lds – Jared Platt

November 5, 2014

Clint and Abbey’s Wedding in the Mesa, Arizona LDS Temple

Abbey and Clint were married in the Mesa, Arizona LDS Temple. We shot some portraits with them the day before the wedding. I was pleased with the enter shoot. Here are a few of my favorite images from the wedding portrait shoot and the wedding day itself. Enjoy.

This next image is one of my favorites. Most of the time you are taking a portraits, but for very brief moments during the shoot, you catch their true personality and expression. That is what I live for as a photographer… the perfect little moments. Most of what I do leads up to these little moments in the portrait session.

All of the portraits are lit by Profoto B1 Off Camera Flashes. The sun you see peaking through the trees is actually a B1 off camera flash. Looks great! When the sun isn’t cooperating, make your own sun.

Now this next shot, the sun is actually the sun. FYI. But I love this shot. The bride’s mother said it looked like they were in the garden of eden.

This one is all about the dress and the shoes. I like the like glimpse of the shoes.

Just a little cool drama. Sometimes I want to do something a little different… I like the drama here in this day for night look.

The details on this wedding are quite fun. I love the brown paper bag luminaries. They had great variety of them.

And nothing entertains me more than photographing children at weddings and rehearsal dinners.

On the wedding day, the clouds were threatening rain, but held back until the minute we finished the family portraits and as we started walking back to the temple, the clouds began to unload. I couldn’t have asked for a better situation. We got out portraits without incident, but I got a great series of shots as the rain forced the wedding party to run for cover! Perfect!

The reception was in a local Chandler church building. But the entire room was draped in white with beautiful white feathers and chandeliers and twinkle lights. It was very well done. I played around with various overlapping compositions to describe the room, but I think this shot gives the best description of how the room felt.

During the toasts, one of the groomsmen sat next to the grooms grand-father to translate. I was drawn to their relationship throughout the reception. It was touching. Oh and I also love the light. All of the light during the reception is provided by two Profoto B1 off camera flashes on either side of the reception room.

A kiss is far more interesting in context.

I love the emotional responses to the toasts at this reception. There was a lot of love circulating in that room. I love feeling that kind of love and closeness.

During the most emotional groom’s toast I have ever witness, the groom’s grandfather stood up and made his way to the groom’s side to show his support. I don’t think there are any words to describe now touching this scene really was. So, I will let the photo do the work.

Brides make grandfathers’ face light up like nothing else.

Oh the anticipation of a wedding cupcake! She can hardly stand it…

The M&Ms were a party favorite. They had a photo of the Bride and Groom on them. It was pretty cool.

Congratulations to Clint and Abbey. It was an honor to be a part of your wedding day.

Wedding Slideshow Music by __ Courtesy of Triple Scoop Music

Photography by Jared Platt, Platt Photography

Wedding Location: Mesa, Arizona LDS Temple

February 11, 2013

Mattie and Riley’s Wedding in Mesa, Arizona

Mattie and Riley were married in the Mesa, Arizona LDS Temple and their reception was later that evening at her parent’s home in Chandler. Here are a few of my favorite images from the wedding day.

The temple itself is a symbol of eternity and devotion, so it becomes a central figure in the documentation of an LDS (Mormon) Wedding. Because the wedding is held inside and there is no photography allowed, I think a portrait of the temple itself is not only appropriate, it is absolutely essential. So, whenever I photograph an LDS wedding, I make sure to work on a few artistic shots of the temple on the day of the wedding. I could just take one great shot of the temple and add it to everyone’s wedding that I take there, but I feel like that would be cheating. So, I try to make something unique each time.

Any wedding (not just an LDS wedding) requires this kind of attention to the location. People choose the location of their wedding with a lot of care. The place they get married says a lot about the couple, their beliefs, their personalities… so location is always important.

Because we would be going from the temple to portraits without a break for lunch, the wedding party packed a little snack. They were hanging out on the lawn having a bit of a picnic while we shot portraits. I thought it was pretty fun.

Mattie looks beautiful in that dress.

This is my favorite shot of the bride. We have her in the open shade of a tree. The sun is lighting up the trees and the bride is generally lit by the northern sky with a soft box to her right, which gives her face that beautiful shape.

We shot a few more portraits in downtown Chandler. I enjoyed this group shot.

They gave out little honey jars as favors at the wedding, which were cute, and also a great spot for the ring shot.

A winter wedding is not complete without a Christmas Tree… and this one was full of photos of the couple from our engagement portrait shoot. What a beautiful tree.

Wedding Photography by Jared Platt, Platt Photography

Wedding Location: LDS Temple in Mesa, Arizona

Wedding slideshow music by Fisher, courtesy of Triple Scoop Music

February 2, 2013

Megan & Blake’s Wedding in Mesa, Arizona

Megan and Blake were married in the Mesa, Arizona LDS Temple. I have known Megan and her family for a few years now and feel a bit like an uncle rather than a hired photographer. It’s fun to be close to the family for a wedding, it changes the dynamics a bit and makes things a little more personal.

