We welcome you to the Shirk Photography Studio!

This is what our building looked like when it was purchased nearly 3 years ago in the historically known downtown of Wilton, IA. It wasn't much to look at but it had the right amount of space for the right price!

Using the image above I took it into photoshop and created my ideal studio.

This is the image I created in photoshop

And this is what it looks like now!  (minus the snow now)

This portrait of the studio was captured last winter

Shirk Photography Studio was no longer just a Photoshop creation but a reality! The studio was complete in 2011, a year after the the building was purchased 

Most of the work was done by us and with the help of friends and family! This images show you how much extensive work was needed to be done so that Ben's vision could be fully realized. 

The ceiling had collapsed and we had some serious reconstruction to do! 

This is our reception area today with large canvas wraps and metal prints. Our design was inspired by some buildings in Chicago and and a bit of Las Vegas style

This is our grande gallery hallway displaying our portraits that are truly timeless. Our studio was so meticulously designed that we made sure every inch is not only unique and beautiful but also can be used for portraits. Our chandeliers and architecture through out the studio offers our clients elegance! We've even photographed seniors with their horses under our chandeliers and down our grande hallway.

Our 10 foot projection screen allows for an awesome viewing of our clients portraits

Our studio has been designed to perfectly fulfill the needs of our clientele. The studio features a huge dressing area, a top of the line sound system,  and state of the art viewing room where clients can view there portraits on the big screen! 

Once you open the two 12 foot metal doors at the end of our hallway you enter in our shooting area!

While the front of our studio offers classic elagance the back shooting area has a vintage grunge look to it for even more flexibility for portraits. 

notice the shelves of couches :)

Our 16 foot ceilings allow us to have some great and unique backgrounds. We have some great exposed brick and beautiful rustic windows. The studio has big wide open spaces so that our clients's creativity and imagination is not limited by space. 

these our two 12 roller backgrounds systems that give us a ton of variety for different looks!

 We certainty love having this area to play and work at, it allows us to love what we do and have lots of fun with our sessions! 

Megan & Ross Petersen Wedding

It was a rainy overcast day for Megan & Ross's wedding but that just means that there are some cool clouds to photograph with!

 Megan and Ross' wedding day started as a rainy overcast day. But I wasn't worried. We had a great location at the Celebration Barn to photograph their big day! We were able to set-up their first glimpse of each other in the Timber Frame barn, it has a large round window that allowed lots of natural light to shine through out.

A contemporary portrait with a little attitude

A romantic portrait of the big day! 

Megan and Ross had their ceremony at the Zion Lutheran Church in Iowa City, it was a beautiful exchange of vows! On our way back to the reception at the Celebration Barn we were able to find an ideal location of tall grass fields to photograph. 

These portraits were taken within a few moments of each other. With the knowledge of different lighting techniques, lenses, and camera settings it is possible to get many different looks in the same location

We didn't have a lot of time to capture portraits but we got some amazing shots of Megan and the girls. No sooner did they get on the bus did the rain just let lose, but that didn't stop us from taking some breathtaking portraits in the rain. 

When we got back to the Celebration Barn we were able to photograph some additional portraits while we waited for Megan & Ross to be announced. We used overhangs as backgrounds for some stellar bridesmaids and groomsmen portraits.

Megan and her Bridesmaids rocking the "Bridesmaids" pose

This is a fun series - somebody said something funny and once Ross started laughing, everyone else had a hard time not laughing too! Tuxedos by Skeffington's Formal Wear   

A great portrait of the bridal party

A beautiful bouquet of flowers by Green Thumbers 

A stunning head shot with the brides bouquet

Megan & Ross' wedding reception had the couples signature styles written all over it. The Double Round barn had beautiful cathedral ceilings that made for some great shots. The reception was packed filled with family, friends and most importantly LOVE for the newlyweds! 

a great food presentation by Jeff's Market 

The whole wedding party was a blast to capture through my lens 

The reception was a blast filled with great laughs and a open dance floor allowing for dancing in celebration of Megan & Ross' big day! 

a great shot of the head table: Check out the Cathedral ceilings-Love them! The Celebration Farm

 

a yummy! creation by Yummy's Gourmet Cakes

Megan & Ross were able to sneak out from the reception and into the venue's amphitheater. We captured some great portraits of the couples using the stormy night sky, what some may say is a disadvantage, but for Megan & Ross it was definitely an advantage to capturing some absolutely memorable portraits

Carissa & Matt's Wedding

We had a beautiful day for Carissa & Matt's wedding!  It started off a little crazy with a huge  farmer's market right outside the church doors when we arrived to set up. Luckily the farmers market disappeared in time to start taking some portraits.


We headed outside for some beautiful portraits at the park across the street. We were able to capture some awesome portraits with their church in the background.

First Presbyterian Church,Cedar Rapids

 A stunning bridal gown by Macy's Bridal Salon (Chicago)

                   

Some gorgeous rings from  Greenberg Jewelry

a great shot of  the beautiful flowers by: Race Horse Royalty

\





After the wedding Carissa's wedding all the guests released balloons and Carissa and Matt walked across the street and released pigeons.

Loved the flowers next to the detail of the stain glass windows.  flowers by Race Horse Royalty

Once we were finished with the releases Carissa and Matt jumped in the limo with their wedding party and headed off. We were able to capture some great portraits with the whole wedding party using a country road we found.

Some really sweet tuxedos: Men's Wearhouse

a great shot with the all the bridal party! 

When it was time for the reception we headed to the beautiful Cedar Rapids Marriott where Unique Events MC'd the reception.

Cedar Rapids Marriot Hotel: some cool lighting with the monogram and purple uplighting by Unique Events 

 Programs, Menus, Table Numbers, Placecards, Etc.: Zephyr Weddings

                                                                         

 some very elegant table linens: Marla's Linens & Chair Sashes: Celebration Linens

A great creation by Tip Top Cakes: Check out the deatails 

Cake creation by Tip Top Cakes

a great series of shots at the end of the night.  I always like to create something romantic to end their album with

                                          

      We are almost finished designing Carissa's wedding album, as you can see it was an amazing day and a beautifully detailed reception! We have some great portraits to include.