Lauri Levenfeld is one the photographers whose work I admire most. Each of her images is as amazing as the next. All captured in a timeless documentary style.

Lauri attended the top-rated USC Film School, and her documentary film work seamlessly translated into a passion for still photography. She says her obsession with weddings and babies happened over eight years ago, when she realized she could work with people she loves to create unique memories with quirky cameras and distinctive film.

I asked her “what does a person who seems beautiful photographs every day, think is a beautiful photograph?”  These are the images she sent and her thoughts as to why:

“I just recently photographed my clients and dear friends Anna & James in Waiheke, New Zealand. Anna grew up on this fabulously charming islandand friends came from all over the world to celebrate their union. When I first landed the job, all I could envision was a sixties- inspired fashion shoot on rolling hills overlooking fields of sheep. It took a bit of convincing, as A&J had a hard time parting from their friends and family, but they trusted my vision and creativity.

During dessert at the rehearsal lunch while there was a small break in the otherwise tumultuous afternoon sky, we hopped over a neighbor’s fence and grabbed these amazing shots. The shoot was fast paced and full of energy. Anna was so excited that she kept running ahead and creating stampedes of sheep. I love these photos as they capture the love and the energy of great people in the most wonderful destination!

Two years ago, I finally got my chance to photograph at the splendid and chic hotel, The Parker in Palm Springs. I spent a weekend before the wedding down on the property to scout the grounds (a great excuse to sit in the sun too!) and find some wild props to highlight my fashion forward bride.

The bride was the producer of San Francisco Fashion Week, and so, she create a ceremony in the likes of one of her shows. Each bridesmaid had a unique dress created by none other than, Colleen Quen, to strut their stuff as they walked the aisle.

The wedding, guests, and details uttered cool, and so, I wanted my imagery to be quirky, fun, and personable.

I love the high saturation of color and pop to the photos!

Here is a random photo from a beautiful wedding I photographed in Lake Tahoe. The bride is a yoga instructor and she has the most incredible sense of style. The bridesmaids photos took place inside the casino where the bride got ready, and so, Julie’s added touches of vintage and old world glamour in her wardrobe helped transform the photos into something straight out of the 20’s or 30’s. I personally love this photo for its motion and movement, its dimension and depth, and  the strong contrast of my black and white film. When I see an image like this, it just confirms why I still shoot film.

I love Bathtubs. I have been working on a book on bathtubs for years… people, places, architecture, fashion…all surrounded around the theme of bathtubs.

When Leeta told me she had a claw-foot in her backyard, I jumped at the opportunity to photograph her bridal portraits inside the tub. This shot is from my holga, a $25 camera that creates the most magical and surreal images.

This shoot was so extra special. This glorious couple celebrated their wedding at the beautiful and exquisite St. Helena property, Beaulieu Gardens in Napa.

Set to spend their honeymoon in Mexico, their departure the next day became a wonderful collaboration of between photographer and client.

Jen and Ruggero, the world travelers they are, were inspired to to take their honeymoon departure with the vintage plane Ruggero flies. After seeing my collection of odd ball cameras, my unique use of various films, and my overall enthusiasm, they asked me to spearhead the shoot.

After learning that Jen would be able to use her mother’s own wedding suit and pillbox hat, we scurried to locate vintage suitcases and various other props to add to the backdrop. And the Austin Healy that the couple borrowed for their wedding day departure added the perfect touch to an already full set.  We shot at the Santa Rosa airport, a historic hanger in the North Bay just past San Francisco.

The finale, I had to include one of my classic IR photos. I am still grieving over the discontinuation of this film, as the images are truly memorable!”

Lauri’s work really does demonstrate how a talented photographer can bring an entire dimension of your wedding to life. She lives in San Francisco, but travels the globe for her work.   Contact her at Zoom Photography.

Imagine heading off for your honeymoon with a flash drive full of your wedding photos to look at and enjoy…you actually can!

Canditto, a Boston based company, has created a kiosk that collects the photos your wedding guests have taken (with their own digital cameras) and produces a USB flash drive of all the pictures by the end of the night.

I think this is such a great idea.  And rooted in necessity. The company was started by a groom whose photographer missed the shot of he and his wife leaving their reception…luckily, a friend with his own digital camera, didn’t.

You rent the Canditto kiosk for a whole week, so you could even take it to your bridemaid luncheon, rehearsal dinner and Sunday brunch.

The kiosk is plug and play, meaning all you (or your designated bridesmaid) has to do is plug it in and put it near the exit at your reception (or other wedding event). And smartly, the Canditto machine is programmed to copy photos taken in the last 8 hours only so your guests other photos are not accessed in any way.

