I’m a little sad to post the last wedding of 2011—at least I’m going out on a high note! It was such a great year & I’m already excited about what’s coming in 2012! Jenn & Rick wanted to be absolutely positive that they’d have a snowy winter wedding so they enlisted Elkins Resort to make that happen. Good thing too since even though it was plenty cold in Spokane, there was zero snow. Elkins is a beautiful venue with so many beautiful, natural features. Of course I was thrilled to be back photographing in the snow! If you hadn’t noticed, I kinda enjoy taking pictures in the white stuff. Even though we didn’t have much day light, we used it to our advantage because while it was there, it was wonderful. Then when the moon came up, we employed it for light as well. Thank goodness for an amazing camera (Nikon’s D3s) that dominates every other camera with its ability to take pictures in low light (at least until the D4 comes out).

Also, thank goodness for a couple so willing to let me try a few things in the 12 degree weather. Fortunately they had a fire waiting for them. My couples are the absolute best.

Photography nerd warning: The ceremony was so dark that I shot it at ISO 12,800, F/2.8, 1/25 shutter speed. I then pushed nearly 2 more stops in Lightroom. Like I said, thank goodness for my Nikon D3s. I really don’t like using flash during ceremonies—especially when it would ruin such an intimate ambiance. 

Yup, that’s the moon and no, the rolling fog was not added in Photoshop.

We had one snow storm this year (so far). While most are probably happy with that, I am certainly not. I love taking pictures in the snow. The texture it creates in addition to the romantic feeling make for wonderful wedding photos. Even more than that, what it does to light is magical. Fortunately for me, I had a couple of weddings to photograph during this one single storm. After Katie & her bridesmaids were ready we headed up to the beautiful & extremely cold grounds of Arbor Crest so Justin could see his bride for the first time & take a few pictires. I can’t imagine viewing these photos without really being able to feel the excitement the bride & groom felt. The wedding & reception were held at Eastpoint Church in Spokane Valley. After the festivities were wrapped up we snuck off downtown for a few more portraits (including a few at The Davenport Hotel) before calling it a (cold) night.

As 2011 comes to an end I reflect on what an amazing year it’s been. Really. Not a day went by when I didn’t actively thing about how lucky I am. Lucky to be doing exactly what I enjoy. Lucky to be able to support a family by taking pictures with a camera. I make a living by making art. Since quitting work as a graphic designer exactly one year ago I can say I’ve never been happier. Photography took us to Hawaii, NYC, & Seattle several times—as well as places in between. Truly a dream come true. That couldn’t happen without having such amazing couples to work with. I can say that without reservation while speaking of every single couple who’s wedding I photographed this year.

Rather than take on the impossible task of choosing all of my favorite photos (& risk ending up with a 300+ photo blog post) I’m taking the easier (& admittedly lazier) route of just choosing a single photo from each wedding. In many cases they aren’t even necessarily my favorite from that wedding. Really, I could spend months trying to choose if I tried to choose favorites. If you want to see more from these weddings (except for a few I still have yet to blog) just use the search bar at the top of the page.

