Thanks to the incredibly talented Viridian Design Studio for showing us once again the power of good design.  Delicious chocolates by Delysia.

Where do I even begin?  The descriptions alone are enough to make me swoon.

individually handcrafted by artisans

rich, smooth, heavyweight fine art paper

Japanese bookbinding fabrics & Swiss ribbon

understated elegance and exquisite detail

The “Cypress,” an elegant matted album.

Beautiful thick art paper and binding detail

The “Cypress” and its accompanying European style presentation box.

The “Iris” is an elegant, modern flush-mounted album. More images and details here.

And now, in the words of Wendi…

Planning for the end. When I’m shooting I always keep the final product in mind. For magazine assignments I shoot more verticals because I know how the magazine is oriented and verticals play nicely on the page. With weddings there are a lot of final products – albums, prints, slideshow, web, etc. The one thing common to all these is a good story and every story needs a good opening, something that draws in the viewer.

For albums I like to start with a hook to immediately grab the viewer’s attention, but I also want to introduce the key characters. When I can achieve both in the same photo, like in the image above, I’m a happy photographer! Let’s see if I can deconstruct this process for you.

I was looking for a cool, tight shot of our bride, Ashley, to lead the story, but I wanted more than just a tight portrait. (Before going on, you need to know that I love white space/negative space. I think it is its own character and plays a definite role in storytelling.) When I saw the clean wall behind Ashley as she was having her hair done I wanted to use it to my advantage. After just a couple shots I quickly knew I had what I wanted and I knew exactly how I wanted to use it in the album.

It would be the opening image, placed alone on the right hand side of the layout. The white space in the image catches your eye and leads you to read the image like a book, left to right. You’re instantly connected with one of our main characters, Ashley and you’re eager to turn the page to learn more.

With all that being said I want to be very clear that I’m not a “stager” and I don’t plan everything. On the wedding day I am an observer and I capture the wedding story truthfully as it unfolds before me.

I didn’t pose Ashley for this image. It was a moment captured. It was a moment where my preparation of considering the final product + keenly observing my surroundings came together to create a unique introductory image.

Our little guy was delivered via emergency c-section.  Due to the side effects of anesthesia I have a very foggy memory of the first time I held my son, but that moment was perfectly preserved by Wendi.  Here’s a glimpse of the day it all began…as seen by Wendi.

L to R: College graduation then fast forward 4 years to the engagement

Scanned directly from my old-school matted wedding album. Does that huge cascading bouquet make you cringe? But, oh how I loved it and the scent was heavenly — peonies, roses and freesia. Wedding images by Barbie Vallot.

Our best contributions to this world. L to R: 2004 welcome baby boy; big boy eagerly awaits the arrival of lil sis; 2005 welcome baby girl. All baby images by Wendi Poole.

My first challenge to Wendi was to help me understand her perspective when she’s taking a photograph.  I asked her to pick an image and answer the question, “What did you see?” The image she chose and her response is below.

Denise asked me a seemingly simple question, but there’s no easy answer. This is part one of what I imagine to be a very long answer.

I shoot photographs the way I see the world so everything I shoot seems just like what I see. Simple, right? Yes, except, we all see the world differently. Try walking around with one eye closed and vary between walking upright and crawling and you might get a glimpse of what I see. I attribute this to years of experience behind the camera, too many hours in a darkroom and the quirky brain God gave me.

I think it’s more about what I’m thinking than what I see. I approach every photograph as a story and one of the most important aspects of visual storytelling is listening. It’s the hardest skill to learn and the easiest to do.

I could have easily missed the photograph above had I not listened and learned about the bride. By listening I knew Kelly was very spiritual, that prayer played a big part in her life and the lives of her friends and that while getting ready for her wedding she wanted to be surrounded by her bridesmaids — all of whom were there because they truly loved Kelly and supported her in prayer and friendship.

I wanted to visually show this commitment to God, prayer and friendship and I knew the moment would organically present itself. So, I waited and waited and waited. I shot lots of getting ready photos and could have easily left the room satisfied that I had covered the events, but I wanted the “rest of the story” so I lingered for a bit more. As Kelly sat and her friends gathered around her I knew it was time.

I considered standing on a chair to get an overhead view, but decided I wanted a shot that was as intimate as the moment. I chose a wide angle lens and sat at Kelly’s feet while the bridesmaids gathered around. I love this photo because I feel it captures the emotion and feeling of the moment. My hope is that you, as the viewer, feel like you are reaching a virtual hand out in prayer along with Kelly and her friends.

I haven’t seen that photo since I was 16 ( a very long time ago!), but I can tell you every detail of the image, where I was sitting when I first discovered it and how it made me feel. So when Wendi describes her photography as . . .storytelling. . .documenting real moments as they happen. . .capturing family history, I get it! But, as the non-photographer half of Thompson Poole I often wonder what it’s like to be behind the camera. What does she see through the lens?

I thought you might be interested too so I’m happy to introduce a new blog series, Through the Lens. The series will explore Wendi’s approach to photography and how her photojournalism career translates to weddings.

Tune back-in tomorrow as Wendi answers the question: What do you see when you look through the lens?”

Wish Upon A Wedding was founded in San Francisco, CA, in January of 2010, by a group of wedding and business entrepreneurs and is America’s FIRST nonprofit wedding wish granting organization, producing weddings and civil union ceremonies at destinations across the United States for individuals facing terminal illness, regardless of sexual orientation. The organization is rapidly expanding with new chapters coming online quickly. For the many ways you can help please visit their website.

We also had a little fun with Sasha in San Antonio.

Jennifer Ramirez-Jasiczek, Sasha Souza, Yours Truly (and the lovely Wendi Poole behind the camera)

This is my favorite photo because everyone’s personalities are shining through, especially the always entertaining big brother #2.