Madison, WI Wedding Photography & Videography Creative Look

Good bye! Adios! See you later!

noreply@blogger.com (April & Derrick) — Fri, 02 Jul 2010 17:58:00 +0000

Dearest Blog Readers,

We know we have been neglecting you the past few months. Somewhere in the midst of shooting, editing, laying out albums, and taking care of our two little boys we neglected to blog about all the exciting things we have been doing and shooting. So to make it up to you, we have a brand new blog, with lots of brand new pictures and posts of what we have been up to.

I am sure its easier said then done, but we will try our hardest to be more dedicated to this blog!

And now for the ribbon cutting ceremony. Imagine it if you will a huge silk, Creative Look Pink ribbon, tied in the prettiest of bows. Sciccors please!!!! And snip, snip....the brand new blog is unveiled!!!

So what are you waiting for go check it out, and sign up for the new feed there, by clicking subscribe.

http://www.creativelookstudios.com/blog

April & Derrick

We Won! Brava Magazine Wedding Photo Contest Madison WI

noreply@blogger.com (April & Derrick) — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 18:56:00 +0000

We’ve been fortunate enough to receive considerations and ‘best of’ ratings by The Knot and Wisconsin Bride magazine in the past six months or so and we are extremely grateful for those, but there’s something extra gratifying about actually having our photo selected as the winner in the Brava wedding photo contest. We know just how good the competition pool is and are ecstatic to have had not just one photo considered as one of the finalist but 2 of the final 7 consideration were ours (view the finalist here http://www.bravamagazine.com/article.jsp?id=9497&department=8812 ) and ironically both photos are from Megan and Andy’s wedding which was one of our favorites to shoot from the past year. The picture that won is on the cover of the current edition of Brava Magazine.

The Nimmer Family welcomes "Baby K" (Newborn Photography Madison, WI)

noreply@blogger.com (April & Derrick) — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 23:17:00 +0000

Considering Tim and I were in the same fraternity in college it’s humorous to think how our conversation have gone from talk about basement parties, to weddings, and now to being parents and of two at that. Tim and Amanda welcomed a new baby girl into the world and we were able to get some great shots of her along with her proud big brother and Mom and Dad. We love to shoot with natural light when possible, which Tim and Amanda’s house had plenty of. Congratulations to Amanda & Tim on the new addition, below are some shots from their session.

Katie + Tim are Engaged! (Engagement Photography Madison, WI)

noreply@blogger.com (April & Derrick) — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 21:28:00 +0000

We stayed close to the gallery for Katie and Tim’s winter couples shoot, and good thing because it was cold. Having forgot to bring gloves along I spent almost as much time thawing my fingers after the shoot as I did shooting. We got some great contrast and color from Katie’s outfit and nearby buildings against the duller winter landscape.

Katie + Dan in Brava Magazine! (Creative Wedding Photography, Madison WI)

noreply@blogger.com (April & Derrick) — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 20:35:00 +0000

It’s seems like Katie and Dan are all over our blog this year. And once again they give us reason to re-visit how proud we are of the photos we created for them as their wedding is published in the recent issue of Brava Magazine. This isn’t the first time we’ve had photos in the magazine, but is the first time we’ve remembered to blog about it as Katie was so gracious as to e-mail us the spread. So thanks Katie for making our job just that much easier!

Lindsay+Jeff+Baby C...(Maternity & newborn photography Madison, WI)

noreply@blogger.com (April & Derrick) — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 20:22:00 +0000

We had the privilege of shooting Lindsay and Jeff’s wedding in 2007 and were honored when they asked us to take maternity and newborn photos of their new baby boy. We did a mix of contemporary black on black and white on white backdrops along with more lifestyle and photojournalistic photos with their newborn session. Congrats to Lindsay and Jeff! Below are some samples from their session.

Baby K. (Newborn Photography, Middleton WI)

noreply@blogger.com (April & Derrick) — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 02:04:00 +0000

It was a pleasure to meet Laura and Jason and their new baby boy. We love to shoot as many sessions as possible on location, and with babies that often means in their home. This allows us to capture everyone in their own environment bringing an element to the photos that traditional studio set ups just can’t. This intimate peak into our client’s lives forever freezes a slice of what their life is like at that given time, hence the tern ‘lifestyle’ photography. We feel that this approach mixed with a few mobile and simple backdrops makes for an excellent collaboration of photographs from both ends of the spectrum. We thank Laura and Jason for choosing us to take these important photos. Below are a few shots from their session.

