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Shola and Taiwo – Old Hollywood style

Dotun — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 11:31:50 +0000

I’ve been working on some very interesting engagement shoots lately. Meet Shola and Taiwo who will be tying the knot next month. We decided to go for this old Hollywood theme. I don’t think I could have asked for any better couple to role play this concept. Shot after shot they nailed the mood and concept. Taiwo played a rich Hollywood star who met this beautiful lady. And of course he spent some time trying to let this fine lady know that he’s the right one for her, did she agree? Well lets see.

Technical bits - shot this with Canon 5D Mark II, 85mm 1.8, 85mm 1.2 and 35mm 1.4. Placed my subjects in uneven shadowed areas to create some uneven lighting in some shots and sometimes with a little fill flash so this gave me that old school feel the the shots.

Feel free to check out their website at the end of the posting.

1. The man himself – Mr Taiwo Oluyemo

2. Timeless – just like back in the days, no smile just straight up pose…love it!

3. Mr Taiwo doing his thing….what do you think he was saying to her?

6. He came well prepared with records from 2 icons and yes Shola loves Luther.

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Visit their website at www.sholaandtaiwo4ever.com

Ogo and Ikenna – The preparation

Dotun — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 18:35:36 +0000

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

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

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

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

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.

6. Another simple view but yet looks dynamic.

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.7. Takine the men getting dressed is quite easy to shoot, no stress at all.

9. 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.

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.

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

15. Some wine before working down the aisle…it gets no better.

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18. 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. 22. Of course a good spacious hotel will be nice. Ogo didn’t compromise on that evidently.

23. Love the randomness of their poses.

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

The guest book

Dotun — Fri, 20 Aug 2010 16:05:57 +0000

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

2. Quality thick pages

4. Guests can sign over any white space

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

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.

Gboyinde and Anani – The trad shoot

Dotun — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 04:44:34 +0000

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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Kelli and Jason

Dotun — Mon, 16 Aug 2010 14:40:46 +0000

Meet Kelli and Jason. Kelli has to be the most quiet bride I’ve ever shot. I shot their e-shoot sometime in May and we had fun the “Kelli and Jason” way – Fun and simple. I will be blogging their June 25th wedding in about a week or so, so check back soon. Here are my fav 12 from their shoot. We shot this mostly in Georgetown as you can see from the brick buildings.

Technical bits – shot these mostly with 35mm 1.4 and 85mm 1.2 on Canon 5D mark II

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