Bella Rose Photography Blog

September 3, 2009 - 07:50 PM

posted by Lisa | filed under: Childrens Portraits, Family Portraits, Pet Portraits

We took photos of the Sampson Family at their home on Wrightsville Beach this summer. Everything about them is perfect right down to their adorable dog- Gargoyle! We had such a great time!

September 2, 2009 - 10:07 PM

Portrait ~ Baby Sophia

posted by Lisa | filed under: Pet Portraits, baby portraits, portraits

Get ready for some 'cuteness'! Baby Sophia is the new arrival of one of my favorite couples, Megan and Walter. We photographed Megan and Walter's wedding last year and were so pleased to be asked to capture some beautiful images of their new baby girl! Isn't she sweet? We were absolutely enamored with her nursery complete with chandelier for a baby princess!

September 1, 2009 - 10:02 PM

Wedding ~ Julia and Andrew

posted by Lisa | filed under: weddings

One of my favorite movies from a few years back is, 'Practical Magic', with Nicole Kidman and Sandra Bullock. There is a line in the movie that I have never forgotten. The scene shows Sandra Bullock dancing around the family room with her husband and two daughters while she says, "Today is our third anniversary and all I have to show for it are two beautiful daughters and a husband that I can't stop kissing." To me that sounded perfect and the way things should be. Julia and Andrew are that couple. Perfect together and they can't stop kissing. What a great wedding! We were privileged to be a part of it! Congratulations Julia and Andrew!

August 27, 2009 - 08:07 PM

Portrait ~ The Kent Family

posted by Lisa | filed under: Childrens Portraits, Family Portraits

We had fun taking some family portraits at Wrightsville Beach of the Kent Family this summer. They came to visit from Virginia and were excited to have some images to remember their fun vacation! The kids had fun blowing bubbles and running around on the beach! Much more fun than sitting still for photos!

August 26, 2009 - 12:54 AM

Modeling ~ Summer Bridal Portrait

posted by Lisa | filed under: Bridal Portraits, Modeling Portfolio

This post depicts our second in a series of 'model bridal shoots'. We are pleased to feature our gorgeous model, Rachel, as our 'Summer Bride'. My goal is to photograph a bride for each season. I love styling each shoot; looking for the perfect model, choosing the colors, the jewelry, hair and make up. It has been such a great collaborative experience working with my favorite vendors to create such fantastic images. Rachel braved the extreme July heat and was the perfect bride. We enjoyed having such a beautiful location and send many thanks to, Cindy and Ron Picket, the owners of the Dudley Mansion. I am also very excited to announce that one of these images has been chosen for an upcoming cover for a local magazine. Keep posted for more details when the magazine comes out this October!!!

The dress is an Enzoani, borrowed from A Carolina Wedding Bridal Salon
The flowers are designed by Salt Harbor Designs
The accessories are by aMuse
Make up by Amy Kennison with Mac: akennison@ec.rr.com, (910) 622-4473
The photos were shot at the historic Dudley Mansion in Wilmington. The mansion was built by the first governor of North Carolina in the late 1700's. It is now a privately owned residence and the owners have decided to offer their home as a wedding and reception event space.

August 21, 2009 - 07:22 PM

Portrait ~ Mikaela

posted by Lisa | filed under: Modeling Portfolio, portraits

I have taken portraits of Mikaela now for three years, and it is a joy to see how she has grown and changed each year. Each time, we have chosen a different setting. This time we had fun at the beach!

August 20, 2009 - 05:50 PM

What I've Been up to Lately....

posted by Lisa | filed under: weddings

Wedding editing has consumed my every waking moment lately. Here are a few images of the large stacks of wedding proofs getting ready to be packaged for my brides! Boxes seem to be delivered almost daily! I currently have 7 weddings ready for pick up! We shot 17 weddings back to back this spring and summer- so, needless to say, it has been a huge amount of work!

For those interested, here's a little bit of the process. After each wedding the memory cards are all downloaded into individual folders on a huge hard drive and backed up to DVD. This usually takes a full day because all of the images are shot in the RAW file format. Most of you probably haven't heard of that term before. It is the largest, purest file format that a professional SLR camera can take. Each file is about 12MB and has 12 million mega pixels. A lot of photographers shoot in the JPG format and the size and quality of the image can vary greatly. Many shoot in a medium JPG file format to save disc space and time, but they sacrifice quality. If you wanted to enlarge one of the images to any substantial size, you would see a lot of grain. I shoot in a large file format for all of my images because I think it is worth it to spend the extra time to do things the best way possible. When I edit the RAW images in the computer, it is almost like I'm adjusting the controls of the camera when I make adjustments to the images. It is the purest way to get the best image possible. The color is better and the files are not corrupted with extra filler that gets added with the JPG format. It is your wedding day after all, and I think every bride should have the best!

