Here are 5 tips to help you with your wedding day photos:

1. Get ready in a room with lots of natural window light. Not only will this help your make up artist, the photos will be absolutely stunning. Your photographer will be able to use this big natural light source to get a variety of looks (backlighting the scene, side-lighting to bring out texture……..etc…). Another plus to a room with natural window light is being able to get one of those beautiful wedding dress shots that you see in magazines.

2. Talk with your photographer about the time of day that photos of the bridal party and bride/groom will take place. We would all love to take photos right before sunset when the light is gorgeous but sometimes this is impossible due to ceremony times and reception times (times of year…..weather…..etc…). Ask your photographer for a few samples that were taken in the middle of the day. You want to make sure that they can deliver amazing images even if you are stuck doing your photos outside at noon with no shade. I took the image below at 1:30pm right out in direct sun. By knowing where to place the couple and how to expose the image properly, the results can be mazing no matter what.

3. Plan for bad weather. Sometimes mother nature decides to send a few sprinkles your way (sometimes a little more). Don’t let it ruin your wedding day or your wedding photos. Plan for the rain and you will be prepared to handle it.

I recommend picking up a few umbrellas that go with your color scheme (or solid black). You could also pack a pair of rain boots and make the most of the puddles……….your images would be unique and fun. Talk with your photographer about a plan for when it rains. If you are both prepared for it, you will now just what to do when it happens. You will still walk away with beautiful photos.

4. If you have a few fun photos that you want with your bridal party (or just the two of you) make sure you talk with your photographer about the ideas before the big day. Not all brides and grooms like the silly photos so if you want a photo of the bridal party jumping up in the air……simply talk with your photographer and they can make it happen. Since many people do not want those types of photos, there is a good chance your photographer will not bring it up unless asked.

5. Get together with your photographer and work on a timeline together. By working on the details with your photographer, he or she can give you tips on what will work best for photos. They can let you know what time to get into your dress to make sure you enough time for those photos you want before the ceremony. Don’t just hand your photographer a finished timeline……..make a list of everything that you want to happen and your photographer will be able to lay it out in a way that makes sense (or give you advice on parts of the day that may require more time).

Check back every week or 2 for a new list of wedding planning tips. I will also be featuring other vendors (wedding planners, florists, cinematographers, cake designers, make up artists, hair stylists, DJ’s and more).

Here is a perfect example of how I like to tell the story on the wedding day. This image was taken at Jen & Jason’s wedding at the West Shore Country Club in Camp Hill, PA. Jen’s dad was giving a toast and I made sure to position myself so that I could easily photograph the bride and grooms reaction to what he was saying.

This series of photos ended up being a 2 page spread in Jen & Jason’s wedding album design.

It was one of my favorite moments of the wedding day.

These photos are from Jen & Jeff’s gorgeous red, black and white wedding at Riverview Country Club in Easton, PA.

I am always a fan of reflections so this pond at Riverview was perfect!

The bridal party walking down Main Street in front of Hotel Bethlehem had cars stopping in their tracks to watch them.

Check out the rest of Jen and Jeff’s wedding or stop by and see some of my new work.

This was one of the most amazing couples to work with. I am so happy that I get to share their wedding once again.

Here are a few of the details surrounding the wedding:

Wedding Ceremony: Founders Hall in Hershey, PA

Wedding Reception: Purcell Friendship Hall in Hershey, PA

Cupcake Tower: The Couture Cakery

Flowers: Annie McGinley

Transportation: Hershey Trolley Works

DJ: Occasions DJs

Check out the short slideshow from Cori and Andrew’s wedding:

Here are a few of my favorite wedding day photos:

I loved Cori’s dress!

Cori was one of the most stunning brides I have ever seen………so classic and elegant.

Here comes the bride…

Founders Hall in Hershey is an amazing venue for a wedding ceremony.

I love weddings with bubble exits!

I love the pastel colors in their bride and groom portraits.

Chucks!

Once again……love the pastel colors mixed with amazing light!

The first dance at Purcell Friendship Hall in Hershey, PA

Cori and Andrew’s wedding reception was so much fun. It was the only time I have witnessed a group singalong to Rocky Horror Picture Show…so awesome!

