The Unconventional Bride

A few years back, I visited Coney Island for the first time. Like any wedding photographer who has ever traveled anywhere, I thought, "I must shoot a bride here." If I had a nickel for every time I thought that, in every place I've thought that, I would own a boat. And a dozen horses. And really expensive vintage roller skates. But I digress. For whatever reason, Coney Island stuck with me. Over the next few years I kept it tucked away as a venue I wanted, but I needed the right client. Eventually I came across the unconventional bride, with her boldly colored body art that contrasted her white wedding dress. I fell in love. I thought, "that's a bride I want." However, it didn't happen for me organically. Over the last year I got to thinking more and more about the importance of portfolio building. It's really important for photographers to dictate their clientele, rather then the clientele dictating their photography. I found myself shooting a lot of the same kinds of weddings, because that was who was hiring me. And why wouldn't they? It's what they saw in my portfolio. Well, last winter, my brain finally put two and two together, and it was decided. My first portfolio guiding, personal project, would be the unconventional bride in Coney Island. I grabbed a girl with the prettiest ink in sight, the perfect vintage 80's wedding dress (thank you etsy), a guy, my gem of a husband/assistant, my camera, and we were Coney Island bound. Scheduling was kind of a nightmare, the weather was against us, the shore was still a bit devastated by the storm, but our spirits were high! We were all there to create something fun and had a lot of fun in the process. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do!Special thanks to my models, Nikki and Eric! You were fabulous to work with. Thanks to Susan Norman for makeup and Amanda Bertollo for hair.