Juliette Zyg 5/24/23 Juliette Zyg 5/24/23

Intimate Summer Elopement at Dinosaur BBQ

a look at the photography and videography of jess and vincent’s intimate reception at Dinosaur BBQ in Syracuse last summer.

the photography and videography of an Upstate New York elopement.

it’s about yam time.

Jess and Vincent are very cool if you didn’t know that already.

You may have seen their photos on my website a lot because it was one of my favorite weddings from 2022. Plus, it was one of the first weddings I did both photo and video for!

A little backstory

Before partying it up at Dinosaur BBQ, Jess and Vincent had a small ceremony and reception in New York City prior to the celebration at Syracuse. Before that, I was luck enough to document their love at an engagement session at the Johnson Museum of Art on a chilly January day.

During the session, we chatted about how Jess and Vincent met, what they were planning for the wedding, and explored the Johnson Museum of Art and the Cornell campus.

One reason I love offering engagement sessions to the couples whose wedding I’m photographing or filming —

Engagement sessions give myself and my couples a fun time to get aquatinted with each other before the wedding day.

I get to see how the couple interacts with each other: what jokes make them laugh or poses they really enjoy, if they like a lot of PDA or a smol amount.

My couple benefits too (obvi) - They get to know me and my personality, they get used to being in front of the camera (you don’t get engaged everyday), and they get a fun little excuse to plan a date night. Like, how can you not love this.

Then, once the wedding day arrives, we have at least met in person once (especially if they are out of state or a bit further away) and we both go into the wedding day knowing exactly what we want - to document the big and little things.

Wholesome.

the wedding

!!

the wedding !!

After their NYC ceremony, Jess, Vincent and I got on a call to discuss what the plan was for their Syracuse ceremony. They initially said in their inquiry form:

“We’re envisioning it to be a more relaxed, chill night where we can celebrate our love with the people we love most, have some good BBQ, and have a ton of fun together!”

And dang it we were going to do that.

So, we decided that we would do an hour at Franklin Park for their couples photos, and then go full into party mode once we got to Dinosaur BBQ in Syracuse.

AND THEN….

wait wait wait…

I grabbed this little photo before their entrance :)
ok back to the party!

PARTY TIME.

Jess and Vincent entered the party dancing to Music For a Sushi Restaurant by Harry Styles (THE BEST SONG AHHH) and the had the most lit reception at Dinosaur BBQ, dancing, eating, and celebrating with some of the coolest people.

one of the great parts about their afternoon, was how *relaxed* it was.

there wasn’t any pressure to perform for the camera. they were authentically themselves, enjoying their friends and family and dancing to some really good songs.

that to me, is a perfect wedding day :)

And now, you can watch their film to truly relive their day,

by watching their film.

VENDORS

Photographer/Videographer - JULIETTE ZYG PICTURE STUDIOS

Photographer/Videographer Assistant - MARK FEOCCO

Venue - DINOSAUR BBQ

Florals - AFFECTIONS FLORAL DESIGN

Hair & Makeup - BLOOM ON WILLOW

Bride’s Dress - THE BRIDE PROJECT

DJ - TORGO ENTERTAINMENT

Based in Upstate New York, Juliette specializes in weddings, lifestyle and brand photo + film for humans far and wide.

Her interest in the documentation of the human experience has lead her into becoming something of a professional third wheel/hype woman/paparazzi/for her clients.

She’ll probably cry during your ceremony, or tell you how amazing you look at your session or wedding.

When she’s not at a wedding or editing, she’s probably watching Parks and Rec, watering her plants, or hanging out with her cats.

Juliette Zyg 3/3/23 Juliette Zyg 3/3/23

Flash Photography at Your Wedding? HECK YES.

a blog to showcase the different ways to incorporate camera flash on your wedding day, welcome dinner or engagement session - and how it create unique photos that double as artwork for your walls.

