Tuesday, January 19, 2010 Posted in Weddings
Chase and Karen had a beautiful destination wedding in the Bahamas. Unfortunately I wasn’t invited 
LOL, but I did get the opportunity to photograph their reception when they returned. The reception took place at Grizzly Jack’s Grand Bear Resort in Utica, IL. At first I was a little apprehensive about what the quality of their banquet facilities might be since this is more of a family getaway facility with water parks and carnival rides. But I have to admit, the banquet hall was stunning! It was really well decorated with beautiful lighting and a superb staff. Not only that, with a “carnival” near by it was rediculously fun! hopping on rides with a wedding party is more fun than you might think 
. Here’s a little taste.
I caught these two love birds having a quiet moment outside of the banquet hall. I love the direction lighting falling on the couple and the tonality it adds to the picture.
I thought this cool ambiant light the DJ had set up along the wall really made the cake pop. A little camera tilt gave the image a little more flair.
This silky black and white image beautifully captures Karen and Chase happily gazing at each other during their first dance as husband and wife.
I know this seems out of place but I just couldn’t resist. At Grand Bear they had this cute baby leopard. Check out the bling this cat is rockin’!
The lovely couple riding this awesome carousel at the amusement park.
And last but not least, who can resist a quick kiss in front of the swing buggy?! It’s like blinky light heaven! LOL.
A special thanks to Chase and Karen for the amazing time we had at your beautiful reception. And an extra extra special thanks to the wonderful staff at Grand Bear Resort.
-Corlis :: Contact Me
Chicago Wedding Photographer | Naperville Wedding | Destination Wedding Photography
Tags: amusement park, banquet facilities, Chicago, chicago wedding, Destination Wedding, destination wedding photography, Grand Bear Resort, husband and wife, Naperville, Photographer, Photography, Starved Rock State Park, water parks, wedding destination, wedding in the bahamas, wedding party, Wedding Photographer, Wedding Photography, Weddings
If you’ve visited my site before, or if you know me on a personal level, then you know I spend A LOT of time out at Starved Rock State Park in Utica, IL. I just love it there. Engagement sessions, weddings, and even just hiking and being silent in God’s creation. So this day was no exception, Jonathan and Jamie live in Ottawa, IL and wanted my suggestion as to where they should have their engagement session. Since Ottawa is very close to Starved Rock, that’s immediately where my mind went. This may sound contradicting, but to give the images from their session a fresher look i gave many of the images a vintage treatment. Here is a small sample.
I separated Jonathan and Jamie and shot with a wide angle lens to show the immenseness of this canyon. The vintage processing really gives this photograph an aged appearance and brings out the contrast detail of the waterfall.
Here the sun is acting as a hair light intensifying the dimension and the separation from the background.
Here the shallow depth of field diminishes the distractions of the background and brings your attention to the beautiful couple.
I love this natural pose. It really shows a true interaction between Jamie and Jonathan. No fake smiles here.
I used a lot of negative space in this photograph to accentuate the towering trees and show how vast this forest really was.
This canopy of evergreens was just too beautiful to pass up with the sun setting behind them. The long shadows add to the drama along with Jamie and Jonathan being silhouetted with a halo of light around them.
Thank you Jonathan and Jamie for spending the day with me in such a beautiful place just getting to know each other. It was great to share a walk in such a beautiful place with some great conversation.
-Corlis :: Contact Me
Chicago Wedding Photographer | Naperville Wedding | Destination Wedding Photography
Tags: Chicago, chicago wedding, Destination Wedding, destination wedding photography, illinois, Naperville, Photographer, Photography, Starved Rock State Park, Utica Illinois, wedding destination, Wedding Photographer, Wedding Photography, Weddings
Saturday, January 16, 2010 Posted in Weddings
This amazing wedding took place at Starved Rock State Park in Utica, IL. Just about an hour and a half southwest of Chicago. Starved Rock has to be one of my favorite places for a wedding getaway. The lodge is beautiful and the scenery is second to none. This wedding was no exception. I have to say, Laci and Ian are, what I like to refer to as, “beautiful people”. We all wish we were as good looking as these two. At least I do, lol. It was virtually impossible for me to take a bad picture of them. To top it all off, they were genuinely just good hearted people which made my job just that much easier. For this Chicago wedding photographer, this is as good as it gets.
