Category Archives: roanoke

Elizabeth and Dustin E-Session

  I headed up to Roanoke College with Elizabeth and Dusty for their “get to know you session”, Angel couldn’t make it this day so we went ahead without her and had a blast. We roamed around the Roanoke College campus and found some beautiful spots to shoot at and generally had a good time, while getting to know these two and sharing a few laughs.  They’ll be getting married this Saturday in Salem with the reception at The Inn at Burwell Place.

IMG_0014Such a cute couple…IMG_0015

Elizabeth will make a stunning bride…

IMG_0025IMG_0031And Dusty will make a handsome groom…IMG_0039IMG_0075IMG_0093IMG_0112
Since Angel couldn’t make the first session we headed out again a little later and short a short session with them before having dinner just to get to know everyone a little better…IMG_0030IMG_0044Abbey Road?..IMG_0061IMG_0066IMG_8903

Lindsay & Cary’s Engagement Session

  Lindsay met us at Karolina & Chris’ wedding, she and Cary got a first-hand look at how we work on the wedding day.  During the reception they introduced themselves and inquired about our availability for the following year, I told them we were available on that day and that we should meet to discuss everything.  We met a few weeks later over coffee and had a blast getting to know on another and talking about their big day!  We met for their Engagement shoot (get to know you session) at a neighbor’s farm for a little horseback shoot…

  We headed into the woods and found a great fallen tree, all mossy like and had to stop for a quick shoot there…

IMG_0006

At the bottom of the trail we had these crazy kids climbing on rocks in the middle of the river for some lovey-dovey fun!IMG_0012A super cute sequence!IMG_0027IMG_0028IMG_0031Horseback?  Oh yeah, She’s got skills!  Romantic? you bet!IMG_0147I love this candid moment…IMG_0165IMG_0176IMG_0178Next we got some sun-kissed goodness in the field…IMG_0187Add a giant strobe and you get this…  (CD cover anyone?  They rocked this photoshoot!)IMG_0195 We can’t wait for the wedding day!IMG_0270A blingety-ring!  (Nice job Cary!)IMG_0291So relaxed and natural, they are truly in love!IMG_0300Hang this one on the wall guys!IMG_5677

Boudoir

  Sexy, sophisticated, tasteful, beautiful, sultry, sensual
Every man thinks of these terms when describing the one they love. Unfortunately, most women aren’t able to see themselves this way. We want to help you unveil your beauty by bringing out the most sexy part of you… your CONFIDENCE.

  Let us match up your inner confidence and your outer most beauty with your first boudoir session. We will start with some fashion oriented images to help you get comfortable and natural for the camera. Then, we will direct you through some poses that will have you and your man doing a double-take.  As a husband and wife team we have a balanced approach to your poses and expressions that add up to a great session!
  Lastly, we’ll help you select the perfect images for a private album for your partner to give as a special anniversary, valentine, or wedding day gift.  Not only will you have these images for a lifetime, you will also gain a sexiness and confidence that will outlast your photo session and carry into your relationship.
Book your session now!!
  Contact us at info@michaelsinkphotography.com
  MaDonna and Kelly chose to book their sessions together, as best friends they had already been to get their nails done together, and decided to make it a girls day out…
IMG_0007IMG_0016IMG_0032-2IMG_0043-2IMG_0066-2IMG_0082IMG_0104IMG_0124
This was their “tough girls” image!IMG_0129-2

Maternity

  Motherhood is such a beautiful time in a woman’s life, bringing a new soul into the world, a growing family…  We love to capture this moment at it’s peak, around 8 months or so.  Stephanie came to the studio to start her shoot with her husband with some classic maternity images…IMG_0007IMG_0014Anthony stepped in and lent a masculine contrast to the images…IMG_0035a…working with these two was easy, loving looks and embraces were the order of the day.IMG_0041This one has a real ethereal feel to it…IMG_0047…and some dramatic lighting here to accent Stephanie’s pregnant form…IMG_0051A little belly dance attire for fun!IMG_0059One of our favorites….IMG_0066After the studio Stephanie wanted to head down to the river for some magical images…IMG_0105

IMG_0100

Contact us regarding booking your session for maternity images now!

Kara (boudoir, fashion bridals…)

  Kara replied to a casting call that I posted on a modeling site regarding boudoir images…

  We have found that every woman we have ever photographed (brides, maternity, seniors, family portraits, etc.) is VERY self-critical before and during the beginning of the shoot, but by the end of the shoot they always feel better about themselves, seeing themselves in a new light (no pun intended!), to see this transformation is amazing, the posture is a little better when they leave, a little smile stays on their lips, an air of confidence surrounds them.

