Two Sticks Studios – Scranton, Wilkes-Barre, Poconos Wedding Photographers » Scranton, Wilkes-Barre, Poconos Wedding Photography, Senior Photography and Portrait Photography

Ahhhh backyard weddings. Don’t you just love them? I do. They are so warm and comfortable and just have a different vibe about them. I was just flipping through Kim and Chuck’s wedding photos from last month and I realized what an amazing day it was. First, Chuck has a few toys – like a bike and a plane – so that made taking photos a bit different and amazing. Second, the setting was just so beautiful with all these great little touches and details. Throw in the love of a big family and it’s about as close as you can come to a perfect day. So we don’t want to try to do a post that captured just parts of the day. Instead, below are a bunch of photos I think capture the feel of the whole thing. We hope you enjoy them as much as we enjoyed spending the day with our friends in the backyard.

_M3_1628_M3_1813_M3_2220_M3_2325_M3_2349_MG_0065_MG_0076_MG_8984_MG_91046O4A00026O4A00146O4A01896O4A06396O4A92156O4A9951

In a previous post we had some shots of Michael just killing it with the band onstage at the Scranton Cultural  Center. Well it turns out he and his beautiful bride Megan take a pretty nice portrait as well. Michael got ready at the Hilton Scranton. It’s a great place to grab a few portraits because there are some cool mirrors and nice light hanging around if you know where to look. I really love some of the shots Bob got there. Megan got ready at her mom’s house. Again, nice light + beautiful bride = hard to miss.

I always find it funny going back looking at portraits. Megan’s look very serene and quiet. Meanwhile to her left is her entire bridal party and parents and anyone else who was there watching the photos get done. Oh and a quick thank you to Megan’s mom who was so remarkably welcoming. I rearranged quite a bit of furniture in the house to be able to position Megan where I thought the photos would turn out the best. I tried to put everything back exactly where I found it, but I am by no means an interior decorator so if I missed anything I’m really, really, sorry. 😉

Here are some of the portraits from throughout the day. Enjoy.

_M3_2962_M3_3004_M3_30836O4A9599

6O4A96176O4A9643

6O4A0333_M3_3647_M3_4569

 

It seems everyone does photojournalism now for weddings. That’s probably a good thing. Lord knows we do a majority of our work that way. Photos that look too set up or posed are not exactly what people are looking for. The last thing you want is someone stopping in the middle of a cake cutting to pose for a quick shot. The moment is gone the second they turn to focus on you.

But is there still room for the posed shot? Hell yes, there is. Portraits are a huge part of our business. But what we don’t want them to be is two people staring into the lens of the camera – except in really rare instances. What we want is to capture a mood or a moment, but one that we control. They should almost look like we snapped a private moment. That’s kind of the trick. There are all sorts of disciplines involved in this but it’s a little fashion photography and a little portrait photography all rolled up into one.  Not long ago, we shot Alicia and Bobby’s wedding at the Westmoreland Club in Wilkes-Barre. It was a great setting for some portraits with a ton of dark wood and stained glass and unreal light. So we took them before the reception and wandered around to get their portraits. We love how they come out. And we’d love to hear what you think.

_M3_0201_M3_02136O4A61066O4A61466O4A6262musial_332

 

Well here’s a quick turnaround post for everyone. We shot a wedding over the weekend for friends Denise and Chris at The Lands at Hillside Farms in Shavertown. What a beautiful setting that is for a wedding. There were hay bales for chairs and antique decorations in the home, welcoming families and so much love and thought put into the day’s details it would blow your mind. Yes, Denise is a crafter – and an exceptionally talented one. The love these two have for each other just permeated the grounds all day in all of the little touches you could find everywhere you turned.

Normally we would do a post on just the ceremony or just the reception, and maybe we will come back to that in some other posts, but we wanted to give you a feel for what a wonderful day this was by just selecting some of our favorite images and moments from the day. There were plenty, including Denise and Chris reading letters from each other, but separated only by a wall. They didn’t see each other, but we thought it would be cool if they were close and able to talk to each other without actually seeing each other. It was such a moving moment. We hope you enjoy the photos!

_M3_49256O4A0130 (2)_M3_4969Denise and Chris Hillside Farms Wedding near Wilkes-Barre PA_M3_5230

Denise and Chris Hillside Farms Wedding near Wilkes-Barre PA_M3_5657

6O4A0086_M3_6246_M3_6269_M3_6347_M3_6378-Edit

 

 

 

Well, I can say I’ve been to the beach this summer. Wooohooo! Bob and I got back recently from Long Beach Island for some engagement photos for our new friends Jen and Joe. LBI is their spot, so we figured let’s go do your photos there. I’m not afraid to say it. Best decision ever! Wow, what an unbelievable day of hanging out and laughing and just having a great time. Joe is a bit of a photographer himself so that just added to the fun.

I seriously could go on and on about the day, but let’s just say that shooting on the beach and parks and areas on LBI is spectacular. Throw in Jen and Joe, who were so easy to work with and willing to try some new things, and it just ends up being an ideal day.  I got to watch Bob get drenched by a wave trying to get a shot he wanted. That was a total bonus. It was less of a bonus watching him walk around in shorts with his skinny chicken legs flailing all over the place but sometimes you have to pay a high price to get the photos you want.

Seriously, we really love the photos that came from their day and hope they like them as much as we do. Thanks again guys for inviting us into a part of your lives that is so special to you. We are deeply appreciative.

_M3_1328_M3_1365_M3_1409_M3_1499-Edit6O4A92916O4A9419

_M3_1517

This summer has been so nice. Bob and I have been lucky enough to do a little traveling and to have couples gracious enough to invite us to amazing places to take photos. One weekend it was the beach and another New York City.  Not surprisingly we love New York. I mean, who doesn’t, and as a photographer it’s just an incredible place to shoot.  It’s also super easy to get distracted there. Fortunately, we had Lauren and Mike as our guides and there were some places they wanted to have photos done.  What an incredible couple and they were so gracious in showing us around. Every time I go to New York I feel like “Yeah, I know this place and know my way around,” and then I find myself someplace I’ve never been.  Thank God for Lauren and Mike because I wouldn’t have gotten three blocks from Penn Station. I wanted to shoot everywhere.

So we visited some cool places, stopped along the way to shoot. We hit some spots that are recognizable and some spots that maybe aren’t, but have great meaning to Lauren and Mike. It was all part of a great day, strolling a great city with great people. Here are a few of the shots.

_M3_9454_M3_9499_M3_9595_M3_9656-Edit_M3_96896O4A74126O4A74556O4A7493