I've been waiting for the summer wedding season to come to a close so I could finish editing all the pictures and get them to my fantastic clients. Once that was done I was gearing up for a remake of my website. I'd toyed around with a few new ideas over the summer, but never had the time to finish them off, and they just weren't doing it for me.
Thursday this week I came across a nice simple, non-flash (so no 'Loading....'!!) slideshow that I thought would be a nice touch to my website. Two days later the new site was finished (record time for me!) and it's up and live. Feel free to take a look - .
Saturday, September 26, 2009
Sunday, May 3, 2009
Show me what you look like!
As mentioned in my previous post, I've been taking classes from International Master Photographer Kenneth Linge. Aside from a LOT of learning and inspiration from him, I've really been able to look at my photography through a more-trained eye, as well as others work. I like to google random wedding photography sites and see how they're doing; basically take a look at my competition.
I just breezed over a wedding photographer who had a pretty fancy site with nice quality pictures. But guess what was missing from his gallery? The people! Not literally, but it wasn't until the 29th image in his Engagement gallery where the couple was actually looking at the camera. His opening image was basically a pretty landscape of the Golden Gate Bridge with two miniscule people kissing in the bottom left.
Now, I'm not saying that all your pictures need to be you two looking and smiling; those candid shots are very entertaining and can be very emotional. But please, don't forget that YOU are the highlight of the event. It seems as though the new trend in photography is cool angles, fun poses, neat landscapes and bright colors. But as the the genre heads this direction it seems as though it's leaving behind the core of wedding photography - YOU. The people. The ones that are in love. Don't let your wedding photographer get too carried away on the cool shots that they forget to show YOU off. Your smile, your eyes, you.
With my recent completion of the Photographing People series, I've learned a lot about showcasing faces, what's important in portraits and how to seek the light in all my photographs. As your wedding photographer, I promise to make sure that YOU are still the center of my photography - not the location or the 'cool factor'.
I just breezed over a wedding photographer who had a pretty fancy site with nice quality pictures. But guess what was missing from his gallery? The people! Not literally, but it wasn't until the 29th image in his Engagement gallery where the couple was actually looking at the camera. His opening image was basically a pretty landscape of the Golden Gate Bridge with two miniscule people kissing in the bottom left.
Now, I'm not saying that all your pictures need to be you two looking and smiling; those candid shots are very entertaining and can be very emotional. But please, don't forget that YOU are the highlight of the event. It seems as though the new trend in photography is cool angles, fun poses, neat landscapes and bright colors. But as the the genre heads this direction it seems as though it's leaving behind the core of wedding photography - YOU. The people. The ones that are in love. Don't let your wedding photographer get too carried away on the cool shots that they forget to show YOU off. Your smile, your eyes, you.
With my recent completion of the Photographing People series, I've learned a lot about showcasing faces, what's important in portraits and how to seek the light in all my photographs. As your wedding photographer, I promise to make sure that YOU are still the center of my photography - not the location or the 'cool factor'.
Sunday, April 26, 2009
Photographing People
Over the past several weeks I've been taking classes taught at the International School of Photography in Orem, Utah. The teacher is Master Photographer Kenneth Linge and he is incredible. So far I've completed classes 1 and 2 which are basically a full Saturday of instruction and practice. I've learned so much about lighting, seeing the light, using the light, light layers and more. Can you tell what the main theme of the class is?
The eyes and face are the single most important part of a portrait - but are generally the worst lit. This makes obvious sense, but it was never brought to my attention until now. I'm excited to apply what I've learned in my classes to my upcoming shoots and projects. I know I'll have very noticeable results.
I have several weddings booked for the summer, including a trip to Washington DC in May for Nate and Emilee. I'm very very excited to go! I also noticed I haven't updated my blog since November, but it's not because I've been gone. I redid my website again a little while ago and was busy with that. Now I'm focusing on my portfolio more, refining some of my favorite shots over the years. I'm excited for what 2009 has is store for me, so far it's off to a great start.
