Dove Save the Date

I designed Emily and Robbie's Save the Date postcard this week. I like to creatively respond to the elements I start with. For example, Whitney Carlson of Dove Wedding Photography sent me an engagement photo of one of her couples: Emily and Robbi. The photo is urban with concrete structures in the background, with a splash of an organic element (i.e. dirt). The picture is dynamic with diagonals created from the concrete structure in the background. So I wanted the type to interact with the background--not interrupt it but rather sit nicely within or on top of the background.

Emily and Robbie's colors are raspberry and navy. Good shot Whitney. They look so happy with each other.

Imaje Summer Promotion

Heard from an old friend from Imaje last week. The company has developed a new identity since the last time we spoke. It's simple, clean, and powerful, yet fun and exciting. Markem-Imaje develops machinery that prints on various packaging for tracking and identification. In fact the small barcodes you find on postcards shipped from the post office are printed with their products. Copied directly from the website, "Markem-Imaje is a trusted world manufacturer of product identification and traceability solutions, offering a full line of reliable and innovative inkjet, thermal transfer, laser, print and apply label systems and RFID-based systems." Read more about Markem-Imaje at www.markem-imaje.com.

They needed a postcard to market their summer promotion. This is what we developed in order to remain consistent with their current identity:

Portraits Postcard

Just sent off the final files for the Perimeter Ladies Ministry Summer Interview Series for Young Women. They call it 1000 Portraits Paint One Picture. Each week, there will be an interview with a super cool young lady, served along with yummy desserts and coffee. As far as the design goes, we were going for stylish, inviting, comfortable, warm, yet still conveying our concept of portraits (i.e. interviews that paint a portrait).



This is a great solution for them. I'm very excited about our result. It really suits the environment and the ultimate goals of the series. Here are some of the other concepts we liked a lot but didn't feel fit the right solution.







They're young, high fashion, and magazine style. But ultimately, they don't convey the right mood. They're too glitzy-formal. Getting away from the risk of singling out particular types of women, we decided to go more abstract---more object oriented. Here are some favorites.





The apple option points to our innate common ground, sin, which started with a piece of fruit. I really enjoyed this project. Can you tell?

Jeffrey Hardy's work is now available on iTunes!

Jeffrey Hardy has been hard at work promoting his new self-titled EP, which is now available on iTunes, Rhapsody, Napster, and Amazon MP3. We printed up some one-sided full-color postcards for him and his team to market the newly available purchasing options. Here is the design:

Perimeters Night of Worship

The past several weeks have been exciting for God's given me the opportunity to concept on several projects involving my faith. I also get to serve in the choir occasionally when I'm not traveling to shoot a wedding. These two areas of service, design and music, come together is this latest project where several worship leaders will lead the congregation in worship on Sunday evening, June 8th, while being recorded to a CD–hence "Night of Worship". Here is the design direction chosen for the CD's cover.



The textures are contemporary and the tower points to the location. As communications manager Scott Logan put it (paraphrased), "This cover is particular to Perimeter. Without it, any church could claim the design. The tower makes this design unique."

Jessica & Alex's Awesome Invite

I'm trying something new! Thanks Jessica for being my sweat guinea pig! Jessica and Alex are atypical, non-traditional, hey-let's-go-for-it people. They'll be getting married outside at the R-Ranch in Dahlonega this coming June, and I have the honor of being the primary shooter at their wedding! Jessica didn't want to do the traditional white invitation pressed on rag paper. She wanted something that fit her style, so we decided to do some state-of-the-ART digital printing on watercolor paper. It's a 5x5 trifold that we put in a white envelope. Here is the design result:






I love this product, and any designer who knows me could pin point my taste. Jessica's older sister, Whitney Carlson of Dove Wedding Photography, shot the photos in Nashville. Read her post about the engagement sessions here:

P.S. Note to all of you thinking of sending square stationary through the Postal Service: it costs $0.17 extra per envelope seeing as how the square dimensions do not fit nicely in the machines and must be hand fed.

Julie and Charlie's Shining Engagement Shoot

We held our breath hoping it wouldn't rain on our Sunday evening engagement shoot in Dunwoody, Georgia, and sure enough, it turned into a beautiful session! Julie and Charlie will be getting married on this Chattahoochee River bank in October. I can't wait! This particular river bank belongs to Charlie's mom, who has done a wonderful job landscaping the front and back yard. There are so many great places to hang out and take photos. We had a hard time narrowing it down to just a handful! The great Becca Hayes was my third arm during the session helping direct the light, keep up with equipment, and make us laugh. Here are a few more of my favorites from the day.



Aren't Julie's eyes stunning?





I look forward to the wedding!

