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Dotuns Blog bio picture

Dotun's blog

Welcome to my blog, my name is Dotun Ayodeji, a professional photographer based in the DC area. I finally got around to getting this blog running after years and hope to share my photography journal with you. I will be displaying images ranging from recent personal shoots to commercial assignments and sometimes images I just never got around to posting on my old blog.  I will be posting images every week, so feel free to visit my archives whenever you return.

Enjoy the experience.

Thanks,

Dotun


Ogo and Ikenna – The preparation

Another non-conventional posting. The goal of this post is to take you behind the scenes of a getting ready bride and groom before the church ceremony. Most postings will have a few of them but a lot of work go into these moments just as much as the ceremony – at least for me. I normally don’t narrate on pics but I will this time, just to give potential brides some tips on how to make these moments go smoothly and also show some details I love to capture. I will mention some technical bits here and there for photographers but no much so not to bore the non-photographers. Please enjoy these 30 shots.

1. Do you know rings stand on my command? Well maybe sometimes :)

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2. I used their invitation for this shot.  Placing the ring in between the names seemed perfect.

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3. Something about the point of view and mood here makes this shot for me.

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4. Some of Ikenna’s details. Yes, you can say it, I make the little things look really nice…well isn’t that why you hired me..lol

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5. I am a fan of shoes. I see a lot going into shooting brides shoes these days. I am a fan of putting the shoes in a simple spot and just let it show itself off, with the right lens and angle of course it comes together. Sometimes I do some crazy things with them but simplicity won for this particular shot. IMG_9860web

6. Another simple view but yet looks dynamic.

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6. Ogo gets it…always smile on your day even when things are going slightiy wrong..it’s a lot more cheaper at the end of the day.IMG_9736rweb7. Takine the men getting dressed is quite easy to shoot, no stress at all.

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IMG_9726web9. Simple placement here too. The red chair in the dressing room gave me a nice backdrop. Such attention to little details like this goes a long way, on a normal day you wouldn’t think a chair will give a nice canvas looking backdrop.

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10. Uhmmmm….I like.

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13. I framed this with a chair nearby, I always seem to find them in hotel rooms. IMG_9739web

14. Of course, she wasn’t supposed to see me!

IMG_9741-1web15. Some wine before working down the aisle…it gets no better.

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AQ7D9450web18. They guys got dressed pretty early, so we had enough time to get some shots in the lobby

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21. Another tip, get dressed early enough before you head to church. 2hrs early is good enough, then you can have time to do some relaxed portraits around your hotel or getting dressed location. From my experience rushing out of the hotel room is never fun. IMG_9838-2webz22. Of course a good spacious hotel will be nice. Ogo didn’t compromise on that evidently.

IMG_9833-1awebb23. Love the randomness of their poses.

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MK3_9641web30. And it was a wrap after this shot, off to church we went. Again good location and time was key.

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September 2, 2010 - 10:49 pm Chris - Very nice... really great tips too!

August 31, 2010 - 11:05 am wale ariztos - lovely lovely shots here. gorgeous couple. you captured the bride perfectly. can't wait to see more. p.s., there's something about #12 that i love too.

August 30, 2010 - 12:55 am AJ - Dotun, every picture, every angle, every shot was EXQUISITE. I know they say the "Devil is in the Details" - Well I have my personal take on that "The Beauty is in the Details". Thanks for posting this. Now this is the stuff that just makes you want to see the entire wedding album.

August 28, 2010 - 10:58 pm Sandra Nwankwo - love the shots Dotun!!! Nice attention to detail. Not to mention Ogo is definitely a beautiful bride!!!

August 28, 2010 - 4:46 pm Bibi - Wow, awesome, stunning shote, beautiful bride, i am sooo in love with these pictures, so perfect. You are so great at what you do Dotun, and always fun to work with.

