I have always wanted to just DRIVE Lake Geneva and stop wherever looked fun so last week I met up with my supertrooper couple Jen and Erick for a day out on the town… well out on the town, country, estate roads and anywhere else we could go! It was a mission!

SO MUCH FUN! Thanks guys!

Had a great wedding show at the Sheraton in Brookfield today! Super fun!

This show we were giving away free engagement shoots to some lucky brides. If you weren’t at the show and want a chance to win email Ryan@idealimpressionsphotography.com right away to be in the drawing!

We set up a new booth this year with a couple 24×36 canvas prints, a huge photo booth, and a handfull of framed metalic prints along with our usual data projection slideshows set to music and lots of flush mount, traditional and memory book press printed albums to view.

On 9-19-09 Ideal Impressions had the opportunity to photograph a the Wedding of Lisette & Donald Blust for Dynamic Events. So Yesterday I made a trip up to the Third Ward to visit David Caruso and drop off a 24×36 Canvas print and album from the wedding.

Delivery anyone?!

To see all the images from our visit CLICK HERE!

Last weekend we had the opportunity to photograph Pier Wisconsin and capture an amazing day with Donald Blust and Lisette Boyd. Donald and Lisette are a couple matched in heaven and have a great spirit for eachother and love for their families. We were honored to be part of such an intimate and special day.

The wedding was absolutely breathtaking with some of the most creative attention to detail I have ever seen. David Caruso and Natalie DeLiso from Dynamic Events were absolutely great in every way.

INCREDIBLE

PIER WISCONSIN

EXTRAVAGANT LOVE

Often times you have something so wonderful right next to you or under your nose and you never utilize it. Our team had a brainstorming session a while back and it dawned on us Yerkes Observatory is an incredible location for great wedding images and we hardly take advantage of it, especially being that it is a few minutes from our studio. So we made a conscious effort to capture some fun imagery at Yerkes and here are a few samples of the images. If you are looking for something a bit different and majestic I would highly recomend it!

Ryan Bensheimer

Recently I have begun to cry at some of my weddings.      Ok so I am not weeping or anything but I get choked up and emotionally into all that is happening.

Here is an example of an emotionally charged moment for me.  Rick sang a song he wrote and composed to his bride.  Nice Rick…very NICE!

Ok this one really got to me.  Bethany & Brian, the passion and love they showed in this photo blew me away.

Corley & Brian made me cry in tears of laughter when the minister dropped the ring through the cracks in the outdoor decking.  Well…at first I was as shocked as everyone else.   Corely yelled out, “oh no” and everyone held their breath until they began to laugh and a groomsman’s ring became immediately available and actually fit!  Then it became a fun happening.

Jamie & Jason made me proud to be an American.  Jason thanks for your service to our country.   They are now serving in Alaska!  Sounds good right now going into a near 100 degree weekend!

Then this afternoon I watched this YouTube video again and something about it makes me cry.  The sheer joy of the wedding party.  This is the way every wedding party should enter into the ceremony.

Written by Matt Mason.

One of the most rewarding things I hear as a photographer after a long day at a wedding is, “Josh, everything was great; the photos are fantastic. We can’t thank you enough.” It is extremely satisfying to know that my clients are happy–with both their wedding day and their images. Tonight, the bride sent that message in a new way: she told me, in front of her new husband, that they would “definitely hire us again next time!” While the comment afforded the three of us a good laugh, I appreciated the fact that they were 200% satisfied with the service we provided today. After meeting with Dara and Henning, I was immediately excited to work with them: she is a fantastic opera performer, and he is from Germany. The excitement didn’t fail to disappoint, and we had a great day in Williams Bay, WI!

Thanks, Dara and Henning…we’ll be looking forward to “next time!”

Just got my new Pocketwizard TTL units. Pocketwizards allow you to shoot wirelessly via radio rather than Infrared which is significatly better. Those who have used Canon or Nikon’s regular wireless flash system know they don’t work around walls or in bright sunlight and crazy angles.

I have been super happy with these and they have incredible control and have yet to not fire! I have hidden them behind 3 feet concrete walls, in bright sunlight hundreds of feet away, and honestly tried to full them and they just keep firing. They are truly amazing!

I have had the regular non-ttl studio pocket wizard’s for a while but as a wedding photographer the TTL when on the go and shooting quick is absolutely crucial. (even though I still tend to use it in manual more than anything else!)

GOTTA LOVE 50 feet way in bright sunlight behind concrete walls and fires every time!

For more info, digitalpixels wrote a great tecnical review of these units here:

http://www.digitalpixels.net/2009/02/photo-gear/pocketwizard-goes-beyond-ttl-with-minitt1-and-flextt5/

Planning an outside wedding can be nerve wracking! Recently we had the opportunity to travel to Chicago to shoot Scott and Brenda McVicker’s wedding at the Eaglewood Resort and Spa.

SO HAPPY TOGETHER!

I had been to Eaglewood years ago when it was under different ownership and didn’t remember it to be too exciting of a place. Well let’s just say things have changed. WOW! What a place! Great golf course, incredible Spa services and conference center extraordinaire! It was modern, newly updated with hip decor and just plain incredible! Great choice Scott and Brenda!

The day started early as I awoke to the sound of rain drops and thought… “OH NO!” but as the morning progressed and we began the drive the clouds lifted and the sun came out. By wedding time is was a scorching 91 degrees with bright sun and gorgeous clouds in the background. The wedding was breathtaking and was followed by a photo session next to a waterfall that granted some awesome imagery for the bride and groom to cherish forever.

Later that night we were treated to one of the best wedding feasts I have ever had and the presentation was fascinating. At the end of the night the guests were surprise with a fireworks show on the balcony.

Weddings just don’t get any better than this! Thank you Scott and Brenda for an awesome day!

Scott and Brenda McVicker

One of the things I love about my job as a photographer is that I get to meet a ton of new people: brides, grooms, caterers, DJs, groomsmen, etc. It seems like I’m always on the phone with a new client or emailing a bride that I just met a couple weeks ago! While I enjoy this aspect of wedding photography, occasionally I get the great privilege of shooting a wedding for a friend. Last month, I was able to photograph a wedding for a very good friend of mine from high school. She and her now husband met at college in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and were married in Huntley, Illinois in May. When Karissah and Rob asked me last year to shoot their wedding, I immediately and excitedly said yes! I also had the privilege of photographing her sister’s wedding a few years ago, so the second time around was even more of a blessing! Below are a few of my favorite images from the day. You can view the entire gallery here.

Thanks, Karissah and Rob, for a great day!

-Josh

They had the dip-kiss mastered by the end of the day!

Karissah looked great…

…and so did the guys!

Congratulations, Rob and Karissah!