The Sun Also Rises ... on Weddings

It's been a long time since either myself or Nathaniel have seen our work published in the Baltimore Sun. After all, I worked in their photo department for just over five years, and he was a freelancer for them. But that was almost a decade ago.

Thanks to bride Katy and her groom Dan, we see our work in the newspapers once again. The Sun recently published a wedding article about their Big Day, highlighting all the great green details and their fun, personal touches.

Though we loved the images from the Sun, we wanted to share a few more. The wedding was so gorgeous... hope you enjoy these images as much as we enjoyed creating them!

In the native species garden at Howard County Conservancy.

Katy & Dan's romantic ceremony

Howard County Conservancy - gorgeous even at night!

Katy's bouquet, by Wessel's in Ellicott City.

A perfect fall wedding portrait!

The couples centerpieces showcased local veggies from the Farmer's Market that guests were invited to take home!

Thanks, Katy & Dan, for allowing us to be part of your special day! We had a terrific time! Congrats!
~ Rissa

Katy & Dan's Vendors

Venue: Howard County Conservancy

Wedding Planner: Jenny @ JPB Designs
Officiant: Divine Transformations

Catering: The Savory Spoon

Cupcakes: Stonehouse Bakery

Flowers: Wessel's

Centerpieces: TLV Tree Farms & Lewis Orchards/Pier One

Beauty: Salon Marielle

Bride's Dress: K & B Bridals

Bride's Shoes: Best Ballroom Shoes

Groom's Tuxedo: Macy's
Stationary: Botanical Paperworks

Jewelry: Craig Coyne Jewelers

Live Musician/Guitarist: Ben Sherman

Reception DJ: Jose @ Avalon Entertainment

Rentals: Grand Event Rentals

Wine & Champagne: The Wine Bin
Beer: The Groom!!

Headshots Everywhere!

We love seeing all the cool things clients do with their headshots. Client Sarah, who owns The Communicationist, uses hers for social media - Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn - and as her profile picture for articles on the Huffington Post!

Way cool, Sarah!
~ Rissa

Perfectly Lovely

It's not every month that our work appears in two published editorial features, but July appears to be that month!

We just got copies of the Summer 2012 perfect wedding guide magazine for DC-MD-NoVA and discovered two lovely promo pictures we shot for Up Do's for I Do's were printed full-page!

This set of particular images is very exciting to us indeed, as that's our office assistant of four years, Brittany, on the left! We think she looks great - and makes an ideal hair model for sure! The team from Up Do's did an incredible job at the shoot showing off their skills - check out some of these other gorgeous images from the same shoot...

You can get your free copy of the perfect wedding guide anywhere in the region that sells wedding goodies. Or stop by, we have a few extra copies, here, too!

~Rissa

Big Time

 It isn't everyday we see one of our images on a billboard. But if you're driving down Frederick Rd.  in Catonsville, you may well see a headshot done by balance - larger than life - on a billboard!

Area businessman and funeral director, Craig Witzke, recently came in to have some updated headshots done. Nathaniel and Brittany did a great job with the shoot - as you can see.

Imagine our excitement when we were driving down the street and saw one of Craig's images on this giant billboard!

You can check it out, too. Just cruise by 585 Frederick Rd. in Catonsville. Craig's billboard is above the lot of Ridgeway Automotive.

Looking good, Craig!

~ Rissa

Wine & Greyhounds Make the Scene

We adore hounds. We adore hounding events, like Grapehounds. In fact, we've been the official photographers for Grapehounds since the event started 7 years ago. The organizer, a great guy named Larry, really puts this heart and soul into planning the event each year. And finally a national publication has given Larry some much-deserved ink.

 CG Magazine, aka Celebrating Greyhounds, is a quarterly magazine that is all about - well- greyhounds! They cover topics like pet health, racing issues, traveling with you dog and fun places to go on vacation with your dog. You know, like Grapehounds.

Larry wrote a story that was featured in the latest issue of CG on the topic of organizing your own wine-tasting fundraising event. And the magazine used some candids we've shot at Grapehounds over the years, too!

