Matt Hall Photography

Caroline's 6 Months: Part 2

2009-10-26T20:43:00.006-04:00

Caroline and her family have become special to Sarah and I. We have been meeting up with them during Caroline’s first year of life to capture her continuous changes. Our sessions are always full of sharing stories and comparing notes as new parents. Being new parents ourselves we completely understand how fast changes occur.

This session we enjoyed the beautiful fall and took Caroline outside. As you can see sweet hats complement little girls like icing on an already perfect cake. I am so excited for Caroline’s parents and continue to be amazed at how fast our children grow.

Caroline=6 Months!!!

2009-10-05T13:55:00.005-04:00

Just last week I took my family to our very first family picture session. We followed Betsy King around as she guided and directed us through our photo shoot. I was amazed at all of the excitement and anxiousness I felt after the session was over. I can't wait to see my families pictures!!!

A few days later Sarah and I headed back to Quinn and Jody's home to shoot Caroline's 6 month photo session. I now know what it is like to keep the photographer's blog up on my computer while hitting the refresh key on the hour so I wanted to give a quick sneak peek at Caroline's photo shoot so we can give that refresh key a break.

Gabe + Michelle = Wedding

2009-10-01T20:43:00.011-04:00

With the wedding of Gabe and Michelle, my wedding season has ended but not without inspiring me. I always intend to inspire others but I often find myself as the inspired one. Working with my clients gives me insight to their lives and their stories.

Everyone has a story and Gabe and Michelle are no different. Gabe and Michelle joined hearts in the beautiful Auburn Cord Duesenberg Museum in Auburn, Indiana. On the staircase of the historic showroom floor family and friends witnessed the joining of their families.

I had a great year watching the weddings of beautiful couples such as Gabe and Michelle and I am thankful for the inspiration they bring me. I still have one more wedding story to blog about so check back to see Eric and Leah's beautiful Ohio wedding.

Tim + Erica = Wedding

2009-08-18T21:55:00.016-04:00

I have been excited to shoot Tim and Erica’s wedding for almost a year now. When Erica first called me she told me how she was a guest at the beautiful Curtis and Amanda's wedding early last year. She said she just had to have us shoot her wedding!

After a light morning rain, the humidity came out to create a sticky afternoon for a beautiful wedding in Syracuse Indiana. The ceremony was romantic as the several hundred candles lit the sanctuary. After quick send off, we took Tim and Erica to an amazing field of yellow daisies right off of Highway 13! We couldn’t have asked for a better time and location to take our now freshly married couple.

Once we arrived to the reception, we quickly found out that a transformer blew outside the building causing the power to go out. Do you recall I mentioned the day was hot and sticky?! Tim and Erica inspired me. They went into a dark reception with the outlook that nothing can change the fact that they are married and they will always have each other. The evening continued as the electric company worked outside to restore power which never really stayed on that night. At the end of the evening Tim and Erica where still married and loving every minute of it.

Thanks so much Tim and Erica! You guys have reminded me how love can pierce through any darkness. Congratulations!!!

The Felger Family

2009-07-22T08:00:00.000-04:00

Taking family pictures are a fun treat for us when we have the chance to do them. So when the Felger family contacted us to see if we would take their family pictures we gladly accepted. This family session included multiple generations headed up by two warm-hearted parents. It is awesome to place a family with multiple generations together in a shot and step back to be amazed what two people can start.

Capturing weddings is an amazing thing and it is only the beginning for that couple. We get to be there to see it, but when we get the chance to capture a multi generational family we get be there to see what has happened since their wedding day. What an honor!

Gabe + Michelle = Engagement

2009-07-19T16:33:00.006-04:00

Gabe and Michelle are getting married later this year at the Auburn Cord Duesenberg museum. What a cool place to get married! As for now they are wrapping up the final plans and rockin’ out their engagement session during the golden hour right before sunset. Check out the cool shots we got of Gabe and Michelle!

Eric + Leah = Engagement

2009-06-13T17:10:00.002-04:00

Congratulations!!! Eric and Leah, like Sarah and myself, are high school sweethearts, which in my opinion is awesome! I am thrilled to be the lucky photographer for their special day this August in Van Wert Ohio!

