I met Matthew many years ago through my coworker, Lisa, who would later become his wife. Some just seem to have the “it” factor, and Matthew was one of those people. Handsome, energetic and charismatic, he made quite an impression on me. I worked for him in a professional manner building many web sites for his businesses and personal endeavors in music. If you are interested, you can hear the music that he wrote on his web site: http://matthewhumphreys.net/. The songs will give you a glimpse into his psyche and talent that he had.
We had originally planned to shoot their engagement photos in the Atlanta Botanical Gardens, but I was told that I would be charged $150 to shoot professionally on the grounds. That would not do for any of us, and Piedmont Park is right next door. Nature blessed us with a gloriously cool day and beautiful light. 
I’m not going to lie… approaching total strangers to take their photo, may not always be the best approach to getting the shot. But if you are in Piedmont Park on a breezy summer day with nothing better to do with a monster camera in your hands, the idea starts to look like a good one. This couple looked so beautiful together that I almost felt like not intruding. They agreed to have their photo taken and bam, bam, bam the session was over in less than a minute.
The whole adventure started with a call from my college buddy, Tony. “Guess what? he said. “I’m getting married.” Of course I knew hell must have been freezing over because Tony seemed to be the perpetual bachelor, but “it” was finally going to happen. Then he tells me the punchline… the wedding was going to happen 1 week from the day of the call. They had just decided a week before to get hitched and that it was going to be “just family” since their budget was so tight.
I am glad that I did too. The day was filled with warm and friendly folks. The weather was perfect, and the house where they had the ceremony was beautiful. His bride, Marilynn was the perfect hostess and I had a great time photographing the event. I wish them years of happiness together. Check out the galleries below:
Putting a baby in a lightbox may sound like a very unconventional way to photograph an infant less than 6 months old, but it worked perfectly. If that was not strange enough, we put little Dani in a salad bowl too. This is the age where babies are just starting to sit up for seconds at a time. The bowl gave her just enough support to sit up straight, and it will be a wonderful reminder of how tiny she is now. Our plan is to photograph her every few months for the first few years to record her growth.