Jamie + Dave are Engaged! (Madison Wedding Photographer)

noreply@blogger.com (April & Derrick) — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 21:59:00 +0000

Jaime and Dave up in a tree k-i-s-s-i-n-g, literally. We did this winter couples shoot at Olin Park, which turned out great. We shoot so much here in the spring, summer and fall that it was great to see it and photograph at it in the dead of winter. The frozen lake allotted us to shoot in places that wouldn’t otherwise be so accessible and there’s just something comical about the ‘No lifeguard on duty’ signs when well…the lake is frozen. Below are some shots from their shoot.

30 & Fabulous.....

noreply@blogger.com (April & Derrick) — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 20:26:00 +0000

Send Derrick some Birthday love. Today is the BIG 3-0. Derrick's Mom brought some delicious carrot cake over earlier and now we are off to the the Badger game and local establishments to celebrate. (hopefully the freezing rain holds off)

Thanks to Derrick's Mom for the pictures. :)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DERRICK!!! Love lots! April

Post show - Pre Valentine's Day offer

noreply@blogger.com (April & Derrick) — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 03:26:00 +0000

$300 off all of our wedding packages until February 15th 2010. This includes our already heavily discounted Photo and Video packages ( limited availability ). Contact us to check availability on your wedding date and for more info.

2010 Winter Wedding Planner and Guide Show - Madison

noreply@blogger.com (April & Derrick) — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 02:55:00 +0000

This year's Wedding Planner and Guide show was a huge success. It was the perfect combination of great weather and no Packer game that I think allowed for so many people to come out. Thank you to everyone who stopped by our booth. We enjoyed meeting so many different people and getting a glimpse into their planning process. We look forward to working with everyone who took advantage of our show special and booked us over the weekend and to all the couples who are still considering us and who we'll be meeting with in the coming weeks. We want to thank Katie, who was one of the fabulous bride's we worked with this past year, for joining us in our booth on Sunday to help field questions and hand out info. She did an awesome job and we think added a different perspective to describing our services that we obviously can't offer ourselves. And we owe a great deal of thanks to Brian for helping put together and tear apart what we think was one of our best booth's ever. Professor Brian, as we now call him because of his new career path, has shot with and worked with us for over 7 years now and is always there when we really need him, so thanks again. We are still offering $300 off our packages through February 15th, so if you're considering us it's definitely a great value. Below are a few pics of our set up.

11.28.09 Christina + Rob are Married!

noreply@blogger.com (April & Derrick) — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 04:58:00 +0000

When Christina & Rob picked November 28^th as their wedding date they couldn’t of ever imagined that it would be such a beautiful day and that we’d be able to spend so much time taking photos outside. With it being a ‘winter’ wedding we had to deal with the fact that the days are short and with the skies often being overcast, quality light is even shorter. So wisely they decided to see each other prior to their ceremony and take the bulk of their ‘portraits’ before officially walking down the aisle. Though this is a break in ‘tradition,’ it’s a strategy that is becoming more and more common for a number of reasons. Besides being able to take advantage of the light, it seems like the couples we work with who do this are often more relaxed during their ceremony and therefore able to take more of the experience in without having nerves cloud things quite so much, they also typically are able to transition into the reception with their guests much sooner. Even though Christina & Rob first saw one another prior to the ceremony, they still made a moment of their first meeting. We got some really great shots at the Union, and although the chairs had all been put away for the season, the blue skies more than made up for the absent color that they bring. We then headed over to the capitol before making our way back to the church. After the ceremony they made a stop at the Old Fashion, where they had their first ‘date’ before heading to Nakoma Country Club for their wine themed reception. I truly enjoyed documenting their day and we are really proud of all the great moments and images we’ve collected for them. Below is a preview of some of their proofs. - Derrick

Happy Holidays!!!

noreply@blogger.com (April & Derrick) — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 03:26:00 +0000

This year marked the first Christmas that Koeplin fully understood that Santa was coming, and the first Christmas that he got into making Christmas cookies, wrapping presents, opening presents, reading Christmas stories and so on. Which means this year was one of the first that I truly felt the magic of Christmas as an adult, cheesy as it sounds. There is nothing that will put a bigger smile on your face then looking up your stair case, Christmas morning, at 6 a.m. and seeing a 2 year old ready and waiting to discover what Santa brought for him! We hope all of you enjoyed the holidays with family, and felt the excitement of Christmas as much as we did!

Every holiday season we have clients order Christmas cards from their Weddings or Portrait Sessions, and of course we always send out personalized photo holiday cards as well.
Here is this years cover. The shoot was a bit more challenging with two kids this year.

Lyla's Christmas Shoot...

noreply@blogger.com (April & Derrick) — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 03:04:00 +0000

3 years ago I shot Lyla's Mom & Dad's wedding in Janesville, so when they were interested in doing a shoot for their Christmas cards with their one year old, Lyla, Derrick & I were thrilled.
Since I took a few months off from shoots to be home with Kohen, Derrick handled the shoot by himself, and got some great shots of Lyla in our gallery.

