Ashley and I are trying something fun this year to give back to the city that has given so much to us. On October 23rd we want to photograph 25 families, completely cost free including the digital negatives from the shoot. Each shoot will take place at one outdoor location, yet to be determined but most likely Water Works Park, Gray's Lake, or the Rose Garden. Each shoot will last 10 minutes. It will include one or two family photos and a few photos of each of the children. No sitting fees, includes the digital negatives from the shoot, mailed 2-3 weeks after the shoot. You can order images of the shoot from our website but it is not required.

There are no special requirements to be a part of the shoot. By participating in the shoot you agree to allow us to post the photos on our facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/nuzumphoto and on our blog at www.nuzumphoto.com. One family(guardians and children) per session so we can ensure that everyone gets 10 minutes of photos. If you are interested please complete the form below to set your time. If you are late for your shoot unfortunately we will have to skip you and your shoot will not be rescheduled. We want to ensure everyone has the full ten minutes. Thanks and we look forward to working with all of you!

WOW

The response we have received has been incredible. We are completely booked for the 25 sessions, but I can't imagine that we don't open up at least 5 more. If I can chow some Jimmy John's in my left hand and shoot with my right we will work right through lunch....maybe more details to come....

Posted by Steve Nuzum at 9:48 PM | Permalink

This is most likely more than you ever ever ever wanted to know about Ashley and I, but we spend the day with you when you are at the top of the love mountain. You've scaled a mountain that not even the peaks of Everest, K2, or Kangchenjunga can hold a candle too. And now you are poised at the top having conquered the feat...and who is standing right beside you all day...you got it, Ashley and I. Or any other photographer that you may have had photograph your wedding. They are there to make sure everyone understands just how important this day is to you and your family. The photographer is the story teller. The scribe. The historian. The record keeper. The stenographer. You get the point.

So why does it matter that the photographer understands what love is? Because to tell the story you have to understand why it is so important. We've all loved. A cat, dog, toy, mother, father, brother, sister, the Hawkeyes, the Cyclones, the Bears, Chiefs, Vikings, or Packers. But the love for a significant other goes beyond all of that. This is the person that you've said you want to spend a lifetime with. That you want to raise a family with, even if only a family of 2. Ashley and I have been there and continue to live it every day. We understand what love is. We've lived it, photographed it, seen it come and go unfortunately. We understand love in a way few others do.

So where is all this leading to? Simply put we want you to get to know us better. As people, not as photographers. So we've grabbed a few questions from an internet list and are going to spill our guts. We want you to get inside our heads and understand why we are the best possible story tellers for your big day, why we have a deep understanding of love and life. Ashley and I answered these separately so that we could learn something about ourselves as well. As many times as we've told the stories or talked about our love we can always learn more by talking to each other and about each other. Am I soft for doing so? Some people would say so, but I firmly believe in "don't just breath....live." I'm here to live and in doing so I want to live the deepest and most meaningful life I can. That means being one with Ashley.


We honestly answered these completely separate before putting them in this blog post.

How did you meet your husband/wife?

Steve: We went to the same school and for some reason I had this uncanny ability to memorize people's photos from yearbooks. So I knew the names and photos of everyone in the school even if I didn't know them personally. I could probably tell people exactly how they looked in a particular year's yearbook photo. Anyway, I knew who Ashley was, but didn't know her. My family temporarily moved to the tiny town of Berwick. We rode the same bus, existed in the same space, and still didn't really know each other. One day we played baseball in an empty field and a lot of the kids from the neighborhood were there including Ashley. I happened to mention to one of my friend's, Travis, that I liked Ashley which eventually got back to her, which I fully anticipated. The rest as they say is...history.
Ashley:We went to school together and I always knew who he was. It wasn't til he moved in to my little town that we actually met. Steve started riding the same bus as me and then one faithful day all the neighbor kids played baseball together and the rest you can say is history.

How did you know he/she was "the one"?

Steve: What a tough question. Because Ashley and I knew each other for so long it was easy to grow together and she became a part of me. Wherever I went, whatever I did, we were always together. When I realized that I didn't want to be anywhere she wasn't, I knew she was the one.
Ashley:I am not sure there is one specific moment. There is though two moments that really stand out. The day of our first kiss....Steve asked and I think I was in love at that moment. The other was our first 4th of July. We went to Adventurland and we timed it (plus a little bit of luck) to be at the top of the ferris wheel when the fireworks went off. Something about that moment just sticks out in my mind.

How did you propose?

