Sometimes kids look nothing like there parents ... and sometimes they look just like their parents. This would be one of those times where a kid looks just like the parents. Grace may have been a little awe struck at the camera and lights, but she did a great job. Below are a few of our favorites from her shoot.

Posted by Steve Nuzum at 8:05 AM | Permalink

Ashley has been shooting a lot of six month photos recently. Little Alexander is six months now and had a great time in studio. He was definitely caught on the right day to get some fun photos. Check out some of our favorites below.

Posted by Steve Nuzum at 9:24 AM | Permalink

Ashley has been into two things recently with kids shoots...the plexiglass mirror and black and white. So you have definitely seen some of that on the blog. Here are some recent photos of little Jack.

Posted by Steve Nuzum at 10:02 AM | Permalink

In early February Ashley photographed little Jager. Jager is just over six months old so now the photos become much easier. As you can see below he was having a great time and even did a little spit shine on our Plexiglas-mirror. We are definitely looking forward to getting back outside in the near future as the weather gets nicer. In the meantime check out Jager's six-month photos.

Posted by Steve Nuzum at 12:51 PM | Permalink

So it's been just over two weeks since Lainey and Billy got hitched. We've been holding out on these photos, but they CAN NOT be held back any longer. Here are 30 fun photos from their photo station. Enjoy...

Posted by Steve Nuzum at 1:15 PM | Permalink

Ashley photographed little Sophia way back in January, newborns are amazing. Everything they see is for the first time. Everything is a brand new experience. Stop and think about how many "new" experiences you have in your life. As you get older they get fewer and fewer, but for a newborn everything is new.

Our blog is a bit behind but we will be getting caught up here real soon. With wedding overload right around the corner the blog servers will be smoking.

Posted by Steve Nuzum at 11:09 AM | Permalink

Ashley and I really enjoy attending the St. Patrick's Day parade every year. While I am not the most Irish person in the world my surname does originate from the Republic of Ireland. You can't beat the color, excitement, and all around rowdyness that the parade has. The boy's enjoy going as well and we never leave home without the camera. Below are a few shots from this year's parade and for a look back to last year's check out this blog post, St. Patrick's Day Parade 2010.

Posted by Steve Nuzum at 10:40 PM | Permalink

If you read our recent post about our friends Jessica and Matt then you are already familiar with Karrigan's story. Karrigan is Jessica and Matt's first child. She is just about one month old now and I am just getting to this blog post. Ashley shot this photos a few days after she was born. Ashley loves newborn shoots and when someone loves what they do it really shows in their work. See for yourself below.

Posted by Steve Nuzum at 8:43 AM | Permalink

This past Saturday Ashley and I shot Kelsey and Alex's wedding at the Scottish Rite in downtown Des Moines. It wasn't the first time that we had shot at the Scottish Rite, but it was the first time that we photographed a ceremony in the auditorium. The auditorium there is as unique a place as any we've been in. The architecture is unreal. Thanks to the staff of the Scottish Rite who were very accommodating and helpful with setup and overall flow of the event.

It was a breezy day to say the least. The sun was shining, but it was a warm day in disguise. The good news is that when the sun is shining outside we can still get lots of good photos where there are windows. The Scottish Rite has some big open windows in large hallways. This allowed us to use that space as though we were outside. Although the weather was not ideal for being outside and we missed daylight savings by one day, we still were able to get some great fun shots with the two of them indoors.

Kelsey's dad is a musician and owns a studio in Urbandale. He played guitar along with a string quartet, piano, and vocalist during the ceremony. It was some of the best music during a ceremony that we'd ever heard. They did a great job and it really set a good tone for the ceremony. We love the unique and this kind of live music during the ceremony is definitely unique.

Everyone was great to work with and we had a great time. Check out some of our favorites below. Congratulations Kelsey and Alex!

