Frank DiMeo Blog

Courtney and Eddie from NYC to Ithaca

What can I say? Another awesome couple! The families and friends were great, the best vendors, incredible late June weather, and George Cannon by my side. Does it get any better? People always tell me it is obvious that I love my job. What is not to love with a line up like that?

The amazing Courtney and Eddie were the stars for this magnificent event. I shot their engagement shoot in NYC back in November, and we have talked quite a few times since then, so I knew it was going to be a great wedding, with a fabulous couple. They did not disappoint. In fact, I think Courtney and Eddie win the most improved posers of the year award. Don’t get me wrong, they did a great job at the engagement shoot but it was clear to me that they learned a lot from that shoot, and did a fantastic job at the wedding. I really appreciate it too, because it makes my job so much easier, and frees me up to concentrate more on creative things.

I try to help my brides and grooms in any way possible, and often end up recommending other vendors, especially when the couple live out of town and don’t really know anyone. I tip my hat to Courtney for taking full advantage of this and aligning herself with most of the best vendors in the area. First, the bridal party had their hair done at Julie Stone’s Salon. Julie is one of my all time favorite brides (she is the bride in the image that won the PDN Grand Prize for me). She is also one of the classiest, nicest people I know. Makeup artist extraordinaire Kris Kellogg from Makeup on Demand (M.O.D.) took over next. Then Nicole Boosembark- Event planning manager for the Statler Hotel at Cornell University made sure everything went as smooth as possible. Last but not least, and to top things off, the DJ was none other than the amazing, highly energetic, and very talented Nicky Wood. As always, Nicky made sure everyone got his or her groove on!

I know a lot of you have been waiting for this one, me too, and I appreciate your patience, and understanding. The slideshow is a little long (again sorry for having to repeat the song, but I am using the first dance song for Courtney and Eddie, and feel that it makes it more special that way) because there are so many awesome images. This post took about four days to pull together, so please kick back, relax, and enjoy the show. As always, click on an image to see it larger, and here is the link to their slideshow.

Thanks again Courtney, Eddie, and everyone for making it such a joy to do this with you. Best wishes, now and always.

Edit 7/19/07 Courtney and Eddie are the "Wedding of the Week" in the NY Post today. The nice thing too is that makes three of my couples that have been in the Post so far, with two of them being chosen as the Wedding of the week.

Andrew & Melissa get married at Cornell

What a great wedding with Andy and Melissa at Cornell’s Willard Straight Hall! This one was a little different going in because they live in California and we didn’t get a chance to meet until the day before the wedding. People that know me and follow my blog know that I feel it is essential to get to know my brides and grooms before the big day. So it is a little unusual when this happens. I did speak with them a few times on the phone, and did an impromptu shoot at the rehearsal dinner, so I had a little sense of what they were like. I say a little because wow, what a great couple, great families, friends, and great times! To top it off, Nicky Wood- DJ master, and a great guy, was providing some pulsating rhythms to get the hearts beating faster, and making sure no feet were still. Toss in an unreal meal, and some first class service provided by James Larounis, and his crew from The Heights Café & Grill and you get a very special, and spectacular evening of joy and celebration.

I was so moved by the way the whole day unfolded. There was so much love and friendship in the air, and the ceremony was officiated by my favorite (and apparently a favorite of many others too because this was her third one of the day) Janet Shortall.

Melissa’s mom made her dress, right down to each handmade button; another family member did the flowers, and played the musical instruments, so there was a lot of talent that was put to good use. My favorite part of the day had to be Andy. Both Moms, Melissa and her twin sister were great too, but Andy was a special groom. He just struck me as being so real about everything, and you could just tell how important this was to him.

Lisa Walsh joined me to help out with shooting all day, and she did an awesome job. Please click on her name to take you to her web site and see some of the incredible images she came up with. As always, click on the image to see it larger, and here for the slideshow.

Thank you Andy, Melissa, and everyone for making this a very special day to remember. I wish you much love and happiness along your new journey together.

Katie and Matt in Saratoga Springs

If you know me, and have been following my blog, then you know that when the images come first, there is usually a lot of type to follow.

O.K. so I knew going in that this was going to be a phenomenal wedding, and was really looking forward to it. I love Katie and Matt so much, and they are the nicest couple. There was absolutely no way it could have been anything but. They arranged two rooms for George Cannon (please click on his name to see some great images he captured) and I to stay in at the magnificent Gideon Putnam Resort and Spa in beautiful Saratoga Springs, and treated us like family the whole time.

