June 21, 2014

Jethro & Amber. An adorable couple. Their story is easy- They have known each other all of their lives and it's hard

to remember where it all started =) how sweet. To marry someone you went through grade school with.

This day was easy, full of love and laughter and lots of busy activity. Amber comes from a large family and it seemed

like she found a way to involve all the nieces and nephews (that could walk) and also Jethro's brothers.

The reception was full of crazy fun details most of which were handmade.

This is their day. And it was so good.

The bride's dress and the bridesmaids' dresses were made by my mom.

The groom's mom did all the flowers.

That would include the bride & bridesmaids' bouquets, the wildflower centerpieces, and also the bridal table centerpiece.

She told me before she did them to remember that she isn't an expert but I would say she is pretty close!

-Amber

My favorite thing about this wedding (besides all the DIY details) is this idea. Above left:

Amber & Jethro had 2 of the little guys dismiss the guests isle by isle. So dear.

The reception entrance: The groom himself made the arch.

Tea Bags/Name Tags: My sister and mom put them all together.

I also really likes the tea bag/ name tag idea. People come up with the most creative and cute ideas.

I also love all the colors incorporated. Very subtle - and perfect. A little touch of blue everywhere.

Flowers on the bridal table:

Amber's little nephew made the wooden box that the flowers were in out of some old barn boards.

Cheesecakes: Family helped me make them.

Food: Big Johns Catering

And then there was an ice cream bar at the end of the day.

The whole day was so good. =) Thanks for having us to your special day, Jethro & Amber,

we loved it! A big shout out to my assistants, Julie & Lorene. Thanks, Ladies.

-Diane

This family. And these 2. What a beautiful couple.

As most of you know, Carol is bravely fighting her battle with cancer.

She wanted to take photos while she still felt good.

She was worried about her boys cooperating as any mom would.

I thought they did a great job - And they look so handsome.

Her motherly advice was, "Smile so i can see it in your eyes!"

I love it. Beautiful family.

The boys look so grown up here

We had so much fun and then the thunderstorm took over!

- Diane

With this young lady.

I love the colors and the architecture around this building so when Sari asked

for a mentoring session with me i jumped at the chance to try it out.

Sari is shooting with a Canon Rebel T3-

She wanted to learn how to shoot in manual-

Again we started with ISO settings.

Aperture & then Exposure.

We talked about focal points and lighting options.

We had SO MUCH FUN.

Each mentoring session is 2 hours-

One- on- One, for you to learn whatever it is that i already know (hopefully)  =)

We get out our pens and pencils and notepads and we talk shop....

And take pictures and draw diagrams until we are sure the concept has hit home.

There is so much to learn with photography. The sooner you get started, The better!

Here are a few lighting exercise examples:

Top: Lighting behind subject and totally blocked out by the roofing.

Bottom Left: Camera pulled back and a tiny bit of sun left in to filter through the image.

Bottom Right: Closer to the Image again and tilted towards the sun to get that sun flare we love!

(notice the faint sun ring top & bottom?)

Bottom Left: Total Shade.

Bottom Right: Complete Sunshine (Shadow is cut off the Image but you can tell where the sun is by the building shading)

Top: Complete Shade Again.

Bottom Left: Complete Sun Directly behind subject.

Bottom Right: ( i don't remember but i think she was in the shade )

Top: Sun coming from the left and blocked by the wall. Love this shot!

Bottom: Just had to get "LIBRARY" on one photo.

Top: Moving your subject away from the background creates color but focuses your attention on the personality of the subject rather than the surroundings. I loved the purple, green, and yellow colors at this building.

Bottom: Who decided that tiered blocked out green trimmed window panels were just what this library needed? =)

Top: Complete sunshine again. I liked the bike rack. Also here we were talking about cutting out clutter from your photos.

There was a car parked directly to my right and to the left was a huge dumpster and more cars and clutter.

I could have removed a few pipes and wires still but decided to let them be.

Focal points may just be my favorite thing.

Beautiful lavender.

We used my rings as the subject and i didn't notice till now that the stone matches the lavender in these photos.

It changes from blue to purple and here it fits right in with the purple!

All of these images were taken with a 50mm L series lens on a Canon 5D Mark III.

ISO was 250. Aperture settings for details photos were 1.2 and for Sari's photos were 2.8.

I encouraged Sari to study the light on other photos she sees.

I'm still doing that everywhere i go. Which direction is the shade and where is that sunshine?!!!

Sari was a quick learner, i could tell she loves cameras and everything that goes with them.

I viewed some of her previous photos and she sure is talented.

Clients who are part of a mentoring session get first dibs to help Di Images out with weddings and photo sessions in the future

It's the best learning tool there is.

Have a great week! -Diane

May 16, 2014

Lavon and Kelly's wedding day started out very rainy. Very. I arrived in Myerstown early enough to drive around and find outdoor porches with large enough overhangs for the whole bridal party. I wanted to be prepared. You see, the week of her wedding, this bride had to have surgery. She didn't need any more surprises. Knowing Kelly, only a little bit, i knew that she would not let the rain get in the way of her beautiful day. The rain stopped just in time for pictures. And the whole day turned out perfect!

This is their story and this is the photos of their wedding day.

The first time Lavon and I exchanged words was in a little college cafeteria in Lancaster.  We were in our first semester of nursing school.  The room moved about with a bustle and blur as we paused to learn each other's names.  And that was all for a few months, until a small group, a study group, of friends emerged from the mass of faces. This group of 5 included both Lavon and I. Being the studious type myself, this seemed like a grand idea. And grand it was until, as our friend Noah put it, "there was always an elephant in the room."  So one day after class, we paused again, not to learn each other's names this time, but to search God's heart. 

 

12.12.12 we nervously enjoyed our first date.  One year later, he asked me to be his wife, in the form of a hand written song.  Our wedding day has since come and gone.  Our love though, is designed to last forever. All we can say is, "by His grace".  God's timing and grace in our lives brought us to today. There is still enough for tomorrow. And we are most certainly glad:) 

These two are so sweet together.

During the reception we had some time to take some photos outside with the sun setting behind us.

"This is my sister in law. You go find your own." =)

Thanks to Kathleen for helping me out! xo- Diane

Dress: made by myself

Shoes: crochet flip flops from Payless

Bridesmaids dresses: from JoAnn Fabrics, made uniquely by the girls themselves

Groom/Groomsmen: shirts-Boscovs, pants- American Eagle

Flowers: Mary Hernley & Dorinda Heisey

Caterers: Big John's Catering

...With Courtney and her mom, Sherry.

Courtney is 12. She just had a birthday.

I am in awe of young kids that know technology at such a young age.

What a great head start she will have and how lucky!

They own a Canon Rebel T3 and wanted to learn the basics.

We went over ISO settings. My camera goes up to 25600.

The above image shows you how i forgot to turn it back down - ooooooops.  =)

They learned how to shoot in manual and we went over things like:

aperture.

exposure.

focal point.

white balance.

shooting in pure sunlight

and lighting directions.

Here's a few i took (after i turned that ISO back down)

This is the pure sunlight/ and also focal points from center to bottom and then top.

Don't you just love the free range chickens?

Harsh lighting vrs soft lighting.

Digital Cameras are a great learning tool. They took turns trying out the different settings as we went along.

How lucky is she to be learning this with her mom?

Each mentoring session includes free questions via email Facebook and phone calls =)

I like sharing what i learned from others.

Contact me to find out more! lOVE - Diane

PS. tonight we have an actual photo shoot on the farm - Check back soon for some more very real blue eyed beautifulness !