Joe Sanfilippo Photography NY Wedding and portrait photographer » Capturing memories to cherish for a lifetime

Although it was FREEZING OUT – This was a very fun engagement shoot for me! I’ve never been to Sagamore hill before so it was cool to check out, but what I really enjoyed was getting to meet Allison and David, Allison had scheduled for me to photograph their wedding day this coming spring, she actually booked me over the phone and never had a chance to meet, so doing the engagement session was a great way for us to get to know eachother a bit before the big day! I am really looking forward to their wedding day, It is being held a Raphael’s Vineyard, a Gorgeous location in Peconic, NY. I truly cannot wait!

Nia and Mark were a great couple to work with. We had a great time spending a few hours together in central park. Central park is one of my favorite spots in NYC. You could get lost in this park and find a photo in every direction.

Nia and Mark will be getting married  his spring in NYC, it sounds like it is going to be a great wedding!

Contact me: info@joesanphoto.com

One of my engagement sessions was featured on polka dot bride today! Always nice to get a little love from the wedding planning blogs!

Amanda and Kurt (the couple in the photo session) are awesome! They will be getting married this summer at the West Sayville Country Club. Amanda and Kurt are great in front of the camera and I cannot wait to photograph there wedding! 

S

I met with a client last week who asked me if I could help her out with getting a good picture of her engagement ring. She really wanted a nice shot of the ring to send to her grandmother who lives overseas. She didnt want to wait to get the ring photographed at the engagemkent session, so I gave her some advice and the shots came out great!

 I thought I would share with my readers this little tutorial on how to get an awesome shot of your engagement ring with a simple point and shoot camera. You should be able to do this with any late model digital camera! For this tutorial I used a Canon A590 Is (here is a great review on the camera), its a cheap little camera cost about $125 bucks, perfect camera for my tutorial.

1. Kill the flash!!! Most point and shoot cameras have the option of turning off the flash, this is the first thing you want to do. You want to find an icon on the camera that looks similar to this

Direct flash on to your ring is going to make it look washed out so we want to use ambient light or something that isnt as harsh as the on camera flash.

2. Finding good light is going to be the key in getting a good shot of your ring. In my tutorial I used the inside of my refridgerator. I cleared off a shelf close to the light bulb and took my shot. If you dont like the idea of shooting in your fridge, take a look around you -there is light sources everywhere, you just need to find it. A lamp, a flashlight, the sun, look around and see what looks flattering to you. 

3. Next you want to think about how you want to display the ring for the shot. I recommend taking the ring off your hand it makes it so much easier to get close to the ring with the camera and allows you to use a backgrund that will make the ring POP!! In my tutorial I used a red rose and placed the ring in between the pedals. If you do a search online you can find some other ring photos to give you inspiration.

4.  Now we need to get the camera in Macro Mode. Macro mode allows you to get close to the subject and magnify it to fill the frame. Macro Mode is usually shown on your camera as a little flower that looks like this:

4. Now that you have everything setup, go snap a few photos of your ring, try taking the photos from different angles and views, take the best ones and start sharing them with your friends and family!

This is the shot I took of my wifes engagement ring for this tutorial useing a Canon a590IS Point and Shoot camera.  

I hope you enjoyed this tutorial! Contact me directly if you need some help!

Should we do an engagement session? Absolutely! When you book your wedding package with me, I automatically include a 1 hour “get to know you” session. I call t a get to know you session because it is our time to bond and get to know each other a little bit before the wedding! Its a great time to talk and get comfortable with each other so on the day of the wedding we all know what to expect and no ice will need to be broken! On top of it all, you are going to get some awesome pictures too!

So where should we shoot our engagement session? I suggest a place that holds some meaning to the two of you as couple. Maybe where you first met, or where he proposed, Try to think of a place that you feel you would LOVE to have your photos taken, if you cant think of anything, let me know I have some great ideas!

What should we wear for our engagement session? I recommennd you dress comfortable, photos always come out better when you are relaxed and feel comfortable. Wear comfortable shoes and clothes that you dont mind getting a little messy, especially if we are doing a beach shoot! Jeans and a nice shirt always looks good – BUT on the other hand this session is about you as a couple so if you like to wear matching pink polka-dots or even your pajamas go for it! I want to capture the essence of you!!

Can we bring a prop? You sure can, I had one couple bring a tandem Bicycle as a prop and the shoot was a blast! Props can be a lot of fun, especially if it has meaning to you guys!

I hope you found this short post helpful, I wanted to answer some of the questions that brides normally ask me about E-sessions. They really are alot of fun and a great way to get some casual photos of yourselves and since they come free with every wedding package you book with me it makes it even better!

Contact Me

Planning on having a guest sign in book at your wedding? Why not use a beautiful sign in book custom designed with pictures from your engagement session! These books are the same style and quality as the entry -level albums that I offer! Not only do they offer a unique way to show off your awesome engagement photos but most of all its a great way to preserve the memories of your engagement and your wedding day!

Here is a sample of a book that I recently designed for one of my 2010 couples
-

Here are a few shots of a sample album!

Took a drive out to the north fork this weekend to shoot an engagement session with this awesome couple. We had an awesome time, and I was completely blown away by how gorgeous the location was, what really blew me away was this was  her grandmothers property!! Right on the sound, with a view of Connecticut! Didnt feel like I was on long island.

Liz and Keith are planning an awesome wedding at Westbury Manor – I cannot wait to photograph their day!!

Here are some photos from the session also check out the slideshow!!

When Amanda and Kurt told me they wanted to do their engagement shoot at Fire Island lighthouse I was super excited! I never been there but have heard awesome things about it. We really could not have asked for a better day. It was in the mid 60’s, not a cloud in the sky and finished the day with the most perfect sunset.

Check out some of the photos below and also check out the Slideshow – Dont forget to leave a comment and let me know you were here!

Just a shot form todays fire island engagement shoot- We really could not have asked for a better day! sunset was absolutely gorgeous! More to come do stay tuned!

I did an engagement  shoot recently with this great couple! It was a GORGEOUS day!! we walked around central park and took a ton of photos – Ive been picking through my favorites as I am editing them, and just loved this picture! I absolutely love central park. You can shoot just about anywhere and get awesome lighting and you can always find a good backdrop. I always stumble upon something new when I go to central park. Gotta love it!!