Kohen's Newborn Session...

noreply@blogger.com (April & Derrick) — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 02:51:00 +0000

It's hard to believe our little baby is already a little over 2 months old! (which means these pictures are as well) I have been meaning to post a few of his newborn shots for quite some time now. Thank you to everyone who has sent emails and notes with well wishes, we have been enjoying our first few months with Kohen, and Koeplin is loving being a big brother.

Kohen slept through a majority of his newborn session, which made our job even easier. I always love doing newborn shoots, but this one was of course extra special...

Sawyer is 1!

noreply@blogger.com (April & Derrick) — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 02:31:00 +0000

The last 2 months have been a whirlwind with shoots & the new addition of Kohen to our family, to say the least, we are a bit behind on our blog, but in the coming week we plan on posting a ton of our recent shoots, so continue to check the blog out for some of our later fall/winter weddings and some great couples and portrait sessions.

Our shoot with Sawyer was brief, due to rain and chilly winds, but plentiful in great moments of little Sawyer. We can’t call him a baby anymore, as in past blogs, he’s definitely growing fast and becoming more and more of a little boy everyday. It's hard to believe Sawyer is now 1!

As always we loved working with Sawyer and his Mom & Dad!

Laura + Colin are Engaged!

noreply@blogger.com (April & Derrick) — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 20:40:00 +0000

Laura and Colin's engagement shoot is most likely our final outdoor couples session of the season; as all of the leaves have fallen off the trees, things have gotten cold and they've even put away all the chairs at the Memorial Union. (And now at the time of this post we obviously have a lot of snow) We still found plenty of great spaces to shoot and it was nice to have the terrace to our selves as not many others braved the elements that day to hang out by the lake. Laura and Colin were fun to shoot with and we look forward to working with them on their wedding day next year. Below are some previews from their session.

10.10.09 Meg + Tyler are Married!

noreply@blogger.com (April & Derrick) — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 06:47:00 +0000

Tyler and Meg held their ceremony and reception at the Milford Hills Hunt Club. Which is a beautiful setting for a wedding, especially in the fall. The weather may have been a touch colder than they may have wanted, but besides that they really couldn’t of had a more perfect wedding day. There’s a phenomenon called ‘golden hour,’ which occurs about a hour before dusk when the sun is at a perfect angle, and when the rest of the atmosphere cooperates, creating a beautiful golden light that is amazing to shoot photos in. It doesn’t happen everyday, and we often aren’t shooting photos at that time during our more summery weddings, as it occurs later in the evening when dinner and or the reception are taking place. However on Meg and Tyler’s day it seemed to last forever, allowing us to get some really ‘magical’ shots around the grounds of the club. Their outdoor ceremony went off without a hitch, and the reception was full of close family, good friends, great speeches and lots of dancing. I had a great time documenting their day and have to say this this was one of our more favorite weddings, photographically and otherwise, of the year. Below is a preview of some of their proofs.

10.3.09 Jessa & Brett are Married!

noreply@blogger.com (April & Derrick) — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 05:45:00 +0000

Wedding lore dictates that it’s good luck if you have rain on your wedding day. Jessa and Brett got that extra slice of luck on their day. Thankfully though, things cleared up and dried up enough to still spend plenty of time outside on photos with the two of them and their wedding party, and even when it didn’t an umbrella was close by. Not wind nor rain deterred this great couple, and between the church, the capitol, a near by alley way and the Edgewater; we were able to get plenty of great shots. Thanks again to Jessa & Brett for letting us be part of their day. Below is a preview of some of many proofs.

2 huge surprises, 1 week...

noreply@blogger.com (April & Derrick) — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 14:08:00 +0000

First we found out 'it' was a Boy, even though we were overwhelmingly told by family, friends and clients for the last half of a year or so that it had to be a girl (you had us almost sold on it too!). We decided not to find out through ultra sounds this time around, there's only so many big surprises life has to offer so we decided not to cheat ourselves out of this one and it was well worth the wait.

Then we got a call, the day we got back from the hospital, that we had been voted 'Best Of' by the readers of the Knot for Photographers in Wisconsin. This really is a huge surprise and honor for us as we did no kind of campaigning for this award and actually weren't aware that voting was taking place at this time. So thank you, thank you, thank to everyone who voted for us! We truly appreciate it and can't be more thrilled that you've enjoyed working with us as much as we've enjoyed working with you. We were fortunate to receive a similar award through Wisconsin Bride Magazine a few months back, which was also a real honor, but the Knot is the premier and largest publication and website for brides ( and grooms ) planning weddings in the US.

We'll continue striving to offer the highest level of service and quality of work that we can. And this award is definitely motivation to step it up even another notch. Thanks again!

