These recent posts with an urban theme I like to think of as "Outside the box." And the "box" is the church! I am going to post some of my favorite church images soon.

The trend in new church construction is bright and cheerful sanctuaries with a lot of windows and ambient light. And no stained glass! Older churches are dark with overbearing tungsten lighting systems, and very little natural light. I prefer diffused sunlight for portraits, but we use studio lighting too.

The past two years I have had more wedding ceremonies not held in a church. The ceremony and reception are held at the same location. That may be a current trend in the Quad Cities, but it has been common on the east and west coast for a long time. I have always heard the Quad Cities is five years behind national trends which always originate from the east or west coast, or I should say New York or California.

Some of the images in the urban collages were shot by Kristi and Felicia, but with the format I can't specify credit for their work. I am glad that I can always find some of their work from every wedding that deserves recognition!