Posted by Steve Nuzum at 9:08 AM | Permalink

I shot Heather and Treye's engagement photos a while back on the ISU Campus. We hit several cool spots and despite the really cold temperatures we had a great time. This particular shot was taken in the open area just north of the Campanile. This wasn't the first time we'd done a snow/snowball fight during an engagement shoot but it was one of the most intense. As you can see from this photo Heather was playing for keeps. I tend to take a "hands off" approach when it comes to shots like this. I want them to just have a good time and enjoy the moment. I will take care of the photos through whatever means necessary, but they just need to have fun and have a fun story to tell later. I hope that these two enjoyed the moment and did have a fun story to tell (with photos to prove it.)

Posted by Steve Nuzum at 12:01 PM | Permalink

Welcome to our 2011 I Love Des Moines contest. Ashley and I are born and raised right here in beautiful Des Moines, IA. We love it here and you should too. Study the photo above. There are ten photos of letters from the Downtown Des Moines Area spelling out "Nuzum Photo." Then fill in our entry form on our contest page with your guesses as to the locations of our letters. Be as specific as possible. Name of the building, address, the business, ANYTHING to better explain where you think the letter is located. Don't worry if you only know 8 or 5 or 2. Someone is going to win, so you might as well enter.

RULES: One entry per person. Entry must be received by 03/31/11 at 11:59:59PM. The winner of the contest will have guessed the most correct locations. If more than one person has the most correct answers a random drawing will be held to determine the winner. Correctness of answers will be at our discretion. Our decisions are final.

PRIZE: The winner of the contest will receive a photo shoot (normally no cost anyway,) the digital negatives with print release, $100 print credit, and a 20"x30" metal print. (how cool is that?) The photo shoot could be a family photo shoot, a day after wedding, trash the dress, kids, newborn, boudoir, engagement....pretty much anything.

PRIVACY: The information you submit will ONLY BE USED if you are the winner. We will NOT spam you in anyway. If you want SPAM visit Austin, Minnesota for the SPAM museum.

Visit our contest page to enter.

Posted by Steve Nuzum at 4:30 PM | Permalink

So Ashley and I have been doing something for our brides and grooms informally, but we'd like to go ahead and make it formal. It's actually quite simple. If it rains on your wedding day and we can't take photos outside...you get a free day after/trash the dress session. We want you to have stunning photos of you in you dress and your new husband by your side. If rain slows us down on your wedding day we won't let it stop us from achieving that.

So what is a day after/trash the dress session? In one word, it's fun. We are a little more creative with these and they tend to be shot more like engagement photos. We don't have time limits and don't worry so much about keeping the dress pristine. We have a great time and get some great photos. Check out some examples below.

Posted by Steve Nuzum at 8:07 AM | Permalink

This weekend Ashley and I photographed Lainey and Billy's Des Moines wedding. Lainey and I actually graduated high school together and Lainey and Ashley grew up in the same tiny town. So we have known Lainey for quite some time. When Lainey contacted us about photographing her wedding we were excited and nervous. Sometimes shooting a wedding for someone you know can be more stressful than for someone you don't know very well. Luckily for Ashley and I we always feel like the people we photograph are our best friends so always have butterflies before a wedding shoot. If we didn't get butterflies, we shouldn't be doing this.

Lainey and Billy were married downtown at St. Ambrose with reception following at ZART1312. The weather was cold, we didn't get lucky enough to experience 60 degree temps, but we still made the best of it and got outside for some photos. We were looking for a warm spot to take photos and ended up stopping by Hoyt Sherman Place and hoping we would be able to take just a few shots inside somewhere warm. The mansion was open, but not many people around. We located the nicest lady and she allowed us to shoot some shots. She also made sure we did not damage anything. Not that we were trying. But she was very attentive. Even with me running smoke screen so we could hurry up and get done and get some great shots.

After leaving Hoyt Sherman we headed to the High Life Lounge where the wedding party could unwind a bit. We followed that up a stop at the Capital and an alley near ZART1312. The reception was amazing. Aaron from Parm's Porta Party was the DJ, we have an entire blog post coming up on why you should hire Aaron, and he kept the party going. The evening included a smashed chair. The photos below kind of explain how that came about.

We had a great time working with Lainey, Billy, both of their families, and all of their friends. We also got to catch up with some old friends and it all made for a great day and even better evening. Watch for our blog posts on the photo station to follow. Congratulations to Lainey and Billy!

