Justin Ketchem Photography

New Blog Coming Soon!

2009-03-04T11:07:00.000-08:00

I am vigorously working on my shiny new blog. Everything about it will be better, including the image uploading (saving my tons of time, which will allow me to blog much more often), commenting, linking, subscribing and navigating. In addition, it just looks sweet!

For all my wonderful couples and customers, you will receive an e-mail to let you know when it is complete and on-line. Otherwise, please check back often.

So, what is the StoryBook album?

2009-02-11T20:09:00.000-08:00

I'm so glad you asked! It's big. It's beautiful. It's dramatic and colorful. It's durable, timeless, classic, elegant, custom, and a whole bunch of other things. But most of all, it's your wedding in motion (without video). It's the most important day of your life unfolding over and over again whenever you want.

The Storybook below is from Lina and Michael's wedding last July. It was beautiful and grand.

The Cover

The cover is totally customizable. Any color, photo and font will work. Whatever you desire. It's also very durable. There's no need to hide this book in the closet for fear of everyday wear. It was made for the coffee table, and that's where it belongs. But it does come with a satin bag for extra protection if you want to tote it around to show it off to your friends and family.

The Pages

The spreads, are made of thick, museum-quality paper. The ink is archival quality as well, and decorates the paper with bold, beautiful colors.

My favorite thing about the StoryBook is the seamless spread. No gutter. No gap. Just photos. This means I don't have any rules or limitations when designing the spreads. It's simply a big, blank 12"x24" canvas.

It's no problem to lay out one huge photo across the whole spread.

And it's no problem to do several smaller ones. Whatever the story requires.

Exact replicas of the 12" x 12" StoryBook can be made in smaller sizes for the parents. They come in 6"x6", 8"x8" and 10"x10". The one shown here is a 6"x6".

Lil' Man is getting so big

2009-01-23T23:02:00.000-08:00

My current B&Gs may have had the pleasure of meeting my pride and joy, or at least have seen his portraits plastered all over my walls.

He'll be two in the beginning of March. I suspect he'll approach the cake in a much different way this year, considering he now knows how to use a fork (kinda).

Anyway, I posted some photos of him enjoying the recent dumping of snow. He didn't want to go inside.

Emily's Bat Mitzvah

2009-01-23T22:46:00.000-08:00

Bar/Bat Mitzvahs are a lot of fun to cover. I've shot several and I always have a great time. The kids dance like crazy. Great DJs like Rock the House and Terry Macklin always keep people energized.

On January 24, I had the privilege of covering Emily's Bat Mitzvah party. It was at Maggiano's (always great food!), and Rock the House provided the entertainment. Laughing, dancing and partying carried on until the very end for adults and kids. The party had a great topical theme (much needed this time of year), and the decorations had me convinced I wasn't in Ohio anymore.

Here are some images from the formal shoot and the party.

Congratulations Emily!

Nuts and Bolts

2009-01-23T20:52:00.000-08:00

Every now and again I have the opportunity to do commercial work. Sometimes product photography can be a little dry because I have to represent the product in a very "honest" way. There's little room for getting creative with lighting schemes and colors. However, sometimes I'm lucky enough to get my hands on a commercial project that has no such rules!

The Industrial Fasteners Institute (IFI) needed a cover photo for their Annual Report (and several other IFI publications) for their members. Once again, I had the wonderful task of taking it.

Since IFI is an association for manufacturers in the fastener industry, they provided me with some nuts and bolts for the cover. The cool part is these nuts and bolts aren't for sale, which means I can do whatever I want. Since IFI promotes American made fasteners, I figured I'd introduce a little RW&B to some of the images.

Peter and Patty

2008-12-07T21:06:00.000-08:00

Peter and Patty were married on December 6, at St. Constantine and Helen Cathedral in Cleveland Heights.

Peter and Patty's wedding was a first for me in several ways. First of all, it was my first Greek Orthodox wedding. It was my first wedding with only four people. It was definitely the first wedding where I was invited onto the alter to take pictures (half way through the ceremony). And, it was the first wedding where I was shooting in near darkness.

All of these things made Peter and Patty's wedding one of the most intimate ceremonies I have had the pleasure of shooting. The candlelight provided nearly as much light as the overhead lights and the church itself was beautiful.

But aesthetics aside, it's what this wedding wasn't about that made it very touching. It wasn't about, well, distractions that cause stress for the two people that should not be worried about anything. In fact, this was the most stress-free wedding I have ever witnessed. No stress at all. It was simple and peaceful.

