Noah Grieves captures motion and emotion.
The Petoskey photographer, owner of Ark Studio, encourages brides and grooms to be natural and have fun for their photographs, and it’s reflected in the end result.
“I like to have fun with them, and when they’re having fun it shows in the pictures that they had the best day of their lives,” said Grieves.
Grieves has been working as a professional photographer since 1995, and started his own business about three years ago. He attended Central Michigan University and received a bachelor of applied arts in photography.
Over the last several years, his reputation as a local photographer producing stunning photos has clicked with couples.
He has found that every bride is different in what they’re hoping to capture from their wedding day, and he enjoys meeting with her, and the couple, to find out what they’re hoping to see from him.
“Some just go with the flow and let me do my thing and they trust me that I’ll get the shots,” said Grieves. “That is the main thing to look for in a photographer: That they are able to get the main shots.”
Many of his clients are looking for nontraditional photos, aside from the typical posed shots. He often spends an entire day with the bride and groom, taking up to 1,000 photos that he later edits down to about 400 pictures.
He then spends hours retouching and editing them until they’re picture-perfect, and converts some to black and white or employs other photo techniques. A typical album includes 110 shots, he said.
He relies on Pictage, an online service, to make the process easy for couples and friends and relatives to see and order photos. He uploads the photos to the site and the company organizes them, from which orders can be placed for albums, coffee table books, art prints, DVDs and other items.
Packages range from $2,000, $4,000 and $6,000, depending on the amount of prints, album, DVD slide show and other factors. Grieves prefers eight months to a year’s notice in booking his services, but will accommodate any couple if he can.

 
Catching the moment
Erika Jarema considers herself a picky picture-taker. The owner of Center of Attention Photography, based in Boyne Falls, she describes her style as “photojournalistic.”
“I catch the moments, and I catch people off guard a lot,” said Jarema, who will be the center of attention herself at her Sept. 8 wedding.
Jarema, soon to be Blackwell, works with her sister, Amanda Loper, in the photography business she started three years ago. Her background is in graphic design and she began her interest in photography as a student at North Central Michigan College.
Aside from her unique photography, she prides herself also on her low prices which she sets by the hour. She has four different packages “to fit everyone’s budget,” she said. A basic package which includes three hours of shooting, a CD for couples to print themselves and an empty album is $600; she charges $50 each additional 30 minutes of shooting time. For 100 proofs and three hours, a DVD slide show and several prints, the cost is $750.
What makes her stand out with brides is the relationships she develops, Jarema said.
“Most brides feel really comfortable with me,” she said. “I just fit right in with the wedding party.”
She is also becoming comfortable requesting couples to do certain shots, like the groom dipping the bride wherever they are at the moment. Jarema is also skilled at photo enhancement techniques, like adding spot color to black-and-whites, blurring backgrounds, editing blemishes and sharpening photos.
When she meets with the bride during the initial consultation, Jarema said she makes a list that she brings with her to the event of all the must-get shots.
“That’s the most important thing, so we don’t miss anything,” she said. “There’s so much going on during the wedding.”
 
Reach Noah Grieves at Ark Studio, 439-9948, or go online to at www.arkstudioonline.com. Reach Erika Jarema at 330-3054, or go on the Web, www.coaphotography.com.

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