I probably looked pretty silly from other people’s perspectives, but laying on the floor and adding a slight camera tilt, gave this shot a little edginess.
Here the shallow depth of field draws your attention to the groom gazing at his soon to be wife.
I love the very editorial look of this photograph. The punchy colors ad to the drama of this photo. Just a small note, this was NOT posed. I just captured a really stunning moment of Laci gazing out the window of the trolley, just soaking in the days events.
Here the shallow depth of field and the sharpness of Laci really brings out her eyes. They are almost mesmerizing. It doesn’t hurt that she’s done some modeling either. LOL.
In this image I placed a flash behind Laci and Ian as they were dancing to capture a silhouette of them dancing while using another flash to give a slight fill light. With the long shutter speed I could grab some of the ambient light surrounding them and in the background. I think it’s a wonderfully romantic image.
Ian and Laci, you are truly two very wonderful people, and I wish you all the best. Your wedding was almost as rockin’ as you!
-Corlis :: Contact Me
Chicago Wedding Photographer | Naperville Wedding | Destination Wedding Photography
Tags: Chicago, chicago wedding, Destination Wedding, destination wedding photography, illinois, Naperville, Photographer, Photography, Starved Rock State Park, Utica Illinois, wedding destination, Wedding Photographer, Wedding Photography, Weddings
Wednesday, January 13, 2010 Posted in Weddings
This beautiful wedding took place in small town Morris, IL. About an hour southwest of Chicago. As you’ll see, we found a hidden treasure of this old rundown building. While traveling to Gebhard Woods, a small community park, I got a little lost, lol, and found this great place. It really contrasted the elegance of the wedding attire. Here’s a small sample of this truly gorgeous wedding.
The cross process look and extreme sharpness of this image give it a very editorial feel.
I love the smooth tones and contrast of this image. This old iron stairway gives it a really grunge/urban feel even though it was shot in a small rural town.
The shallow depth of feel gives this image a artsy feel. While the fast shutter speed freezes the tiny candy hearts in mid air to really add to the detail in this action shot.
Here the vintage process applied to the image gives a really dramatic feel to another very urban feeling image.
In this image I wanted to give the impression of a high fashion magazine style image. The contrast and bright colors really make it pop.
Another vintage treatment with a GQ style pose really makes this image stand out.
Thanks Joe and Ashley for not letting the weather dampen your spirits. You were truly great sports. We gad a great time and hope you love your pictures as much as we do.
-Corlis :: Contact Me
Chicago Wedding Photographer | Naperville Wedding | Destination Wedding Photography
Monday, January 11, 2010 Posted in Weddings
When it comes to beautiful ceremonies, this one takes the cake! This beautiful wedding began at Starved Rock State Park in Utica, IL. The ceremony and this exquisite church was located near LaSalle, IL. Finally, the reception took place at Oak Ridge Golf Club in Seneca, IL. As a Chicago wedding photographer I get the opportunity to travel to a lot of wonderful locations all over Illinois. These are some of the best when it comes to rustic beauty!
The natural light coming through the stained glass in this church was simply amazing. It allowed me to shoot without a flash and capture all of the shadow and light detail. What I love about this photograph is stunning shimmer of the gold wall.
Shooting from the organ/choir loft here gave me a different perspective and allowed me to capture more of the detail of this beautiful wall.
The shallow depth of field in this image draws your attention to the emotion in Audrey and Marks faces without losing the beauty of the background.
Here the architectural detail of the balcony adds to the drama of this high fashion group shot.
Getting down low and using the low sun to silhouette
Thank you guys for the wonderful time! We had a great time taking the golf carts for a ride and freezing our butts off LOL.
