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Pop Quiz:

Q.   Name 3-4 of the most influential fashion photographers of all time?
A.   Richard Avedon, Annie Leibovitz, David LaChapelle, Steven Meisel

Q.  Who were their stylists?
A. * sound of crickets *

Stylists- the Unsung Hero’s of Fashion Photography

I shoot a lot of weddings, which by their very nature are styled events. Every little detail such as table settings, flowers, clothing, favors for guests, lighting, music, on and on – it’s all styled.

Fashion, however, is started with a blank sheet. The photographer, in concert with the art director, stylist , hair and make up artists, must create something from nothing. It’s a daunting task, but very exciting; especially when you work with really talented people.

Last year, Julie Savage of Strawberry Milk Events and I started collaborating on shoots to benefit wedding venues. We shot for Tidewater Inn in Easton,  Kent Manor Inn in Stevensville, Chesapeake Bay Beach Club in Stevensville, and Intercontinental Hotel in Baltimore. It was during this time I saw what really went into styling a shoot.

In a word – Details, Details, Details! (ok that’s three words)

My long time mentor, while beating me up about my work once said, “ You are responsible for EVERYTHING in your viewfinder. You own all of it. If anything is not right, it is entirely your fault.”

Enter the stylist.

Julie and I argue, fuss, try and retry shots until the vision occurs. She has an idea, and I execute it. She understands styling, I understand photography. A fair amount of time is spent with hands on hips looking at each other, trying to make something work. Usually this is done under intense time pressure because the model costs a LOT of money, the light is changing or any number of other variables.

Kind of like a songwriting team, one writes the lyrics, the other writes the music.

Often times it sounds like this:
Julie: Can you do …..?
Dave: No we can’t. But we can try this…
Julie:  Oh, that works! Can you try this?
Dave:  Huh, hadn’t thought of that, okayyyy let’s do that, and then we’ll try this…

…and so forth. It is really fun, exciting and rewarding. To see samples of our work together, visit our website , and under Gallery, select Models and Venues.

On a recent shoot at a private residence Julie and I teamed up again, please see our feature in Washingtonian Magazine for details and pics!

Bill is British with the type of voice you want on your voicemail, and Tanya is  warm and charming person. Really nice couple, and they wanted an elegant and stylish wedding day.

They scored on all counts and treated their guests to a wonderful evening.  The entire day was loose and happy, the ceremony was warm and heartfelt, and included Sophia, Bill’s daughter.  Very, very nice-

The Calvert House never looked better- Bill and Tanya designed the entire layout in a very clever curtain partition which separated the ceremony space from the dining area.

A notable event was Phil’s best Man speech. Phil is from Manchester England, and his speech went something like this…( with a very heavy accent)

“Right then.”

“Have a speech here somewhere”

“Might read it too.”

“Perhaps not”

“Of course, I do have it here in my hand, but then again…”

And so on for about 5 minutes. Had the entire party howling as he basically talked and talked and  said absolutely nothing. His facial expressions said it all.. Too funny.

Wonderful evening all the way around…

We are designed to live in community with one another. It’s in our DNA.

Deep down, everyone craves the joy of friendships, community and celebrations.

What better place to do it than at Sherwood Forest? ( no, not men in tights, no Sheriff of Nottingham…)

Sherwood Forest Maryland is as close to a utopian community as I have ever seen.  Originally built in the 1920’s it was a collection of summer cottages nestled along the Severn River just outside Annapolis MD.  The original cottages had no kitchens, and meals were served in a large dining hall.  How cool is that?  This cottage community has boating, golf, tennis and the entire compound becomes a summer camp for the kids.  People travel in golf carts.  They have a little general store and a fabulous Club House… Idyllic.

Over the years, the cottages were rebuilt as year-round houses, but still remain consistent in one regard- they must be Sherwood Forest Green or Brown.  This is a very charming place….

Groom John Varney grew up here, met Christine, got engaged and had a very Sherwood Forest wedding.  The day was perfect in every regard.

]]> http://davidhartcornweddings.com/2011/08/30/christine-john-june-4-2011/feed/ 0 http://davidhartcornweddings.com/2011/08/22/chelsea-and-chris-june-11-2011/ http://davidhartcornweddings.com/2011/08/22/chelsea-and-chris-june-11-2011/#comments Mon, 22 Aug 2011 18:50:13 +0000 david http://davidhartcornweddings.com/?p=554  

During our final review of the wedding day timeline, there was the issue of where we would do the first look and where the ladies would get ready.

The forecast was calling for HOT HOT HOT and steamy…I said, “let’s just do it at the studio”, and thus the party began.

Most, if not all, the wedding party graduated from Penn State.  They were really tight friends, and the vibe was perfect…

First look was done is a secret little spot in Annapolis- Chelsea rode over in a cool old Bentley, and she and Chris had their only 10 minutes of peace the entire day….

Back at the studio, it was pretty much full -on party mode.

We were able to group shots only obtainable with the sanctity of a studio setting and the right combination of people…

Off to Celebrations on the Bay where Chelsea is also the wedding coordinator.

The ceremony was great as the couple affirmed their faith (always nice to see) and in each other…

Reception was nuts, lots of fun.  They hired truly one of the wackiest and funniest DJ’s I’ve heard, and believe me, I have heard a few DJ’s…

Loved that wedding party, I was able to record indelible images of what will be life long friendships.