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About Shira
I am a New York based photographer, an award-winning member of the prestigious Wedding Photojournalist Association (WPJA) , ISPWP, and a member of the Best of Wedding Photography Association. My work has been published and acclaimed internationally, appearing in Brides Magazine, Anhelo (Japan), The Knot, and The Knot China. I have also been featured on many industry-leading blogs such as Grace Ormonde, Style Me Pretty, WellWed, Essence, Bride's Cafe, Brooklyn Bride, OneWed, Merci NY and more. Originally from Israel, I have had the pleasure of photographing many American, French, Yemenite, Ethiopian, Korean, Indian and Moroccan weddings and events. Through my photojournalistic style, I aim to capture the spontaneity, joy, emotion and ambiance of the important day with photos that present an unfolding story. I am free to travel throughout the US and internationally, and am available for a wide variety of events. Feel free to look at my website.
Also, here are a few testimonials from some of my wonderful clients.
My Blog
Welcome to my blog! This blog showcases not only my work from many of the beautiful weddings I am privileged to photograph, but also reveals glimpses of my personality. Here is an opportunity to share some great moments as well as give clients, guests and friends the chance to comment. I also hope prospective clients will be able to not only explore my photography and style, but will also find inspiring ideas, recommendations , and tips for their own wedding planning. I myself got married three years ago and I remember how overwhelming it all was- especially picking the right photographer! :-)
I love attending Mystic. Besides connecting with friends and having fun, it serves an important purpose to stoke the passion for what I do in wedding photography. It is easy to develop ingrained habits which can limit artistic growth or sap creativity. So, Mystic helps me to break with the old conventions and open my mind to explore new ideas and concepts. There were important lessons to be learned about photography and business and how to challenge myself to continually take my work to the next level artistically and professionally.
I am happy to find out that I won the WeddingWire Bride’s Choice Awards 2012!
This is my third consecutive year! The award means that I am in the top 5% of wedding professionals nationwide. Unlike other awards in which winners are selected by the organization, the WeddingWire Bride’s Choice Awards are determined solely by the
reviews from newlyweds.
So I just want to thank all the brides this year that took the time to post a review and voted on the site!
I am very happy that Southasian Bride Magazine has featured my photos from Monisha and Deepak’s beautiful Indian Wedding on their blog!
I am so excited about having this feature. Seeing their wedding pictures again reminds me of all the beautiful moments from their wedding. I felt an incredible connection to Monisha and Deepak ever since their engagement session in New York. And our connection was made all the stronger by shooting their wedding in Vancouver. So, when I look at the photos again, I see not only their love but my own.
Yesterday was the first day of the new year, I can’t believe how fast it went by. So it’s a good time to sit down and reflect on the past year. What an incredible year it has been!
This year I had the pleasure of photographing many different types of weddings; a Korean wedding, Indian Weddings, Hassidic Weddings, etc. It was fascinating to be exposed to so many different customs and ceremonies!
Sometimes working 15 hours on a wedding day, going through thousands of images, and being glued to the computer all day is not easy. It can often add up to 80+ hours of work a week. But the connection and the feedback from my clients makes it all worth it. Also, the recognition from other organizations, and wedding blogs that feature my photos really keeps me going.
I was extremely happy to win two WPJA contests and an award in the ISPWP contest.
I was also super excited to be invited to join the very prestigious Best of Wedding Photography list with some of my absolute favorite photographers on the review board.
Thank you to my wonderful clients who made this year special, and thanks for the special bonds and friendships we have forged. I was amazed by the amount of love that I photographed. Thank you for your beautiful weddings, and the incredible love that I have witnessed. All the closeness, hand holding, and laughing together really fills my life with love. I feel very fortunate to LOVE what I do.
Here are my favorite pictures from 2011 in no particular order, I hope you enjoy it! It was very hard to narrow it down, there were too many amazing clients and too many precious moments from their amazing weddings! I hope you have patience to watch the whole show.
I’m super excited that Anna & Geoffrey’s elegant Union League Club wedding is featured by Style Me Pretty New York, one of the leading wedding blogs.
