Blessings come to me constantly, and frequently by way of my past clients referring their family and friends to me…and so it was with Luke and Laura!

You see, I photographed Laura’s Uncle John’s wedding to Emma in 2004 - one of my favorite weddings still. So, when I asked Laura who recommended her to me - because I didn’t know who she was when we first met - she told me this and said “And he doesn’t recommend too many people, so you must be really good.”  I aim to please…thanks John.  I can’t wait to photograph you, Emma and that beautiful son of yours!  Here is an image from Emma + John’s wedding…

Laura and Luke’s names were made famous by soap-opera stars long before they even met one another, but now THEY get to be the “super couple” in real life.  Famous in their own right, and even more so than that old General Hospital has-been couple, Laura is part of a prominent Pittsburgh family whose traditions are steeped deeply and passionately amongst all of us here in Pittsburgh.  Hint: we are going for 7! Like I said, I’m blessed and always honored to be chosen to document such an important event for such important people! I adore these two!  Laura and Luke are well grounded and soooooo SWEET!  I had a great time photographing them with their dog Onyx, who was a ball of energy and ever so pretty.

Speaking of pretty…Laura and Luke made making beautiful images really easy.  Their love for each other and their tender ways with one another shone through so readily and made for the perfect chemistry for me to create beautiful imagery! They also love nature, but it was Laura and Luke who enhanced the natural setting we were in, NOT the other way around!

I couldn’t decide which image I liked more here, the color or the black + white, so I thought I’d post both… That b/w one is really yummy though…

I hope you enjoyed the photos.  I’ll be seeing you both really soon!

In the meanwhile, go Steelers! 

BIG <3, Joanne Bartone Photography | www.joannebartone.com

I’m fortunate and I know it!  I remind myself of my good fortune daily by being gracious and grateful for the good things and the wonderful people that enter my life, be it in my work or my personal life.  I can honestly say, that I get to work with some of the SWEETEST people to walk the earth - my clients - who quickly become friends once we connect.

And so it is with Leslie and Jeff, and Lexie and Sadie - sweet beyond belief; all of them!  We started out photographing at Leslie and Jeff’s home so we could incorporate some of Jeff’s work in the photos.  For the photo below, I had to make barking noises to get Lexie and Sadie’s attention…I was hysterical behind the camera watching their faces curl up as I made my barking noises, but you’ve got to do what you’ve got to do, right?!  It was a blast and I just love those two little fur people.  HA!

Leslie is a graphic designer, AND beautiful, as you can see!  So all of the brides that visit here at the blog really need to contact me so I can give Leslie’s number out to you so you can hire her to do the things you have no time to do, like invitations and the programs for your ceremony and reception!  She’s an angel and you will love, love, LOVE her and her work! I recently referred Leslie to one of my photography colleagues for design work and her remarks: “Leslie is amazing!”

Jeff, well he does landscaping, but I really can’t even call the art he creates “landscaping!”  You see, Jeff’s work is nothing short of PHENOMENAL!!!  After photographing some of the images from Leslie and Jeff’s engagement session in the backyard of their home, we drove to Nevillewood to photograph in the yard of one of Jeff’s clients! This was no ordinary yard, believe me!

What Jeff does is incredible - the ponds, the walls, the plants and flowers; simply amazing work.  So all of you non-creative people out there who need some help with your property need to call Jeff so he can take the pressure off of you too, and bring peace to your lives through his work. You can find out more about Jeff at his business link: Pittsburgh Stone and Waterscapes - check it out!  And, click HERE for an article on Jeff from HGTV.  And, click HERE for a video on Jeff and his company from HGTV!  That’s Right; Home and Garden TV - love that channel!  And, click HERE for another article by Jeff!

Ok, enough of the plugs for my clients!   :-)   On to a few of their beautiful photos, done by me, of course!  ENJOY!

Always a pleasure to be in your presence!

BIG love ( <3 ), Joanne Bartone Photographer | www.joannebartone.com

I’ve been a shooting maniac since June: weddings, engaged couples, babies, boudoir, portraits…insert rapid clicking of a shutter noise here!  Below is the results from one of my engaged couples’ shoots: Eryn + Jay, who will be married in June of 2010.  We had an absolute blast together and I created some really fun and contemporary images of them while we were out and about - we even ended up having to do some of our shots on the sly; it was like stealth photography - HA!

The images below are a compilation of this great yellow wall that I fell in love with!  And, while we were shooting there Eryn + Jay seemed to feel a bit odd about why we were shooting there and the things I was having them do and I’m sure wondered how those images would turn out - it’ll always make sense afterward; you just have to trust me!  It’s my guess that the two of you are really going to LOVE this piece; I know I do!  ENJOY!

BIG love, Joanne Bartone Photographer | www.joannebartone.com

Kristen and Ian are a contemporary couple who are down to earth and simply crazy about one another!  They’ll be married soon, so we got together a couple of weeks ago for their engagement experience when the weather was perfect and they were in town preparing and planning for what soon will be a wonderful day for them.  Here are a few of my favorite images from our time together…ENJOY

I loved the flair of the sun, but who doesn’t!

LOTS of love here!

I took artistic liberty on the next image and added texture to create a unique image from it…I couldn’t decide which one I liked better, the b/w with texture, or the color without…

This one is just too sweet…

You’d never know that Kristen and Ian started out being reserved and uncomfortable in front of the camera - thank goodness I know how to “work” my couples!  What I did was to instruct them to ignore my presence which brought out how at ease they are when they focus on each other and their feelings for one another. Perfect recipe for perfect images!

I loved the texture in the rocks, and notice how their clothing color choice made them out to be the new poster couple for my new colors!  Gotta love it when everything syncs together like this…must be a sign!

The image below left was so tender and almost like a painting to me, and then I ended the session with a little more flare…sun flare, that is!  What a lovely and wonderful couple - I can’t wait until their wedding!

BIG love, Joanne Bartone Photographer | www.joannebartone.com

Two “bellisimos” CRAZY in love with one another: Angela and Donato (aka: Danny)! I’m the lucky one who gets to photograph their wedding in 2009 - I can’t WAIT! - but for now…here’s a couple of sneak-peek images from our session…

bacci per entrambi…e GRANDE amore! ~ Gianna