Tampa Wedding Photographer

The Westin Tampa Bay Hotel Wedding with Mattie & Kenny

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Bride & Groom on the rooftop deck of The Westin Tampa Bay - wedding photography - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/5.6 ISO 400 1/60th - Strobist: SB-800 to frame left & SB-600 to frame rightIt had been over a year and a half since I last photographed a wedding, but since I did so many in the past it was as they say, like riding a bike getting back into the flow of shooting a four hour event.  Mattie & Kenny's wedding was at The Westin Tampa Bay on a narrow piece of land between Tampa and Clearwater floating in the middle of Tampa Bay.  From the rooftop deck with its clear glass walls, the feeling you are floating on water, as seen in the above photograph, was pretty cool even with overcast skies.

Bride getting ready at The Westin Tampa Bay Hotel - wedding photography - Nikon D300 Nikkor 105mm VR micro @ f/5.6 ISO 200 1/100th - Strobist: SB-800 in 43" shoot through umbrella to frame leftIt turned out that Mattie and I had a few mutual friends, including my eldest friend Terry and his wife Beth, both of whom attended the wedding giving it a rather familiar feeling.  The atmosphere in her room as she was getting ready was very loose and full of laughing.  I began my shooting for the day by making a photo of Mattie putting on the finishing touches.

Bride & bridemaids at The Westin Tampa Bay Hotel - wedding photography - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/7.1 ISO 200 1/60th - Strobist: SB-800 to frame left & SB-600 to frame right both in shoot through umbrellasMattie had seen images from another wedding I photographed in the Westin a few years back and also wanted some photos featuring the lobby's unique waterfall.  I used two shoot through umbrellas to provide enough light on the bride and bridesmaids for the portrait above.

Bride & Groom dancing at The Westin Tampa Bay Hotel - wedding photography - Nikon D80 Nikkor 80-200mm @ f/4 ISO 800 1/100th with SB-600 hotshoe mountedThe reception was in a room with floor to ceiling windows facing southwest which flooded it with light during the late afternoon allowing me to use that light as a hyper backlight in the above portrait of the bride & groom having their traditional first dance.  

Groom & Bride listening at The Westin Tampa Bay Hotel - wedding photography - Nikon D80 Nikkor 80-200mm @ f/4 ISO 400 1/100th with SB-600 hotshoe mountedCupcakes continue to be popular at weddings, with dozens under the wedding cake itself.  I got to have one of the cupcakes as a closing treat when I was finished shooting.  I often say I shoot weddings just for the cake!

Bride & Groom cake smash at The Westin Tampa Bay Hotel - wedding photography - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/8 ISO 640 1/60th with SB-800 hotshoe mountedFrom start to finish it was a joyful and surprisingly emotional wedding for Mattie & Kenny.  Not often have I seen the groom get so emotional during the vows and also during the speeches at the reception.  They also were not afraid to smash a little cake, which I also found refreshing since some newlyweds nowadays opt for a clean cake eating which is no fun at all!

Thank you Mattie & Kenny! 

Inside Sacred Heart Church Tampa Florida Wedding HDR

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The interior of Sacred Heart Church in Tampa Florida during a wedding - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/11 ISO 200 7-exposure HDRWith all the news this week coming out of Rome regarding the Catholic Church and a new pope, I dug into my unedited archives for these HDR images of Sacred Heart Church in downtown Tampa, Florida.  These images are from a wedding I photographed in the church back in May 2012.  The exterior of the church is very beautiful and elaborate, and as you can see the inside is even more so.

View from the balcony in Sacred Heart Church in Tampa Florida during a wedding - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/11 ISO 200 7-exposure HDRI was up in the balcony for all these photographs gettings a bird's eye view of the wedding ceremony.  When I see such architecture and detail I always think about how much work must go into building and creating something like this.  How much planning ahead of time is needed??

Stained glass windows of Sacred Heart Church in Tampa Florida during a wedding - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/11 ISO 200 7-exposure HDRThese windows are high up and in the back of the church.  Only up from up in the balcony with binoculars could one get a good view of them.  

Sacred Heart Church Palma Ceia Country Club Tampa Wedding

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Sacred Heart Church Tampa Wedding Ceremony - f/8 ISO 200 0.8s on tripod with cable releaseThe wedding of Ryan and Monica was the grandest wedding I have been involved in photographing so far.  Monica's father must really, really love her!  This was also my first opportunity to not only photograph a wedding inside the spectacular Sacred Heart Church in downtown Tampa, but just to see inside of it after long admiring its large circular stained glass window on its front face.

