WedPix is a new online magazine published by the Wedding Photojournalist Association (WPJA). Since they launched, Meg & I have really enjoyed reading their articles. Many of you (especially brides with weddings in the near future) may find the articles interesting!!! Here is the link to the WedPix website: www.wedpix.com.

In the most recent issue, WedPix wrote a feature article on “Photographing The Rehearsal Dinner”, and they interviewed Meg for the article!!! We are very excited to be included, and even more excited that two of the images in the article are from the rehearsal dinner of Johanna + Matt’s wedding in Tallahassee!

Here is the link to the article: Photographing The Rehearsal Dinner.

And in case you don’t remember Johanna + Matt, be sure to check out some of the fun & crazy images from their wedding here:
– Rehearsal Dinner @ Chez Pierre: Johanna + Matt’s Rehearsal Dinner
– Wedding @ The Governor’s Club: Johanna + Matt’s Wedding

So for all of you blogstalkers out there (YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE!) with weddings coming up in the next few months, consider adding rehearsal dinner coverage to your weekend!!! Contact the studio for details on booking! And for the future stalkers, maybe we could photograph your birthday party? Bat Mitzvah? Bowling league social?

Happy Presidents Day!
Charles

Meg shot these images in mid-December for an article that will be featured in an upcoming issue of Southern Wedding Style Magazine. SWS Magazine is being produced by the wonderful women at Bliss Event Group here in the Panhandle - you can see their website at blisseventgroup.com

Thanks for inviting us to be a part of your first publication, ladies - we can’t wait to see the final product!

THIRD PLACE!!! Who hoo!! Kimbril & Doug (and their wild reception) helped Meg capture this amazing image that garnered a Third Place finish in the Reception Category of the Summer 2006 WPJA contest!

When a WPJA member receives 1st, 2nd, or 3rd in a quarterly contest, they are rewarded with this spectacular medallion:

Spectacular, no?

Ok - the medallion itself is more like a hood ornament for our web listing. But what is does is it gives us a “Photographer PIX Page” - this is a featured gallery that appears next to our name on the Florida page that displays all of our award-winning images.

So now all seekers of great wedding photography can peruse not only our website, but they can also thumb through our award-winning images in our PIX Page gallery! We’re VERY happy about this one!!!

Here is the official link to the contest page where the winning image was featured:
WPJA 3rd Place Image - Reception / Summer 2006

And here is what the judges had to say about the insanity!!!

JUDGES COMMENTS: This is such a beautifully comoposed photograph of a spontaneous (and slightly surreal) moment. Every individual, every line of sight in the frame takes the eye to the bride on the shoulders of the wedding party. The bizarre clown’s head the bride is wearing is perfectly positioned in the frame. I love the two men in the foreground looking up at the bride, woman in the bottom right of the frame who is looking at the woman to her left whose two hands point up toward the bride. Everything in this image brings attention back to the bride. I have as much fun looking at the individuals in this photograph as they seem to be having at the wedding. Can you hear the music?

Thanks for noticing! We are honored!
Meg + Charles

This just in…Meg is the Top Overall Photographer for the Spring 2006 Contest of the [AG]WPJA! Read on!

As you know, Meg was honored by the WPJA earlier this year for her amazing image of Cristina’s expression during her ceremony, and also for an awesome reception shot taken during Tyler & Preston’s reception. See the post here: WPJA award-winning images. Last year, Meg was recognized for her stunning protrait of Jill’s ceremony. See the post here: WPJA 2005 award-winner.

On Monday, Meg received even greater recognition for her work when she was named the Top Overall Photographer for the Spring 2006 Contest of the Artistic Guild of the Wedding Photojournalist Association. Meg placed 1st in the General Entries Category, 7th in the General Entries Category, and then placed 5th in Portraits. Meg was competing against some of the best wedding photographers in the world…so needless to say, I am very proud of her!

[AG]WPJA recognizes photographers who focus on capturing unscripted wedding moments as they happen. [AG]WPJA distinguishes itself from the WPJA by recognizing creative image enhancement & manipulated artistic images, requiring the photographer to meet a highly creative standard that calls for the use digital enhancement techniques, and excellent post production capabilities. Membership in the [AG]WPJA is by invitation only, and is only extended when the photographer’s image is determined to be a winner in a competition.

To see Meg’s award-winning images, visit the [AG]WPJA homepage, and click through the galleries: [AG]WPJA. Also, take a look at the screenshots below.

Congratulations Meg!
~ Charles

*Note — all screenshots, content, and website images are copyright of the [AG]WPJA. To visit the [AG]WPJA website, please click here: Artistic Guild of the Wedding Photojournalist Association — [AG]WPJA

Who hoo! The Pensacola Magazine Wedding Edition hit the streets a couple of weeks ago…and what a response! We’ve been receiving calls from all sorts of folks: vendors introducing themselves, brides wanting to know where pictures were taken, and couples wanting to know our availability - YAY!

It’s been great, and we appreciate all the kind words of welcome we’ve received from the Pensacola community. In case you haven’t seen the Wedding Edition, it is on the shelf at Books-A-Million, Barnes and Noble, and all the other biggies around town - we even saw these on the shelves over in Tallahassee! (And if y’all can’t find a copy and want us to send you one - drop me a line and I’ll get a copy out to you ASAP! ) For our out-of-town groupies, here are just a few of the pages that Meg’s work was featured on:

The cover shot! Way to go Meg! This shot just exudes Florida!

From Tanya & Thomas’ Wedding:

Sara & Will rented this charming little antique car for their get-a-way down in Apalachicola, FL.

The fashion spread was the centerpiece of the publication - with an additional 6 full pages featuring Meg’s photoshoot!

We worked with some great students from UWF for the fashion spread - such great sports!

Meg’s work was featured in every nook and cranny of the local wedding directory (8 more pages!)

Images in this spread from the following weddings:
michelle + chase
heather + blair
allison + chris
allyson + lee
tanya + thomas
cheri + alec
tiffany + tom
roseanna + josh

Images in this spread from the following weddings:
katie + ben
sarah + will
liz + zack
heather + blair
tyler + preston
hillary + mike

Images in this spread from the following weddings:
katie + ben
kaelie + leon
heather + blair
tanya + thomas

And the AMAZING ad that Meg created featuring Cristina — for those of you that can’t quite make out the text in there, I’ll explain. Meg was working on a concept for the magazine, and kept coming back to this series of images of Cristina’s face during the exchanging of vows at her ceremony. As Meg was examining the shots, she realized that the entire series was taken during one actual minute of the ceremony (no joke, we actually went back to look at the timestamp information!) …that’s when it hit us: 60 seconds with Cristina

On the left, she has the 60 seconds series and on the right, she has her WPJA award-winning image of Cristina’s expression as they were pronounced husband and wife only seconds later. At the bottom of the right side it reads:

It was, perhaps, the most important minute of her life … and I’m just so thankful for the opportunity to forever preserve those 60 seconds. - Meg Baisden, photographer

The concept was so genuine… one honest minute in your life … it just embodies everything we try to convey with our photography…its the little moments, the changes of expression, the rollercoaster of emotions - sometimes happening literally from minute to minute that makeup the entire story. This piece, though “just an ad” is so powerful, I think - and I am so proud of my wife for the work she has done here.

See the ad here (yes, it’s a two pager!):