CB Photography

Boudoir Marathon

On February 7th, we're having another Boudoir Marathon in a lovely hotel suite here in Charlottesville. Normally the Boudoir sitting fees are $300, but this year we're doing one hour sessions for $150. Hurry to schedule your hour before the slots are all gone. Email Cassie for more details.

December Special! Save some Christmas Dough!

We've finally decided on our December Special for this year, and it's the best one we've ever offered! Anyone who books a wedding with us during the month of December will receive a $500 discount on any package! Who says there aren't benefits to a slow economy? Hooray for December!

(And here's the obligatory "This offer can't be used in conjunction with any other offers" clause)

Xan & Allen

Cassie:

Here's one of the weddings from the past summer. I had such a great time at this wedding. I love love love Xan & Allen! Xan is so full of life, and it really comes across in the photos. She makes my job easy. The whole crowd at this wedding was awesome. It was one of those high energy parties with lots dancing and laughing. The party even continued after the reception ended. They twisted my arm <wink> and invited me to celebrate with them. It was great to put down the camera and enjoy the after-party party with them.

Xan and Allen, hugs to you both! Looking forward to hanging out with you in C-ville sometime!

Julie & Kevin

Jaron:

Man, this summer has been insanely busy. I've had the heaviest editing schedule ever. I finally broke down and got a second fast computer for editing so Cassie can help me out. And here's the result - a wedding almost entirely edited by Cassie. Let's all give her a hand, because she's really been giving me one lately. Thanks, honey. I'll do the dishes next.

So let's talk about Julie & Kevin. First off, Julie met us at a bridal show. Bridal Shows are a good resource, but they're a photography zoo. There were 40 photography booths at our last show alone. It's really nice when we book weddings from the shows, because it means we jumped out from dozens of other photographers. Julie said, "I seriously can't thank you enough, or the 50 pounds of crap I had to carry home from that damn bridal show just to savor the one postcard that did it all for me. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!! It is stunning!!" I think she summed up the bridal show experience pretty well. Girls, bring along an entourage (or drag in the fiance) to help you carry the loads of pamphlets, and bring a pen to mark ones that were interesting to you, because otherwise they'll get lost in the "50 pounds of crap." 

On to the wedding. Cassie & I shot this wedding together.  It's great shooting with Cassie. I'm seriously considering never double booking a weekend again so we can always work together. The wedding & reception were held at Canal Square in Georgetown. There's a nice open courtyard there, with a lot of great stone & brick texture and a really cool tree growing out of this urban setting. Plus, a balcony to grab some higher shots. Cassie hung out with the girls getting ready while I spent the preparation hours with Kevin & family. Besides really enjoying Julie & Kevin, and how fun and relaxed they all were, they gave us perhaps the most time for photos that anyone has given this entire year. We had over an hour of time to wander around Georgetown and the Canals, shooting everywhere. The result was fantastic. We got 3x as many bride & groom shots as we normally do, with a lot of new ideas. And what an awesome place to shoot. 

Thanks to Julie & Kevin for having us along for such a wonderful ride. We loved the intimate feel of your wedding, and were thrilled to be there with you both. Congratulations! We wish you a lifetime of joy together! And now, here's the slideshow! Play the Slideshow

Baby Madison... minutes old.

One of the families we shoot regularly, and with whom we've become dear friends, recently added a new baby to the group. Cassie had the privilege of being with them for her first moments of life. Her first bath. Her measurements being taken. Her first diaper. And mom & dad glowing in the post-birth calm. The following is Cassie's documentation of it, using simply a 50mm lens and available light. It's pure photojournalism, and breathtaking. It reminds us of the roll of film we shot of our last baby, when she was a newborn, which inspired us to launch into this business to begin with. We hope you enjoy this little slideshow of Baby Madison. And to our good friends, a heart-felt congratulations, and a hug from each of us.

Play the Slideshow

Elaine & Michael

Jaron:
I still have quite a few weddings from last fall that I'm going to post. However, as we're not in the midst of wedding season, I'm going to start posting current ones as well.

Elaine & Mike got married about a week and a half ago. I just finished up their photos tonight, and I'm really happy with how they turned out. I shot their wedding with my good friend, Tim. This was another amazing wedding by the best planner Richmond has to offer, Colleen Cook.

I'm just going to get straight to the pics. Here are a few of my faves:

Elaine & Mike decided to do some of their portraits before the ceremony. I love it when couples choose this option, because the portraits are much less rushed. In order to have that "first meeting" moment, we had Mike wait in a corridor outside the church, while Elaine walked up behind him. This is the moment.

We were getting ready for the wedding party pics. Someone usually helps out with the dress, but it's rarely the groom. I thought it was pretty cool that Mike was helping arrange it.

Elaine had arranged for a vintage Bentley as a surprise for Mike. The car was amazing. This doesn't show it much, though. As nice looking as the car is, Elaine looks better. So we just smeared her all over the front of the car.

Hats off to the worlds most cooperative ring bearer. This kid ruled!

Ahh - now they get to climb into that sweet Bentley.

I can't remember the name of this place - it's on the James River. Mike used to be a white water guide here, so it was fun to go grab some stuff that had personal relevance for him. We got a lot of cool shots out here in a very short amount of time.

And a couple from the reception. I had no idea Mike was going to dip her. I was standing off to the side, and when he did it, I jumped out and held my camera up over my head, and got a "click and pray" shot. Amazingly, it focused on the right spot, and was framed right. You'd never know it was a no-look snap.

Tim got this shot, with the videographer's light behind them. I like it a lot - great halo effect. I may have to buy a video light to bring to weddings, so we can keep getting winners like this one.