Posted by Steve Nuzum at 12:52 PM | Permalink

Posted by Steve Nuzum at 8:58 AM | Permalink

A photo is worth 1,000 words, but sometimes it takes 1,000+ to tell the whole story. There is a story behind every photo we take. Why did we choose to take this shot? What lead us to this location? What was the reasoning behind the pose? How long did I make them sit there like that? Who's idea was it? Etc. So today I am choosing one photo to give you that behind the photo look at.

This is an engagement photo from Angela and Adam's session last year in Omaha. This photo was taken near Gene Leahy Mall around the Old Market area. It was the first time that I'd been able to shoot in this area and there was certainly plenty for me to use in the shoot. It was a cold and rainy day and I had actually been a bit under the weather, but as is usually the case as soon as I started shooting everything else, including feeling crappy, faded away.

There are a couple of giants slides at the east end of the park. How could I not have them take a few on these giant slides. So they, Adam a little reluctantly, climbed to the top and proceeded to try and slide down. About half way down they got stuck. The slides are metal and not really, well slidey. Apparently using cardboard is the way to go since there was a bunch of discarded cardboard sitting around. So when they got stuck half way we all had a good laugh, Adam is even laughing in this particular photo, and I told them to kiss. Imagine that, me telling someone to kiss in front of the camera. Anybody who follows this blog knows the power of kissing photos and that we take a ton. After we finally stopped laughing they scooted off the slides and we continued on around the park. Great photo, great story.

Posted by Steve Nuzum at 1:45 PM | Permalink

Ashley and I will be along with you for a large part of your big day. We are not only guests at your wedding but we are charged with being the story teller, the scribe, and the image maker. We work to retell your story for years to come through our photography. We are not simply photographers, we are along with you for the journey. Everything we do throughout the day is working towards retelling your story. Not just taking pictures but creating living moving images of every moment and every breath.

Over the course of your wedding we behave as portrait photographers, photojournalist, landscape photographers, and still-life photographers. We cover weddings from top to bottom. Getting every detail pushes us to the limits of all types of photography. Ashley and I are there for you. We will be along side you, walking with you, talking with you, laughing with you, and if needed crying with you. We shoot from our hearts and are forever a part of each of the couples we get to spend their day with. You are our friends and without that we would not be able to capture all the emotion that we house within ourselves and our cameras.

- Steve and Ashley Nuzum

Posted by Steve Nuzum at 10:01 AM | Permalink

Why does it matter that Ashley and I are a husband and wife team and not just two photographers? The reality is it goes much deeper than it seems. The simple answer is we know exactly what each other is thinking at any moment because we share a connection that no other two people do. A lot of photographers work as individuals and simply hire out a second photographer. Or if it is a bigger studio they themselves are outsourced photographers. How can two people who only work together once a week, or may be working together for the first time, possibly capture a wedding in the emotionally attached and committed way it needs to be.

Ashley and I always know what each other's next move is. After shooting over 100 weddings together, and being married for nearly 7 years, we've learned to think ahead of each other and anticipate. During a first kiss or during the first dance I know exactly what Ashley is shooting and why she is shooting it. She knows exactly what I am doing and why I am doing it. We are able to better capture the moments of your wedding day because we work as one and not as two individuals. Ashley's camera is an extension of mine and vice versa.

From the beginning of the day until the time we leave a wedding we are in constant contact regarding what we are doing and why. We share ideas, we communicate, and most importantly we grow closer. Every wedding we shoot is an opportunity for Ashley and I to grow closer together and that helps us to produce the beautiful photos you see on our site. Ashley and I shoot a wedding engulfed in the emotion of the wedding day. Quite honestly, we get caught up in it. I catch myself not taking photos sometimes because I become a guest. I feel that I am sharing the emotion that the bride, groom, and family are feeling. I know Ashley feels the same way. We are committed and attached.

Many times Ashley and I catch up with each other as we are transitioning from location to location and discuss how we are feeling. It is easy to put ourselves in everyone's position. From bride and groom to mom and dad. We often talk about how it will feel when our children are getting married. What it will feel like for us and what it will be like for them. We shoot with the emotion we feel.

Posted by Steve Nuzum at 11:58 AM | Permalink