Here are a few of my favorite images from the wedding, which spans over a few weeks: the wedding was a few weeks before the reception.

When the sun is out in force in Arizona, shade is an important thing to find. The temple has a few trees that are large enough to block out the sun and allow for some soft light.

The reception was held at the ValVista Lakes Club House in Mesa, Arizona. This is one of the only places in Phoenix where you can get a good shot on a dock with water like this. It’s definitely a unique spot in the desert. I was very happy with this shot.

The staircase was my favorite spot inside.

Megan had a great dress and of course every bride wants a shot of her dress from behind, but often times the shot is a bit contrived because it it is out on a lawn with the dress spread out on the grass, and looks a bit posed. I have a shot of the bride earlier at the wedding that is this way. You have to get one, so we got one. But, when the opportunity presents itself to get something even better… well, I’ll take it! I feel there is a story that wants to be told in this shot. The shot is manufactured (a lot of lighting went into the shot); the stairs lead to an office so I put a big flash head up there to create the light and shadow cascading down the staircase, and there are two soft boxes lighting her with an extra flash out to the right of the staircase, filling in some shadows. But the light looks natural and that is what makes the shot work so well. I love the shot.

This is Megan’s brother, who was tasked with lighting the candles before the guests arrived. But, unbeknownst to Megan and her brother, someone in the staff had replaced the real candles with LED candles, which he was able to light! We were all a little taken back when the candles began flaming up and smoking and one exploded. So we all ran around blowing out LED candles that were aflame! It was quite funny. So now you know… fake candles can also be lit like real candles, but they act a little more like fireworks in the end.

This was a good idea for throwing the garter. Seems a bit more manly and easier to throw a good distance.

Megan and Blake wanted to take a photo with me. Like I said, I feel a bit more like an uncle than a hired photographer. But we had to hand my camera off to a guest and it took a few shots before we got one in focus. Lesson: always check focus after someone else uses your camera!

Congratulations Blake and Megan. I wish you all the happiness in the world.

Photography by Jared Platt, Platt Photography

Slideshow Music by Anna Sali, courtesy of Triple Scoop Music

Location: LDS Temple and ValVista Lakes, Mesa, Arizona

January 8, 2013

Jared and Alyssa’s Wedding in Mesa Arizona

Alyssa and Jared were married at the Mesa, Arizona LDS Temple. It was a bit cold and rainy on their wedding day, which meant umbrellas and jackets, but it was a beautiful day and the rain never plagued us for long. Here are a few of my favorite images from the wedding.

This first portrait of the bride is quite serious, but I think it is also very strong, so with that strong gaze, I figured the best way to compliment that would be with a strong black and white treatment.

Notice, this black and white treatment is softer, more classic. That is because the warmth of their smiles inspire a much softer mood. It is my goal to match the treatment of a photo with the mood or the message of the image itself.

I have to admit, I have photographed weddings at the Arizona LDS Temple too many times throughout my life. And for that matter, there are a number of venues I have photographed over and over again. The questions is, how do you keep yourself engaged and interested as you photograph the same thing for the 100th time. You have to somehow keep it all fresh and do something a little different. For those who do not know the LDS or Mormon faith, the Temple is a very important place and being married in a Temple is more important that almost anything else. So a mormon couple will always have a photo of the temple they were married in hanging in their home to remind them of the importance of their marriage covenants they made to each other.

So every time I shoot an LDS wedding, I try very hard to take a few cool architectural shots of the temple for the couple. But when you shoot at the temple over and over again, you run the risk of photographing it the same way as last time. So I work very hard to do something new each time. It keeps me on my toes and stretches my creativity. It’s a good activity to sharpen the creative tool set.

The sky was flat overcast, so I needed something to fill the void and help frame the Temple. So I took a stroll under the trees. I like what I got, then I went for an older look with grain and a bit of yellowing in the paper. I think this temple looks very nice as a historical artifact.

I just love this shot. “I’m singin’ in the rain…”

This was a nice playful moment I was happy to have been ready to grab when it happened.

This image is taken with one soft box off to the right and above the camera. That flash is filling the shadows. Without the flash, the two of them would be in their own deep shadow, as the sun is behind them, behind some thick clouds. I was pleased with the way this image turned out.

I loved this idea for a quick into to the couple’s love story. It was a little decor chalk board. What a great way to tell the story in a very quick way and make a decoration at the same time.

She just ate an entire cupcake in one gulp. Looks like I caught her red handed.

This was a very sweet moment between the grand-parents.

I just love the the shadows and shapes in this image. It is a rich, contrasty image by design to accentuate the lines that make up their dancing embrace.

I enjoyed making this image. We used the opposite pillars as very tall and skinny soft boxes. They worked quite well. We simply too out 600RT Speedlite flashes and aimed away from the couple into the pillars opposite the pillars you see in the photo. I love the richness in the photo, the darkness and the mood.