-Corlis :: Contact Me
Chicago Wedding Photographer | Naperville Wedding | Destination Wedding Photography
Tags: Chicago, Destination Wedding, Engagements, Naperville, Photographer, Photography, Seneca, Starved Rock State Park, Utica Illinois, Wedding Photographer, Wedding Photography, Weddings
Sunday, January 3, 2010 Posted in Weddings
Ben is a VERY talented pianist in Chicago. Abigail studies monkeys in Africa. When I put it that way you might assume these two couldn’t be more different, but you’d be wrong. Being that Ben is a musician, and his name isn’t P-Diddy or John Mayer, he isn’t exactly making billions. Abigail is, what I consider to be a genius of sorts, holding something like 1,000,000 degrees in anthropology, so she’ll be paying off school bills until her grand-kids have grand-kids. They don’t have all the money in the world. What they do have in excess is LOVE. Not just any kind of love. Hot pink, Hollywood, roman candle, kinda love. I thought I knew what love was until I met these two.
So being that they have more school loans than the U.S. deficit, but all the love in the world (literally). God was smiling on them one day and led them to me. I just so happen to do 3 pro bono weddings per year for couples in exactly their predicament. After reading the most heart warming email from Abby, I decided to meet with them.
We met in a little coffee shop in Morris, IL called Brewed Awakenings. From there we sat over a couple hot cups of joe and got to know each other. The rest is history.
Here is their wedding shot in Seneca, IL. Just a couple hours outside of Chicago.
The shallow depth of field and the grainyness of this image really add an artistic feel to this image that I love.
There is nothing better than capturing the true happiness and excitement of a bride.
Ben and Abbi, I just can’t say enough great things about you guys. You are two very wonderful people and I wish you all the best throughout your lives.
-Corlis :: Contact Me
Chicago Wedding Photographer | Naperville Wedding | Destination Wedding Photography
Monday, December 21, 2009 Posted in Weddings
What can I say, I love backyard weddings. Especially when they’re in small towns. Everyone coming together, family, friends, neighbors. It’s amazing sometimes how two people falling in love can bring an entire community together for one special occasion. This wedding was shot at Goose Lake near Coal City, about an hour or so south of Chicago. I love how they incorporated their love for lake life into their wedding. Here are some of my favorite photographs from the day.
I fell in love with this antique Cadillac De-Ville. The shallow depth of field really draws your eye to the badge.
Here’s another shot of the car, this time with the bride sitting on the back. I like the contrast of the white dress, black car, and the colorful bouquet.
Instead of dad walking his little girl down the aisle, they rode together in an antique boat that he rebuilt himself just for her wedding. It was really touching, and a little stressful since he was still working on it up until a few minutes before the wedding. This was the maiden voyage.
I can’t say it enough, REAL SMILES, that’s what makes my job so wonderful. It is just so satisfying to capture a true expression of happiness.
LOL. I had to include this one, just because this was the only expression I could coax from this little guy the whole day.
An old dock, a beautiful sky, and two beautiful people dressed in all white wedding apparel. What’s not to like?
Thank you guys for the really fun time and the boat ride…haha. Me and Michelle had a great time!
-Corlis :: Contact Me!
Chicago Wedding Photographer | Naperville Wedding | Destination Wedding Photography
Audrey and Mark are some of the sweetest people I’ve ever met. They are truly genuine and kind spirited people. I really enjoyed this shoot because they were just so playful! They had no problem gettin’ a little dirty AND WET. It was just like going hiking with two good friends I’d known for years. The engagement photography was done at Starved Rock State Park in Utica, IL. (It sure does seem like I’m there an awful lot doesn’t it? Maybe I should just move out there and become the “Starved Rock Photographer” LOL.)
I just love doing this shot. People are always so much more relaxed when the pose isn’t really a pose. The greatest expressions always come when a couple is simply interacting naturally.
