ben waddell photography

NEW BLOG, NEW WEBSITE

2011-02-04T10:55:00.000-08:00

From now on you can check me out on facebook, or my new blog! http://benwaddell.com/blog/

Loan and Long {a Wedding}

2010-04-22T08:54:00.000-07:00

A {Williamsburg Engagement}

2010-03-03T19:43:00.000-08:00

Two Great lenses

2010-02-02T19:34:00.000-08:00

So I know its been a reallllly long time since my last post, truthfully I just needed a break to catch up on work and gear up for another grueling semester that includes 24 credits and the dreaded MCAT! I'll also be officially applying for Med Schools in June so it is going to be a very very interesting semester:)

In the mean time, I have simplified my equipment list a little bit, I find that too many lenses and accessories gets in the way of what I'm suppose to be doing, which is taking great pictures... So I've paired things down a bit and I wanted to tell you a little about two beautiful lenses that are affordable and, in my opinion, are every bit as exceptional as their more expensive "L" counterparts.

The first lens is the canon 35mm f/2. It's a little lens with a great focal length and good aperture. I like it because it is very small, and doesn't attract the attention like the 70-200mm behemoth, or the 24-70 L lens that I carry around. This little guy has become my primary lens. I love the focal length, and when I put it on a cropped camera like my 50d it makes for a great lens to use in tight spaces. I find that I enjoy framing my shots with this lens more than any other!

The next lens I want to show you is the 85mm 1.8. Its counterpart in the "L" class, the most expensive canon lens you can buy, is over five times as expensive as this guy, and yet the only discernible differences between the image quality between the two are only observed in controlled tests, the final products between the two lenses are virtually indistinguishable. On a full frame lens like the 5d, the 85mm length is a great lens for portraits. On a cropped camera, like the 20,30,40, 50, and 7d, the focal length really becomes more of a telephoto. Its not so great in small places, but when you are trying to blend into the background in a dark reception hall this lens can get you in close to the action and leaves. I get some of my favorite reception pictures with this lens. It allows me to stay out of the action, but get up close and personal:)

Of course, I use other lenses, like the 50mm 1.8, which is the first lens I recommend anybody to get. The other real benefit to these lenses is that you can get all of them, the 35mm f/2, 50mm 1.8, and 85mm 1.8, for less than $350. In fact the 50mm 1.8 is less than $100! Put these three lenses together, along with a 50d for around $850 used and you can put together a very formidable camera kit for around $1500 bucks! What's even more amazing is that to get better lenses you would have to spend another $4000 to upgrade to the L lenses, and at the end of the day, the image quality you get isn't that much better! Don't get me wrong, the $1600 85mm 1.2 lens is beautiful, and the 50mm 1.2 (I got mine for $1299) is the best lens I've ever owned. But, at the end of the day these cheaper alternatives are awesome, and I highly recommend them!

Mark and Amanda (a Wedding)

2009-12-15T08:24:00.000-08:00

Had a great time shooting my last wedding of the year. I felt like I was shooting in my own back yard because we decided to do the bridal party pictures right outside of my apartment! It was nice being so close to home, considering we travel so much for our work. Congrats you guys, I hope you have a wonderful life, can't wait to run into you at Red Star!

Jenelle and Ben {a Wedding in Paradise}

2009-12-06T17:10:00.000-08:00

Well I have to admit that by the time a full wedding day is over I'm pretty tired and just want to get home and relax, but this time was different. Christi and I both really really didn't want to come home to the cold! Jenelle and Ben had a beautiful wedding in St Thomas and we took advantage of it and spent an entire week in the island. Congratulations you guys, thanks for all the great memories!

Out next week!

2009-11-22T18:44:00.001-08:00

Don't expect to hear back from me next week if you need anything. I'm actually shooting a wedding in St Thomas and we'll be there for an entire week! I might get a chance to check my email but I will be trying to avoid the computer as much as possible... for obvious reasons:)

BTW, if you are expecting to have us as your wedding photographer for 2010, please don't take that for granted, spots are filling up fast and I only have four or five more dates that we will be able to work! We've had hundreds of inquiries this year, and for that we are incredibly grateful, but please be mindful that our dates are almost full:)

have a happy thanksgiving! I know I will!!!!

-Ben

Betsy and Scott {engaged}

2009-11-22T05:03:00.000-08:00

So i never actually thought I would be posting this, its kind of surreal that my little sister, and by little I mean YOUNG:) is actually getting married! The rule in our family has been for generations that the youngest daughter in the family shouldn't get married until she is at least 35 and that even then it should be done on some sort of arranged marriage basis... but, she's always been a rebel so here we are!

Congrats you guys!

Elizabeth and Craig {engaged}

2009-11-11T17:16:00.000-08:00

A couple weeks ago I got to shoot my brother in-law and his fiance Elizabeth. We went to my In-Laws house and took some pictures on the Dock, I thought they came out pretty good:)

Congrats guys! And thanks for asking me to be a groomsmen (craig) and I'm glad you didn't want me to be a "man of honor" (elizabeth) cause I would hate to have to turn that down. Anyways, it will be fun not to have to work at a wedding for once!

-Ben

Heather and Neal {a Wedding}

2009-11-02T17:02:00.000-08:00

This wedding was just about perfect. Heather and Neal decided to leave the windy city and come back to her home church for a country wedding. I had a great time driving through williamsburg, and then out into what seemed like the middle of nowhere to find a church that was started in 1790! It was beautiful. The reception was held at her grandfather's dairy farm, which I was informed had been newly renovated... 150 years ago!

Needless to say, it was beautiful, Heather and Neal thought of everything, including a bus and golf carts to transport people out to the farm. It was a wonderful day

Thanks guys for letting me be a part of it!

Ashley and Bennett {a Wedding}

2009-11-02T16:59:00.000-08:00

A couple weeks ago Jenelle and Christi headed off to Richmond for Ashley and Bennett's wedding. When they came back they couldn't get over how much fun their wedding party was. Evidently the reception was crazy! Overall it was a beautiful day despite the dreary weather, congrats you guys!

