I don't normally shoot events. Granted, I have photographed events in the past...lots of them, actually. And I do shoot weddings. But events aren't something I generally advertise because it's not where my passion is.
However
When I got asked to photograph the retirement of MSG John Lingenfelter, I had to say yes. This man has served our Country for 28 years, with his family behind him. They've overcome all the obstacles that military life can throw at a family, as well as hardships that don't discriminate between military or non-military families.
This day celebrated the close of an almost 3 decade career. Surrounded by friends and family, this hero said "goodbye" to his beloved service and "hello" to the next chapter of life with his family.
Congratulations, MSG (ret) Lingenfelter. Our country owes you a great debt of gratitude.
Thursday, May 28, 2015
Monday, May 11, 2015
That Time I Bullied My Mom
I gave my mom 3 empty picture frames for Mother's Day.
I've been bugging my mom about getting in front of the camera for a long time now, and I was prepared to use every guilt trip trick in the book to make it happen this Mother's Day. She was resistant as soon as I mentioned it.
Like most moms, the wonderful woman who gave birth to me hates to have her picture taken. She has insecurities, like most of us, and has never liked to see herself in photographs. She can pick out every flaw and imperfection, like most women tend to do. Wrinkles, scars, grey hair, that winter pooch that hasn't been melted away by the summer sun yet, all those things that make people, and women in particular, feel less than camera ready as they get older.
Who taught us to see those things as flaws?
Here is a hard truth, all you mommas out there (and to MY MOM, especially); you may never be thinner, fitter, or prettier than you are now; you will certainly never be younger. But you know what your children see when they look at your wrinkles? The proof that you smiled every time you saw us get off the bus and laughed at all of our dumb jokes, the proof that you cried with us when we skinned our knees or suffered our first heart break. We love that worry line between your brows because we know you earned it with every late night wondering if we would come home OK, every baseball game when you hoped we wouldn't get our feelings hurt if we struck out, every time we walked out the door and away from your protective presence.
You know what we see when we look at your scars? The time you cut yourself when making us dinner, or the burn that you sustained when saving us from the campfire, or the irrefutable proof that you carried us under your heart for 9 months.
I know you worry about your extra weight, but we don't. It's proof that you enjoyed cinnamon rolls this winter and that great big Christmas dinner where we stuffed ourselves until we were too full to move, and when you probably curled up with a good book and some candy when there was snow on the ground...plus, it makes you softer to hug.
Before a book is written, the pages are pristine and white. Before a book is read, the pages are unwrinkled and smooth.
But a story that has never been told isn't worth much, and a book that hasn't been read does nothing to stir the heart.
Your scars and wrinkles are the ink of a beautiful love story to your family. Don't let them stop you from getting in front of the camera, because we desperately need to read every line of that story. We want to tell that story to OUR children, and let them read it for themselves in your eyes.
In the end, my mom agreed to let me take her picture. She wasn't excited about it, though. She sat quietly as I curled her and and put some makeup on her. She made me promise to "fix" her.
But by the end of the shoot, when I had smooshed her between my brother and myself, ran back and forth after setting the automatic timer on my camera, squished her with her grandsons on her lap, and then gathered her entire family around her...she was smiling and laughing.
If fact, at the end of the day, she was calling me and asking me if I could send her more pictures.
Soon, those pictures will be hanging in the frames I bought her. Forever proof that her family story didn't end with her. It began a long time ago with eyes that she got from her mom, a nose that she got from her father, and all the laughter, tears, and scars that made them her own...that the love that brought her children into the world will continue on, growing and adding to the story.
I am SO grateful for the woman who gave birth to me. I'm glad that I bullied her and no, I don't feel guilty about it. In fact, I hope that you will bully your mother, too, if she's anything like mine. Because she's beautiful, and her story deserves to be told. She needs to exist in photographs.
I've been bugging my mom about getting in front of the camera for a long time now, and I was prepared to use every guilt trip trick in the book to make it happen this Mother's Day. She was resistant as soon as I mentioned it.
Like most moms, the wonderful woman who gave birth to me hates to have her picture taken. She has insecurities, like most of us, and has never liked to see herself in photographs. She can pick out every flaw and imperfection, like most women tend to do. Wrinkles, scars, grey hair, that winter pooch that hasn't been melted away by the summer sun yet, all those things that make people, and women in particular, feel less than camera ready as they get older.
Who taught us to see those things as flaws?