This shot is so great! I told Mark and Audrey to play and have some fun and that is exactly what they did. All of my clients and friends know I like to get a little dirty when I’m shooting, so I’m glad they joined in the fun.
This shot is great because Mark was being such a gentleman. He volunteered to carry his lovely fiance’ out of the water. Plus the contrast of the rock behind them was just beautiful.
I love this depth of field photograph. It really draws the attention to the flip flops in the sand and gives you the impression they’re in some cove in the tropics or something. Even though their just at Starved Rock.
Genuine Smiles! They always come after the fake one people give for the photographer. LOL. This is one of those special moments I look for when people think I’m not shooting. 
Audrey has some beautiful eyes and I wanted to capture that. I love how they are dead center and your eye is drawn there immediately.
Thank you guys for such a fun time. You know how I like to get dirty and roll around on the ground and you had NO problem with that.
-Corlis :: Contact Me!
Chicago Wedding Photographer | Naperville Wedding | Destination Wedding Photography | Naperville Wedding Photographer
Tags: Chicago, chicago wedding, Destination Wedding, destination wedding photography, Engagements, Naperville, Photographer, Photography, Starved Rock State Park, Utica Illinois, wedding destination, Wedding Photographer, Wedding Photography, Weddings
Ok so I’ve spent the entire day watching some pretty amazing video’s on blogging from Lawrence Chan (Tofurious). Thanks to Lawrence for the hook-up for [b] school members! They should actually be called blogging techniques AND marketing strategies. I’m pretty inspired, especially since I just started blogging last week. These videos are offering me a lot of great insight and I believe if applied correctly they can really help me grow my business. Whether your a photographer or not, a seasoned blogger or newbie, these videos will give you some great ideas on how to connect with potential and existing clients! I highly recommend them!
- Now I’m going to have to lie cheat and steal to find a way to afford the SEO video’s
Here's a screen shot from the "review things" movie.
-Corlis :: Contact Me!
Naperville Wedding | Chicago Wedding Photographer | Destination Wedding Photography
Laci an ex-model turned hair stylist and Ian were a pleasure to work with. They were just so easy going and surprisingly prepared 
It was as if they were born in front of the camera, they were just so at ease and that made my job that much easier. Their engagement session took place in downtown Chicago near the Lincoln Park Zoo. It was a fairly hot day with some extremely harsh light, but we found lots of great shade to shoot in and had a great time! I just can’t wait to do their wedding photography!
What I like about this shot: The light was perfectly soft underneath the umbrella on this bistro table which allowed me to perfectly expose for their faces. I thought it was great that I could get the name of the cafe’ into the shot to document the beautiful location we were at.
I added a little vignette to this image to focus our attention on the beautiful couple. Notice how Laci has created a broken angle with her leg, adding more drama to this image.
This close up is just amazing! There are some beautiful highlights in their eyes giving them a sparkle. We were in some beautiful shade on this one which gave us really great and even skin tones.
I used a fairly shallow depth of field on this image to give it a more artistic look and to get rid of some of the distractions in the background. I love the relaxed expressions on their faces, they were naturals!
This is a really fun and playful image. The light breaking through the trees in the back ground adds drama, and since the couple were fully shaded the skin tones are beautiful. The shallow depth of field draws the viewers attention directly to the subject.
I walked around for a while to find this spot. It was pretty difficult being that it was downtown Chicago. I love the contrast of nature meets urban landscape in this one. It looks like they are spending the perfect afternoon downtown picnicking.
I cant say enough how much of a great time I really had with you guys. I love any excuse to get to the city and just spend a day taking in the sights and I couldn’t think of two better people to do it with!
-Corlis :: Contact Me!
Naperville | Wedding Photographer | Destination Wedding Photography | Chicago
Tags: Chicago, chicago wedding, Destination Wedding, destination wedding photography, Engagements, Naperville, Photographer, Photography, wedding destination, Wedding Photographer, Wedding Photography, Weddings
by Corlis Gray
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