Mandy {a Senior Moment}

2009-11-02T13:13:00.000-08:00

Last week I got to hang out with Mandy and her mom in Ghent, we headed down near the Norva because that's one of their favorite places in the world to go hang out. It ended up being an awesome night, and as you can tell from the pictures Mandy is one fun, awesome girl! Congrats on making it to your big year, good luck!

Lisa and Alex {a Wedding}

2009-10-26T16:10:00.000-07:00

Last weekend Christi and I headed up to the DC area for Alex and Lisa's Wedding. We met them through our mutual friend Ben Cheney and Jenelle, who you might recognize from another post.

We had a wonderful time, the families were a lot of fun and even though it rained ALL day we still came away with some pretty great pictures. Congrats you guys, thanks for letting us be a part of your day!

Jessica {a Dress Trashing}

2009-10-08T18:43:00.000-07:00

nobody ever reads what I write, so just enjoy the pictures:)

Ashley and John {a Wedding}

2009-10-07T15:46:00.000-07:00

Last weekend I went to Indiana to photograph another good friends wedding. This one was surreal for me because I remembered Ashley as a little girl and its hard to believe I was there for her wedding!

Congrats you guys, it was an awesome day, and thanks for scheduling a night shoot in downtown indianapolis. I put one of those pictures first because the shoot was absolutely, unbelievably amazing!

Kathleen and Mike: {a Wedding}

2009-09-28T15:46:00.000-07:00

Betsy (my little sis) gave christi the weekend off so she could actually get some work done at the hospital... gotta love the irony...:) anyways, she came with me as we headed down for another wonderful wedding with Rachel Monroe, with Bridal By the Sea. If you are thinking about getting hitched in the crystal coast then she's the one you want to work with!

When we got there we met the bride and groom to be, two of the absolute nicest people you will ever meet. We had an awesome time hanging out with all of their friends and were so glad we could make it down to be with them on such a festive occasion:)

enjoy the pictures!

Tiffany and Michael {a Wedding}

2009-09-15T16:04:00.000-07:00

I'm really happy with this post. Tiffany and Michael and all their friends were so much fun to work with, we had a few set backs because of some crazy circumstances at Ft Monroe so are photosession hardly felt like a photo session at all, but when I went back through and edited and looked at what I got I couldn't be happier!

congrats you guys, and major props to their coordinator Kristen (and her sister) who made everything go so well:)

Justin and Theresa

2009-09-11T14:44:00.000-07:00

We had an awesome time with Theresa and Justin and their boys this past weekend in Sandbridge. I'm not exaggerating when I say they had the PERFECT day for a beach wedding. It could not have been better. Unfortunately its rained all week here so I'm sorry for everyone who made the trip down from Pennsylvania hoping to get some time on the beach!

Congrats guys, thanks for a great weekend!

having some fun with the best man and some lights...

meet gabby

2009-08-26T19:12:00.000-07:00

Sometimes when i download the pictures right before I'm trying to go to bed I see one that really jumps out at me and I just HAVE to get it out there. So here's one I took tonight at East Beach with this super cool girl named Gabby. I had a lot of fun taking her senior pics, and when I post the pictures later you'll definitely know that Gabby had fun as well!

*update* here are some more of my favorites!

Jessica and Marty: {a Wedding}

2009-08-22T21:41:00.000-07:00

When I was up in DC a couple of weeks ago for a wedding I sent Christi (my wife) and our good friend jenelle (http://jenellesewell.com) down to greenvill, NC to shoot a wedding. I had very very high expectations because Jenelle is an awesome photographer and Christi is getting so good she makes me look bad at times! Anyways, I was expecting good things but was blown away when I snuck on Jenelle's computer to see what she had done with them. I pulled a few off onto my usb drive, brought them home and got them on here as fast as possible.

Great Job Girls!

Now, Jess and Marty. You have to understand, these guys are awesome, real troopers when it comes to taking pictures, and I've really enjoyed getting to know them... stay tuned for Trash the Dress session coming at you real soon:)

Christina and Alex: {a Wedding}

2009-08-18T09:32:00.000-07:00

Here are some previews from Christina and Alex's wedding. We had an awesome time in Georgetown for the weekend. Thanks for letting us share your special day!

-Ben

Amanda and Dan: {engaged}

2009-08-17T19:55:00.000-07:00

Yesterday Christi and I met up with Amanda and Dan at First Landing State Park in Virginia Beach. Its a great little place, and we spent the afternoon walking around, ducking into neat little area's, crawling around on trees, and trying to avoid the little blue crabs crawling around in the reeds. It was a beautiful afternoon, and I was really excited to see these pictures turn out so well!

Congrats you guys!

the new {THICKbook}

2009-08-17T09:32:00.001-07:00

I just received Heather and Lee's THICKbook in the mail. Usually we do 80-90 pages for these but this time we ordered almost the entire collection and put it into one book, one pic per page, that ended up being 400 pages!

These are a very affordable option for people wanting something awesome to put on their table.

Jessica and James: {engaged}

2009-08-17T07:16:00.000-07:00

Technically speaking, they're just friends and while James just happened to give Jessica a diamond ring, a huge diamond ring as a nice present, and it would certainly appear that they are engaged...technically they aren't... but they are. If you know them you know their situation:) If you don't then just trust me that while this certainly appears to be an engagement session I must tell you that its not... well, not technically!

nonetheless, the pictures came out stunning, James and Jessica were so nervous when we started but it only took a couple minutes to realize they were pro's! Congrats guys, we had a wonderful time hanging out with you last sunday night:)

Crazy... but Awesome Weekend!

2009-08-09T22:31:00.000-07:00

Two unbelievable weddings, one in DC, the other in North Carolina and an awesome engagement session on sunday night... after all that I come home to find my parents sitting in my living room, which means the arrival of my summer vacation:) I took 17 credits this summer, and had a bunch of other stuff going on, (not to mention shooting weddings every weekend). So, the arrival of my parents means I get three weeks to enjoy myself, (and get caught up with my work) before I jump back in to classes.

