Joe Naimoli and a young Sean Connery

I had the pleasure of meeting Joe Naimoli this past Fall when I photographed the cast of Total Drama and I was very happy when he contacted me a few months ago to see if I could help him bring his idea to life.

Joe Naimoli is an actor and comedian who like me resides in Staten Island.  He is also the host for the Staten Island Yankees. He can be seen this Friday night, March 13th, at the St.George theater and is also performing May 2nd at the Middletown Arts Center in Middletown, NJ alongside legendary comedian Bob Nelson. 

Joe wanted to "recreate" the image of a young Sean Connery relaxing on a couch.  I must admit I wasn't familiar with it but when he showed it to me I thought it would be a fun challenge. 

Google "Sean Connery couch" and a screen full of Sean Connery's photo relaxing on a couch appear.  I tried to search for information on who took the original image but I was not successful.  If anyone out there has more info on this image, I would love to hear from you.

As a photographer, clients often reference images to use as inspiration for their own photo shoots, however this was the first time I was asked to actually recreated one as much as possible.  Take a look at the final product. I am happy with how it turned out. It is not identical to the original, and I wouldn't want it to be but it was fun figuring out lighting, posing, camera angle, lens, etc.

It was a fun collaborative effort and I'm glad Joe found me for this project. 

xoxo,
Jess

Julianna's 1st Birthday Party - A Winter ONE-derland

Sweet little Julianna celebrated her very first birthday in great style the last weekend of 2014. Her parents handcrafted the amazing decorations themselves with great love and care. They did an amazing job!

Mommy Rachel and daddy Mike call Julianna, their Snowflake Princess and the party decor was definitely up to royal standards!

Julianna's parents took great care to think of every detail and each center piece was something unique and special.  I think one of my favorites was the snowman's igloo.

However, the dessert table was also filled with deliciously crafted winter themed treats like frozen pretzels and lollipops.

Something that also impressed me is the care that they took to personalize everything for their little princess.

The winter wonderland princess party was held at the Chandelier in Bayonne, New Jersey in the company of their friends and family.

Once the festivities started and baby blew out her candles, it was so sweet to watch as daddy and daughter had the first dance of the night.

Thank you for allowing me to witness and share such a special occasion! 

Happy Birthday Sweet Julianna!

Children and Family Holiday Portraits

It's that time of the year again! We've just gotten thru Halloween, the trick or treat buckets are still full of candy and yet the holidays quickly enter our minds, at least for us moms!  We start planning and thinking about Thanksgiving and Christmas and so much more!

For me as a portrait photographer, I love this time of year for the beauty nature brings! My style of family portraits is very natural and I love taking advantage of the fall foliage as a backdrop! Staten Island's north shore has some really beautiful spots that I want to take advantage of before the winter chill sets in!

For the first time ever, I'm offering a very special holiday special for family and children's portraits on November 15th from 9am to 1pm! $50 for a 20 minute session or $100 for a 1 hour session.  A regular 1 hour session is usually $350 for family and children's portraits!

This includes a phone consultation to plan your session, photo session and in-studio viewing appointment of your beautiful images. Images are available for purchase as jpegs, professional prints, wrap around canvases, albums, coffee table style books, holiday cards and more.

Space is limited! For more details please email contact@jessicacrespo.com or call 347-464-9530

I look forward to hearing from you!

Jess

Total Drama presents "Murder at Cafe Noir"

Last week, I had the great pleasure of meeting and photographing the dynamic cast of Murder at Cafe Noir presented by Total Drama Performing Arts Center & Women's Wellness Center.  Total Drama opened in 2012 under the leadership of Claire Guadagno, who also directs and performs in this interactive play where everyone is suspect! 

I can't wait to see them in action! 

Their next performance is on Saturday, November 8th at 7pm at A Taste of Honey at Nansen Park located at 3465 Victory Blvd, Staten Island, NY.  Call 347-938-7870 for tickets and reservations or visit http://totaldramasi.eventbrite.com

Claire Guadagno - director

Claire has been in theatre her entire life and has a passion for teaching children and incorporating women's wellness into her work.  Read more about Claire and her road to success on silive.com

A great thanks to this entertaining group of actors who were so much fun to photograph and know who to make a girl feel welcome! 

Claire, Jodi, Joe, Dom, Christine, Rob and Roman, I look forward to seeing you soon!

Jodi Dareal Rogers and Joe Naimoli

Dom Bertucci and Christine

Rob and Roman

 A great warm thanks to Lemuel Ayudtud who assisted me with this shoot and took these really fun behind the scenes images!

Mansi + Matt: Brooklyn Botanical Garden Wedding

Mansi and Matt are a really fun couple whom I had the pleasure of meeting last year! They met in Manhattan while attending Columbia University and Barnard College a few years ago and became inseparable ever since!

Their wedding was held at the gorgeous Brooklyn Botanical Garden's Palm House with over 200 of their closest friends and relatives.  It was such a joyous occasion; guests had traveled from many different parts of the world, including India and London, to attend this event!

It rained terribly on this particular Spring wedding day, but you'd never know it from the look on Matt and Mansi's faces.  Even though they had originally planned to get married in the midst of the 45,000 bluebells that form the sweet lavender field by the Cherry Esplanade, they were very flexible when plans had to be made to have the ceremony in the Palm House where the reception was also held.

Eventually the rain ceased and we were able to sneak to the fields to capture a few unforgettable moments.

Photography – Jessica Crespo Photography \ Ceremony Venue – Brooklyn Botanic Garden \ Reception Venue – The Palm House \ Floral – Opalia Flowers \ Ceremony Musicians – Los Acustilocos \ DJ – DJ Sadhu Scratch Weddings \ Hair and Makeup Artist – Naz Beauty \ Wedding Planner – Soraya Weddings & Celebrations \ Hotel –New York Marriott at the Brooklyn Bridge \ Transportation – London Towncars \ After Party – Beauty Bar Brooklyn