karolina was one of my first bookings, one of the early signers that put their faith in me from seeing a very limited portfolio. i’m very grateful to these few brides who were willing to give me a chance as i was starting out. without them i would never have been able to prove myself as a wedding photographer. it’s hard to build a wedding portfolio without wedding pictures, but it’s also hard to get wedding jobs without having a wedding portfolio.

karolina and bobby got married at bittersweet farms in westport, ma. it was a wedding on the smaller end of the scale, roughly sixty guests or so. the room at bittersweet was the perfect size for the wedding. what an awesome venue. natural wood frame and ceiling and a room off of a balcony tucked away on the second floor of the building. i had never shot there so i wasn’t sure what to expect. it ended up being one of my favorite wedding venues.

the day/night went really well, starting off at one of the bridesmaid’s apartments to photograph the girls getting ready. they were laid back and cool, so it was a good start to the wedding. the ceremony was outdoors in a big field with a gazebo. the bridal party walked a good ways across the field to get to their positions which i thought was pretty cool.

darkness came quick after the ceremony ended. i felt like i was racing the sun to get the photos. eventually i gave up and gave in. if it was going to be dark, so be it. i pulled out my off-camera flashes and did some group shots in front of a barn with the remote flashes. we then stumbled upon a little flood light that we used for some cool dramatic lighting for shots of karolina.

i want to make sure to point out that the absolute best i’ve ever been treated as a vendor by the venue was at bittersweet. most wedding venues have a habit of treating the vendors (i.e. the dj, photographer, videographer, etc…) as second, third, and sometimes fourth class citizens. the staff at bittersweet was awesome! i made sure to tell them before i took off what i thought of it all.

i was excited to shoot this wedding because karolina and bobby were one of those couples who were really into the photographs right from the beginning. it’s nice to shoot for a couple knowing that the photos are very important to them. all the best to karolina and bobby, thanks so much for having me!

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