stan patyrak: photography

KATIE.

spatyrak — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 01:07:37 +0000

More to come soon, but Katie rocked this look.

STREET BEAUTY.

spatyrak — Mon, 31 May 2010 20:26:22 +0000

Hair and Make-up: Emmanuel Salon

Fort Bend Focus Magazine, May 2010

FAMILY.

spatyrak — Mon, 31 May 2010 19:37:09 +0000

Gosh, the last time I had a session with this family the youngest was barely walking. Had a great time with the Evans family – who are also good friends. Gotta love their house, which backs up to the woods, via a little wooden bridge.

Yes, please!

FOCUS, PLEASE.

spatyrak — Tue, 06 Apr 2010 04:22:07 +0000

These photos might look a little familiar from a recent blog entry. Teamed up with the beauty makers at Emmanuel Salon to offer Sugar Land something a little new. Excited to see the spread in the last mailing of the Fort Bend Focus magazine. Pardon the low res scans.

We had another rendezvous about a week ago – so check for the next issue for something bigger, badder and bolder. I’ll break my confidentiality agreement and post something here before it releases.

YES, I AM THE FAMILY PHOTOGRAPHER.

spatyrak — Sun, 04 Apr 2010 05:10:01 +0000

Had a great weekend with my wife’s family. Allison drove in from Texas Lutheran University and she helped us with some yard work in exchange for some senior photos. Stoked to be at her graduation in a few weeks.

INSPIRATION: FREE MAGAZINES, EXPENSIVE TASTE

spatyrak — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 06:20:42 +0000

My roots in photography are planted fairly firmly in the world of fashion. After finding my dad’s old AE-1 in the back of his closet one day, my best friend Brian and I began to shoot for his salon – Emmanuel Salon. He and his team are rockstars when it comes to bringing out the beautiful in people, and I quickly fell into inspiration from beautiful people and fashion. It’s funny in many ways, because I do so much shooting for Living Water International too. Fashion seems to far removed from a world where people lack something as basic as clean water, but both stories are a big part of who I am as a photographer. I think it really comes down to my belief that truly capturing “story”, who someone is, makes images beautiful. We’ve all seen images like this. They are the images that we can’t help but stare a little longer at – images that we almost try and figure out.

I’ll post some recent photos from my time with LWI later, but I wanted to share a few of the magazines that I get inspiration from on a fairly regular basis.

The truth is, I don’t own a single photography magazine. But, much to the delight of my wife, I subscribe to catalogs from Urban Outfitters, Anthropologie and free people.

Turns out the same company owns each brand. What I appreciate about each brand’s “story” is how minimally processed their look is. With exception to Free People, images are mostly shot in natural light. It’s confident photography for confident brands. Far from edgy, soft images allow the models and fashion to do the “pulling” of the image.

And, just because I am so jazzed about the wedding I just finished editing, here are two more fav’s:

WEDDING: KATIE AND BRENT

spatyrak — Sun, 21 Feb 2010 16:59:08 +0000

Her email grabbed my attention.

Subject line: “Ridiculously low-key wedding”.

Katie came referred from a past bride, and now friend. It’s the biggest compliment I could get, and that alone made me want to work with her and her fiance. But, throw in an intro email with a subject line like that… and you have my full attention.

On a perfect day in a perfect backyard in the Heights, Katie and Brent were married. The ceremony was profoundly simple, yet so meaningful. It seemed that everyone attending helped to make the day happen. Guests were also hostesses and hosts, attending to details of the day. It made we wish that Patricia and I had celebrated our wedding in the same way. It was intimate, joyful and a celebration. It seemed less about a production, and more about community.

After a few phone conversations with Katie (leading up to the wedding), I found myself looking forward to the day. And when I met Brent, and saw the two of them together – I was beyond excited. It made we wish I had kept on my converse instead of trading them into for a more conservative decision – seems I would have fit in a bit better. Brent was styling – and Katie gorgeous.

I am thankful to have been a part of your wedding, Katie and Brent. What a perfect evening.

Here a few of my immediate favorites from last night. Be sure and click on the “full screen” option if you want to see larger versions of the photos!

WEDDING: LAURA AND BRAD

spatyrak — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 23:01:30 +0000

Seems married folk always look just as happy to be leaving their reception as they do to be arriving.

I get to photograph some beautiful people on a regular basis. Life is good.

FASHION: EMMANUEL SALON AND FORT BEND FOCUS MAGAZINE

spatyrak — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 01:11:19 +0000

BRIDAL: ILENE

spatyrak — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 03:48:21 +0000

Going through some older photos tonight, and ran across these of Ilene. This was, by far, one of my most favorite bridal sessions. I would drop everything to have an opportunity to shoot at the missions in San Antonio again. It always helps to have a rockstar bride, too.