When people marry and become one couple, their dreams marry as well. Of course, each person retains his or her personal and professional dreams or goals, but the wedding created a new entity – the shared dream of a happy and fulfilling life together. The wedding is the first step onto a bridge that leads to a shared life and it’s important for the couple to realize that. Sometimes people expect that being able to place the marriage first will automatically happen upon completion of the successful wedding.  Sometimes it does! Usually, however, that’s when the work on communication, open-mindedness, finding balance, and compromise begins.

It will be helpful in getting settled into your marriage to look at your wedding photos, remembering the day when you rose to the occasion of putting your relationship above your individual self. Look at the photos of the parents and grandparents, aunts and uncles, who walked across that same bridge in their day, and not only survived but thrived. Other than the birth of a child, a wedding day is when human hopes are at their height. Couples step forward in faith and hope that they are creating a wonderful new life together. Knowing that their elders did that too helps. 

Take three minutes to look over a prospective photographer’s website. Take three minutes to talk to him or her. If your heart speaks to you, then you’re all set for the next step in booking your wedding photography. It really is that simple.

You listened to your heart when you said yes to getting married. It will be helpful in all your planning to listen to your heart in making the myriad of decisions required to have the wedding of your dreams. You’ll listen too much to other people’s ideas if you don't. This is your once-in-a-lifetime event. Only you and your fiancé know what best presents you as a couple and your commitment, to the world.

Take advantage of the beautiful Lake Erie Sunsets.

No matter how much you love your family and they love you, wedding planning puts stress on everyone. At the time when people should be most supportive, they sometimes revert to childish behaviors and old grievances. When trouble arises, or you seem to be worrying more than having fun, stop, take a breath, and reach out to those you can count on to help you restore peace.

Happy people…happy photographer…happy bride! Happiness will shine through your wedding pictures. Almost every one of all ages looks better with a smile on their face. That’s why babies coo and wiggle their arms and legs when people look down at them smiling. Humans are wired to respond to smiles. Weddings are typically happy occasions when there is a lot of smiling so the photography turns out well. However, if the bride is too stressed, no one is happy.  More than anything else, a happy bride means beautiful pictures. So plan well and on your special day, let it all go and smile!

The first kiss of the newly minted husband and wife is important to nearly all couples, yet it usually occurs in an awkward situation. So, what’s the solution? If only for the purpose of the photo, do the first kiss in a private setting. Make it a stress-free first kiss, so all the emotion and joy you feel is present. It’s okay to do two first kisses – one for the audience – and one for the photo.

May it be the first of a million kisses you will give to one another over a long and joyful marriage.

Wedding expenses are no small matter. Being part of someone else’s wedding party can be expensive too. Today there are so many facets of a wedding: engagement party, bachelor party, bachelorette party, destination travel costs, gowns, clothing, and of course…the gift!

The average cost of being a bridesmaid ranges from $1200 to $2000 these days. Sometimes all the expense infringes on friendship. The more people in the wedding, the more costly it will be. Some brides and grooms now choose to have one attendant each, and they don’t have to be the same sex.  A bride can have her brother as attendant, a groom his sister, etc.

If it is important to you and your fiancé that the wedding include a shared meal, then cutting down on the wedding party expenses can be a way to find funds for food.

Wedding traditions evolve and change. Each couple is free to create their own experience. Just to be sure to photograph it all for your future generations!

If you find an exceptional day for your photo shoot, but it’s not the wedding or engagement day, give Daniel Photo Pro a call. If at all possible, we will go to the special place you’ve found that you want to be part of your life story right away. Sometimes the best photos are spontaneous. Keep your boots at the ready!

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Northeast Ohio is photogenic! We have many spaces indoors and out that make memorable engagement and wedding photos. Regardless of the season or size of the wedding, we can create your unique love story in pictures that you'll love. To choose a great engagement or wedding venue, you have to look with a professional photographer's eye. Light, lines, patterns, framing, symmetry, spontaneity, changing light through the day, natural elements, and manmade elements - all of these come into play when creating a great photographic background.

Cleveland Sign

Iza&George 2015 The Arcade in downtown Cleveland

DanielPhotoProDanielPhotoPro The Flats

DanielPhotoProDanielPhotoPro Pier W

Cleveland Museum of Art

Iza&George 2015 Heinen's of Downtown Cleveland

Lake Erie

DanielPhotoProDanielPhotoPro Miller Nature Preserve - Lorain County Metro Parks

Schoepfle Garden

DanielPhotoProDanielPhotoPro The Cultural Gardens

Olmsted Falls East River Park

DanielPhotoProDanielPhotoPro Progressive Field Cleveland Indians

Renaissance Cleveland Hotel

DanielPhotoProDanielPhotoPro Edgewater Park

Wedding planning often starts with looking through magazines and websites to find the pieces and parts that will make your wedding uniquely yours. Look deeper. Your own life, your treasures, your experiences, and what you consider to be style should be in the plan. This is a good thing to keep in mind when you’re looking at others’ photos. What is your style? What is your art of living?

British actress Helena Bonham Carter has a great quote about this very subject.

“I think everything in life is art.  What you do. How you dress. The way you love someone, and how you talk. Your smile and your personality. What you believe in, and all your dreams. The way you drink your tea. How you decorate your home. Or party. Your grocery list. The food you make. How your writing looks. And the way you feel. Life is art.”

She’s right. For many young people, a wedding is the first time they integrate all the aspects of themselves and their relationship into an event. It will set the stage for the unfolding of the rest of your life and your art of living. Look carefully at the style of our photos. We try to capture the style and spirit of our subjects. That’s why they differ. At Daniel Photo Pro, we have no set “wedding style”, we seek to capture the art of living of our clients.

If you got engaged over the holidays or even talked about marrying in the next two years, congratulations! Becoming engaged ignites an inner joy in two people that is like no other. The realization that you’re in love enough to commit to each other for life is an incredibly good feeling. Hold on to that awareness through the process as planning gets hectic. Know also that when you stand across from one another in the wedding ceremony to speak your vows, that feeling will come back again even stronger.

So after the initial euphoria of getting engaged has diminished, what do you do? First, have some heart-to-heart talks with your betrothed to understand what kind of wedding you want to have. Do it together. Weddings, like the marriage that follows, are about two people. If one wants a large one and the other wants something intimate, work out a compromise.

 When you have it, start planning. It helps a lot to imagine the wedding day and backtrack from there. Reach out to the big four as soon as you can: the venue, the officiant, the photographer, and key family members. Engagement photos supply you with the Save the Date photo. Post-pandemic travel is at an all-time high so you need to get your Save the Date cards out fast. Then, the caterer, the band, the florist, and all things that involve professionals should be booked. Of course, a heart-to-heart talk with each other and/or parents about paying for your wedding should occur early on. Don’t forget the honeymoon!

Use the excitement within you to energize your wedding planning. You can do this…together.

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Free Valentine's Day Couple Photo Session 

Value $250

Photos for Valentine's Day save the date or engagement announcement

Two hour session (includes setup)

Choice of settings both indoor and outdoor

Photos can later be added to an engagement or wedding album

No contract requirement

Contact us today:

Phone for Voice or Text: 440-787-3806

Email: support@danielphotopro.com

Website: www.danielphotopro.com

We are an Avon Lake-based photography studio serving clients throughout northeast Ohio. We are a registered Ohio business.

These Christmas deals are our way of sharing the spirit of Christmas with new friends who are considering becoming engaged or married. We desire only to offer you photos for your pleasure that we are certain will bring you joy. We have 20 years of photography experience primarily with engagements and weddings, and also with children, families, and pets.

Call today to schedule your Christmas deal or to ask questions. There will be no pressure whatsoever other than our availability on a date that works for you. Merry Christmas!

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Free Family Photo Session 

Value $550

Family photo for future save the date or engagement announcement

Any size family

Two hour session (includes setup)

Choice of settings both indoor and outdoor

Photos can later be added to an engagement or wedding album

No contract requirement

Contact us today:

Phone for Voice or Text: 440-787-3806

Email: support@danielphotopro.com

Website: www.danielphotopro.com

We are an Avon Lake-based photography studio serving clients throughout northeast Ohio. We are a registered Ohio business.

These Christmas deals are our way of sharing the spirit of Christmas with new friends who are considering becoming engaged or married. We desire only to offer you photos for your pleasure that we are certain will bring you joy. We have 20 years of photography experience primarily with engagements and weddings, and also with children, families, and pets.

Call today to schedule your Christmas deal or to ask questions. There will be no pressure whatsoever other than our availability on a date that works for you. Merry Christmas!

Free Pet with Couple Photo Session 

Value $350

Photos for save the date or engagement announcement

Photos of pet alone and with couple

Two hour session (includes setup)

Choice of settings both indoor and outdoor

Photos can later be added to an engagement or wedding album

No contract requirement

Contact us today:

Phone for Voice or Text: 440-787-3806

Email: support@danielphotopro.com

Website: www.danielphotopro.com

We are an Avon Lake-based photography studio serving clients throughout northeast Ohio. We are a registered Ohio business.

These Christmas deals are our way of sharing the spirit of Christmas with new friends who are considering becoming engaged or married. We desire only to offer you photos for your pleasure that we are certain will bring you joy. We have 20 years of photography experience primarily with engagements and weddings, and also with children, families, and pets.

Call today to schedule your Christmas deal or to ask questions. There will be no pressure whatsoever other than our availability on a date that works for you. Merry Christmas!

Free Photo Album with Engagement Session 

Value $300

Full color 12 page album

Includes your favorite engagement session photos

Hardbound cover with 8 X 10 inch pages

No contract requirement

Contact us today:

Phone for Voice or Text: 440-787-3806

Email: support@danielphotopro.com

Website: www.danielphotopro.com

We are an Avon Lake-based photography studio serving clients throughout northeast Ohio. We are a registered Ohio business.

These Christmas deals are our way of sharing the spirit of Christmas with new friends who are considering becoming engaged or married. We desire only to offer you photos for your pleasure that we are certain will bring you joy. We have 20 years of photography experience primarily with engagements and weddings and with children, families and pets.

Call today to schedule your Christmas deal or to ask questions. There will be no pressure whatsoever other than our availability on a date that works for you. Merry Christmas!

DanielPhotoPro

Free Pet with Couple Photo Session 

Value $350

Photos for save the date or engagement announcement

Photos of pet alone and with couple

Two hour session (includes setup)

Choice of settings both indoor and outdoor

Photos can later be added to an engagement or wedding album

No contract requirement

Contact us today:

Phone for Voice or Text: 440-787-3806

Email: support@danielphotopro.com

Website: www.danielphotopro.com

We are an Avon Lake-based photography studio serving clients throughout northeast Ohio. We are a registered Ohio business.

These Christmas deals are our way of sharing the spirit of Christmas with new friends who are considering becoming engaged or married. We desire only to offer you photos for your pleasure that we are certain will bring you joy. We have 20 years of photography experience primarily with engagements and weddings, and also with children, families, and pets.

Call today to schedule your Christmas deal or to ask questions. There will be no pressure whatsoever other than our availability on a date that works for you. Merry Christmas!

Value $250

Photos for save the date or engagement announcement

Two hour session (includes setup)

Choice of settings both indoor and outdoor

No contract requirement

Contact us today:

Phone for Voice or Text: 440-787-3806

Email: support@danielphotopro.com

Website: www.danielphotopro.com

We are an Avon Lake-based photography studio serving clients throughout northeast Ohio. We are a registered Ohio business.

These Christmas deals are our way of sharing the spirit of Christmas with new friends who are considering becoming engaged or married. We desire only to offer you photos for your pleasure that we are certain will bring you joy. We have 20 years of photography experience primarily with engagements and weddings, and also with children, families, and pets.

Call today to schedule your Christmas deal or to ask questions. There will be no pressure whatsoever other than our availability on a date that works for you. Merry Christmas!

DanielPhotoProDanielPhotoPro

Free Photo Album with Engagement Session 

Value $300

Full color 12 page album

Includes your favorite engagement session photos

Hardbound cover with 8 X 10 inch pages

No contract requirement

Contact us today:

Phone for Voice or Text: 440-787-3806

Email: support@danielphotopro.com

Website: www.danielphotopro.com

We are an Avon Lake-based photography studio serving clients throughout northeast Ohio. We are a registered Ohio business.

These Christmas deals are our way of sharing the spirit of Christmas with new friends who are considering becoming engaged or married. We desire only to offer you photos for your pleasure that we are certain will bring you joy. We have 20 years of photography experience primarily with engagements and weddings and with children, families and pets.

Call today to schedule your Christmas deal or to ask questions. There will be no pressure whatsoever other than our availability on a date that works for you. Merry Christmas!

On your wedding day, what’s old is new again. What in the world does that mean? You’ve known the woman or man you’re marrying for some time. You’re familiar with many expressions or mannerisms that are unique to them in times of delight, happiness, excitement or even sorrow. By the time the wedding day rolls around, you’ve both done so much planning that you’re sure you know exactly how it will all unfold. Yet…when the day dawns a certain magic unique to wedding days swirls in the air and suddenly you realize it’s going to be a day like no other.

The first look at your bride in her wedding gown or your groom in his tuxedo is often where the magic begins. A wave of emotions will sweep over you…pride, joy, wonder, gratitude. The first look into each other’s eyes when the wedding vows begin to be spoken, the first kiss as a married couple, the first time you turn to face your friends and family as husband and wife…they’re all moments of life that are exquisitely unique to you and your beloved. The magic continues through the day as more and more first looks take place for you, your new spouse and your families. It’s why weddings are loved by all.

Because brides traditionally do a lot more of the wedding planning, on the wedding day, they’re not only brides, but event planners too. Brides cannot help but look around to make sure everything is the way they want it. Grooms are often part of the planning, but on the wedding day, they generally have more time to think. What do they think about? In interviewing grooms, we hear that in the back of their minds, they’re pondering what a very big deal this day is in the history of their lives. They’ve reached a milestone that puts them in a new league – that of husbands and possibly fathers – who have families of their own. The reality of the idea that it’s not just me anymore, sinks in. Grooms often feel not only an overwhelming love for their brides, but also a little bit of pride in themselves that they have come this far in life. Brides can shower their grooms with extra love on the wedding day by realizing that their beloveds might be secretly thinking very deep thoughts about their lives and future.

