New Orleans Elopement - Wedding Photojournalism - Behind the Scenes

Troy called me from California one afternoon.

He and his fiance, Lindsay, were planning to travel from San Francisco to elope in New Orleans. We talked a bit about their plans, which really weren't finalized on anything yet.

I must have passed the first contact test because he set a time to Skype later in the day with Troy, Lindsay and myself. Well they wanted to Skype.

Me? I would rather you pull my canine teeth out with a pair of tweezers at the height of a sinus infection before doing Skype.

Why?

Because I absolutely hate having my photograph taken. No, not just hate, but run from the camera and become rabid if someone points it at me. Add a super wide-angle lens on a computer or phone to the tip of my nose and I'm a long lost cousin of Jimmy Durante. I relate to some of you. Damn. Off subject...again.

So my initial impression was this just may be a couple willing to be creative and push boundaries. And I was right. As soon as Lindsay and Troy called we started plotting and planning ideas. Where to stay, ceremony location. Places to go for awesome wedding photographs that represented who they are and why they chose New Orleans to get married. They decided since they were eloping and saving a ton of money that they wanted the entire New Orleans Experience* and added an hour to their package. It gave us plenty of time for getting ready, wedding ceremony and then tons of locations documenting their love of good times. 

I always ask my couples if they are willing to participate in a personal fine art exhibition project of mine; their version of the famous painting American Gothic. No one has refused yet and we certainly get some fun and unique portraits. I encourage that they get masks that speak to them for some of our formal artistic portraits. Gerald who I will have a link for below does gorgeous custom ones. And they even bring their own props. 

At the last minute they found a beautiful AirBnb in the French Quarter.

Lindsay got to work finishing her wedding dress and planning her florals. All a DIY wedding. I was blown away by her florals around the fountain in this tiny rustic, very New Orleans courtyard.

Gorgeous.

I always encourage couples to meet with me before their wedding, even if its just the day before after they've picked up their wedding license at City Hall. I live very close to the French Quarter so I hop on my bike to meet them at my favorite little watering hole on Rampart Street, Bar Tonique. Its a little craft cocktail place with all fresh ingredients, unique and great daily drink specials wrapped in a dive bar atmosphere. This is when we finalize our ideas for special spots, light and fun photographs.

A toast to their wedding day and now we have a plan for their New Orleans Elopement.

I travel light.

A very full backpack.

If my clients have booked me with a lighting and basic, awesome photo assistant then we bring a second small bag for our off-camera flash which totally makes your images pop. Even very useful during the day. While airy, pretty, soft, gauzy images with blown out backgrounds are pretty you do want SOME shots with the surroundings visible right?

Yeah right!

So you really need a couple of flashes to help fill and balance. Hence the need for an assistant. And we bicycle to meet up. Traffic in town is horrific and we plan for that in case you want to go to a park or other locations to utilize your time well (who wants to pay for your photographer to sit beside you for an hour drive?). 

So where do we go? Where don't we go? Troy and Lindsay kept it in the French Quarter after doing a scouting trip the day before. They wanted shots in the Pharmacy Museum but it was closed for a private event however they were most gracious and let us in for a couple quick shots. Then off to the Courthouse on Royal Street. Of course we stopped for cocktails and mixed with the crowds for crazy shots like the parrot on Lindsay's shoulder and the prerequisite photo bombs. 

The time passed so quick I ended up shooting an extra 1/2 hour gratis because we were having so much fun finding creative inspiration.

Below are a few out-takes and samples. Oh and that jump shot of Troy at night...we must have shot that 10 times to get the right expression on his face for Lindsay. He was more than willing and we finally got it!

Call me for ideas and to chat about your elopement in New Orleans. Below is a new Special Package Rate I am offering for couples seeking the Full New Orleans Experience.

504-920-8703

*THE NEW ORLEANS EXPERIENCE ELOPEMENT PACKAGE

•  Up to 3 hours Creative Coverage with Option to Add Time
•  Unlimited Locations
•  Photographer's Assistant and General Pack Mule ;)
•  16 x 24 Pigmented Inkjet Giclee of Your Choice Printed on Archival 100% Cotton Rag Valued at $175
•  A Second, Special Fine Art Commemorative, Limited Edition Print Commemorating your Elopement in New Orleans valued  at $250
•  And of Course Your Files. Full Size, Full Resolution, Ready to Print and a Second Set Ready for Uploading to Social Media
•  Your New Orleans Experience will be Documentary Photojournalism and Street Photography combined with Creative  Portraits. A little bit of New Orleans to take home with you including Hand Crafted 60's Inspired Black and White, Honest  Moments with an Artist's Touch 

        $1200 (some restrictions, black out dates, for 2014 elopement bookings)