Linczak Photography Blog

This past Friday we met up with Kyle and Liz to shoot their engagement session out close to where we live. We’ve been scouting some pretty cool shooting spots right near our home the past few weeks and it has been awesome getting to try some of them out on the past few sessions. Of course these guys were up for anything, so we just led the way! I think they were way more interested in each other than the actual locations anyway, which in the end ALWAYS equals some beautiful images. Thanks again guys for allowng us to try out some new spots for your session, and think we really got some killer stuff! Enjoy some previews…

Last week we had the awesome opportunity to shoot Meghan’s bridal session out at Kevin’s Martini Bar inside of Pickwick and Frolic. If you’ve never been inside of here, it is pretty decked out, complete with a glowing bar top and some killer retro decor. Meghan wanted something a little different for her session, so we figured the high fashion approach would be the perfect fit! She had no problem working the camera, and Rachel and I were psyched to be able to really mix it up with this session. We got the chance to play around with some different lighting setups, and since we don’t always get the chance to shoot most of our sessions indoors, it was a welcomed challenge! Thanks again Meghan for being such an awesome model! Enjoy the rest of your honeymoon!

Just a quick update… One of our couples for this coming year has moved there date to later in the fall, so we now have July 11, 2009 open! If this is your wedding date, or if you’ve called in recent weeks, feel free to give us a call back so we can schedule a time for you to come in and meet with us!

It feels great to finally be caught up with these blog posts! Last Monday, after resecheduling a few times due to gloomy weather, we finally caught some beautiful light and were able to shoot Shanna and Jeremiah’s engagement session. These two met a few years back at Nike Park right near Tri-C, so we figured this would be a great place to start out there session! From there, we traveled out to a new place we found right near where we live, and I think it worked out really well. Shanna and Jeremiah were real troopers, and even when Shanna got a little scraped up heading into the cattails, she just brushed it off and kept smiling! Thanks guys for being such great models for us, and good luck with the rest of your wedding planning!

We spent last Saturday with and Julie and Mike and their families and friends on their big day. The wedding was held at St. Francis, followed by a beautiful reception at Stonewater Country Club in Highland Heights. Following the ceremony, we got the opportunity to head down to Cleveland Browns Stadium for a few photos, which was the first time that Rachel have been there ever! It definitely looks a lot smaller standing on 50 yard line from the field than it does watching the games on TV. With it being as warm as it was on Saturday, it was hard not to think back to that wild game that was played in the blizzard last winter! I think everyone had good time playing some catch on the field, and we wrapped things up at the Cultural Gardens in some nice yummy light. Check out some previews…

Final touches…

Love this shot in the window!

Mike wasn’t 100% sold on having so many images taken of him, but i think he started getting into it as the day went on…

Sweet moment with Dad seconds before walking down the aisle…

Taking the field by storm!

A little lovin’…

After that preseason game against the Giants, maybe these guys could give the real Browns a run for their money…?

Running out of the tunnel!

At the Cultural Gardens…

Some yummy light…

Dad dancing with his newly married bride…

Thanks again guys for a fun day!

August 9 we spent the day with Joe and Monica.  It’s always amazing to me to see how fast the time goes from the initial time we meet with our couples to their actual wedding day.  This was especially true for Joe and Monica.  It seems like we just met with them yesterday!  I will always remember their consult with us because Joe asked us the deepest questions I think a wedding photographer has ever been asked!  It really came out that they both cared about their photography and that is so great for us on wedding day!  Check ‘em out!

Monica was so relaxed all day that I almost felt like I wasn’t shooting a wedding!  She was the perfect example of someone letting her day be perfect instead of making it perfect.

This was the first time that a groom has called before the wedding to make sure that Ted was going to be there for his getting ready part.  We LOVE that enthusiasm!

The happy groom!

You know I couldn’t leave you without a few more pictures of the gorgeous bride!

The groom with his parents.  I love the lipstick mark on Joe’s cheek!

The first kiss at St. Columbkille:

Married!

They must have been the most prepared couple ever.  We started the locations at the Courthouse downtown.

This shot was most important to Joe; since when do grooms get to pick things?

Off to Voinovich!

This looked cool in black and white too, but how could I resist that blue?

My favorite of the day at the Cultural Gardens:

And what kind of photographer would I be if I didn’t leave you with at least one of their dancing shots?!

All in all, it was a pretty awesome day with some pretty amazing people.  Also, I vote for pierogies to make more appearances at weddings - yum!

8.8.08 found us with Haley and Timmy over on the east side of town.  I knew it was going to be awesome day when Haley told me that morning her goal for the day was to “Make the website!”  There’s no way you can’t get great stuff when the couple’s goal is the BE your best stuff!  Haley and Tim have a great relationship and are both beautiful and so much fun!  Their wedding was centered around their love for each other and their wonderful families.  Their ceremony was a tearful one for the audience when they sang together for one of the selections.  Not only are they beautiful people completely in love with each other, but they had amazing voices too!  How did that happen?