Some weddings are meant to be large and splendid; others - particularly second or third marriage ceremonies, are meant to be small and simple. That’s the beautiful thing about weddings…each couple can choose the experience they want to have when they wed. The important thing is to always give space in the wedding event for love to shine. Weddings are not meant to be fast-moving events. They are significant milestones in people’s lives where solemn moments, like looking into each other’s eyes during the vows, should be allowed ample time. Choosing the setting or venue for a small wedding is also important because it is part of the blend of elements that create the feeling of a wedding. Nature, such as the large weeping willow tree, next to a body of water, is an ideal setting. Big trees with their outstretched branches are like arms that nurture those beneath.

Many couples, when planning their wedding, want dozens of photos of activities, family, and friends. However, the heart and soul of the day and the commitment being made are often found in the quieter photos.  Leave time in your photography schedule for nature and spirit!  After the big day is over, and you're looking at your pictures, you'll be happy that you did. The wonder of your wedding experience will be reflected in the quieter photos. 

Every couple who falls in love and decides to marry creates a new vision for their lives. When the “you and I” thinking transforms into the “we” thinking, fresh and exciting possibilities emerge. That’s why bridal showers, wedding showers, and gifts are part of the celebration. They help the couple to begin life anew. How then, to integrate one’s past, one’s culture, and one’s family traditions into a wedding and still keep it authentic to the desires of the couple?

Honoring your culture and your parents without letting them take over the vision of your wedding experience takes some careful consideration, especially if they’re paying for it. Before you begin, think deeply about what you love about your culture or traditions and get clear in your mind about the aspects you want to integrate into your wedding. Be sure you and your fiancé are in agreement, then respectfully but firmly work out the details with your family. There are ways to honor your past and unfold your future if you take the time to understand within yourselves what that means to you. Think before you plan!

Life is a wonder! Marriages that bring two families together to create a new family are the springboard for joy to come. The creation of families is why humanity, with all its disagreements and discontent, goes on and on. In a relationship where two people have fallen in love deeply enough that they are ready to wed, it seems that the relationship is all about them. However, when the time comes to tell others they’ve decided to wed, the announcement is a spark. It’s the alchemy that begins the creation of a new and greater family. As love grows for the two lovers it affects everyone.

Not always, but sometimes, children are the result of love and marriage. And they are the greatest wonder of it all. They are the reason that love never dies on our planet. Like the wonders of each season, children carry on the tradition of families. So if you’re planning a wedding, remember that after all the work is done and you are wed, it will all be worth it.

In the days following their weddings, most brides and grooms reflect on the experience a great deal – what worked, what they wish they had done differently, what they would do if they could do it all over. In our years of wedding photography, we have seen one thing that makes a wedding successful. Attention to Detail.

Wedding planning can be maddening because most couples haven’t done it before. Yet, they need to create one of the most important experiences of their lives! Attention to detail which starts long before the actual event, is critical. If a bride is not naturally a good record keeper or organizer, this is the time to get someone to help.

The second most important thing is not to procrastinate, but to act decisively. That can be difficult when you don’t feel like you know what you’re doing. If ever there was a time in your life to renounce procrastination, wedding planning is it. Book your venue, your photographer, your officiant, your caterer etc., as early as possible. Ask them to help you think everything through. In photography, engagement sessions are particularly helpful in the realm of attention to detail. A photographer who is shooting your photos for a second time will know how the camera sees you. All people are photogenic with an excellent photographer, especially if he or she has the advantage of time. The secret to a satisfying wedding experience is Attention to Detail…Now! 

Why is Fall a Great Season for Weddings?  
 Historically June has been the most popular month for weddings. It has the potential of good weather, and lots of flowers in bloom. However, June can be temperamental. Cold one day and hot the next, June can also be overcast and rainy. Fall is a surprisingly good time for weddings. In early fall, the weather tends to be cooler which is much nicer for most guests and for stressed-out brides and grooms. You can always add a layer of clothing in the fall, but there are only so many clothes you can take off at a summer wedding, as men who’ve sweated in suits and ties will tell you!  The best part about fall is that the colors of changing leaves, in their vibrant yellow, gold, orange and red hues, offer a warm palette that enhances both skin and hair. These warm tones also work well in creating stunning décor for the reception. Fall blooming flowers in a multitude of warm tones can be used in pots for the wedding and also grace your new home once you’re married. Fall colors look wonderful in all kinds of wedding photos. Yes, fall is a colorful and pleasurable time of year for a wedding.

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Undoubtedly, wedding planning is stressful for numerous reasons. Cost is certainly one of them. Since most couples only plan a wedding once (hopefully) or twice in a lifetime, they have a lack of experience that sometimes yields disappointment after the event is over. There are two areas which should be handled carefully in wedding planning to assure a happy future.

One area is in the handling of family, especially future in-laws. Although each couple should be true to themselves in creating the wedding that suits them, including family in the process can influence relationships for years to come.  Try to include all of your new family in your wedding planning in some way, however small. Be patient with those whose help feels like interference. In the end, everyone just wants to be happy.

The second area is in the realm of photography. The photos you have taken grow in value as the years go by. They capture this essential experience in your life as nothing else can. Imagine looking through them on your 20^th wedding anniversary. Choose a photographer that will take exquisite care in photographing your unique wedding experience.

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Our magnificent Great Lake Erie with its rocky shoreline and fascinating cliffs create a natural and stunning background for engagement and wedding photos.  The lake and its shore are millions of years old so that in photos, the continuity of nature supports the beautiful ideal of endless love. Sunset photos are fabulous for the play of color and light. The grand expanse of the water itself is a magnificent background as well.  Plus our great city on the lake provides wonderful wedding or engagement backgrounds.

Lake Erie Engagement Lake Erie love at sunset

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Brides do crazy things when preparing for their wedding day…like not eating the day or two before the wedding. That can result in the bride’s brain not working when she needs it most or feeling faint. Grooms party too much at bachelor parties with hangovers that are still present on the big day. Don’t do those or other unhealthy things! Remember, your wedding day is the day for your most radiant self to shine. Your joy and happiness should be like a glorious sunrise over the crowd of loved ones who have gathered to support you. There may have been millions of weddings in the history of mankind, but this one is YOURS. Prepare to be your most beautiful self on the outside in your wedding clothes, but more importantly, on the inside in your heart where love resides. When you look back at your wedding photos on your first anniversary, we want you to look with pride on how brightly your inner and outer light shone on that day. 

When you and your betrothed share a great love for a place or city, a team, a particular hobby, or experiences, they can be captured in engagement photos that your friends and family will enjoy. Plus, you'll love looking at them decades after they are taken. Engagement photos are a slice of life that is usually more in line with your everyday life, whereas wedding photos are one particular day in your life. Give some thought to what you wear and where you want to be for your engagement photos. They should communicate your happiness at the great news of your impending wedding, as well as the life you will share in your future.

Wedding color fads come and go, but the reality that women and wedding stuff look pretty in pink doesn't. Pink is a happy color, who doesn't love the pinks in a sunset sky? Pink is mesmerizing and timeless. It's truly perfect for a summer wedding, but it can be dazzling in a winter wedding when everything is a bit drab. There are numerous shades of pink that can be used in a wedding color scheme. It can even blend into purple, as the photos show. Think pink if you're planning a wedding, especially if you think it's not your color. You might be surprised by the power of pink!

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Northeast Ohio is full of wonderful places for engagement and wedding photography. Here's a sample our clients have chosen. Many are good spots for engagement photos too! Email us for our list of great locations.

DanielPhotoProDanielPhotoPro Cleveland Sign

DanielPhotoProDanielPhotoPro The Arcade in downtown Cleveland

DanielPhotoProDanielPhotoPro Pier W

Iza&George 2015 East Fourth Street

Cleveland Museum of Art

Iza&George 2015 Heinen's of Downtown Cleveland

DanielPhotoProDanielPhotoPro Lake Erie

DanielPhotoProDanielPhotoPro Miller Nature Preserve - Lorain County Metro Parks

DanielPhotoProDanielPhotoPro Schoepfle Garden

DanielPhotoProDanielPhotoPro The Cultural Gardens

DanielPhotoProDanielPhotoPro Olmsted Falls East River Park

DanielPhotoProDanielPhotoPro Progressive Field Cleveland Indians

Renaissance Cleveland Hotel

DanielPhotoProDanielPhotoPro Edgewater Park

Except for preparing for the birth of a child, planning for a wedding has more components than just about any other one-day event in your life. Choosing your wedding dress is one of the most important choices, and it can be very difficult. Not only will you wear the dress for many hours, it’s usually not the kind of dress you’re used to walking around in. The ceremony is often a small part of the entire wedding and reception day, but brides usually focus on it when they’re selecting a dress. Be sure to think through wearing that dress all day and dancing in it. (Some brides choose two dresses, one for the wedding and one for the reception.) 

Looking at pictures of other brides to see what styles are available is helpful, but there are other ways to approach finding your own style. Think about your life, what kind of things bring you joy? Are you a nature lover, or a sophisticated city lover? Do you love shopping for clothes, or keep wardrobe selections as simple as possible? When you’re looking at pictures, don’t look at the face, try to see your face and your body in the photo. When you’re looking through dresses in stores, use your power of imagination. If you can easily see yourself moving about in a particular dress, then that may be your style, if not, then move on. Your true style emanates from within you. Your dress should be one that makes you feel good physically, mentally, and emotionally, and reflects your personality. Your photography will come out better when you look and feel comfortable and attractive in your chosen dress.

In the months before your wedding, you may be perusing wedding magazines or online sites dreaming of the upcoming event of your life. You’ll probably see lots of intricate hairstyles that you love and can even see yourself wearing. You want to look your most exquisite self on your wedding day, and you can…with planning. So remember when you’re sitting in a comfortable spot dreaming, that the actual day of the wedding could have weather that affects your hair. In seasons where humidity can be high, think about wearing your hair up if possible. Muggy days can make hair frizzy. Even if the event is all indoors, there will still be movement from cars or limos to indoor spaces.

Try to plan some versatility into your hairstyle early on, perhaps choosing a few different styles depending on the wedding day weather. Communicate them to your hair stylist or friend doing your hair. Also remember, that your professional hair stylist will want to create something that makes you look fabulous sitting in their salon chair, but it may not work if the weather is cranky. Stay in control of your wedding day hair destiny!

A wedding day is typically a LONG day! You’re up early to get ready, and dancing late into the night. Plan for it, so that your magnificent style at the wedding ceremony, isn’t totally shot by the end of the night. Some brides prefer to keep their hair simple and close to their everyday style. That can make the day a bit less stressful. But if you want a stunning, memorable style, go for it!  Just plan for the weather, and how you can fix it if it wilts.

This sounds easy, doesn’t it? You just tell your photographer who and what you want photographs of on your wedding day. He or she makes note of it and you can check that off your to-do list. Easy deal, right? No, not really, because what you see in your mind’s eye and what the photographer thinks you see may be quite different. Also, before your wedding day, you are consumed with a list of things to get done, organize and arrange. What you feel on your wedding day, and what you ultimately experience will be very different from the planning.

Photographers are obviously visual people. They see photos everywhere, whether or not they have their cameras with them. The really good ones are also skilled at seeing the potential feeling that a photo can evoke in the viewer. Since you hire a photographer to capture the joy and feeling of your wedding day, take the time to have a conversation about how the wedding appears in your mind’s eye and how you want it to feel.  Do you see it as romantic - all about you and your beloved? Or, as a time for the two of you to bask in the love of family and friends? Or, do you see it as an event that you want to feel proud of? Do you feel strongly about tradition, or do you want a wedding that springs from your own creativity? What do you want? Share with your photographer, what you’re hoping to create in your life by holding the kind of wedding you hope to have. The more you and your photographer can create a shared vision, the better the resulting photography will be. This process may also help you to understand more clearly what it is you actually want in your wedding and in your life!

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First impressions are everything, they say. It’s certainly true of weddings and receptions, whether they’re big or small. Guests arrive with the expectation that something very special is about to happen. The visual they experience upon arrival can have great impact if planned well. Natural light is always good (especially for people photos), but artificial light can be used to create an intriguing and emotionally satisfying scene. Using colored lights to create ambiance can also be easier on the budget.  Done well, lighting combined with floral arrangements will set the scene more economically than multiple floral pieces. Together, light, flowers, and artistic items will really wow the guests. And don’t forget sound! Appropriate music as guests arrive is a layer in the magic of an effective entrance.

If your budget or other circumstances lead you to having a small wedding when you really wanted a large one, use lighting to add a sophisticated, creative, and dazzling effect. Guests won’t remember the size of the wedding, but they'll remember how it made them feel.

In northeast Ohio, we are blessed with one of the Great Lakes, our own Lake Erie. Wedding photography is special when taken near any body of water, even a pond, but there is a magnificence about photography on our great lake. Sunset photography is almost always exquisite because you have the backdrop of the expansive lake and the glorious sky.  The palette of colors that Mother Nature creates on this background makes the most amazing photography especially when you throw people who are deeply in love into the mix! Try to time your first kiss as a couple to the time of sunset! 

As wedding photographers, we meet many couples who have finally decided to tie the knot, after living together for some time. Most of us know, or know about, couples who live together and appear to have successful relationships. In general, society does not look down on couples who live together outside of marriage as it did in the olden days. Then why do people still get married by the thousands every year?

There are, of course, many financial and legal reasons to marry. Our national systems, taxes for example, generally favor married couples. Marriage makes life more secure for children in most cases. There are many religious people who marry to be more fully embraced by their communities. In short, there are numerous practical reasons to get married. However…from our observations, they are not why people marry.  Couples marry, for one overwhelming and primary reason. Love. They are simply in love. That’s it! Human beings fall in love and usually, there isn’t anything they can do about it. The heart overrides the brain and romantic love emerges.

That is why the concept of “falling in love” has never disappeared since the term was coined by a poet in the 1500’s. The reality of “falling in love” existed long before the poet. Once couples fall in love, they look at all of the practical reasons they should marry and that’s what they tell their families and friends. Although the couple is believed, in the back of their minds, family and friends know the truth.  The happy couple is simply head over heels in love and wants to create a new life together. Weddings are so beautiful because they are founded on love. 