Then all of the photos are combined into one large folder, sorted into the proper order and renamed. Then the editing process begins! This is a lengthy process because we usually shoot between 2000-2500 images at each wedding. I have to start narrowing down the numbers to choose just the very best images. Each image must be color corrected because they are not the proper color straight out of the camera. The photos are cropped, horizon lines are straightened, dust and lint are removed, and then images are individually worked on in photoshop to remove a variety of things including people in the backgrounds and other distracting items. Skin is smoothed, softened and shine is removed. Shine is a major issue, especially in humid North Carolina. Foreheads are shiny- even in December! My goal is for each image to be 'print worthy' before the couple even sees their photos. I make sure to give each wedding the attention it deserves to make sure all of the images are perfected to meet the level of quality that my clients expect.

This is an artistic process, so some weddings take longer than others depending on the size of the package and the amount of photoshop time required.

Next the images are saved into the JPG format, categorized and uploaded to Pictage for online viewing and ordering. I try my best to get the images online for each couple approximately 90 days from the date of the wedding. The bride and groom are the owners of the site, so they see all of the images first and then they release the site for their friends and family to view. We collect the guests' email addresses at the wedding reception and I enter them in the website for the couple. Next the 4x6 proofs are uploaded to my photo lab, printed, shipped to me, packaged and available to be picked up by the bride and groom to enjoy! My goal is to complete one wedding per week, but this is sometimes not possible because I have to complete engagement sessions, bridal portraits, make orders, complete album orders, meet magazine deadlines, just to name a few of the demands placed on me each week.

I hold my work to a very high standard, so I appreciate everyone's patience with this process. I promise the wait is worth it!

P.S. Please pass this information along to parents too! A lot of them don't meet with me in the beginning stages of the process, and I get a lot of phone calls the week after the wedding asking why the photos aren't online.

2009 Weddings

Meredith and Patrick ~ Completed
Laura and Jason ~ Completed
Beth Ann and Ray ~ Completed
Julia and Andrew ~ Completed
Jenny and James ~ Completed
Katie and Albie ~ Completed
Jodi and Lee ~ Completed
Melissa and Chuck ~ Completed
Misty and Matt ~ Completed
Julie and Jeff ~ Currently working on this wedding
Michelle and Alex
Annie and Brian
Jennifer and Cullen
Kelly and Rob
Leah and Brad
Morgan and Joel
Sarah and Sam
Hollis and Wyatt
Ian and Alyssa
Kathy and Mike
Jennifer and William

August 4, 2009 - 06:33 PM

Wedding ~ Jenny and James

posted by Lisa | filed under: weddings

Another great wedding we photographed this spring was for Jenny and James in Atlantic Beach. They chose a beautiful historic church for their ceremony and then they were transported via double-decker bus to the Coral Bay Club for their reception. I have to say the bus was a fun experience. We rode on top and were definitely wind blown- but we got some cool shots- so it was worth it! It was a fun and relaxed day with a great group of friends. It is so much fun to be a part of such exciting and meaningful celebrations! Congratulations Jenny and James!

Here we are on the top of the bus! Wind blown is an understatement!!!

July 28, 2009 - 11:29 PM

Wedding ~ Beth Ann and Ray

posted by Lisa | filed under: weddings

With so many weddings this spring and summer, we have had a hard time keeping up with our editing let alone our blog features. Stay tuned, because we will be going back in time to show all of the 'fabulousness' we have experienced so far this year and there will be a lot of new weddings showing up on the blog shortly!
We are blessed to have the best brides and grooms! Beth Ann and Ray are no exception. They were married at St. Mary's Church in Wilmington and had their reception at the Holiday Inn on Wrightsville Beach. What a beautiful wedding with tons of family and friends! And can I just say- I have never seen a wedding dress with such a tiny, small waist! Wow, Beth Ann- you go girl! Some weddings are just full of anticipation and excitement and this completely describes the wedding of Beth Ann and Ray. They are a perfect match and we were pleased to have the opportunity to capture all of these great moments and memories for them! Congratulations Beth Ann and Ray!

July 17, 2009 - 06:15 PM

Wedding ~ Laura and Jason

posted by Lisa | filed under: weddings

Laura has a contagious laugh and everyone is instantly drawn to her. I'm sure that was one of the first things Jason noticed when they met and fell in love. Laura and Jason were married in 'epic' style at the stunning and magnificent, Duke Chapel, on the Duke University Campus in Durham, North Carolina. Getting married at the chapel is quite an experience. The bride walks down the longest aisle I've ever seen to the loudest organ music- it really is an entrance fit for a queen! Just what every girl deserves on her wedding day! The beautiful flowers were designed by the talented ladies at Floral Dimensions. We especially loved the halo of flowers for the flower girl's hair and the little pomanders for the children to carry down the aisle. So cute!

Laura and Jason had a fantastic party at the Hope Valley Country Club where everyone danced the whole night to music provided by the fabulous, Mr. Joe Bunn, of the Joe Bunn DJ Company. Seriously, he rocked it! It was incredible! We loved being able to document this beautiful day for Laura and Jason! Congratulations!