Here is a hard truth, all you mommas out there (and to MY MOM, especially); you may never be thinner, fitter, or prettier than you are now; you will certainly never be younger. But you know what your children see when they look at your wrinkles? The proof that you smiled every time you saw us get off the bus and laughed at all of our dumb jokes, the proof that you cried with us when we skinned our knees or suffered our first heart break. We love that worry line between your brows because we know you earned it with every late night wondering if we would come home OK, every baseball game when you hoped we wouldn't get our feelings hurt if we struck out, every time we walked out the door and away from your protective presence.
You know what we see when we look at your scars? The time you cut yourself when making us dinner, or the burn that you sustained when saving us from the campfire, or the irrefutable proof that you carried us under your heart for 9 months.
I know you worry about your extra weight, but we don't. It's proof that you enjoyed cinnamon rolls this winter and that great big Christmas dinner where we stuffed ourselves until we were too full to move, and when you probably curled up with a good book and some candy when there was snow on the ground...plus, it makes you softer to hug.
Before a book is written, the pages are pristine and white. Before a book is read, the pages are unwrinkled and smooth.
But a story that has never been told isn't worth much, and a book that hasn't been read does nothing to stir the heart.
Your scars and wrinkles are the ink of a beautiful love story to your family. Don't let them stop you from getting in front of the camera, because we desperately need to read every line of that story. We want to tell that story to OUR children, and let them read it for themselves in your eyes.
In the end, my mom agreed to let me take her picture. She wasn't excited about it, though. She sat quietly as I curled her and and put some makeup on her. She made me promise to "fix" her.
But by the end of the shoot, when I had smooshed her between my brother and myself, ran back and forth after setting the automatic timer on my camera, squished her with her grandsons on her lap, and then gathered her entire family around her...she was smiling and laughing.
If fact, at the end of the day, she was calling me and asking me if I could send her more pictures.
Soon, those pictures will be hanging in the frames I bought her. Forever proof that her family story didn't end with her. It began a long time ago with eyes that she got from her mom, a nose that she got from her father, and all the laughter, tears, and scars that made them her own...that the love that brought her children into the world will continue on, growing and adding to the story.
I am SO grateful for the woman who gave birth to me. I'm glad that I bullied her and no, I don't feel guilty about it. In fact, I hope that you will bully your mother, too, if she's anything like mine. Because she's beautiful, and her story deserves to be told. She needs to exist in photographs.
GRANDMOTHER'S HANDS
"Grandmother's hands are book
you will see
if you look
a family story writ within
the living pages of her skin"
Nicole York
Friday, April 24, 2015
How Pinterest Can Ruin Your Photoshoot
First let me just say this: I LOVE Pinterest. Seriously. I do. It's fount of ideas, a fantastic way to keep track of things that inspire you and share your ideas with the world. I have lots of boards full of good stuff and use it a lot for my business as well. I think whoever dreamed it up was a darned genius.
BUT
Pinterest is like a sword. It is a thing of beauty that needs to be used carefully or you will cut yourself on it and bleed to death.
Okay, that was a bit dramatic. Like many things, it is all about HOW you use it.
Here is what happens though; some wide eyed dreamer will want to have their photo taken, whether it's for their wedding or family portraits or senior portraits or any kind of portraiture under the sun, and they will immediately consult the Pinterest. Then they approach a photographer with all their Pinteresty (see how I turned it into an adjective there?) fabulosity and proudly show EXACTLY what images they want their intrepid photographer to re-create.
Now, here is where the problem starts to happen.
DISCLAIMER: Not everything you see on Pinterest is real.
I know, I know, I hate to be the one to give you the bad news. Many of the wedding photographs that you see are not from real weddings, but from styled shoots meant for photographers/stylists/makeup artists, etc, to show their work in a controlled environment. Some of the family photographs are also styled shoots. Often times, what you are really seeing is someones absolute best work in the best possible conditions. Maybe even extraordinary conditions, where some absolutely perfect thing happened like the sun coming out from behind the clouds to light up the brides hair, or doves flying off the church rooftop in sync, or the wind catching the brides veil and pulling it out like a great white flag of awesomeness.
What you don't see are all of the outtakes, the mistakes, the crying and puking babies, the sudden zit that attacked someones forehead the night before their boudoir shoot, what happened when it started to rain unexpectedly and moms hair went from sleek curls to "I just stuck a fork in a light socket" chic.
Not only is it unfair to you (trust me, your photographer cares about this), but it's also unfair to your photographer to expect your wedding photos to look just like what another photographer was able to create with 2 working models, a lighting crew, a stylist, a hair and makeup team on site, and ALL DAY to get the perfect shot.
