2009 Engagment Shoot-out

This afternoon I hosted an Engagement Shoot-out through my Wedding Photography class at College of the Canyons in Valencia. We ended up with 24 photographers and 20 couples. Each couple worked with 2-4 different shooters with 15-30 minutes for each round. I know there are a lot of wonderful photos from this afternoon and I look forward to the crit in two weeks. Thanks to all who participated and made this shoot-out a huge success!

Chris and Jessica's Wedding

Yesterday I had the pleasure of working with Chris and Jessica in Long Beach. They are good friends with a past bride of mine from a few years ago. The event was at the Ebell Club which has some beautiful architecture. The couple were so easy going and they had some of the coolest friends making my job so much easier. They requested I shoot a few rolls of film and let me tell you, it was great fun getting back to my roots. I can't wait to get the film back to see what I got. (strange to say that phrase again!)

New Toy

Friday's are my days to decompress before a Saturday wedding. Tomorrow I am shooting a really fun couple at the Ebell Club in Long Beach. In preparation for tomorrow I tested out a new lens that came in the mail today. I had recently gone to the Pasadena photo show and done some research on a new lens that came out last year (2008): Sigma 50mm 1.4 (same basic specs as the Canon 1.4 but more beefy like the Canon 1.2 and weather sealed unlike the Canon 1.4) After looking through hundreds of comments on all three lenses, I decided to toss my Canon 1.4 and try the Sigma. For around $450 it has a better build than the Canon 1.4 more closely matching the 1.2 in the bokeh department. What I mean by this: the Canon 1.4 tends to compress (squish into semi-circles) the circles of confusion (blurry rings in the background from ambient smaller lights). The Canon 1.2 does not do this, nor does the Sigma 1.4. There are not too many "off" brand lenses out there that compare to the build and quality of a Canon or Nikon pro lens, but I though I would give it a try. A BIG thing with this lens in comparison to the Canon 1.4 is that it is weather sealed and the Canon 1.4 is not. In my book this is a big deal. So if you are in the market for a new lens, you might try this one out. I will give you my full opinion on it after I use it for a while. The above is a test shot from today of my little man, Jacob.
Settings: 50mm | ISO 100 | f/1.4 | 1/2000 sec.


CANON USERS:
CANON 50mm 1.4
Canon EF 50mm f1.4 USM Standard & Medium Telephoto Lens for Canon SLR Cameras

SIGMA 50mm 1.4 for Canon Cameras
Sigma 50mm f/1.4 EX DG HSM Lens for Canon Digital SLR Cameras



NIKON USERS:
NIKON 50mm 1.4
Nikon 50mm f/1.4D AF Nikkor Lens for Nikon Digital SLR Cameras

SIGMA 50mm 1.4 for Nikon Cameras
Sigma 50mm f/1.4 EX DG HSM Lens for Nikon Digital SLR Cameras

To see more of Jen's work go to www.jenosullivan.com
To learn more photo tips and tricks click here.

PHOTO 101: Wedding Photography Mistake #1

The Looser

I was talking with a photography colleague of mine who was telling me a horror story of a lost CF card during a wedding. He had placed the card in a side pocket of one of his bags and forgotten about it. After a few days of searching with a huge lump in his throat he finally found it. Luckily his story ended well. Sadly, loosing imagery happens more than you might think. There are three things every photographer should consider:

1. Photographers who are shooting an all day shoot should be making duplicate copies of the shots while they are shooting on a separate hard drive and should not be deleting the cards as they shoot to make for more room. An experienced photographer will have 25-50% more card space than they typically use at any given event. A good hard drive to look into is the Jobo Giga One Ultra. I use the 120 gig and find it perfect for my needs to backup both mine and my assistants shots during the event.

2. The second issue is the card the photographer is using. Not all cards are created equally. You can find an QMEMORY 8 gig card for $30. Would I buy that card: absolutely not. I am sure they are okay cards, but I would not trust my livelihood with it. Also, I tend to only shoot around 300-4oo shots per card depending on the camera I am using. That translates for me to a 4 gig card. The reason for this is so I do not have all my eggs in one basket. If something does happen to the card, the entire wedding is not on that single 32 gig card. So for this reason you might look at a SanDisk Extreme IV 4 gig card for $60 or and 8 gig form $100. Other great pro cards are the HOODMAN RAW CF cards and the LEXAR Pro cards.

3. Lastly, how does the photographer backup their imagery once they get to their studio? If you are a client, always ask your photographer what their archive procedure is. I archive all the photos onto 2 Western Digital My Book 1 Terabyte drives and 2 640 gig drives, one DVD copy (DVDs are the worst way to archive since they only last a few years,) and two off-site archives houses. It is super important to me to never loose an image. Even in ten years from now, I am sure I will get some clients asking for a new copy of their images due to lost DVDs or poor back-up practices from their own discs I give them. I always assure them that they can come back to me any time for another copy should they need one. In the not too far future, everything will be up in space for virtual "grab" to whomever I allow access. Can't wait for that! : )

Be a good bride/groom and ask these questions, and for you photogs out there, be a good photographer and get a handle on your file safety.

