Michele & Joaquin's Prewedding Shoot.

We got together this past Monday afternoon to shoot in Half Moon Bay. You may recognize the building in the background of the first image - its the Ritz Carlton which appeared in American Wedding (aka American Pie 3). The setting is idyllic and we spent the rest of the day on paths around the adjoining golf course and the beach below the hotel. They claimed to be not very PDA-ish but I have photos that prove otherwise ;) Joaquin lamented not being to work out earlier in the day so Michele help out with some drills on the beach.

Michele and Joaquin grew up in the Bay Area and met through friends while in high school. They were engaged in 2006 and are getting married in June. Woohoo! This fun couple was referred by Michelle and Bob, some great clients whose wedding I photographed last year in August of 2006. Check back mid June for pictures from the wedding.

The famous HMB fog was fixin' to roll in all afternoon but it dissipated just before sunset. The cold ocean air was starting to raise some goosebumps but waiting out the sunset was totally worth it. Wrapping up just after 8pm we all raced home in time to watch Heroes and, later, The Riches.

Michelle & Jonathan's Wedding. Pleasant Hill

Ceremony at St. Catherine of Siena in Vallejo and reception at the Contra Costa Country Club in Pleasant Hill.

Michelle is a big fan of South Border, a popular seven member Filipino R&B band now based in LA. Someone knew someone who knew someone who was the cousin of someone that knew someone who is the road manager for South Border and Michelle managed to hire them to perform at her wedding/anniversary! Um, did I mention she is a huge fan? I think some of her bridesmaids enjoyed the private concert too ;)

I was pretty nervous the days leading up to the wedding because the forecast was for rain... and lots of it; we had planned to shoot outdoors. Someone must have been saying "Hail Mary's" and "Our Father's" for us because the sun began to poke through at the start of the ceremony. Michelle and Jonathan have been married for 10 years but were never able to have the church wedding they really wanted or the big reception. On April 14th, their 10th anniversary, they were finally able to celebrate both!

Fresh from Maxwell's Lounge the night before, South Border kicked off the evening by performing for the bride and groom's first dance just after dinner. These guys are pretty good!

Joan & Kerry's Prewedding Shoot.

San Francisco climate is quite unique and can vary drastically from one side to the other. When we started it was a bit overcast and drizzling. Joan and Kerry planned ahead and brought cardboard to sit on as they went down the slides on Bernal Hill. Evidently, all slides are not equal when racing and - as you can see - Joan was the winner.

How many of us take the time to ride the vintage F-line down Market? The BART and Muni underground are much faster but the street cars have quite a history. We waited at a stop in the Castro debating which one we should take. Yellow? Red? Orange? The inscription "sooner than I thought" is certain to be a psychological ploy developed by Muni to convince us that we really were not waiting that long. At least it wasn't raining. We did make it on to a beatifully maintained car originally from Milan, Italy which is one of Kerry's favorite. Check out that neat Muni wall mural too, it's in the Castro on Church Street.

Joan and Kerry are both wine lovers so ending at Hotel Biron - a neat alley wine bar - was a natural. We enjoyed a young De Tierra Monterey Pinot Noir in the very dark back room. Nice wine, very drinkable, I'll have to make a note-to-self. Afterwards, we entertained the valets and diners at Zuni Cafe.

Strobe Lighting and Color Correction.

How many of you readers are photographers? Keep reading, I hope you will find this interesting.

I have to admit it, I am not a preeminent photographer - yet ;) - and as with most things in life, there is always room for improvement. Over the last couple of weeks I have been thinking about lighting - speedlights to be exact. Have you noticed how your foreground at receptions might be nice and color balanced (i.e. white dress) but the background has a strange green or orange cast? This is generally not a significant issue but can become annoying for someone that wades through thousands of images every week. The problem is related to the existence of multiple light sources, one being your flash. Photoshop is not the answer unless you like masking and playing with curves on every shot.