Pinterest is fantastic for inspiration and to give your photographer an idea of the look you want to go for. I even ask my clients to create inspiration boards to share with me so that I have a vision of what inspires them. What I want to save you from is letting those uber-perfect images become your standard and expecting your own photos to look "just like the one on Pinterest." You are much safer finding a photographer and looking at their whole body of work to see what they are capable of and what style they shoot.
If you found a gorgeous sunset image with hazy sun flare and a dreamy quality on Pinterest, then hire a photographer who shoots black and whites in hard light, chances are not only will your photographer be frustrated because you hired them for someone else's style, but you will more than likely be disappointed by their effort to recreate something they don't shoot.
Let Pinterest be a source of inspiration and then talk that out with your photographer. Don't make Pinterest the standard your photographer must rise to, which they will try their damnedest to do, and then castigate yourself or your photographer when the result isn't what Pinterest promised you it would be.
Another way that Pinterest can let you down is by making your wall art or album a carbon copy of everyone else's wall art and albums. You might very well end up in a field of tall grass holding a red balloon for your senior portraits, or standing on some railroad tracks like 7 out of 10 of every senior who brings their Pinterest board to their senior photographer.
Let me give one piece of advice here: trust your photographer. Find an artist whose style speaks to you and let them know your hopes for your photos. Work with them to come up with an idea that suits not only their style, but who YOU are as a person. Portrait artists are pros at figuring out what makes their clients special, what makes them tick, and if you have an open and honest dialogue with your photographer rather than consulting the Pinterest, chances are that you will end up with portraits that express the photographers best work. In case you didn't know...YOU are a photographers best work. That way if you do end up in a field of wheat in some hazy sun-flare, it will be because that says something about who YOU are, not what Pinterest told you was popular.
So pretty please, keep this in mind when you are searching for inspiration for your own photoshoot. The worst thing in the world is for you to be disappointed that your photo didn't turn out JUST like the shot you loved on Pinterest but didn't know that it was a professional model in a designer dress who spent 10 hours on set to get that ONE shot.
***this also goes for your hairstylist and makeup artist. The cut you love might have been done on hair that has a different texture or thickness than your hair and on a girl who has the facial structure that is perfect for a bob. The makeup look might not work for hooded eyes, close set eyes, or only look good on gals with high cheekbones and strong brows. Safe rule; Pinterest is for Inspiration, not Standards.***
BUT
Pinterest is like a sword. It is a thing of beauty that needs to be used carefully or you will cut yourself on it and bleed to death.
Okay, that was a bit dramatic. Like many things, it is all about HOW you use it.
Here is what happens though; some wide eyed dreamer will want to have their photo taken, whether it's for their wedding or family portraits or senior portraits or any kind of portraiture under the sun, and they will immediately consult the Pinterest. Then they approach a photographer with all their Pinteresty (see how I turned it into an adjective there?) fabulosity and proudly show EXACTLY what images they want their intrepid photographer to re-create.
Now, here is where the problem starts to happen.
DISCLAIMER: Not everything you see on Pinterest is real.
I know, I know, I hate to be the one to give you the bad news. Many of the wedding photographs that you see are not from real weddings, but from styled shoots meant for photographers/stylists/makeup artists, etc, to show their work in a controlled environment. Some of the family photographs are also styled shoots. Often times, what you are really seeing is someones absolute best work in the best possible conditions. Maybe even extraordinary conditions, where some absolutely perfect thing happened like the sun coming out from behind the clouds to light up the brides hair, or doves flying off the church rooftop in sync, or the wind catching the brides veil and pulling it out like a great white flag of awesomeness.
What you don't see are all of the outtakes, the mistakes, the crying and puking babies, the sudden zit that attacked someones forehead the night before their boudoir shoot, what happened when it started to rain unexpectedly and moms hair went from sleek curls to "I just stuck a fork in a light socket" chic.
Not only is it unfair to you (trust me, your photographer cares about this), but it's also unfair to your photographer to expect your wedding photos to look just like what another photographer was able to create with 2 working models, a lighting crew, a stylist, a hair and makeup team on site, and ALL DAY to get the perfect shot.
Pinterest is fantastic for inspiration and to give your photographer an idea of the look you want to go for. I even ask my clients to create inspiration boards to share with me so that I have a vision of what inspires them. What I want to save you from is letting those uber-perfect images become your standard and expecting your own photos to look "just like the one on Pinterest." You are much safer finding a photographer and looking at their whole body of work to see what they are capable of and what style they shoot.
