New York Fashion Shoot - WeddingSalon.com -Filmindesign - Weddingindesign

We were on location this week in NYC shooting for a bridal fashion line. The shoot included shooting a HD short film for the designer. Here are a couple of behind the scenes photos from our shoot in Central Park...In this scene Michael is shooting on the 5D Mark II HDDSLR using the steadicam system. As you can see the model for the shoot, well she is simply gorgeous! The weather was also perfect, with the change in seasons, we were able to shoot summer looks, and fall looks with the dramatic colors of the changing leaves. Here our crew was shooting some steadicam footage.

We were also featured in the world's most prestigious wedding showcase, The Wedding Salon Bridal Show. Located at the Roosevelt Hotel, this prestigious high end wedding show gave brides the chance to meet David Tutera and the legendary Sylvia Weinstock, among others. There was an amazing bridal fashion show, beauty services featuring Yves Saint Laurent, hors d’ oeuvres, cocktails & fabulous gift bags, the show was a huge success, where brides came from all over the world to see the finest in wedding planning, design, photography and more..

Caia & Chris's Wedding - Memphis Weddings

Caia & Chris had a very posh event beginning at The Madison Hotel, then on the Grace St Luke's Cathedral, with an elegant reception at the Memphis Country Club. We had just a few minutes to photograph a few bridal portraits of Caia in this beautiful wedding gown which we loved. The guys were all perfect gentlemen for their session at The Madison Hotel, with appropriate black tuxedos for their formal wear. Congratulations to Caia and Chris, who will be honeymooning in Europe.

Weddingindesign - Filmindesign - New Websites Launched This Month!

We've just launched our new Filmindesign site and our new Weddingindesign site. We began our photography career shooting 35 mm transparencies, then we moved on to 35mm negatives and medium format films. We've also been working in video for many years, and are very excited to make the switch to full High Definition. With recent changes in technology, we have been able to convert our incredible Canon lenses for use in our full frame 35mm HD Cinema cameras. It's been pretty neat to see the world of cameras make this incredible change from film to image sensors over the past several years. I can't imagine what will be next. Anyway, back to our post. Here is a preview of our www.weddingindesign.com and our www.filmindesign.com website trailer in HD letterbox format. Be sure to check out our new sites and see the cool images we have posted, we are pretty excited! (we've also changed our blog format to a wide screen format, so we can post bigger images for the world to see.)

View on our Filmindesign website

Jessica and Billy's Wedding - Memphis Tennessee Weddings

Congratulations to Jessica and Billy on their recent wedding. We had a blast photographing their wedding day, Jessica was a beautiful bride and we really loved her incredible dress. They had so much fun, we almost forgot what time the ceremony started. Later in the evening, they hosted a very chic wedding reception at the China Exhibition at The Memphis Zoo. It was a very posh event, where the guests were treated with food from the four corners of the world. We had perfect weather for the outdoor event, and the celebration lasted until the early morning. Here is just a small sample of some of the photograph highlights from their wedding.

Sarah & Ben's Wedding - Memphis Tennessee

I love classic church weddings. The beauty and simplicity of each element of the wedding day combined with a beautiful church setting is artistic. Capturing each little special moment of the day is something a bride & groom will cherish for their lifetime. Sarah & Ben asked me to photograph their wedding about a year in advance, which gave us time to get to know one another, and gave Sarah time to focus on the details of her wedding planning. We did an engagement shoot and created a guest signature book, which everyone at the reception fell in love with. Sarah & Ben's tender affection for one another was evident in each frame that I shot, and at the same time they were relaxed, having fun their entire wedding day. I love it when I arrive in the bridal room early in the day and find the bride just smiling and laughing, it sets the tone for the entire day for everyone involved. It also gives me time to capture some special moments.

Here are just a few of Sarah & Ben's photographs from their very special day. Congratulations Sarah & Ben!

