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

Along with Chad’s tenth year in a row for a 30th birthday party this past weekend, we also had my daughter’s 2nd birthday party (I can’t believe she’s 2 already!). We had a beautiful, hot sunny day in the backyard for the occasion.

Even though I had a fireball going on the grill and tons of people brought food, I don’t think she ate anything that didn’t have sugar as the main ingredient.

Here’s some snapshots from the day, and thanks to everyone for the great time!

 

The cupcake tower

 

Happy birthday to me!

 

Ben’s happy face

 

 

Checking to make sure that her teeth haven’t rotted out yet from all the sugar

 

Safety first

So we had a little get together at the house over the weekend. We had several friends, including myself, celebrating one of those milestone birthdays. I’ll leave it to you guys to figure that one out. Anyway, I wanted to say thanks to all of our friends and family who helped us celebrate. You mean everything to us, and we probably don’t tell you that nearly enough. We had an unbelievably good time – or at least that’s what I was told the next morning. 😉

 

There is always a possibility in wedding photography to have to work with a couple that is extremely nervous and stressed out. It is, after all, one of the most important days in a couple’s life together. The stress level is usually much greater on the bride’s side because there is a lot more planning and time needed to get ready.

We have been very lucky in getting to work with some pretty easygoing brides. Kiersten, or “Kiki” as her friends and family call her, has now set the bar at a new high for laid-back brides. Phone calls to the bridesmaids about tux problems with the guys,  one poor groomsman left with one size 10 and one size 11 shoe (apparently together they equaled the 10.5 shoes he ordered) and potential problems with a slideshow she put together and the place cards she made never phased her. All she wanted was for everyone to have fun at her wedding.

Here’s some pictures of Kiki and Jeff before the ceremony and staying perfectly calm through it all.

We loved working with you guys, and we can’t wait to talk after you get back from your honeymoon. Hope you were able to get some sleep on the plane.

We’ll have more pictures from the rest of the day coming soon.

 

  • July 1, 2011 - 6:33 pm

    Dad - They’re going to have beautiful kids!!!!!ReplyCancel

  • July 2, 2011 - 1:03 am

    Kiki - Thanks guys :)
    Bob and Chad, we can’t say thank you enough! Really, you two were so awesome, you were professional and on top of everything. We really appreciate everything you did for us (and and are doing) you went above and beyond and saved all of our important memories from our day. I am so glad you guys were there, we can’t WAIT to see the finished products!
    P.S. The honeymoon is awesome, sadly we’ll be home Sunday! TtysReplyCancel

  • July 5, 2011 - 11:08 pm

    bobsanchuk - Hope you got home safely from the honeymoon. We are in the process of editing your photos and can’t wait for you to see them. We’ll talk to you soon!ReplyCancel

The emotion of wedding receptions can be addicting. The music, dancing, families coming together. All of it combines in this feel-good cauldron of a great time. Not surprisingly, some good photos usually come out of it as well. Whether it’s the first dance with dad, the toast or the feeling that the night is coming to a close. There are plenty of moments when the emotions are palpable and exciting to be around. And if you think it’s lost on the photographers, forget it. Whether it’s right or not, we feel as invested as the families and get caught up in the moment too. I really think it makes us better at what we do. It’s probably true of most things – the more you attach yourself and feel a connection  – the more energy you’ll bring. And weddings are overflowing with energy.

Here’s some photos from the reception at the beautiful Scranton Cultural Center. We’ll have more photos from earlier in the day coming soon.

 

  • June 28, 2011 - 5:33 pm

    Kelsey Mackin - They’re all beautiful!! (I’m with the bride and the sunglasses) It was awesome working with you guys, you were great. Can’t wait to see more!!ReplyCancel

    • June 28, 2011 - 6:03 pm

      chadsebring - Thanks a ton! We had a great time. We’ll post more photos to the blog in the coming days.ReplyCancel

  • June 29, 2011 - 8:09 am

    Diane Fitzpatrick - Great pictures! I can’t wait to see them all. You two were fantastic and I will recommend you to anyone who will listen. You were professional but also great fun.ReplyCancel

Since we are still editing down the thousands of photos from Annette and Darren’s wedding, I decided to post a little peek at some of the fun at the reception. Yet again, Carol and Peter (Annette’s parents) created a fantastic evening for everyone. The food was delicious, the setting was beautiful, amRadio rocked the pavilion and Annette and Darren are just great people to be around.

Thanks again for the great time. We’ll have more photos of the wedding day posted soon.

  • June 23, 2011 - 7:11 pm

    Darren and Annette Adair - Bob and Chad,

    Greetings from the Island of St. John!!! The photos look so good for a sneak peak. We had the time of our lives at our wedding. Can’t wait to see more photos. Thanks again you guys rock! Thanks for capturing our special day. Talk to you soon.

    -Darren and Annette AdairReplyCancel

  • June 23, 2011 - 11:08 pm

    bobsanchuk - Thanks, but you’re on St. John! Get off the computer and go frolic on the beach!ReplyCancel

I had a friend ask me the other day about the settings on her camera. She has a DSLR, but doesn’t venture into the territory of manual settings or aperture or shutter priority modes – primarily  because it can be daunting to take control over the camera to get the photos you want. In fact, a lot of people I know just set it in automatic and off they go. That’s fine but kind of limiting, especially when you make a big donation to Canon for a camera capable of a whole lot more.

My friend did start using some of the picture style settings on one of the top dials.

There are settings for Sports, Landscape, Portrait and some other stuff. She used Sports because she was shooting an event with fast action – an excellent choice, but it still doesn’t answer the question of how to get that shot by manually dialing in the settings.

Here’s a quick tip to get you using manual mode. Say you are shooting a pee-wee football game. Set you camera on the Sports setting and then check the top LED panel and see what the settings are. Check the shutter speed, aperture, ISO. Now put it in Manual mode and replicate the settings. Take a few shots. Now, start making some tweaks … slow the shutter, increase the ISO, etc. Now look at the difference in each image. Soon you’ll start piecing together the puzzle. For every change you make, the picture will be a little different. With digital cameras, the learning curve is greatly reduced because we can see our mistakes immediately and make adjustments to fix them.