Mark Mabry Photography

Two fairly recent favs.

Here are two family portraits that have been in the making for the last month or two... I dug them out of the portfolio. I love them both for their straightfowardness in context, pose, and expression.
The families are the Waiseths, founders of Gold Canyon Candles and the Dr. Dave and Terry Thomas Family. Broc Thomas just left on his mission, good luck!

When "classic" will do.

Frequently I am hired to photograph brides and grooms at the Mesa Temple and other sacred sites. Since I'm mostly at the Temple, I'll use it for discussion and portfolio sake, but my thoughts apply to most religious and/or beautiful edifices and locations.
I love photographing people in places that are sacred to them. As far as the Temple goes, it is challenging on a new level to simultaneously feature my subjects and a location with a rich history of sacrifice, tradition, and expectation of it's patrons. Such landmarks have personalities of their own.
My work over the last 7 years has evolved and I hope it will continue to evolve. Lately I am drawn to timelessness. I don't feel a need to push the envelope of goofiness or irreverence to show the happiness and passion inherent in the people I photograph. Trust me, over the course of a shoot we laugh plenty and we keep it pretty light. In-fact Cameron Trejo and Perry Sevey both have hours of incriminating footage of us cracking up during shoots. I feel that we are consistently able to strike a balance between the fun-loving humorous aspects of the wedding and the power proposed by such a commitment as marriage.
Because of this challenge, I never tire of shooting the Temple. To me, the most lasting images from the wedding experience are those shot at the place of the wedding.
Most of the time, we schedule a portrait session for the bride and groom at the Temple at Sunset about a week prior to the actual wedding day. This is done for a number of reasons: first, Sunset is the best way to shoot the Temple (at least how I do it). Second, it relieves a ton of pressure from the wedding day as far as time goes. And third, we are able to get large prints made to display at the reception. I work with one or two assistants to help me with lighting. One of the technical challenges that I've grown to love at the Temple is the quick change in lighting situations, as most of it is open to the elements.
For brides interested exclusively in the portraits around the Temple, our rate is $795 which includes online proofing and a $300 credit toward prints purchased through the studio. Additional prints are also available for purchase. We also have full packages that include the reception, engagement photos, bridal photos, and anything else you can dream up. To book, give us a call and make an appointment to come in and chat.
I had Heather, my retoucher, compile some of our recent photographs taken at the Temple. Enjoy.

I swear, I'm not a nerd. I hope.

I got a call two days ago from the Snyder family, who needed to get in right away becuase of their new baby growing up quickly and a "business trip" happening next week. I'd photographed them around Christmas and was impressed at how nice and relaxed they were and noticed that they drove a nice car for mid-twenty year olds. If figured, good year in real estate or something. So I booked the shoot and pursued the "business trip" conversation and asked where he was going. Long story short. Chris Snyder is the starting catcher for the diamondbacks. "Oh" I said, "I feel dumb". I thought I was kind of a sports guy. My staff made fun of me for a while, but it was nothing compared to the razzing I got from Marky (my 6 year old) and his buddies. They all knew. Sometime in the last 5 years or so, I've turned into a guy who doesn't know that stuff. I mean, common the Dbacks are our hometeam! I need to get it together.
BTW Carla, Chris, and the Kids were beautiful. I got a little nervous though when Chris told me that the "chocolate" that I thought I saw on Chase's upper lip was actually the rest of "his mom's coffee."
Chase got a little bouncy, but I think it added life to what we got... Anyway, Carla, I am still emberassed and I'm still kind of a nerd. But, I do know that Chris knocked one out of the park tonight against Houston- proving that a shoot at Mabry Studios 4 hours before the game is GOOD LUCK.
Enjoy this beautiful family. This was a full family studio session + a little. There are still some full family shots to come.