The eyes and face are the single most important part of a portrait - but are generally the worst lit. This makes obvious sense, but it was never brought to my attention until now. I'm excited to apply what I've learned in my classes to my upcoming shoots and projects. I know I'll have very noticeable results.
I have several weddings booked for the summer, including a trip to Washington DC in May for Nate and Emilee. I'm very very excited to go! I also noticed I haven't updated my blog since November, but it's not because I've been gone. I redid my website again a little while ago and was busy with that. Now I'm focusing on my portfolio more, refining some of my favorite shots over the years. I'm excited for what 2009 has is store for me, so far it's off to a great start.
Thursday, October 23, 2008
Textures
So I'm diving into a new style of photography for myself, hopefully to one day set myself apart from others. I've been greatly inspired by Jesh DeRox of Canada, his photography is beautiful and the site is terrific. Has such a involving mood about it.
Anyways, I'd like to dive into 'texturing' my photos more, but I'll need to get up quite a nice collection of textures before I really go at it. Here are some that I've worked on. You'll want to click on the image to see it larger, and with the texture.
Anyways, I'd like to dive into 'texturing' my photos more, but I'll need to get up quite a nice collection of textures before I really go at it. Here are some that I've worked on. You'll want to click on the image to see it larger, and with the texture.
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Getting ready for Winter
December must be coming soon, and weddings must be around the corner! I've had several engagement shoots recently, a wedding and some announcement design work. You can always check out my most recent photoshoots by linking over to my proofs page. I even did some family pictures for my friend Stephanie and her two cute little girls. It was a lot of fun.
As I mentioned, I also designed a wedding announcement for Andrea and Danny, I'm pretty happy with how it turned out.
They are getting 300 copies plus envelopes of a 5x7 for just $170. Not a bad deal! And congratulations to them both.
As I mentioned, I also designed a wedding announcement for Andrea and Danny, I'm pretty happy with how it turned out.
They are getting 300 copies plus envelopes of a 5x7 for just $170. Not a bad deal! And congratulations to them both.
Saturday, September 27, 2008
Sam and Megan
This morning I met with Sam and Megan at Center Street in Provo for a fun engagement shoot. We started off behind Guru's and then worked our way over to the County Courthouse at Center and University. They were a lot of fun and did a fantastic job! They'll be getting married on December 30 in Idaho Falls; that will be one cold day!
Click the image to see larger.
Click the image to see larger.
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Managing Your Time on Your Wedding Day
Your wedding day should be one of the happiest days of your life, making it as stress free as possible however is an entirely different story. Having attended and assisted in many weddings, one thing that rarely ever happens is proper time planning. Since the vast majority of the weddings I photograph are LDS Temple Marriages, I'm going to focus my advice that way.
A Temple Sealing generally takes anywhere from 30-60 minutes start to finish. Usually your Ceremony guests start exiting the temple about 45 minutes to an hour after your sealing began. You, however, will take longer. On average the Bride and Groom come walking triumphantly out of the Temple Doors about 90 minutes after the sealing begins. So, if your sealing was scheduled for 1pm, chances are you'll not be out and ready for your pictures until 2:30. On busy days, the exit could be even later!
At this point, you're on cloud nine and your head isn't totally in the game; now it's time to shift directive power to your photographer. Previous to the wedding, it's a wise idea to get a list of group shots that you want with your family and friends. Once you're out of the Temple, the photographer should have that list ready to go, and they should be ready to direct the groups and get those shots taken care of as quickly as possible. Having that list only expedites the task.
Even the best organized group shots can still take about 30 minutes to complete, so be sure that everyone there can plan accordingly with the tasks that they might have in helping with your luncheon, reception etc. After that, it's down to you, your new spouse, and your photographer. Allocate as much time as possible for those photos; they're generally the ones that you'll be hanging up around your house.