Melissa & Jared. Woodland Park Zoo, Seattle

Katie & Olin, Lewis and Clark Plaza, Lewiston, ID

Kailin & Bret, Schweitzer Mountain Resort, Sandpoint, ID

Amber & Sam, The Davenport Hotel

Kelli & Kevin, Georgetown Ballroom, Seattle

Samm & Nathan, Davenport Hotel

Tove & Jason, Normanna Hall, Tacoma, WA

Chelsey & Barry, Waimanalo Beach Park & Honolulu Polo Club, Waimanalo, HI

Brittney & Nate, Clayton, WA

Ashley & Mike, Spokane Masonic Center

Talia & Justin, Beacon Hill

Christie & Paul, The Glover Mansion

Renee & Bob, Riverfront Park

Rachelle & Steve, Dance Street Ballroom

Katie & Dan, The Glover Mansion

Paul & Stefanie, The White House, Coeur d’Alene, ID

Tara & Spencer, Point Defiance, Tacoma

Laurel & Jack, Gonzaga University

Rachel & Tucker, The Mazama Ranch House, Mazama, WA

Alicia & Aaron, Landmark Event Center, Des Moines, WA

Maggie & John, The Parkside Event Center, Coeur d’Alene, ID

Nikki & Clayton, High Country Orchard

Sarah & Nate, The Glover Mansion

Kristy & Brian, High Country Orchard

Lindsey & David, Spokane Country Club

Sammie & Darrin, The Glover Mansion

Gracie & Chris, Beacon Hill

Charissa & Erik, Trezzi Farm

Rachel & Houston, Backyard wedding, St Maries, ID

Kortney & Aaron, Pine River Ranch, Leavenworth, WA

Rachiah & Andy, Arbor Crest

Sarah & William, Red Barn Farms, Colton, WA

Patsy & Kevin, Beacon Hill

Tiffany & Nate, Blue Ribbon Culinary Center, Seattle

Kathy & Matt, The Glover Mansion

Flori & John, The Davenport Hotel

Lauren & Darrick, Wallace, ID

Lindsey & Jaron, Gonzaga University Chapel & The Glover Mansion

Katie & Justin, Arbor Crest & The Davenport Hotel

Terese & Kurt, The Glover Mansion

Jenn & Rick, Elkins Resort, Norman, ID

Erin & Jim, Trezzi Farm

—

Last but not least, I owe the biggest thanks to my family without who’s support I couldn’t do this. I don’t even mean support, I mean SUPPORT!!!! Happy new year everybody. Here’s to an even more amazing 2012—with 30 weddings already booked, it’s looking like we’re well on our way!

I’m happy to finally post this wedding because no matter how impressive a single photo is to some, a wedding day meant to be represented in an entire set of photos. The first photo caused a bit of a ruckus across the internet (well, a different version of the photo—I like this one a little better) and lead me to write an entire post about how it was created. You can see that post here. Lindsey & Jaron were married at the Gonzaga University Chapel Chapel & their reception was held at Spokane’s Glover Mansion. The time in between was spent taking a surprise in the weather & turning it in to something special.

Weddings at The Davenport Hotel & Tower are automatically classy events. It’s such a beautiful place with so many little places that lend themselves to beautiful photos. It helps when you have a couple like Flori & John who, in addition to being supremely photogenic, were willing to follow me wherever I wanted to go in hopes that we’d find a little photographic magic. I think we did, but I’ll leave that up to you to decide.

Once again, I’m posting a wedding where there were so many subtly wonderful moments that came back to me as I looked through them again (& again). Just one of the little parts of my job that I love so much. In addition to that, it’s yet another couple that I’m such a huge fan of. Over the nearly 80 weddings I’ve photographed, I have yet to work with a couple that I don’t love (knock on wood). My couples are the absolute best. I’m a pretty lucky guy.

Best. Table. Decoration. Ever…

4th time’s the charm. I’ve shot several weddings at the lovely Beacon Hill, but it wasn’t until this last one that I got a truly stunning sunset. Finally. The day began with Patsy getting beautified by Shasta Hankins & the beauty continued throughout the entire day. The weather played nicely with us & the event—from the beginning to the end was a blast for everyone involved. I think you’ll see that.

Bet you’ve never seen a wedding party photo like this one…

Ok, just like the scenes added to movies after the credits, I really felt like this photo had to be here, but it didn’t work with the rest of the story. I crack up at it every time I see it. The look on Kevin’s face is priceless.

Taken on Gonzaga's campus in Spokane, Washington 11.12.11

Last night I did my usual thing & posted a handful of preview photos following a wedding before heading off to bed. What I woke up to was a little different. One of the photos went viral on Facebook & has been ‘liked’ more than 1200 times, gathered 370 comments,  been shared by 90 people—in one day. To give an example of how crazy this is, I’ve worked for the past couple of years to organically (with almost zero self promotion outside of posting & tagging) build my FB page to 1,000 ‘likes.’ It crossed that mark last week. I’m amazed at that number. AMAZED. Thanks to everyone who has clicked the button on Matt Shumate Photography.

