A while back I read in an online forum for photographers how those of us in California aren’t so much talented as we are just lucky to have “that great California light.” The statement is bogus, the quality of our light aside we have to deal with some things my Midwestern friends will never have to work with.
Like surfers photo bombing our weddings….
But then again that light is pretty sick.
Sometimes I get these crazy ideas about how I want images/shoots to turn out. I have concepts I want to try. When I’m tooling around I will find locals I think would make for a great shoot or I’ll find graphic elements I want to include. Sometimes these little ideas work out, sometimes not.
I had a few concepts and locales I wanted to try with Kevin and Primavera. None of them happened. Instead the shoot came out a thousand times better than I could have imagined.
This is how it should be. The images just happen. They lay there in the grass waiting for you to pick them up.
Thanks Kevin and Primavera. Can’t wait for your wedding in Capitola.
Jen and Alex were the first wedding I shot this year and if they are any indication of the kinds of couples and images to come my way this year it will be a rad year of photography for me. Just look at these two…
I have to say I got pretty lucky with these two. Between their choice of locations – holy smokes San Francisco are you kidding me? and their sense of style it was hard NOT to get great images.
Thanks so much Jen and Alex for choosing me to be your photographer and giving me the opportunity to capture some amazing images.
So tonight (Tuesday 03/30) Jen and Alex are revealing to their friends and family that they sneaked off to San Francisco and got hitched … Shush! Keep it under your hat until this evening.
To be honest I think it has got out a bit. I’ve been getting some visits from OZ on the blog. Which is great cause I will travel anywhere for a wedding (hint, hint).
At any rate I don’t think any thing says “Ta Da we sneaked off and got hitched in San Fran” like this image.
Enjoy. More to come.
When I edit I do three things… I keep in my heart the feeling I had while interacting with the people I photograph, I cue up songs on iTunes that “fit” the day/the couple, and I try to develop a few different edits that just “work” for the images. I always have an idea, before a shoot, what I want the images to look like, how I want them to feel.
For Jen and Alex I developed a post production that mimicked some one of my favorite black and white films I shoot with when shooting street photography. Following are a few images as a result of that process.
I mentioned in a previous post that Jen and Alex wanted to have a traditional English tea time on their non-traditional wedding day. So we headed off to the Crown and Crumpet. I can’t say enough good things about this little tea room. Beautiful soft light. An amazing staff. Unheard of service. They even provided a little cake and bride and groom toppers for Jen & Alex’s visit. Really, I was just blown away by this little place. I will always try and find a way to work a stop into their little shop for every San Francisco couples session.
I will have more images soon, but I couldn’t resist posting this one. Jen and Alex skipped the usual wedding traditions and eloped in San Francisco. It was a long day with lots of traveling around on MUNI, a bus load of Japanese tourists who kept “uncle bobbing” my photoshoot, and did I mention we spent a lot of time on MUNI?
These two Brits were my first wedding of the year and if they are any indication of what this year holds I’m gonna have a killer year in images.
I only wish I had more time with these two. So entirely off beat in their approach to life. Such a different take on weddings. I have to admit I was a little unsure about an elopement. That little part of my brain that always worries about getting great images for the portfolio was worried that without a “traditional” wedding the shoot wouldn’t do much for my emerging business.
Boy was that a stupid thing to worry about. Yeah, yeah there wasn’t a ceremony or lots of little details to photograph that are so popular. But these two more than made up for it in flair and humor.
I love Jen’s dress. The “I DO” was their idea (thank you to what ever photographer they Bogarted that idea from). I take full credit for the “DO I.” The expressions were all Alex and Jen.
I was listening to NPR the other day and they had a neuroscientist talking about how our choices are largely determined by these little squirts of dopamine and a bunch of other stuff I would like to pretend I understood.
One thing I’m pretty sure I could get my head around was that there are all kinds of things in life that give us these little squirts of dopamine, in other words, little bio-chemical shots of happiness.
Right now I’m building a sample album to present to couples during our consults. I’m using a wedding from last fall that was one of my all time favorite weddings to photograph. I’m culling images, doing little edits, sorting and thinking about how I want the images laid out and I realized I was getting these little shots of joy.
I thought I would post a few.
Photography, for me at least, is about looking for the right light, anticipating a moment unfolding and then capturing it when it does. This one unfolded while Steph was getting ready. Mitch and Steph had decided to have a private moment before the ceremony to see one another. Here she is just about ready to walk out and see Mitch. The light from the window was soft and bright and she was holding her flowers just so. I waited until something in my gut said “hit the shutter dummy!”
This is the result.
Mitch has his back turned waiting for Steph to come up to the alter where he’ll see her in her dress for the first time.
This is seriously one of my favorite moments during a wedding. Steph approaches with her grooms gift and flowers in hand. Shaking just a bit.
Image on left is Mitch just before he turns, image right is Mitch right as he sees Steph. Need I say more?
A deep breath… an embrace.
I have been rearranging images on my drives, backing up all the stuff from 09 and what not and there are so many images that I love I thought I would share a few for the next few days or so. Or maybe its cause I’m head over heals myself and seen these other couples on their wedding day makes me feel all squishy inside.
This is one of my all time favs. I just told Mitch and Steph to take a few steps back and do what comes natural…
Allan and Brenna get a double entry in my year in review. Instead of going for the traditional ring exchange they opted to go under the needle for something a little more, uh, permanent.
The only thing is they had neglected to get an appointment with one of the many local tattoo shops. But my buddy Mac has a shop just up the road so I dropped in and explained their predicament. He has done one of my tats and his work is amazing. Mac is such a good guy that he opened up his shop on his day off just to tattoo their rings.
This series of images are among the most popular in my portfolio for obvious reasons.
Here the newlyweds wait for Mac to set up. I love the image of Brenna giving a reassuring touch to Allan’s arm.
Brenna is the first to go under the needle as an anxious Allan watches.
Next it’s Allan’s turn.
Many thanks to Mac at The Gilded Lilly in Felton for accomodating us and allowing me to photograph the session. After all, no wedding album would be complete with out a ring shot.
