Double Feature! | Pittsburgh City Paper and Brides.com

How cool is this?  I photographed the weddings of two sisters, Maureen and Molly, this year.  And just this week, images from both of their weddings were published!

Maureen and Art’s photo appears in the December 7th issue of the Pittsburgh City Paper, “Best of Pittsburgh” edition.  Maureen and Art held their ceremony and reception at Phipps Conservatory, which was named Best Place for a Wedding Reception.  You can read the full article here.

Molly and Matt’s groom’s cake was featured on Brides.com, and there’s a really cool story behind it.  “Matt loves old black-and-white Japanese films,” says Molly, “and his favorite director is Yasujiro Ozu, so all the film reels are labeled with title/year if the films (even some in Japanese!). He was so excited about it and totally surprised. The kicker was that the cake was his favorite Guinness stout chocolate.”  To see Molly and Matt’s awesome cake as well as some other unique groom’s cake ideas, check out the article here.

Congratulations, Maureen & Art and Molly & Matt!

Taryn Boyd - Well deserved CHICA! AMAZING WORK!

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Children’s Photographer Pittsburgh | Little Man Adrik

It’s hard to believe it has been a little over a year since I photographed Adrik as a newborn–he has grown so much.  What a miracle children are!

children

Adrik and his mom and dad are huge Penguins fans.  He already knows how to say “We’re #1!” with his little finger.

So nice to see you again, little man!

Amanda - You did the background! It looks awesome!

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Featured! | Inspire Me Baby Blog

Remember Jessy’s awesome senior session I posted last week?  I am super excited to announce that her session was featured on the Inspire Me Baby blog!  The IMB blog features images by photographers for photographers to gather inspiration for their sessions.  You can check out the post here.  Congratulations, Jessy–you rock!

portraits with gorgeous backlighting

 

Aaron - YAY! So exciting (and well-deserved)!

Sandy - :)

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TLC Tuesdays – #3

It’s been a while since I posted a TLC Tuesday episode, so let’s do one today.  Here we have an image from Vicki and Tom’s wedding that I posted yesterday; Vicki is standing in the doorway of St. Paul Cathedral with her father, just a moment before walking down the aisle.

Let’s start with the original image, SOOC, with the default raw settings in Lightroom.

 

The image is a little crooked, and seems a little too warm to me.  The first thing I did was to straighten the crop and cool down the white balance in Lightroom.  I also added a little more contrast and increased the blacks by a notch or two.  I pulled the recovery slider to 10 or so to bring down the highlights in the stained glass windows, and also used the adjustment brush to bring down the exposure in the windows.

The next step was removing the exit signs, which I felt detracted from the image.  I used the patch tool in Photoshop to do this.

 

And of course, I needed to clone out the church lady who was standing behind the bride.  Oh universal Church Lady, I am fond of you, but why must you linger in the doorway for every. single. wedding?

Ok, now time to remove the videographer.  For those of you familiar with the clone tool and patch tool, you already know what a difficult job this is because of where he is standing.  I need to reproduce the line of pews that he is covering, but because of perspective, I can’t just sample another area and clone it in over him.  So instead,  I used the lasso tool to select the pews on the opposite side, as well as a good portion of the area above the pews, since he is partially covering the wall as well.  I then copied the selection, pasted it back onto the image, making it a new layer.  I used the transform tool to flip it horizontally, then dragged it over the videographer and aligned everything to blend in.  I added a layer mask and brushed out any areas along the edge of the pasted selection that did not match up perfectly.

 

Ta da!  The final product, sans distractions.

Thanks for tuning in to this week’s episode of TLC Tuesdays!

 

 

Jenny - Thank you for posting this Sandy. The end result looks great. I definitely learned a few new tricks.

Sandy - Someday if I figure out how to do it, I’d like to do a “watch me edit” video…

Aaron - Great post! It’s cool to see the extra attention to detail you put into your photos; the finished product is much more impactful than the original.