Elaine & Mike, we had a great time at your wedding! Thanks a bazillion for picking us to document such a huge day in your lives. We hope you enjoy the photos as much as we enjoyed being there with you and your families.

Jen & Sam

Jaron:
Okay, back to posting some weddings. I have several weddings from last fall that I haven't posted, so here goes one.

Jen & Sam were married at the end of last September. Their wedding was quite different from most. It was held at the family home of Sam's family. The ceremony was behind the house, and the reception was held around the pool. It was a small affair of just close family and friends. What was so striking about this wedding was how similar it was to mine & Cassie's! We also had a small wedding of just family and close friends. We held our wedding at the home of a family friend, and had the reception around his pool. It was great fun to participate in this, and reminisce about my own wedding and the wonderful 10 years I've since spent with the most amazing woman on the planet, the best friend I've ever had. Here are some of my favorite photos - I'll post quick as my eyes are tearing up.

Jen looked gorgeous. She is so elegant and classic. After she got her dress on, I stepped in to get a few shots of her before she came down to see her dad.

Her dress was gorgeous, and the big window in the room gave opportunity for a nice dreamy shot of the dress from behind.

There weren't a lot of options for outdoor shots, as we were in a neighborhood - but we grabbed a few anyway. Here are a couple from the "Bride" session prior to the ceremony.

I do like this pose. It's sort of become one of our signature shots.

The entire wedding party lined up to come in. Sam and the boys lined up first, and then the girls lined up behind them. Sam had to face forward, because Jen was right behind him, and he hadn't seen her yet. This is a shot of the boys waiting to file into the ceremony.

And then came Jen & her Dad. Tissues, anyone?

I liked this shot of the pastor holding the rings. A bit of a departure from the standard "And now I'm slipping the ring on her finger" shot... although those are nice too.

They had very cool grapefruit martinis - Colleen, their amazing planner, grabbed one for Jen before they were all gone, while we were doing the bride/groom portraits.

Another cool thing they had was an old photo booth for their guests to use. The guests also used the photobooth shots in the sign-in guest book. Way cool! Jen & Sam jumped in, and I stuck my camera in there in front to get a couple of my own "Photo-boothy" shots of them. Here's my shots, along with their shot and their rings:

Here's what the party looked like at night. Colleen had used colored gels over the lights outside, which made for a really vibrant, multicolored atmosphere. Very cool.

And of course, the send-off. They had so much fun running through the sparklers, that they turned around and did it a few more times. I'm not sure which take this was... ha!

I had a wonderful time with Jen, Sam and their families. A huge thanks to them all for allowing me to be there with them, and giving me a chance to reflect on my own wonderful marriage. Thanks, guys!

Hillary & Kevin

Jaron:
After an incredibly crazy fall/winter wedding & editing season, where I spent my life staring at thousands of photos, I've had a very nice February. I've been able to focus on some parts of the business that get pushed aside when editing is the priority. However, I've been terribly delinquent about posting new blogs as of late. I've got a huge amount of sessions & weddings that we haven't posted for, so I'm going to start working my way through them so you guys can see what we've been up to lately.

The first is a wedding. Hillary & Kevin. Cassie & I shot this wedding together, which is always so much fun for us. I think this was technically a wedding that Cassie was the lead on. I love it when Cassie is the top dog at a job. She gets to worry about all the clutch shots, and I get to sit back and experiment and try new angles, new shots, new ideas.

Hillary & Kevin are a very cool couple. Super easy going, super fun. Their ceremony officiant didn't allow any photography whatsoever during the ceremony, but here are a few of the other shots:

New Years Special

To celebrate the New Years, we're offering a special to all of you looking for a photographer for your upcoming weddings.

Any wedding contract received between now and January 5, 2008, will have $200 free product credits added to any package chosen*. We're headed into the heavy booking season (January), which usually finishes filling up our calendar for the year, so this is an early-bird special for anyone wishing to beat the rush and secure us as their photographer.

*Contract & Scheduling Fee must be postmarked by January 5, 2008, to qualify.

Contest Results

Well, we had quite a few entries from our Christmas Music Contest, so I'm sure some of you would like to see the results. Drummer Boy Roll... (sigh - okay, sorry...)

Dec 4. Polyphonic Spree - Happy Xmas
Dec 5. Jars of Clay - Christmas for Cowboys
Dec 6. The Pogues Shane McGowan - Fairytale of New York
Dec 7. Harry Connick Jr. - It must Have Been Ol Santa Clause
Dec 8. Death Cab - Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)
Dec 9. Gayla Peevey - I Want A Hippopotamus For Christmas
Dec 10. Dean Martin - Baby it's Cold Outside
Dec 11. Johnny Cash - I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day
Dec 12. Dandy Warhols - Little Drummer Boy
Dec 13. Eisley - The Winter Song
Dec 14. Rufus Wainwright - Spotlight On Christmas
Dec 15. Chris Isaak - White Christmas
Dec 16. Louis Armstrong - Winter Wonderland
Dec 17. Cocteau Twins - Winter Wonderland
Dec 18. Sixpence None The Richer - It Came Upon a Midnight Clear
Dec 19. Sixpence None The Richer - Christmas Time Is Here
Dec 20. Frank Sinatra - Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas
Dec 21. The Smithereens - Rudolph, The Red-Nosed Reindeer
Dec 22. Grandaddy - Alan Parsons in a Winter Wonderland
Dec 23. Copeland - Do You Hear What I Hear?
Dec 24. Josh Groban - O Holy Night

And the big winner is...

Eleanor! Good job! You had every song title correct, and many of the artists correct as well. We're looking forward to the portrait session!