August 28, 2010 - 10:51 am omojesu - master has done it again... very beautiful shots, love the clarity of each picture. Great work

August 27, 2010 - 7:10 pm babynaf - very nice Dotun, you did an incredible job as always.

August 27, 2010 - 6:44 pm Ral - OMG! This is beautiful! Tremendous work as usual Dotun! Everyone looked gorg!

August 27, 2010 - 4:39 pm Dotun - Thanks Kirth, Tunji and Seun. Laku, I know what you mean exactly, I see it happen one too many times.

August 27, 2010 - 4:27 pm Laku Davies - Wow! Lovely shots Dotun, I'm still yet to shoot a wedding where there is no last minute dash into the Limo!

August 27, 2010 - 3:34 pm Tunji Sarumi - Very Nice...Its always nice to have a fun and exciting wedding party.

August 27, 2010 - 3:26 pm Seun B - Didnt this coming..it all took me by surprise.great post as usual. Love love the Invitation with ring in between their names. Creativity

August 27, 2010 - 3:11 pm Kirth - LOVED every SHOT!!!! The shot with the shoes in the center of the frame A++++ great point about brides that smile on their day !

The guest book

I get lots of inquiries about guest books, so I’m posting some shots from a recent book I did for Toks and Cels.  I’m a believer of putting your shots to good use.  Websites will go away, hard drives will crash but printed images are usually well preserved.  I still look at some prints from when my parents when they were much younger and I smile and sometimes poke fun…I think that’s the essence of photography- preserving memories.  I even see brides these days getting their wedding photos done and refuse the print and later lose their images on a disc or something…not good.

These are my premium style guest book or memory books.  I’ve had lots of brides opt to do other guest books at local stores for much cheaper and thin not so durable pages. But in the photography world like most things, you really get what you pay for. Toks and Cels book comes with solid pages and printing that will last a very long time and most importantly their guest loved their book when it was displayed at their wedding. This year I will be working with some couples on putting some twist on these books so stay tuned.

1. Comes nicely wrapped

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2. Quality thick pages

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4.  Guests can sign over any white space

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5. I love this spread, nothing beats a couple who is ready to have fun with their pics

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9. Some spreads just have pics without the sign-in pages, so we have a guest sign-in book and photo book combined in one.

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August 27, 2010 - 12:01 am Cellina - You know people really love this guestbook.... People still wanna sign waaaaay after the wedding when they visit us at home.... And can't wait for wedding album.... 1000 pictures strong!!!! (shhhhhhh don't tell toks lol)

August 23, 2010 - 10:12 am wale ariztos - i'm sure the couple is in love with this book. looks great!

Gboyinde and Anani – The trad shoot

I’ve been blessed this year with lovely couples as you tell from my previous blog entries. Meet Gboyinde and Anani who tied the knot last month.  Gboyinde is from Nigeria and Anani is from Togo, so the culture mix already make them a unique couple to shoot.

A little history here about Gboyinde. She actually already made up her mind that I would shoot her wedding even before she got engaged. Now for me I’d rather work with brides who are primary passionate about my work before other reasons. Enough of the talk and enjoy my favorite 10 from a a very quick e-session we had before their wedding. You will definitely be seeing them more on my blog in coming weeks.

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August 27, 2010 - 3:02 pm segun owotomo - very lovely pics.u r doing a great job.

August 21, 2010 - 10:05 am Billy - Awesome shots.....great location and love the tractor shot too!

August 20, 2010 - 5:28 pm Oluwatobilobalayemi - Lovely couple and colour, great shots, love the choice of native attire

August 18, 2010 - 7:57 pm Amaila Photos - awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww cute couple def def! love the ttractor and sunset!!! fun fun

August 18, 2010 - 1:17 pm omojesu - Very Nice.

August 18, 2010 - 12:20 pm Affi - Excellent work Dotun. Looking forward to seeing the rest.

August 18, 2010 - 12:02 pm wale ariztos - lovely shots!! a goregeous couple too. the one by the tractor is my fav.