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It’s important for a betrothed couple to make a list of all the photos they want to be taken on their wedding day. Photographers need an idea of what and especially who should be photographed. Sometimes the dressing of the bride surrounded by her friends is a big deal; sometimes the groom wants photos with his buddies and prized car. Both want one of the most important days of their lives to be properly documented! Any good wedding photographer will do that. However, for photographers who are more romantic at heart and creative in mind, the unplanned photos will turn out to be the favorites.

It’s the glances, the tears, the tenseness, and the unexpected outpouring of joy that capture the life of a wedding. The creative photographer is always looking for them. One of the most important reasons to have a professional photographer is because he or she is constantly scanning the environment for shots; he’s not focused on the chain of events. When the audience is only looking forward at the ceremony, the photographer is looking everywhere for candid, emotional shots. Emotion is the currency of a wedding. A photographer who loves his work will zoom in on emotion in a hundred ways the marrying couple didn’t even consider. The result is often a triumph for both newlyweds and the photographer.

“Life is what happens when we’re busy making other plans,” John Lennon famously said. Occasionally those first marriages don’t last for one reason or another. People and life change. It can take some courage to be willing to try again after the challenges and sometimes heartbreak of divorce, but it’s important to summon that courage!

Having photographed many couples marrying again, we share this wisdom: create the wedding of your dreams. The dream, however, may have changed since you’re now older and wiser. Some introspection is needed to see the new dream clearly. Many people who have had a first wedding are more open to what they want the next time around, rather than what they think they should create to impress family and friends. We often see a deeper expression of romance in second weddings; couples understand more clearly what they are getting into, and know the absolute importance of a deep and lasting love.

The same elements that make up a first wedding apply of course, to subsequent weddings: the right venue, meaningful ceremony, music, flowers, ambiance, celebration, and comfort for guests. For a second wedding, it’s good to incorporate what’s special or romantic in your relationship, or what’s unique. If you both love horses, get married in a field! If you love the water, get married at the beach. The second time around has to be about and for you and your beloved. Don’t compare it to your first wedding or anyone else’s wedding. Make it uniquely yours as a couple courageously choosing to love again.

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Weddings have many elements, and most couples want them all to be perfect. That can sometimes be challenging and expensive. However, since it is a wedding, the ceremony should be the one element that is just right for both bride and groom. The ceremony is the heart of a wedding.  

If the couple shares a religion and wants a church wedding, the choice is easy, although it can be difficult to decide how many to invite and how elaborate to make it. If the couple does not share a religion, it is important to work out what a meaningful ceremony will be for both of you. Of course, not all wedding ceremonies have a religious component; some couples want to take their vows surrounded by nature, or simply family. The primary idea is that the ceremony is the pivotal moment where you make a commitment for a lifetime to another person. It should be carefully considered so that the memory and imprint it makes on your minds, will sustain you as life unfolds. 

Weddings are typically carefully planned and curated events. Brides want photos that capture the beautiful and often expensive dresses, flowers, decorations, and ambiance of the day. However, in years to come when couples look through their photos, they will look for emotion, those meaningful glances, tears, laughter, and joy of the day. Weddings are and should be emotional times for the participants and guests. A wedding is the sacred fusing of two families and the springboard for new generations of the family. They should be emotional. It’s difficult for a couple to understand this before the wedding, especially when they’re talking with their photographer. They get it afterward, almost immediately, having experienced the wide range of emotions a wedding creates within them. If a couple wants photos they will love, they need to not only allow, but encourage their photographer to focus on the emotional moments. These photos express emotion – the unspoken words of a father and son, the exhilaration of having finally gotten married, the softness of love between a bride and groom. May your wedding day be filled with emotion!

Many brides have firm ideas and long-time dreams about how they want their wedding day to be. Most welcome ideas from their friends and others in their generation. However, mothers and future mothers-in-law are often as excited about wedding planning as the bride. It brings back good memories and they want the bride to be as happy as they were. Remember this very important point: the wedding lasts one day; the relationships with your extended family, and particularly your mother-in-law will last a lifetime.

Be generous with your time in allowing other family members to suggest options and possibilities. Listen carefully and thank them for caring so much. Tell them every idea will be considered. Try to choose at least one idea from your mother and one from your mother-in-law to incorporate into the wedding day. How you handle your wedding planning, especially with your new in-laws will set the tone for the future. It’s one of the most overlooked aspects of planning. Everyone gets caught up in the excitement of that one magical day and forgets the thousands of days to come. For generations, people have married in order to create a new family to integrate into the joined families of the bride and groom. Wise brides and grooms consider family through the whole process, while still staying true to themselves. It’s a tricky process, but no less important than the rest of wedding planning.

Happy Saint Patrick’s Day! As green abounds everywhere on this great traditional holiday, it’s a reminder that Spring is also coming. Hurrah! At long last, after a long winter, and two long years of a worldwide pandemic, the beauty of Spring is appearing. With Spring and Summer come engagements, weddings, and other family gatherings, all of which create Joy, especially for children. It’s been said that if you want to go somewhere fast, go alone, but if you want to go far, go with friends and family.

The many hues of green are huge in home decorating and wedding planning these days. The isolation required by the pandemic led to a boom in using plants to bring the solace of nature indoors. Many people have created “urban jungles” in their homes with hanging, trailing and giant potted plants filling the spaces. The jungle vibe has also taken hold of wedding planners and decorators as many turn to plants rather than florist’s flowers to create indoor gardens for a wedding. Because Mother Nature can be fickle in Spring, many brides plan outdoor weddings but also prepare indoor spaces decorated with plants as a backup. Plants can be rented of course, but if you purchase them for your wedding décor, they can move with you and your beloved to your new home. Think Green! 

From the engagement to the wedding to the christening of children, to graduations, family gatherings, and milestone anniversaries, photos over time tell the story of a family. When the special occasions are photographed by the same photographer, the story in pictures has a dimension of quality and continuity that doesn’t happen in a mishmash of photos.  Over time, the photographer gets to know how to set up the photos so that the best attributes of each person appear. The best light, angles, and mood of the occasion can be more easily set up by a photographer who knows the subjects. That’s why famous painters, paint the same subject over and over. Da Vinci worked on the Mona Lisa for seven years!

If you’re engaged, looking forward to a long life, creating a family and your unique story, consider your initial photographer carefully. Does he or she have children? (Photographers take countless photos of their own children and become very good at capturing the spirit of kids). Are they able to create great photography indoors as well as outdoors? Will you look forward to working with the photographer over the years to create your story? Your engagement and wedding are the springboard for a wonderful life. Take good pictures!

As pandemic fears and cases subside, life is changing, but it will never be the same as before. People, especially the older generation, are more aware of their vulnerability. Weddings are traditionally a gathering of friends, family, and associates where physical proximity is a huge part of the experience. Hugs and kisses, dancing, and close conversations have always been normal at a wedding. As a bride or couple planning a wedding you may wonder “what is the new normal?” How do you plan the wedding of your dreams that accommodates the concerns and feelings of those you love?

First of all, accept the reality that there is a new normal and no one is quite sure what it is, because it’s evolving. Also accept the reality that even more than before, the generations see things differently, as do people with health challenges. If you want your family and friends to lavish love on you by being part of your wedding, think of them with empathy. What will make your grandparents, parents, and older attendees comfortable in regard to physical proximity? Ask them! Before you plan the seating for the ceremony or the reception, ask them how they feel about it, so there’s no uncomfortableness that day. A happy bride is an organized and informed bride – you don’t want to be scrambling on the day of the event to make people comfortable. When planning food and beverage, keep in mind that almost everyone is more conscious of the downside of shared food. No hands in the chips anymore.

Open-air events are more comfortable for everyone these days, and fortunately warmer days are coming. Sometimes a combination of church and outdoor reception works well if marrying inside a church is important. Don’t stress over planning your wedding, just think of others and plan, plan, plan!

Rain is a funny thing. It can be wonderfully romantic if you’re walking arm in arm with your lover under an umbrella. The same rain can be a great annoyance for someone rushing to work without one. Rain is one of a bride’s worst fears, especially if she has a sunny summer’s day wedding in her dreams. Inclement weather happens even with the best of planning and technology. Simply plan for it and make a conscious choice not to let it spoil your wedding day. Decide to find the romance in the rain!

To plan for rain make a step-by-step written plan for your dream wedding in two columns – one for perfect weather and one for imperfect. For example, if you’re taking wedding pictures outdoors on a bridge, visit the bridge in light rain and in heavy rain. Make sure that if the rain has stopped but the bridge is wet, it won’t be too slippery. You might want to have colorful umbrellas available if your heart is set on the bridge and you have no other worthy backup location. Whatever the setting, just plan for contingencies. If it rains on your wedding, don’t let it rain on your parade! Remember that the love of a couple getting married surrounded by the family and friends who love them will shine brightly regardless of the weather. The married life you have ahead of you is full of bright days and rainy ones, and together with the love of your life, you’ll make the best of them all.

There is a rhythm to weddings. As the day begins with the wedding party gathering to dress and get ready for the big moment, the momentum builds. The event builds to a crescendo as guests arrive, the bride walks down the aisle, the ceremony unfolds, and the magic moment occurs when the couple is announced husband and wife! Then the march out and all the well wishes, tears and joy of the moment occurs. And then…the couple has to rally the family for the photos. This is the time when things can go awry. However, family photos grow in importance over the years as cherished loved ones move on. Here’s what to do:

After all the drama, it’s sometimes a big letdown to have to get the family organized so that everyone gets photographed and there are no hurt feelings or missed photo opportunities. It’s one of the most important things to plan before the wedding so that it goes smoothly! Someone in the family can be appointed to organize the people for the photos so that the bride and groom can relax. A written plan made in advance can be given to the photographer and the appointed family organizer. Family photos can be great fun if done well which means well planned. Your family that has assembled to love and support a new married couple is important. Take the time to take all the photographs needed so that everyone ends up happy. Taking the time to organize it well before wedding day is time well spent!

It’s daunting that an engaged couple planning a wedding has to make some of the most important decisions of their lives about things in which they have no experience! There are no classes in high school or college about planning a wedding or being married for a lifetime. Choosing a photographer is near the top of the list of challenging decisions.  A professional photographer knows the important moments of the wedding, so you’re sure to get photos of those, however, there are other important aspects to understand.

The post-wedding editing and the actual number of photos and format you’ll receive them in is an overlooked aspect of the process. Most brides book the photographer and check it off their list with relief. That’s just the beginning. Booking the photographer should be followed by an agreement of what the deliverables will be.

Professional photographers often take hundreds or even thousands of shots at a wedding. The process of going through them and selecting the best is long and tedious. It’s also a photo editing skill that is learned only through experience. Don’t make the mistake of thinking more is better! Talk with your photographer before the wedding about what you think you want in terms of the photos taken and the editing of specific photos. If you receive 400 great photos but know that 2000 were taken, understand that the 400 are the best. Photography involves skill, talent, and experience. Successful, professional photographers will release only their best work. After all, social media allows it to be used forever so it’s important to honor the standards of professional photographers. Take the time to work with your photographer so that you know what you’ll receive before the wedding. Then on the Great Day, focus on the joy of getting married, knowing that all is well with the memories your photographer is creating.

Why are Flowers a Bride’s Best Friend?

Flowers and plants are a bride’s best friend when it comes to decorating. They can transform an altar or an entire wedding reception space if chosen wisely with an overall plan in mind. How do flowers and plants do that? They mask the plain or dull background around them because color and interesting shapes draw the human eye toward them, so that people see and feel beauty. Flowers and plants arranged in groupings from tall to small also draw the eye and give a sense of pleasure. That’s why you can put a big green plant in a plain space and transform the room. It’s easier to turn the floral decorating over to a florist but much more expensive than doing at least part of it yourself. Plus, florists promote the flowers that are easily obtainable and that have higher profit margins. By using her own plants and those of friends, and supplementing them with fresh flowers purchased locally, a bride can create plant and flower groupings that provide just the look and feel that she wants. From a photographer’s point of view, flowers and plants are ideal for enhancing a setting. There’s usually a lot of waiting that goes on with weddings and receptions. Give your guests beautiful, colorful things to look at while they’re waiting for what everyone comes to see - the bride!

If there was ever a year that humanity needed to focus on love, this is it! What the world needs now is love, love, love! Are you engaged?  If so, preserve this time of new love in your life with engagement photos that will keep the experience alive in your memories forever. Becoming engaged is truly an important life experience. It declares that regardless of world conditions, you and your fiancé believe in the transcendent power of love. Life is better together. Marriage is good. Family is wonderful.

If you would like photos celebrating your engagement with a Valentine’s Day theme, reach out to Daniel Photo Pro as soon as possible. If you plan to become engaged on or around Valentine’s Day, call today to schedule your free engagement photo. We offer free engagement sessions because it’s a time for you to experience working with us and to see the results. Plus, it’s fun to do photography at a time when everyone is more relaxed. Wedding day can be stressful for all, engagement photo sessions are joyful. Happy New Year, Happy Valentine’s Day, and Congratulations!

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We can probably all agree that to be a professional photographer, one must be intelligent. Understanding the physics of light, and all the camera technology stuff is not for everyone. What makes photographers different? Some love the technical challenges, some love the creativity, some want to do what they enjoy and make a profit, some want their photos to tell stories. There are as many different reasons for doing photography as there are photographers.

Daniel of Daniel Photo Pro is drawn to creating photos like a curious child in an enchanted forest. He finds nature compelling and people’s expressive faces as well. He derives enormous joy from using all of his knowledge and skill to create a shot, then he studies his creation. Daniel spends quiet time studying his photos, contemplating what he loves about them, and what he would do differently. Just as a painter steps back from his or her canvas and studies a painting, Daniel studies his photographs with a critical eye, but also allows himself to enjoy their beauty. That kind of contemplation nurtures his mind to explore ways to evolve his work.    

The hundreds of photos that people take of their children, crowding their phones with documentation of every event, has made the old-fashioned idea of a simple photo album more precious. Imagine that you’re a young adult and you want to look back over your childhood days. Either you scroll through hundreds of photos with none more important than another, or you hold a book in your hand with carefully selected photos that capture the spirit of your childhood without the sheer volume of photos. It’s the difference between looking at a mountain of trees of every kind, versus a singular tree in all its beauty. Phone cameras are a blessing, but curated photo albums that you can hold in your hand, allowing you to take your time thinking about each picture, are more meaningful.