We have been so happy to be such a big part of this stellar event year after year. Grapehounds is great fun - I mean, what's not to love about a few hundred cute hounds dogs, a gorgeous mountain-side lake location and tasty wine?!?

Congrats, Larry, on the national article - and the fab, successful hounding event! We can't wait to attend this year! 

Interested in going? Grapehounds NY is on Lake Seneca, July 26-27-28-29 this year. Attendees get a wine glass and passes to taste at several vineyards. Visit the official website for details!

~ Rissa

Naturally Lovely

We're big fans of the Green Bride Guide. They offer easy-to-use resources to brides, their moms and event planners and showcase gorgeous green events for all to see.

We're even bigger fans, though, when one of our brides is showcased! Shauna and Brent were married last fall on 9-10-11 and had a very eco-chic wedding at Historic London Towne Gardens in Annapolis.

The venue was located on the water and one of the reasons they selected it was the natural beauty already in place.  Because the gardens and docks and buildings were so lovely already, fewer decorations were needed.

Shauna was also very creative in the decorations she did use - many were homemade or from artists on Etsy. And almost everything was multi-purpose: like using clementines as place card holders.

The couple also selected the greenest vendors possible. We adore the good folks over at Local Color Flowers. They use only flowers and foliage grown nearby in Maryland or Virginia. And as you can see, the arrangements were incredible...

 And the food - yea - that was eco-friendly too! Paul and his team of localvores at Dionysus' Kitchen created a feast for Shauna and Brent and their guests. Everything was served family-style, and as always, the meal was outstanding.

This event was magical in every way, and it's so exciting that such a warm, wonderful and green event is getting recognition from the Green Bride Guide.  Be sure to check out the post on the GBG site!

Congrats again, Shauna and Brent - we loved being part of your eco-wedding and wish you decades of happiness!

Shauna & Brent's Wedding Vendors:

Venue: Historic London Towne Gardens

Wedding Planner: Jenny Bartkus, JPB Designs

Catering: Dionysus' Kitchen

Cake: Fiona's Cakes

Ceremony Music: Chris Dunn, guitar

DJ: Beat2Beat DJs

Hair & Make-Up: Up Do's for I Do's

Officiant: Weddings by Sandy

Stationary/Decor: Etsy

Jewelry: Brilliant Earth

Sweet!!!

We love to thanks our special clients, like brides & grooms. And finally, we've come up with just the thing to really express our gratitude: chocolate. Not just any chocolate, but organic, locally-made truffles, designed just for us by the amazing chocolatier at Truffles by Emily in Owings Mills, Md.

These little beauties are delicious. Each one is lovingly handmade by Emily herself - and decorated with leaf artwork. You bite in and the soft ganache middle greets you with the sweet blend of espresso and raspberry. Mmm... I could eat a whole box myself. I just might.

Not only is are these tasty, but they're also dairy-free and veg-friendly. Which means that more folks can enjoy them. We adored the short and recognizable ingredient list of real food!

And of course, being green, the box is eco-friendly!!! Each hand-made container is created from cacaco leaf paper and 100% recycled box board. The boxes are made by artisans in remote villages around the world - creating jobs and fair wages for hard working communities. The company, Distant Village Packaging, is providing more that just great eco-friendly and sustainable products. It is a sustainable model that supports real people in many ways. 

A big thanks to Truffles by Emily - we are so excited to share these special chocolates with our wedding couples and other clients!

~Rissa

So Fresh & So Green!

Big news at balance photography - we've re-launched our headshot site! It is the first major redesign to the site in nine years, which is like a 100 years in internet-life. We have a fresh new logo, fresh new work and a fresh green website.

The logo came first and informed the style of the overall new look for balance headshots. We love the bold color and graphic elements in this new logo - done by Rachel Cowgill of Moofish Design. She did our original site, and on this update, proves her incredible prowess as a designer once again!