Serengeti Sunset - Michael Allen Photography

Every year we travel to some of our favorite vacation spots along the gulf coast from Perdido Key to Seaside Florida. As a photographer I stay so busy shooting for clients, magazines, and numerous assignments, I sometimes like to take a break and go on a personal shooting safari to see what I shoot for fun. Here is one shot that looks like the African Serengeti, but was actually shot from the balcony of my house through the treetops. An incredible display of clouds and the last shot of the day. This one will go in my collection of gallery prints for my next exhibit.

Fashion Week Memphis - Michael Allen Photography

Last week Fashion Week took Memphis by storm at the new Minglewood Hall Concert Arena. Larry Perry with www.Epic1media.com produced the event. My friend www.briankcrainphoto.com shot with me to help capture some incredible images behind the scenes and during the fashion show event. Enjoy some of the highlights from the week and the show! If you were one of the models and want to see all of your images, go to www.pictage.com and do a search for your name.

Jessica & Neil's Wedding in Memphis - Michael Allen Photography

I met Jessica & her parents who found me through my studio referrals. I knew that this would be a great family to work with, and really looked forward to shooting her wedding. Jessica and her new husband Neil, will be residing in Montana, another one of my favorite places to visit, and my wife's home state. This was a very fun wedding, despite the brutal high temperatures and high humidity. A couple of weeks before the wedding, a storm took out the main air conditioning unit at St Mary's Cathedral downtown, but fortunately they had a huge temporary AC unit piping in cold air into the main cathedral, however, the beautiful outdoor courtyard was full of heavy duty AC gear, and prevented us from shooting much out there. I'll also have to say the party at the reception was one of the best I've seen, everyone had a blast and the band was another highlight of the evening. Here are a few of the highlights from Jessica and Neil's Wedding in Memphis.

Hannah and David's Wedding-Memphis Tennessee - Michael Allen Photography

Here are a few highlights from Hannah & David's Wedding last weekend. They were a great couple to photograph, they had a blast and were always having fun all day long. After the ceremony the reception was held at the Old Daisy Theatre on Beale Street. One of my approaches to photographing a wedding is to catch the couple being themselves. I want them to have fun and enjoy their beautiful day. Part of my artistic approach is to get the couple interacting early in the day, that's when the moments start to happen. The rest of the day seems to flow with all the details of the day. Hannah always has a smile on her face (so does David) and you can see from the photo collection here, how much in love they are with each other. They were a great couple to photograph, and even with the busy wedding schedule, we managed to sneak them away for a few moments for some timeless photographs! I also love the bride's incredible hairstyle, very elegant and classic...thanks to my beautiful wife and her award winning talents!

Sarah & Aaron's Wedding - Knoxville Tennessee - Michael Allen Photography

Last weekend we traveled to east Tennessee to photograph Sarah & Aaron's Wedding in Knoxville. Seems like this year I've been all over the country, and the Caribbean photographing lots of fun weddings. Sarah & Aaron were a joy to work with, and the hospitality that their families and friends shared with us was simply amazing. One of my personal highlights (outside of the wedding) was the 2:30 a.m. hotel fire alarm that had about 300 hundred guests standing out in the street in our jammies. We were all half asleep, but definitely made some memories with this "after-after" party. Fortunately, it was a false alarm, and we all climbed back up the 9 stories in the stairwell and crawled back in our beds and went fast to sleep. The next day I had a little "jet lag" from my interrupted sleep, but the weekend was a great adventure. We drove to Knoxville a few days early to explore the mountains, took our daughter to a real gold & gem mine where she panned for gold, spent two days with our dear friend Dolly Parton in Dollywood, and I got a chance to hike the Cumberland mountain trails and zip across five 1000 ft zip lines at blazing speeds in my repelling gear. That was about as much fun as my shark diving adventures in Little Cayman a few years back. Anyway, back to the wedding! We had great weather, a beautiful blue sky day, and perfect temperatures in the 80's. The wedding day was a pretty fast paced day, but Sarah and Aaron were game for some adventure, so we took a quick little tour of downtown Knoxville's downtown outdoor Market, which made for some great photo backdrops. As you can see, Sarah & Aaron, and their entire wedding party had an incredible wedding day! Enjoy!

