Funny story is that I bumped into Larry while walking out of a donut shop in my neighborhood.

As he walked towards me, I could not help to notice how much he looked like Elvis.

I jokingly told him that he reminded me of “The King”. He laughed and told me to look at the back of his truck.

On the back glass of his SUV was his logo sign “Larry L-vis Stilwell”.  Turned out that he really is a professional full time Elvis Tribute Artist.

So, immediately I offer to take his portraits to help him build his portfolio with some professional images.

Here are some of Larry’s links where you can preview some of his web sites…

Larry L-vis Stilwell:

Web Site -  http://www.larry-lvis.com

Facebook page – http://www.facebook.com/people/Larry-Stilwell/1081207794#!/larry.stilwell?ref=ts

Here are their individual portraits…

Michelle

Courtney

Chelsea

Bobbi

Elizabeth

Stephanie

Ashley

Alyssa

Brittany

Kristin

Brittany

Savanna

This was a very tough gig, but hey somebody had to do it!

**This is a link to my web site where you can see more images of the Allen American Ice Angels **

This lovely couple is the first to take advantage of a new program where we offer a FREE Engagement Portrait Session with every Standard Wedding Package.

Their portrait session was held at the historical Cotton Mill in McKinney, Texas.

The Cotton Mill offers both indoor and outdoor scenes, great for portraiture photography.

…especially this particular image, where the couple had specifically requested a location of railroad tracks.

Deanna’s Bridal Session will take place next week and the wedding in May.

**Click here to see more images of their Engagement Session.**

This next image is one of my favorite images.

I will typically instruct either the Bride or the Groom to tell the other person a secret. This secret is STRICTLY between the two of them. I love the reactions that I typically get.

As part of a typical wedding package, I always capture the preparation time before the wedding ceremony.

Here you can see Jonette releasing a little tension on her Maid-of-honor.

Now that the Bride is ready, images of all the details in the dress are captured for her memories.

I personally love adding the Sepia tone to this image. It gives it a warm antique feeling.

This is one of the funniest wedding cake toppers that I have ever seen!

Now it is official! The “I do’s” are said and The Rings are exchanged.

Finally, Mr. and Mrs. Brian and Jonette Phegley are ready to set off for their honeymoon!

I must give special thanks to my assistant, JD McLeod, for capturing this particular image.

Congratulation to Jonette and Brian!

**See more images from Jonette & Brian’s wedding here**

First, we setup to photographed in front of the Art Institute of McKinney. After looking at this photo, I wanted to create an image with a little nostalgic flair. Thus, I came up with this next images of a Black & White with selected isolated color.

It was an early morning shoot and the cloudy sky was wanting to rain on our photo shoot. However, as we walked down the street to the nearest corner, we got a break in the clouds. I quickly jumped at the chance to capture some close-up images of the Bouquet and the detail in the dress. It was just enough light to capture this detail image.

Since I’m also an Architect, I could not resist the row of columns directly across the street.

Personally, I live with a strong Faith and a very positive outlook on life. I believe that when something bad happens, something BETTER comes out of it. As it was getting more cloudy and beginning to sprinkle, God sent me a gift. A lady that Amanda knew approached us from the street and offered the use of her facility nearby, the old Collin County Prison Building. This building is an Historical Landmark!

This Prison building is known to be the last jail to house Bonnie and Clyde just before their deaths. Recently, it has been renovated and turned into a Coffee Bar, Bookstore, and now an Art Gallery. The current owners of the building has maintain much of the interiors. They kept the Isolation Chamber with steel doors on the first floor and the jail cells on the third floor. Again, the Architect in me thought that this was a PERFECT place to photograph!

Here you can see Amanda with a real, life Ball and Chain that was attached to one of the Isolation Chamber doors. It was a concrete ball attached to a steel chain and shackle and very heavy.

On the third floor remain 4 jail cells. Amanda has told me that this is one of her favorite images. This location has become my second favorite place to photograph indoors. I will definitely be offering more Portrait packages to photograph at this location. Thus, my all time favorite location to photograph in is the old Cotton Mill in McKinney. This is where we were schedule to complete the photo session.