I was told that this ceremony was a shorter version of the traditional Greek Orthodox wedding, but I would have loved to cover the longer version. Peter and Patty were a true joy to work with and the ceremony was wonderful.

Patty and Dave

2008-11-23T20:16:00.000-08:00

Patty and Dave were married over the summer in St. Lucia. They wanted to have a wedding reception back home so all of their family could celebrate with them. Their reception was held at La-Vera Party Center in Willoughby Hills.

Patty and Dave are big polka fans, so they had Polka Country Musicians providing the music. Polka County is one of the best polka bands in the eastern half of the U.S. They travel all across the country playing gigs big and small.

Patty and Dave really wanted to continue the tropical theme they experienced in St. Lucia, so he the hall was decorated with sea shells, starfish and palm trees with a few colorful birds thrown in.

Here are some images from Patty and Dave's wedding reception.

Shannon Kish and Her Awesome Jewelry

2008-11-05T23:06:00.001-08:00

Shannon Kish

Shannon Kish is a Cleveland Artist who specializes in sculpting jewelry. She needed some of her jewelry photographed around an actual neckline. Since her jewelry is a bit edgy and very unique, we decided to use an unusual location for a backdrop. Also, we dressed our model (Amy) in an unusual costume (a Gothic wedding dress that was purchased on clearance from Hot Topic).

Shannon's jewelry is totally unique. Each piece is hand-made and no two pieces are identical. Her creativity blows me away. Here are some of the shots. Click any image for a larger view.

After the jewelry shoot, Amy was more than happy to hang around and model for the fun of it. She did a really terific job.

Fall e-sessions

2008-11-05T19:35:00.000-08:00

I shot some e-session recently for couples getting married next year. I thoroughly enjoy shooting e-sessions because it really gives me an opportunity to get to know the B&G much better. It's kind of a practice run for the photo session on the big day. It's a no pressure situation. I get an opportunity to see what works for a particular couple. Not everyone is comfortable with the same style or level of affection in front of the camera. It's better to know what suits a couple best before the wedding day, when time is precious and there are no second chances.

I'm trying to convince some couples to do a winter e-session. No takers so far (freeze babies!). There are so many playful opportunities with 6"-10" of snow on the ground.

Here are some late summer and fall images.

Deanna and Ugo

2008-10-23T19:37:00.000-07:00

Congratulations Deanna and Ugo!

Deanna and Ugo were married on October 19. A few weeks ago we had an e-session near the train depot in the Brecksville Metroparks. The session went great and they had several wonderful prints displayed at their reception.

A while back, Deanna was a little concerned that there may not be too many leaves left on the trees. Not only were there leaves, but most of them were still green. The day was beautiful and everything went perfectly for Deanna and Ugo.

Ugo is originally from Nigeria. His family still lives there and they traveled all the way to the U.S. to witness the wedding.

The wedding took place at Mt. Zion Baptist Church in Akron.

Cara and Tommy

2008-10-13T18:18:00.000-07:00

On Saturday, October 11, I had the pleasure of documenting the wedding of Cara and Tommy. They were married at St. Basil the Great in Brecksville. It couldn't have been a more perfect day. The sun was out, the sky was blue and the leaves were just beginning to change.

There were a lot of exciting events surrounding this wedding, including Cara's sister having a baby the day before. She managed to escape the hospital for a couple of hours to be in some photos. That's determination!

The reception was full of surprises, including great videos of Cara and Tommy, a creative alternative to the usual clinking of forks against glass for the B&G to kiss, a very unique first dance and an awesome dance contest, complete with a pool noodle, a high-flying priest and a polish leg? Here are some of the images from Cara and Tommy's super fun wedding.

Click any image to view a larger version.

I can only hope that the photo in this frame is temporary.

Candice and Ben Di Fiore

2008-09-21T09:59:00.000-07:00

Bravo!!

The day that so many were looking forward to finally came. Candice and Ben were married on Saturday, September 20, 2008 at St. Anselm in Chesterland.

Typically, I don't write directly to the B&G, but the circumstances of this wedding are different.

Candice and Ben -

Anna and I want to congratulate you on your incredible new beginning. As was stated so many times at your reception, we knew this day was coming long before your engagement, and we are so happy it has finally arrived.

Your wedding was so beautiful and personal. The love of friends and family was evident in all the many details that helped make your wedding so grand. We've never seen you both so happy. We're blessed to have you as family and friends and we wish you an eternity of joy.

We love you both!

