amanda olson photography

WeddingWire Bride’s Choice Awards™ 2012 - Amanda Olson Photography

2012-01-28T11:41:00.000-05:00

{Raleigh,NC} – January 28, 2012 – WeddingWire, the nation's leading wedding Marketplace, is excited to announce Amanda Olson Photography has been selected to receive the prestigious WeddingWire Bride’s Choice Awards™ 2012 for Photography!

The esteemed annual awards program recognizes the top local wedding vendors from the WeddingWire Network who demonstrate excellence in quality, service, responsiveness and professionalism within the wedding industry. While many industry awards are selected by the organization, Amanda Olson Photography was selected based on its stellar reviews from past newlywed clients.

Amanda Olson Photography is recognized as part of the top five percent of wedding professionals in the WeddingWire local vendor community, comprised of over 200,000 wedding professionals throughout the United States and Canada. The Bride’s Choice Award recognizes the best local wedding vendors across 20 service categories, from wedding venues to wedding photographers, based on their overall professional achievements throughout the past year.

“WeddingWire is thrilled to honor the success of the top-rated wedding professionals within the WeddingWire Community,” said Timothy Chi, CEO, WeddingWire. “Since the launch of the Bride’s Choice Awards™ program four years ago, thousands of outstanding wedding professionals have been recognized by the bridal community for their supreme service and dedication to the wedding industry. It is with great pleasure that we congratulate Amanda Olson Photography for their continued professionalism and commitment to enriching the wedding planning experience for engaged couples.”

We are happy to announce that Amanda Olson Photography is one of the very best Photographers within the WeddingWire Network, which includes leading wedding planning sites WeddingWire, Project Wedding, Brides.com, Martha Stewart Weddings, and Weddingbee. We would like to thank our past clients for taking the time to review our business on WeddingWire. Thanks to their positive feedback we were able to receive the WeddingWire Bride’s Choice Awards™ for 2012.

For more information, please visit our WeddingWire Storefront today at http://www.weddingwire.com/biz/amanda-olson-photography-raleigh/9ed4a479c7f286a6.html.

To learn more about the Bride's Choice Awards™, please visit www.WeddingWire.com.

About WeddingWire, Inc.
WeddingWire™, the nation's leading marketplace serving the $70 billion wedding industry, is the only online wedding planning resource designed to empower both engaged couples and wedding professionals. For engaged couples, WeddingWire offers the ability to search, compare and book over 200,000 reviewed wedding vendors, from wedding venues to wedding photographers. WeddingWire also offers a comprehensive suite of online planning tools for weddings, including wedding websites and wedding checklists, all at no charge. For wedding professionals, WeddingWire is the only all-in-one marketing platform for businesses online and on-the-go. WeddingWire offers one simple solution to build a professional network, improve search visibility, manage social media and reach mobile consumers. Businesses that advertise with WeddingWire appear on WeddingWire.com, ProjectWedding.com and other leading sites, including MarthaStewartWeddings.com (NYSE: MSO), Brides.com and Weddingbee.com.
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A huge thank you to all of my beautiful couples that helped make this possible!

New Orleans Imaging Conference

2012-01-22T23:20:00.002-05:00

The remaining shots were from a charity shoot set up by the fabulous altf Photography. The following three couples lost their wedding albums in hurricane Katrina. altF hosted a shoot and invited a group of photographers to shoot along side them to produce imagery to use for their new albums.

Want to see more + shenanigans?
Full Gallery

Gloria + Paul {Magnolia Plantation - Charleston, SC}

2011-10-17T19:31:00.000-04:00

Ceremony Venue: Magnolia Plantation and Gardens
Reception Venue: The Charleston Club - Joint Base Charleston

Amber + Jason

2011-06-13T13:54:00.000-04:00

Lauren + Jason {Cardinal Club - Raleigh, NC}

2011-05-03T22:51:00.001-04:00

Venue: Cardinal Club
Makeup: Makeup for your day - Jennifer House
Flowers: Fresh Affairs
Officiant: Claudia Dickson
dj: Joe Bunn DJ Company - Jerry Thompson
Cake: Cinda's Creative Cakes
Videography: Open Aperture Productions - Jonathan Meek