Yes, photo albums take a little time and cost a little money, but they last for decades. Your photos on your phone may or may not last. Everything in technology is subject either to loss or inaccessibility. So this Christmas take a little time to select a handful of photos that are truly special and preserve them in a small album. You’ll be surprised at the wonderful gift you create.

Why we love is such a mystery! Especially when it comes to the one we have already married or are engaged to be married. Why one person and not another who might be very much like the one we love? Why is the one we fall in love with often very different from the one our family and friends feel suits us? What is it about the one we love that makes our heart lift a little when we walk into a crowded room and see him or her? Falling in love can happen in an instant or take a long time to percolate. Regardless, most people find themselves at some time in their life “falling in love” in a way that is almost unstoppable.

It is the Christmas season, a time when we think more of the ones we love and how we might communicate or show them our love. It’s a good practice to pause and think about why you love your fiancé or wife or husband. It’s also a good time to think about all whom you truly love whether a child, friend, parent, or grandparent. Christmas is a time for sharing. Please tell us in a few words or sentences why you love someone deeply. You need not share who it is if you don’t want to. It will be enriching for all who see this post to see what being in love means to others.  It can be difficult to put feelings into words but just try. You’ll probably be surprised how good it makes you feel.

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Science has proven that memories are interwoven with emotion. You are likely to remember the “wow” moments of your wedding day – taking your father’s hand, walking down the aisle, the “I do” words, the kiss, your entrance into the reception, the first dance, etc. There are, however, many little experiences and scenes of your wedding day that don’t feel important at the time, but later on, when you see the pictures, the meaningfulness of the moment comes back to you. In relationships with family and beloved friends that are part of your wedding day, the individual moments are sometimes far more special than the major events of the day.

At Daniel Photo Pro, we know that little moments mean a lot. There are pictures a photographer takes that are un-posed and unexpected that add a wealth of emotion and meaning to the wedding day long after it’s over. Those are the photos that capture the elusive ideas of love, friendship, pride, and joy. Let your photographer be there for everything and you’ll be surprised by the photos that become your favorites.

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Purple is a color that invokes mystery and magic. People either love it or prefer to live without it. If you love purple and are planning a wedding, marry the two together and create a Purple Wedding! Purple is so interesting because it combines the calm of blue with the fire of red. That’s often a combination of couples too – one is calm and quiet and the other is energetic. Purple also reminds people of opulence, creativity, wisdom, grandeur, and an independent spirit. Purple makes a good thematic element for a wedding because the color is so alive and vibrant. Guests will feel the energy and possibilities of magical purple.  If you’re a purple person and your beloved is one too or is okay with making purple your theme color…go for it! 

If the celebration of your brand new marriage is going to go on late into the evening, remember that you must plan to feed your guests over time! The cake and pastries are important for the theme and beauty of the event (and for the photography), but partying guests need real food to sustain them. Providing food in plenty also cuts down on the alcohol costs. The more people drink without food in their stomachs, the drunker they get, and the more they drink! If you’re having a reception without a full meal, at least have plenty of healthy snacks trays so that guests can stay full as they drink and dance the night away.

Food trays that include protein, sweet potatoes, salmon, avocado, berries, oats, and even bananas are good to eat before or during drinking. Do a little research so that you balance creative snacks or theme foods, with foods that are best for eating along with drinking.  Be careful of overly salty snacks. It’s very important for people to stay hydrated while drinking alcohol so be sure to have water readily available. Keep those water pitchers full!

And brides…don’t forget to eat! If you’re too excited to eat a meal or worried you won’t fit in your dress, plan ahead for some healthy nourishment during the long day. You want to end the wedding still looking radiant from love, not alcohol!

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The busy summer wedding season is over, so we at Daniel Photo Pro now have time on our schedule for one of our favorite activities: engagement photos! We offer free sessions because it’s a chance to photograph love in bloom without the stress of the wedding day. We have done engagement sessions in all kinds of environments and our clients are always amazed at them. These sessions give us the opportunity to experiment with perspective and light so we can see what works best in shooting photos of the bride, the groom, and the couple together. Every couple wants to be unique, and they are unique! However, it takes creativity and effort on the part of the photographer to find what makes them so special and beautiful together.

Call or email today for our free engagement session which typically lasts about two hours. Natural light is best so if we can photograph you outdoors, even if it’s chilly, we’ll have even better photos. Let’s have some fun! Text 440-787-3806 to book your free session.

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Let’s face it, the coronavirus pandemic has changed just about everything, including the willingness of people to attend weddings. Older people, in particular, the grand and great-grandparents that are so much a part of the family experience, want to feel safe. One of the best ways to protect your loved ones is to make a commitment to an outdoor wedding.  Fortunately, they are very much in vogue now because adding Nature to your wedding ambiance is nurturing to everyone. To many engaged couples, it sounds more expensive to create an outdoor wedding but if you’re willing to spend time checking out possible locations, and you can think beyond the vision of your indoor wedding, it’s possible to do it economically.

An outdoor venue adds so many elements to a wedding. First and foremost is Light! In natural light, people are more relaxed which is reflected in wedding photography. Birds, breezes, and even chattering squirrels can be pleasant.  (Be careful that the sound of cars is far enough away from the ceremony site that it doesn’t interfere.) The seating is often more comfortable than in a church pew, and chairs can be more easily moved if needed. Plus, if you pick a beautiful place, Mother Nature herself provides a lot of the décor.

Some event venues have outdoor pavilions or areas that can accommodate a crowd, but these can be more expensive. Northeast Ohio is blessed with many parks, rivers, lakes (including a very large one!) where weddings can be held. Dazzling spring, summer, and fall outdoor weddings are possible here.  

Couples planning a wedding know they’ll need a photographer and usually want to book one and check it off their long list! Before beginning the search, it’s helpful if couples have a chat about what kind of photos they find most appealing. If the bride leans toward drama and the groom toward candid, it’s best to come to a compromise first or find a different style that you both agree upon. At Daniel Photo Pro, we strive to provide a variety of photos that capture the entire event and the emotion. It is helpful, however, to know what style of photography blends with the couples’ personal style. Here are several ideas about types of photography to start a conversation.  This list will also increase your awareness of photography styles when you’re looking through magazines or at photos online.

• Artistic
• Candid
• Documentary
• Dramatic
• Drone
• Modern
• Photojournalistic
• Traditional 

Traditionally, it's all about the bride in wedding planning. Marriage, however, is better if it's a 50-50 deal. Start your marriage off right by including the groom in all planning. The groom should think carefully about what kinds of photos he wants of himself and the people and things that he feels strongly about. Everyone has stuff they love, and both bride and groom should be able to include some in the wedding. Most guys love their cars or trucks. Brides may not want them in the wedding, but things special to the groom can be included in the photography. Love grows when both bride and groom plan the wedding and think carefully about what memories they want to preserve.
 

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In wedding planning, choosing the cake is a big deal; much like the dress, it has to be uniquely you! Why is that?

Why do we have wedding cakes at all? Here’s a fun historic rundown beginning in ancient Rome. The ceremony included wheat or barley cake broken over the bride’s head for luck and fertility. The newly married couple would share a few bites as well. The English took on the bread idea and in medieval times started stacking buns and scones, and even cookies as high as possible (that’s where the tiered idea originated). In olden times the couple was supposed to lean over the cake and kiss without toppling it! (What happened when it did topple? Yikes!)

Then those wonderful French took up the idea and cakes became confectionary. Yum! Full of sugar the way we love them today. There’s a lot more to the story but the idea of cakes being a major element in a wedding goes back millennia.

Tiered cakes, the higher the better, work well with wedding photography as you can see in the photos. Cakes that shimmer and shine or are artistic in other ways make memorable photographs. Gold, silver and red are vibrant colors for cakes and are always romantic.

If your budget is tight, have a small tiered cake for the photos, and a big sheet cake for the guests. Just remember, the cake is far more important to you and your beloved than it is to the guests, so choose a design you love. Don’t forget to save a piece in the freezer for that first anniversary!

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Why are there so many tears at weddings? There’s crying when everyone is getting ready – both the females and the males!  Tears appear when the adorable little kids head down the aisle, and they really start when the bride and her father or escort first appear. More tears during the vows, then happy tears when the couple is pronounced husband and wife. Tears during heart-warming toasts and first dances. Even tears of relief when it’s over. There is so much crying at weddings, it’s no wonder everyone is ready for a drink!

Love is the guilty party in all this crying. Yes, blame it on LOVE. It’s what makes grown men cry when they realize how blessed they are to have found the love of their lives. Brides, who have emotion continually building during the day, always shed tears. Proud mothers and fathers, grandparents, friends, everyone is touched by the undeniable fact, that no matter what happens, love exists. It always has and it always will. Humans will be drawn together to connect heart to heart as long as there are humans.

A wedding we recently photographed shows the evidence of an abundance of love everywhere we looked. This was a family that was so supportive and loving of each other. We have no doubt the bride and groom, will live long and joyfully. We hope you enjoy the photos. 

If your wedding day is supposed to be one of the most meaningful of your entire life, why is there so much stress getting to that day and through that day? Has it always been that way? Do consumer lifestyles and the demands of social media make wedding preparations more stressful than in olden times?

Wedding planning has most likely always been stressful for women. In the distant past, brides were often very young, and mothers did all the planning. Brides-to-be actually had very little to say about anything. (They mostly worried about the wedding night!) Today’s brides-to-be are inundated with advertising and promotion about how weddings are supposed to be. In truth, the wedding is supposed to be the springboard for a long and happy marriage and the joining of two families. That ideal can get lost in the shuffle so fast. Even the most independent women in control of their own lives can feel they're losing control during the wedding planning process.

Strange as it may sound, a bride-to-be who has a breathing practice, no matter how simple, can build a protective wall around her emotions so that she can navigate the tumultuous waters of wedding planning where everyone has a suggestion.  Breathing exercises can be done anywhere and no one has to know. Close your mouth (and your eyes if possible) and inhale through your nose for a count of four.  Hold for a count of seven. Exhale slowly for a count of eight. If you’re in a store surrounded by salespeople, or with your anxious mother-in-law-to-be, just quietly do your breathing exercise and you will relax. Bad and costly decisions are made when people are stressed.

If you develop a breathing exercise like the above, or some other meditative exercise and do it over and over as you plan the wedding, you will have it within you for the wedding day. You will be able to remain poised, calm, and enjoy yourself. Plus, you’ll look more beautiful in your wedding photos when you’re relaxed and your joy is spontaneous and genuine. 

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Photography builds a bridge of memories from the joy of the wedding day to the weaving of families through the birth of a child. We love being asked to do family photography for clients whose wedding we photographed. Besides being a treat to see the happy couple again, it’s a joy to see the results of their union in either a baby or simply how love has expanded in the blended families. With a professional photographer, everyone gets to be in the photo and there are no weird selfie angles. Enjoy these photos from the wedding and the family get-together two years later. Autumn is a wonderful time of year for colorful family photos, so reach out to us if you would like to schedule a session.

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In the not too distant past, children were always part of weddings. Some couples today want kid-free weddings and receptions and that’s okay. If the wedding theme is sophisticated, and carefully curated, kids can mess it up. However, in most cases, children add a wonderful dimension to the event. Babies and kids are a clear sign that life is meant to go on and on.

Communication is key to having kids actually in a wedding or just attending. Talk with the parents to let them know that you want the kids to be present, but also give the parents your expectations of kid behavior. Parents differ wildly in the behavior they allow. Just talk to them before the event so they understand what you want on your wedding day, and you understand the needs of their kids. Don’t be too rigid though, kids are kids, and they bring a spontaneous joy to the occasion which comes through in the photography. 

Even very young children sense that weddings are special because they’re a blending of families. To a child, family is everything. If the bride and groom can relax and enjoy the children at the wedding, they’ll have photos they’ll love to share. The more kids, the merrier. 

If you want a wedding look that’s jazzy and energetic, incorporate the color red into your palette. Don’t overdo it though. Red is a powerful color. Like fireworks, it needs to be used cautiously!

All through history, red has been associated with deep longing, energy, sexuality and joy, the intense emotions in life.

Red is also associated with the ideals of courage and strength, two traits needed for a long and successful marriage!

Daniel says that “even a touch of red in a photo compels the viewer to look more deeply at the image”.

There are many elements that are critical for creating great images like shape, shadow and balance. Color is a big one. As you create the decorative elements for your wedding, take the time to look with a critical eye at your creations and imagine what they’ll look like in a photo. Weddings are short, photos are forever! 

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One of the pleasures of being a wedding photographer is seeing the unusual ways in which each couple creates their authentic experience.  The basics are often the same - ceremony, reception, family photography, etc. It's the little things that make lasting memories and memorable photos.  Creating decorations, gifts, little flourishes that capture your personalities and the various aspects of your relationship can be fun. Although most brides (and some grooms) want their weddings to make an impression, in the long run, it’s more important that they create memories for themselves. Creativity doesn't have to be costly.  Simple, natural things put together can give your guests a memory of what you and the day are all about. If you don’t think you’re naturally “creative”, forget the word and just find decorations, flowers, colors, and other things that you like. 

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In northeast Ohio, we are blessed with one of the Great Lakes, our own Lake Erie. There are also many inland lakes and even ponds and streams in the Metroparks that can be ideal backgrounds for engagement and wedding photography. Being married near a body of water adds an element of timelessness to a wedding. Lake Erie has looked like it does now for ten thousand years. That’s 400 generations of humans! Even with the long history of our lake, your engagement or wedding photos on Lake Erie will be unique. The sky and the sunset are different every hour of every day.

Sunset photography is almost always exquisite because you have the backdrop of the huge lake and the huge sky.  The palette of colors that Mother Nature creates on this background makes the most amazing photography especially when they surround a couple who are deeply in love. If you want a smaller, easier to access body of water, take some time to visit the parks and wooded areas, where they may be found. We also have many Location Spotlights in our list of blogs which with water features.

There are reasons beyond budget to hold your wedding in your home or the home of a loved one or great friend. For many people, home really is where the heart is, as the old saying goes. A home wedding can be soul-satisfying because if done well, it can bring a deep feeling of satisfaction that you’ve started your new life with your beloved emphasizing the importance of home and family.