To see more of Jen's work go to www.jenosullivan.com
To learn more photo tips and tricks click here.

See all 10 Wedding Photography Mistakes:
Mistake #1: The Looser
Mistake #2: The Unfamiliar
Mistake #3: The Truant
Mistake #4: The Time-line Crasher
Mistake #5: The Unprepared
Mistake #6: The Chimper
Mistake #7: The Do-Over Guy
Mistake #8: The Wrong Place Guy
Mistake #9: The Partier
Mistake #10: The Narcissist

The Snail

So, while on our daily romp in the backyard today, I cam across a snail moseying across the ground. I thought he would be a worthy subject for my macro so I started to shoot. As I was taking some fun shots, Jacob came over to see what I was doing, promptly kicked the snail and then went over and stepped on him. As good fortune would have it for the snail, we are re-seeding our grass so it is quite muddy and he just sunk without consequence. Jacob went on his way, and I got a good belly laugh out of it. I also took some shots around the garden too. As you can tell by the spikes they garden is not exactly kid proof yet.

To see more of Jen's work go to www.jenosullivan.com
To learn more photo tips and tricks click here.

Engagement Shoots

It is always a good idea to do an engagement session before shooting the couple's wedding for two reasons: it is good for you and good for them.
Why it is good for you: You meet and get to know them as a couple. You can teach them how you will be giving them direction the day of their wedding for their portrait session. You will be able to know if there are any quirks about them. I had one groom who would blink EVERY time I took his picture. Luckily I learned this about him at the e-shoot and not the day of his wedding.
Why it is good for them: They get to "test drive" you. In all honesty, if the couple did not like my style, then I would not want to shoot their wedding. I would WANT them to find someone who THEY feel comfortable with. I always tell people who have already hired their photog to make sure they do an engagement session because if they are unhappy with the results they should try to get out of the agreement.

Here are some tips and suggestions:

The Location
Pick a location based on the couple not you.
Think of a few locations that you like to shoot if they want ideas but always suggest a place that they like to go to.
Local Locations around Southern California (be aware of permit issues)
Beaches:
El Matador Beach
Laguna
Santa Monica
City Scapes:
Downtown LA:
Little Tokyo
Flower District
Los Angeles Farmers Market
Union Station
Pinks on La Brea (and all up and down the street, great galleries and thrift/antique stores)
Pasadena (Old Town in the back alleyways behind the shops parallel and south of Colorado Blvd.)
South Pasadena:
Fair Oaks Pharmacy and Soda Fountain
The Rialto Theatre
Parks:
San Marino: Lacy Park
San Marino: The Huntington
La Canada Flintridge: Descanso Gardens
Agua Dulce: Vasquez Rocks
Stevenson Ranch: Mentryville
Theme Parks & Carnivals:
Santa Monica Board Walk
Disneyland
Magic Mountain
Knott’s Berry Farm
Local Carnivals and Fairs

The Best Time
Best time is one hour before sunset
Alternate time is at sunrise
Check out http://www.sunrisesunset.com

Advice to Give the Couple
Dress: Casual, earth tones, solids, no white pants, shoes that look good but you can walk in grass.
New clothes or unfaded clothes are best. If you choose black it must be new.
Make sure things are clean and wrinkle free.

Props: Only if they want something fun like picnic items, blanket, bicycle, etc.

Hygiene: If the guy sweats a lot tell him he should bring a handkerchief and you might want to bring some blotters. For the girl, natural is best. Tell her to do her makeup as if she were going on a date. This should not be a trial run for the wedding makeup as it is usually more heavy for the wedding. They should both get manicures and she should have her ring cleaned.

What to Bring
Everything on your person with backup equipment in your car.
You may want an assistant if you are doing any bounce/fill lighting or to hold your camera bag.

What to Wear
Think professional yet durable. Good sturdy shoes, a black shirt (not faded) and jeans are always good. You may be potentially getting on your knees or your belly to get some shots. A black shirt will help you to not reflect yourself in anything like their sunglasses or her ring.

To view more of Jen's work visit her main website.
To learn more about photography go to the PHOTO 101 Tips and Tricks Archives.

Bridal Show

I had so much fun at the Glendale bridal show! I met soooo many wonderful future brides and grooms. I had a full team with me and we were able to take some fun photos of the newly engaged couples and give them take home prints. A professional portrait studio set up at your reception is an elegant way to say thank you to your guests. In this economy people tend to put family portraits at the end of the list if it is even on the list at all. With my portrait studio your guests can take full advantage of it at your reception and you, in turn can include a print in your thank you cards. This is such an intimate way to thank them that they will be touched beyond words. I am including a portrait studio in every package for free to those from the show. To view all the photos taken in the portrait studio click HERE.
















Some friends took some photos too since their men were not around.

To view more of Jen's wedding photography visit her main site.