We did their engagement session just outside of Van Wert at Leah’s parent’s farm. The farm was a photographer’s dream complete with a decaying schoolhouse and train tracks. Just as I think it can’t get any better we are lead down to an apple orchard where we finished up the session.

Here are just a few shots of our session with Eric and Leah.

Guy + Linda = Wedding!

2009-05-20T20:56:00.009-04:00

Speechless!
Saturday we had the honor of capturing Guy and Linda’s wedding at their beautiful home in Cromwell Indiana. Guy and Linda created a unique wedding setting that involved all of their children blending both families into one.

After the ceremony at the wooded haven behind the magnificent log home was the reception located inside of the 20,000 square foot pole barn. I really enjoyed working will all of the other wedding vendors at Guy and Linda’s wedding. All of the girl’s hair and make up was done by the talented Mary Kay consultant Angi Higginbotham and Linda Maggert at One Of A Kind Events did an amazing job at coordinating the wedding as well as transforming the pole barn into a beautiful wedding reception. The guest enjoyed live music from Rob Lisak of Green Thirteen Music while they enjoyed a meal from The Eagle’s Nest out of Columbia City. Oh, and who could forget the beautiful cake created by Carolyn Pruden of Elegant Cakes. Carolyn literally built the cake on-site! To finish the evening there was a beautiful fireworks display. It was an amazing event to attend, but an honor to photograph. Thanks again to my talented photography team Karen Fisher and Amanda for helping out at this wedding. You guys rock!

Guy + Linda: Wedding Sneak Peek

2009-05-17T13:41:00.002-04:00

Whew! What a day! After such an amazing wedding event I can’t wait to share some of the images from Guy and Linda’s wedding. For now I wanted to share a shot from the day to give you a taste of what is to come.

Happy Sunday!

Patrick + Elizabeth: Wedding

2009-05-10T14:04:00.005-04:00

The weather couldn’t have been more beautiful for the wedding Patrick and Elizabeth yesterday. Although the wind was strong and chilly in the morning, the afternoon turned out beautifully.

Patrick met Elizabeth while attending Purdue University. They both eventually moved to one of my favorite cities, Dallas! The ceremony was held at Blackhawk Ministries Church followed by another fabulous event put on at the Summit Club downtown Fort Wayne. The view from the 25th floor has always been breathtaking, but now we have Parkview Field to thank for adding another piece to the downtown view.

Because Sarah is officially on maternity leave from wedding photography, I brought in a couple of great photographers to fill her shoes. We had a good friend Amanda who through out the day surprised me with her photography talent. At the reception, we were joined by one of Fort Wayne’s best family portrait photographers, Karen Fisher. Both of these talented photographers will be joining me next weekend for wonderful outdoor wedding just a little north of Fort Wayne.

Linda + Guy: Engagement Part 2

2009-04-15T07:45:00.006-04:00

He owns a dentist practice, she does his marketing and on what was supposed to be a business trip to the Bahamas turned out to be their engagement celebration. A couple of weeks ago we drove up to Pokagon State Park to meet up with Linda and Guy to shoot their engagement/family session. The session included the children who will be part of the wedding party at their parent's May wedding. With all of the seriousness of the wedding planning it was fun to get out and play around as we get to know Linda and Guy. We eagerly await their wedding and are thrilled to be a part of it.

Jody + Quinn: Newborn

2009-04-07T22:53:00.004-04:00

I am so excited that Jody and Quinn have asked us to document Caroline’s first year. Not only do we get to watch this little girl grow and experience the world around her, but we get to watch our relationship with Jody and Quinn grow along with our children. Jody and Quinn have touched our lives and we look forward to our little girl growing up to know them as friends as well.

Congratulations Jody and Quinn!

Sneak Peek: Guy and Linda Engagement

2009-04-05T20:38:00.004-04:00

This afternoon we drove up to Fremont Indiana to do an engagement shoot that included a splash of family to it. During the short hour drive from Fort Wayne, Sarah grabbed her stomach and said “oh, that was a weird feeling”. Ha! Let me tell you, I thought that today was going to have a second “splash” of family! No fear it was a honest false alarm that lasted one whole second.