Here are some things to think about in deciding whether to wed at home or at a venue:

What rental items (chairs, tents, lighting, etc.) will you need for the size wedding you want? Will you end up spending more on your own rentals than you will for a professional venue that already has the items?

From the photographic point of view, are there places within the home or lawn that will make good backgrounds?  Gardens are great if they are weeded or if enough flowers are in bloom. Look at all the spaces in your home and yard that might be used for photography with a critical eye.

If the wedding or reception is to be held indoors, is there available natural light? Natural light is the secret to the most beautiful wedding photos.

Is there enough space so that the guests are not too close to the wedding couple during the ceremony? 

Remember also, that this is one day in your wedded life. There are hopefully years and years to come.  Don’t buy furniture or do renovations that are expensive for this one day, unless you and your betrothed love them.

Brides-to-be pour-over glossy magazine pictures and internet sites featuring everything from glorious wedding dresses and shoes to jewelry, gloves, hairstyles, makeup, and the whole array of wedding paraphernalia. Dreaming is easy but just remember, you’ll want to be a vision of beauty for the whole day and evening too on your wedding day.

Comfort is an element of planning your wedding attire that brides seldom seriously consider, until the wedding day when it is too late. Your groom will most likely be wearing comfortable flat-heeled shoes while you totter on heels that show off your dress, but make walking and dancing a major feat to be accomplished. Even small weddings may mean a long day from the time you begin getting dressed until the last guest leaves. Changing clothes for the reception is an option, but many brides want to remain the star of the show until the last possible minute. Everyone wants photos on the dance floor in their dresses.

If you plan carefully, you can go all day without wilting or getting blisters. Well-planned, you’ll remember the day as being wonderful instead of hot, scratchy, and overwhelming. When you find the dress you love, use your imagination to see yourself wearing it through weather changes and all of the activities of your wedding day. Choose shoes that are wearable all day or have multiple pairs available. Break them in before the wedding. If you plan to kick them off on the dance floor, make sure you won’t trip over your dress!

Consider the weather and your comfort in makeup. We’ll have a future blog on applying makeup for optimal photography. The glossy magazine photos and Instagram shots that attract you are edited. Weddings are real-life events that require careful consideration. Years later when you look at your photos and see how comfortable and happy you were on that spectacular day, you will be glad you took the time.

There are pivotal moments in each person’s life when choices are made that create a path in a new direction. The choice to become engaged and married is certainly one of those moments. Many women and some men too find that the decision to marry and to hold a wedding propels them into looking deeper within themselves. “Who am I?” is an age-old question. For couples who have never planned anything as monumental as a wedding, that question comes up. The questions of “who are we as a couple?” and “how do we want to present ourselves as a couple to our families and community?” are more concepts to think about.

Wedding planning that starts out simply often takes on a life of its own, especially when friends, family, and professionals get involved. It goes better when you’re clear that your wedding is the springboard for the rest of your lives together. In planning how you want your wedding to look, and more importantly how you want it to feel, be true to yourself. Shakespeare said it best centuries ago… “this above all: to thine own self be true, and it must follow as the night the day, thou canst not then be false to any man”.

These Daniel Photo Pro photos of four brides show how each was true to the vision that felt right for her. 

What happens when you let the colors of your imagination run free?  This is what happens…the colors that make your heart fill up with emotion also begin to glow in your mind. Life overflows with wonderful colors. Think about it. Does Lavender make you feel beautiful?  Does Orange fill you with a zest for living? Does Red remind you of your passionate side?  Does White emanate romance?  Does Turquoise bring on your peaceful, happy place? Does Yellow make you want to jump for joy?

Your wedding is one of the most important times in your life when you can use the colors that you LOVE to set the stage for your new life. Just like walking into a colorful home gives you a sense of the owner’s personality, your chosen wedding colors vividly say who you are and what brings you happiness.

There are many design elements used in wedding decorations. Whether you have a wedding planner, a friend helping you, or are doing your own planning, the choice of color must be yours. Color will play a big part in your wedding photography and your guests’ emotional experience of the wedding, so create it with the color or colors that are YOU!

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Flowers have always been integral to weddings, from ancient times when a bride carried a bouquet to make her smell good, to modern weddings with towering vases of flowers created by floral artists. Some brides choose outdoor weddings that incorporate Nature into the theme. However, for a truly splendid setting, a well-kept, sculpted botanical garden is incomparable. Here you find outdoor natural beauty made even grander by professional landscape designers and artists.

The Cleveland Botanical Garden has been nurtured since its inception in 1930. It is now integrated with the famed Holden Arboretum. With nearly 200 years of tender care, the Garden has developed into an extraordinary place for wedding photos.  With generations of love poured into its care, no wonder the Cleveland Botanical Garden exudes LOVE!

Do you want wedding photos that evoke Romance, Elegance, and Timelessness in the mind of the viewer? If so, choose the Black & White version of photos and these qualities invariably appear. Photography in Black & White, especially when the viewer is expecting color, typically causes the viewer to pause. The brain says…ah, this is different than what I expected. We live in a color-filled world so when color suddenly disappears, yet we still have the familiar shapes, the photo becomes intriguing.

No one quite knows whether this response to the B&W photos is because that’s all that was available in early photography, thus they seem old, or because in the absence of color, light and shadow add a deeper dimension.  

Black & White photos add mystery and artistic quality to photos as well. A good photographer loves to play with the light and shadow that adds depth. If you love the B&W look, let your photographer know in advance. Enjoy these samples of Daniel Photo Pro images and pause to think of the qualities they evoke in you.

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Why do people the world over gather in the evening to experience sunset together? Because it’s the most magical, mysterious moment of the day!  Sunrise is sweet and hopeful, the awakening of a new day, but Sunset can be dramatic and that’s why photographers and lovers flock to photograph it. Nothing says passion like a loving couple posing in the glowing embers of a sunset.

The other wonder of an evening spent taking engagement or wedding photography at sunset is the variety of backgrounds that appear over a short time. The photo at the pivotal moment of sunset may be red hot, but later, the afterglow of the dispersing colors across the sky creates a very different palette and mood.

Yes, it can be difficult to arrange your photography on a day when the setting sun and the clouds will cooperate. It’s not always possible, but very often the result of the extra effort is well worth it. No amount of money can create the artistry the setting sun can make. More importantly, like your love, it’s real. The two of you and that evening sky are absolutely unique in all of Time.

It’s Summer!

Summer is here and it’s the perfect time to take your engagement photos outdoors in natural light.

Wrap yourself and your beloved in Nature for photos that you will cherish. Everyone is more beautiful when the face and body are relaxed and happy.  With years of experience, we at Daniel Photo Pro understand how engagement photos can lead to great wedding photos because we have the opportunity to study how the camera sees you. It’s the artistry of photography.

Contact us today to discuss engagement photos while the warmth, beauty, and wonder of summer stretch out before us.

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Have you ever noticed how your world changes when you’re watching the sun slowly set and all around you nature begins to glow with a blend of breathtaking colors?  Color is one of the great joys of life. Colorful lighting brings a transforming ambiance that makes an event become an experience. If used carefully, it can add a stunning dimension to your wedding or reception. Natural light outdoors at certain times of day can create magic. For indoor events, artificial lighting can be used effectively to create mood and to reflect the personality of the couple being joined in marriage.

Whether the event is at home or in an event center, using colored lighting along with carefully curated settings can make the event memorable. If you choose to use artificial lighting, be sure to see how it appears during the time of day that your event will be held. It can look very different in the morning than it does at night. The light coming in through windows will affect it.  As you can see in these photos, artificial lighting creates a much different look than standard lighting would. Creating color-impacted events doesn’t have to be done by a professional, but it does take some time and experimenting. Be brave and have fun with color!

It’s important to remember that this may be just the beginning of integrating color into your lives!  Decorating a home comes next, and in a happy marriage, the home is a reflection of both of you. Working out color choices for your wedding that bring happiness to both of you is a good way to start your new life.

In the photos below, turquoise is the dominant color. Combining blue and a small amount of yellow, it fits on the color scale between green and blue and radiates the peace, calm, and tranquility of blue and the balance and growth of green with the uplifting energy of yellow.

Beneath the photos, you’ll find highlights from Psychology Today that explains how color is reflective of personality.

Black. People who choose black as their favorite color are often artistic and sensitive.

White. People who like white are often organized and logical and don't have a great deal of clutter in their lives.

Red. Those who love red live life to the fullest and are tenacious and determined in their endeavors.

Blue. If blue is your favorite color you love harmony, are reliable, sensitive, and always make an effort to think of others. You like to keep things clean and tidy and feel that stability is the most important aspect of life.

Green. Those who love the color green are often affectionate, loyal, and frank. Green lovers are also aware of what others think of them and consider their reputation very important.

Yellow. You enjoy learning and sharing your knowledge with others. Finding happiness comes easy to you and others would compare you to sunshine.

Purple. You are artistic and unique. You have great respect for people but at times can be arrogant.

Brown. You are a good friend and try your hardest to be reliable and dependable. Flashy objects are not something you desire; you just want a stable life.

The combination of sunset over the lake and the historic Lorain Harbor Lighthouse is unbeatable for couples who want their love photographed among nature’s most passionate colors. Beginning in late April, our part of the earth is positioned for gorgeous sunsets in this area. The extra benefit is that every single sunset is unique, as are the love and dreams of every couple.

It is possible to hold small weddings or engagement events at the Lighthouse itself, but there are significant costs. See the Lighthouse website for details. For photography only, there are ideal locations on land from which Daniel can shoot your photos with you in front of the Lighthouse bathed in sunset’s glow. Give us a call to discuss the options.

Spring at Schoepfle Garden in Wakeman, Ohio is dazzling, a photographer’s dream! Comprising seventy-seven acres of botanical gardens and woodlands near the Vermilion River, Schoepfle Garden is the perfect place in spring and summer for the photography of lovers. The bloom of love evident on the faces of engaged couples blends with nature’s extraordinary bloom in gardens like Schoepfle.

How do spectacular places like Schoepfle Garden come to exist? They typically grow from one person’s curiosity about flowers. In this case, a man who was once a banker, and then publisher of the Elyria Chronicle, traveled to Europe and came home brimming with ideas about flowers.  The result of his passion and willingness to study botanicals is that decades later, ordinary people like us can enjoy their transcendental beauty.

We hope you enjoy the glories of Schoepfle Garden, collections of rhododendrons, roses, hosta, cannas, flowering shrubs, magnificent trees, and much more. It would be our great pleasure to photograph you and your beloved, or your family and friends in this place of love and passion.

Northeast Ohio is a land blessed with natural beauty both in the wild and in the cultivated areas. The great Cleveland Metroparks Zoo is a little of both! The famed cherry blossoms of Washington DC have a serious competitor in the blossoms of Cleveland.  Our zoo is a marvelous place for photography with dappled natural light coming through the trees that adds a quality of timelessness indoor photography can rarely achieve. The softness and colors of nature bring out the beauty in humans as well.

These photos were taken in spring with the blossoms in bloom, but throughout the seasons the Cleveland Zoo is a wondrous place for photography. It's especially good for engagement photos because it offers a wide variety of spaces within the zoo and the surrounding Metroparks from which to choose. Give us a call to explore natural areas for your engagement, wedding, and family photo needs.  Daniel Photo Pro photography makes you see how beautiful you are!

Spring into Action to Create Your Ideal Wedding

As the U.S. slowly opens up again, thanks to the ever-increasing number of vaccinations, lovers everywhere are thinking about engagements and weddings. Except for the birth of children, weddings are the most splendid way of spreading excitement, happiness, joy, and LOVE! Weddings are a message to the world that no darkness lasts forever; love always triumphs.

If you’re good at organizing, you may not need this, but if you’re good at procrastinating about things you’re not experienced with, this one’s for you!  

The pandemic has produced a huge backlog of weddings. The best of the following will be booked quickly.

Key Things to Do Now:

• Choose a date - check with the people you most want to attend before setting it
• Choose a venue
• Choose a photographer
• Choose an officiant
• Choose a caterer
• Choose musicians

After these are booked, then you can start on the fun parts, like what to wear, table settings, themes, and parties. Congratulations!

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Wedding Tips for the Previously Married

Many people who have lost a spouse for one reason or another, don’t think they’ll want an official wedding if they find new love.  However, Love, as the poem Desiderata says, “is as perennial as the grass”.  It comes around again when least expected. What also comes around is the desire to share the joy of a new union with friends and family, so most couples end up planning a wedding though it may be smaller or more intimate than what they had the first time.

For a couple who has been married before, the elements of the wedding are often quite different than first-time brides and grooms. First-timers focus on the theme, decorations, and how the wedding and reception will appear on social media.  Second or third-timers, tend to lean toward making the wedding comfortable for family and friends, a blending that may include people from families of a previous spouse. Yet the desire to make their wedding a reflection of who they are, what they care about, and how they want to be perceived, is strong in a couple who dare to risk marriage again.  Plus, creating a wedding event is fun!  The second wedding can be even more fun than the first because experience lessens the stress.

If you’re re-marrying, don’t be shy about creating a wedding event that will make you smile when you’re looking at the photos years later. Do think carefully about making the event easy for others, especially the elderly (don’t forget they may have hearing issues and they want to hear those vows!), but make it your own unique event.  Love and marriage are as perennial as the grass, so surrender your fears and create a day you’ll treasure.  We’ll be there to photograph it for posterity!

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It is the rare woman who can look in the mirror and see her own beauty, in part because beauty hides from eyes that are conditioned to see what’s wrong rather than what’s right. Thankfully, on engagement and wedding days, the creative eye of an experienced photographer sees a woman’s inner beauty that radiates from the love and happiness in her heart. In the hands of an excellent photographer, a bride’s broad smile and shining eyes transform her like no amount of makeup ever can. In her preparations for the big event, brides work so diligently on their outsides, but the photographer sees deeper and that is why wedding photos are so treasured.

Although posed pictures are important to record a meaningful event like a wedding for posterity, the dozens of photos captured when the engaged or newly married couple are celebrating with guests often reveal the true story. That is the story of the boundless love shared among the whole group. Unlike the bride and groom who perceive that the most important parts of the wedding are the actual events they’ve prepared, the photographer knows the relationships are where the magic lies.