We were so lucky to have another amazing car for the second week in a row!  This amazing blue car belonged to Luke, Haley’s brother who gladly donated it for picture taking…

Haley’s wedding gift to Timmy…

Haley’s other half!

Some sweetness with Mom and Dad before the ceremony…

There was waaaaaay too many photos to choose from for Haley, so I’ll leave you with this one for now…

This was the most exciting moment from a ceremony ever!  Haley jumped onto Timmy’s back and they ran down the aisle at full speed!  We were so surprised we almost didn’t get it!  I think Holly, the matron of honor, felt the same way too since she was carrying Haley’s train!

Made use of this amazing light at the church before heading off to the locations…

Now this location deserves some explaining.  Ted and I went exploring in the area a little bit before the wedding day looking for cool spots to use when we found this old factory building with rusty blue walls.  How could we pass that up?  A different bride and groom might have questioned us when we led the way, but Haley and Tim just jumped out of the limo and went right into this position without any hesitation.  Made the website?  I think made the website + a sample album!

They are so happy when they are together!

Ted and I have a DVD highlighting a world-famous photographer who shoots some of the best work in the world.  In this DVD, he has a bride that dances for him upon command.  Our bride had his bride beat this time - she did it without any suggestions from me at all!!!!  I was in heaven!

Ted’s grab of the day.  I love it!

The party!

Off for some more car shots at the Hilton..

One of my favorites from the day…

I couldn’t choose between these two end of the night shots so I’m leaving you with both!

I have a sneaking suspicion that last Friday wasn’t the last time we’re going to work with Haley and Timmy…

One of the best parts of what we do is being able to examine all kinds of awesome relationships week in and week out. While we are pretty accustomed to seeing the beginning of new marriages every weekend, its great when we get to see couples who are still crazy about each other many years after they said “I do”! Brittany and Jason, whose wedding we will be shooting at the end of September, thought it would be a great idea to surprise Brittany’s parents with a portrait session on their 25th wedding anniversary last Wednesday, so Rachel and I headed out to Catawba Island, right near where Brittany and Jason’s wedding will be, to surprise these lovebirds! We really got some really nice light to work with, and Joyce and Mark were as natural as can be! We could really tell these two love each other more than ever after 25 years of marriage, and we had a great time walking the beach and spending a few hours with them. Thanks again guys for a great session, and we wish you nothing but the best in the next 25 years to come! See you in September!!!

Last week we had a cool opportunity to shoot Lexi and Keith’s engagement session starting out at Progressive Field in downtown Cleveland.  Rachel and I are shooting their wedding this New Year’s Eve at at the Terrace Club, so this seemed like a fitting place to start their session! These guys like to have a lot of fun with each other, and I really think their carefree attitudes came out in all the images. We got a chance to walk the streets around the stadium, and ended up on East 4th street right outside of the House of Blues. Thanks guys for chillin’ with us for the afternoon, we are looking forward to ringing in the New Year with you in a few months!

Saturday, August 2 was a day that Ted and I long knew was going to be amazing.  We met Nick and Marla back in the winter sometime at a bridal show.  Right away we were flattered that they chose us since Nick is a photographer himself and Marla has modeling in her background.  Any nervousness that we might have had because of those things instantly left us when they were in front of our cameras.  These two move alone and together in front of the camera like they were born there.  All day long, we kept getting excited because we just kept exceeding ourselves again and again.  They had a beautiful outdoor ceremony at University School in the east side and drove away in the car Marla’s parents had used on their wedding day!  It was a recipe for a sample album, starting with Ted’s details with Nick:

I seriously picked out at least twenty images of Marla alone to pick from for this post!  I have never gotten so many shots of the bride!  She made me so happy too because she kept saying things like, “I love it when you take my picture!” and “I feel so much better when I’m in front of your camera!”.  Who couldn’t love a bride that awesome?  And she’s drop dead gorgeous to boot!

Nick, this one’s for you!

And don’t let me forget to mention the stunning groom, who should have been an actor he is so expressive and outgoing.  His personality just draws people to him.  Here he is giving Ted his “serious” look.

These girls trusted me that this random, dirty place would look beautiful and it turned out to be my new favorite bridesmaids shot too…

Marla’s got the sass!

But so does Nick…in a more masculine way of course…

The ceremony.

The HEAT!

I promise, she really does this by herself…

The rule for us with them is: Keep your camera glued to your face at all times.  This moment happened with no warning:

For this shot do you want to know what Marla was worried about?  Was it keeping the dress clean?  Was it making sure that she didn’t rip anything?  Nope.  She didn’t want to scratch the hood!

Does it get any better than an old car, with a model couple, and gorgeous light?  I think not.

The beautiful reception was at Landerhaven, but I’m already way too deep in photos to include any of those.  I’ll leave you with the shot we challenged ourselves with at the beginning of the day; end of the night with the car:

Marla and Nick: next time you guys want to throw together something like a ceremony where everyone dresses up and Marla wears white and Nick wears a suit - we’re SO there.