Guy and Linda are bringing their two families together this May and I can see that this is a perfect blend. Before we show you the whole session, we once again want to tease you with a shot from the day. Keep checking back to meet the whole family including their gentle giant of a dog, Nala.

First Glimpse

2009-04-04T21:23:00.005-04:00

Introducing Caroline! More to come of this beautiful two week old in the coming days. For now here is a teaser from today’s session. Check later to see more of baby Caroline.

Also tomorrow brings us a chance of rain, but that won’t stop us from doing another photo shoot with one of our May brides. Stay tuned.

Jody + Quinn: Maternity Part 2

2009-03-17T08:00:00.000-04:00

As I was going through Jody and Quinn's images this one stood out to me. It is as if we, the world, had a chance to peek into their life and see how joyful they are about their growing family. I am so happy for them!

Have a wonderful St. Patrick's Day!!!

Jody + Quinn: Maternity

2009-03-15T21:12:00.005-04:00

What a joy it is to be working with Jody and Quinn during this special time of their lives. We first met Jody and Quinn while volunteering at the Father Daughter Banquet nearly a year ago. Jody is in the final stages of her pregnancy just as Sarah is. We shared many of the same stories and laughed our way through the photo session. This will be the first of many photo shoots with Jody and Quinn. We will have the honor of documenting their baby’s first year of life only to create a beautiful leather bound album this time next year.

Jody and Quinn, we can’t wait to watch your little “peanut” grow in during the next
year. Thanks for inviting us to watch!

Belly Photography

2009-02-22T18:38:00.022-05:00

Today was a day of photography play. Sarah has been long overdue for maternity pictures and since her photographer lives so close we decided that today would be a great day to snap a few shots. Below is just a few that stood out to me as a celebration of the new development to our small family. Less than two months left before the big change, but first comes the baby shower next weekend. More on that later, have a great week!

Gadget Awesomeness

2009-02-09T19:20:00.020-05:00

Every once in a while a product comes along that revolutionizes the way we currently do things. The new-to-me wireless SD Card is one of those products. I say new-to-me because somewhere deep in my overloaded brain I recall reading about this product. Eye-Fi has developed a product that works with Wi-Fi Networks to send photos from digital cameras to home networks and on-line websites. As soon as the camera that contains the wireless SD Card comes into the home network it will automatically upload the images on the card to your computer. To make it even cooler you can set it up to automatically upload the images to on-line websites such as Facebook and SmugMug to name a couple. The Eye-Fi is currently only for SD Cards, but when they start making the Compact Flash cards with this technology I can see a new advancement in the professional photography industry. Until then I will have to settle for the $800 Nikon WT-4af Wireless Transmitter.

Oh, and back to my overloaded brain. Eye-Fi has teamed up with Evernote giving me the ability to take a picture of text such as business cards, restaurant receipts, or anything else I want to remember. Evernote has developed recognition software that will read the text off of an image and categorize it so I can retrieve it later. Incredible!

Modern Baby

2009-02-03T12:44:00.008-05:00

I am surprised, astonished, even shocked that my Internet savvy friends find it odd that Sarah and I would create a website solely dedicated to our unborn daughter. Either way the power of Show IT Sites has given us the ability to create, add and recreate any number of websites with ease. Our daughter’s website example now includes images of her baby room, a mom’s journal, and a registry page informing our friends and family where we are registered. I really enjoy taking advantage of all the technology available to us and when our 3-D ultra sound video is complete later this month I put it on her website. This is only the beginning. With the merge of two industries, still photography and videography, our websites will soon include short video clips giving our future brides a look at what is like to have us shoot their wedding.

The personalizing websites don’t stop with our daughter. Imagine what it would be like to have a fully customized website for your wedding. You can inform your friends and family of all the exciting events of your day, link guests to your registries, and show off those beautiful images by Matt Hall Photography! It is just one more way we are helping make your wedding day be an unforgettable day.

***NOTE TO ADD***
If anyone is wanting to follow our Baby's Website please send us an email and will will get you the link to the website. Thanks!

She is a GIRL!!!