I'd even go so far as to suggest taking these pictures before your wedding day, on a weekday. First, you won't feel a crunch for time, and secondly, weekdays are a lot slower on the Temple Grounds; you won't be waiting for the various must-have shot locations. Something else for your photographer to take into consideration is the lighting, you'll be able to take those pictures with the best possible outdoor lighting. However, don't leave all the preparation to the photographer. Do the best you can to spend a few, romantic hours with your fiance to put your stresses behind you and put your love right on your faces. Even the best poses in the best circumstances are ruined by the wrong emotions that are expressed in your eyes.
After your post-wedding photographs are done you'll run off to your luncheon. I've never found these to be very good photographic opportunities; so it's entirely up to you on whether you'd like your photographer there or not. If I may add though, take into consideration inviting the photographer to join you at the luncheon; remember, they're spending almost as much time invested in your wedding day as you are. Photographers get hungry too.
Finally the time of the Reception arrives. Most wedding parties plan on taking a 2nd set of Family photographs here, when everyone is dressed up. If taking these pictures is something you'd like to do, keep this in mind: No one will be on time. If you tell everyone to arrive one hour prior to the start of the reception, don't count on having everybody there until 30 minutes, and even though don't count on everyone being ready. Tell your family and everyone else you'd like in the pictures to arrive 90 minutes in advance, this gives them a 30 minute late cushion that I promise will be used.
I hope these time tips help you out in your wedding planning; there is a lot to take care of in just one day. It's also not a bad idea to talk to other friends that have been married recently, everyone will have their advice on how to make that day go as smooth as possible.
A Temple Sealing generally takes anywhere from 30-60 minutes start to finish. Usually your Ceremony guests start exiting the temple about 45 minutes to an hour after your sealing began. You, however, will take longer. On average the Bride and Groom come walking triumphantly out of the Temple Doors about 90 minutes after the sealing begins. So, if your sealing was scheduled for 1pm, chances are you'll not be out and ready for your pictures until 2:30. On busy days, the exit could be even later!
At this point, you're on cloud nine and your head isn't totally in the game; now it's time to shift directive power to your photographer. Previous to the wedding, it's a wise idea to get a list of group shots that you want with your family and friends. Once you're out of the Temple, the photographer should have that list ready to go, and they should be ready to direct the groups and get those shots taken care of as quickly as possible. Having that list only expedites the task.
Even the best organized group shots can still take about 30 minutes to complete, so be sure that everyone there can plan accordingly with the tasks that they might have in helping with your luncheon, reception etc. After that, it's down to you, your new spouse, and your photographer. Allocate as much time as possible for those photos; they're generally the ones that you'll be hanging up around your house.
I'd even go so far as to suggest taking these pictures before your wedding day, on a weekday. First, you won't feel a crunch for time, and secondly, weekdays are a lot slower on the Temple Grounds; you won't be waiting for the various must-have shot locations. Something else for your photographer to take into consideration is the lighting, you'll be able to take those pictures with the best possible outdoor lighting. However, don't leave all the preparation to the photographer. Do the best you can to spend a few, romantic hours with your fiance to put your stresses behind you and put your love right on your faces. Even the best poses in the best circumstances are ruined by the wrong emotions that are expressed in your eyes.
After your post-wedding photographs are done you'll run off to your luncheon. I've never found these to be very good photographic opportunities; so it's entirely up to you on whether you'd like your photographer there or not. If I may add though, take into consideration inviting the photographer to join you at the luncheon; remember, they're spending almost as much time invested in your wedding day as you are. Photographers get hungry too.
Finally the time of the Reception arrives. Most wedding parties plan on taking a 2nd set of Family photographs here, when everyone is dressed up. If taking these pictures is something you'd like to do, keep this in mind: No one will be on time. If you tell everyone to arrive one hour prior to the start of the reception, don't count on having everybody there until 30 minutes, and even though don't count on everyone being ready. Tell your family and everyone else you'd like in the pictures to arrive 90 minutes in advance, this gives them a 30 minute late cushion that I promise will be used.
I hope these time tips help you out in your wedding planning; there is a lot to take care of in just one day. It's also not a bad idea to talk to other friends that have been married recently, everyone will have their advice on how to make that day go as smooth as possible.
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