Photographer Spotlight: Anda Marie

Working with Anda Marie Photography is a true joy!  She did a brilliant job capturing beautiful images of Claire and John's Wedding, and I look forward to working with her again! Her excitement about being a wedding photographer is effusive.  "I can't imagine anything better!" When I asked her what she loves the most, it's the people.  She loves her clients, she loves the other professionals she's met and the photographers she's become friends with.

  She's always been an an artist, and has always taken pictures.  Her business started organically... she photographed a friend's wedding and put the pictures on Facebook. The pictures went viral and she was almost immediately booked through the following year and quickly became a full time wedding photographer.  She's been featured in Style me Pretty and has traveled throughout the U.S. photographing gorgeous weddings!

Her style is editorial/artistic.  She stages the details (Shoes, dress, etc) like a magazine fashion layout, and she'll take some time with the bride and groom to stage some gorgeous shots to help them look their very best.     During the rest of the day she doesn't stage shots, so much as keep in touch with where the best artistic view of a given moment will be.

She prefers to take a minimal number of posed family portraits (10 minutes with immediate family). If you're concerned  you won't get pictures of your favorite aunt, though, not to worry- she focuses a lot of her candid shots on your close friends and family.


Here's what she says about herself...

I love to capture what's honest... I love to make images that are authentic and full of life, movement and style.  I enjoy giving you something you can hang on your walls as art... and therefore I look for what's interesting and not what's perfect.

Here are some specs.

Website: http://www.andamarie.com

Blog: http://www.andamarie.net

E-mail: andamarie@andamarie.com

Style: High Fashion Editorial blended with artistic photojournalism

Green Practices: All her ordering is on line.  She uses eco-friendly albums made from recycled products and uses a local printer for her photographs

Price: Wedding packages range from $3000 to $9000

Professional associations: PPA and WPPI

Location: Based in Madison, but happy to travel world wide! (Italy, Morocco, Brazil?)

Real Weddings: Claire & John

Anda Marie Photography

Claire and John's wedding in October was inspiring in more ways than one! Not only was it beautiful and creative, but they also went out of their way to include their community and friends.  Every person at the reception felt special and loved! 

'62 Thunderbird
Anda Marie Photography

Motif Painting by Debbie Sisko
Anda Marie Photography

Claire and John both have a passion for classic cars.  Check out the '62 T-Bird that was their sweet ride after the ceremony! 

Motif Painting by Debbie Sisko
Anda Marie Photography

They used a

gorgeous hand-painted motif throughout their celebration!
Their coolest DIY project was the centerpieces! The mother of the bride created silk arrangements to go into the pumpkins carved and glittered the week before the wedding!

Anda Marie Photography

They even had a traditional Greek wedding dance!

Anda Marie Photography

Anda Marie Photography

Roster of resources and professionals:
Wedding Coordination: Planned Spontaneity (of course!)
Photography: Anda Marie Photography

Ceremony Venue: St. John Vianney Catholic Church
Reception Venue: Best Events Banquet Hall in Janesville, WI
Ceremony Music: Fran Preyer

Anda Marie Photography

Cake: Buttercups
DJ: Dave Drake of Complete Music
Motif painting: Debbie Sisko

  

Anda Marie Photography

 

Photographer Spotlight: Illuminata Photo

Flexible, Fun & Guaranteed!  
That's Tim Mulholland's tag line for his business, Illuminata Photo. He's one of the only people I know who state outright- If you're not happy with his services, you're under no obligation to pay.  Fortunately, he hasn't had to make good on this promise yet!  I guess folks have been pretty happy with his services, and no wonder...


Tim's laid back personality and gentle photojournalistic style is refreshing and produces beautiful timeless images.  One of his favorite parts of being a wedding photographer is developing a rapport with his subjects and clients. 
His goal is to capture the wedding day in a way that supports the couple's relationship and their marriage. By this, he means that he wants his clients to be able to look through the album and remember the love and support of their families regardless of what comes their way in the future. His photographs reinforce the memories of the special, meaningful, and funny moments in the day.