Kristy and Adam

2008-09-07T16:45:00.000-07:00

On Saturday, September 6, I had the pleasure of documenting Kristy and Adam's wedding. They were married at St. Paul United Church of Christ in Parma.

The morning was looking like rain, but the sky cleared up just in time. It was a beautiful day for a wonderful couple. Congratulations Kristy and Adam!

Karen and Doug

2008-08-09T09:59:00.000-07:00

I shot Karen and Doug's engagement photos back in March on a freezing cold and windy day at Voinovich Park. As I was waiting for them to arrive, I remember thinking it was going to be a tough session because it was so miserable outside. Hair would be flying all over the place and fingertips would get numb. I had never met Karen and Doug in person, so I wasn't sure how they would handle it. When I saw them approaching, they were all smiles. BIG SMILES. Suddenly, it seemed a little warmer out.

Karen wore a bright pinkish coat. It was such a stark contrast to the gloomy greys that I saw everywhere. I remember thinking at the time that it seemed to match her personality perfectly - vibrant, cheery, fun. Her and Doug's love for one another really came through in their pictures and their session was a big success. I knew their wedding was going to be full of fun times and they were going to be a wonderful couple to work with.

Karen and Doug were married on 8/8/08 at the Church of Holy Angels in Bainbridge. Their reception was at the Hawthorne Valley Country Club in Solon. It was a perfect day.

Italia

2008-08-07T17:47:00.000-07:00

As some of you know, I had the wonderful opportunity to travel to Italy with my wife (Anna), my brother-in-law (Pete or Pietro), my parents-in-law (Tony and Michelina) and our son, Jackson (or Giacomo in Italiano) to visit Anna's grandparents (Beniamino and Concetta DiFiore) and some other incredible people.

As you might expect, I took a lot of photographs. I have created a gallery on my website titled "Italia" with some of my favorite images, not including family photos, with the exception of the first image of my son and a few others. They are mostly landscapes and local people. I hope to share some family photos in the near future and describe the who, what, when and where of it all. But for now, my personal projects will have to wait until things slow down a bit.

The gallery is a mixture of the small town of Rionero Sanitico, where Anna's family is from, Costel Di Sangro, which is the closest "big town" and Rome.

I would like to share one image with you right now just because I want you to smile.

CIAO

Jessica and Ed

2008-08-03T20:31:00.000-07:00

When Jessica mentioned she wanted the "FREE" stamp to be part of her and Ed's engagement shoot, I knew it was going to be a fun night. I love adventurous couples that aren't afraid of heights, or to get a little goofy.

The backside of the stamp made a colorful backdrop.

Jessica and Ed were a joy to work with. They really knew what kind of shots they wanted and just went for it without hesitation. That's not an easy thing to do. Their behavior was a perfect mixture of playfulness, romance and drama.

We were shooting on the steps near Browns Stadium and Ed noticed some bay doors on a near-by building. He thought they would make a cool background. He and Jessica tucked themselves into the corner and waited patiently while I figured out the lighting. Ed's idea turned out to be a great one. These are some of my favorite shots of the session. The lack of expression makes these shots work for me. I like how they went straight into a corner as well. Corners give a sense of secrecy - like the couple are trying to find a spot hidden away from everyone else.

Jessica and Ed got soaked while doing this shot. The wind was blowing hard and was pushing the cascading water out of the fountain. Wet jeans can be uncomfortable, but I think this shot was worth it.

It was my turn to get a little wet. We switched positions and they moved to the other side of the fountain. The sun had set behind Lake Erie, but the sky still had some great color left.

The whole session was shot around Lakefront Ave. There were so many great spots to shoot, all within a few hundred yards of each other. I would have shot them all night if they would have let me. I am truly looking forward to their wedding next spring.

View the entire gallery

Rebecca and Julien

2008-07-03T20:17:00.000-07:00

Rebecca and Julien were married on June 14 at St. Angela's in Fairview Park, OH. Rebecca's dress was champagne and she looked like she had just stepped out of the pages of a bridal fashion magazine. Her ring was a bit unconventional as well - a large sapphire.

If you want to see more than what is posted in the blog, you can check out the entire wedding.

Their reception was at Williams on the Lake in Medina, OH. I have shot events there before, but on this particular day, the facilities looked better then ever. The sky was so blue and the large windows let in a lot of natural light. It was perfect for taking pictures.

Julien had a lot of family come down from Canada. I have been to weddings in Canada, and the Canadians know how to party. Everyone really enjoyed themselves. I can't wait to begin designing Rebecca and Julien's StoryBook, and I'm excited to see the video from Randy Kish Multimedia Productions (website is in the works).