Steve: Now the truth comes out. It was actually pretty unromantic. I try, but typically fail. It was on our dating anniversary and we had dinner together. I didn't have the ring on me so I had to find a way to get it without her knowing. So I got a hold of it and hid it. Then I simply asked the question. Boring I suppose. No violins, no fancy restaurant, no wine, or even a tie. Even though it was fairly simple, it was coming for a long time. It was pretty clear that Ashley and I were like spaghetti and meatballs. Just belonged together.
Ashley:Steve proposed on our 4 year dating anniversary. It was in our little shack that we were renting at the time. I had made stuffed jumbo shells and we were eating off I believe a rubbermaid...did not yet have a table. He was traditional, no ring in a glass of champagne, thankfully. Steve got down on one knee and asked me to marry him. Of couse I said yes.

What were the best times? The most difficult times?

Steve: Kids are important part of our relationship. Our children are the product of use together. We can do anything else without each other. Win awards, run marathons, or even love. Our kids are our legacy. When we are gone they are what is left and Ashley and i working on that together are the best times. It's also the most difficult at times. We have young boys that are really close together in age. That's tough but completely worth it.
Ashley:Best times by far have to be the birth of our three sons. Nothing in the world could beat that. The most difficult would have to be during my pregnancy with Parker. My family had two horrible losses that year and shortly after our second loss we got news that I could have Vasa praevia. Thankfully everything with Parker turned out fine and he was born without any complications.

Did you ever think of getting divorced?

Steve: Nope and no further explanation is needed. It's just that simple.
Ashley: NOPE

What advice do you have for young couples?

Steve: Learn to laugh together. Laughter is so powerful. I really think that laughter is the roots of any good relationship. Laughter is the expression of happiness that comes from the body. We cry when were sad and we laugh when we are happy. Laughter often times gets associated with comedy, but that's not always the case. I often incite tickle fights within in the house that involve both Ashley and I as well as the boys. Believe me when I say that those are some of the most fun times.
Ashley: Talk and listen. There is nothing more important in a relationship then being able to talk with your partner about anything and everything.

Do you have any favorite stories from your marriage or about your husband/wife?

Steve: My favorite story is actually of the day Gavin was born. Ashley and I were pretty undecided on names, but had an idea. When he was born she pretty much just blurted out his name with complete confidence. It was a great moment that I will never forget. She was just so matter of fact about it. I have tons of stories, that's just the one that came to mind.
Ashley: Way way to many to share....that may need to be another post!

Posted by Steve Nuzum at 5:08 AM | Permalink

Ashley photographed little Ben at Water Works Park. Ben is at an age that is just tough to shoot. They aren't real mobile yet, strong enough to sit, stand, or sometimes even lift their head. That just means that mom and dad get to be in more of the photos. Which to us makes perfect sense given that you are one family unit, growing together and we are there to capture just a few photos of that process.

Posted by Steve Nuzum at 6:13 AM | Permalink

We've taken photos of the Victor and his family a few times before. These were taken in Rose Garden earlier this month. I've probably posted the story of how we know Vic and his family before, but the short version is Vic was the first person I met when I moved to a new school in 1st grade. Fast forward, we each have kids and families...and the time went very fast. Check out a few of our favorites below including Vic's mini-me, anyone else think his son looks like him?

Posted by Steve Nuzum at 7:33 AM | Permalink

Ashley shot these photos of Mason at Grey's Lake in Des Moines. The southeast corner of the lake has become one of my favorite spots. The lighting early in the evening rivals most locations in Des Moines. This area along with the west side of the Rose Garden and across the Raccoon River Bridge in Water Works Park are a couple of our favorite spots for golden hour shots. For those who do not know, Golden Hour is the half hour before sunset and the half hour after sunset. This is when the best lighting is for photos. The sun provides an even cast of light across the sky and lighting is both smooth and even. Cloudy days, not so much. Unless you are lucky enough to catch a day when the sun is sneaking under the clouds on the horizon using the clouds as the world's largest reflector.

Posted by Steve Nuzum at 5:16 AM | Permalink

This photo shoot really shows what we are all about on an engagement session. We want to get you that one photo that you can show everybody and be proud of, we want to give you several images that you can post to Facebook, and we want to give you MANY images that you can remember how great of a time we had on the shoot and how great of a time the two of you had together. Sierra and Justin were awesome on their engagement session. We spent a lot of time downtown. I shot photos that they will be proud to print and I shot some photos, like #1 below, that you wouldn't print but really helped to tell the story of them. It gives them a great perspective on themselves and their relationship. I hope they had as much fun as I did....oh, and they are Hawkeye fans so...they are pretty awesome in my book.

Posted by Steve Nuzum at 5:07 AM | Permalink

Ashley and I photographed Laura and Kasey's Ankeny wedding on August 6th. It was one of those days where everything came together perfectly and we encountered no problems. The wedding was in Ankeny, but the reception was at Kasey's family winery. Ashley and I found a field we really liked on the way to the winery and we headed there to take photos as well. Laura and Kasey were great to work with and the photos speak for themselves...not much I can say...