Musican - Gary Mitchell {Raleigh portrait photographer}

2011-04-09T10:46:00.000-04:00

Pretty amazing musican: Gary Mitchell - Visionrise

10 year Anniversary Party

2011-03-03T17:30:00.000-05:00

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Venue: The Umstead Hotel
DJ: Joe Bunn
DJ: DJ Garth
Cake: Sweet Memories Bakery
flowers: Watered Garden Florist
2nd shooting for: Kevin Milz

Little Mr. Handsome {Raleigh Portrait Photographer}

2011-02-13T12:06:00.000-05:00

Now Offering Mentoring Sessions!

2011-02-10T11:28:00.003-05:00

I personally love learning new things and equally love teaching what I know. I started offering mentoring sessions at the end of 2010 to photographers that have emailed me with questions in the past and had such a great response - the sessions went wonderfully! I have enjoyed follow up emails with photos of how their work has progressed and how they have had success applying what they learned!
What do you get out of a mentoring session?

2 hour mentoring session - $250

Bring a friend - $350

Portfolio review: Bring your portfolio - either in print or online. We'll go over your work and find areas for improvement. We can either discuss those areas for the remaining time OR

You let me know what you want to learn - we can cover anything (equipment, lighting, posing, editing, heavy retouching, marketing, sales - you name it!) you want in the 2 hour session excluding an actual shoot.

1/2 day mentoring session - $500

Bring a friend - $600
Portfolio review: Bring your portfolio - either in print or online. We'll go over your work and find areas for improvement and discuss ways to accomplish these improvements. If you don't have a portfolio or collection of work, don't worry!

Q & A Part I

Ask away! I am here to share everything. If there is anything that you want to know before we shoot, this is the time to ask it.

Mini photo shoot

You decide in advance what you are interested in shooting - family, children, models, brides, couples etc. I will arrange the shoot and we will shoot it together. I will shoot and explain how I am shooting, my settings, and why I am shooting that way. We will explore different lighting situations and my approach to these lighting challenges. This is a great time to ask questions and you have the time to troubleshoot and learn - real-time!

Post process

We will go through some of the images from our shoot and I will show you my approach to post processing as well as workflow.

Final Q & A

This is your time to ask about anything that hasn't been answered throughout the day!

Raina + Syed - Holud Ceremony

2011-01-27T12:35:00.001-05:00

Ceremony: Cary Senior Center

What a fabulous ceremony! Raina and Syed celebrated their Gaye Holud at the Cary Senior Center the evening before their wedding. Holud, which translates to tumeric, is a traditional ceremony celebrated in the Bengali culture. A special tumeric paste is applied to the faces of the bride and groom and said to beautify. The families and friends of the bride and groom also visit them one by one and feed them traditional sweets to start off their new life in a "sweet state".

The colors, details, sweets, and gifts were wonderful to photograph. Everything was so beautiful and bold! Raina was glowing and looked absolutely stunning, while Syed looked like the happiest man on Earth! It was an honor to document this event!

Amanda Olson Photography Awarded the Bride’s Choice Awards 2011

2011-01-26T20:52:00.000-05:00

Raleigh, NC – January 25, 2011 - WeddingWire, the nation’s leading wedding technology company, is thrilled to announce that Amanda Olson Photography has been selected to receive the prestigious annual WeddingWire Bride’s Choice Awards™ 2011 for Wedding Photography!

Recognition for the Bride’s Choice Awards™ 2011 is determined by recent reviews and extensive surveys from over 750,000 WeddingWire newlyweds. Our past clients are among those that shared their experiences on WeddingWire, the largest wedding review site in the nation.

Amanda Olson Photography stands among the top five percent of wedding professionals in the WeddingWire community, representing quality and service excellence within the wedding industry. Awards were given to the top wedding professionals across 20 service categories, from wedding venues to wedding photographers, and were based on the overall professional achievements throughout the past year.