Oh, btw, I put Christina and Alex's pictures on to the computer, started thumbing through them and felt absolutely compelled to post a preview!

This one's gonna be good... real good... here's just a tiny tiny taste.

J and Paige: {a Wedding}

2009-08-04T19:17:00.000-07:00

This couple is super special to me so I'm going to post a few more than I usually do. They're special because, well, duh, their Family! I was lucky enough to be asked to do the photography for my brother in law's wedding. He said he found my website online and just had to book, what a coincidence! lol

Anyways, the wedding was at Ft. Story, and the weather was beautiful, and we got to head back to the beach after the reception was over for some late afternoon pictures. Congrats J and Paige, I hope you guys have a wonderful life together:) Oh, and thanks for the free babysitting for life! We plan on exploiting that as much as possible!

-Ben

New Album Offering

2009-07-29T06:53:00.001-07:00

Looking for the perfect album vendor can be difficult. When it comes to leather bound flush mount albums, we are more than happy with our current vendor: kiss wedding books, but when it came to finding something a little more sophisticated, and with alternatives to leather our new vendor is exactly what we were hoping to find!

Welcome Cypress

http://www.cypressalbums.com

Inquire for pricing:)

no comment necessary

2009-07-28T08:34:00.000-07:00

Naomi and Ray {engaged}

2009-07-26T15:04:00.000-07:00

Christi and I met up with Naomi and Ray yesterday in Ellicot City. The spot they chose for their engagement shoot was awesome. It had a really laid back feel and we had an awesome time walking around, jumping onto walls, sneaking into alleys, and fitting in last second shots before the rain came!

We then spent the evening in a little restaurant, hanging out, and sharing bread pudding and whatever else happened to make it to our table. I told them it would be 3-5 days before I worked on their images, but when I backed them up into the computer and looked at them I had to go ahead and work on a post!

Congrats you guys, we had an awesome time:)

goodbye to the {new} hello to the {old}

2009-07-15T05:34:00.000-07:00

I'm saying hello to my old cell phone today! Actually its more like I'm saying goodbye to my new one. I first got the blackberry pearl, a little over a year ago. I instantly fell in love with having the internet and email on my phone. Then I upgraded to the blackberry storm, and then became completely addicted.

There's this thing about addictions... you start to hate the very thing you are addicted to. And now I can honestly say that I hate my cell phone! I wake up in the morning and I reach over and grab it and find myself looking at news websites even though I don't really want to know what's going on when I first wake up! I get emails but its too awkward to try and respond so then I just go all day knowing what work I have ahead of me. I'd rather just wait, get all my emails at once and then spend the hour or two just responding all at once.

Anyways, I've been thinking about it for awhile now because it seemed like every wedding we shot this spring had some guy sitting at his table, oblivious to the world around him because he was on his blackberry. I don't want to be THAT GUY. The guy who lets his wife dance all night with her friends while he reads espn and checks his facebook and twitter status. That guy is no fun! I thought I got a blackberry for freedom but when my wife caught me pulling out my blackberry to check the drudgereport when we were at a family dinner I realized that I had sought freedom from my computer, but in exchange I became a slave to the phone in my pocket.

So... if you need me immediately, just call! I'll gladly go through the small talk that email helps us avoid:) or... I do text, though now I have to do in on a tiny keyboard!

Virginia Beach {TTD}

2009-07-13T06:55:00.000-07:00

Lorrin and Dan drove all the way from Raleigh, fought through the horrible tourist traffic at the beach, only then to walk 15 blocks to this pier that I insisted we shoot at. Only then to go into a random seafood/chinese restaurant buffet and beg to use the bathroom.

They did all of that so that she could spend an hour rolling around in the sand, swimming, and drawing the attention of the many hundreds of spectators who were just as busy taking pictures as I was. Needless to say, they were troopers and I just had to Post these as soon as possible!

I think they speak for themselves... great job Lorrin!

Tiffany and Michael {Engaged}

2009-07-12T14:02:00.000-07:00

When I met Tiffany and Michael a few months ago in MacArthur Center I knew that this was going to be a fun couple to work with. We decided to catch the ferry between Portsmouth and Norfolk and it ended up being awesome!

Congratulations guys, we can't wait till the wedding!

(quite possibly the best engagement picture I've ever taken!)

Lewis Ginter Gardens: {A Video}

2009-07-12T10:01:00.000-07:00

enjoy!

-Ben

I'm really not a hater, but I hate the HRBT!

2009-07-08T21:56:00.000-07:00

Ok, so I'm really not a negative guy, but this evening I was at ODU finishing up a paper for Grad School which was due at midnight, I left the library at 9:20, they shut everything down super early because people always get robbed there at night, called Christi, grabbed a sweat tea from McDonalds and started my 35 minute drive home. I made it all the way until the bridge to the HRBT (Hampton Roads Bridge Tunnel) without any major problems and then my night got really really terrible. I went to call Christi and tell her that I was stuck but my phone died so when I finally walked in three hours later I saw my wife in tears because she thought something horrible had happened to me.

If you have ever driven the HRBT then you don't need to read any more. You already know. Its terrible, always terrible. When you think it will be fine its worse than ever. If traffic is great, then some bozo will overheat his car in the bottom of it and then traffic will stop for the rest of the day. As soon as rush hour traffic is over, which usually takes 3-4 hours to clear up, the insane VDOT people will shut down the tunnel for routine maintenance, which is nothing more than union guys walking around down there pretending to work.

Now, I understand they need to work, but not at 9 at night. Do it at 3 in the morning when no one's driving.

Anyways, I get all the way to the bridge and then I sit there, literally sit there for 2 and a half hours, and a 30 minute, 20 mile drive turns into a three hour night. My paper, which was due at midnight, is now an hour late.