Over the last day it’s jumped more than 600. 2 years to get to 1,000. 1 day to get 600 more. If you’re one of those. Thank you. Hopefully I’ll find a way to add value to your Facebook experience.

That got me thinking that I could do a little more. There were a bunch of people asking questions about the creation of the photo so I figured I could at least create a post where I break down the photo & how it was made.

When we got to the church earlier in the day the weather was relatively pleasant, if not just a bit chilly, but dry. After the ceremony was over we looked outside & saw that the weather had changed drastically. I love shooting in the snow. Love it. Love. It. I got pretty excited, but this wasn’t a normal winter snow. This was a very wet autumn snow. It was like being in a rain shower where the drops were the size of quarters. Fortunately we were able to wrangle a couple of umbrellas to get the bride & groom from the church to the car. It also was much darker than I felt it should be. Of course, nobody asked my opinion about the sunset time.

I popped my flash (Nikon SB-700) into a Lumiquest III mini soft box & asked a bridesmaid’s boyfriend to help me out. I gave him the other umbrella, set the flash to 1/4 power (a good guess), & told him to follow behind the couple 10 or 15 feet & keep the flash pointed at them. I didn’t have an exact shot in mind but I knew I wanted a backlit photo because it would make the snow show up clear. Fortunately Lindsey (the bride) was a trooper & had zero complaints about being cold. She just kept reassuring us that her dress had lots of layers so she was fine.

I had a little more urgency since I was uncovered, & although I know my Nikon D3s is one hardy machine, I didn’t want to risk having water from the instantly melting monster snowflakes short something out. Partially to give myself some time to formulate a plan & partially because I knew I wanted to use the brick walkway in the background I asked the newly married couple to walk the long way around Gonzaga’s roundabout toward the parking lot. Once we got in front of the walkway I found my composition I asked Lindsey & Jaron to keep each other warm with a romantic moment. I scooted to the side to let one of the pathway lights to peek around Lindsey’s dress giving the shadow a reason to be there (even though we all know what really made the shadow) I made a couple of camera adjustments, quickly snapped a few photos, & we all took off for the cars.

My goal with the composition was to show the beauty of Gonzaga’s campus at dusk on the evening of the year’s first snow. For the couple, I wanted to convey the feelings they were having after being married moments before. For the exposure I wanted to keep the skies dark enough to see the white flakes hit with the flash & bright enough to keep the blue color & show the dark flakes in shadow. I wanted the flash to be bright enough to light the edges of the couple & produce a nice cast shadow in front of them but not so bright that I’d get nasty wrap-around flare. I figured that the flash would bounce a little light off their faces & even though they’d still be a little underexposed, the D3s file would withstand brightening them up quite nicely.

I used Lightroom to balance out the exposure, bump the contrast, & fix the colors. There was a girl walking through the background and a bit of the umbrella from the VAL (voice activated lightstand) that I cloned out in Photoshop. Both things I would normally correct in camera were we not under the duress of time. I have to add that I feel like this is a special but imperfect photo, but that’s ok. I can think of at least 4 things I’d do a little different next time. Gotta keep pushing.

Camera settings: Nikon D3s, Nikon 24-70mm @24mm, 1/100, f/3.5, ISO 3200, Nikon SB-700 1/4 power in a Lumiquest III. Triggered with Cybersyncs.

Hopefully that’s helped someone make a better photograph. If there’s something I left out, feel free to ask & I’ll try to answer.

I think I’d like to make this a regular feature (maybe as video next time since I kinda suck as a writer) so if you’d like to see a certain photo broken down, please ask.

Normally when I blog I try to show the photos in a way that tells the best story. But there are times when I take a photo that is so special to me because it tells the best story all on its own. When that’s mixed with a light that is nothing short of magical, even I get a little humbled. That usually happens when I have nothing to do with the photo, but I happen upon a scene and able to capture it. That’s the case with this first photo (the texture, the light, the gown, the light, the reflection, the light, the room, the light, the symmetry, the light, & the vail hanging on the lamp). It’s definitely one of my favorite photos I’ve ever made & if you press me on it, I don’t know if I could come up with one that I love more. Most amazingly, this is pretty much what the photo looked like on the back of my camera.