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St. Paul Cathedral Wedding | Vicki & Tom

Remember Vicki and Tom’s engagement session this summer?  I am super excited to present to you Vicki & Tom: the Wedding!

Vicki and the girls got ready at the historic Inn on Negley in Shadyside.

 

St. Paul’s Cathedral is a gorgeous church.

Vicki and Tom’s bridal party was super fun!

Love Vicki’s unique bouquet–yes, those are artichokes!!

We stopped at Vicki and Tom’s alma mater, W&J, for photos.

The cake was actually made by Vicki’s mom!

Love it when they put on a slide show of old pictures.

 

The staff at the Hilton Garden Inn Southpointe put on an awesome live demonstration of fiery dessert making.

 

Vicki and Tom, thank you for letting me be a part of your journey for a little while.  You are two of the nicest people ever, and I wish you all the best in your married life together!  ((Hugs))  Sandy

_________________________

Makeup/Hair: MCN Salon

Florisy: Karrie Hlista

Ceremony: St. Paul Cathedral

Reception Venue: Hilton Garden Inn Southpointe

Caterer: Hilton Garden Inn Southpointe

Entertainment: Jeremy Ganss

 

 

Jenny - Sandy, these photos are so gorgeous!

Sandy - Thanks, Jenny! :)

Leeann Marie - SO pretty, Sandy!!

Sandy - Thanks, Leeann!

Sandy M - Sandy,
Just breathtaking! Always amazed at how you manage to capture those intimate moments with such feeling and clarity. Thanks for being part of Vicki and Tom’s special day. Can’t wait to see all the shots! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!

Sandy - Thanks, Sandy! I did have an amazing couple to work with! :)

Katia - So gorgeous Sandy…as always!~ the last shot is BEAUTIFUL!

Melissa - The most amazing photos I have seen! Wish. Lived in America

Sandy - Thank you, Melissa!!

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Modern Senior Pictures Pittsburgh | Jessy

Can I just tell you, dear Reader, how completely over the moon I am about this senior session?  Gorgeous girl, awesome vintage style clothing, amazing light–everything about it was a dream come true.

vintage inspired senior session at an orchard

senior session at an orchard
vintage inspired senior session

vintage inspired senior session

 

Jessy’s lace cap was actually worn by her grandmother on her wedding day.  You are simply stunning, Jessy.

vintage inspired senior session
vintage inspired senior session
vintage inspired senior session

Thanks so much Jessy–I had an awesome time working with you!!

————

To schedule your senior session, please contact me for availability.

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Amanda - Beautiful light! I love anything with a tractor tire :)

Taryn Boyd - Every one is more beautiful then the next! LOVE them, so creative!!!!!!!

Jenny - WoooooW!!!! I love every single one of those photos.

Aaron - Oh my goodness…these are crazy good! That light is just incredible and I love the variety you were able to get. Awesome!

Sonia - Amazing pics! you are sooo very talented!

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Featured! | Whirl Magazine

One of my wedding couples, Heather and Brian Pellegrini, were featured in this month’s issue of Whirl Magazine!!  Along with the details of their wedding, there is a really cute story about their engagement.  To see the full article, click here.  Congratulations, Heather and Brian!  (((Hugs))) Sandy

Here are a few more favorites from their wedding:

Taryn Boyd - Sandy!!!! Congratulations! so awesome… you deserve it!

Sandy - Thanks, Taryn!! :)

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Snow Time Like the Present

Remember that crazy day when it snowed two days before Halloween?  There were autumn leaves on the trees at the same time as there was snow on the ground.  The first snowfall of the season is like magic, and at this time of year, it was a fun surprise.

Our dog, Happy, likes catching snowballs.  He looks like Jaws with his mouth wide open like that.  At age 15, he is still pretty spry for an old man!

Sometimes, you just have to drop everything and frolic in the snow. :)

Jenny - Love the action shots of Happy!

Aaron - Oh my goodness, your kids (both of them :)) are so adorable! I absolutely love the photos of Happy catching snowballs…they make me, well…happy :)

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B E   I N   T H E   K N O W !