The site itself was created to showcase our current portfolio, as well as reflect our core values as a green company. Rachel was able to seamlessly fit these elements into the homepage, too. The background is an actual nature photo shot by Nathaniel. It makes a statement without overwhelming the main imagery or other design elements.

And the heart of the site - our new portfolio!

For ease of use, it is split into six basic categories: Women's Headshots, Men's Headshots, Children's Headshots, Commercial Food & Products, Corporate Headshots & Interiors and Corporate Events. Now, you can click on exactly what you want to look at, without sifting through any additional images.

Each portfolio page opens as a "mini-site" of its own, so that each you can find exactly which page you were looking at without having to watch a Flash-type slideshow.

There is also an extended FAQ page, staff bios & headshots, and a full copy of our complete eco-philosophy. And - The site was created to be iphone and droid friendly. So you can check it out while you're on the go!

We hope you'll visit the new balance headshots site! We're pleased to be sharing our latest work with everyone - it's fresh and green, just in time for spring!

The ABCs

We're always tickled to get images published in a magazine. And this time, we've got pictures in a magazine made just for event professionals, Wedding Planner Magazine. It's a bi-monthly publication of the Association of Bridal Consultants (ABC - clever name right? :)

Last fall, Brittany and I photographed one day of the annual 3-day ABC Business of Brides Conference, organized by local planner Shelby Tuck-Horton and held in Baltimore at the Tremont Grand. We've shot a good number of weddings there over the years, but doing a conference packed with wedding planners was a totally different animal - and loads of fun.

Early in the day, we were honored to shoot the annual awards ceremony and make a group portrait of consultants who have achieved "Master" status in the ABC organization. This group of 12 men and women are at the top of their game - and came to Baltimore from all over the world - even from as far as Japan!

The rest of the day, we documented seminars, a trade show and a luncheon. Below, 2nd from the left, is one of Brittany's gorgeous details from the lunch decor.

The event finished up with the keynote speaker, Diann Valentine. Valentine is not only a well-known television personality - she's also inspiring and downright hilarious. We were both inspired by her success story and incredible business savvy.

Overall, it was a great day and we both learned a lot, even though we aren't wedding coordinators. Some known is universal.

And the biggest lesson of the day... well, we both already knew that. All brides should do themselves a solid and hire a professional wedding coordinator! It's the best gift you can hope for on your Big Day.

~ Rissa

Judgement Day

Last Thursday evening we were honored to be invited back to the Baltimore Camera Club to judge a print contest.

Rissa and Stephen from balance, along with a 3rd panelist from the club, acted as judges for 4 sets of prints: Novice Monochrome; Novice Color; Unlimited Monochrome and Unlimited Color. All the prints were mounted and matted - and looked very elegant. There were quite a few pieces that were so excellent, we had trouble picking a winner. I can think of one or two I loved so much, I'd hang them in our home.

Judging was done in a focused and professional way with lights-out. As judges, we were not allowed to discuss the images. We had a preview of entire collections, then silently voted using an electronic button attached to a score-keeping box. At the end of each round of images, we had to break a few ties, and select images for 1st through 5th places with one runner-up. Then we were encouraged to take the microphone and give feedback on the winning prints.

That's myself and Stephen on the right side of this picture. All photos in this blog taken by Jess Baligush- the newest member of the balance photo team!

Overall, we had a great time and were very impressed with the photographs produced by the Baltimore Camera Club. The Club has been around since 1884 and is the oldest Camera Club in the United States today.

They embrace all photographers - from absolute beginner to seasoned expert and offer something for everyone. Meetings are free to attend, however to enter competitions or attend lectures, there is a $50.00 membership fee per year. It's a steal, really! Check out their upcoming programs on their website schedule.

The Baltimore Camera Club meet every Thursday at Mount Washington United Methodist Church, 5800 Cottonworth Ave. Baltimore MD 21209. It's just near the Whole Foods in Mt. Washington and there's plenty of free parking.

We love the Baltimore Camera Club - it's exciting to see the passion other photographers have for our art form and encourage them to grow and keep learning more of their craft.

Thanks for having us back! ~ Rissa