A new Look

noreply@blogger.com (April & Derrick) — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 03:07:00 +0000

We walked behind a woman being pushed in a wheel chair on our way up to the birthing

triage center at the Hospital. April had begun going into labor 18 days sooner than predicted. We took our place at a curtained off hospital bed and were instructed to relax and they'd check in on us. A few curtains over we heard a nurse tell the woman in the wheel chair she was going to see 'how far along she was.' We heard something to the effect of 'wow you're about to have a baby.' A few moments later we listened as doctors and nurses filled the cramped triage area and the woman gave birth. The curtains didn't do a great job of dampening the sounds associated with this event. Not exactly the best environment to relax in. Our little one wouldn't come in such an expedited manor. It was 9pm Sunday night. Fast forward to the middle of the next day and you'd find April still courageously progressing through the process. She had to have a last minute cesarian with our first child which opened us up to additional risks and issues associated with having baby number two the old fashioned way. On top of that, when April would have contractions it would cause the babies heart rate to dip. This concerned the doctors and nurses, who were keeping a careful eye on everything and trying all kinds of different things to over come this problem. More than once it seemed we were on the brink of being sent to the operating room to deliver in order to keep baby and mom safe, just to have the decision overturned at the last second by some small glimpse of hope that a second cesarian could be somehow safely avoided. Finally around 4pm the doctors felt it was time to try to deliver before defaulting to plan B. After about a half hour and some more scary drops in babies heart rate, the doctors decided to make use of a 'super vac.' Tension was high in the now crowded room, equipment and new faces popped up everywhere. Orders were being shouted back and forth and April bravely proceeded doing her part. Things seemed to move quickly, yet time past slow. Then suddenly there he was. Kohen arrived into the world at 4:59pm, and even though he was a little over two weeks early, he was almost just as large as our first son who was 1 week late. Both baby and Mom are healthy and doing fine. We're proud parents, again, and happy Koeplin now has someone else to introduce to the world of monster trucks, tractors and all the other things little boys seem to be so interested in. On a business related note we will be out of the office until further notice and will do our best to get to all of the messages and e-mails we've received in the past few days in a timely fashion. Orders that were received on and around the Holiday deadline will be still be placed in time for the Holidays. Please bear with us over the next few weeks as we get to know baby Kohen better. Below are some of the many photos from the Hospital.

Alana + Matt are Engaged!

noreply@blogger.com (April & Derrick) — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 16:14:00 +0000

We began Alana and Matt’s shoot at the Capitol and progressed to the street and ally’s around Jenna’s, where Matt and Alana got engaged. We had great lighting, not too much wind, and Alana and Matt made things easy on my end. I’m sure we’ll be wishing for a touch of this cooler weather when they say “I do” next July. Below are some of our favorites from their shoot. -Derrick

Meg + Tyler are Engaged!

noreply@blogger.com (April & Derrick) — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 16:06:00 +0000

With Meg & Tyler living out of state, it was difficult to get together for a couples session. So even though we don’t recommend waiting to schedule an engagement session until the week before your wedding, in this case it was the only opportunity we had. We met up downtown, outside the Orpheum, and took advantage of a lot of the great backdrops in the vicinity, including inside and on the rooftop of M.M.O.C.A. It was a fun session and definitely a great warm up for the wedding day. Below are some of our favorites from their shoot. (wedding day images to follow soon!)

Elizabeth + Jed are Engaged!

noreply@blogger.com (April & Derrick) — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 04:27:00 +0000

Elizabeth and Jed’s couples session had to get rescheduled a couple of times, so I was glad when we finally got to meet up with them for their shoot at Olin. With their wedding still coming up this year in December, it was great to get to work with the two of them and build a little more chemistry. They were easy to work with and had some great input for shots. I look forward to shooting their wedding next month, we’ll keep our fingers crossed for a little snow, no wind, and tolerable temperatures. Perfect elements for a winter shoot. Below are some of our favorites from their session.

The Rustler Family...

noreply@blogger.com (April & Derrick) — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 04:03:00 +0000

Shooting one rambunctious toddler can be a challenge, shooting two is an experience that is in a whole other league. We were fortunate to work with Ryan & Michelle when they got married a few years back. So it was awesome to get them in front of our cameras again to do a child/family session. It really was a lot of fun chasing their two little ones around and watching them interact with one another. All of us non-twins out there have definitely day dreamed at some point about what it would be like to have a twin. And though it’s still to be seen if they’ll resemble one another enough when they’re older to stand in for each other and pull tricks on people, it’s just got to be nice to have someone your age by your side to play with and confide with as you grow up. It was nice seeing Ryan & Michelle again and meeting the Nolan & Cameron. Below are some pics from their session.