Posted by Steve Nuzum at 5:49 AM | Permalink

Ashley photographed Hattie at Water Works Park in July. It looks like she had a good time. We use very little flash. Every once and a while we will drag our Alienbees out to do a photo shoot, but it is rare. Natural light is so much better for photos. I can spot a photo using flash from a mile away and they never look real good. Let the sun shine and we will work right through it. Using it to our advantage.

Posted by Steve Nuzum at 8:06 AM | Permalink

Ashley photographed Evalyn at Water Works Park last month. Evalyn really liked her bubbles. This is an age where as a photographer you have to let them be themselves and just chase and shoot. It sounds crazy. But it's a lot more fun then you'd think. Two year olds are probably my favorite age to shoot just because of the challenge they present. You have to work with them and within their rules. If you are patient they will warm up and give you the exact shots you are looking for. For us that means we get shots of them acting like themselves in whatever environment we are in. Ashley and I are very lucky to get to work with all of you.

Posted by Steve Nuzum at 6:37 AM | Permalink

We've made some big changes to our mobile site. Be sure to stop by on your mobile phone and check it out. Just visit www.nuzumphoto.com from any mobile device to see our new stuff. Here is a quick preview below.

Posted by Steve Nuzum at 5:58 AM | Permalink

Waht do you do when the party bus air conditioner doesn't keep up? You suck it up. That is exactly what these two and their wedding party did. Ashley and I photographed Carolyn and Kamron's wedding in July. The ceremony was held in Muscatine, IA with the reception following at Hotel Vetro in Iowa City, IA. The ceremony location was beautiful. The church has a lot of history and boosts an amazing sanctuary. One benefit of traveling across Iowa for weddings is getting to see all the landscape and places of great history in Iowa.

Carolyn and Kamron choose a warm wedding day, not that they did it on purpose, but it was the way it turned out. We still did their first sight outside and it turned out perfectly. Although it was rather warm they were great throughout. During the ceremony I stationed myself up in the balcony for a little while before heading back down and shooting from the rear of the church. Ashley did her usual thing getting the coming in photos and then headed to the sides of the venue. Watching Ashley and i work must be interesting because I'm sure it looks like we are moving in unison and thinking as one. We never cross paths unintentionally and are always shooting everything from different angles.

We stopped for some outdoor photos at a park that Ashley and I saw on the way into Muscatine as well as in a couple locations in Iowa City. Carolyn and Kamron were great dispite the lack of cool air on the bus, or outside for that matter. She even got in the sand and sat on a swing set. Luckily the University of Iowa is not back in session or it may have been a little more difficult to get the shots we did in Iowa City.

Ashley and I pride ourselves on not being a distraction at weddings. We want all of the attention on you two. During the ceremony and reception it should be like we aren't even there. Carolyn sent me an email saying that she actually had guests ask if she had wedding photographers. I'd call that a success for us! Congratulations to Carolyn and Kamron!

Posted by Steve Nuzum at 5:18 AM | Permalink

Ashley has been photographing Aaron since he was just a newborn. He is now two years old. It can NEVER be over stated how fast time flies once you have kids and they grow so fast. Take lots of photos, and I don't just mean with us, I mean with your camera, your cell phone, your video camera, draw a picture, whatever it takes to capture them at all the stages they go through. Ashley shot these downtown in the Sculpture Garden area. Two is a tough age to photograph because they are so excited about everything and extremely mobile. You have to chase and shoot and chase and shoot.

Posted by Steve Nuzum at 8:34 AM | Permalink

I photographed Rachel and Eric's engagement photos in Valley Junction and downtown Des Moines. You may notice that I talk about the weather a lot in my blog posts. The reason is that the weather effects how, where, and when we shoot more than anything else. The weather on this particular day was warm, but nice. We made sure to stay in some shady areas and keep moving to keep from staying in one place too long. Ashley and I are looking forward to working with these two as their wedding day draws closer. Check out a few of our favorites below.

Posted by Steve Nuzum at 5:48 AM | Permalink

Jenni and Micah had the hottest wedding of the year by a wide margin. It was a swealtering July day. It was 'carry a hand towel with you' hot. It was 'cook an egg on the side walk' and' bake cookies in your car window' hot. It was 'catch ants on fire with a magnifying glass' hot. The most amazing part was that this wedding party was taking it all in stride. Like it was 65 and breezy, but with a bunch of sweat.

We shot Jenni and Micah's first sight downtown at the sculpture garden and followed that up with photos in the area around there as well as the Meredith building area. We really like shooting in that area now. It is easy to get some great photos in a quick amount of time. On a wedding day time is extremely important because everything is so planned out. We also had a little drive down to St. Charles, IA to Two Saints Winery for the ceremony and reception. (Where I had an encounter with some very cooperative rings and a cork.)