  We are adding boudoir sessions because we feel it will be a great gift for brides to give to their fiancé as a pre-wedding gift the day of the wedding, or for an anniversary, birthday, and so on.  Imagine the look on his face when he sees these tasteful images of you, a very special gift for him merely hours before he takes your hand in marriage.  Now imagine how good you’ll feel having been posed professionally and images captured with dramatic lighting that feel like they could be an ad in Vogue or Elle…

  We met Kara and discussed what we would like to get for our portfolio and she for hers, where the locations were, what clothing to bring etc.  This pre-meeting also gave us a chance to get to know each other a little bit, joke around, and loosen up a week or so before the shoot.  To make things a little smoother we started the shoot with a sun-dress outdoors downtown…

IMG_0028

Kara braved the bugs and heat with us to capture some fun images…

IMG_0049

Now, a little more sultry, turn up the heat a little…

IMG_0052Pow!  There we go, that all comes together for a pretty smashing series!

  Next we wanted some images in a wedding dress that we picked up a while back.  To shoot some Trash the Dress Fashion Bridal images, so we stayed downtown, reset lights while Kara changed (in our pop-up changing booth) and she helped us create these images…

This one was just begging for some sepia… IMG_0067-2

Flirty fun in front of the municipal building…IMG_0069

Ummm…  WOW!  Kara pulled all the stops for this sultry look…IMG_0073   IMG_0084

So, these are NOT your mother’s bridal are they?  We thought not!  The dress is barely dirty but you get some great images in it that you probably won’t get on your wedding day…IMG_0089

I love the blue sky in these as well as Kara’s beauty…IMG_0094

This has a bit of a grungy dirty feel to it…IMG_0099

After that great warm-up we headed to some space that I have available to shoot the boudoir images.  I had previously set everything up to save time and get right down to shooting…

     A simple white shirt, some great lighting, we’re off to a great start…IMG_0125 Some bedroom eyes, a black and white treatment, wouldn’t your man love to have images like this of you?..IMG_0126 …shirt off the shoulder, flirty smile, direct eye contact…IMG_0128 did she catch the scent of your cologne on the shirt to trigger memories?IMG_0130  More direct, fun, sassy…IMG_0134 Wow!  Well Hello, Kara!  A very simple yet high impact pose here…IMG_0138 Kara had asked if we could get some shots that showcased her tattoo (that she designed) so we started with an image that shows off the design but also has a soft feel to it…IMG_0144  Then we got a little more dramatic with the lighting and brought out the tattoo more…IMG_0156 and finally a less direct gaze and a wonderful set of images!IMG_0161

 

Thanks Kara!  We still plan on a trip to see you and shoot some more soon!

What do you say Ladies?  Are you ready to feel great about yourself?  Celebrate your upcoming wedding?  Your anniversary?  Give your man the perfect gift?  Want to celebrate a milestone in your life?  Let us know, we can meet and discuss your session!

We’re winners! Thanks a million!

I received a phone call back in December from The Knot wedding magazine and was reluctant at first to call back. We get calls from magazines, websites, and other publications looking for us to buy advertise with them. For those of you who have met with us we have probably told you that we don’t advertise (except for rare exceptions involving a favor or acquaintance), that all of our publicity comes from word of mouth (my absolute favorite!) and Google.

So I reluctantly called back and spoke with Kimberly at The Knot, she told me that we had been picked by Knotties (brides on The Knot website) as a favorite photographer for Virginia! Then she got on into the advertising spiel! I then asked her how these “favorites” had been chosen and she informed me that all brides with weddings in 2009 were asked who their favorite vendors were for their weddings. I kept an eye on the newsstand for the DC/Maryland/Virginia issue of The Knot Best of Weddings issue and picked up a copy to check out. Their were only 47 photographers in that area picked (most from DC and Maryland), so I am flattered and proud, and a flood of other emotions!

This is a description and FAQ about the best of weddings http://wedding.theknot.com/wedding-planning/planning-a-wedding/articles/best-of-weddings-2008.aspx?MsdVisit=1 , they have a list up on the web as well here.

Here are a few snapshots of the magazine…

Cover

Page 18 baby!
Contents

Carley’s note regarding the idea behind it…
Page 12

Ta Da!!
Page 22

Thanks you sooo much to all of our brides that are on The Knot!

Some other local vendors that made the list…

Amrhein’s

Casey’s Cakes

Gail Wilson

Foodies

Mary’s Party Works

Schaal’s – great food, and a professional staff, Jim has been great to work with!