I decided that since I was in town, I would shoot the rehearsal dinner, and do a slide show at both brunches on Sunday. Then Saturday morning I was looking for Katie, (who was out running in the park at 6 am to start her wedding day) when I saw some incredible light coming through the trees and decided to try and talk Katie and Matt into waking up early Sunday morning to go out and shoot some day after images. We were all pretty beat Sunday after partying until almost 1:00 the night before. Then I was up from 4:30 working on the slide show, when Matt called at 6am and said they were up for it if I was. Wow! I am so happy that we did it too because for the next two and a half hours the three of us went around and created some magical images together. We ended up in the lobby by some built in phone booths that I had been eyeing since we walked in and finished shooting there while their guests started coming down for the new day. It was such a laugh too because everyone thought we had spent the whole night together. George joined us at this point too so we dropped him into the other phone both for an image that we all loved.

George and I went up stairs, and worked on the slide show until the very last possible second. Then we flew over to Matt’s Mom’s house for the first brunch. Showed the slide show, and went to Katie’s Mom’s house for an encore presentation. It was so much fun, and everyone really appreciated the effort that went into creating the images and slide show, so it was special to both George and I. So now it is around 1:00, I have eaten three full meals already, and it is time to get on the road. Good thing George was with me because after I almost drove off the road twice in the first ten minutes, we decided that maybe he should drive us home. I got into the passenger seat, passed out in about fifteen seconds, and didn’t wake up until we were about twenty minutes from home.

Monday I slept until 1:00 in the afternoon (very rare for me), then went to do some birthday shopping for my wife, Happy Birthday Heather! Then we went out for a wonderful dinner, came home and I slept again all night. Actually I didn’t start to get my energy back until mid-day on Tuesday, just before I had to go to a photo shoot for my friend Lauren Tillapaugh at the Aurora Inn. My body was exhausted, but it was so worth all of the energy and time involved because we walked away with some of my favorite images of the year so far.

I have some pretty fantastic weddings coming up with some awesome couples but I have to say that it is going to be tough to top this one. No matter what though, Katie and Matt will always have a special place in my heart.

Thank both of you, all of your families, and friends for such an awesome adventure. Special thanks too Katie’s Mom Carol who welcomed us with open arms from the moment we arrived, and constantly looked out for us, making sure we were fed and didn’t need anything. Thanks again George for all of your help, I’m sure that I couldn’t have done as nice of a job with out you, and just spending time together is a treat on its own. Katie and Matt, I wish you two many blessings and love, now and always. Please click on an image to see it larger, and click here for the slideshow.

Kelly and Brian Engagement

If you follow my blog then you should remember Hanny and Jesse's Wedding that I photographed last year. It was without a doubt one of the largest, most beautiful extravaganzas that I have ever been to, let alone photographed. At times there were five photographers, four videographers, and over 800 guests. It was a major amount of work to shoot, and over 100 gigs of photos were recorded. The post-production alone took me months to complete. I would guess that the time involved was equivalent to shooting approximately seven weddings. Would I do it again? For sure! It was a pleasure to be a part of such a gala event, even if I could barely walk by the time it was over.

I spent five days with the families, and really enjoyed doing it with them. The guests saw the effort I put into shooting it, and some of the images, so by the fifth day they would actually applaud whenever I entered a room. Talk about a good feeling! One of the photographers that joined me for the last day was shocked to see this and even commented saying, “Wow, they are applauding for you, that must feel unreal!” It was the first time I had ever witnessed anything like it too, and it did feel really nice to be appreciated so much. After the slide show (which had 630 images) many of the guests came up to me and said they had never seen a photographer work as hard as I do, and that I had covered the wedding better than any Indian photographer they ever saw. They were even more impressed because I wasn’t as familiar with the culture and traditions like an Indian photographer would be.

If you know me then you know that connecting with families, and people is a big part of what I do. It is one of the more pleasurable things about shooting weddings, and a big reason why I do it. I couldn’t help but notice how beautiful Kelly (the bride’s sister) was and the fact that she would be getting married soon too. So I have to admit that she was on my wish list to shoot her wedding in the future. I was ecstatic when Kelly wrote me an email and said that she and Brian had decided on a date and that they would love for me to be their photographer. I am really looking forward to their wedding in September (talk about a gorgeous couple, she reminds me of Sarah Michelle Gellar, only prettier, and my wife says he looks a little like Ben Affleck), and getting reacquainted with all of their friends and family. Can’t wait to see all of you again!
As always, click on an image to see it larger.

Before and After

I have so much work to do, and my phone and email go off constantly (which is a good thing, especially because of how much I love to communicate with everyone). The perfectionist in me can sometimes cause me to fall behind, and unfortunately, some people have had to wait a little longer than usual to see their images. Everyone has been so patient and understanding, so I felt that it was only fair for me to take a few minutes and share some behind the scenes info.