From the Bride: Geoffrey and I decided to get married in New York at the historic Union League Club, the very location where we first met. Despite our less conventional fantasy of tying the knot atop a mountain in Idaho, a classic New York wedding was most appropriate with Geoff’s family hailing from Bedford and mine from Manhattan. The style of our wedding channeled the fabled elements of the Union League Club together with our high regard for tradition.
Their wedding had a traditional sophisticated New York style. Every detail was classic and elegant, with amazing vintage styling. An elegant array of deco jewels and beautiful off-white leather gloves from Geoff’s mother completed Anna’s styling perfectly.
You can see more of their photos in my blog post here.
I am super excited that one of my photos won first place in the Wedding Photojournalist Association 2011 Q3 Contest! Thousands of wedding photographers from all over the world submit their photos to this contest, so it is a huge honor to rank first place in the humor category.
About the WPJA: Since 2002 the WPJA has been the number one trusted source for the best wedding photojournalists in the world. Recognized for excellence by leading wedding publications including BRIDES magazine, the WPJA is an international network of vigorously vetted professional photographers whose work is regularly judged by award-winning photojournalists (including many Pulitzer Prize-winners) and news photo editors. With ongoing curatorial vision the association identifies emerging talent, keeping our talent pool fresh and cutting edge. The WPJA is dedicated to upholding the highest standards in creative wedding photojournalism while promoting best business practices.
I am so happy that I got to shoot in such an inspiring location. Thank you again to all the amazing, talented vendors I worked with on this shoot. For more photos and detailed styling information from Merci, take a look at my blog post from the day.
It is not often one gets to infuse fashion with not only beauty but history. The Temple Court at Beekman 5 is not only inspiring, but grand and theatrical, which is quite appropriate for a building constructed over the ruins of a theater where Hamlet was first performed in America in 1751. It was built by Eugene Kelly, the famed Irish American banker in 1881-83, and a quintessential American immigrant. His obituary proclaimed as its title that he “Started as a Clerk With $500 — Never Sought Political Preferment” – a remarkable sentiment in the age with the Occupy Wall Street protests so close by. The building’s magnificent design and architecture and pyramidal shape, foreshadowed modern skyscrapers and its unusual mix of styles of Renaisssance to Queen Anne and neoclassicism, spoke to the heart of a burgeoning city that took pride in amalgamation. An early guidebook to NY proclaimed that “drama, art, literature and finance have all thrived on this spot.” It was very exciting to continue in that tradition, especially during the brief period while its sits in stunning ruin and awaits a make-over as a new and splendid hotel.
This was my second shoot at what I imagined was my abandoned Palace . I had a fabulous engagement session there with Suzanne and James and just had to go back and unlock the heavy padlock that concealed its inner splendor. I called up Jacqueline Weppner of Merci New York, who arranged and styled the shoot. She did an unbelievable job, exactly as I expected. There were a few unexpected last minute complications- fitting a couch through the small entrance available as well as carrying it up nine flights with all the gowns and equipment when the elevator decided not to cooperate that day. But one doesn’t get the opportunity everyday to shoot under a vaulted glass atrium and against walls left ruined by time that sit as canvases more beautiful than artists could have painted them.
Styling inspiration for the Five Beekman Shoot by the amazingly talented Jackie of Merci NY
Jackie of Merci NY wrote a few words about her process styling the shoot:
When Shira asked Merci New York to partner with her on creating a fashion editorial, I clearly jumped at the chance. (I’ve always adored Shira’s work and we’ve been wanted to collaborate for quite some time). But when she told us that the shoot would take place at the legendary Five Beekman (an abandoned “palace” located in downtown Manhattan), well needles to say, I was thrilled. An amazing photographer paired with a perfect backdrop = a stylist’s dream come true.
As a stylist, I adored the Harper’s BAZAAR shoot with Iman at the legendary locale, and I was inspired to work up something equally luxe, but focused solely on fashion for the chic New York City bride. I was right off the tails of previewing the runways of Fall Bridal Market, and inspired to showcase some of the trends that would hit ateliers in 2012.