“WeddingWire is honored to celebrate the success of the top-rated wedding professionals within the WeddingWire community,” said Timothy Chi, WeddingWire’s Chief Executive Officer. “With the annual Bride’s Choice Awards™ program, WeddingWire has the unique opportunity to recognize the best wedding professionals across the US and Canada. We applaud Amanda Olson Photography for professionalism and dedication to enhancing the wedding planning experience last year.”

We are happy to announce that Amanda Olson Photography is among the very best Wedding Photographers within the WeddingWire Network, which includes leading wedding planning sites WeddingWire, Martha Stewart Weddings, Project Wedding and Weddingbee. We would like to thank our past clients for nominating us to receive the Bride’s Choice Awards™ 2011.

For more information on the Bride’s Choice Awards™ 2011, please visit www.WeddingWire.com.

Samantha + Aaron: Southeastern Baptist Seminary + Crenshaw Hall {Wake Forest Wedding Photographer}

2010-11-04T14:23:00.001-04:00

ceremony: Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary
getting ready + reception: Crenshaw Hall
videography: John Carter, A Perfect Day
dj: Steve Stowe, Joe Bunn DJ Company
wedding planner: Meme Freeney, Blessed Beginnings by Meme

Absolutely gorgeous wedding with a truly beautiful, sweet couple! This wedding had such a great vintage, classic feel to it. It was a day full of emotion and I am thrilled that I was able to help document it all! Congratulations Samantha and Aaron!

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Chrissy + Jim {Ocean Isle Photographer}

2010-11-02T21:49:00.003-04:00

Venue: Ocean Isle Inn, Ocean Isle, NC

You may remember this couple from their day-after session that I posted awhile back! I had so much fun at this wedding. Beautiful weather, gorgeous Ocean Isle beach, clear blue skies and a wonderful, fun couple with amazing chemistry! Congratulations Chrissy and Jim!

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Katie + Sam @ Haywood Hall {Raleigh Wedding Photographer}

2010-09-20T14:09:00.000-04:00

What an awesome wedding! I love the lemon + lime theme - such vibrant colors and fun details. Katie and Sam are both wedding photographers, so they had everything planned out just perfectly. I have to say, when it started raining in the middle of the ceremony, Katie just smiled that gigantic, gorgeous smile and kept going! What a great attitude and all around fun couple!

Venue: Haywood Hall, Downtown Raleigh
Catering: The General Store Catering Cafe
Cakes: Whole Foods
Flowers: Whole Foods
DJ: Gary Gibson

Heather's bridal - UNC Chapel Hill Bridal

2010-09-16T15:51:00.000-04:00

What a fun and beautiful bride! We had a great time walking around UNC Chapel Hill for Heather's bridal session. Check out those shoes!

Flowers by: Kelly Odom

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Chrissy + Jim - Day after session, Ocean Isle Beach Photographer

2010-09-14T10:20:00.000-04:00

Location: Ocean Isle Beach (Ocean Isle Inn)

What can I say, these two were troopers. They woke up and were ready before sunrise the day after their beautiful Ocean Isle wedding! We had a great time and what a gorgeous morning!

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For Photographers

2010-09-14T09:30:00.002-04:00

I've been meaning to add this section for a long time. I receive, on average, 5 emails per week from other photographers asking how I do things or what kind of equipment I use. I always try to answer. I may not answer right away, but I always get around to it eventually. I received an email this morning from a photographer out in the midwest that was so thankful for the little tidbits of information that I had given her that I decided to compile questions and answers and post them!

What's in my bag:
2 Nikon d700s
2 SB800s
Nikkor 24-70 2.8
Nikkor 50mm 1.8
Nikkor 85mm 1.8
Nikkor 70-200 2.8
Nikkor 60mm 2.8
Nikkor Fisheye 2.8

My favorite lens is my workhorse 24-70. I love this lens and could shoot an entire wedding with it if I had to.

My new favorite addition to my bag is my camera slinger. It lets me wear and use both of my cameras simultaneously without getting tangled. Best of all, I can wake up after a 10 hour wedding and still move because it virtually eliminates the neck pain and strain!