For the rest of the post, I’ll mention that the wedding was held at Trezzi Farm on a day when nature decided to be as friendly as it’s ever been. The light was gorgeous. The clouds & skies were perfectly dramatic. And the temperature was perfectly—which was helpful since Erin’s vintage gown (which has been worn by several brides in her family) wasn’t made of a terribly forgiving/breathable fabric. Erin’s beautiful makeup was done by DeAndra Toney & her hair was done at Elite Salon.

When you add to that a wedding where everyone was encouraged to wear various & sundry hats (yes including a viking helmet!) you have a recipe for a great day (& great photos).

I’m so excited to share Sarah & Will’s wedding with you. It’s been a while since I’ve posted. We spent a week in New York (blog post coming) & a weekend in Seattle for family time & I feel rejuvenated & ready to edit, edit, edit, shoot, edit—well you get the point. I’ve got a ton of work in front of me & I couldn’t be more excited about it!

The fact that I was able to shoot Sarah & Will’s wedding was nearly an act of God since so many things had to go right for it to happen since her first (very excited) email asking if I was available (I wasn’t). Add to that the fact that their wedding was held at one of my favorite wedding venues, Red Barn Farms. Sarah’s beautiful makeup was done by Shasta Hankins which helped her become the radiant bride she was.

Enough words, on to the photos(!)…

I’m a huge believer in the power if ‘nice.’ Terribly uninteresting and non descriptive as an adjective, it’s importance comes from action. There’s no better way to describe the actions of everyone on the day of Rachiah & Andy’s wedding at Arbor Crest Winery. Rachiah’s parents are two of the nicest people I’ve ever met—& I mean ever. Of course I already knew this since the flower girl & one of my daughters are buddies & my daughter’s spent lots of time at their house. It would stand to reason that Rachiah would be the same & of course Andy as well. I feel like that comes across very clearly in the photos.

Arbor Crest is an insanely beautiful venue. There are so many places to explore for a photographer looking for interesting things. I can’t wait to go back!

I just have to say that Pine River Ranch just outside of Leavenworth, Washington is one of the most amazing venues I’ve ever seen. It’s like a photographer’s play land. There’s the manicured lawns, a pond with a rowboat, a trail to the river, a tall grass field, purple wildflowers in a shady grove, & a great dairy barn that’s been transformed in to a modern wedding venue without losing it’s personality. In my day there, I barely touched all of the photographic opportunities. I imagine I could shoot several weddings there without reusing any ideas. Add to that a bride with lots of personal flare, a great theme, & the number one color choice of 2011—purple—& you have a recipe for great photos. I just had to get out of the way & capture it.

For this wedding I’ll comment throughout the post. The amazing floral arrangements were done my Personal Touch Floral in Cashmere, WA.

Maybe my favorite wedding party photo of all time.

Note: antlers, peacock feathers, & purple. You’ll see them again. This is how you build a theme.

A running joke with Kortney & Aaron & their friends is that they’re cousins (they’re not). It’s pretty believable.

Sometimes me moving to the side a few inches is enough to make magic. I love this photo. Mmm…symmetry.

A surprise for dad. Kortney & her dad got to share one of their favorite past times before the wedding. The ranch’s neighbor let us use their range.

Crack shots, both of them. Note the exploding targets in the ‘after’ shots.

Seriously, a shady field of purple wildflowers. Are you kidding me? We drove by it on our way to the range & my eyes just about fell out of my head.

Aaron’s Willys Jeep was a great touch to the day.

Note: Ginger squared. Awesome.

Such a great post-ceremony moment as Aaron helped Kortney in to the Jeep.

The antler in the bouquet was an amazing touch.

The following photo is a special request for a photo that the couple could frame in a 4 pane window frame. I took several photos & stitched them together to get the resolution I needed. For photographers: The photo after this is a 100% crop just to show the sharpness.

100% crop.

Yes, Kortney’s dress was a tearaway. It was a secret until “the reveal.” It was an alteration she had done. You’d never know it to look at the full gown.

