Check out the latest photos, videos, and adventures of international award winning photographer Aaron Watson. Located in Charlottesville, Virginia, Aaron Watson Photography is available for hire worldwide and caters to all types of clients, although Aaron is most notably sought after to photograph Weddings, Sports, Entertainment, and Fashion.
This past weekend I had the pleasure of photographing Annie & Robbie’s wedding (who are good friends of mine from UVA). As we all suspected it turned out to be a crazy night, and to commemorate it I thought I would share a few of the photos that were taken by my crazy friends in the photobooth!
I would like to thank Erica and Ryan for getting the props even though they spent $10 (of the $30 I gave them) on props and used the rest for themselves! I should have thought twice when Erica told me the government trusts her with money … it all makes sense now!
It’s no secret that photographers often photoshop their photos to make them look good. I am always asked if I retouch, enhance, or photoshop my pictures, and pretty much my answer is always yes. I think it is important that you make a picture look as good as possible! Although, too often I will see other photographers’ work and it’s blatanly obvious that they overdid it in photoshop. My rule of thumb is that if you are distracted by the work done in photoshop then the photographer/editor has either overdone it or not done it correctly. Most of the time I use Photoshop (or Lightroom) to make the pictures look the way I had originally intended, or to give them a little extra pop. I want my pictures to look natural so you shouldn’t be able to tell which parts of the image I enhanced or retouched.
Often I am asked what the difference is between proofs and reprints, and what the difference is between our “enhanced proofing” and straight out of the camera proofing. So I thought I would provide some visual aids. For the first set of photos you can see the difference between what was shot (straight out of the camera), the editing I did for the enhanced proofing, and then the extra editing I did for the final print. The second set of photos shows the difference between straight out of the camera and the final print.
Straight out of camera:
The enhanced proof:
The final print (darkened the background so your eye focuses on Daniel and Ruth):
Straight out of camera:
Final Print (Made B&W, lightened Mom’s face, selective focus on dress and Mom/blurred bridesmaids in the background, darkened distracting objects, and cropped):
I’m really excited to share our brand new Fusion Film from Heather & Chase’s wedding! As much as I like the previous films we have produced, I knew we could top them and push our editing and shooting to an even higher level! Needless to say I think we achieved that and I feel this is our best work yet! My favorite part is when we did the big reveal before the ceremony and Chase’s mouth just drops when he looks at Heather for the first time! It was just an overall amazing day, and the scenery didn’t hurt either! I have to say Wintergreen is one of my favorite place for an outdoor wedding in this area, you just can’t beat the views!
Heather and Chase, Congratulations again! Thanks for having us be a part of your wonderful day! I hope you cherish this forever!
P.S. I just have to share Heather’s comment at the end of the night, after checking out a little slideshow of pictures we put together from earlier on in the day she told me, “The reality was nice, but the pictures made it look even better!” … That has to be the best compliment ever!
… ok so gorgeous didn’t quite fit for everything, but you get the idea!
Megan and Geoff I’ve had the pleasure of knowing for awhile more than most couples as they booked me over a year and a half in advance! I’m so glad too as I’ve really enjoyed shooting not only their wedding, but also their engagement pictures, other weddings that they have been a part of, and we’ve had the occasional dinner together when I’ve been in Richmond! Through everything I’ve really seen how great they are together, and I’m really excited to share their Fusion Film with you so you can see what I am talking about!
I have to give props to Windy Jennings who did an awesome job helping them plan and carry out the celebration (while being very pregnant)! Also, props to their band The Dickens who I highly recommend if you want a rocking band for your wedding! We actually listened to their music while editing thanks to a direct feed recording that we have of them playing throughout the evening! Lastly, I want to thank Matt Ryb who came down from Baltimore and not only did an awesome job as a cinematographer, but also as my second photographer. Thanks to Thomas Dalton for helping with a little bit of everything, and Ashley Chipman & Ophelia Armengol for editing!
