New galleries (yay!), lots and lots of new photos (yay!) and some of my all-time favorites (extra yay!), including this one, from Billy & Lai Lai’s first wedding a couple of years ago.
So usually when you come to this space, you see photos of dogs & brides. Oh, I’ll throw in a self-portrait once in awhile (I have a thing for odd self-portraits), but yeah, married people and someone’s dog is most often what I blog about.
So you’re looking at this image and thinking, “whaaa…?” It’s true. There is neither a bride nor a dog in this image. Not even a groom (though in California, that may change very soon).
This is a shot from an advertising shoot I did recently for a local restaurant/club. It’s called Paradise Piano Bar and it’s on Broadway and it has hella good food (I shot one of their dishes a few years ago for the now-defunct District Weekly’s food issue). I had a blast doing this shoot. It kind of came out of nowhere; on Facebook actually (which goes to show you that you never know what you’re going to find on the Facebook). I love love this shot, and I’m so happy that it’s one that my client chose for a postcard/flyer. It’s not usually the case that a photographer’s personal favorite is what a client chooses so when it does happen, it’s like ka-POW! photo chemistry
If you’re a bride looking for a photographer, or someone who’s interested in a portrait session, this should be a good thing to see on your photographer’s site. While a photographer can “specialize” in any genre they like, I personally think that’s it’s a really good thing for a photographer to keep a lot of variety in his/her assignments. Instead of thinking it will scare off clients, I think it shows versatility. Hey, you don’t know when the lighting I used in this shot is going to be perfect for a wedding portrait that I have coming up.
Which leads me to a tip: look for variety in your potential photographer’s work. Daylight, nighttime, flash/noflash, a variety of subject matters. Experience in a variety of situations and subjects can be only good for a photographer to bring to your event or your session. Speaking of variety, I have a separate website for my commercial/editorial work. You can find it here: http://www.freshsimpletrue.com. But I’m going to slowly add that work to this site, because like I said, it can only be good.
Now, since the majority of people who watch this blog are women, I’ll let you get back to the shot above, and the “oh, my” you’re thinking.
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Ok, so most of you know that most all the while I’ve been shooting with my Canon digital gear, I’ve also been shooting film on the side. When I did the Bandit Brand fashion catalog two years ago, I used a combo of digital, medium format film and polaroid. And I really liked it.
I’ve been mulling this over for awhile and have finally decided that my wedding packages are going to include the same: digital, 35mm film and polaroid. This is, I think, a great package for couples who have an artistic eye, and who know that the most expensive digital camera they make just cannot compare to the genuine, true look of film. Soft focus, sun flare, a tiny bit under or overexposed: all of these so-called “imperfections” make up what I think is so beautiful about film. It really does capture the moment. There’s no changing what it captures, there’s no revising the moment once the shutter is pressed.
I’m planning a long post about this for the future, as well as some film galleries on the site. But in the meantime, I wanted to show the film highlights of John & Dianna’s wedding. Everything that appears here was also caught digitally, but the film shots are especially relevant to this wedding in particular. True, simple, genuine and about as real as it gets.
Look for it in the future: brides on film.
For now, take a look at John & Dianna’s most precious moments.
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August 11, 2010 - 4:28 pm
Oh please tell me this media mix starts now. I *adore* the look film has.
Just bought a pinhole camera for Tgurl’s birthday…can’t wait to help her use it.
The images above are dreamy….
August 12, 2010 - 7:51 am
haha, don’t worry, Cyndy. I had planned on the mixed media for your wedding from the start, but we’ll talk about it more over email.
When Mr. Susan and I got married, we went to the Little Brown Church in Studio City, had about 10 guests, and a small reception in our backyard. The picture of us cutting our cake shows me in my pj bottoms and a tanktop, and Mr Susan in shorts and shirt. Basically, we’re pretty laid back.
Dianna & John, I gathered, were pretty laid back as well. His boutonniere was a succulent (chosen by Dianna); her bouquet was made of wildflowers; the ceremony was at the end of the jetty in the shadow of a lighthouse in Santa Cruz and the reception was a small dinner at a local restaurant. No bridesmaids; no first dance; no tossing the bouquet; not even a grand entrance.
Well done, Mr. & Mrs. Well done.
Here’s a quick peek of them performing the one tradition I usually insist on: my traditional “grrr, hell yeah! I just got married” ring shot, and they couldn’t even pull that off. But I kind of like their version better.
(By the way, potential brides out there, I’m still waiting for the PJ slumber party wedding; and believe me, I’ve got a discount to offer on that one!)
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August 9, 2010 - 5:57 pm
They make me SMILE. I’m amazed at the incredible energy and money thrown at weddings these days. The Average Wedding is $20k in the US these days. Over 50% divorce rate? I don’t wanna do the math. And on a different note, I did a Senior Portrait shoot for a young man this weekend. He showed up in a clean blue t-shirt that complimented his eyes. Very laid back, we got some great portraits that say “I’m a Senior in High School”. Same day,I witnessed in my neighborhood (a big photography spot) a full on Limo driven Senior photo shoot with at least 4 changes of clothes hanging on the hook in the car – she was wearing a full length black halter dress and 4 inch heels. WTF? Have parents gone mad? I guess it’s good for the photography industry, but I just couldn’t ever do that. I’ll be a voice for the laid back kids
August 9, 2010 - 6:55 pm
I know! These ceremonies are the best kind. They make for happy marriages.
That’s a line from my newly-updated bio page. I’ve just rewritten my bio, changed the style of all my galleries and uploaded four new ones. Oh, and renamed them. I don’t know what it is; I think the SyFy Channel’s “Dinocroc” is really motivating me or something.
Since I first started a website for my business, I’ve always gone through these angsty periods of the best way to show my work. The old way is to upload the highlights of each wedding as I complete it, giving every couple a few months in the spotlight before I switch the galleries out every 6 months or so. But I’m not digging that layout much these days.
Instead, I laid my galleries out the way I burn my DVDs: before, during and after (oh, and portraits). How simple. Der. Except I’ve renamed them (so cleverly) with the phrase that I hear most often during that time period:
Before: “Where’s my phone?” Oh man, I hear that about a thousand times in the couple hours or so that I hang out with a bunch of women who are late to something.
During: “…forsaking all others…” I think that’s a really sweet saying, and even though everyone’s ceremony is a little different, everyone manages to get that bit in.
After: “I need a drink.” Can be heard by everyone leaving the ceremony and heading to the cocktail hour.
Portraits: “Is everyone looking at me?” Yes, I say that about 20 times a minute. On average. In the end, very few people are.
So I’ve spent the last few days uploading lo-res versions of all my weddings and splitting them into those sections, then culling those photos to get the best for each gallery. Bah, I’m already starting to bore myself, so let me just tell you that although it’s changed, it’s not finished. In the upcoming weeks I’ll whittle it down a bit and add the rest of my couples (there are tons!) so visitors, meaning you, can get a really good grasp of how and what I shoot.
And the McGyver reference? Well, if you want to know what that’s about, you’re going to have to click over there and read the new bio.
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