Daniel of Daniel Photo Pro through his photographic lens sees with artistry that typical wedding photographers don’t have. He sees the event in its wholeness, and in its potential for bringing enduring happiness to an expanded family.  Plus, when Daniel photographs a bride, she always looks beautiful in the finished photos!

Most couples planning their wedding feel an inner urge to offer their guests a wonderful dining experience at the reception. It feels like the payoff for the support of family and friends through the long engagement/wedding process.  Be aware, however, that the dining experience can be the place where the expense begins small but quickly escalates into the stratosphere! It’s also the part of wedding planning that can be most contentious for the bride and groom.  The bride often has a vision of the reception tables created in her mind before any costs were determined, and the groom doesn’t see the importance of it all.

Wedding planning, especially with a tight budget, is so difficult for couples because they have no or little experience.  That makes some want to outsource it all, and that can be a fast way to make a wedding very expensive.  The secret of wedding table decoration is to start as simply as you can, being aware that every item you add for décor, also adds to the price. There's a myriad of ways you can have tables you love while holding down expenses, so explore different approaches before purchasing anything. 

For example, renting napkins might be five times as expensive as making your own from discounted fabric.  Using wildflowers may be far cheaper than florist flowers. Making the cake table glorious and the dining tables very simple can still be beautiful but less costly. The main secret is to take your time and practice restraint in creating your perfect reception. Whatever you come up with will be fine. In reality, the payoff for the guests of being part of a wedding is simply JOY and the realization that a new family is beginning and Life goes on. Photographing that pure joy is the bonus for the photographer and what makes wedding photography so much fun.

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In these modern times, when a couple decides to marry, there are a multitude of events they have to decide upon long before the wedding. Engagement parties, wedding showers, bachelor and bachelorette parties, and dinners for the families to meet, etc.!  Friends and family often start thinking about how much it’s going to cost them to support the happy couple. Are these events new or have they always been around?

Apparently, they’ve been around since ancient Greece when an engagement party was a commercial transaction between the father who gave his daughter in marriage and the groom. The bride was not present! Times have changed, thank God! In the US, engagement parties have been a tradition in the northeast for a long time. The practice has spread across the rest of the country in recent decades.

An engagement party is intended to announce and celebrate a couple’s recent engagement. Its purpose is also to help families and close friends who will be involved in the wedding get to know each other. The parties are traditionally held in the bride’s home, but some couples may want to throw their own.  If the engaged couple holds the party in a bar or restaurant, they should be thoughtful of the costs for guests.  A simple home engagement party with family and very close friends is safer these days and can be shared on social media so that everyone receives the news.

Remember during your engagement and wedding planning, that much of what couples feel they need for a “successful” engagement and wedding has been developed by the wedding industry. Keep it simple, be thoughtful of family and friends, but do plan to present and preserve your memories with professional photos!

As we inch closer to a much longed-for spring, there’s still time for the wonder of winter. Look what happens when a bright new love is added to a winter scene right here in northeast Ohio. This couple, undeterred by ice, snow, and chill, chose to have their engagement session outdoors. What a fun day it was!  Garfield Park Reservation turned out to be the perfect background for their joyful love which comes through so clearly in the photography.  The arched stone bridge and other physical structures of this background, including the natural formations of snow, ice, and a waterfall, are ideal because they add a dimension of timelessness and history to the scene. That makes the current happiness of the lovers even more apparent.  These engagement photos which capture a once-in-a-lifetime day in their lives will provide memories to warm their hearts and souls in winters to come.

We hope you enjoy these photos. Remember that although smartphones take nice photos, professional photography captures and creates memories at much greater depth and breadth. The expertise a photographer develops over the years of seeing what the camera sees makes a profound difference in quality.  Call us to book your engagement photo or wedding. Spring offers a lovely background too!

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Saint Patrick’s Day, March 17, is the next one up so plan to celebrate in some way, even with family and friends at home. Throughout human history, we’ve found solace in celebrating holidays, because it’s celebrating LIFE! And that’s what we’re all trying to do now. Stay alive and healthy, and be there for each other.  Whether or not you’re Irish, Saint Patrick’s Day is a fun one to celebrate. Legend says that Patrick, patron saint of Ireland, drove its slithering reptiles into the sea! No wonder so many people raise glasses of cheer to him on March 17.

Imagine celebrating Saint Patrick’s Day and every other holiday celebrated in the US over the past 103 years?   That would be well over a thousand holidays. A thousand days of good cheer, celebration, love, and sharing. No wonder Miss E has thrived for so long.  If you want to live a long, happy life, celebrate Life and Living every chance you get!

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You could almost call it a tradition in America…a woman becomes engaged and starts to create a wedding experience. First, she gathers magazines, the thick costly ones with hundreds of pages, to get ideas. A better way is to sit quietly with yourself and find ideas within yourself. Only you knows you!  Only you and your beloved know what your relationship means and how you want to share it with your world.  Most women underestimate their own creativity and ingenuity. Those thick magazines and Instagram posts about wedding stuff are all meant to sell you things.  Find out what’s meaningful to you before you start buying.

For example, if you and your fiancé love Cleveland and spend your happy hours together doing the things that make Cleveland special, focus your wedding theme on that. If you love nature, use that, or if you love partying, create an event that captures the fun you love to make happen. When people get engaged, they’re all excited and immediately begin thinking about how they’re going to schedule everything, notify everyone and book vendors.  Put the brakes on! It’s best to get clear about what you want. Brides typically take the lead, but the long term marriage will be better if they include the groom from the very beginning. Grooms have dreams too! Movies and commercials have told us for decades that weddings are all about the bride having her special day, but in truth, it should be about the couple, defining their commitment and celebrating their own unique love.

So if you’re getting engaged, or have just gotten engaged, spend a weekend pondering what you both want, how you want to feel after the wedding is over and you’re looking at your photos. Having done that, book your date, and of course…your photographer:)

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Is Love magic?  Or do we just wish it was? A strong case may be made for believing that Love is magical. Here it is: Love can change a person’s mind and heart, sometimes in an instant. An instant! One person reaches for another’s hand, or just touches a finger, for the very first time. Emotion flows quietly through each person as both realize the significance of that act of vulnerability. Time stops. Everything changes. Possibility is born.

Love makes its presence known over and over in the lives of humans. It is the single experience that cannot be invented or fabricated. For humans, Love is the reason humanity keeps going. It just appears, seemingly out of nowhere.  In some of the photos we’ve shared below, we looked for a heart, the universal symbol of love, but in others, we noticed it later during editing. That’s the magic of Love in reality. It just is.

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Si la casa se incendia, ¿qué agarra al salir, además de los niños y las mascotas? Fotos reales!

Las fotos reales son tesoros. Capturan a los que amamos, los tiempos que apreciamos, las vidas que vivimos en un momento del tiempo.

En honor al mes del amor en el que cae el día de San Valentín, Daniel Photo Pro ofrece 15 minutos por $ 50, donde barremos con el equipo listo, dispararemos varias tomas que has planeado con anticipación y listo ... tendrás atesoradas fotos de este tiempo histórico que estamos viviendo.

Sus 15 minutos de fotografía pueden ser en interiores o exteriores; solo necesitamos saberlo de antemano. Le daremos pautas sobre cómo preparar un entorno en su hogar u oficina para las fotos. Después de que los editamos, los tendrás listos para descargar.

Aunque el dinero para cosas especiales es escaso para la mayoría de las personas durante estos tiempos de incertidumbre, el deseo de proteger, acercarnos y disfrutar a nuestras familias es mayor que nunca. Por eso creamos 15 por 50. Es una forma de permitirle tener algunas fotos profesionales sin gastos extraordinarios.

Cuando reciba su descarga y tenga copias impresas para usted y su familia, todos estarán encantados. Podemos mirar imágenes en las computadoras todo el día, pero nunca es lo mismo que tener una fotografía en la mano. ¡Contáctenos hoy para reservar un día y una hora para sus 15 por $ 50! 440-787-3806

If the house is on fire, what do you grab on the way out other than kids and pets?  Real photos!

Real photos are treasures. They capture the ones we love, the times we cherish, the lives we lived in a moment of time.

Honoring the month of Love in which Saint Valentine’s Day falls, Daniel Photo Pro is offering 15 minutes for $50, where we’ll sweep in with equipment ready, shoot several shots that you’ve planned in advance, and voila…you’ll have treasured photos of this historic time we’re living through.

Your 15 minutes of photography can be indoors or outdoors; we just need to know in advance. We’ll give you guidelines on preparing a setting in your home or office for the photos. After we edit them, you will have them ready for download.

Although money for special things is tight for most people during these uncertain times, the desire to protect, to grow closer, and to enjoy our families is greater than ever. That’s why we created 15 for 50. It’s a way to allow you to have some professional photos without extraordinary expense.

When you receive your download and have prints made for yourself and your family, all will be overjoyed.  We can look at pictures on computers all day long but it’s never the same as holding a photograph in your hand. Contact us today to reserve a day and time for your 15 for $50!  440-787-3806  

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"Lo que el mundo necesita ahora es amor, dulce amor", palabras de una famosa canción cantada por la legendaria Barbra Streisand. Empecemos a ampliar nuestra visión del amor con el próximo Día de San Valentín. En lugar de centrarnos en nuestros seres más queridos, usémoslo para enviar amor a todos, incluso a aquellos que no nos gustan o con los que no estamos de acuerdo. ¿Qué podría doler? El amor es una influencia armonizadora sobre individuos y naciones. Con el Día de San Valentín a un mes de distancia, todavía hay tiempo para pensar en formas en las que puede tocar la vida de su familia extendida, amigos, compañeros de trabajo, conocidos, cualquier persona que le haga la vida más fácil como los repartidores y los trabajadores esenciales que continúan durante esta pandemia. El amor comienza con pensamientos más elevados, pensando en lo que puedes hacer para aliviar las cargas de los demás. No sucede automáticamente, tienes que crear pensamientos amorosos dentro de ti y proyectarlos conscientemente. Comience con sus hijos si es necesario y comuníquese con ellos con la comunicación que funcione mejor para asegurarse de que se sientan amados. Expanda desde allí. Compre San Valentín o haga el suyo propio; envíelos pronto! Marque su calendario para enviar correos electrónicos o fotos o cualquier comunicación que sea amable y cariñosa con cualquiera que pueda. Si publica en línea, publique cosas buenas, amables y felices. ¡Ve a lo grande este día de San Valentín! Piense más allá de sus viejas ideas sobre esta festividad y envíe amor a lo grande a todos los que pueda. ¡Mira lo que pasa! Volverá a usted de formas sorprendentes. En esta ocasión compartimos algunas fotos de la familia donde comienza el amor.

“What the world needs now is love, sweet love,” words from a famous song sung by the legendary Barbra Streisand. Let’s start expanding our view of love with the upcoming Valentine’s Day. Instead of focusing on our most beloved, let’s use it to send love to everyone, even those we don’t like or agree with. What could it hurt? Love is a harmonizing influence on individuals and nations.

 With Valentine’s Day a month away, there is still time to think of ways you can touch the lives of your extended family, friends, fellow workers, acquaintances, anyone who makes your life easier like delivery people, and those essential workers who soldier on during this pandemic. Love begins with higher thoughts, thinking of what you can do to ease another’s burdens. It doesn’t happen automatically, you have to create loving thoughts within yourself and consciously project them.

 Start with your kids if needed and reach out to them with whatever communication works best to make sure they feel loved.  Expand from there. Buy Valentine’s or make your own; mail them soon!  Mark your calendar to send emails or photos or any communication that is kind and loving to anyone you can. If you post online, post good, kind, happy stuff! Go Big this Valentine’s Day! Think beyond your old ideas about this holiday and send out love in a big way to everyone you can. Watch what happens! It will come back around to you in surprising ways. 

This time we're sharing some photos of family where love begins.

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Will Valentine’s Day in another pandemic year be different? Perhaps a little, but mostly No!

Romantic love, the essence of Valentine’s Day, will be greater than ever! All the separation required by covid has made everyone incredibly aware that people, relationships, family, are what truly matters.

Announcements of engagements and weddings give everyone a springboard for joy! They mean that life as we cherish it, will go on.  So if you’re thinking of announcing yours, prepare to proclaim it to your world around Valentine’s Day. Daniel Photo Pro can shoot engagement photos, edit them, and have them ready for your announcement to go out before February 14. Contact us today to set a date for your session.

Yes, we’re in the midst of winter, but we can still bundle up and shoot some wonderful photos outdoors at sunset or in a location of your choice. Let this be your Season of Love, of Passion, of sharing your Great News!

An engagement photo session is $350 which includes photography, editing, copywriting, and an online downloadable gallery. Contact us for more details.

2020 has been a challenging year for the whole wide world. As we think of all whom we love and cherish, everything for which we are grateful, and our great hope for the year to come, let us remember that life goes on. The best evidence that there will be Joy again is that babies, those heart-melting tiny fresh beings, will continue to bless and amaze us all.

We wish you a happy Christmas and a new year filled with hope and possibility. Thank you to all who have reached out to Daniel Photo Pro this year. It has been an honor to serve you. We look forward to the great surge of engagements, weddings, births, christenings, and glad reunions of family and friends as the pandemic winds down. This happy couple who wed this year will welcome a new family member soon!

"Los ojos son la ventana de tu alma", escribió Shakespeare hace mucho tiempo. En nuestra fotografía, a menudo nos enfocamos en los ojos por esta misma razón. Los ojos comunican sentimientos para los que las personas no tienen palabras. La alegría de encontrar un alma gemela con quien compartir tu vida, la comprensión de cuánto te quieren tu familia y amigos, la maravilla de cómo llegaste a estar en este lugar y en este momento de la vida. Las bodas son eventos interesantes en los que los novios están contemplando el gran paso que están dando rodeados de todo tipo de actividades. Creemos que es bueno alejarlos del bullicio durante unos momentos de tranquilidad. Muchas parejas, al planificar la fotografía de su boda, quieren docenas de fotos de actividades, familiares y amigos. Sin embargo, el corazón del día y el compromiso adquirido se encuentran a menudo en las fotos contemplativas. ¡Deje tiempo en su horario de fotografía para la reflexión! Una vez que termine el gran día y estés mirando tus fotos en silencio, te alegrarás de haberlo hecho.