— Blog was updated on June 25, 2026 —

CLASSIC. ELEVATED. CHAOTIC.

The flash aesthetic is one that has been super popular over the last few years (and also since the beginning of photography in general lol) - it makes images pop, and has a classic feel, like your parents photo album is coming to life.

Though it can be blinding, it’s a vibe.

I’ve had couples who ask me:

“when do other couples or weddings usually use flash?” or “is it weird to use flash all day?”

My answer is this - if you like the look, we can use it literally whenever feels good, or when I need to. If the spaces are darker, I’ll probably use it to make sure that everything is lit properly. If you want getting ready photos with flash or editorial style couples photos, let’s do it!

There isn’t a right or wrong way do use it - these photos are for you; to hang on your wall like art, or look back on knowing THAT’S what you wanted.

So now, without further ado, here is the JZPS list that showcases my favorite flash photos and how to use it in your photos (engagement, welcome dinner, wedding day, etc)

(Cue Flash by Queen)

DETAILS

I love jazzing up detail shot with some flash. Depending on the vibes, it can elevate the image

For the examples above, my bride wanted moody fun, and editorial-style photos of her details (each element was very carefully picked out, thrifted and executed). The shot of the cake and the dress are off-camera flash, which means I put a light away from my camera to get a little more drama for the photos. The flatlay on the right is direct flash since I wanted more of a spotlight of the details.

PORTRAITS

These are all different ways of using flash - whether it was to add a little light while Katie stood in direct sun, lighting a darker space to make Puja’s red dress pop, or just add a little bit of light to the image.

Each person in these photos really embraced flash and to have their photos feel a certain way - they wanted classic bridal portraits or candid moments, but with a little bit of spunk.

COUPLES PORTRAITS

Don’t get me wrong, I love a scenic, natural light moment, but sometimes….Sometimes the moody flash moments are literally the best. All of these photos are a bit of a different style because each couple has a different aesthetic. Remember how I was saying that your photos don’t have to look like everyone else’s? These are taken during the wedding day with 5 minutes allotted for portraits, the welcome dinner 10 minute sneak away time that I like to do, or at an engagement session where we stole a luggage cart. I love how different these aesthetics are because they match each couple perfectly. :)

WEDDING PARTY

The classic shot of all of the bridesmaids and groomsmen standing in a line is industry standard for a reason - everyone loves seeing the outfits, the faces, and details. But…when a couple says they want something different….I really wanted this photo to feel like a classic bar shot where everyone was having a conversation and then my camera went off and they all stopped talking and stared at me.

This shot took about 5-10 minutes to pose, and the shots with direct flash were my favorite because of how classic it looked.

Introductions

Perhaps one of the most obvious places I’ll use my flash - the party is starting, everyone is pumped and you can’t wait to dance your tooshies off. I love the vibes for this when the flash is called for.

CUTTING OF THE CAKE

For me, the look is inspired the photos that you’ll find in your grandparents’ photo album from 1950 or 1960 - during their cake cutting especially. Usually the venue is a little darker, the vibes are for partying, and I love having a bright moment to showcase the chaos of the cake cutting.

JZPS_Van&Alex_IthacaFarmersMarket-360.jpg

DANCING

As much as I love getting natural-light vibey photos, nothing hits like a good flash on the dance floor capturing Uncle Bob doing the worm or cute group photos of your cousins. Absolutely classic.

THE RECEPTION OUTFIT CHANGE

Katheryn is adorable. I mean look at this photo. When she did her dress change during the reception, I knew I was going to use flash - it was a party, she had fun putting it on with her friends and it fit the party-vibe perfectly.

I hope this post inspired you to do your wedding the way you want!

(and also to hire a photographer who can incorporate flash)

Your wedding photos are yours forever, not for Pinterest or Instagram - they are pieces of art to hang on your wall, and reminisce over 50 years from now, with wrinkled hands, full hearts, and the feelings fresh when you revisit your album.

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