Santa Ynez with Lauren
0I try to plan every shoot as much as I can, but sometimes things like location and weather are out of my control. So when things worked out on my shoot with Lauren, I couldn’t be any happier with the results. We had great weather and found a beautiful ranch to shoot at. Word of advice when location scouting, always ask for permission first before shooting on private property. From my experience, people are a lot more willing to work with you when you’re honest and upfront with them. Enjoy!
A Book Review – Fine Art Wedding Photography by Jose Villa
02 weeks ago
by bryan
in Inspiration
As a photographer, I find myself needing inspiration from time to time and Jose Villa’s book, Fine Art Wedding Photography, has plenty. The images in the book are absolutely stunning, but more importantly the book provides insight into his fine art style. The book has some great tips on how to handle different lighting situations ranging from low light receptions to harsh mid-day light. He also provides advice on how to coach and pose the couple to get the best images on their special day.
His approach is refreshing in an industry dominated by photojournalism as the go-to style. I am also amazed that he only shoots with film cameras while minimally editing the final images. As a result, I’ve become tempted to pick up a film camera myself. This book is a great read and I would recommend it to anyone needing some inspiration or looking for a fresh perspective in wedding photography.
You can pick up the book on Amazon.
A Look Back at 2011
0Now that I finally have had some time to breath, I can finally spend some time to reflect. 2011 was the year I stepped into wedding photography head first. It has provided a new challenge for me and I enjoyed every minute of it; from sharing beautiful memories with the bride and groom to working with talented photographers. I’ve learned so much this past year about not only photography but also establishing a style and point of view. To top it all off, being published in Snap Matter Magazine’s Swimsuit Edition validated the work I have been doing. With all that has happened in 2011, I am excited to see what 2012 has in store for me and the challenges that lie ahead.
Jason and Robin – Monterey Museum of Art-La Mirada – Monterey, CA
0Jason and Robin were a great couple to work with and I was glad I was there to be able to share in their special day. I second shot this wedding with Topher who I had previously worked with before which made the day that much more enjoyable. Please enjoy a sampling of Jason and Robin’s beautiful day!
Goodbye Flickr! Hello 500px!
0Flickr has been a great home for my photos for the past couple years but I’ve realized I need a change and found a wonderful site in 500px. The images I’ve seen so far are just amazing and I really like the voting system they’ve incorporated. I have been won over.
Newport Beach with Jessie of Willow Model Management
0I go into every shoot with a vision but sometimes you just got to adapt. I really wanted to take advantage of the Southern California sun and take some golden shots at the beach during sunset. Mother nature of course didn’t cooperate and I was met with cloudy skies. I had to change my concept around to match the cloudy look of the beach so I went with a faded look.
Jessie is an agency represented model with Willow Model Management and was great to work with.
Eric and Nancy – Piedmont Community Center – Piedmont, CA
0I’ve known Eric for quite some time and I felt honored and privileged to be there on his wedding day to capture all the special moments. I wish the best to Nancy and Eric and their future life together. Please enjoy a couple snap shots from their wedding day.
Published in Snap Matter Magazine!
1A couple images from a shoot with Rachel a month ago made it into the swimsuit edition of Snap Matter Magazine!
Love Portable Power!
0I’ve been wanting to take my Alien Bee strobe on the road with me but I finally gave in and purchased the Vagabond Mini. This little batter pack is light-weight, portable, and efficient which makes it very awesome and worth every penny. Here’s a quick snap shot of it in use when I was working with Sam this past weekend:
Breaking Down the Shot – Shooting on a Sunny Day
0This is the inaugural post of a new series of articles that I hope provides a more in-depth look at my work.
I recently did a portrait session with Jeanne who is editor of Benicia Magazine. Benicia was once the capitol of California and with the Capitol Building still intact, it made a great backdrop. The challenge I faced was shooting Jeanne in front of the capitol building in broad day light with no shade in sight while creating a magazine worthy image.
To make this image work, I had to make Jeanne really “pop” in front of the capitol building. I quickly decided that the best way to setup this shot was to have the sun behind Jeanne with a speed light in front of her for fill.
To get the right exposure for the background, I took a couple shots of the capitol building as seen in the image on the left below. At 1/250, my camera’s light meter came back with f/8 but I was still getting some highlights on the white columns so I adjusted the exposure by one stop. Next came setting the correct exposure for Jeanne. I really wanted her to “pop” in this image against the building so I set my speed light to 1/2 and found a workable setting. Though the recycle times were a bit slow at 1/2, it allowed for a slower paced session making it easier to connect with Jeanne which I find makes better images. Having the sun behind Jeanne made sure there wasn’t any squinting and it also provided a bit of rim lighting for her hair.
Post production included minor editing in Lightroom 3 and Photoshop CS4. If you have any questions please leave me a comment.