I like to think that I am a pretty good photographer, but it is one thing to compose a beautiful image, find or create light from the heavens, and elicit an emotion from someone that they didn’t even know they expressed, and what actually comes out of the camera. At the risk of giving away secrets of the business, I am going to share some before and after images. Believe it or not, the before have been tweaked a little, but the after have had sometimes up to an hour or two of post-production work done on them. Sometimes it can be fixed easily; sometimes I like an image so much that I will combine images to create a new one. This set is an example of combining images (1+2) = the new one. It took awhile to do, but was it worth it, I like to think so. Sometimes I change whole body parts, or modify them. In this first example I swapped out the whole side of his face, then had to open the new eye, because it wasn’t quite right. Telephone wires were removed, and a ton of other things were done. Sometimes it is so subtle that the conscious mind doesn’t even see them. The sub-conscious always does though. I’m sure many of you have compared images, and like one better but can’t figure out why. That is why. A true master of photography plays on all levels of consciousness. It takes effort and time though, sometimes a lot of time. Unfortunately, it is not one of the things that the photographer can hand off to someone else. It is the creation of a piece of art, and no one knows what I was thinking or attempting to do better than myself.

So thanks again everyone for your patience and understanding. Just know that I am working as hard now as you saw me work at the wedding, and my intention is to deliver the best images I am capable of. I assure you that it will be worth the wait, and thank all of you who have expressed this to me already.

While I am doing an “extra” blog post, I should address another issue. It is feeding your photographer at the wedding. Unfortunately, some vendors just don’t get it, and don’t understand that we have been running non-stop for 6-8 hours already, and insist on feeding us in a corner somewhere after the whole room has been fed. This doesn’t work for so many reasons. I have even been given a bag lunch, when I know that my bride and groom are being charged another meal for me. It is the worst part of the day, and has caused so many problems. The sad thing is that it really doesn’t have to be this way. My good friend Luke Walker (another excellent photographer) just did a blog post called "Eats" addressing this issue. I urge all of you to click on his name and go to his blog and read it. It is well worth the time, and can prevent a lot of problems. There is still a lot of the wedding to photograph at this point. Please make sure that your photographer is replenished so they can continue to put their whole heart and body into what they are doing for you. (Edit) This is an industry wide problem too. After I published this post, a friend sent me this link at WedPix-Magazine, it gives a good account of what Luke and I are talking about. Please understand that all vendors are not like this, some are very good at looking out for us. They are usually the best at what they do, and treat everyone with dignity and respect. Honestly, I don't get it. Which one do you think I am going to recommend?

Thanks everyone, and please hang in there. As always, I promise to do the best I can for you.

Allie and Jake at Sheldrake Point

I knew instantly that Allie and Jake were special when I first met them in NYC for their engagement shoot. They are two of the nicest people one could ever hope to have the privilege of meeting. On their own they are amazing, well-educated, caring individuals. Together they make an incredible team. I know that a lot of people out there are going to be very fortunate to have one of these two as their Doctor. I only wish they lived closer to me because I would be first in line in to sign up.

One of the most fascinating things about what I do is that I get to learn a lot about people, their families, how they were brought up, where they are today, and where they will be tomorrow. The whole experience is a pleasure to witness, and always leaves me with a greater appreciation for love, family, friends, and life.

We started things out at Olivia's American Bistro & Bar for the rehearsal dinner. This place has become a favorite for rehearsal dinners, and I can certainly see why. It has a beautiful decor, an awesome back deck that makes it very spacious, excellent food, and the fabulous Laurie Chadwick is one of the best event coordinators in the area.

The wedding and reception were at Sheldrake Point Vineyard. It was a gorgeous day for everyone at one of the prettiest vineyards in the Finger Lakes area. Tara Reimer of Terra Rosa did an outstanding job coordinating everything. Kris Kellogg from Makeup on Demand did an awesome job helping everyone look incredible.

My good friend Jesse Winter came in from NYC to shoot with me, and it was a pleasure to do this together. His Birthday was the day before, and mine was that day, so Allie asked the band and all the guests to sing us Happy Birthday. It was really nice and appreciated by both of us.

As always, click on an image to see it larger, and click here for the slide show. The wedding announcement was in the NY Post on Sunday. Congratulations Allie and Jake for getting on the the Post's Most Emailed list, and for having your wedding chosen as Wedding Of The Week! Hope you, your families, and friends enjoy it, and that all of your days are filled with love, joy, and blessings.