Athena Blude Photography

out getting to know you, to ensure she gets the photos you want. I am not one who likes being in front of the camera and she made me feel super comfortable and relaxed. She was professional, personable and a pleasure to work with. I highly recommend Athena Blude Photography for your wedding or any other occasion (she also photographed my newborn in the hospital and the pictures make me cry every time I look at them!)

rs but I knew right away from my initial conversation with Athena that she was the one I wanted to have around me on my wedding day. She is so kind and complimentary and made us feel at ease immediately which was a necessity for me and my camera-shy husband! Athena worked with us despite our limited budget to create a package that would suit our needs. Her flexibility on this was so appreciated and not something I had found with others I interviewed. During our engagement shoot Athena spent well over the normal time allotted with us working to capture all of the sweetest moments and leaving us with some of the most incredible photos we could have imagined. On the day of our wedding Athena was exactly what we needed: someone who would be easy-going, calming the nerves of everyone around and also assertive enough to corral our family members for the photos. She took amazing photos that I have not been able to stop looking at since they came in! Her work is truly unique—she has an incredible eye for detail and she knows the best way to capture each image so that the subject really shines. Her style is artistic but not overworked, elegant but also fun. Everyone I have showed my photos to has raved about Athena’s work saying the photos belong in a bridal magazine! I cannot recommend Athena highly enough, she is the very best!

photographers websites, searching for the one. During our search, we were referred to Athena by another photographer. We were immediately struck by Athena’s work. The images that she captures are beautiful with a romantic and dreamy quality. They had that special quality we were looking for, and we set up time to meet her. As an artist, Athena is impressive- incredibly professional with a boatload of talent. As a human being, Athena is downright remarkable. She is kind, personable and funny, with a genuine compassion that makes her a complete natural at capturing the love of others. We left our meeting with her feeling not only like we found our wedding photographer, but like we found a friend. Throughout the process she was super helpful, making recommendations for other vendors when we asked, and warmly answering any questions. We worked with Athena twice- once for the engagement shoot and once for the day of our wedding. She was so easy to work with, making us feel completely comfortable, and she was really just a great person to spend time with. This is so invaluable on such an important day. You are going to want the person capturing these moments to just “get it.” Someone who is able to be sensitive to you, your guests and situations, and who can capture moments that they understand would be important to you. Athena was very clear in her contract and in conversation about the time in which we would receive our photos, and she stuck to those times (about 6-8 weeks). I’ve seen complaints about waiting a long time for photos, which is kind of silly, and a product of the instant age we live in. When we got our photos, we were thrilled with anticipation and excitement and it was an awesome experience in and of itself being able to relive that day a few weeks later. Athena is your go-to for beautiful hand-crafted images that are made with great care. For us, the photos were well worth the wait! You can tell she takes great care in the post-processing effort, perfecting each image. Athena’s work is tasteful, full of artful perspective and playful angles and lighting, without distorting the true feeling and emotion of the moment she is capturing. We were completely blown away by the images she took for us, and are overwhelmingly grateful for everything she did for us along the way.

ly waited and 12 weeks after our wedding I contacted her inquiring about the delay. She replied a few days later apologizing that she had personal family matters that needed her attention and we would get them "next week." Three weeks went by and nothing. I contacted Athena again and ten days later her response was that the images were being worked on and she would release them "next week". This was 16 WEEKS after our wedding. I tried to be so polite for fear I would NEVER get my photos. We finally were able to view our photos 18 weeks after our wedding with no apology or explanation of why it took this long weeks to even see one photo on the online gallery. Then, on the online gallery she spelt my new last name wrong so I didn't even want to share the gallery with family and friends because she told me she couldn't fix the name error. In our opinion her photos were not up to the standards we had expected. There are a few very beautiful pictures, but overall, we were disappointed. Here are some examples: We don't have a good photo of the entire bridal party standing at the altar. The last member of each side of the bridal parties standing at the altar were cut off the end of the picture! We did not get ANY photos of our guests enjoying the cocktail hour. We had assumed two shooters meant one would take photos of us, the other would take photos elsewhere. Guess not. Her contract specifically states that the photographer cannot be held accountable for not photographing desired people. I think not photographing an entire hour of the event speaks for itself. I have two photos of my dad and I dancing and they are of my back. One that is us looking away from the camera. Same with photos of me and my husband. Many "artistic" shots, with the tops of our heads cut off, or from the waist up. Most pics have our feet cut off. Either our expectations were too high for the thousands of dollars spent on a photographer, or the photos are sub par. I understand that our perspective of photos and others may be completely different, so others may view my photos as beautiful and we may view them as disappointing. But in this scenario, that point is irrelevant when you factor in the other frustrations we went through surrounding our photos.

ofessional, and very fun to be around. They didn't force us into corny poses. Instead, their photojournalistic style captured all of our special moments as they were happening in a candid, natural way. And, she even braved Hurricane Irene to be there for us, staying through to the very end of the evening despite the voluntary evacuations! I'm certain we will be thrilled with Athena's shots, and I recommend working with her very highly.

o take our wedding party photos in an urban setting. The day before our wedding, Athena drove around Bridgeport and found a perfect spot for us. I couldn't have picked a better spot. She really did her homework and was so friendly and accommodating. She took very unique and different photographs and I can’t wait to see them. I would definitely recommend her. The price is a bit on the high end but she is worth every penny and more!! My husband and I could not be happier with her!