The ceremony was outside and it was hot. The sun was as high in the sky as it gets and beating down with a ferociousness I can't explain. The beauty of the whole scene was that everyone was taking it all very well. The ceremony went off beautifully and everyone headed into the air conditioned winery for the reception. We had a great time with Jenni and Micah as well as their families and bridal party. Congratulations!

Posted by Steve Nuzum at 5:15 AM | Permalink

In early July Ashley and I photographed Kelly and Dan's Urbandale wedding. It was pretty warm out, but not bad enough to keep us from starting photos outside. We have been on a good streak of doing first sights outside this year. The lighting is drastically better and the photos show it. We decided to photograph Kelly and Dan's first sight downtown at the state capitol. We followed that up with photos in the area. Typically we would want to take those between the ceremony and reception so everyone is a little more relaxed and can have a real good time, but this bride, groom, and wedding party were as relaxed as we've seen before a ceremony.

We headed back to the church to do formal photos before the ceremony. Again we shot outside, which was definitely the right choice given the great location and weather. Aside from little hydraulic grease on the bride's dress everything went pretty well. When the bride get's grease on her dress it is not a good thing, but it didn't spoil anyone's attitude and we kept moving. Beautiful day, beautiful wedding, beautiful photos. Congratulations Kelly and Dan!

Posted by Steve Nuzum at 5:42 AM | Permalink

Ashley photographed these two at the Rose Garden back in June. With certain age little kids you have to chase and wait and chase and wait and let them be themselves. The photos turn out so so so much better when they are allowed to relax and have fun. As opposed to forcing them into some indoor setting with some cheesy props. Outdoor or in-home lifestyle photos. The only way to go.

Posted by Steve Nuzum at 5:14 AM | Permalink

Ashley and I along with Chad Doty photographed Carmen and Ron's wedding early last year. Ashley was pretty pregnant at that time and Chad was starting to learn the ropes of working with me as we geared up for Ashley's absence. It was one day where every little decision we made turned out great. We wanted to get outside photos and with the ceremony and reception at the same location we decided to do so before the ceremony...well as we were heading back inside it started to rain. It was a good call.

As several of our recent posts have alluded to we are now seeing one of our amazing wedding couple's lives come full circle. Carmen and Ron are now expecting, actually have had the baby now, but were expecting when these photos were taken in June. We love to be a part of someone's life. The photos we capture are the gateways to the memories of our past. What we do has amazing power and we want you to know how much we respect it. Congratulations to Carmen and Ron.

Posted by Steve Nuzum at 5:34 AM | Permalink

We've photographed Ethan and Audrey several times. I've even photographed them since these photos were shot. They are both fun to work with and have a great time on the photo shoots. These were shot in the Rose Garden behind the Art Center in Des Moines. We've shot there quit a bit lately. Check out a few of our favorites below.

Posted by Steve Nuzum at 6:03 AM | Permalink

Through out a wedding day Ashley and I are constantly shooting photos of each other as we work. Mostly we are just goofing off together. We like to have fun. We want to have fun, we want the bride and groom to have fun, the wedding party, the families, everyone. So we start by having a good time and goofing off some.

These outtake/behind the scenes photos are all from Carrie and Tyler's wedding. There are photos of Ashley helping me setup the formal lighting, photos of me testing out the photo booth location and setting, some of us working where we just got caught in the frame on accident, and some of us plain goofing off. Enjoy.

Posted by Steve Nuzum at 5:13 AM | Permalink

Ashley took these photos of Hannah at the Rose Garden in June. Sometimes when you photograph kids you just have to let them go. You let them run and you chase and shoot. This tends to be our style more often than not. We want to capture kids having fun and being themselves, not posed against a fake background or looking like a statue. Your kids aren't statues. I know ours certainly aren't. Check out a few of our favorites below.

Posted by Steve Nuzum at 6:06 AM | Permalink

Hudson's photos were taken at Water Works Park in Des Moines. Judging by his expression in the photos he may or may not have been up for the photo shoot. With little ones, especially in the 3-6 month range, you just never know what you are going to get. Boys are far worse than girls when it comes to wanting photos taken and it gets even worse as they get older. Girls like to dress up and have photos taken, boys want to play with frogs, toads, and snakes.

Posted by Steve Nuzum at 7:23 AM | Permalink

Ashley shot these photos back in June at the Rose Garden. We've been shooting at both the Rose Garden and Water Works Park a lot lately. We are definitely comfortable with both and are learning more and more about what time's of days and locations we like the most. With these hot summer days the more we have planned out ahead of time the better. Keep the shoots short and sweet by planning ahead and working quickly. Check out some of Jack's photos below.

Posted by Steve Nuzum at 7:37 AM | Permalink

Posted by Steve Nuzum at 6:59 AM | Permalink