Angela was an American actress abroad, studying theatre and acting in London, when her friends told her she absolutely must see the Tom Stoppard Play, The Real Thing, which was playing at The Old Vic.  It’s about the complicated romance between a playwright and his actress wife.

As the show began she found herself seated next to a beguiling young man who, as fate would have it, was a playwright.  An adorable English one.  Named Phil.  They chatted during the ‘interval’ (or intermission, as we call it…) and they kept talking after the show, which turned into getting a drink, which turned into getting dinner, which then turned into a transcontinental romance between a New York actress and her London playwright/screenwriter boyfriend.

As luck would have it, Phil was in town over Valentine’s week to open one of his plays in NY (Thrill of the Chase-go see it, New Yorkers!) which was the perfect opportunity for these charming lovebirds to get their photoshoot on.

Angela & Phil LOOOOOVE Marvel Comics.  So we decided to begin their session in the brightly colored interiors of Midtown Comics:

Phil’s favorite is Captain America.

Phil, looking adorable, in his happy place :
 

We then ventured over to the LOVE statue on 6th Avenue-but on the way we spotted a pretty LOVEly Valentine’s display:

I just love shooting showbiz types-they’re so comfortable in front of the lens!

One of my absolute faves from the day:

Can you tell these two love to laugh?

Finally, we headed over to the iconic Flatiron building to catch a few shots in the waning golden light.  Perfection:

 And how much do we love a vest/jacket combo?  I, for one, adore it!

Swoon:

Angela, you are so stunning!  And yes, I spotted you in your appearances on Pan Am, The Good Wife, and The Daily Show!  You Rock!

Angela & Phil, I am so thrilled that you entered my Valentine’s Giveaway!  I had such a blast traipsing across Manhattan with you two and I wish you both the very best in these next few months of career awesomeness!

Happy Valentine’s Day, lovelies!  In honor of love day I am so pleased to share with you Rachel & Nick’s Ann Arbor Engagement feature on Landlocked Bride Today!  Landlocked Bride is the premier Midwestern Wedding Inspiration Blog and I’m so honored to be featured!  Please stop by and share some love!  And most importantly, be good to yourself and your loved ones on this beautiful Valentine’s Day!

And the winners of the Arielle Doneson Photography 2012 Valentine’s Day Couple’s Shoot Giveaway are…..

Angela & Phil!

I am so excited for our shoot next week!

Thank you to all of the couples who entered-I am so moved by each of your stories, they are so beautiful and moving in their own special ways and I wish you all a wonderful Valentine’s Day!

xoxoox

In continuing the trend of featuring opera singers of late, here are a few favorite shots from my recent shoot with Bass and Barihunk, Christopher Temporelli...

I just adore this guy…  Not just because he and I had actually sung together back in the day (he was my “Babbo” in GIANNI SCHICCHI! if that means anything to you…) but because he is one of the sweetest, deepest, and loveliest of men!

He’s also seriously gorgeous…

I mean, he’s a calendar pinup for goodness sakes!  Christopher is featured in the new barihunks 2012 calendar!

If you’re wondering about the sabre, it’s connected to the regal roles he often plays…  Kings, Villains, High Priests, etc…

But it’s also just sexy.

My favorite of the bunch:

Christopher sings all over the world so you owe it to yourself to hear him if you can!

(and watch him… he’s obviously completely dreamy!)

     The time has come, my pretties, for me to share one of my oft-neglected headshot shoots on the blog.  This shoot with gorgeous soprano, Emily Hindrichs, is one of my favorites from the Opera Headshot season of this past Fall.

Emily has some of the most beautiful eyes I’ve ever photographed-they somehow possess like every color of the rainbow.  Exhibit A:

We had a lot of laughs in between the diva shots…  Exhibit B. AKA, “Lizard Face.”

Emily travels the world singing the iconic role of THE QUEEN OF THE NIGHT from Mozart’s MAGIC FLUTE.  These unbelievable feather lashes from Shu Uemura were part of her Queen costume in a recent production.  I’m OBSESSED with them!

I am also obsessed with this Narcisso Rodriguez dress.  I LOVE it.  And it clearly loves Emily.

I’m a huge fan of this lovely diva and suggest that if you ever have an opportunity to hear her sing, do it!  Her voice is STUNNING!

And in other news, if you haven’t heard about the 2012 Valentine’s Day Couples Shoot Giveaway, check it out HERE.

It’s time for the 2012 Valentine’s Day Shoot Giveaway!

Details here:

Did you and your sweetie just get in engaged?  Or did you never have the opportunity to get engagement shots before your big day?  In honor of Valentine’s day, I am giving away a free styled engagement/couples shoot to a lucky couple in the NYC area.  To enter:

1.  You must “Like” Arielle Doneson Photography’s facebook page.

2.  You must follow AriellePhoto on twitter (if you are on twitter…)

3.  You must write email me who you are how you met your sweetie and attach photo of the two of you together…(adoneson@gmail.com)

4.  The lucky winners will be chosen 10 days from today, February 9th, 2012.

5.  You must be available for 2 DAYTIME hours on either February 13th, 14th, 15th, or 16th for the shoot itself

If you cannot enter (scheduling, etc.) but have friends who would benefit, please “share” this note on your wall/in your Twitter feed.

Let me know if you have any questions!

xo

Arielle

It was a balmy 16 degrees…Farenheit.

Yes, ladies and gentlement, it was the coldest January morning in NYC so far and while it was painful to breath, I wasn’t going to let a little frostbite keep me from attending Jessica Claire’s Shoot & Share.

One of my Resolutions for 2012 is to take part in awesome individualized education opportunities in order to help myself grow as an artist.  I have followed Jessica Claire’s blog for ages, I love her work.  I really admire her shooting style, the way she runs her business, and the fact the she gets that  a wedding is about each individual couple and what makes them special.

We started out in my stomping ground (the West Village,) at 9:30 am and shot a gorgeous couple for a few hours with Jessica Leading the shoot, describing how she works with her clients, directing them, styling them, etc.  I love that Jessica is involved in styling all of her engagement shoots-it really gives a cohesive and fabulous look to the shoot.  Our fearless, (freezing,) and fabulous models were real-life couple Lindsay & Amir (Lindsay is a photographer when she’s not being stunning on the other side of the lens…)

I had such a wonderful time freezing my a$$ off with this small group of photographers and our fearless leader (though it is sometimes difficult to get a clear shot through all of those 70-200′s…)  I made a few new friends, learned some great things and had an amazing latte around the corner (oh how I love a fleur de lis in my latte!)

After the shoot we each had a one-on-one meeting with Jessica to go over our portfolios, ask questions, chat about whatever.  She is the most lovely, helpful, and down-to-earth gal and I am so grateful to have gotten the opportunity to meet her, shoot with her, and chat!

Here are a few (way too many) favorites from a morning full of them:

Many of the spots we passed were familiar to me as it was in my neck of the woods, however it was very cool to see the environment through her eyes, in a completely different way…

 

All of Lindsay’s clothes were provided by Ruche while her hats/millinery pices are by Preston & Olivia.  I’m really coveting this green one.