Canditto rentals are available in Boston now, and North-American wide starting June 1st. PreOwnedWeddingDresses.com Facebook fans can get $50 off of a Canditto rental. (See facebook for details).

New York City’s Robert Sukrachand has a documentary photography and fine arts background.  His primary objective when capturing a wedding is to shoot good images, not good wedding photographs.  His results are always beautiful, fresh and modern.

Who better to ask what are his favorite wedding photographs and why.  Here’s what he had to say:

I thought I would begin with this photo, because it was taken at one of the first weddings I ever photographed. A few years ago, while still a junior at NYU, Josh (an NYU grad student) asked me if I would like to go to the Bahamas to shoot his and Deysia’s wedding. Of course I couldn’t decline! Even though it was one of my first wedding photos, it is still one of my favorites, as it reflects my background in documentary photography and desire to simply capture “the moment”. I also love the classic B+W look (I still shoot almost all film at weddings), and this picture came out especially nice as the sun was just setting on their beachside ceremony.

I love this diptych from Jess + Tim’s wedding because it shows how much fun of a couple they are. My approach is more editorial in style than it is posed, which is why I love pictures where the bride and groom are moving and interacting, and if I’m going to have them standing straight and looking at me, I prefer to mix it up by adding some dorky element, in this case a NYC street performer.

This picture also has it’s roots at NYU. Washington Mews is an amazing little street located right by Washington Square Park, and while I was a student I would walk through it whenever possible because it almost transports you out of the city. I had been wanting to shoot there forever. When Catherine and John booked me for their wedding in the West Village, I asked if they would go here for their portraits, and the result is a beautiful balance between light, texture, color, and even a little bit of foliage to add to their private moment. “The kiss” is such an over-photographed moment that it almost becomes cliche, so you have to just give it an aesthetic complement.  Their friends who weren’t able to come to the wedding asked if they had gone to Italy to get married!

This next diptych and the following bridal party shot are from Yuli + Keith’s wedding, which was by far the most fun and unique wedding I have ever photographed. Their wedding was full of amazing details, almost completely DIY, and the wooden mustaches station that they set up for guests to take pictures in presented a great opportunity for a unique and quirky photo of the bride and groom. My primary goal when photographing a wedding is to bring out the distinct personality of the day and the couple, and sometimes these details are really what does the job. The airstream trailer that we photographed in front of in the next picture was just another one of the natural backdrops in their campground wedding. With bridal party photos, I like to keep it traditional for one, and then do something funny to mix it up. In this case, it was just about the variety of postures and spacing in the bridal party, the laughter, and getting people to interact with eachother a little bit.

Here is another photo that I love just for the way that the textures and color of the brick add an extra element to the photo. Raquel + Xavier’s wedding took place in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, and it had an industrial-chic vibe to it. I have a storytellers background so I’m always thinking of ways to reference the sensibilities of the overall wedding in each photo. And it didn’t hurt that Raquel + Xavier were completely unaware of the camera at this point and just having a great time! That is my motto and what I tell my clients before a shoot: “have a ton of fun, you’ll forget I’m here, and the pictures will turn out great”.

You can see more of Robert Sukrachand’s favorite pictures on his website.  Looking at them, you really do feel a part of the moment – and isn’t that what a good wedding photograph should do?

There is something about a beautiful wedding photograph that is almost magical.  You can look at it again and again and never get tired of it.  That’s why I asked some photographers what they considered to be their most striking shots and why.

Wolfgang Freithof of  A Day of Bliss Wedding Photography in New York City sent us this stunning series of pictures.

He says, “this was my favorite wedding, for all the labor and love that went into it. First we traveled to Europe for the shoot and made it to the Hotel in Venice about 3am. The bride started make-up at 5am and the shoot went under way shortly thereafter at 7am.”

We had to be at the Plaza San Marco early, before the crowds arrived to get some great shots. The next 8 hours went by like a blur, we ended up shooting thousands of images, braved a water taxi strike on our way out of Venezia as well as a hailstorm on the highway.

Every struggle to get these images was worth the enormous effort, the bride was beside herself when she saw the images, she loved them so very much -she gave us a big hug and thanked us for our “magic” -

which made us forget how tired we were after all this.

Before concentrating on wedding photography, Wolfgang spent years as a fashion and beauty photographer, shooting for magazines like Vogue with models like Claudia Schiffer and Noami Campbell.

You can see more of his amazing work at ADayofBliss.com

I particularly like the gallery from the Carribean.  How amazing are those water shots?