Here’s a sample testimonial from Google Places

Amazing and helpful Every time that we look at our wedding album, we laugh, cry and smile. Yes, it was our wedding and we'll always have those memories, but it was Tim's beautiful, caring photographs of our day that help to keep it vivid in our minds (and hearts!). My mother can be a very difficult person (and she fancies herself a good photographer), but he got along so well with her (and gave her some great pointers) and everyone else. Tim's in a class by himself in the Madison area - beautiful, respectful, thinking about us, always a step ahead, ready. And, his work is just stunning!

Here are some specs:

Style: Tim is primarily a photojournalist, but also does the traditional formal poses that almost every bride wants!  He sets up a smattering fun editorial style shots to help people relax and have fun.  His main interest is catching everything everything in the moment, and capturing authentic emotions as things are happening.

Website:http://timmulholland.com/

Phone: 608/628-2925

E-mail: Tim@timmulholland.com

Price: Wedding packages generally range from $1000 to $3000

Professional Associations: PPA (Professional Photographers of America)

How To Be a Great GWC :: {guest with camera} :: WI Wedding Photography � Red Gecko Studio

I like for my Planned Spontaneity blog to be helpful and informative, and sometimes, that helpful, informative material is written by another blogger! If you're a follower of this blog, you may have already read about Mandie Haberman and Red Gecko Studio. At any rate, here's a great article Mandie wrote on being a "GWC", or Guest with a Camera at a Wedding. 

How To Be a Great GWC :: {guest with camera} :: WI Wedding Photography � Red Gecko Studio

Photographer/Videographer Spotlight: Kevin & Kelsey Visel of Primavera Studios

One of the joys of my work is that I get to meet people like Kevin and Kelsey Visel.  Their warm personalities and gracious manner would put anyone at ease. Kevin and Kelsey are the lead photographers and owners of Primavera Studios.  Kevin also offers videography. 

Primavera Studios offer a consistent “Vintage-European” style with a classic Italian art sensibility. Their goal is to capture the details of each wedding as if it were to be published in a magazine, and make their subjects look better than they have ever looked.

I think they're really cool because not only are they artists, but they're eco-friendly and conscientious too!  They donate 10% of their print proceeds to Thirst Relief International- an organization working to provide safe drinking water to those in need around the world. See the eco-details under "green practices" below.

When asked what they liked best about their work, here’s how they answered.

Kelsey- “I love being able to exceed clients’ expectations, and hearing ‘That’s exactly what I hoped for!’ or ‘That’s even better than we expected!’ “ 

Kevin- “My favorite part is the relationships we form with our clients. Obviously, I love photography, but the relationships are what drive me.” 
Kevin also gets really fired up about coming home with ‘The Shot’ at each wedding. “Every client needs at least one incredible image to hang on their wall,” he says. “When I get it, it’s really exciting!” 

For Videography, Kevin films with top quality HD cameras to produce videos on DVD or Blu-Ray. Their videography includes both a full-length documentary, and a high-light video. The high-light video is almost like a music video with either a “traditional” or a “Rock-Star” feel!

Here’s a sample testimonial from their website

“ …we absolutely love the highlight video - thank you for making it so special by capturing the essence of our love and the beauty of the day in a short video our friends and family can share with us!  It's amazing how much you really personalized the videos … - you put clips of the right people and the perfect moments that we will never forget now!  Thank you so much!”

- Meghan & Bobby

Here are some specs.

Style: Fashion-Inspired Editorial

Good Works: 10% of their proceeds are donated to Thirst Relief International
Green Practices: Their packaging and framing is made from recycled paper or other renewable resources.  Their forms are all on line, and they recycle the paper they do use.

Awards: Wedding Wire – Bride’s Choice Award 2010, The Knot Best of Weddings 2010

Website: http://primaverastudios.com
Blog: http://primaverastudios.com/blog

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/primaverastudios

Phone: (608) 229-1321

E-mail: kevin@primaverastudios.com

Address: 6524 Seybold Road, Madison, WI 53719
 

Price: Wedding packages start at $2500

Professional Associations: WPPI (Wedding and Portrait Photographers International) & PPA (Professional Photographers of America)

Photographer Spotlight: Mandie Haberman of Red Gecko Studio

I’ve you’ve been following the buzz about Kelly and Mike’s Green Wedding, then you’re already familiar with Mandie and Red Gecko Studio!  If not, you should definitely check it out. Mandie’s photographs are beautiful and capture the beautiful real moments during the wedding day. Not only that, she writes one of the better blogs I've seen. She showcases each beautiful wedding she does with each couple's story. Reading it, you get a real sense of her affection for each couple she works with.

