Jake Holt Photography - Austin, Texas Photographer

Blithe & Scott | Round Rock, Texas | December 30th, 2009

Jake H — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 04:28:34 +0000

When Blithe and Scott brought up the idea of shooting their engagement session at Ikea, I was incredibly excited about the possibilities but not too hopeful that it would ever come to fruition – getting permission to shoot on private property is always a hit-or-miss affair, and when it comes to large retail chains, my hit rate so far has been 0%. Surprisingly, the folks at Ikea in Round Rock were incredibly inviting and allowed us to go throughout the store at our leisure, even though it was INSANELY busy that day. The funny thing was, all of the shoppers seemed to be so involved in searching for deals that not one single person even asked what we were doing or gave us strange looks, even when we had multiple lights going off – they just walked right past us to look at the merchandise! I guess when you’re in Ikea you’re on a mission…

Jess & Justin | Austin, Texas | January 3rd, 2010

Jake H — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 07:30:43 +0000

So, I went to a portrait session and a wedding broke out! Jess and Justin’s session was without a doubt one of the most unforgettable shoots of my life – not because of the awesome location, Austin’s own Hotel Saint Cecilia, one of my absolute favorite settings, but because of the unexpected way in which the day unfolded. This requires a bit of backstory – Jess and Justin are both in the military and were due to ship out in about 10 days, with plans to get married when they returned. They were originally going to two very different locations - Jess to Spain, and Justin to Alaska. However, they discovered that if they were married prior to shipping out that they could be assigned to the same place, so plans were made to have a small private ceremony at Mt. Bonnell, officiated by Justin’s best friend, with a full-sized wedding taking place when they return from their assignments. When someone is willing to give up living in Spain to come live with you in Alaska, you know you have something special! Anyway, our original plan was to spend a couple of hours shooting around the South Congress area, and then for Jess, Justin and friends to head to Mt. Bonnell for the ceremony. Well, mother nature didn’t like that plan, so we headed back to St. Cecilia for the shoot in order to avoid the rain. As the rain continued and plans for a Mt. Bonnell ceremony began to look bleak, the decision was made to have the ceremony on the patio of their room at St. Cecilia and, since I was there with my cameras and all, well, of course I photographed the ceremony as well! It was such a change of pace not having hundreds of guests watching, and I felt very lucky to be a part of something so unique and intimate. Congrats guys, I hope you enjoy Alaska…you can always go visit Spain on your honeymoon!

Annie Ray and her amazing kitties…

Jake H — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 07:50:07 +0000

Friend and fellow photographer Annie Ray was just selected by Rare magazine as a 2010 “Up and Comer,” and I was asked to do the photographing honors. What an awful gig, I thought – photographing a friend and her cats. And then I remembered that I like friends, and I like cats, so I graciously accepted. You can check out the January issue of Rare online (page 62!) or throughout our fair city in the time-tested and always classy printed format. BTW, the orange guy’s name is Cowboy, but I’m not sure about the other one…what can I say, I’m partial to the orange ones.

It’s been too long…

Jake H — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 07:28:25 +0000

I know, I know – I’ve been a bit remiss in my blogging lately. In my defense, I have a hard time justifying blogging when I’m trying my best to spend most of my waking hours editing the many, many thousands of images that can quickly pile up during a busy busy busy fall wedding season. However, as the last couple of weddings of the season approach completion, I thought I’d take a few minutes to share some of my favorite images from my November and December portrait sessions. Everyone, meet Trisha & Joe, Mairin & Chris, and Alison & Matt, and stay tuned…in the next few days I’ll be sharing two of the most unique portrait sessions that I’ve ever shot. Unique how, you say? Well, one takes place in the only furniture superstore that sells lingonberry juice, and the other started as an engagement session on South Congress and ended, two hours later, in an unexpected but 100% legit impromptu wedding ceremony at Hotel Saint Cecilia. It’s been a very interesting 2010 so far…

Lizzie & Khanh | Austin, Texas | November 14th, 2009

Jake H — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 08:54:38 +0000

Lizzie and Khanh gave me the opportunity to shoot at two new locations – Emmaus Catholic Parish and the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center. I left each of these places impressed but also with questions – first, how long did it take to assemble that ceiling at Emmaus? That thing is insane. Second, did LBJ actually use that quilt, and if so, did we violate some kind of unspoken Texas law by acting silly in its presence? I really don’t want to offend LBJ.

Lauren & Ben | Round Mountain, Texas | November 7th, 2009

Jake H — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 04:51:02 +0000

I’d like to address four exceptional things about Lauren & Ben’s wedding at Three Points Ranch:

1) The rooms set aside for the bride and groom to hang out in before the ceremony were Airstream trailers…each fully furnished with an eclectic array of midcentury furniture. I want them.

2) The band, L.C. Rocks, was much, much more than you would ever expect from a wedding band – think full-on rock show, complete with wind machines and ladies being pulled onstage to dance. Or, after a certain point, ladies voluntarily jumping onstage and dancing with the various band members. See photos below.

3) A wedding guest took the stage with the band and shredded. SHREDDED. He’s the one with the gray hair and glasses.

4) I managed to avoid getting bitten by a rattlesnake, something I thought very, very likely when I first arrived.

It was a very excellent day.

Lauren & Chris | Austin, Texas | October 25th, 2009

Jake H — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 19:39:54 +0000

Shooting at Barr Mansion is a great experience – it’s one of those rare places that has so many great spots for photos that the challenge isn’t in finding a good spot, it’s in narrowing down all of the options and choosing which locations are the most awesome. My favorite spot, as you can see, is the main room in the “original mansion” – and Chris, Lauren and her bridesmaids did an admirable job of looking every bit as classic as the room itself.

Ashley & John | San Marcos, Texas | October 24th, 2009

Jake H — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 09:49:47 +0000

Ashley and John chose one of the most original wedding venues that I’ve ever seen – The Confederate Air Force hangar at the San Marcos Airport. I’d been excited about this wedding for months, and it certainly didn’t disappoint. While some may have been nonplussed at the prospect of having a large caliber machine gun pointed directly at them during their wedding ceremony, Ashley and John didn’t seem to mind one bit, and it sure made for some one-of-a-kind photos…and I succeeded in not hitting my head on a wing or propeller, surprisingly. And by the way, John actually owns that amazing automobile. Jealous.

Kelly & Paul | Seguin, Texas | October 17th, 2009

Jake H — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 03:42:14 +0000

Kelly and Paul chose Nolte Farms in Seguin as the location for their wedding, and having never been to Nolte Farms or even Seguin period, I expected, well, a farm. Grassy and flat, with maybe a barn or two. What I ended up having to work with was a blessing – beautiful giant trees, a waterfront dock on the Guadalupe River and a perfectly shaded ceremony. Oooh, and did I mention that there was an adorable English Bulldog? And an, ummm, “armpit performance” by Kelly? And a garter throw involving a McDonald’s hamburger of some kind? And on and on and on. Thanks for the nuggets.

Laura & Micah | Austin, Texas | October 16th, 2009

Jake H — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 05:56:44 +0000

You would think that Laura and Micah, being a doctor and a member of the U.S. military, respectively, would both be Very Serious People. Well, I’m sure they are when need be, but on this day they were all smiles and laughs. I’d go so far as to say that Micah was the smilingest, laughingest groom that I’ve ever had the pleasure to work with – I think the photos speak for themselves. And I reiterate, I’m sure that he’s very, very serious when need be – if you look really close, it says “Special Forces” on his uniform. That’s serious.