I didn't take any of these pictures, i stole them, from google.

So, the moral of the story is, if the government can't keep a road open at any given point during the day, for any decent amount of the time, then I'm sure not going to trust them with my health care!

Sunset before the Storm

2009-06-30T16:02:00.000-07:00

A few days ago I was sitting at my computer editing some pictures when I noticed a particularly beautiful sunset out the window. I grabbed my camera to get a picture. Within a matter of seconds a storm front had come out of nowhere and quickly overtook the sunset. I kept taking pictures until it started raining.

I don't get too sentimental about things, but I couldn't help think about how when life seems to be giving me a beautiful sunset there always seems to be a storm on the horizon to worry about. I often let the storm occupy my thoughts even though I'm still looking at the sunset. I think I've decided to forget about the storms for awhile:)

Uhhmazing Olympus Ep-1

2009-06-25T09:37:00.001-07:00

It's going to be very very difficult to restrain myself from picking up this camera!

Serious {Bouquet Toss}

2009-06-24T13:18:00.000-07:00

Seriously.

Brittany and Dan: {a Wedding}

2009-06-18T17:49:00.000-07:00

When I found out Brittany Haynes was getting married I didn't believe it at first. She is the little sister of my childhood best friend, the girl we used to play all sorts of horrible pranks on, the one that you never realized grew up, and then one day you get this call to take pictures at her wedding and that suddenly makes you feel really really old!

Even though I had to go 38 hours without sleep to shoot your wedding Brittany, I am so glad I did. Dan seems like a really great guy even though he goes to Cedarville... the best of luck to both of you!

Jessica and Ben: {a Wedding}

2009-06-17T19:55:00.000-07:00

Last Weekend was an absolute whirlwind! It started with this beautiful wedding in Raleigh and then we made an overnight trip to another awesome wedding in Indianapolis, followed by a long trip back to virginia beach on Monday and another trip to Raleigh and back on tuesday. All in all we put 2,000 miles on the explorer and I went over 38 hours without sleep! Sunday night after our second wedding I actually had to write a paper for Grad School. I turned it in but can honestly say I have no idea what I wrote down:)

Saturday was a beautiful wedding. We were excited to work with the Wakefield Plantation and we made friends with Jessica's awesome coordinators! Please make sure and check out Cara and the girls at Southern Soiree if you are interested in working with a coordinator!

Congratulations again Jessica and Ben. Thanks for letting us spend the day with you:)

Michael and Kristina: {a Wedding}

2009-06-09T18:14:00.000-07:00

When we met Kristina and Michael for their engagement shoot they jokingly told us they booked us so we could get some "chocolate" on our blog! We definitely agreed that it time and fortunately Kristina planned such a stunning wedding that we'll probably end up featuring them all over the place...:)

Thanks to everyone who made this day so awesome. Stay tuned for a second post on this wedding. They ordered a photo booth and we'll be posting some of our favorites from there as well.

Mike, I couldn't decide which Shoe Picture I liked better so here's both!

Lorrin and Dan: {Wedding}

2009-06-08T20:15:00.001-07:00

Last Saturday Christi and I headed down to the State Club in Raleigh NC to photograph Lorrin and Dan's Wedding. It was a beautiful day and the state club is a great place for a wedding if you are able to book it. Everything went well and we've never seen so many "adults" rockin it out on the dance floor! Usually its only the college age and younger rockin it out there all night but their guests came to party!

Congratulations to the both of you. We wish you the best of luck as you start your new life together:)

Jenelle and Ben: {Engaged}

2009-06-03T19:09:00.000-07:00

You may recognize Jenelle, or you may even know her because she was your wedding photographer! Well, she's engaged and we just found out that we are shooting their wedding at the Ritz Carlton in St Thomas! We are incredibly excited about spending our thanksgiving with them on the beach.

Last week we met up with them in Richmond Va for their engagement shoot. I think the pictures speak for themselves... but I don't think we've ever done better. Congratulations to both of you!

Erin & Matt: {Wedding}

2009-06-03T17:20:00.000-07:00

One of the most beautiful days down in the OBX with an awesome couple! We had a great time, special thanks to Sondra at the Whalehead Club for making the day go so smoothly.

Congratulations Erin and Matt!

Yes, I am addicted to sunsets, and this one was great!

Clay and Phil: {Wedding}

2009-05-27T19:44:00.000-07:00

We first met Clay and Phil at the beach for their engagement shoot. We weren't planning on getting wet that day and they had ridden their bikes several miles to the spot we had picked out. Shortly into the shoot I had them rolling around in the sand and jumping in the water. It made for a great shoot but as we pulled away in our air conditioned SUV I couldn't help but feel sorry for them as they faced a long bike ride home with clothes full of wet sand!

Their wedding day finally arrived and it was a wonderful time. It was a little rainy, no, actually unbelievably rainy all day but no one seemed to let that ruin the fun! The ceremony was at the Old Donation Episcopal Church in Virginia beach and the reception was at the Contemporary Art Center of Virginia. Congratulations Phil and Clay, I am looking forward to our Trash the Dress Session!

They decided to have a cake table instead of a traditional cake. It was a pretty big hit!

Meagan and Dusty: {OBX Wedding}

2009-05-26T20:10:00.000-07:00

OBX weddings are my favorite. I know I'm not supposed to have favorites but I can't help it. Everyone's relaxed, having fun, there aren't hundreds of guests mulling around and you get to spend half of your day on the water, which is where Christi and I try to be whenever possible. We love the outer banks, but more importantly we love Dusty and Meagan. We had a great time getting lost at an arts garden in raleigh for their e-shoot a few months ago so we knew that we were going to have a good day. Everyone was so much fun, and as you can tell from the pictures it was about as perfect as a wedding in the OBX could be!

Congratulations Meagan and Dusty, we had a terrible time choosing our "best" to blog, but here they are for you to enjoy!

