Sarah Tew Photography

Jason & Katie are featured on Borrowed & Bleu!

sarahtew — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 21:36:01 +0000

Click the link to check’em out…

http://www.borrowedandbleu.com/real-weddings/real-couple-katie-jason-at-battery-gardens/

To see my own blogpost on their wedding you can look here...

Adam & Shireen are parents! Baby Nathaniel at Central Park…

sarahtew — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 03:03:19 +0000

Way back in the fall of 2010 I shot a sweet little wedding at Housing Works Bookstore for Adam and Shireen– it was my first wedding at the venue, which has become a favorite of mine lately… little did I know at the time, Adam and Shireen were planning to have a baby ASAP! It’s been a year and change now and here is little Nathaniel! I was so excited to have an opportunity to make portraits of him and their adorable new family together in Central Park near where they live. They’ll be packing up for New Jersey in the next few weeks so I got this session in the nick of time. Cold as it was we made the best of it and I actually think little Nathaniel looks pretty cute all bundled up in his full-body-sleeping-bag-onesie type thing… Here are a few of my favorites from our walk in the park.

Sarah & Jaime’s Engagement Portraits

sarahtew — Sat, 17 Dec 2011 18:45:29 +0000

Sarah & Jaime are getting married this May at a country club in New Jersey– which will be a perfect spot to host a big fun wedding like theirs (10 bridesmaids and 10 groomsmen! Now that’s what I call a wedding PARTY!) Being long time New Yorkers and West Village residents they were hoping for me to capture some more urban engagement portraits that would depict their love for the city and portray them in their typical environment. I suggested we do their session down in DUMBO because it offers a little of everything– some cobblestone streets like you’d find in the West Village, the Manhattan skyline and the bridge views down by the water, your typical urban street backgrounds but with less crowded sidewalks, and of course a little nature here and there too, which I always like to include if possible. We wanted to nab some portraits before it got too much colder– I had them take off their coats in some shots and they were total troopers about it. I think it was worth the chill– Congratulations, Sarah & Jaime!

Audrey is 2 years old!

sarahtew — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 00:34:43 +0000

It’s only been a little over a year since I shot Audrey’s first portraits (around her first birthday) but she has grown so much! I enjoyed photographing her and her parents as we took a walk through the woods near their home in New Jersey, just over the George Washington Bridge. What a wonderful neighborhood she’s growing up in! Here are some favorites from the shoot… I arrived to find a shy little cutie.

so I asked her to show me her toys in the playroom.

We all got bundled up and went outside…

And we headed down the street and into the woods!

Then I saw this awesome tree… it was hollow in the bottom, and just the right size for little Audrey to stand inside of! So I lured her in…

and nabbed a few of my favorite pictures of the day…

We continued downhill along a path towards a pond, where we’d meet her grandparents and some other local family for a group shot.

She’s such a cutie! I love this little series playing on the ground.

Her mother Katya is pregnant with their second child, so I insisted on making a quick maternity portrait for her while we waited for Audrey to finish her sit-down.

We finished our walk down by a pretty pond and made some pictures of Audrey with some other folks, like her grandpa, shown below…

Peek-a-boo!

And back to the house to warm up!

Before I left I made a portrait of Audrey’s grandparents– grandpa was having a birthday and it would have been a shame not to capture him in his spiffy suit!

