2015 was definitely a huge change for me (Amanda) in how I went about photographing each wedding. Switching my gear completely from Nikon to Canon brought about new challenges, a few new bells and whistles and a decent learning curve… one being off camera flash.

Lindsey and Danny’s wedding was absolutely beautiful at the Stroudsmoor Inn. I feel that this bridal party photo sums up how stunning all of the girls looked as well as their personality. Taking an idea suggested by the bride and creating it into something a bit less posed.

Also included from Lindsey and Danny’s wedding is this stunning detail of Danny holding a gift for his bride as he waits to see her for the first time. I love this because it’s such a simple detail of a groom and also a different take on my usual groom portraits.

Stepping away from weddings for a minute I had the opportunity to shoot my boss (Steve) and his wife Bridget’s 5 year anniversary photos.  Traveling to their favorite place in the world, Skaneateles, NY. This was definitely a challenge to create and execute. I was hanging off of an adjacent dock parallel to them about an inch above the water.  It was definitely worth the risk of almost getting soaked… plus it made steve super nervous… which is always fun to do.

Michelle and Joe’s wedding was such a great opportunity for me to try shooting a stunning sunset while using off camera flash. I felt that this was such a successful use of OCF as well as a stunning portrait of the couple. In Steve and my true competitive nature, well actually my competitive nature, I feel like I won today and if you ask Michelle and Joe they’d agree.

Groom and groomsmen portraits are my thing. I spend a lot of time with the guys.  For Colleen and Shane’s wedding I felt like “one of the guys” by the end of the night. This night photo was quite challenging to figure out, as it consisted of three flashes… one being steve’s actually… thanks steve!. I feel that it was so successful in making these gents look super dapper.

For Alecia and Jesse’s wedding, we ended up shooting at a well known wedding location in our area; Penn State Wilkes-Barre. A few weeks prior, Steve and i were thinking of ways that we could photograph this staircase differently. I personally had never shot there and I think my fresh eyes were extremely helpful in coming up with this composition.  I feel  that I accomplished such a romantic photo as well as a creative composition.

Kristina and Richard’s “first look” was so cute and filled with emotion, especially since they could only hear each other. They decided they didn’t want to see each other until the church so this was a fun take on a “first look.”

There’s something so stunning about a bride in a classic car. Dana was nothing short of beautiful on her wedding day. I love this snapshot because she posed so nicely for me, without asking, while everyone around her are carrying on.

Miranda and Ricky were so emotional during their ceremony and shared an embrace after their first kiss as husband and wife. What makes this photo one of my top 10 for this year was that this wasn’t posed and took place seconds after their first kiss. You guys!!

Megan and Alexander’s wedding was my last of the year and I chose this photo for a few reasons. I only had about 5 minutes to capture this before it was completely dark out.  I was able to set up my external flash in such a short amount of time and capture a stunning portrait of the couple, the sunset and even the moon. I just had to include it in this year’s top 10.