-Ben

Post Marathon blues

2009-05-20T13:39:00.000-07:00

Well I ran the marathon back in march and did all that training primarily to lose the weight I've gained since being married. Yes, christi is a great cook:) But, that didn't really work, I actually gained weight training for it and now I'm on this new 1500 calorie a day diet. My customers have been incredibly motivating, at the wedding we shot last weekend the bride absolutely stunned us by losing 70 pounds between her engagement session and her wedding day. One of our grooms this spring also lost a bunch of weight in between the two sessions. I'm so happy for all of them, and I hope I can join the ranks in the next few weeks!

Here's a little pic of what's been getting me through my days of hunger!

Tiffany and Joe: {Wedding}

2009-05-20T13:30:00.000-07:00

Tiffany and Joe had a beautiful wedding last saturday and we really really enjoyed getting to spend the day with their family. This was a wonderful group of people and we are definitely excited to be a part of it!

Congratulations Tiffany and Joe!

I got this shot on our way to the car after the wedding. It was so fitting because it acted like it was going to storm the entire reception and as soon as it was over we got this beautiful sunset!

Whitney and Colt {Wedding}

2009-05-09T05:58:00.001-07:00

Last weekend my sister Betsy and I headed down to Greenville South Carolina to shoot Whitney and Colt's wedding. Whitney and Colt were the winners of our free wedding contest last year and their wedding had finally come! It was a long drive down to greenville but the day was definitely worth it.

Congratulations Whitney and Colt. If you have internet access is Jamaica then you'll probably be reading this on the beach somewhere:)

-Ben

Featured Wedding {TPC Plantation}

2009-04-28T18:12:00.000-07:00

I had a referral from this wonderful country club in raleigh called the TCP Plantation When we lived there Christi and I used to park our car in their parking lot and then take a walk through the neighborhoods that surrounds the country club. Its a great place for a wedding reception and the coordinator there {Jaclyn} is great to work with.

Anyways, I found out their website was using a wedding we did there in november as a feature on their website. check it out!

Basking in Leather Comfort

2009-04-24T06:10:00.000-07:00

I'm trying not to be too excited about the new chair my wife bought for me. I have been drooling over it for almost 18 months but never really thought she'd get it for me! You gotta come by and check out this chair, its unbelievable!

{BAbY} Carter

2009-04-18T18:43:00.000-07:00

We had a great time hanging out with our friends Amber and Ryan and their new little one, Carter. At just about 1 month old, Carter already has tons of personality and was ready to share it with the world. Ben was especially excited to take a picture with Carter and the guitar! They are a fun and beautiful family and we wish them the very very best!

Carter decided to tell Ben what he really thought of him and his camera!!!

{Formal Portraits} and other miscellaneous galleries

2009-04-17T17:05:00.000-07:00

If you've checked my website in the last couple days you'll noticed I've added four new galleries under a new section called "be different" I decided to add these galleries for a couple of reasons. The first is that a customer told me she missed seeing all the "cool" pictures I've taken like the trash the dress sessions and the second is because I want potential customers to get a full view of what we offer. So we have a "favorites" section, a weddings gallery, an engagement gallery and now a selection of specific things we do. One thing we love doing is the TTD, trash the dress. We have a number set up for this year and we can't wait! We also love shooting weddings at the beach so we added a gallery just for that, and I just finished up our last gallery which is a sampling of the "formal" portrait time that we do every wedding.

Most pro photographer sites ignore some of the most important images to brides in their portfolio: the formal portraits. We wanted to give you a glimpse at what you might expect in your collection:)

Below are two pictures that I re-edited from old weddings after looking through last years work. I love the colors!

Christina & Alex {Engaged}

2009-04-14T13:43:00.000-07:00

Alex is a pretty cool guy but he definitely DID NOT want to get his picture taken! He acted just like I did when Christi told me about engagement pictures. Back then I didn't even know people did this sort of thing and I couldn't find any rationalization as to why I should put my self through such torture! But like all of guys Alex turned out to be a real pro! It helped that he had such a great fiance to make it easy for him... lol.

We ended up having a wonderful time in Olde Town, the weather turned out to be perfect and we think their engagement pictures did too:)

Congratulations Christina and Alex!

Kristina and Mike {Engaged}

2009-04-14T13:29:00.000-07:00

We had a wonderful time getting to know Kristina and Mike at the National Harbor in Washington D.C. We started out in the Gaylord Hotel until we got the boot from "the man" You gotta love Security!

Regardless of the trouble we had a great time, the weather was beautiful and we can't wait for their wedding in a couple months. Thanks Mike, for being so cooperative, your future Bride will love you forever for enduring the photoshoot:)

Be My Friend on {Facebook}

2009-04-13T07:08:00.000-07:00

Be My Friend

Facebook is a fun way to waste time on the internet! If you haven't heard of it then you probably just woke up in a time capsule or have just missed the digital age. Its no big deal, you'll start wasting time with the rest of us just as soon as you be my friend!

If you are a client, or future client then add me as your friend. After your shoot I take the pictures and put them in my facebook galleries and then tag your name so all of you friends can see your pictures! Click this link here, or at the bottom of my blog to add me as your friend:)

I had a great time in D.C. and came back with two awesome photo shoots to edit! I'd post them now but I actually have to head to Raleigh for another shoot and a couple meetings!

Tiffany & Joe {engaged}

2009-04-08T11:29:00.000-07:00

Christi and I headed to Richmond Yesterday to photograph Tiffany and Joe. We met Tiffany last year because she was a final contestant in our free wedding giveaway. Her wedding is in May and we are really excited to see them again!

Special thanks to Tina, the maid of honor and sister of the bride for taking care of the dog:)

enjoy,

Ben Waddell

J & Paige {engaged}

2009-04-06T14:19:00.000-07:00

When my brother-in-law asked me to be his wedding photographer I told him he couldn't afford me, but then I said in exchange for free dog/futurebaby-sitting we would be happy to! Now they owe us... for the rest of their life ;)

Everyone that knows Jonathan and Paige, knows that they are fun and in love, so it was easy to create a collection of art that communicates that!

