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.

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.

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.

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.

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…

Amorina had a beautiful wedding in her parents back yard. Even though it was a million degrees outside we still had a game of bocce ball in dress. I love it when the bride is relaxed and would rather have fun than worry about the minutia of wedding porn (you know, all the stuff in the wedding zine pictures).

Congrats Amorina.

Amorina is also part of my longterm project. I’m seeking brides and grooms who will let me shoot their wedding and follow up every year with a shoot documenting their life. So next year this time I’ll be doing a portrait shoot of her and Ray and their little ones. Super stoked on that.

Technical: two sb 600’s on stands camera left and right at 45 degree angles, one sb 800 on a stand pointed at the group, one sb 800 on camera as the master flash. all fired at about 1/4 power, ambient dropped 2 stops.

These are all iconic images in our culture. You only hope that your wedding photographer can capture these once in a lifetime moments right? As a photographer these are a piece of cake. You know they will happen, you know when they will happen and where.

But what about the formals? I’ve never talked with anyone who spends much time day dreaming about the picture of the bride and grooms family together, or that rare photo of uncle Frank from Toledo posing with the bride and groom. Talking with other wedding photographers these are the images they least enjoy shooting.

Why? Why so little love for the formals? Personally I love shooting the formals. I think there are a couple of reasons why shooting the formal portraits at weddings are the least popular aspect of wedding photography.

First, the list of formals is always very long, and inevitably it will grow come wedding day. This is taxing on the resources of the photographer and the wedding party. Another reason might be that is the perception that formals don’t allow room for creativity. I should probably also add that the time allowed to produce really great formals is often neglected.

So here are a few suggestions.

1. Avoid thinking of the formals as a way to get a portrait of every family member, family friend, and long lost uncle. Trust me on this one. For one thing, if your photographer is any good he or she will likely get a great candid image of uncle Frank from Toledo that actually captures who uncle Frank is. Do you really need him posed with you and your soon to be? Maybe if he was instrumental in your life or introduced the two of you sure. But more on that in a bit.

2. How much time have you allotted for the formals? The last wedding I photographed was for a couple who are in to photography and they allotted 5 hours! That may sound like a long time – because it is! But if you have a party of 12, plus both families and you want traditional formals and some non-traditional shots, plus bride with groomsmen, bride with brides maids, bride with each bridesmaid, groom with groomsmen, etc, etc that can take a lot of time. Work with your photographer early in the planning stage on this one.

3. Have a wedding coordinator. This doesn’t have to be an official coordinator. This can be a friend or a relative who has that special gift of dictatorship. Ha ha. Ok, well you get my drift. The last thing you want is for your photographer to be the person barking at people. That makes for bad images. You know that aunt that at thanksgiving who kept an eye on the kids table? The one who is always fixing collars or insisting you wash your hands before you eat? Yep, she was born for this.

4. Be willing to think outside the box. If you allow enough time you can have a lot of fun and turn the formals into a creative portrait session. Are their locations near your wedding venue that are meaningful? What about a place that would be great for some INformals of the wedding party? I’m blessed to live in Santa Cruz and this is the best part of beach weddings. Great romantic back drop? Check. Lots of space to play? Check. Just watch out for the guys in Speedos!

5. Everyone is a photographer. No, everyone has a digital camera. Among wedding photographers they are known as uncle Bob. uncle Bob will have better gear than your hired photographer most of the time! Ask uncle Bob to leave his gear at home. My contract has an exclusivity clause stating that I am to be the only photographer. Why? It has nothing to do with ego. Nothing is more frustrating than having your shot ruined because everyone is confused as to what camera they should be looking at. Or having your lighting thrown off because uncle Bob’s flash is going off while you are opening the shutter. Or worse, having to fight with uncle Bob for a good vantage point. I shot a wedding this summer and about a dozen frames were ruined because an uncle Bob (that was actually his name!) kept jumping in front of my lens. I kid you not. I have a frame somewhere of the bride and groom kissing and uncle Bob has his hand and camera in front of the lens!

The dear kabobs were the bomb. And yes I ate until my little belly cast a little shadow over my feet…

I really can’t articulate how much joy I had shooting this wedding. They are just such a rad couple. I would love to post every image from the wedding, they were all killer. But I that would make for a very long post, and of course there are a few images that would incriminate a few folks! — Did I mention that after our venue closed I followed the wedding party as they CRASHED another wedding reception! Who would have thought folks from the land of Prairie Home Companion knew how to party?

At anyrate, the church was beautiful, the ceremony was beautiful, the dress was amazing and of course the bride…

What also made this wedding killer was that there were tons of little moments like this one (look on the right)…

Of course if you think that is funny you should see some of the out takes from the formals!

All the best Mitch and Steph.