Melissa & Rodrigo’s Wedding at The Metropolitan Building

sarahtew — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 21:26:35 +0000

The Metropolitan Building is literally 3 blocks from my studio, so I’ve been eager to get in there and shoot one of these cute DIY/hip/vintage-inspired weddings they seem to be a perfect venue for around here. I was thrilled to hear from Melissa and Rodrigo, who were putting together the final details of their plan and needed a photographer the weekend after Thanksgiving. Was I available? YES! Eager to meet the bride and groom and check out the venue, I got there early and started exploring the details artfully arranged by the florist and designer, Jenah Barry of Xylem-Phloem. Rodrigo and some of his family arrived and the guests began arriving shortly after… the schedule was to start with a cocktail hour followed by ceremony and reception, and the bride did not arrive until midway through cocktail hour…this couple has a beautiful little daughter together named Esperanza, who served as the flower girl in the ceremony, and to my delight made use of the spotlight quite adorably. For the ceremony Melissa changed into her beautiful Tadashi Shoji Chiffon and Lace Gown, while her bridesmaids and daughter Esperanza wore dresses from J.Crew. Hair and makeup was provided by Melissa’s aunt, Barb Watkins of Stylez hairdressing– she came all the way from Australia! They had a moving ceremony officiated by Jeddah Vailakis with selected readings performed by friends and the lighting of a special Unity Candle from Forest Candle Studio. After a sweet ring-warming (when the couple passes the ring around to guests to hold and imbue with warm wishes or prayers for the marriage), they exchanged a pair of rings from The Clay Pot in Park Slope. Rodrigo’s was particularly interesting– I’ve never seen a ring like this before so I inquired and found out that it’s called “mokume-gane,” and was made by George Sawyer. After the ceremony there was a stirring and emotional series of hugs and then family gathered around to wave at the laptop that had been streaming connecting relatives who weren’t able to attend via “facetime” or Skype or some such program. The reception was a multi-course meal full of significant dishes the couple wished to share with their guests, expertly prepared by the excellent chefs, Melanie de Coppet and Brooke Costello from Red Table Catering. Other credits include a wonderful quartet that played during the cocktail hour featuring vocalist Sofia Tosello and guitarist Yuri Juarez. During and after dinner, music was provided by DJ David Medina. The unique translucent brown reception chairs and neat woven chargers were selected and rented from Party Rental Ltd. The purple pretty lanterns were from LunaBazaar. All in all it came together quite beautifully! Congratulations, Melissa & Rodrigo! Your families were so sweet and loving and the energy at your wedding spoke volumes about what a good match you must be!

Congratulations

I’m toying with a new “blog gallery” style below– click on any image and then you can scroll through them nice and large… tell me what you think. This is much easier/faster to create than my typical post which has the images in one long scroll-down. What do you prefer?

Newborn Portraits with Julius

sarahtew — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 19:41:46 +0000

Mandy and I went to college at Wesleyan together and when I saw on facebook that she was near the end of her pregnancy I suggested she might like to plan on coming in for newborn portraits when her baby was in it’s first two weeks! At this stage the baby is still tiny and can comfortably sleep with its legs tucked under it’s body– many baby portrait specialists recommend the first week as the ideal time to shoot in order to get the trickiest (and cutest) poses. I have found it difficult to convince new parents (whom I may have met for a maternity session) that coming in with their baby at the right time is important– they’re still in the throes of new-baby-at-home excitement and often are too overwhelmed with the basic tasks of living that they may not want to leave the house for such an adventure… I was so glad when Mandy said her mom was going to drive her and Julius up to my studio last weekend– the baby wouldn’t have to ride on the subway (immune system overload!) and better still, I knew I’d be able to get a sweet portrait of Julius with his mom AND grandmom! Poor little Julius was feeling very awake despite our best attempts to feed and coax him into a nap, so we weren’t able to attempt some of the poses I had in mind (which really require a comatose-level sleeping baby to manipulate the arms and legs into the cutest positions)– but he proved to be just picture perfect as he was! Here are my favorites…

Katie & Sharmilan: Engagement Portraits!

sarahtew — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 03:56:12 +0000

Katie & Sharmilan found me when searching for photos of their wedding venue, the lovely Buttermilk Falls Inn… after booking me for their wedding next summer we discussed doing an engagement session that would capture them in their own neighborhood with their beloved French Bulldog, Wilbur. Normally I am hesitant to include a dog in an engagement session unless a 3rd person is brought along as a handler, but Wilbur was a delight! He’s just the right size, and so fun to shoot– I even made some Wilbur-only portraits, I just couldn’t resist his charm. After walking Wilbur and shooting a good set of images we dropped him off at the apartment and continued our shoot with just the couple, heading towards our final destination on the High Line and capturing the amazing smiles that these two give each other. I see a lot of smiles in my line of work, but there’s something really obviously special going on between these two– If I didn’t know better I would have guessed that Sharmilan had proposed to her like an hour before I showed up or something… Katie can’t help but beam at Sharmilan and Sharmilan beams right back at her! There was just this pure energy of happiness to be together radiating from this couple– and I simply can’t wait to shoot their wedding!

