Diana and Brad

It’s a very busy time of year: engagement portraits, a wedding, another engagement shoot, another wedding. I love it.

Diana Gallo, Brad Moehler and I wandered around West Chester, PA, on a really nice, overcast afternoon. (A little overcast softens the light and makes for much better pictures.)

They’ll be married in December in State College.

Carolyn and Chris

It had rained most of the day and we almost called off our shoot at The Arboretum at Penn State, then the sun came out. Clearly a good omen for Carolyn Cicippio and Chris Garneau.

We took full advantage of the big, puffy white clouds and the sunshine.

Carolyn and Chris will be married July 7 at Our Lady of Victory Catholic Church in State College. Their reception will be at the Nittany Lion Inn.

Kate and Daryl

Kate Schneider and Daryl Throckmorton are outdoor people, so we started their engagement shoot on a beautiful afternoon at Whipple Dam State Park. But they’re also Penn Staters, so we moved on to the Alumni Center and Old Main.

Kate and Daryl will be married in January in State College.

 

Perfect eyes

You’ll be a lot happier with your photographs if you put a little extra care into your eye makeup.

Dark circles make you look older and tired (probably not the look you were going for), but they’re easy to eliminate. You can read a great article about makeup do’s and don’ts by clicking here.

To learn 8 simple steps for bright, natural eyes, just click here.

Both articles are on NittanyWeddings.com, where you can find boatloads of help for planning your wedding.

Yum!

Sometimes you get lucky: An expression turns a routine photograph into a great one. I get no credit for this one; I was just in the right place at the right time.

This hungry young man attended the engagement party for sisters Sarah and Megan Liberatore at Toftrees Resort in State College. That’s Sarah cutting the cake.

Sarah (left) and Megan were all smiles at their bridal shower at noon. Actually, they smiled all day.

Megan will marry Ben Schellman on July 20.

Sarah will marry Jack Palmer on May 25.

Posing tips

I like to shoot as many candids as possible, but posed pictures are an important part of your day, too. Here are a few simple tips that will make you look better in your pictures:

● Position your hips and shoulders at a 45-degree angle to the camera. This is flattering, graceful and slimming. Facing the camera head-on, you’ll look like Lindsay Lohan in a police mugshot.

● Put your weight on your back foot. This gives you a curvy, relaxed look.

● Point the toes on your front foot. Even though your gown covers your feet, this makes a difference. Look at any female celebrity on a red carpet: front foot pointed toward the camera.

 ● Stand up straight. This may seem obvious, but it will make you look tall and elegant, and it will show off your gown to its best advantage.

● If it bends, bend it. Move your elbows out from your body. Not so much that it appears you’re doing the chicken dance – just a little. This, too, is slimming and looks graceful.

Suzy and Adam

Suzy Mulfinger and Adam Unger laugh a lot, which makes it easy for me to get fun pictures. We shot these engagement portraits in and around the Nittany Lion Inn in State College.

Suzy and Adam will be married in May.

Breann and Alan

When I shoot engagement portraits I like to wander around, looking for different spots that would make good photographs. The approach really paid off with Breann Reismeier and Alan Snyder.

We met on a Saturday in downtown Harrisburg, when we had the whole area pretty much to ourselves. We came up with a lot of variety, which is important. Who wants the same old thing?

Breann and Alan will be married June 9 at Lily Manor in Mifflin, PA.