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"Eyes are the window to your soul," Shakespeare wrote long ago. In our photography, we often focus on the eyes for this very reason. Eyes communicate feelings for which people have no words. The joy of finding a soulmate with which to share your life, the realization of how much your family and friends love you, the wonder of how you came to be in this place and this moment of life.

Weddings are interesting events in that the bride and groom are contemplating the big step they're taking while surrounded by all kinds of activity.  We find it's good to get them away from the buzz for some quiet moments.  Many couples, when planning their wedding photography, want dozens of photos of activities, family, and friends. However, the heart of the day and the commitment being made are often found in the contemplative photos.  Leave time in your photography schedule for reflection! After the big day is over, and you're quietly looking at your pictures, you'll be happy that you did.

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Prepare for your Engagement or Home Wedding as We Move into a New Year

Almost everyone is more than ready to say adios, adieu, and goodbye to 2020!  Surely 2021 will be much better.  Let’s believe it!

It’s a good time to set the intention for a Life of LOVE by setting your engagement or wedding early in the new year. Covid care will still be required, but Daniel Photo Pro is skilled at wedding and engagement photography that is safe for all.  January and February are great months for engagement photo sessions. The sparkle of snow and winter light creates some of the brightest photographs. We're always scouting out locations for creative and unique photo sessions. Cheers from our family to yours!

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If you feel it’s best to have a small wedding at home during the pandemic, don’t be disappointed, be creative and innovative!  Most couples look at Instagram, other online sources, or magazines for ideas on how to arrange a home for a wedding. Before you look at other people’s ideas, try to come up with your own. You may be more creative than you think. As you walk through the home and grounds in which the wedding will be held, think first of what might work, instead of what won’t work. Look with fresh eyes of possibility. That’s what we do at Daniel Photo Pro, we look for what’s possible rather than what appears to be.

For compelling photographs, it’s better to concentrate on small spaces within the venue where different types of photos can be taken, rather than trying to make a whole room or a whole house look perfect. A home wedding is naturally going to be more intimate, so take advantage of that and look for spots indoors or out where you can have a variety of photos. You can make a wedding seem much larger by shooting photos in mini settings within the space.  Walk around with your smartphone and shoot lots of potential spots where a photo could be set up.  When you see how a space looks in a photo, you can envision what type of decorations, plants, flowers, or artwork might transform or enhance it for a wedding photo. 

Preparing a home for a wedding often results in meaningful home improvements. It’s a way to have an incredibly personal, intimate, unique, and joyful wedding.  

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            Si cree que es mejor celebrar una pequeña boda en casa durante la pandemia, no se decepcione, sea creativo e innovador. La mayoría de las parejas buscan ideas sobre cómo organizar una casa para una boda en Instagram, otras fuentes en línea o revistas. Antes de analizar las ideas de otras personas, intente crear las suyas propias. Puede que seas más creativo de lo que crees. Mientras recorre la casa y los terrenos en los que se celebrará la boda, piense primero en lo que podría funcionar, en lugar de lo que no funcionará. Mire con ojos frescos de posibilidad. Eso es lo que hacemos en Daniel Photo Pro, buscamos lo que es posible en lugar de lo que parece ser.

Para fotografías atractivas, es mejor concentrarse en espacios pequeños dentro del lugar donde se pueden tomar diferentes tipos de fotos, en lugar de tratar de hacer que toda una habitación o una casa se vean perfecta. Una boda en casa naturalmente será más íntima, así que aproveche eso y busque lugares adentro o afuera donde pueda tener una variedad de fotos. Puede hacer que una boda parezca mucho más grande tomando fotos en mini configuraciones dentro del espacio. Camine con su teléfono inteligente y capture muchos lugares potenciales donde se podría configurar una foto. Cuando vea cómo se ve un espacio en una foto, puede imaginar qué tipo de decoraciones, plantas, flores u obras de arte podrían transformarlo o mejorarlo para una foto de boda.

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En estos tiempos locos de covid, muchas de nuestras viejas ideas están cayendo en el camino. ¡Como el hecho de que las bodas deben planificarse con meses o años de antelación!

La mayoría de las bodas son más pequeñas en estos días y los proveedores de bodas no están tan ocupados, por lo que es un buen momento para reservar una boda. Si es en cualquier momento durante el mes de diciembre, los colores vibrantes y gloriosos de la Navidad se pueden usar para calentar a todos.

Los rojos y verdes de todos los tonos, junto con el plateado o el dorado, crean una sensación de buen humor. ¡Todos necesitamos buen ánimo estos días!

Estas son algunas de las fantásticas fotos navideñas de Daniel Photo Pro para estimular tu imaginación. Contáctenos para fotos de compromiso o boda en el alegre mes de diciembre. ¡Salud!

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In these crazy covid times, lots of our old ideas are falling to the wayside. Like the fact that weddings need to be planned months or years out! Most weddings are smaller these days and wedding vendors are not as busy, so it’s a great time to book a wedding. If it’s any time during the month of December, the vibrant, glorious colors of Christmas can be used to warm everyone up. Reds and greens of all hues, along with silver or gold, create such a feeling of good cheer. We all need good cheer these days! Here are a few of Daniel Photo Pro’s whimsical Christmas-y photos to stir your imagination. Contact us for engagement or wedding photos in the merry month of December.  Cheers!

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Lorain County Ohio Lakeview Park en el condado de Lorain es una joya poco conocida para muchos habitantes del noreste de Ohio. Es un lugar ideal para una boda al aire libre en todas las estaciones.

El comienzo del verano es especialmente hermoso en el histórico jardín de rosas del parque, pero hay árboles, plantaciones y el lago como fondo todo el año.

El estacionamiento es amplio y hay muy buenas instalaciones de baños. El famoso Lorain Lighthouse, que se ilumina por la noche con luces multicolores, también realza el rico escenario de bodas que ofrece Lakeview Park.

Con 20 acres de terreno bien cuidado a lo largo del lado norte de West Erie Avenue y una playa, Lakeview Park es el favorito de las parejas enamoradas y los fotógrafos.

https://www.visitloraincounty.com/directory/lakeview-park/

Lakeview Park in Lorain county is a little known gem to many northeast Ohioans.  It’s an ideal place for an outdoor wedding in all seasons. Early summer is especially beautiful in the park’s Historical Rose Garden, but there are trees, plantings, and the lake as a background all year. Parking is ample and there are very good restroom facilities. The renowned Lorain Lighthouse, which is lit up at night with multi-color lights, also enhances the rich wedding setting that Lakeview Park offers. With 20 acres of well-groomed land along the north side of West Erie Avenue, and a beach, Lakeview Park is a favorite of couples in love and photographers.

Contact the park for more information here:https: Lakeview Park OHIO
 

Durante todo el año, desde el amanecer hasta el atardecer, nuestro magnífico Great Lake Erie ofrece un maravilloso fondo para fotos de bodas y compromisos. Incluso cuando hace frío y hielo en invierno, sigue siendo muy hermoso. La enorme extensión del lago, los colores siempre cambiantes del cielo y el agua, la abundancia de aves y vida silvestre, la arena y las playas rocosas se combinan para crear una sensación de eternidad, ¡que es la forma en que quieres que sea tu amor! Las fotos tomadas en el lago siempre tienen una sensación de libertad, alegría y deleite. Entonces, naturalmente, las parejas sonríen mucho. La formalidad del atuendo de boda yuxtapuesto con la naturaleza salvaje revela un lado de la pareja enamorada que es diferente a las otras fotos. Por supuesto, en una boda, desea muchas fotos de su amada familia y amigos, la ceremonia y la verdadera importancia de todo, pero agregar fotos de la playa al plan fotográfico siempre funciona sorprendentemente bien.

Year-round, from sunrise to sunset, our magnificent Great Lake Erie provides a marvelous background for wedding and engagement photos. Even when it’s cold and icy in winter, it’s still so very beautiful. The huge expanse of the lake, the ever-changing colors of sky and water, the abundance of birds and wildlife, the sandy and the rocky beaches combine to create a feeling of eternity, which is the way you want your love to be!

Photos taken at the lake always have a feeling of freedom, joy and delight about them. So naturally, couples smile a lot. The formality of wedding attire juxtaposed with wild nature reveals a side of the couple in love that is unlike the other photos. Of course, in a wedding, you want lots of photos of your beloved family and friends, the ceremony and the true importance of it all, but adding beach photos to the photography plan always works out surprisingly well.

At most weddings, especially big ones, the element of Stress overrides the element of Joy. It’s sad because the element of Joy is what a wedding is supposed to be about! So what happens when the wedding is small, outdoors. and held on a gorgeous autumn day? The Joy explodes! This wedding, held October 10, was originally planned for 300 people, but Covid times required a change in mindset, so they decided to have a small wedding immersed in nature now rather than wait. They were rewarded with spectacular weather on their chosen day and boundless happiness. It’s remarkable how beautiful authentic smiles of joy can be on human faces. This couple is obviously madly in love with each other and open to having fun on a day when many couples are stressed out from creating a large and expensive production. The family who did attend showed their concern for others with their masks.

Typically, photoshoots of weddings are more work for photographers than joy, but at this wedding, there was so much light, love, and happiness that even we had a fabulous time!

En la mayoría de las bodas, especialmente en las grandes, el elemento de estrés anula el elemento de alegría. ¡Es triste porque el elemento Joy es de lo que se supone que se trata una boda! Entonces, ¿qué sucede cuando la boda es pequeña, al aire libre y se celebra en un hermoso día de otoño? ¡La Alegría estalla! Esta boda, celebrada el 10 de octubre, estaba originalmente planeada para 300 personas, pero Covid Times requirió un cambio de mentalidad, por lo que decidieron tener una pequeña boda inmersos en la naturaleza ahora en lugar de esperar. Fueron recompensados ​​con un clima espectacular en el día que eligieron y una felicidad sin límites. Es notable lo hermosas que pueden ser las sonrisas auténticas de alegría en los rostros humanos. Obviamente, esta pareja está locamente enamorada y dispuesta a divertirse en un día en el que muchas parejas están estresadas por crear una producción grande y costosa. La familia que asistió mostró su preocupación por los demás con sus máscaras.

Por lo general, las sesiones de fotos de bodas son más trabajo para los fotógrafos que alegría, pero en esta boda, hubo tanta luz, amor y felicidad que incluso nosotros lo pasamos de maravilla. 

At most weddings, especially big ones, the element of Stress overrides the element of Joy. It’s sad because the element of Joy is what a wedding is supposed to be about! So what happens when the wedding is small, outdoors. and held on a gorgeous autumn day? The Joy explodes! This wedding, held October 10, was originally planned for 300 people, but Covid times required a change in mindset, so they decided to have a small wedding immersed in nature now rather than wait. They were rewarded with spectacular weather on their chosen day and boundless happiness. It’s remarkable how beautiful authentic smiles of joy can be on human faces. This couple is obviously madly in love with each other and open to having fun on a day when many couples are stressed out from creating a large and expensive production. The family who did attend showed their concern for others with their masks.

Typically, photoshoots of weddings are more work for photographers than joy, but at this wedding, there was so much light, love, and happiness that even we had a fabulous time!

On a clear day warm or cool, Cleveland is a spectacular city for photography. It has towering buildings, cool sculptures, a vast blue lake, green spaces, trendy social areas, and fascinating architecture. Whether you want photos of individuals, couples, events, or engagements and weddings, Cleveland rivals any American city for photography. Even if you live in the suburbs, as a northeast Ohioan, Cleveland is your city! Take advantage of it the next time you want photography that captures the city's vibrancy, sophistication, and natural beauty. Daniel Photo Pro recently shot these photos in downtown.

At Daniel Photo Pro, we encourage couples to consider natural settings for engagement and wedding photography. Why? It's because everyone looks happier and healthier outdoors! Plus in these covid times, it's safer. Our recent wedding photoshoot at Fellows Riverside Gardens revealed a lovely place for a wedding year-round. It's not too late for a fall photo session there.  Fellows is a free public garden located at the northern end of Mill Creek Park, nine miles from the Ohio Turnpike which makes it easy for guests to find. From a photographic standpoint  - it's simply beautiful! 

Fellows has curated garden areas with easy walkways and paths for women in high heels and long dresses, and guests who need them. It also has natural woodsy areas with lovely old shade trees. This variety gives the wedding couple choices for settings that blend with their personal style, especially in the photos of just the two of them.

Fellows Riverside Gardens is open year-round sunrise to sunset. If you want to try it, give us a call for engagement photos or more information. 

Whoever decided that June is the perfect month for weddings must not have been a Lover of Autumn. Nature is so wonderfully generous with color, texture, depth, and just plain beauty in the fall. It’s the traditional time of harvest, the time when the light changes throughout the day, when leaves become most breathtaking. Everyone in the wedding photos will have the advantage of natural fall lighting, that golden glow that makes people look healthy. A fall or even an early winter wedding outdoors can be more beautiful and less expensive by inviting nature into the planning. In the fall, you can let the colors of your wedding décor or theme come from nature, and stay neutral with wedding attire.

If you want to be married this fall, take a drive through the country (Amish country is especially lovely this time of year in Ohio) and be inspired by nature. You don’t have to buy artificial flowers, plants, grasses or anything fake at all for your wedding if you go to nature. Plus everything you choose will go back to the earth when it’s been used. Even amid the pandemic and all of the discouraging news, nature will still provide the perfect wedding if you let her. Being in love makes all the colors of the world brighter so use this season to allow your imagination to flourish.

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Wall décor is one of the hot trends of 2020 in the wedding world. It simply requires choosing a few photos to place together artfully on your wall. It’s often a good idea to choose groups in odd numbers, three, five or seven, just like you do when creating settings of plants. The theme of the wall décor can be many different things; they just have to show some coherence so they convey harmony to the viewer. As you look through all of your photos, see if a theme emerges of a few photos that might work together.  It can be just the groom, or just the bride, or the wedding dress, or family members laughing, children, or looks of love. When you’ve chosen the group of photos that you want to use for your wall art, decide how to have them printed in sizes that will work together so that you end up with a big rectangle or square. 

In the past, couples would have one big photo - their “official” wedding photo - and blow it up to a big size. The wedding wall art of today is more creative. It works very well when you choose photos of faces that express a deep emotion or show how the person is deep in thought about this momentous occasion.