Jasmine Clouser, owner of The Couture Cakery, did an amazing job with the cupcake tower.

Sealed with a kiss.

Please check out more of my work.

You can check out my original blog post to see a slideshow and more images from the wedding.

Welcome to Thomas Beaman Photography. I am keeping this blog post at the top of the page because I want new visitors to learn who I am without having to scroll through pages of archives.

While I am experienced with many different styles of photography, I specialize in wedding day storytelling. I love telling the unique story of a wedding using images with emotion and expression.

Couples spend over a year planning their wedding and I make sure to pay attention to every single detail and photograph them in an artistic way.

I love keeping portrait sessions between the bride & groom, bridal party and families very relaxed. I want the true personalities of my clients to show in these photographs. I want you to look back at these images in 20 years and say “that was so us!”

Please view the slideshow above to see a few of my favorite images. I am also going to share a few thoughts from my previous clients.

I take pride in my ongoing photography education which is why I am a member of WPPI (Wedding & Portrait Photographers International). I take 3-4 workshops every year to keep my photography skills polished. I also take 2-3 workshops on photo editing. I attend at least 1 major trade show each year to keep current on the latest products.

I have won a few awards in the past 2 years including Simply The Best 2011 for Wedding Photography in Harrisburg Magazine. I also won The Knot 2011 Best of Weddings and awards for Brides Choice on Weddingwire for 2010, 2011 and 2012.

I have had weddings published in The Knot, Susquehanna Style, Wedding Style and Premier Bride.

Please take a look around my site and feel free to contact me if you think I might be the right photographer for you.

Thank you,

Thomas Beaman

Summer is the most popular time of the year in the park but I prefer to photograph in spring, winter and fall.

Here are a few of my favorite photographs (there were too many to post in one blog post so check back to see part 2 and part 3…..probably part 4 and 5 too)

One of the most famous views in Yosemite is Tunnel View (made famous by Ansel Adams)

The Merced River flows through Yosemite Valley and it has many different looks depending on when you are there. Here is the river during a spring flood.

Here is the river during the fall. The orange and yellow hues were caused by a major wildfire burning just outside of the park. The sun was trying to break through the thick smoke which turned everything bright yellow and orange (I have a photo taken at sunrise on this smokey day that I will share in my next Yosemite blog post).

And here is the river in winter taken from the same place as the photo above (just zoomed in a bit).

Winter mornings in Yosemite are amazing! Here is a shot of El Capitan with early morning fog.

Here is a wide angle from the same location. I took this on my Fuji G617 panorama film camera. There was no guessing with this camera…..you only got 4 shots with a roll of 120 film (I used Fuji Velvia 50 slide film) so you had to make them count.

This photo scared me a bit. I was photographing this deer with a 100-300mm lens. He was walking around the park eating and minding his own business. He kept getting closer and finally I was only at 100mm and this is as wide as I could get. He looked and stared at me for about 15 seconds. We were pretty close to each other and I kept picturing one of those antlers coming at me………..I never enlarged this photo but I would like to make a big print someday.

I have a few other landscape photography posts on my blog. Here is one from Lake Tahoe.

This particular shot of their wedding ceremony was featured in The Knot. Here is the magazine layout.

Growing up in the San Francisco Bay Area was amazing. I have lived in many different areas including Lake Tahoe, Southern California, Las Vegas and Pennsylvania but nothing can compare to Northern CA.

Here are a few of my favorite images taken between San Francisco and Big Sur (All images except the black and white Golden Gate Bridge image were photographed using an old Pentax 67 film camera with Fuji Velvia 50 slide film).

These first images were taken from the Marin Headlands on the north side of the bridge. The night shots were 2 minute exposures. It took about 20 tries at each location because it was tough to do a 2 minute exposure without having wind gusts………..it was frustrating but expected.

This San Francisco skyline photo was taken from Treasure Island.

Here are a few of my favorite images taken along Highway 1 near Big Sur.

This last one is my personal favorite of the Big Sur area.

This is one of my favorite bridal party photos I have ever photographed. Mary and the girl were so fun to work with. Check out the entire wedding and slideshow.