2008-12-22T21:24:00.006-05:00

With all the new excitement and growing bellies, Sarah's and mine:) my blog has been lacking. Well I feel it is time to break the silence by sharing our baby girl's first of many pictures. Today being my birthday I did what makes me most happy. I met up with our May bride to go over some details as well as catch up on life. Weddings bring so much joy to my life and I look forward to raising a daughter that I will get to walk down an aisle as some lucky photographer captures our smiles.

Our May wedding will be an adventure as Sarah will not be attending. One week after the birth I think her doctor would scream if she knew Sarah was shooting a wedding. So in comes our backup as we shoot at the beautiful Summit Club downtown Fort Wayne.
I hope your week is starting as fun filled as mine!

This is the baby's room just a few days ago. It is now painted so I will update the blog as we continue the decorating.

Tony and Kelly's wedding slideshow

2008-11-20T20:33:00.005-05:00

Click the play button below to see more pictures of our recent wedding with Tony and Kelly. These two are an awesome couple!

Happy Veterans Day

2008-11-11T10:54:00.012-05:00

Happy Veterans Day to all those who have and are serving in the United States Miltiary. To learn more about Veterans Day click here. Have a great day!

Matt and Sarah by bobbiandmike.com

2008-10-29T19:07:00.009-04:00

We are just bursting at the seams with excitement today! A few weeks back, we had a photo shoot with the amazing Indy photographers Bobbi and Mike. We have been planning this session for months, but finding out that we are pregnant made the session a bit more exciting. I must admit, mostly because Bobbi called me out on her blog, that I was a little bit nervous. Ok, a ton nervous. I totally know how my clients feel the days leading up to their photo shoot. Sarah and I took the session and turned it into a two day mid-week retreat. Sarah and I enjoyed the time together wandering around Indy just being together. It was awesome!

There is a lot more of our photo session with Bobbi and Mike on their website!!! Check them out by going to bobbiandmike.com/blog

Fast Track Photographer

2008-10-21T21:31:00.004-04:00

I did it! I finished the book Fast Track Photographer by Dane Sanders. Anyone who knows me knows I have trouble finishing books. I have good intentions of finishing a book when I buy it. I love the thought of ending a long busy day with my feet up reading a book. However this typically ends up leading to falling asleep while reading. I have also tried reading first thing in the morning with a cup of coffee. This too has been unsuccessful because I haven’t figured out a good way to hold a hot mug and hold open a book at the same time. I love both too much!

I have a bookshelf full of great books that came highly recommended. They each have their own bookmarks that stay in near the middle of the book. Today however, I finished Fast Track Photographer. This book is absolutely a must read for a photographer who is considering taking their photography to a business level. I learned through this book that if I want to grow a successful photography business I must learn who I am as a person. Without clear understanding of who I am as a person my photography business would be unfocused and misguided. It was a great book and I know there are a few others on my bookshelf that beg to be finished. I think I might finish up Never Eat Alone by Keith Ferrazzi.

Get a copy of this amazing book at Amazon.com and get your photography moving!

Tony and Kelly: Wedding

2008-10-19T18:24:00.009-04:00

We couldn’t have asked for a more beautiful fall day yesterday here in Fort Wayne. The air was cool and the sun was warm, perfect for the wedding of Tony and Kelly. This beautiful couple was joined together at the Unitarian Universalist Church with a reception at the Memorial Coliseum. This had to be one of the shortest ceremonies we have ever attended. I think we clocked it a just over 20 minutes long! With a short ceremony that gave us plenty of time for pictures on the way to the Coliseum.

Tony and Kelly, you two are an amazing couple and we enjoyed every minute of the day with you two. Thank you for making us feel like part of the family. Have a great honeymoon!

Kelly’s dress and the bridesmaid’s dress were dropped off by The Wedding Place. They even stayed around to make sure everything came out perfect.

Daises and Snaps provided a the beautiful flower arrangements for the day.

Check out this cake from the Nutcracker Sweet Shoppe! It tastes just as great as it looks!

Tony told us that some of his groomsmen played in a band with him growing up. Looks like they played air guitars.

This is one of my most favorite bridal party shots.

At some point during the reception one of the groomsmen insisted in attempting a backflip on the dance floor.