The groom getting some necktie help from his father - f/8 ISO 800 1/100th SB-800 Speedlight hotshoe mountedMy day started out photographing the groom getting ready in his spacious waterfront room in the Tampa Marriott Waterside.  The NBA channel was on and causing a bit of distraction as one of the classic playoff series between the 90s Knicks and Pacers was being broken down game by game!  Everyone in the room got a bit caught up in it.  

The bride getting assistance with her floor length veil - f/5.8 ISO 800 1/200th SB-800 Speedlight hotshoe mountedI was next on my way to the Sacred Heart Church to photograph the bride as her assistant helped her put the last, tricky touches on getting her head to toe length veil just right.  The woman helping the bride seemed like an expert, but to my ears she spoke mostly only Italian!  It made me feel like I was in a movie to be inside such a architecturally rich church, seeing an enormous veil enveloping the bride, being put on by an old, petite Italian woman.

Palma Ceia Country Club Wedding Reception Ballroom - f/5.8 ISO 800 1/80th SB-800 Speedlight hotshoe mountedThe reception was at the Palma Ceia Country Club where I photographed a wedding last October.  I thought I knew what to expect but the reception this time was in a much different room and even the manager said he had never seen the room decorated like it had been.  The preparations started at 5:30am that morning he told me.

Wedding day hugs and congratulations - f/5.6 ISO 800 1/80th SB-800 Speedlight hotshoe mountedOne type of shot I always look for is what I refer to in my mind is the "hug & kiss" time for the bride & groom as they receive congratulations from the wedding guests.  To me the intensity of this time tells me a lot about the wedding, the newlywed couple, and the types of relationships they have with everyone at the wedding.  The hugging at this wedding, as you can see above, was as impressive as every other aspect of this lavish, emotional wedding.

Testimonials Raves & Reviews for St. Petersburg Tampa Wedding Photographer

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Carie & Jeff - Wedding Date:  December 26, 2010

"Jason did an amazing job. He completely captured the moment, not to mention gave us pictures I still love to look at! I loved the creativity as well. He came up with great shots that worked so well and really reflexed my husband's and my personalities!!!"

 

 

 

Renata & Enrique - Wedding Date:  October 15, 2010

"Jason made my dream wedding pictures come true, I could not choose a better service."

 

 

 

 

Don & Rosa - Wedding Date:  July 13, 2010

During the ceremony Jason did great. We did not notice him while taking pictures. There wasn't any disruption. He did contact us before the wedding to ask what us what we had in mind and even though we only had him for 1 hour, we had some awesome shots!"

 
"We are a very camera shy couple that do everything to avoid pictures. I was very nervous to pose for Jason at first but once we got started, I quickly became comfortable around him. He instructed us step by step how to pose and he was very very patient with us. His friendly personality made us feel confident."

 
"There were so many to chose from and hard to pick just one favorite. There was one picture w/ my veil blowing in the wind that was breath taking, we could not believe it was me! It look like it came from a magazine."

 

 

Linda & David - Wedding Date:  June 20, 2010

"Jason took amazing pictures. I was so pleased. I didn't know what to expect and I keep getting compliments from family/friends on the photos. He was very creative with photo positions and bringing out romance to our pics. We didn't just stand there and get our picture taken.   We were impressed at the various poses that Jason used for the photos. He was able to make our photo session fun and illustrate our emotions of the day.  He captured the whole wedding as if it's a story. And, I love some of the candid shots he took. I could see how my husband was looking at me and how I was looking at him in the photos. And, the sky was beautiful that night. Jason got the rainbows and the sky in all of the pictures."

"I had several favorites. But, I was surprised by the photos that I liked the best. Jason did an awesome job capturing the two of us looking at each other and how we look when we were looking at each other. He also captured the amazing sky behind us. My favorites include: the two of us kneeling on the beach, the two of us in front of the rainbows in the sky, and my husband lifting me up into the air."

"My husband and I were thrilled with how we looked.   We are extremely pleased. Finally, Jason was fabulous with follow up - answering questions in a very timely manner. Thank you so much!" 

 

 

Bianca & Derrick - Wedding Date:  June 19, 2010

"Jason is easy to work with, I love his creativity and work ethic, my wedding photos look like something out of a magazine or postcard. I encourage anyone to let Jason have free reign with his talent, he's easy going and professional. you wont be disappointed."