Sarah & Nick's Wedding - Memphis Tennessee - Michael Allen Photography

Here are a few highlights from Sarah & Nick's wedding. They were married at White Station Church of Christ with their reception at Memphis Botanic Garden. I had a great time photographing their wedding, and they had a fun group of friends for their large wedding party. It was a beautiful day for a June wedding, and everything was picture perfect for their day! I love photographing weddings like this, everyone was incredible! We had a great day with time to shoot lots of details. I put together a few of my favorite shots for the blog, and chose a collection of black & white images that create a classic modern wedding. For the outdoor photographs I look for the best light, choosing some partially shaded areas. This was a very bright day, so I look for high canopies under large trees to soften the light. When I find the right light, it mimics a large soft box, creating some very fun and timeless images. Sarah & Nick were very at ease with the camera, and as you can see, they ended up with some incredible photographs. Congratulations Sarah & Nick!

Emily & Glenn's Wedding - Memphis Tennessee

Congratulations to Emily & Glenn on their recent wedding celebration. I had a blast working with Emily on her wedding day, her family and friends are so wonderful. It was a great day to share with this fun couple! I love working with couples that relax and have fun, capturing them on their very special day is an honor. Their wedding day was one of those potential rainy days, with looming clouds and rainshowers all day long, but when it came time for photos, the clouds broke away and the skies cleared like a scene from the Old Testament when Moses parted the sea. I hope you enjoy a few of the highlights from their beautiful wedding! Emily & Glenn flew in from New York to get married in their hometown for a grand wedding day. As you can see by some of the details, it was a beautiful event.

Kelly & Keith - Memphis Brooks Museum of Art - Michael Allen Photography

Congratulations to Kelly & Keith on their wedding, which was recently featured in Southern Bride Magazine. I really love working with Kelly (& Keith) and her eye for fine details. The Memphis Brooks Museum of Art is an incredible choice for a wedding with all of it's art exhibits, fine paintings and sculpture. I particularly love the architecture of the building, including both ultra modern design and historic detail from the early 1900's. Angela Mazanti was the event designer, and offered creative uses of color and texture for their wedding, making their wedding an incredible, beautiful event. Here are just a few of the details of their day.

Food & Wine Magazine Top 10 Chefs - Michael Allen Photography - Memphis

Congratulations to Kelly English at Restaurant Iris...... One of our recent clients has just been selected as Food & Wine Magazines 2009 Top Ten Best New Chefs! This is great honor and a significant award.  If you have not been to Kelly's new restaurant, be sure to make reservations well in advance, it was hard to get in before, now with this award, it may take months just to get in. The food is absolutely incredible. 

Here is a brief review from the Food & Wine article: 

How his cooking career started: “I was filleting catfish in a little fish shack in Oxford, Mississippi, while I was pre-law at Ole Miss. I realized I liked going to work more than going to school. When I told my dad, who’s a lawyer, that I wanted to go to culinary school instead of law school, he was really excited about it. In his business, everyone is unhappy; I liked the idea of making people happy. He took me to August restaurant in New Orleans—we had gnocchi in fennel cream sauce with black truffles and blue crab, and from that first bite, I knew. That dish changed my life.”

How he opened Iris: “I was in Memphis with my now-wife, Angela, and I heard about a space that was for sale, an old Memphis institution called La Tourelle. Inside, there was a stained glass fleur-de-lis (a New Orleans symbol), and I said, ‘Oh my goodness.’ We went outside and there was a rainbow. I said, ‘What’s next, a unicorn?’ Everything about it was exactly right.”

Be sure to read more about Kelly at www.foodandwine.com/articles/best-new-chefs-2009-kelly-english

Kelly and his wife Angela were married last year in Memphis at an extravagant high end wedding at St Peters with a grand reception at Central Station. Shown here is a portrait of Kelly & Angela we photographed on location at Restaurant Iris. Congratulations to Kelly and Angela for this incredible honor.