Jeffrey Hardy Goes to Print

Atlanta artist Jeffrey Hardy is releasing his first EP in a couple weeks. We just sent off the artwork a couple days ago. Take a look.





Other local musicians like guitarist Alex Nifrong, bassist C.J. Velvet, and drummer Brock Evans contributed to the album. Recording engineers Daniel Gardner and Robert Dyson tracked the songs at Glow in the Dark Studios in Atlanta, while Zack Odom and Kenneth Mount mixed at Tree Sound Studios in Norcross. Dave Collins of Los Angeles mastered. Brian Hall, a personal friend of Jeffrey's, took the photos. In May, Hardy's work will available on iTunes. Bookmark his website www.jeffreyhardymusic.com and check it regularly for updates.

Melanie & Tony's Wedding Album

Melanie and Tony were married at the First Baptist Church in Clarksville, TN. Their entire day was so relaxed and welcoming. For their album, I wanted to mimic the beautiful lace gown the bride, Melanie, wore and only splash color selectively.



This is one of my favorite shots from the day, making it one of my favorite spreads.



To see the whole album slideshow, go to the Dove site:
www.doveweddingphotography.com/MelanieTonyAlbum

Odom Vacation in the Smokey Mountains

Zack and I headed for the hills last week to take a break from cell phones and computers and connect with history and God's Creation. Having grown up in Georgia, I can't believe it's taken me this long to see this beautiful national park. It's name derives from a Cherokee word that describes the blue haze that rises like smoke characteristic of the range. We split our stay between a cozy lodge and a cabin deep in the woods. I wish I could say we camped, but neither of us grew up as scouts, making the venture more foreboding.



This is my dashing husband, Zack, for those of you who don't know him.



One of our favorite days was spent in Cades Cove. We packed lunches, let down our windows, pulled back the sunroof and drove. This was the first time I've driven my stick-shift Mini since I had surgery on my foot in February. Zack kept laughing at me as I softly said, "Ten...two...ten...two," describing my hand position on the steering wheel while we rounded curves.

Our second favorite day included indoor skydiving and go carts. We had the tracks virtually to ourselves, racing only each other. It was a blast! I'm so grateful for the break.

Chelsea and Matt's Wedding Album

Chelsea and Matt's wedding took place at the Belmont Mansion in Nashville. Having both attended Belmont as students, taking pictures at the base of the bell tower was very important to them, which is why one in that series appears on the cover and the first page.




I have a tendency to go monochromatic (one color with tints and shades) with my designs. So this time, I branched out. This was one of my favorite spreads.



The rest of their album can be found on the Dove website at the following link:
doveweddingphotography.com/ChelseaMattAlbum

Decisive Designer

Joining The Decisive Moment team! Since the turn of 2008, I've taken over the album design process for a local Atlanta Photojournalism Studio called The Decisive Moment. Their aim is to capture the wedding story with real events and genuine emotions from the wedding day that is distinctly the bride and groom's. They manage four passionate primary photographers: Jean Shifrin, Jenni Girtman, Adam Linke, and Will Godfrey. And it's my job to place a handful of their beautiful images into an emotional pictorial narrative we call a wedding album.

Here are some samples of the albums I've designed for them:

Singh–Wadhera






Lastinger–Murray




McCarley–Ivey




Duncan–Prouty

Worship Foundations International Annual Report

Just recently, I received my finished Worship Foundations International Annual Report in the mail. Still feel proud to see my work in the real world–––my world. This year we printed the annual on 80 pound Cougar Natural (uncoated) paper. This look was a nice evolution for them. This piece remains artistic yet inhabits different graphic elements than we've used in the past.

Back cover includes accomplishments of 2007, goals for 2008, and letters from two board members: Dave Hunt and Chip Taylor.




Inside spread includes a letter from founder, Martin Allen, the 2006-2007 financial report, mission statements, and a list of board members.




I love working with this ministry. They seek to develop the most prepared and effective generation of musicians ever. They have a network that spans the globe. To find out more about Worship Foundations, check out their website at www.worshipfoundations.com. They also have a mentor network for musicians: www.mentornetwork.com.

Shannon + James Wed in Nashville

This weekend brought travels to Nashville to photograph the marriage of the lovely Shannon and James with Whitney Carlson of Dove Wedding Photography. Their ceremony took place at Wightman Chapel (Scaritt Bennett). Beeeeautiful site! Gorgeous wedding. We all had a blast. James even climbed a window or two to prove how crazy in love he is. What a great way to start off the busy season! Their reception was at The Hermitage Hotel downtown. Here are a few I grabbed at the ceremony.


Shannon's twin nieces were her flower girls:





James's expression seeing Shannon walk down the aisle to be his bride:






Walking together as husband and wife for the first time:




To see more, frequent Dove's blog: www.doveweddingphotography.blogspot.com.