Hope this helps - happy shooting!

Heather + Rob

2010-07-20T23:07:00.000-04:00

Charlotte + Ted

2010-07-18T16:41:00.000-04:00

Ceremony: Duke Gardens
Reception: Doris Duke Center

Timmy

2010-06-15T11:50:00.002-04:00

Ari + Carlos

2010-06-13T15:14:00.002-04:00

venue: residence
catering + event planning: Mark Day Company
2nd shooting for: Daniel J Pesta

Model shoot - Seven Raleigh

2010-06-07T21:03:00.001-04:00

Make-up : Jenny Raele of Makeup Art by Jenny

Hair: Ashley Fitts of Salon Blu

Styling: Amy Greene of Going Greene Events

Styling: Katie Lipe Little of Kat Little Style tm

Shoe Styling: Rebecca Lakey of The Shoe Madam

Location: Seven Raleigh

Model: Robyn Conn

Model: Mindy Conn

Thank you to everyone who made this shoot a possibility. Special thanks to Daniel J Pesta, my friend and fellow photographer. See his take on the day on his blog: http://blog.danieljpesta.com

Robyn + Ian

2010-06-03T16:02:00.000-04:00

And the Winner is...

2010-05-31T21:09:00.000-04:00

A veteran of the marines - Melvin Cooley of Raleigh! Congratulations, Melvin, and thank you for your service! Happy Memorial Day.

Memorial Day Contest - giving thanks

2010-05-28T15:20:00.002-04:00

In honor of all the men and women who are currently serving or have served this country, Amanda Olson Photography is offering a free portrait session to 1 lucky winner!

One name will be drawn at random on Memorial Day 2010 at 9:00PM EST.

How do you enter the contest? There are 2 ways and you can enter twice!

1. If you are not already a fan, become a fan on facebook! Once you have "liked" Amanda Olson Photography, come back to this blog post and leave a comment telling me that you have joined. If you are already a fan on facebook, share the link to the Amanda Olson Photography fan page and suggest that your friends become a fan

2. send an email to:

amandaolsonphotography@gmail.com

The fine print:
-You must have served or be currently serving in the US Military
-The photo session must take place in or around Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill (NC)
-Uniform required for part of the session

Thank you for your service to this country!

The K Family

2010-05-26T20:22:00.002-04:00

Newborn Baby A

2010-05-13T23:12:00.001-04:00

Katie + Sam

2010-05-03T14:34:00.003-04:00

The D Family

2010-04-26T21:40:00.000-04:00

Oooh Ahhh - album

2010-04-13T09:17:00.001-04:00

Melissa + Chad

2010-04-12T17:58:00.005-04:00

ceremony: All Saints Chapel - Raleigh, NC
reception: Marbles Kids Museum

Makeover Project!

2010-03-23T15:26:00.001-04:00

hair: Jill Burkhart - hairdos Raleigh
makeup: Joanna Crowder - Look at Me Makeup
fashion: Pam Mullaney - Dress Raleigh

I decided not to post the before and after (final reveal) of this makeover as they will be featured along with the full story on WRAL's blog - "Go Ask Mom"

Happy 3rd Birthday, G!

2010-03-16T14:40:00.001-04:00

theme: Toy Story birthday party
cakes + cupcakes: Simply Cakes, LLC

C's belly

2010-03-11T08:18:00.000-05:00

Baby J turns 1 year old!

2010-03-10T14:58:00.000-05:00

Newborn baby R

2010-03-02T17:00:00.001-05:00

O's Belly

2010-02-26T09:51:00.001-05:00

AJ + Vee

2010-02-09T16:34:00.003-05:00

ceremony + reception: Marriott RTP
officiant: Reverend Barbara Lodge
hair + makeup: Tineka Richardson of Unique’s Beauty Salon
decorating: Talisha Gunnell

1, 2, 3 babies!

