Paul Francis Photography

Megan & Michael | Wedding Slideshow

admin — Sat, 04 Sep 2010 03:43:46 +0000

To view their images once they become available online, sign their virtual guestbook HERE.

Another Beautiful NJ Wedding | Megan & Michael

admin — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 13:01:37 +0000

We have been so excited to show you this set of pictures from Megan and Michael’s wedding! Besides being one of the most fun bride and grooms we have yet had the privilege to photograph, their wedding party was a bunch of complete goofballs in front of the camera! And we loved it! They were making all kinds of fun suggestions throughout the portrait session. Megan and Michael met each other while volunteering with NET Ministries in St. Paul, Minnesota and much of their wedding party were friends who they had served with so their friendships ran deep.

The weather was perfect with a mixture of blue sky and fluffy clouds that we love so much. Megan was filled with excitement from the moment we saw her. She kept saying throughout the morning “I’m getting married today!” with a look of utter excitement and joy. And Michael couldn’t have looked more at ease as he joked around with his groomsmen.

To view their images once they become available online, sign their virtual guestbook HERE.

Can you can see how happy Megan was on her wedding day? Her eyes are so filled with excitement! We always try and get a “tough guy” groomsmen shot. The grounds around the church didn’t have much to offer but we loved this location with the gritty industrial background. How rad is that barbwire topped fence? Michael’s one request for the groomsmen shots was an “Ocean’s 11″ style picture of them walking toward the camera. I think he will be pretty happy with the outcome, don’t you think? I LOVE this picture. Michael had tears in his eyes as he saw his beautiful bride walking down the aisle. These are the moments we live (and love) to capture. Megan and Michael had picked out some pretty cool shoes without telling each other. I think Michael’s shoes especially look classy. This fun shot is of Michael and his brother. We were taking a regular portrait followed by a goofy portrait and we let everyone improvise on the spot. Some of the ideas were downright random and hilarious! Check out this awesome backflip that Vito did over the groom! We had a whole audience of wedding guests watching during the cocktail hour and I heard a few cheers as Vito pulled this jump off. The great thing too is that all of these fun ideas were from their suggestions. Sweet! Don’t worry, Vito nailed the landing on the shots below. Perfect 10.0! We were able to take a few more portraits outside while the sun was setting over the golf course. The colors were amazing. Megan LOVES icecream. So much so that she wanted to have an icecream bar for the guests, while also deciding to feed each other icecream after cutting the cake. Thanks for choosing us to witness such a beautiful wedding Megan and Michael, we had a blast and hope for many blessings for your life together.

Vendor Shoutout:

Wedding and Reception Location: Eagle Ridge Golf Course

Wedding DJ: Chris Garrow with Unforgettable DJs

Ceremony Location: St Mary of the Lake

Tuesday Photo of the Day

admin — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 18:58:29 +0000

Today’s photo of the day was from over a year ago with the Gatto family at Sandy Hook Beach here in NJ. We met there for a sunset photo session. It was impossible to take a bad photo, between the amazing beach setting, the incredible lighting, and a beautiful family. It was so much fun to capture their excitement, running through the water in excitement and chasing each other in the sand. When they came back to us later on in the year for a fall family session I knew that I was in for another beautiful portrait session.

My love for photography developed while trying to keep up with my own nephews and nieces. I already have 4 nephews and 2 nieces with two more children due this month from my brother’s and their wives so I have plenty of opportunities to take beautiful photos. To me, it was the encouragement of family that helped me realize that my photography could be something more than a hobby so I always enjoy the occasional family session when they come along. Enjoy!

Baby Liam – Preview

admin — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 18:33:49 +0000

As we spend our time renovating the house and new studio it was nice to get a brief break and photograph little baby Liam and his amazing parents this weekend. Liam’s parents Jim and Meggan were doing an amazing job of adjusting to life as a mom and dad. One of the great honors of what we do is getting to hear the stories of the people we meet. We were all surprised to find out that our weddings were within a few days of each other. We can’t wait to share the rest of the pictures with you! Doesn’t he looks so precious and peaceful?

Leah & Chris – Sunrise Engagment Session

admin — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 13:16:19 +0000

Tucked away in the woods on the outskirts of Summit, NJ is a beautiful village that Leah & Chris asked us to photograph their engagement session. We all loved the feel of the abandoned village, now part of a beautiful park with its antique houses and beautiful greenery. Leah & Chris decided to do their engagement shoot at sunrise in order to take advantage of the soft natural light, and also gave us perfect streaming light coming through the trees. This picture is one of our favorites from their session. I love how the soft morning sun lights them from behind and makes them glow! We really enjoyed capturing the love between Leah & Chris, especially those little moments when Chris tried to steal kisses or gaze into her eyes when he thought we weren’t looking. We are so excited to be photographing their wedding in October!