Anna & Aaron’s Wedding at The Ritz-Carlton, Battery Park

sarahtew — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 19:47:33 +0000

When I shot Anna & Aaron’s fun & relaxed hometown engagement portraits I found it hard to imagine this girl/boy-next-door couple in the glamorous setting of The Ritz-Carlton downtown by Battery Park, where they were to be married– they’re totally down to earth people, after all, so it was all the more exciting to see them get all dressed up and celebrate in such style with their friends and family! Underneath the elegant trimmings of this wedding you’ll see an incredible couple that is truly in love– and two families that are bonded in a way I’ve not seen before! Longtime neighborhood friends, these families fit together like peas and carrots, and seeing them celebrate the merging of their clans at the marriage of these two beautiful people was just really special. I loved hearing the Rabbi describe them as children and READ FROM BOTH of their Bar and Bat Mitzvah speeches– firstly because it was so cute to hear the 13-year-old voices of Anna and Aaron whom I only know as adults, and secondly because it just amazed me that the shared history of their families goes back this far. On to the credits…

I just LOVED Anna’s dress– an Anne Barge design of course, perfect with her golden heels by Jimmy Choo! Anna and Aaron made some elegant decisions with their decor with help from the amazing designer, Kenny Davis– who (somehow!) installed these gold&crystal chandeliers over each reception table, and(!) had custom golden mercury-glass tabletops as a base for his creative tablescapes. After watching a few Kenny Davis interviews on YouTube I see that incorporating this interesting mercury glass is one of his signature moves– very cool, Kenny! The gold/white theme was carried through the event beautifully– even the bridesmaids wore white, which I’ve never seen before and I must say was stunning! All the beautiful white and pastel rose florals you see here were done by Mark Masone of The Artful Event. Their cake was created by Sugar Sweet Sunshine, and the AMAZING band that took this party to the next level was called The Rhythm Shop. Stephanie Caplan created the beautiful custom-made watercolor Ketubah. Favors for guests were from William Greenberg, and the invitations were designed by Mona Seltzer of the Alpine Creative Group. Though it came towards the very end of my season, some of my favorite shots of the year happened at this wedding, and I want to give a big thanks to Jeff Zorabedian for his excellent 2nd shooting.

Congratulations, Anna & Aaron– may your love last forever!

I told Jeff to have Aaron stand on this landing and wait for his Bride for their first look!

After a quick round of portraits outside we went up to the 14th floor terrace with the wedding party– it was quite windy and pretty cold but we managed to get some fun shots up there right as the sun was setting. The view up there is quite lovely!

We then headed back downstairs to do a set of family group portraits before the Ketubah signing…

It was really moving how Anna’s Dad got emotional when he saw her in her dress for the first time!

While we finished the Ketubah ceremony the guests had been taken up to the 14th floor where the ceremony was held.

It was an extremely long and narrow space (and it was after dark) so Jeff and I set up a few lights to try and better illuminate the aisle-walking portion of the wedding. I always love it when this works– makes for some nice dimension in the crowd, don’t you think?

See, if I didn’t have those lights up I probably couldn’t have gotten her lit up properly down the aisle until she was within closer range of my flash. I love this shot above!

Sydney is sitting up!

sarahtew — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 22:48:50 +0000

Shari recently got in touch with me to plan a session for baby and family portraits with her first daughter Sydney. Since she was past the newborn stage and Shari wanted park portraits I suggested we wait til this baby girl could hold herself in a sitting position, thereby giving us more posing possibilities. I’m so glad we waited a few weeks– Brooklyn Bridge Park was beautiful and I found some sweet spots for Sydney to sit and explore. Check out my favorite shots below…

Kelly & Tom: 11.11.11 Elopement in Central Park!!

sarahtew — Sun, 13 Nov 2011 04:55:54 +0000

Kelly & Tom got in touch with me a few weeks ago about shooting (and being a witness for) their elopement ceremony in Central Park on 11.11.11. I am always so honored when I get to be a part of these intimate ceremonies– it’s so moving to see people who are in love take the step of committing to one another, but elopements are almost a different feeling– i’m witnessing a very private and sacred moment in their relationship, and I always get excited thinking about the images I take being shared with their friends and family who weren’t there, but will get to experience and share in the couple’s joy through my photographs. So it is with many congratulations to the family of Kelly and Tom that I present this slideshow and blogpost!

To view the slideshow in a bigger resolution click on VIMEO in the bottom right corner and then come back to see the rest of my blog!