Buckle Stores Advertising Session - Michael Allen Photography

Here are just a few commercial advertising photographs that I shot this month for "Buckle". For this session we were going for a natural lighting for an edgy fashion look, keeping a bold color palette within Buckles targeted demographics. Sessions like these are a lot of fun, but also a lot of hard work. We had over 10 models, 2 hairstylists, 2 makeup artists, 3 fashion designers, and our team. Part of the concept of the shoot was to work in a live store, creating strong public excitement of shooting on location in one of Buckles highly successful stores. The gear used was pretty simple as far as lighting. I got to put my new Canon 5d Mark II to the test and used a variety of lenses from a 15mm fisheye, a 24-105mm IS lens, and a 70-200mm IS lens - in RAW mode at 21 megapixel. Shooting on this camera reminds me of the days when I shot all transparencies for the magazines. The digital capability of this camera is fantastic. I used several reflectors, blended natural light with ambient sunlight, and worked in ISO ranges from 640 to 6200. I also used some flash depending on the spots I choose on the location, bouncing flash into the reflectors to create a full wash effect. We had the ad agency team on location who helped us stay on task and kept the team working at full steam. I've done lots of sessions like these over the years, and working with great models who know what to do takes the session over the top! Hopefully sometime next year some of these will end up in their ad campaigns, I'll keep you posted when they go to press.

Children's Spring Portrait Sessions Now Booking in Memphis

It's a perfect time to book your child for one of our lifestyle portrait sessions. We love to catch kids being themselves and having fun, you get some incredible photographs of the most simple things. Here is one image of a portrait group we are working on for our Spring Portrait Sessions. With Easter just around the corner, what a perfect time to schedule a session. We customize each session to fit your child's personality, and unlike some portrait studios, we shoot over 100 images, so you will have more choices than you can imagine. This image will be great on a 24x36 inch canvas portrait. Instead of buying expensive art for your home, invest in your child as Art.

Baby Sessions

I love the diversity of professional photography especially when I can go one day from shooting wild rock stars, then book a session with a new mom and her sweet new baby. My approach to photographing any subject is to capture some incredible images. Children are an incredible blessing in life, and if you can capture them being themselves and combine those moments with Art, then you have a great session. I did Shannon's wedding a couple of years ago, she recently called me for her maternity session, and now her new 5 month old baby boy. I schedule quite a few baby sessions each month, and love every minute of it. I used the new Canon 5d Mark II with a 24-105mm IS lens. I shot these at ISO 1000 in the studio with a soft box, 4x6 reflector, and a small backlight for the background with some spill on the subject from behind. My studio has a nice full glass wall that brings in lots of daylight, so I shoot everything in daylight mode.

Yung Rip

Last month I got a call from a music industry executive in Australia who represents a new hip hop artist - Yung Rip. He is in Memphis recording his new cd at Ardent Studios. I got a chance to photograph these images with the new Canon 5d MarkII camera. Here are just a few of the images from the session. I'll keep you posted when the cd comes out and which images they choose for the cover. The great thing about working with new artists, they have lots of drive and incredible talent, you never know when you may be working with the next grammy winning artist.

Save The Dress-Memphis Wedding Photographer

Here's our hot new photography feature that everyone's talking about. If you want one for your wedding or engagement session, just ask about our special package offer. Our videos can be downloaded to your Facebook, Wedding Website, or wherever you want. Check out our new video and imagine yourself in these images....pretty cool! You can also get some pretty cool music from a list of great artists in our stock music plan. Tired of the same old boring videos? We can change that!

Memphis Wedding Photography Classes - Photo Art

Here is part of a recent collection I shot in Mobile Bay last summer. The Photo Art collection is one of our most requested techniques for brides who love art! We also teach this in our workshops and one on one mentoring classes. Find out more about our workshops on the website. We teach photoshop processing techniques and a variety of art techniques. We teach classes for advanced photographers, and new enthusiasts. We can also bring in our advanced team, one who is a recent graduate of The University of Art in San Francisco to teach larger workshops. Ryan is a master in the entire Adobe CS4 Suite, and has an incredible talent for art. On this image, I did a layering process with about 6 layers and created an overlay along with distressing to create this piece. Visit our website at www.michaelallenphotography.com to find out more about our collections.