Jake Holt Photography - Austin, Texas Photographer » WPJA

Julie & David’s after-session @ Design Within Reach | Austin, Texas

Jake H — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 00:22:12 +0000

Dear Design Within Reach – I want to own all of your stuff. How can we make this happen? I have a $2 bill and a Michael Jordan rookie card, can we work something out?

p.s. – The photos with the doggies and kitty were taken at Julie and David’s place, not DWR, although it would be easy to mistake the two. I just want to save you the trip down to the 2nd Street District if your only goal is to pet the animals. I mean, just look at them! Of course you want to pet them.

Anna & Blake | Austin, Texas | 06.26.2010

Jake H — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 06:26:21 +0000

One of the best wedding ideas EVER – a two piece dress. No frustrating bustling required, no dragging it all over a messy dance floor – just poof, almost like magic, you have a cocktail dress! Kind. Of. Awesome.

Amanda & Adam | Austin, Texas | 06.25.2010

Jake H — Sun, 11 Jul 2010 23:56:32 +0000

I would like to have a full moon at every wedding please, thank you very much. Also, 5 cakes. I mean, who ever said that you could only have one or two? 5 cakes will do.

Kristen & James | Wimberley, Texas | May 15th, 2010

Jake H — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 02:51:42 +0000

Kristen and James managed to choose an almost unbelievably photogenic location – Old Glory Ranch in Wimberley, Texas – and were graced with perfect weather and sunset timing. Absolutely storybook. However, I have to say that the winner for my favorite part of the day is a dead heat between 1) the amazing note to James from one of the groomsman that introduced me to the term “golden salamander,” and 2) the beer donkeys. Beer donkeys? You learn something new every day. As of press time, I think the note has a slight edge…

Heather and Taylor | Austin, Texas | March 10th, 2010

Jake H — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 08:26:47 +0000

Heather chose Roadhouse Relics for her and Taylor’s engagement session – I didn’t quite know what to expect as I’d never actually shot inside of the place before, but I now have a new addition to my small and exclusive list of “utterly fantastic” places to shoot. This place is just amazing. It’s relatively small, but what’s crammed into that space is just overflowing with goodness…

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!

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.

WPJA award winner – first place!

Jake H — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 21:05:39 +0000

My favorite photo from Amy & Gerald’s February wedding in Austin just scored first place in the Creative Portrait category of the WPJA’s quarterly photo contest! For those unfamiliar with the Wedding Photojournalist Association, it’s a collection of some of the most talented wedding photographers in the world, so a first place finish is quite an honor. If you take a look at some of the other winners, even just in the same category, you’ll see that they come from all over: second place – Singapore, third place – NYC, fourth place – NYC, fifth place, Poland, etc., etc., etc. Wow. I highly recommend taking a look through all of the categories, there’s some amazing stuff! Thanks so much to Amy, Gerald, and Hotel Saint Cecilia!

In other related news…the October issue of Rare magazine hit the streets today in Austin, and Amy & Gerald’s wedding is featured on pages 88, 94 & 95, along with my photos from East Side Show Room on pages 56 through 59. Check check check it out!