What is the solution? You can crank down your ambient exposure in which case you get the black hole effect where your subjects looks like they are dancing alone in complete darkness. You can light the background to overpower the ambient light (how much lighting do you take to a wedding anyways?) Or you can try what I picked up from a Christian LaLonde Masterclass at WPPI 2006 and gel your speedlight. AHHHHH magic! Gelling every light in the reception room is the alternative but I can't imaging bringing enough gels or a ladder to do that. The concept isn't new and many photographers are well aware of this solution. But it is still worth talking about every once in a while. Rosco and Lee are big suppliers to the industry and have plenty of info on their websites to help you accomplish this.

This leads to another thing. I came across an incredible blog today I just had to share, The Strobist. The author provides some great information!

WPPI Roundup.

The last session for WPPI 2007 ended Thursday morning. New York photographer Jay Maisel spoke about what he considers to be the important aspects of every photograph in a talk titled "Light, Gesture, Color, and New Works".

This year over 10,000 photographers attended the conference and trade show marking another year of growth. Occupying around 200,000 square feet of space the show was another two hotel monster taking place at both the Paris and Bally's. Virtually every major supplier to the industry was represented and I picked up a few baubles. I also made sure to check out the 1D Mark III, Canon's newest flagship body. I might be able to find some room in the camera bag for this incredible DSLR ;) Look out for Canadian photographer Jesh de Rox. He probably needs to check some extra luggage getting all those awards home. Also worth noting, Australian lensman Jerry Ghionis won the album competition yet again. That is something like 4 of the last 5 years! Come to think of it, the bulk of this year's winners were either from Canada or Australia.

Inspiring is the one word that comes to mind each year, both artistically and business-wise. All the speakers are models of success and professionals that many of us strive emulate. This year I decided to sit in on talks by Hanson Fong, Art Wolfe, Liana Lehman, JB and DeEtte Sallee, Lou Jones, Kersti Malvre, Gene Higa, Andy Marcus, and Jay Maisel. They are a diverse group of photographers spread across the U.S., and every one of them was interesting. I was not disappointed. Keep an eye out as I apply some of the ideas and concepts I took away from the show.

I did a little shooting as I explored a bit on my last night in the City. Also found the time to put a bet down on the NCAA Final Four while at the Venetian.

Mark your calendars for WPPI 2008 from March 13th to March 20th. If any future clients are interested, I do offer a Las Vegas prewedding shoot straddling WPPI week at no extra cost. First-come-first-served. There are few places on Earth as extraordinary and over-the-top as Las Vegas.

Can't wait until next year!

WPPI 2007!

... From the Paris Las Vegas Events Center ...

It's that time of year again, the Wedding & Portrait Photographers International conference and trade show. As always, it is held in Las Vegas - one of my favorite vacation destinations - with thousands of photographers in attendance and the industry's top vendors. Can't wait to listen to some of the world's best wedding photographers share what they have learned and show their most recent work. It's at the perfect time of year too providing some inspiration at the very start of the wedding season.

This is now my third year and the excitement hasn't waned. It was actually at the 2005 show that I decided to pursue wedding photography full time. I was blown away by the words and work of people like Joe Buissink, Cliff Mautner, Jerry Ghionis, Brook and Alisha Todd, and so many more. This year is no different with another stable of awesome speakers.

Please understand if you don't get an immediate response by email or phone. I'll see you in about a week.

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Emily & Marshall's Wedding. Long Beach

Ceremony at the First Congregational Church in Long Beach and reception at the Hyatt Regency Long Beach.

Just got back from a great wedding in LA. Marshall and I are second cousins by marriage. I was flattered (and, admittedly, a bit tentative) when he and his parents, uncle Kent and aunt Patty, asked back in 2006 if I would photograph the wedding. I am very glad I said 'yes' because it was incredibly fun and great to see so many familiar faces in the crowd. Both sides brought their large extended families and everyone had a great time.

California weather can be iffy in February. The day before it was a scorching 88 degrees F in Long Beach (yes, it broke a record). The day after was dreary and wet barely hitting 60. The day of the wedding was perfect. We even hit the beach between the ceremony and reception for a few quick shots while there was still a hint of light. Party favors featured custom chopsticks, music CD's, and yummy peanut butter mochi. Not sure where you can get it around here but if you are ever on Oahu go to Nisshodo in Kalihi. Go early because they do sell out.

Welcome to the family Emily and have fun in Paris you two!!!