installation! We also had help here and there from a few kitchen professionals and our awesome neighbor, Butch! I never imagined how much work goes into renovating a kitchen. It is so much more than installing cabinets and countertops!

11.) Exterior House Stucco
Does this sound boring? Well, it was. And tedious! We used to have patches of stucco missing around the base of the house, but now it is all patched and painted! Imagine hour after hour of scraping off patches of stucco that weren’t fully affixed to the house. And sanding down rough spots. And patching with more stucco. Then painting the entire exterior of the house. All during 80 degree weather. Thank goodness that is over! Here is our newly patched and painted 106 year-old house…

12.) Travel
If nothing else, we want to spend any vacation time seeing the world. This year, we traveled to Barcelona and Costa Brava to experience the beautiful Spanish culture. To see a more detailed blog post, click on these links:
Our travels to Costa Brava
Our travels to Barcelona

So, those are the things we got around to in 2016! Day to day, we also take care of our furry kid, Benny. This little guy has our hearts! We rescued him at the age of eight. He is sometimes a little bit of a healthcare handful (he may have been blessed with good looks, but he has minor genetic health hiccups!) Benny couldn’t be more loved, and we are a happy and blessed family. From ours to yours, Happy New Year!

Romantic Boudoir

Boudoir is such a special and stand-out genre of photography, and I really want to emphasize that it is a form of art. I love to play with light and shadows to emphasize beauty, in a tasteful manner. Each woman has her own grace and sense of femininity, and the goal is to have these traits that are unique to each client, shine through their imagery.

So many times, I have clients that come into the session with jitters, and then just a few minutes into the session, they completely relax. They realize that we are in this together with the same end goal in mind; to create beautiful imagery. Every session, I walk each client through the look we are trying to achieve, and I will show them the “pose” myself. Heck, I’ll even show them the expression I am looking for! It helps them to understand the vision of each image, which also takes some of the pressure off of them!

This lovely lady had the perfect balance of romantic, playful, and sensual in her personality! I absolutely love her big and beautiful cat-like eyes… I call them the “come hither” eyes! She opened right up and nailed every single look and pose. It all came so natural to her- many times I’d start to tell her to play with her hair or look at the camera a certain way, but she’d already be doing it!

A special shout out to my amazing makeup artist, Mandy at Pure Beauty Makeup Artistry, and hair stylist, Callie at Auria Salon, for the amazing work that they do with my boudoir clients! The dream team! <3

The boudoir images we share online are pre-approved by our clients.