The most prevalent trend I saw at market was the embracement of color – much more so than seasons’ past. From blush to grey, blue to black, every designer experimented with ample amounts of color in their collections. I envisioned the juxtaposition of a soft pastel palette against the dilapidated backdrop of the Beekman, and could not wait to begin developing the wardrobe, accessory and beauty details for our finished looks.
I decided to move forward with two palettes for the editorial: A warm and a cool – both pastel, but each accented with warm (gold and copper) or cool (silver) metallic accents. Rather than pull gowns from the Fall runway shows, I opted for dresses that were available for immediate order for any bride. My rationale was that brides who saw our editorial might fall in love with the gowns – and I wanted to showcase pieces that they could immediately touch, feel and order at several of Manhattan’s top bridal ateliers.
My friends at Kleinfeld, Gabriella Bridal Salon and Lovely Bridal Shop were all instrumental in the gown selection process. The gowns I pulled from them were not only editorially fascinating against the backdrop, but also wearable for city brides. Within the pastel color palette, I pulled gowns for the classic, romantic, whimsical, vintage and edgy brides – and accessorized them with jewelry and hair pieces from Merci New York’s softly launched Style Shop on NewlyWish.
We had an amazing hair, makeup and floral team who helped take our model’s look to the next level. I was particularly excited to toy with gold leaf make-up for the warm pastel looks, and Lauren Iavarone of Expert Makeup Artistry Studio totally rocked the concept. Paired with gorgeous hair from Pink Comb Salon, and floral designs from AvaFlora, we truly could not have asked for a better team.
Of course, the grand dame of the entire photoshoot experience was Shira Weinberger, who trusted Merci to create an editorial concept, but captured the scene with such talent and exquisite attention to detail that it was pretty than we ever imagined. Styling is one thing, but when a photographer looks at a vignette, they bring an entirely different perspective – and consider a slew of different variables – than a stylist. Shira’s photography, the finished product, was beyond beautiful. I can say we made our model pretty, but Shira made the entire editorial absolutely breathtaking.
January 2, 2012 - 3:38 pm2011 Reflections » NYC Wedding Photography Blog - [...] destination Indian wedding in Canada, and further explored fashion photography with a bridal fashion shoot in an abandoned New York City Palace. (Styled by Jackie from Merci [...]
Wednesday, November 30, 2011 Posted in Featured Work
I am SOOOO excited that Suzanne & James’ engagement session is featured on Style Me Pretty (one of the leading wedding blogs) today! They put together a beautiful collage of the images and included a gallery on their site with many of the rest.
The mesmerizing setting was perfect for their engagement session- an abandoned magical palace in Manhattan- that will very soon be converted to a luxury hotel. You can see more of the photos from their shoot on their post on my blog.
Suzanne was wearing an unbelievable Oscar de la Renta dress with a matching Jimmy Choo purse and shoes. James wore a suit by Etro. It was a perfect choice to go with the beautiful setting. I’m not surprised by their wonderful choices, as Suzanne is a fashion editor for Above Magazine and a well published freelance writer.
The International Society of Professional Wedding Photographers is an organization of the best wedding photographers in the world. It was created by professional photographers to raise the standards of the wedding photography profession. (And I’m so proud to be a part of it!)
I was accepted to join the ISPWP earlier this year, and their recognition in this contest comes as quite an honor to me. With the points from all my winning photos, I ranked 16th overall- which is quite an honor considering the judges went through thousands of photos from all over the world!
I am SUPER excited that one of my photos from Abigail and Shai’s wedding was awarded first place in the humor category.
Here’s some more background information on the photo from Abigail and Shai’s blog post: At the end of the ceremony outdoors, it started to rain. I captured a moment above with my 2 expensive cameras hung around my neck and the thought of drenched and ruined equipment in the back of my mind. When I saw the Grandfather with the chair on his head, I clicked the button as fast as I could. I snapped without much time to think about composition because I knew a moment like this can disappear in a second or that the Grandfather would notice me clicking and than I can miss this frame. That is for me the art of wedding photography as it permanently captures something that is so fleeting it would not otherwise be remembered or even observed.
. I had a fabulous engagement session there with 
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