Kidd Carter

RSP Entertainment – Roy and his crew have worked several events and have kept the part alive!

Cuts Creative Florist

The Woodland Place – Awesome venue, great outdoor wedding space and plenty of photo ops!

Hidden Valley Country Club

Thanks again to all of our brides!

Whitney and Daniel

Whitney and Daniel were wed at St. John’s Episcopal on Brambleton on a chilly mid-January evening. We showed up early (as usual) to get the bride getting ready and some images of the bridal party before we were in the dark! Family and friends were awesome, helping Whitney and Daniel every step of the way.

Kinga helped Whitney with her makeup…

<span class=IMG_7852″>

The dress was next (how beautiful!)

<span class=IMG_7043″>

Mom helped with the ribbon

<span class=IMG_7877″>

Whitney was a gorgeous bride! We hope to work with them some more!

<span class=IMG_7895″>

The girls were ready to Rock it like divas!

<span class=IMG_0032″>

Allison was workin‘ it with a “fierce” look worthy of any runway!

<span class=IMG_7866″>

The men came out in the cold to play for a minute as well, Daniel has a great group of guys behind him here

<span class=IMG_0042″>

Once we headed inside it was time to round up the rings and get going

<span class=IMG_0052″>

The reception was held at The Woodland Place in Vinton, one of our favorite venues. The first dance is such a magical time in the evening

<span class=IMG_7870″>

so sweet…

<span class=IMG_7112″>

Dad was NOT going for the “slow-dance” and tears routine here

<span class=IMG_7946″>

<span class=IMG_7947″>

Paparazzi were all around! (Alisson actually got some pretty awesome shots with her iPhone!)

<span class=IMG_7130″>

We had such a great time with everyone, we hope to work with this family a lot more in the future.

Whitney was kind enough to share her thoughts on the experience as well…

I would recommend Michael Sink Photography to anyone! I spent weeks researching who we were going to use to photograph our wedding. We knew that this was something that was very important to us, that we had to find the right person for. Right when I saw Michael’s website with all of his pictures on it, I knew I would be contacting him. I emailed Michael and had a response the next day. My husband and I went and met him for coffee and to see some of his work. Everything was great. Needless to say, we booked him! We signed the contract and a couple of months later, changed the date, time, and place on him! We were worried this would present a problem, but Michael worked with us and was willing to do whatever we needed him to. We met for an engagement session and found him very easy to work with. We just had a good time and it was nice to be able to warm up to him before the big day. Our pictures turned out exactly the way we imagined! A week or so before the wedding, we met up with him and Angel (who is GREAT!) just to discuss how the day would go, etc. Wedding day, they were there right when we had planned. They made sure they were not in the way and were very respectful to our family and friends. They truly went above and beyond. Pictures turned out awesome and we got them FAST!! Michael Sink will definitely be our photographer for many other milestones in our life.

The Wrights…

Julie and Brian are great friends of ours (that developed from us photographing their wedding and families through the years!) that have a beautiful family and some MAD poker skills! We had them over the other day (December!) to do some family portraits with Noah again and the newest member of the family Charlie! Some of you may remember Noah from his trip to the barber shop last spring! We had fun shooting this session as well as hanging out with this wonderful family…

Noah and Brian cracked up some…
Oh No!!  :-)

Then Julie and Charlie brought their beauty in front of the lens…
Julie and Charlie

Charlie and Noah hammed it up for us!
Charlie and Noah

Mom and Dad had some fun time with Noah…
Time with Noah

Julie and Brian make such an adorable couple…
Brian & Julie

Then some time together…
Brian and Julie

This was actually one of the first images we shot (this was the idea in my head when we started, then we progressed from there) but I had to save it for last…
Wright Family

Family Portraits!

Whitney had met with us concerning her wedding in 2010 and booked us right away! We met downtown for an engagement shoot that was very metropolitan and pretty hot to boot! After family saw the E-Session images they inquired about a family portrait session that would feature the fall colors.
We lucked into a beautiful day with the sun streaming through and warming us all up!

We can’t wait for the wedding!!

From earlier this year…

We attended the Roanoke Machine Gun Shoot at Roanoke Rifle and Revolver Club this past spring. Everyone had a blast (literally) firing tons of legally owned fully automatic weapons under close supervision. Everything from .22 caliber Uzi machine pistols to Thompson sub-machine guns to an M-2 .50 caliber! Great fun and good honest people (do you know how difficult it is to acquire a license for a Class III machine gun?). We put this slideshow together for the club.

Can’t wait until next year!