-Carolyn

Location: Abandoned village at the Watchung Reservation.

Home Under Renovation!! Bye Bye to peeling brown tiles.

admin — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 11:34:19 +0000

As you may have read on our Facebook update, we are currently renovating a room in our home as we convert it into a home-studio. Paul has been saying for awhile that he needs a man-cave an office to hide work in and we have finally gotten around to it. Paul’s brother John spent a few days here last week painting away while Paul made minor repairs to the walls and installed new lights. The room had been used for storage before but now whenever our clients come to visit we have a more comfortable place to meet with them. We are a little more than half way through with new lighting and painted walls. The new hardwood floor should be going down this weekend if Paul still has the energy. Everything is coming along nicely and we can’t wait to reveal the outcome. For now you can take a look at what part of the room looked like prior to starting the work. The gray slab on the floor is the free Corian countertop that Paul salvaged for a desktop. Notice the outdated blue walls against brown and tan peeling tiles. All gone now! Have a great day!

-Carolyn & Paul

Esther & Phil – Maternity Session

admin — Mon, 16 Aug 2010 17:13:35 +0000

What a busy summer it has been! Weddings, vacation in Italy, new studio renovation, musician shoots. And still much more left before the Fall! More fun than two people should be allowed to have.We promise we will have lots of photos of the new studio and pictures from our vacation to share, but for now we want to share with you a few pictures from Esther & Phil’s maternity session. They have been busy too, preparing their home for the changes awaiting them. When we arrived, Phil had recently finished putting in a new brick paver walkway which also included ripping up most of his front lawn. Esther also had been spending a lot of time getting the baby’s room ready and it already looked like a warm and loving place for their little one to sleep. Esther just looked so radiant! We can’t wait to visit them again in September to take their newborn’s photos and we are totally looking forward to it! Hopefully Phil’s lawn will be green by then after all of his hard work.

Brother Adam’s Final Vows

admin — Wed, 11 Aug 2010 14:32:15 +0000

Every once in awhile I have the opportunity to photograph something a little different. In this case, an old friend of mine asked if I could take photographs on the day he made his final vows. Adam had been serving with a religious order called the Brotherhood of Hope, a community of brothers that seek to serve others wherever they are needed. One of their primary outreaches is to local college campus throughout parts of the U.S. This day was an exciting one for Adam who has served tirelessly and worked for years towards making this commitment. He was surrounded by many friends and family, supporting him as he made his vows. I was particularly moved by his humility when he made a silent prayer while laying before the altar. It was an honor to be a small part of such an important day in Adam’s life. I know that he will continue to do great things to serve God, the needy, and the lonely and hurt.

Adam’s father was my high school Spanish teacher. To be honest I don’t remember much (that was 14 years ago!) except for a bit of vocabulary and a few necessary sentences that would get me a burger and coke or help me find a bathroom, but fortunately Carolyn speaks fluent Spanish which has definitely helped in several situations.

Adam’s final vows were held at St Peter’s Catholic Church in New Brunswick, NJ.

To view the full set of Adam’s images once they are available online, Click Here to sign the virtual guest book.

Eagle Ridge Golf Club – Megan and Michael’s Wedding Preview

admin — Mon, 09 Aug 2010 14:45:57 +0000

We had a blast at this wedding! What a fun wedding party too. Megan and Michael were so filled with love and excitement. While we were photographing Megan she kept smiling and saying; “I am getting married today”. And when she stepped through the doors at the end of the aisle at the church, I turned around to capture Michael’s reaction and he had tears in his eyes. It was such a beautiful moment and a beautiful wedding. Enjoy a preview picture we took just as the sun was setting during the reception. We will have more to share with you once we are able to sort through the rest of the images.

To view Megan and Michael’s images once they are available online, CLICK HERE to sign the virtual guest book.

Lee-Sink Wedding, or, how about a Corvette instead of a limo?

admin — Thu, 05 Aug 2010 13:34:03 +0000

I always get excited when a bride and groom hire us for an out of state wedding. It is so much fun to travel to different places, especially new ones. I had been to the beautiful city of Grand Rapids, MI before, so I knew a little of what to expect but I always look forward to visiting places outside of the NJ metropolitan area. Carolyn and I had a safe flight out, though we were delayed for an air conditioning issue.

Eileen and Eric met each other while teaching at the same school. They both have genuine, kind hearts and they were so filled with joy and love on their wedding day. Eric is a bit of a car buff who used to own a Honda CRX just like me. (coolest car ever, especially for a broke college student) Not long before the wedding he found an incredible deal for a Chevrolet Corvette that he couldn’t pass up and that became their wedding transportation. Congratulations to Eileen and Eric as you start your new lives together as husband and wife, it was an honor to photograph your wedding.

Salon: Panopoulos Salons

Ceremony: Immaculate Heart of Mary

Reception: Prince Conference Center

panopoulossalons