2010-02-08T21:46:00.000-05:00

Sweet baby L - 9 months

2010-02-05T13:23:00.001-05:00

Allison + John

2010-01-12T21:58:00.007-05:00

12.12.2009
getting ready: Aveda Institute of Chapel Hill
ceremony: First Presbyterian Durham
reception: Hilton Durham

Newborn baby G

2010-01-05T14:10:00.008-05:00

as seen in Visit Raleigh's This Week in Greater Raleigh 1.8.10

Cindy + Rumi - Halud Ceremony

2010-01-04T23:43:00.033-05:00

12.18.2009
ceremony: Westin Alexandria, VA

Stacey + Lloyd

2009-11-09T23:50:00.015-05:00

09.06.2009
ceremony + reception: The Pavilions at the Angus Barn
cake: Simply Cakes

Newborn baby C

2009-11-07T17:33:00.004-05:00

Sweet baby N

2009-11-06T16:06:00.008-05:00

4.5 months old

Mae + Tom

2009-11-05T16:37:00.006-05:00

ceremony: Duke Gardens
reception: Tosca Ristorante

Amy + Steve

2009-10-29T09:29:00.002-04:00

ceremony + reception: Our Lady of Lourdes

The D Family

2009-10-22T21:56:00.009-04:00

location: downtown Raleigh

Sweet baby J

2009-10-12T16:07:00.005-04:00

6 months old

Sweet newborn Baby C!

2009-09-08T22:11:00.007-04:00

Gorgeous urban bride

2009-09-04T11:05:00.006-04:00

location: downtown Raleigh

Sweet Baby W

2009-09-01T13:12:00.004-04:00

8 days old

Amanda + Luis

2009-08-31T07:22:00.005-04:00

reception: American Tobacco Bay 7
playtime: Durham Bulls Athletic Park

Sisters

2009-08-25T12:15:00.004-04:00

location: Cape Fear Botanical Gardens

Newborn baby S

2009-08-25T09:26:00.005-04:00

N + M - Rehearsal dinner - Durham Bulls Stadium

2009-08-21T01:14:00.001-04:00

I just had to post one photo from Nicole and Mo's rehearsal dinner. When I first met this couple, they gave me a little background information and I just knew they were going to be fun to photograph. They mentioned having me shoot their rehearsal dinner and I was thrilled to find out that they were having it at the Durham Bull's Stadium! Mo, (I hope you don't mind me sharing) was an actor in Bull Durham, so it just seemed so fitting for this couple!

Nicole + Mo

2009-08-21T00:33:00.007-04:00

ceremony: Sacred Heart
reception: Humble Pie
playtime: downtown Raleigh

N - Beautiful bridal

2009-08-20T23:07:00.002-04:00

Isn't she just timeless? She has such a classic beauty, I had a blast at the Raleigh Arboretum doing this bridal shoot!

Look who's 4!

2009-07-31T20:01:00.004-04:00

We had a fun, hot day walking around the park and playing! See mom, I was even able to get a couple without his tongue sticking out! What a cutie and look at those gorgeous eyes!

Katie + Steve

2009-07-09T14:57:00.007-04:00

ceremony: Duke Gardens
reception: The Umstead Hotel and Spa

Sarah + Micha

2009-07-06T23:06:00.007-04:00

ceremony + reception: Fearrington

M + J - An Urban Engagement

2009-07-01T22:58:00.005-04:00

We had so much fun walking around downtown Raleigh looking for fun places to shoot. This couple is super sweet and clearly perfect together. I had a blast shooting this session and am looking forward to the wedding in August! These are just a few of my favorites...

A Beautiful Bride at Barclay Villa in Angier, NC

2009-06-16T20:09:00.003-04:00

A beautiful bride in a castle - could it get any better? We had such a blast exploring every inch of Barclay Villa. It was rainy and dark outside, so we stuck to the inside. Just gorgeous and the personality to match!

A + W - an adorable couple!

2009-06-16T16:21:00.006-04:00

What a fun shoot! Couple shots are probably one of my favorite things to shoot. This fun couple was kind enough to let me do a full couple session on a day other than their wedding day. Despite the rain, we had a blast!