If you found a gorgeous sunset image with hazy sun flare and a dreamy quality on Pinterest, then hire a photographer who shoots black and whites in hard light, chances are not only will your photographer be frustrated because you hired them for someone else's style, but you will more than likely be disappointed by their effort to recreate something they don't shoot.
Let Pinterest be a source of inspiration and then talk that out with your photographer. Don't make Pinterest the standard your photographer must rise to, which they will try their damnedest to do, and then castigate yourself or your photographer when the result isn't what Pinterest promised you it would be.
Another way that Pinterest can let you down is by making your wall art or album a carbon copy of everyone else's wall art and albums. You might very well end up in a field of tall grass holding a red balloon for your senior portraits, or standing on some railroad tracks like 7 out of 10 of every senior who brings their Pinterest board to their senior photographer.
Let me give one piece of advice here: trust your photographer. Find an artist whose style speaks to you and let them know your hopes for your photos. Work with them to come up with an idea that suits not only their style, but who YOU are as a person. Portrait artists are pros at figuring out what makes their clients special, what makes them tick, and if you have an open and honest dialogue with your photographer rather than consulting the Pinterest, chances are that you will end up with portraits that express the photographers best work. In case you didn't know...YOU are a photographers best work. That way if you do end up in a field of wheat in some hazy sun-flare, it will be because that says something about who YOU are, not what Pinterest told you was popular.
So pretty please, keep this in mind when you are searching for inspiration for your own photoshoot. The worst thing in the world is for you to be disappointed that your photo didn't turn out JUST like the shot you loved on Pinterest but didn't know that it was a professional model in a designer dress who spent 10 hours on set to get that ONE shot.
***this also goes for your hairstylist and makeup artist. The cut you love might have been done on hair that has a different texture or thickness than your hair and on a girl who has the facial structure that is perfect for a bob. The makeup look might not work for hooded eyes, close set eyes, or only look good on gals with high cheekbones and strong brows. Safe rule; Pinterest is for Inspiration, not Standards.***
Thursday, March 26, 2015
Portrait Beauty Retouch
I'm not going to change your face. Retouching isn't about taking an average image and making it wonderful, it's about taking an extraordinary shot with the right styling, hair, makeup, and light and then putting on those finishing touches that make an image look really polished.
I don't want to change the women I photograph into something they're not.
I want to take that beauty and show it off!
Friday, February 27, 2015
NYBe; Launching of a Beauty Brand
WELCOME to the official launch of NYBe, the beauty brand by Nicole York Photography! I am SO excited to share this with you, because I believe that the loudest voice speaking about a woman's self image should be her OWN.
We are about to go on a journey together, where woman take back control of how they view and think about their own bodies. Where sexy isn't a word only applied to certain ages or body types.
Where confidence means bravely being yourself.
Come check out all the gorgeousness, and remember ladies: you ARE beautiful, and that deserves to be celebrated!
Be Brave. Be Confident. Be Yourself.
To keep up to date on what I am shooting, find helpful resources, or book a shoot head over here:
nicoleyorkphotography.zenfolio.com
www.facebook.com/nybebynicoleyorkphotography
Wednesday, February 11, 2015
Destination Wedding: Mc Kinney Texas. Alvin + Sandra
It has taken me forever to write this post, partly because there is SO much to say! Most of the time when I photograph a wedding, I am there for anywhere from 6 to 12 hours. This last November, though, I did my first destination wedding. Pretty rad, right!? I was there for a total of 3 days, so there is a whole lot more to say!
The wedding was in an adorable little town in Texas just outside Dallas called McKinney, and the antique, old western vibe was completely charming. Brick storefronts with hanging signs lined the main road through town.
The venue, called Gather, which is a restaurant turned event venue, was even more charming if that's possible. Intimate, beautifully decorated, and with the original advertisement painting from the outside of the next building as the inside of one of their walls! How cool is that!?
I brought along the tremendous Olga of Olga Tenyanin Photography to second shoot for me so that we could cover every angle of this wedding. I can't say how nice it was to have her there.
We flew into Dallas just in time to catch the bride at her bachelorette dinner at the Cheescake factory...nom nom nom...and then get everything unpacked and crash out in our hotel room.
The next day was spent checking out the venue to get a feel for the lighting, the scenery and plan out angles and shots we knew we would want to take. We also spent some time at the mall, because it's what you do, and I got introduced to this AH-mazing thing called a "LoveSac." If you have never seen or sat in one of these stupendous creations, you are missing out, my friend! This is my first experience with one...