Not sure what to say about this backyard wedding that took place in St. Maries, ID. Many times Rachel attempted to describe the area where her wedding was going to be. I thought I had a good idea of what to expect. I was very wrong. It was more amazing than I could have imagined. Of course it paled in comparison to the Rachel herself. Again, I’m posting a wedding with so many huge smiles & laughs culminating of course with me donning Rachel’s dad’s swim shorts & jumping in the pool with my camera to catch the bride & groom in a celebratory plunge!

I’m not exactly sure how to preface this post. All I can really say is that I tried my hardest to get the photos down to a manageable number. I really tried. In fact, there are lots of photos I love that didn’t make the cut—like more than double the number that did. So with that I offer this…

WARNING: Massively long blog post (but I promise you won’t get bored).

Gracie & Chris are two incredible personalities—they should be, Gracie is a TV meteorologist & Chris is a TV sportscaster (if you want to see them in action, check them out at KREM.com). Let’s face it, this is about as close as Spokane gets to a celebrity wedding. They were married on a scorching summer day at Spokane’s amazing Beacon Hill. This post is long enough without me rambling on about it, so to the photos we go…

The day started at Last Looks Makeup Studio

I love it when I get to hang out with past or future brides (as in this case, Hey Adriana!) at my weddings.

The amazing flowers were created by Special Touch Florist.

Prom.

This might be one of my favorite bride & groom (yes, groom) portraits I’ve ever made.

The “Love is…” signage that lined the aisle was created by students visited by Gracie during one of her school weather trips.

First dance guitar solo.

Best. Cake. Ever. Tres leches cake from Sangria Grille in Moscow, Idaho.

From the next day’s newscast…

This wedding is a great example of why I’m not a fan of shooting weddings under the time constraints of a 4, 5, or 6 hour package. So many of these photos would have never happened had we been concerned about “getting things done” so the photographer could get out of there. Sometimes things work best when I just take a step back & let things happen. Sometimes the atmosphere along with time is what allows a great photo be taken.

This was a great wedding, full of great moments (you should already know, that’s my favorite part of photographing weddings) & great portraits. Like usual, I dare you to look through Sammie & Darrin’s wedding day at The Glover Mansion & not smile.

Lindsey & Dave were married on a hot summer day at the gorgeous St. Aloysius Church on Gonzaga’s campus. After the ceremony we all jumped in a limousine & headed over to the Spokane Country Club for the dinner & reception. I don’t know if I’ve ever seen so many flowers at a wedding. It’s almost like the flowers created by Beau K were a featured guest. Flowers were everywhere. They were beautiful & fragrant. As huge as St. Als is, I swear that wherever I was in the church, I could smell the bouquets. I’ll get out of the way & so you can see the pictures now…

I’m excited to share Kristy & Brian’s wedding at High Country Orchard in Spokane’s Green Bluff area. So many individual touches, not the least of which was raspberry jam made by the bride’s mother & scones made by the couple for party favors. Yumm! Plenty of emotions. Plenty of great moments. Plenty of love. Plenty of fun (underdog!). Plenty of awesome.

Fair warning: this post contains a few more photos than I usually post. If there’s one thing I care about more than anything at a wedding is capturing the moments that tell the story & reflect the memories that carried the day. If that requires a few more photos than usual for a blog post, so be it. Weddings are emotional events—not only for the bride & groom, but for their friends & family as well (sometimes even for photographers). I dare you to look at these photos & not feel the love from this wedding day. That starts with a bride who is probably the happiest person I’ve ever met.

Plus, I get to start the post with one of my most favorite portraits I’ve ever made. Ever.

A Texas boy & Spokane girl got married at High Country Orchard in Green Bluff, Wa & I was there to photograph it. I had a great time hanging out with these two & their friends & family. Check out the pictures:

Beautiful day. Beautiful venue. Beautiful bride. Beautiful Handsome groom. Well, you get the point. I love my job. Add to that a wedding party full of awesomeness & a couple of former brides who were in attendance (including hair & makeup wiz Kylie Buttrey who works at Summer Sun in C d’A—you should check her out), & you have a recipe for a great day for taking some wedding photos.