Introducing a Revolutionary New Product!

2009-04-01T13:48:00.000-07:00

April FOOLS! If you read my blog on April 1st, you'll know what this is:)

New Blog!

2009-03-30T07:35:00.000-07:00

I recently switched web hosts and I thought I had moved everything over to my new blog host but I was shocked to open my blog today and realize all the graphics had been deleted! So, i put myself into overdrive and installed the new blog that I had planned on using. I made it a few weeks ago with plans to sell it on my web store once everything was in gear...

Hope you like it!

I also have a whole bunch of new updates coming out soon including a new logo, business cards, marketing promotions and a new client management and proofing site. We are really upgrading our service which should make for a much smoother experience for everybody!

In other news we just got back from E-Town Pa where we had a wonderful time with some friends from college, we went to hershey's chocolate world, I got to play golf, watch basketball, and on our way out we got to stop by the house where the Gosslin's (jon and kate plus 8) lived during the first three seasons of their show! It was surreal being there because after watching so many episodes it felt like we already knew the place. kind of creepy:)

regards,

Ben Waddell

Two great books!

2009-03-24T15:55:00.000-07:00

I probably shouldn't have spent the afternoon reading, after all I did go into Barnes & Noble with the full intention of mastering my Physics homework. Yesterday when I tried to study Physics I ended up studying the physics behind the perfect putt, which can elegantly be described in this graph.

... the formula is a beautiful expression of the perfect putt, which is a downswing 2x's faster than the resonance of the pendulum motion you are making in the putt. I don't know how this relates to photography, but a blog is about life right?!

So yesterday I was a dismal failure in the Physics department, and today I failed because I read two incredible books. The first one is about being an intern, the year after med school where you work long hours and do tons of grunt work. Its like a rite of passage for Physicians. It is incredibly fascinating and makes me very excited (and nervous) about the future because being a Dr. is an incredible amount of work!

The other book I read was about Conservatism. I don't want to get into politics on my blog but this book was really great at describing a conservating position and even better at describing the danger and frustration conservatives see in a liberal socialist "progressive" agenda. So, if you are a liberal read the book, if you are a conservative read the book, if you are in between, read the book. Whether you agree or disagree with it doesn't matter so much to me as long as you take time to digest what Mark Levin has to say!

-Ben

AGWPJA

2009-03-12T07:00:00.000-07:00

I just noticed that in the association of photographers that I'm in, that Artistic Guild of the Wedding Photojournalist Association, they've moved me to the top of the list in Virginia! That's because I'm the only photographer that has placed in any of the photo contests in the last two quarterly competitions. Kinda Cool!

Wall Art

2009-02-27T09:19:00.000-08:00

I have three extra picture frames and I started going through all my old photos. After I graduated from college, and before I started my photo business I spent a year teaching overseas. I got to travel all over the world and take some pretty cool pictures! I wish I had my camera gear I have now. I'm just using a little $150 camera I got on ebay.

In other news...

2009-02-27T07:17:00.000-08:00

My poor crazy dog. She returned home last night after having her "womanhood removed" I always thought spayed sounds too much like the procedure... except they don't use a shovel. Just too much imagery for me! But, she's doing great and has to wear this stupid scratch collar for the next week! My dog is the ultimate tom-boy, running around in the mud, getting dirty, playing hard and this collar is driving her nuts!

In other news...

Our pre-wedding counselor told us that he is responsible for the vacuuming in the house. Now, guess who is responsible for the vacuuming in our house?! ME! I shouldn't have been surprised that it would turn out like this but I really don't mind. Anyways, someone gave us a vacuum for our wedding, and it worked great for a year but then it started over heating and shutting down after I would sweep one room and the whole house would smell like burnt carpet. SO, we splurged and bought the number 1 rated vacuum on consumer reports... its an electrolux, I actually got it refurbished on Amazon.com for a steal!

-Ben

Inspiration

2009-02-23T17:09:00.000-08:00

put this on my wall above my computer today!

check out part-timepro.com

(don't order yet, its not finalized)

:) Ben

We've moved!

2009-02-18T18:37:00.000-08:00

Well, I've taken a looooong break from blogging because I've been busy trying to pack boxes, move boxes, unpack boxes, and on and on and on. We've finally moved! Christi starts school on friday so last weekend we moved into our awesome new apartment that's only about a mile from her school. I can't to get outside and take some pictures of the area because we live in a really cool part of Newport News.

Come Visit!!!

-Ben

Open Date

2009-02-10T18:55:00.000-08:00

So we had a date just open up, one that at least 30 people have contacted me about.. its May 23rd of this year so if you are still looking for a photographer for that date then shoot me an email!

Online Store

2009-02-10T12:07:00.001-08:00

Our new online store is launched!

I still am adding more products and finalizing the invoicing engine that we are using but I thought I would go ahead and let everyone get a preview of how we are going to handle much of our customer relations/business side of Ben Waddell Fine Art Photography:)

http://benwaddellstore.com/

(our current pricing is on there) usually i don't like to make that public because it changes fairly often but I thought I would make an exception this time:)

I feel like I'm going to my own funeral!

2009-02-01T08:56:00.001-08:00

So I've been training for a Marathon and today I looked on the schedule and realized I had to run a 17 miler. Then I looked and for the next six weeks I have to run 17, 18, 19, and 20 miles each weekend, along with about 18-20 miles during the week.

That's depressing, but exciting at the same time!

wish me luck:/

A couple Improvements!

2009-01-25T12:37:00.000-08:00

First off, I have been hard at work finishing up my 2008 projects, plowing through a grueling 23 credit semester, yes friends I really really want to be a doctor:) And I've also been hard at work improving our business and expanding! I have a link in my menu to www.templifyyourlife.com Its an online store that will serve as a resource to aspiring photographers.

