Kelly McCord Photography Blog

Allison's Eyes

I was incredibly honored to shoot my dear friend Allison and her husband Steve, this past Fall. I've known Allison since I was four years old.  Not only was I her wedding photographer, but I was in her wedding (which I've done a couple of times now). I know that sounds impossible, but I have a secret weapon; my husband.  I shot before the wedding, of Alli getting ready, then I set up the cameras, so that during the ceremony they were all set up, I gave him so pointers (he's shot with me enough to know what to do),  and he just had to shoot away.  Then after the ceremony I took over again. And while it was hard, I was blessed to be a part of the bridal party, and also to get to do her wedding photography.

They say eyes are the window to the soul, and I've always loved Alli's incredible green eyes, and that's why I love this shot.  Their reception was  held at Shadowbrook, and it was a lovely venue for not only the wedding, but for wedding photography as well.

Wedding Party

I love bridal party shots that aren't static.  And what I love about this shot is the color and the movement.  This was from a wedding in Aptos, in 2005. To get this shot, I asked them to line up and to walk toward me.  So, while technically it's a 'posed' shot, it doesn't feel that posed, because of the movement of them walking.  Plus, I love color, and this photograph has so much crisp, punchy color, which makes me love it even more.

Engelhardt Family

We shot Jessie, Josh and Jaden this past summer.  They're good friends of mine, and I've shot them for a long time. This was our most recent photo shoot.  We went down to the beach in Pajaro Dunes and had a great time shooting them all together.  I love shooting friends, as it tends to be so much more relaxed and fun. Plus, I can basically just tell them what to do, and they trust me.

Album: Aaron and Shiloh's Wedding

As I talked about yesterday, here's Aaron and Shiloh's virtual wedding album. Set to The Cure's, Just Like Heaven.  This is the coffee-table, magazine-style, fine art book I made of Aaron and Shioh's wedding. I love how it turned out.  And last night, Marianne and Gary  asked me to make them an album from their wedding photos, so I get to design two books. I can't wait to see how they turn out, and once they're ready, I'll post them here.  To see Aaron and Shiloh's album, Click here.

Virtual Wedding Album Online

I'm offering my brides a modern take on the traditional album. They're coffee-table, magazine-style, fine art books. I just got software that lets me post them online, so if you're interested, you can check out the one I made for Ryan and Julie's wedding, by clicking here:

Ryan and Julie's virtual album.

If you think it looks good online, you should check it out in person, it's absolutely stunning. Brides couldn't put the books down at the recent Bridal Expo that I exhibited at.

I'm in the process of creating one for Chris and Aubri, and I've already made one for Shiloh and Aaron, which I'll post later on today, or tomorrow.

Danielle

I was in my dear cousin Danielle's (who I ADORE) wedding this year, when she married the wonderful Josh fox.  She had hired a friend to shoot her wedding, because she wanted me to be able to be a bridesmaid without the stress of shooting, as well.  So while  I wasn't her main photographer, she did say she whould love for  me to shoot when I could (if I wanted to), when it wasn't a pain, or wouldn't get in the way of my 'bridesmaid duties,' and I got some awesome images from her wedding. This is one of my very favorite.  We were all getting ready, and I can't remember what happened but she just started busting up.  That's when I captured this shot. It's one of my very favorites from the entire day; I love the feeling of movement, and that you can really tell that she's cracking up; the motion and the joy -- it doesn't even matter that part of her face is covered by her hair, because you can see the action of her laughter, which I absolutely love.

I presented her with an album of images from her wedding for Christmas and she and my aunt both cried over them. They have yet to get their shots from the photographer they hired, so these were the first real images they'd seen.  It was so great to get to make them both so happy -- it's what I love about shooting people, giving them images of themselves that they love.

San Francisco Wedding

This is a portrait I took from a wedding I shot in San Francisco this year. Ryan and Julie found me through their sister, who is a friend from college.  I had such a blast shooting their wedding!  This is one of my favorite portraits. I did a faux cross-process in photoshop, which is why it's got the coloring that it does.  I think this shot is both elegant and classic, but also fun and funky, which I think is really who Julie is as a person. I felt like it captured who she is, which is what I try to do with all of my photography; capure the essence of who people are. It's one of my favorite things about photography, and why I love shooting people so much.

Shooting

This is a little different today, as I'm not showing one of my photos, this was actually shot by one of my friends.  This is one of my favorite photos of me while I'm shooting a wedding.  Whenever I shoot friend's weddings, my friends seem to take great delight in taking pictures of me while shooting other things. A lot of times, they'll ask me to do the 'turn around and say cheese' thing, but in this instance, it's a shot of me in action. This is what I'm really like when I'm shooting a wedding. I'll pretty much do anything (including getting on the ground in wet grass in a red dress) to get the shot.  If you're curious, the photo that I shot, while this was being taken of me, is below.

David and Amy

David and Amy's wedding was a two parter: they were married on the beach in Santa Cruz (by the Yacht Harbor and Crow's Nest), and then we moved to the Cocoanut Grove in Santa Cruz for the reception. We took their portraits on the beach, immediately following the ceremony.

Some people might look at this and think, "Wedding Photography Posing 101." However, if you know me at all, you know I don't like posed, formulaic type of wedding photography (well, photography in general actually). My favorite moments are the candid, spontaneos, cracking up kind of photos. Of course, not all portraits need to look that way. And this is one of those portraits.

First of all, this wasn't posed. I basically asked them to interact, and be together, and I shot them doing just that. They were kissing and I moved around them until I got the shot. What I love about this shot are the little details; his sandy barefeet, the people walking on the jetty behind them,  the way they're leaning into one another and the light coming through her veil. Some might say this is two steps away from the 'hands-over-the-bouquet-showing-the-rings-in-soft-focus' type of shot that I abhor, but I'd have to disagree. While this picture is romantic and sweet, it's also wonderfully spontaneous.

Todd and Hannah

This is a picture from a portrait shoot I did with my friends Todd and Hannah Cramer, before they moved from Santa Cruz to Mississippi. Todd finally fulfilled his dreaming of  learning to fly planes for the military, and so they both packed up and moved from lovely Santa Cruz this past year(well, really lived in Aptos, which is equally lovely) and hit the road.

We'd been trying to put a shoot together for years, as Hannah likes my work, and is a photography buff herself. Plus, they're friends, and like I've said, the best time shooting is when you get to shoot your friends. Todd and Hannah are dear friends; fun and silly, both with a great sense of humor. I feel like this picture totally encapsulates them in a nuthsell.