This is what she says about being a wedding photographer, “It is an amazing honor to be a part of some of the most beautiful weddings in Wisconsin. I love the details, the dresses, the shoes, the flowers, the smiles, the hugs, the tears, the dances, and especially the unexpected surprises that make each wedding day unique.” 

Her style is a blend of photojournalism and Artistic.  She specializes in relaxed portraiture and artistic, unique documentation of the wedding day. She loves capturing the little moments and large and small details that bring life to the memories after the day!

As far as her eco-friendly practices go, she works from her home office which saves a lot of resources in transportation and maintaining an office. She also does all her proofing and ordering online which saves a lot of paper and a lot of trees. Finally, for the eco-beautiful bride, she has access to eco-friendly albums, prints, canvasses, and more!

 

Here are some specs.

Website: http://www.redgeckostudio.com

Phone: 608-669-1268

E-mail: mandie@redgeckostudio.com

Address 5507 Quarry Hill Dr, Fitchburg, WI, 53711

Style: Relaxed Portraiture: Artistic blended with Photojournalism

Green Practices: She utilizes technology for on-line marketing, and photo editing- less printing and paper waste,  eco-friendly album options & home based business.

Price: Wedding packages start at $2800

Professional associations: Professional Photographers of America

Education: BS in Art from University of Wisconsin-Madison

Photographer Spotlight: Amy Lynn Schereck

While I was interviewing Amy Lynn Schereck, what impressed me most (aside from the beautiful images she creates for her clients) was her innate goodness. At the end, you can check out her list of charitable causes under “Specs”- but first, let’s talk about her photography…

One of the things she excels at is efficiently getting really good group shots. Even if your focus isn’t the group pictures with all the different family members, most people still want them, and Amy does them beautifully and efficiently! Beyond that, it’s all about the people at the party and the beautiful little details. She considers her style to be a combination of traditional and editorial.

When asked what people should look for in a wedding photographer, she didn’t hesitate.  “Chemistry,” she said, “I’m telling your story- If we don’t get along you won’t want me there!” Though with her calm warmth, I have a difficult time imagining the person who wouldn’t get along with her!

 

 “One of my favorite things [about being a wedding photographer] is when I’m editing photos, and I realize I’ve been smiling for the last ten minutes- remembering the special moments in the wedding.” She clearly relishes the relationships she develops with brides and grooms as she participates in their weddings. Click here to read glowing testimonials from former clients.

In addition to doing gorgeous wedding photography, Amy also donates a significant portion of her time and talent to charity. She regularly spends time with her “little sister” from the Big Brothers/Big Sisters program. She also photographs strays for the humane society- so they’ll have a better chance of getting adopted! See the list of charitable causes below to see the many ways she does good in the world using her photographic talent.

Overall, Amy Lynn Schereck is an excellent photographer whose strengths include beautiful wedding photography, an incredibly warm personality and strength of character to do good in the world.  What a great combination!

Here are some specs:

Website: http://www.amylynnschereck.com

Phone: (608) 239-1137

E-mail: amy@amylynnschereck.com

Style: Traditional combined with Editorial

Charitable Causes: Dane County Humane Society, Big Brothers Big Sisters, Association of Fundraising Professionals, Forward Community Investments, Gilda’s Club- Madison, Go Red for Women ~ Madison Chapter, Great Strides Walk for Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, Project Home ~ Wisconsin

Price: Wedding packages start at $1625

Experience & Education: Hobby photographer since 1979, 2^nd place in State Journal Photography contest 2001, Professional Photographer degree MATC 2004, In business as a professional photographer since 2004
Location: Anywhere! Local- National- Destination