Who’s Who: The Key Players of the Wedding and Portrait Industry

March 4, 2014

By Laura Brauer

Leah Macdonald, Album and bookmaking maven


Leah Macdonald. © Elizabeth Messina

Leah Macdonald (last profiled in our March 2012 issue) is someone we are still getting to know. Lately she has received even more attention with her company Bliss Books. With a fine-art background in oil painting, mixed media, beeswax and wedding photography, Macdonald started Bliss Books after getting commissioned to make a limited-edition artist portfolio book in 2008. Since then, she likes to involve the customer in as much of the creative bookmaking process as possible, and everything, from the painting to the book-binding, is created by hand.


© Elizabeth Messina


Lee Morris and Patrick Hall, Photo website wunderkinds


Lee Morris. © Jerrit Pruyn



Patrick Hall. © Lee Morris

Though they met while working at a camera store together, friends and business partners Lee Morris and Patrick Hall were apparently destined for videography and wedding photography (Morris and Hall have their own wedding photo businesses—R.L. Morris Weddings and Patrick Hall Weddings, respectively). 

The Charleston, SC-based duo were on their way to an overseas wedding when they decided to make Fstoppers.com—a URL Morris had bought a ways back—a hub for photographers interested in behind-the-scenes videos and tutorials. One of their recent videos, a four-hour Peter Hurley how-to called “The Art Behind the Headshot,” has garnered quite a bit of attention, though Fstoppers also features shorter tutorials and insider videos on a daily basis as well.

Myra Callan, Apparel adornment artiste


Myra Callan. © Elizabeth Messina

Myra Callan is the creative mind behind Twigs & Honey, a bridal accessory company that makes jewelry, belts, shrugs, hair adornments (like the one shown above) and more. Using old and modern millinery craft-making techniques—hand-dyeing, petal-pressing and feather-curling, etc.—Callan has spearheaded a whimsical vintage style that promises to accentuate any woman’s best features. Her Twigs & Honey line, founded in 2008, has been featured in over 100 different magazines, including Real SimpleMartha Stewart WeddingsBrides and The Knot, and it was chosen for commission by Ann Taylor.


© Elizabeth Messina

Damian Battinelli, Composite King


Damian Battinelli. © Damian Battinelli

Damian Battinelli has become one of the principal digital compositing artists in the industry. As an associate and mentor for PH2PRO, Peter Hurley’s online community, Battinelli offers a variety of services that go beyond simply taking someone’s portrait. In addition to creating edgy composites for brands, Battinelli offers DBXtreme to athletes who want to look like they’re in a professional sports ad.

© Damian Battinelli

Scott Kelby, Photo software savant


Scott Kelby. © Peter Hurley

Scott Kelby is a longtime major figure of the digital photography world. As the editor and publisher of Photoshop User Magazine, training director for the Adobe Photoshop Seminar Tour, president of the National Association of Photoshop Professionals, and CEO of Kelby Media Group, he has taken his extensive knowledge of photo software and translated it into bestselling books (including the acclaimed The Digital Photography Book, Part 1) and workshops to help others interested in honing their post-production skills.