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Itty Bitties of ’09

Corlis Gray — Sun, 18 Jul 2010 21:53:24 +0000

It was a warm and breezy day. The sun was shining, the air was sweet with the aromas of spring. I couldn’t help but pack up my gear and head to the Naperville Riverwalk. As I strolled along the DuPage River, under antique wooden bridges reminiscent of days long past, I couldn’t help but notice that spring was in the air. Not in the sense that birds were chirping and the trees were a bloom, while those things were very present. More so, there were literally hundreds of baby bumps of all different shapes and sizes adhering to glowing mommies enjoying the first signs of natures yearly rebirth.

This got me thinking of all of the wonderful little ones, which I lovingly refer to as itty bitties, I had the privilege of capturing in ’09. So I compiled a few of my favorites, kind of a “year in review” of sorts. I hope you enjoy it

Audrey & Mark :: Wedding

Corlis Gray — Sun, 27 Jun 2010 14:36:36 +0000

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

Ian & Laci :: Wedding

Corlis Gray — Sun, 27 Jun 2010 01:36:51 +0000

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

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Hometown Honeymoon :: Janna & Casey

Corlis Gray — Sat, 26 Jun 2010 00:55:08 +0000

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!

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What the heck is an Oberwortmann? :: Jill & Dave

Corlis Gray — Wed, 23 Jun 2010 21:57:10 +0000

Jill and Dave are a cute couple I met from the Manhattan, IL area. They had been dating for 10 years and Dave FINALLY popped the question. Shortly after they found out Jill was pregnant By the time the wedding came around Jill had developed a little baby bump. But that did stop her from rockin a tight dress. You go girl. It had rained the majority of the week and into that morning. At the last minute the clouds parted, the sun started shining, and the Lord blessed them with a beautiful day for their outdoor wedding. Their wedding was held at the Barber & Oberwortmann Horticultural Center in Joliet, IL.

Congratulations you guys. I wish you all the happiness in the world! And don’t forget you promised to name your baby after me LOL

Your Friend,

Corlis – Contact Me!

Joliet | Destination Wedding Photography | Chicago | Naperville | Wedding Photographer

Joe & Ashley :: Wedding

Corlis Gray — Tue, 22 Jun 2010 20:45:24 +0000

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

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Chase & Karen :: Wedding

Corlis Gray — Tue, 22 Jun 2010 08:10:01 +0000

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

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Not Just Another Walk in the Park :: Tim & Madison

Corlis Gray — Mon, 21 Jun 2010 19:37:10 +0000

It was about 11 am. I started packing up my camera bag with all the essentials…you know…camera’s, lenses, flashes, cards. I headed out for a quick brunch and ran some errands.

Sounds like a normal day as a photographer. I headed out at about 2 to scout the area where I’d be shooting Tim and Madison’s engagement session. Little did I know I’d be driving around for the next 2 hours back and forth past the very place I needed to be. LOL. Nobody’s perfect right? Good thing I left 2 hours early.

Enter Gebhard Woods in Morris, IL. A pleasant little treasure trove of green foliage and manicured lawns. We had a great time hiking and getting a little dirty to get some great shots

Thanks to Tim and Madison for the great time

-Corlis :: Contact me!

Gebhard Woods Morris, IL | Destination Wedding Photography | Chicago | Naperville | Wedding Photographer

Double Trouble :: Lupe & Kate

Corlis Gray — Sat, 19 Jun 2010 17:39:20 +0000

Lupe & Harry & Kate & Jorge. Lol…what’s that saying? Threes company and fours a crowd? Not in this case. This double wedding was a truly great experience for me. It took me some time to figure out how this all came about, but eventually I got it. Lupe and Jorge are siblings, and Harry and Kate are the significant others. The great thing was they all got along like they’d been family forever. From clever banter to hugs and joy, they never skipped a beat. I do have to admit. Keeping up with two couples and making sure everyone got an equal amount of camera time plus ensuring I got the shots and they looked natural, was quite a challenge. I was exhausted by the end of this beautiful wedding. The ceremony and reception took place at the Chateau Bu-Sche’ in Alsip, IL.

I don’t know what they were saying to one another, but I’m sure it had something to do with calming a few wedding day jitters

Now this is one handsome ring bearer.

Nothing like some gangsta white suspenders for your wedding

Thank you Lupe, Kate, Harry, and Jorge for letting us spend your unique Chicago wedding with you. We just hope the photography did it justice.

-Corlis :: Contact Me!

Alsip | Destination Wedding Photography | Chicago | Naperville | Wedding Photographer

Hot Town Summer in the City :: Laci & Ian

Corlis Gray — Fri, 18 Jun 2010 07:34:23 +0000

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!

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Itty Bitties of ’09

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