If you have ideas about creating a work of wedding wall art before the wedding, talk to your photographer about the theme. He or she can then watch for opportunities to shoot photos of that theme.

Spoils Your Plans and Visions

If your engagement, wedding, and travel plans, or simply your plans to start a new life have been dimmed by the pandemic, be sure to feel the disappointment – for a short while! The more important allowing, however, is for your natural happiness to bubble up from within you where it hides. It takes more energy to allow happiness than it does to wallow in disappointment. Allowing happiness happens when you accept what you can’t do about your plans and start looking at what’s possible. Think outside your pre-pandemic brain for new ways to approach manifesting your dream engagement, wedding, or honeymoon!

First of all, try to be open to the idea that in the end, different may turn out to be better. Since the pandemic, thousands of couples around the country have still gotten married. The remarkable thing is that many found they had more ingenuity and creativity in planning their events than they thought they had. So, if you’re in the midst of trying to plan your future and you run into pandemic-related roadblocks, try taking some time to release the disappointment and hassle, and then allow your natural happiness to return. Happiness will fuel your creative juices and you will be surprised at how you will begin to see possibilities where the obstacles stood.

The first recorded evidence of a marriage ceremony uniting one man and one woman dates to 2350 BC! That’s well over four thousand years ago.  You don’t have to study world history to know that a lot of bad things like plagues and pandemics have come and gone, yet wedding ceremonies have gotten more popular than ever. As the song says, don’t worry, be happy…and start planning!

The costs mount up fast when you’re planning a wedding.  These days most people are scaling back costs, but not dreams! Dreams can be adapted to a tighter budget by letting the beauty and bounty of Mother Nature help you curate a wedding and reception venue with color and creativity. Making flowers and plants your primary elements doesn’t mean your florist bill has to be huge.  It will take a little work and planning, and perhaps yard sale hunting for pots, vases. and containers, but the possibilities are unlimited if you’re willing to do the work. 

If your wedding and reception are in the distant future, you can begin now by planting seeds or starter plants inside your home so that by the time the wedding arrives you’ll have some of the flowers or plants you want.  Don’t have a green thumb, time, or inclination to do that?  Then get to know the nature around you, in neighbors’ yards, parks, or any natural place. Look deeper to see what you love. Let people know your plans. You would be surprised at how gardeners you barely know would love to contribute plants and flowers to your wedding effort. It doesn’t have to be color coordinated and matched. In these pandemic times, we all have to stretch our imaginations and think outside the wedding magazines.  The great thing about learning about flowers and plants as you create the elements of your wedding is that you’ll be able to brighten the life and home you’re creating with your new spouse.

Enjoy this nature photography we’ve accumulated over the years. Daniel’s photography of nature in natural light is glorious.

Perhaps you’ve never heard that Cleveland is for lovers. Yet, it’s so true! Love flourishes in many ways in northeast Ohio – love of our great city, great lake, great sky, great food, great culture, great nature, great values, and great people. Most of all, it’s the land of lovers where couples in love create deep roots and build meaningful lives. What’s your story of love in Cleveland?

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Should you spend money on a white or ivory wedding gown in these financially challenging times?

Keep in mind that the concept of lavish wedding gowns developed not from tradition, but from a wedding industry that created the idea that every woman should look like a princess on her wedding day.  The actual tradition of wearing white originated in Great Britain when Queen Victoria married Prince Albert in 1840.  It was scandalous because until then, white was only for mourning.  Somewhere along the line, black became the color of mourning. The idea of white caught on for wedding dresses after Victoria and extends to this day.  Then came ivory (probably because some women felt disingenuous wearing white which stood for virginity when they were not virgins!).

In truth, there have been millions and millions of brides over time who have married in their best dress, regardless of color or length. When the United States was poised to enter the war in Europe in 1941, thousands of women in love married hastily in suits and dresses with padded shoulders and A-line skirts.

So, in these pandemic times, if your budget is limited, know that creating a wedding dress (or pants!) in your personal style is more important than adhering to either the tradition set by an English queen or the wedding industry.

Photo albums by Daniel Photo Pro are not just a collection of photos. We curate the photos to tell the story of the wedding. Every wedding is a day filled with the expected and the unexpected! We photograph it all in hundreds of shots, then select 70 to 100 photos and edit them together in a way that brings the day back to life each time you review it.  Here’s a quote from a customer whose wedding we shot a few years ago. She recently contacted us about another event and included this in her email:

“I kept lots of stuff from our 2013 wedding…the dress, invitation, some decorations, photos on flash drives, video, etc..  But as the years go by, the only thing we go back to every year on our anniversary is your wonderful photo album. We get busy and never look back at the other stuff. Just your album. We re-live that wonderful day every year with your album. So thank you again for making it so special.”

Many photographers make the album mostly about the bride because she’s the one that usually drives the wedding planning and cares the most about photos. We include the best pictures of the bride and the groom, but we also take great care to tell the story of the whole family, the friends, the energy, the ambiance, and the spirit of the day. We can also include some engagement photos in the album if we do the session.

This link shows an entire wedding photo album. Take a look! https://www.danielphotopro.com/vinka-book.pdf

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In regard to weddings and receptions in these times of pandemic, it may feel as if you’ve lost a lot. There is a risk in bringing large numbers of people together. Yet, in every dark cloud, there is a silver lining, and in these times, it may be that Small is Beautiful. Weddings at home may require more creativity to create an ambiance and experience that will fulfill your wedding dreams.  However, it can be done, and it may turn out better than you imagined. In these photos of a recent home wedding, see how much love and joy are reflected in the smiles of the small crowd. In these times, everyone is realizing how precious life is, how special family and close friends are, and that we can live more simply and still be happy.

How do you transform from a bride wearing a wedding dress with a train, into an elegant bride on the reception dance floor without changing dresses?  Save time, money, and stress by choosing a dress that is designed to multi-purpose.

Many brides spend far more than necessary buying a dress for the wedding ceremony and a dress for the reception so they can let loose after all that planning. Plus, changing dresses and shoes, re-touching hair and makeup, can be a pain. Sometimes guests spend too much time waiting on the bride and they get anxious.

A recent Daniel Photo Pro wedding shoot reveals a smart bride who chose a dress with a belt that held the train and added glamour to the dress. After the wedding…voila… off came the belt and she was ready to dance the night away.

Whether you’re planning your wedding at home, outdoors, or in a church, think through every part of the event and how it can be simplified so that you and your beloved can ENJOY your day. Every part of a wedding has a design element, especially the dress, and careful consideration of them can make the day even better.

Life moves on, and most of us are beginning to adapt to the new normal, which includes the realization that big events probably won’t return for a while. If you’ve had your heart set on a wedding, what do you do?  You simply have to incorporate safety into the planning and focus on family and close friends even more. In the long run, these changes may make weddings more meaningful in terms of the heart.

By having a wedding in a home, whether it’s the one that either the bride or groom grew up in, or a family member or friend’s home, you’ll add a new dimension to the event that can be captured wonderfully in the photography. Years from now, looking back at the photos, you’ll see they’re even more special in that sort of location, rather than in a commercial place you would have rented. “Home is where the heart is,” as the old saying goes.

Here are some ideas from a recent home wedding session that Daniel Photo Pro did. In a home atmosphere, both indoors and out, there are lots of little things that can be photographed artistically. Photography is the only thing from a wedding that truly lasts.  The cake and decorations don’t last. The wedding dresses packed away may last, but they aren’t brought out often.  Great photos are there for the re-living of a life-changing experience. So let’s live the new normal as best we can!

      What will weddings be like for the rest of the year? Postponed? Smaller? Set aside?

Daniel Photo Pro offers a way to have your wedding and still have family members or friends who can’t attend be part of the memories. Our wedding books can incorporate your existing photos of family or friends that can’t attend into your new wedding album. For example, after we photograph your wedding, however small it might be, you can send us photos of those who could not attend and we will artfully edit them into your wedding album. In the end, you’ll have those all-important bride and groom photos but also a book that is inclusive of all those you wanted to involve.

Our editing staff is skilled at integrating the old with the new and maintaining a coherent album that tells your story.

Even if your wedding is very small, we’ll take amazing photos and if you wish, integrate some of your own so that it’s a shared experience. 

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from the comfort of your home.

Down times like we’re all experiencing “sheltering in place” are a good time to do those things we never

seem to have time to do.  We hope you’ll take some time to look through all the photos on our website it

you’re planning a wedding or engagement, or just like to look at real people in happy circumstances. You’ll

get ideas to inspire you!  We would love for you to share your comments by email or on our Facebook page.

After all, we’re sheltering too!

Major life events such as milestone birthdays, anniversaries, christenings, engagements and, of course, weddings, call for memorable entertainment beyond the ordinary. A great way to honor someone is by providing a professional entertainer in a field they’re passionate about or entertainment that highlights a heritage they treasure. At this party, a Romanian traditional troupe dancer was hired to provide a captivating experience for everyone.

Hiring a professional photographer allows those giving the party and the audience to relax and enjoy the show without having to worry about taking photos. Plus, the photos taken will greatly enhance the memory of the event.

          In an effort to save money, engaged couples sometimes plan to take wedding photos with their phones or to have their friends and family take photos. That works if you want to look at your wedding only on your phone for the rest of your life. However, technology changes rapidly and you may not be able to access them on future phones. Prints of your wedding, if only a few great ones, are timeless treasures.

          Phone photos are stored in a size optimized for appearance on a phone or tablet, but they are vastly smaller in pixel-size than a professional photo. Many couples are not only disappointed, but shocked, at the loss of quality when they try to make prints or photo albums from the small pixel photos. If you make an 8x10 print of a phone photo and compare it to one made from a professional photo, you see that the detail, clarity, color and depth are greatly diminished. The phone photos almost always look washed out when printed.

          At Daniel Photo Pro, some of our brides and grooms want phone photos integrated into their wedding albums with our professional photos. It is not possible to integrate them and to maintain the high quality of the images. We often keep in contact with wedded couples we’ve worked with because they come back for anniversaries and christenings. We’ve been told that as the years go by, they rarely look back at wedding photos on their phones or computers, but the printed ones they’ve framed and especially the hardcover Photo Books we’ve created are what they look at often or keep displayed.

in Wedding Photography?
 

          Most wedding photographers do sequential shots that show each phase of the wedding from start to finish. That’s “documentary” style. The good ones also try to bring an artistic touch to as many shots as possible while they’re doing the sequential photography. It’s helpful if a bride and groom think in advance about the kind of photography that’s meaningful to them. Is the event itself super important, or are creative shots that capture the spirit of their love more important? If the couple values art and creative images in their everyday lives, they’re likely to want it in their wedding photography. If they primarily value relationships, the sequential photos that make sure every participant and specific groups of people are photographed, is foremost.

         Our experience shows us that most couples do not take enough time to think about the photography until after the wedding. Then they realize how important it is now that the event is over and all they have for years to come are the photos! 

         It takes TIME to do the extra shots that have an artistic touch, so if the wedding couple can allow the photographer a little extra time in each phase of the wedding to be creative, the end product will be richer than they imagined.

         Daniel Photo Pro strives to add artistry, creativity and uniqueness to as many shots as possible.  It’s what makes doing photography a joyful experience. He also strives to create a wealth of photos from a wedding that will thrill the bride and groom giving them more than they knew they wanted.

        Oprah often says “fortune favors the prepared mind”. Attending a bridal show or fair takes a large part of a day of your life! Go prepared and use the time you spend effectively. Bridal shows are fun and filled with giveaways and edible delights (which is a bit ironic since most brides want to lose weight), but they can also be an excellent resource if you are a bride with a wedding to plan on top of your already busy life.

        Take some time to think through what you want to accomplish at the show, and make a list of the key types of vendors you want to see.  All shows have an online list of vendors that you can view in advance. Often brides attend shows for ideas in addition to finding out more about specific vendors. When you first arrive, stroll through the whole show just looking at things which appeal to your senses.

Try not to get distracted by all the freebie stuff; look for ideas which might fit into your overall wedding plan.

        Then, if you have a list of vendors that you want to speak to or see more of their work, seek them out. Take notes on your phone or on paper. Days or weeks after the show, you may not remember what impressed you about a particular vendor. Try not to start with price, when you’re talking with vendors. Try to understand what value they bring to you before price. Any really good vendor will have many questions for you before they talk price. If you want a unique wedding, don’t go for the cookie cutter packages right off the bat. Talk first!

        In the case of Daniel Photo Pro, you’ll find we enjoy questioning brides about what they want, rather than showing them what we have done. Our work speaks for itself. The more we get to know you and your groom and your dreams, the more we will create photography which you will love and cherish.

Weddings are all about the brides - right? No! The bride is half of the couple. The other half, the groom, has dreams and wishes for this big event in his life too. Many grooms, however, feel overwhelmed by the exuberance with which their brides-to-be (and her mother and grandmothers, aunts, sisters and friends) approach the wedding planning. So, the grooms back off. “Just tell me where to stand,” grooms have been heard to say.

Many grooms believe the brides and their entourages make everything so complicated, and care so much about the tiny details of things like table settings, that the big picture is overwhelmed by the details. To the groom, the big picture, is a day full of friends and family that have joined together to celebrate the couple starting a new life together. The bride typically sees an entire day where everything, including herself, has to be perfect.

So what do grooms want? They want the bride to relax and let go of the perfectionism that created “bridezillas”. They want their beloved to enjoy the day and to realize that she is already just what he wanted.  Many brides-to-be are so influenced by the concept of over the top Instagram photos that they forget the day is all about love. Men want women to let go of perfection, and to enjoy themselves.

By the way, the photography that comes from a day where the bride and groom are focused on each other and are joyful, rather than stressed, always results in more wonderful photography.

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Why do engagements and weddings, Valentine's Day and anniversaries, chocolates and flowers, and a hundred other celebrations of romantic love persist? You might think it's marketing, but it's not! It's because love is as pervasive as air. It's everywhere. Why when a couple has billions of other humans to choose from, do they find each other?

How do we find the heart song that harmonizes with our own? Who knows? Love is magical and it will never, ever go away for good. 

At Daniel Photo Pro, we celebrate love, especially love that brings friends and families together in ways that build memories and deepen relationships. Love is everywhere you look, if you only look!