Basically I have created a whole range of digital products that enhance the software we use to achieve a more professional look while speeding up our workflow. There are all kinds of great software options for consumers but I have found that for aspiring professionals, the consumer products aren't enough as they are, and the professional products are too expensive and too complicated for people trying to get started. So we have enhanced some consumer products, and dumbed down some professional products so that someone interested in starting their photography business can be off to a fast start!

I thought I would show you the latest little addition to our blog.

Its called the slideshowpro. I found this slideshow software when working on developing our other website. Its incredible, really cheap, and it is integrated right into lightroom so you have very very little effort involved in creating an amazing slideshow.

I'm also debuting our new black and white preset that will go with our Lightroom Preset pack that will be available soon!

enjoy:)

-Ben

I'm dumb:)

2009-01-24T11:31:00.000-08:00

Wow! I launched my new website on January 1st, and since then we've have about 3-4 inquiries for prices, availability a day ever since then. I noticed that no one had been responding to my emails so I double checked my sent folder and realized that I was sending the inquiry response emails to myself!

You see, on the new website the form doesn't automatically put the email address into the reply box like my old website used to do. So if you are wondering why its been a couple weeks since you heard from me that explains it!

Sorry! lol

-Ben

p.s. don't tell my wife, she'll roll her eyes, pretend to not act surprised and then give me a real hard time about it! lol

Somehow I made it on YouTube.

2009-01-11T08:28:00.000-08:00

My friend Luke and I sang this dumb song during my senior year of college. Someone put it on YouTube and I just found out about it. Kind of embarrassing!

Surprise 50th!

2009-01-10T19:03:00.000-08:00

We had a great time tonight! After golfing 18 holes, and continuing my winning streak with my bro-in-law we headed back to the coulter's and walked in to a full house ready to surprise my father in-law for his 50th birthday. Afterwords we shot off some fireworks at the end of their dock, I set up the camera for some awesome night exposures.

Most of the firework shots had an aperture of 9, iso 200, with a 15 second exposure.

My new Baby

2009-01-05T18:09:00.000-08:00

Its in the mail, I'll take some proper pictures when I get it in a couple days!

I get so excited about new guitars;)

- Ben

Engagement Fav's 2008!

2009-01-01T10:47:00.000-08:00

Hey, as I was working on my new website I had to select my favorite engagement images of 2008. I thought I would go ahead and make a little slideshow to display them all. I will be doing a few more slideshows this week so check back!

happy new year!

Happy New Year!

2008-12-31T22:04:00.000-08:00

Hey everyone, just thought I would like to debut my new website: www.benwaddell.com

hope you all have a happy happy new year:)

- Ben

Engagement Video

2008-12-30T15:35:00.000-08:00

J and Paige

here ya go:)

A Very Special Engagement Party!

2008-12-29T08:00:00.000-08:00

My bro-in law got engaged on Saturday night! We had to get up before daylight to make the drive all the way back to Virginia Beach so we could be here for the surprise. He took his girlfriend Paige down to the end of a dock and proposed next to the warm fire. After she finally agreed to the deal My other brother in-law Craig and some of his friends were hiding on a little Island in the water and started shooting off fireworks. They were launching them from all directions and it ended up being as awesome show! Christi was videotaping and could hardly contain herself she was so excited! Here are some pictures of a fantastic night!

A Very Merry Christmas!

2008-12-29T07:49:00.000-08:00

We just got back from Celebrating Christmas with my family in western New York. Its cold and beautiful there this time of year. The highlight of the trip was definitely meeting new friends, I'd like to introduce you to three of them:)

First is our new dog Maddie! She is a wonderful little puppy that is full of energy and curiosity. We are having an awesome time with her... except of course when you have to deal with the usual mess of taking care of a puppy!

The next person I got to meet with this super cute little girl named lily, she is my cousin's newest daughter and was so much fun to play with.

And finally we got to meet Allison, I hadn't been able to meet her yet even though she is over 2 years old... i know, shame on me! But she was a lot of fun and Christi had a great time playing with her when she wasn't playing with my cousin brooks- who she seemed to attach herself to for the night.

All in all we had a great time, my dad even got the cigar store Indian he has been dreaming of for 20 years. He seemed genuinely surprised, but not as much as we all are that there are people who actually want these things!

We're Off!

2008-12-14T09:36:00.000-08:00

We're off on a 5 night Carribean Cruise! We'll be headed to Cozumel and Belize. Its Christi's first time on a cruise so I'm excited for her to experience it. We won't have email access until we get back on the 21st. I'll be home for a day and then we are headed to New York for Christmas. We're excited to spend the holidays with my family... and pick up our dog Maddie!

Feel free to email us this week and we'll get back to you as soon as we get back!

Merry Christmas!

Whew!

2008-12-12T08:24:00.000-08:00

What a week, I finished finals, got through one of the toughest semesters I've ever had as a student and now I'm trying to finish up as much work as I can before Christi and I leave for our Caribbean Cruise! Here is the last Highlights video of the year. We had an awesome time with Lori and Dave, they got married on the perfect day and everything seemed perfect:) You can scroll down a couple posts and see pictures.

Here are the highlights from their video!

-Ben

Jennifer and Michael

2008-12-09T11:12:00.000-08:00

First I need to thank this awesome couple for being so patient because I try to post these ASAP and its been a couple weeks! With the transfer to the new blog my blogging has been a little bit delayed.

When Christi and I saw the pictures for the first time we were so happy with how the day went. We had an awesome time during the family photo's and bridal party session.. which is unusual because that part is what I consider to be the "work" part of this super fun job.

Jennifer and Michael, you guys look great! I can't wait till you see the rest of them:)

-Ben

Lori and David

2008-12-07T16:05:00.000-08:00

After the Engagement session back in the fall went so well we knew that we were going to have an awesome time photographing this wedding. We had already met many of the guests and some of the bridal party at Lauren and Andrews wedding back in march so it was great to see some familiar faces:)

Congratulations Lori and David! We are so glad we could be a part of your day:)

-Ben

2008-11-28T20:23:00.000-08:00

Meet our Dog Maddie!

