Bethany and Justin’s Downtown Pittsburgh Wedding

I’ll never shoot a better night photo than this one.

I remember exactly when I made it. During Bethany and Justin’s wedding reception at the Sheraton Hotel in Station Square, I had asked the bride and groom to step outside for a few night photos. The hotel is located right next to train tracks and I had been trying to give them verbal direction for portraits when a train started to whiz by and made it impossible to hear anything so I stopped shooting and waited (im)patiently for the train to pass. A few seconds turns to a few minutes and I began to worry that it was taking too long.

Tick tock.

I tried to crack a joke with ”Hey, remember that time your wedding photographer took you away from your reception to stand around outside? Heh heh.” I can’t lie, I was screaming internally.

Bethany and Justin were graciously patient and eventually they turned their backs to me to lean against the railing to face the Pittsburgh skyline.

They fell so beautifully into this moment that I can’t even call it a pose—it was completely unprovoked and perfect. I remember bringing my camera up to my eyes and praying that they wouldn’t move! My camera’s shutter was slow to compensate for the low lighting and if you look closely, you can see the motion blur from the train.

This photo is exactly why Bethany hired me. Here is what Bethany had to say about why she wanted me to photograph her wedding: “I love that we have candid and not staged photos that authentically represent the day we got married. I didn’t feel like I had to “work” to be posed to have amazing photos that captured the day. The emotion that comes through is so special and genuine—that’s what I wanted and I can see everything when I look through my photos. I can never say thank you enough for the memories you documented for us.” Thank you Bethany and Justin for trusting me to document your day!

Vendors:
Photographer—Erica Dietz Photography
Second Photographer—Lou Ruediger
Bridal Shop—Sorelle
Florals—greenSinner
Makeup—Makeup Artistry by Nikki Gilboy
Hair—Lacy Messinger of Black Label Society
Ceremony—Saint Paul’s Cathedral
Reception—Sheraton Station Square