The Cotton Mill offers a tremendous amount of natural lighting to come in from the warehouse style windows. It also offers a very nostalgic and historical environment for a portrait session.

We definitely spent more than 2 hours with the entire Portrait Session and had fun doing it. This is my favorite image from the Cotton Mill location. It has now become the new cover image on the home page of my web site. It was an absolute pleasure to work with Amanda. I can’t wait until October arrives.

This historical structure offers a unique enviroment with an abundance of natural lighting through it’s warehouse style windows.

I strive to keep all expecting mothers comfortable during a photo shoot. Mama does not have to be self conscience about any other parts of her body, because I primarily focus on the tummy.

…Speaking of tummies, this is the happy father, Mathew, showing off his sympathy weight gain. Since it takes two in this equation, I always ask the father-to-be to participate. This also helps mama to feel more comfortable during the photo session.

I have photographed several beautiful models in this particular corridor of the Cotton Mill. Still nothing compares to the beauty of a radiant pregnant woman.

As a final tribute to their expecting newborn and marriage, I composed this last shot at the end of their photo session.

Here you can see both hands with their wedding rings placed on mama’s tummy. In a sense, all three are present in this image. Congratulations Mia & Mathew! I can’t wait to see your newborn baby soon! God Bless your and your family.

** See more images from Mia’s maternity photo shoot here. **

Yana in her Prom dress.

These images were shot on location at Farmers Branch Historical Park as a part of the Gulf State Camera Club Council Convention held in Plano.

This church building was a great spot that offered a unique contrast of the black dress against the white wall.

While shooting at this location, I was also instructing a group of out-of-town photographers during this model shoot.

Yana’s Prom was going to be 2 weeks away from the date of this photo shoot. Thus, I really wanted to capture a special image of her in the dress that would flatter her figure and her sparkling personality.

Good Luck Yana with your Prom and upcoming Graduations!

My “Standard” wedding package offers 5 hours of photographic coverage. On the average, I will show up to the venue about 1 1/2 hours prior to the ceremony. During this time, coverage of both halves of the wedding party are captured during the Preparations.

Bride’s maid helping the Bride.

Having a drink.

Groom’s men preparing.

Almost ready.

These moments of anticipation and anxiety are always treasured by the Bride & Groom.

Flower girls are always adorable!

During the final preparation, I will try to isolate the Groom’s party and photograph their formal pictures first.

…and then once the Bridal party is ready, their pictures are captured next.

On the average, the Ceremony itself usually takes about 20 to 30 minutes. It’s ironic that the most important part of the entire day happens so quickly.

Being escorted down the aisle.

Eagerly awaiting.

Every venue has it’s own set of rules with regards to the photography during the ceremony. It was very fortunate that this Chapel allowed me to move around during the ceremony. Otherwise, I would not have been able to capture this next image.

Of course, I will always provide the Traditional formal group shots.

Then finally, the remaining 2 1/2 or 3 hours are spent during the Reception. This is the time that most of the photo journalistic type images are captured. I strive to capture all the essential moments and emotions from this event.

Cheers!

Get down and boogie!

Girls just want to have fun!

Vanilla Ice is back!

To wrap up the evening, the Chapel organized a “Last Dance” strictly for the Bride and Groom. After capturing this image, I was even ask to leave so that they would spend one last quite moment together.

Congratulation to Barbie and Louis! Thank you for allowing me to share your special day!

One new feature that I like to use is the Panoramic format. In a wedding album, a wide panoramic image can span across two pages.

When shooting the preparations of the Bride, I always make it a point to capture an image of the back of the dress. This is the view that the audience will mostly see the Bride during the ceremony.

…and of course, we will always capture all those details shots that most Brides and Grooms will never get to experience.

To a very special couple, congratulations to Enlik and Vincent!

Mandy – the Model/Bride: I personally like this high-key image with a strong contrast bewteen her and the background.

The editorial shot: I like to use these types of shots for my own marketing purposes and stock photography.

The Classic pose: I specifically like to frame some of my images with a diagonal from one corner of the frame to the opposite corner.

The cute and adorable pose: Mandy says that this image really reflects her true personally.

Shortly after this photo shoot the Groom to be showed up with a beautiful golden retriever for an engagement photo session. Images from that session will be posted soon.