2008-11-26T12:34:00.000-08:00

Meet our beautiful little girl Maddie, my sisters and my mom are taking care of her till we pick her up at Chrismas:)

2008-11-25T18:31:00.000-08:00

Wedding: heather and lee

2008-11-24T11:59:00.001-08:00

Christi and I headed up to baltimore a couple weeks ago to help Heather and Lee capture the memories of their wedding day. We had a wonderful time with them and their guests.

When we arrived we headed straight to FX studios, this awesome hair place where you can watch movies while getting your hair done. Seriously cool. I mean it might be the one place on the planet where I actually wanted to have an excuse to have my hair done. It was one of those places you could kill the day at, which the girls apparently did because they had been there almost the entire day!

Anyways, here are a few of our favorites.... lots of cute kids at this one, it was hard to narrow down the kid pictures to a tolerable few:)

-Ben

See what I mean! How cool is that!

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This was the make up artist at FX studios, when I saw her shadow it looked like she was going to shave one of the bridesmaids.

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The ceremony was at the Grey Rock Mansion

This guy exists to prove that white men really can dance!

Congratulations Heather, thanks for letting us be a part of such a special day:)

Happy Birthday to Me!

2008-11-15T14:36:00.000-08:00

Yes, this weekend while working a wonderful wedding I turned 25. I don't really want to be 25, it just makes me more of an adult and less of a kid with a bright future. I feel like I'm approaching the turning point where people stop telling you that you have a bright future because the future is now! I'm excited by this but a little apprehensive as well. I'm thinking a quarter life crisis might definitely be in order...

I do have a couple 25th B-Day resolutions to tell you about!

1. I hope to have all of our 2008 projects wrapped up by Christmas, that is a daunting task because we blitzed through the fall and now are left trying to finish a bunch of albums, video's and other randomness, but I will try:)

2. Christi gave me 18 weeks of punishment for my Birthday! Yes, I'm running a Marathon on March 22nd, Christi signed me up as a birthday present. I ran a marathon a couple of years ago and have been a little scared to ever since:) I am excited about this one, I'll get in incredible shape and lose some of the weight I gained trying to start this business! lol

Here's the schedule, if you are thinking of running one yourself google Hal Higdon, he has some great training programs!

thanks to all y'all who wished me a happy b-day!

Lisa and Hector

2008-11-08T17:56:00.000-08:00

We've become friends with this family and we're so glad when they asked us to come celebrate another wedding:) This happened a few weeks back at Topsail Island, NC. It was an unbelievably windy day but no one seemed to care.

Congratulation Lisa and Hector, we wish you all the best!

Katey and Nate

2008-10-30T17:55:00.000-07:00

I thought I would post another wedding we did a few weeks back. Part of my slow transition into blogger, which I love by the way!

Valerie and Dave

2008-10-16T17:54:00.000-07:00

current pricing

2008-01-03T10:09:00.000-08:00

Spoil Me [Rotten]
$5999

- Two photographers
- Rehearsal dinner coverage (if available – compensation made if not available)
- Unlimited Event Day Coverage
- Photo session with bride and groom on wedding day
- Online proofing and purchasing
- 300 of your favorite images printed as either 4×6 or 5×5 photos
- Engagement session
- Framed 11×14 picture of your choice from bridal or engagement session
- 1 16×20 gallery wrap of an image of your choice
- 12 x 12 or 11×14 flush mount wedding album, approx 80 images, 25 pages
- two 8×8 companion albums.

Get me [Comfy] * our most popular package.
$3499

- Two photographers
- Four hours pre-ceremony coverage
- Wedding and reception coverage
- Photo session with bride and groom on wedding day
- Online proofing and purchasing
- 200 of your favorite images printed as either 4×6 or 5×5 photos
- Engagement session
- Framed 11×14 gallery wrap picture of your choice.
- A 10×10 flush mount album (10 spreads)

Get me [Satisfied]
$2399

- One photographer
- 3 hours pre-wedding coverage
- Full wedding and Reception Coverage
- photo session with bride and groom on wedding day
- online proofing and purchasing.
- 1 11×14 gallery wrap
- A High Res DVD of around 450 prints from your wedding.

Get me [Started]
$1799 (on friday and sunday weddings only $1499)

- One photographer
- 6 hours total coverage on your wedding day.
- online proofing and purchasing.
- A High Res DVD of around 350 prints from your wedding.

Print Size Prices

4×6: $4.00

5×7: $5.00

8×10: $14.00

11×14: $30.00

(other sizes will be available in your gallery)

a la carte options

Bridal, engagement, or family session (325.00)
o Includes approx two hours of photography
o Online proofing and purchasing
o 1 8×10 canvas wrapped picture of your choice from bridal or
engagement session
o Approximately 60 images on a High Res DVD

- Flush mount album (starting at 750.00 for 10×10)
o Originally designed album, laid out in storybook style, covering your
entire wedding day
o Library bound, fully protected pages
o Leather cover

- Companion lay flat Albums
(starting at $500 for original design, or $250 for duplicates)

About Us

2008-01-02T21:35:00.000-08:00

Ben and his team works with a limited number of couples each year. They provide creativity, enthusiasm, and attention to detail as they serve the families that trust us with their memories.

For each commission we provide a collection of art work that tells your story. The result is a work that speaks of the love and joy of a new, blossoming relationship.
Ben's camera has taken him to over twenty countries as he continues studying life, science, and spirituality. One day He is going to be a doctor, serving the underprivileged in the kinds of places of the world no one else will. In the mean time he keeps learning and looking forward to where his camera will take him next.

Currently Ben and his wife Christi currently live in hampton roads, va

Ben is a member of the Artistic Guild of the Wedding Phojournalist Assocation.

We have also recently began developing a new site dedicated to offering affordable products to help "weekend warriors", aspiring photographers and professionals develop their web presence and product offerings. If you are interested in becoming a photographer, or in finding ways to save time in your workflow check out our new site!

http://part-timepro.com