Jeff Mason Wedding and Portrait Photographer

When a bride calls Jeff Mason Photography inquiring about wedding photography one of the first things I ask her is if they are considering a engagement photo session.  Engagement photo sessions are meant to be fun, relaxed and casual.  It’s a good time to get pictures of the couple just being themselves and showing their love for one another.  Another benefit of the engagement session is that the couple and I get to know each other and they get a chance to become comfortable with me and being in front of my camera.  This is important because on their wedding day, one of the biggest days in their lives, I am going to be right there with them.  After the engagement photo session I’m not just some guy with a camera in their faces, I’m a friend.

One of the most popular products from the engagement session is our Wedding Guest Signature Book.  This book goes beyond the typical guest book.  Not only does it have 20 pages of awesome pictures from the engagement session but I put questions on the pages that prompt the guests to write more than just their names.  Questions such as “When did you know that Rachel and Gordon were in Love”, or “Give us an idea for a date night”.  I have seen some really fun responses from guests.  These are books that the bride and groom can read and get enjoyment from for years to come.

Here is one of the books that I created for Rachel+Gorden who are going to be married on March 21.

I’ve always been a big fan of Gorillaz music.  I ran across this Gorillaz music video on YouTube that I thought I would share.  At least one Gorillaz song is in our playlist when we are photographing a Senior Portrait session in studio at Jeff Mason Photography.  Seniors, you can bring your favorite to your session an we will plug your ipod or iphone or a cd in and we’ll Rock Out while we take amazing pictures of you.

I love the E*Trade talking baby videos!  They really crack me up.  These kids are Kuhlapotomus!

I was at the beach recently for a wedding engagement photo session and noticed this sign.  I really wasn’t aware that we have a problem like this.  We don’t need to have our troops in far away lands, seems like they need to be deployed to the beach, not the desert!

I was contact a while back by a very enthusiastic student from the yearbook staff at Steinbrenner High School.  She saw Jeff Mason Photography ads for senior pictures on facebook and wanted to know if i would be interested in placing an ad in their yearbook.  Sydney is her name and I was very impressed with her professionalism and attitude.  I told her that I would place an ad but I needed a student from her school to be featured in the ad and asked if she would be interested in being that student?  After meeting with her and her family we scheduled a session.

We scheduled Sydney to have her hair and makeup done before the session by my good friend Priscilla Cruz of Destiny & Light Hair and Makeup Artists.  She looked great and had a good time being made up.  I also want to thank Stephanie Humphrey owner of Stephanie Humphrey Photography for her artful suggestions and expertise with a reflector.

Here is the ad for Jeff Mason Photography that is going to be in the yearbook:

Earlier this month I had the wonderful honor of creating a family portrait in honor of Mrs. Martha’s 90th birthday.  There was family from out of town as well as locals.   What an enjoyable experience it was.  Martha showed me all of her family pictures and told me about the countries they had visited.  It was remarkable all of the traveling that they have done during their lives.

Now as I have mentioned, this is Martha’s 90th birthday, right?  Well, Mrs. Martha was determined to enjoy it to the fullest…as she took a ride on the rope swing in the back yard!  Personally, she scared me to death but I get the feeling that this is Martha’s M.O.

Happy Birthday, it was truly an enjoyable afternoon.  Here are a couple of pictures from the day

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I ran across these by accident but they are awesome video testimonials from couples who have been married for 50+ years.  I always make it a point to ask brides who contact me, “Where did you and your fiance meet?”.   More than a few have said that they met when they were in grade school or the groom-to-be visited his grandparents who lived across the street every summer.  Really wonderful stories.  These little videos hit home because they are the same kinds of stories.  I feel so fortunate that Jeff Mason Photography can be there to photograph each of our new couples as they start their lives together.  Video by Gillian Laub

Macon and Jim – Married 51 years

Betty and Lou – Married 60 years

Imogene and Elmer – Married 55 years

Aren’t these wonderful!

Corrie + Gabe were married on January 23, 2010.  I have known Gabe and his family through our church for more than 10 years.  I haven’t known Corrie as long but she is one of those sweet souls who makes everyone she comes in contact with feel like they have been friends forever.

Their wedding as held in the courtyard of Presbyterian Church of Seffner and Corrie was escorted by her son, Aden.  In a large part, the magic of their wedding ceremony was the simplicity of the event and the surroundings.  The courtyard was beautifully landscaped, the trees were adorned with jewels and flowers hanging from the branches on wire, and the guests sat on bales of hay wrapped in white cloth.  It couldn’t have been any more perfect!  Their reception was held at Keel and Curley Winery in nearby Plant City, Florida.

Here is a slideshow of a few of the images from their wedding taken by Jeff and Nancy from Jeff Mason Photography.  Thank you for inviting us to share in your wonderful day.

One of the great things about meeting a bride and groom and photographing their wedding is that they become a mom and dad.  I photographed Kimberly+David’s wedding in 2008, it was a super fun wedding at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Tampa.  Kim and I have been kept in touch through facebook so I knew that they were expecting.  Well, in December Kim called me to say that they would be in Tampa and would I photograph their new baby girl, Sarah.  Uh, of course!   It was so nice to see Kim and David again and to meet the beautiful little Miss Sarah.  I look forward to being their family photographer for many years to come.

Here are a few of Sarah’s pictures.

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Press Release

Tampa, Florida – January, 19, 2010 – WeddingWire, the nation’s leading wedding technology company, just announced Jeff Mason Photography has been selected to receive the 2010 Bride’s Choice Awards™ for Photographers!

The annual Bride’s Choice Awards™ recognizes and celebrates excellence in quality and service within the wedding industry, as determined by recent reviews and extensive surveys from over 500,000 newlyweds.

Jeff Mason Photography is among the top five percent of all vendors in the WeddingWire community, which includes over 100,000 wedding professionals across the US and Canada. Awards were given to winners across 19 different service categories, from wedding venues to wedding photographers.

“We are excited to recognize and honor the success of the top wedding professionals within the WeddingWire Community” said Timothy Chi, WeddingWire’s Chief Executive Officer. “The annual Bride’s Choice Awards™ program has given us the unique opportunity to highlight the best wedding professionals in each region as reviewed by brides and grooms who have utilized their services in the past year.”

We are happy to announce that Jeff Mason Photography is among the very best Photographers within the WeddingWire Network, which includes WeddingWire and Martha Stewart Weddings. We would like to thank our past newlyweds for nominating us for the 2010 Bride’s Choice Awards™.

For more information, please visit our WeddingWire Storefront today at http://www.weddingwire.com/biz/jeff-mason-photography-valrico/f66a04b8cfc1c3c7.html [?].