SO, we headed from there down the to venue for the rehersal so Olga and I could find out exactly how the wedding was going to go down, what angles we needed to use to get all the shots without being in each others frame, and how the lighting was going to be at that time of day. It was definitely nice to be there for that because it made the wedding itself flow so smoothly.
We were lucky enough to come hang with the Bride and Groom and the wedding party at the rehersal dinner as well. BIG Thanks to Alvin and Sandra for making Olga and me feel like such a part of the wedding. If anything, it made us feel the emotional attachment to all the special moments that much more deeply.
I will admit, we probably stayed up way too late that night. We cleaned sensors and lenses, chatted about gear, formatted memory cards, made sure everything was charged and prepped and in tip-top shape, and then we chatted some more. When I woke up in the AM, I was wishing we hadn't done so much chatting, but totally down to start capturing all the great moments of the big day!
First stop for me was Von Anthony Salon in Frisco, Tx. From the moment the bridal party walked in the door I was impressed.
I have been in a lot of salons in my day but I have never seen so much hospitality and professionalism. The owner was there taking coats and introducing people, hosts were getting refreshments, and the bridal party was pretty much completely pampered. Not only was the salon beautifully appointed, but the stylists were skilled and professional and the entire staff was warm and inviting. Hands down the best salon I have ever been in, period.
I climbed all over that place to get creative shots, and I am not kidding you. The owner even brought me out a ladder so I could get up high and find some fun angles.
While I was performing stunning feats of acrobatics, Olga was hanging out with the Groom and his groomsmen catching some behind the scenes moments while they got ready for the wedding. I think it's safe to say that they fellas were probably a little more relaxed than the ladies...but the ladies looked a lot prettier.
Once everyone was ready, we met at the venue. Can I just say again how great this little place is? They had decorated everything and candles were glowing everywhere. We got some beautiful detail shots of all the lovingly crafted decorations from the centerpieces down to the adorable little twig-like colored pencils for the kids table and the (delicious) gifts of homemade jam for each guest. This is the same time that we photograph the rings, shoes, and any other detail so that the Bride and Groom will have plenty of time to enjoy all the things that are happening around them and can still be able to enjoy and appreciate the smaller things they might not have had time to see.
We coordinated with the DJ and videographer, from Uptown Sound, planning out shots and angles so that everyone could get the coverage they needed without being in the way.
I headed upstairs to catch a few more shots of the Bride putting on her dress, earrings, shoes, doing those last minute fix ups and finally seeing herself completely prepared in the gown she would wear to pledge the rest of her life to the man she loves.
I absolutely LOVED the look on the Groom's face when he saw his gorgeous bride, in her Stunning Vera Wang dress and absolutely glowing, for the first time...
After the First Look, we headed into the Unique Unique Designs side of the building for the Formals...or...informals, as it were. The bride and groom had told me that they wanted their formals to be relaxed and casual, so that is exactly what we did. Of course, we had to make it fun, so there was a lot of laughter and big smiles.
After the First Look, we headed into the Unique Unique Designs side of the building for the Formals...or...informals, as it were. The bride and groom had told me that they wanted their formals to be relaxed and casual, so that is exactly what we did. Of course, we had to make it fun, so there was a lot of laughter and big smiles.
Then came my FAVORITE part. It's always my favorite. It's the time that I get to steal the Bride and Groom away, put them in a gorgeous location, and capture a few quiet, tender moments stolen during the whirlwind of activity that is a wedding day. We were able to have access to the store that adjoins Gather, called Unique Unique Design. It is like a fairy tale inside that place. The designer is a genius and has an absolutely unique style that marries a kind of rustic-country-chic with timeless ease. The most fun part is that Unique Unique Design ALSO did the decorating for the wedding!
Sandy, the bride, had already told me that she wanted to get some portraits done in that part of the store and I was ALL for that. I believe we caught some truly beautiful moments.
At last, it was time for the wedding ceremony itself. There was laughter, tears, tenderness, the heartfelt promises of forever, and a triumphant kiss to end it all.
YAY for receptions!
The food was fantastic. The company was lively and infectious. The music was spot on and the dancing was both sweet and tender, wiggly and jiggly, and the "Carlton" was even busted out!
My favorite part was getting to capture those tender moments that couples steal on the dancefloor; the whole world seems to fade away and it's just the two of them.
You always get to see love at a wedding, but you don't always get to see two people who find each other so often, whose hands always seem to reach out, whose eyes always seem to touch, who make it clear that all they really want is to be near each other.
Alvin and Sandra; that you SO much for choosing me to capture your memories. I was honored.
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