(click to view larger)

(click to view larger)

Little Man G + new baby sister C

2009-06-05T14:39:00.004-04:00

M + W @ Belk Chapel and The Pewter Rose in Charlotte, NC

2009-06-05T12:57:00.005-04:00

What a cute couple! I had a hard time narrowing pictures down to post for the preview. You can see how happy they are and how much fun they had!

Just before the traditional garter retrieval, W surprised M with a serenade. The groomsmen sang backup. It was adorable!

2 month old baby J

2009-05-28T00:49:00.003-04:00

C + B Wedding - Bentwinds, Fuquay-Varina, NC

2009-05-14T14:04:00.005-04:00

I am not even finished processing this wedding, but we had some seriously amazing weather/situations so I just have to share a few. Beautiful outdoor ceremony, fantastic colors, followed by storms and winds strong enough to blow C's veil right off of her head and into the lake :) Definitely worth the rain, because shortly after, there was this fantastic sky with a double rainbow!

Ok, now I'll actually post them in chronological order!

Engagement - T + V

2009-05-06T20:43:00.004-04:00

This couple has amazing chemistry! I had so much fun on this shoot and am happy we finally got some good weather ;)

Bridals, bridals, bridals!

2009-04-09T09:55:00.002-04:00

I sure wish I could post some of my most recent work, but most of my sessions have been bridal sessions and I can't post them until after the weddings! I have another one tomorrow...

Newborn Baby L - only 7 days old!

2009-03-26T14:42:00.003-04:00

L + M Victorian Wedding in Durham, NC

2009-03-25T13:29:00.005-04:00

I just love unique weddings, and this one was definitely unique! The Venue was an absolutely gorgeous Victorian home and the reception was a 1950s soda shop. What a fun couple!

Baby S is 4 months old!

2009-02-19T13:31:00.003-05:00

Look at those beautiful blue eyes, full head of hair and that smile! She is so squeezable!

I think she had had enough...she looks so sleepy in this next one!

So tiny...welcome to the world baby C!

2009-02-17T22:54:00.003-05:00

I just love newborns. They are so tiny and new. This little girl was such a sweetheart!

M + T @ Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church and Caffe Luna

2009-02-17T22:22:00.005-05:00

What a fun couple! Every detail of this wedding was so well-thought out. I could have blogged at least 30 detail shots alone!

Fun Bridal!

2009-01-20T12:33:00.013-05:00

C + E @ Proximity Hotel in Greensboro

2009-01-11T23:58:00.005-05:00

A winter wedding and it was absolutely stunning! I am going to have to start posting more than 5 photos per wedding...I just can't narrow it down to my favorites anymore! Slowly but surely, I will post some favorites from this gorgeous couple's special day!

January special - discount for kiddos with braces!

2009-01-04T21:40:00.002-05:00

Sounds funny, I know...but my oldest just got braces. Now that I know just how expensive they really are, I've just got to make it more affordable for some folks to document this special time in their child's life! So, if your child has a mouth full of metal, book their session in January and receive $25 off the session fee and a free 5x7!

L + G - Jones Chapel Meredith College

2008-12-23T15:03:00.005-05:00

Another gorgeous fall wedding!

Baby M is 6 months old!

2008-12-03T22:52:00.002-05:00

T & J Wedding @ Briar Creek Country Club

2008-11-14T15:32:00.003-05:00

The Spooky + Sweet Halloween Party!

2008-11-01T11:39:00.003-04:00

JC + SG - sweet, sweet babies!

2008-10-27T15:38:00.010-04:00

The P Family

2008-10-13T10:06:00.006-04:00

These boys have grown so much since I shot them last year, but they are still as handsome as ever! And the new addition, absolutely adorable!

L + D Wedding in Wilson, NC

2008-10-13T09:36:00.003-04:00

S + M Wedding @ Barclay Villa

2008-10-06T10:42:00.003-04:00

Cathy + Chris

2008-10-03T10:47:00.007-04:00

ceremony: Duke Chapel