Steve and Jackie are close to Sarah and me. They are family friends that go back to my childhood. Being part of this wedding was a true honor. There’s nothing like taking a place of honor in a friend’s wedding. This actually isn’t really a new experience though I must say. We tend to get close with our clients, and they feel more like friends after it’s all said and done. We go out of our way to make you feel at home. Sarah was actually one of Jackie’s bridesmaids.

I really enjoyed this wedding. Not that I don’t enjoy every wedding. But I LOVE it when my brides have a lot of details. Details are the best. They make weddings super personal, and they just add to the ambiance. I really loved the Anthropologie feeling that we got from the centerpieces, the bouquets, the boutonnieres, the cake, the cake toppers, the thumbprint tree, the program fans, and everything else I’m forgetting to mention.

You might remember reading about Sarah and my trip to Anthropologie to learn how to make little animals with cork. Well, Jackie saw what we made, and just HAD to have her own copy. We then proceeded to make a wedding version of the Anthropologie cork birds and they turned out beautifully! Jackie took it a step further and added a base and a some flags.

Stephen and Jackie, we feel honored to be considered your friends. May you have a life full of love, laughter, and God’s blessing. Have fun in Michigan….. We miss you.

To view and order more pictures, please go to http://www.pictage.com/1062946

Hair and Make-up: THERESA HUANG  make-up & hair design
Venue: Porter Valley Country Club
Dress: Pebbles Bridal
Cork Birds: Brian and Sarah Noah inspired by Anthropologie

This time I went down to photograph some new silverware, and add some new lounge furniture Julio also had some seasonal items he wanted to be included in the website. What he had set up was perfect for a Christmas themed wedding, or a high class get-together. Either way, If you happen to be getting married in December, which I think would be just magical, A Christmas themed wedding would be super.

Check out the images from the set-up.

Robert, this is directed specifically at you: Purchasing this camera does not make you a photographer. The use of this camera at a wedding does not make you a wedding photographer. Advertising on Craigslist does not make you a professional photographer.

P does not stand for “professional,” green does not mean “go”, and Kevin Kabota and other stylized actions or presets will not make your snapshots look good.

The lens and flash that come with this camera are not sufficient. An additional investment of at least $3000 will be necessary in order to bring the possibility* of your images up to par with other professionals. On that note, you will need to invest in a second camera body for when this camera “freezes” in the middle of your niece’s wedding. The freeze is actually a user malfunction; you pressed the 10 second self timer with your forehead, and can’t figure out how to get it out of that mode.

If you desire to make a living with this camera, remember the following principals: Quickbooks does not replace a good CPA, Facebook is not a replacement for a website, Federal, State, and local taxes are mandatory, expensive, and you have to take them into consideration with you pricing. Insurance isn’t just for your car or your health. You WILL screw something up, so be covered.

Everyone and their grandma wants to be a professional photographer. This is your competition, and in a market where the supply is higher than the demand, your images won’t be worth anything to anybody until you create value in your products and services. Not only will you need to be a cut above the rest when it comes to photography in order to bring in any decent income, but you will also need to learn how to be a marketing genius and small business guru. This is not a small undertaking. What makes you any different from the other millions of “professional” photographers out there? If a bank can’t seem to be able to stay in business, what makes you think that you have what it takes?

You will spend a minimum of 2 hours editing for each hour shooting. Figure this into your pricing. There is no such thing as shooting for free. Your camera costs you money, your CF cards cost you money, your computer costs you money, your external hard-drive costs you money, your time editing costs you money, dvds cost you money, the sharpie with which you label your dvd costs you money. Someone is paying for the images… It shouldn’t be you.

*possibility. The $3000 additional investment only gives you the possibility to shoot incredible images. It does not guarantee it, and furthermore, is extremely unlikely. The investment of a few years, learning, shooting, taking workshops, and trial and error are the only ways to actually create incredible images consistently.

Or this:

The use of this camera to earn an income will likely result in the following: Stress, Hair-loss, Tax problems, strained relationships with your spouse, high blood pressure, neck and back pain, nausea, IBS(Irritable Bride Syndrome), No savings or extra money in your bank account.

I hope this was entertaining. I wrote this as a response to a discussion in the Pictage forums about regulation. The general consensus from most photographers is that regulation would be a bad idea. I think I agree. However, Proper education would go a long way to deter people that shouldn’t be going into business for themselves from trying to make a quick buck from photography. Either way this is purely satirical, I mean no harm or offense by it. And if you respond with any debasing comments, they will be deleted.

The Noah Camera Holster is now Shipping!

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Noah Camera Holster

The Noah Camera Holster slides onto your belt, and allows you to carry your Professional DLSR with any glass(including your 70-200 f/2.8) with the weight resting on your hips, rather than dragging your neck down and causing neck and back pain.

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A few months back I held a contest for a free portrait package. a 1 hour portrait session, and I threw in some prints along as well… Pretty much a $450 value.

The Au family won the drawing, and we finally got a chance to take the photos due to some medical problems preventing us from doing the shoot. I took the Au’s to Trippet Ranch in Topanga State Park for this session… Yes, You’ll recognize it from the Wedding photo session I did with Liz and Arnold. I just love that park, there’s a $10 parking fee, so that helps prevent a ton of people being there all at once. So we got the whole park basically to ourselves, except for a nice family that let us go about our business.

It was a beautiful day, nice and cool, and a little breezy, I wish I could have spent the whole afternoon there…. it was great. By the way, I LOVE my Noah Camera Holster… it makes my job so easy! I just wish I hadn’t lost part of my light stand, I wasn’t able to use off camera flash, I was pretty bummed. but we still ended up with some great shots.

OK… so here are the photos:

Noah Camera Holster

The Noah Camera Holster slides onto your belt, and allows you to carry your Professional DLSR with any glass(including your 70-200 f/2.8) with the weight resting on your hips, rather than dragging your neck down and causing neck and back pain.

More Details

Quantity:

Price: $98.00
$68.00Price:

Updating cart...

Replacement Clip

We all lose things right? Buy a replacement clip for your Noah Camera Holster here.

Or if you just want a second clip for your other camera. Either way, we've got you covered

Quantity:

$11.00Price:

Updating cart...

We decided on Trippet ranch in Topanga State Park in Los Angeles California to photograph their wedding photos. I love this park! I used to go there as a little kid. There’s a nature trail where you can see the ocean, and picnic area… it’s a great place for photos and to just hang out and relax…. I plan on doing another shoot here pretty soon.

Let me know what you guys think, cause I at least think it’s pretty dang spiffy.

Here’s a quick 49 second video that took me 5 hours to produce…  Pretty cool. Open to suggestions.

httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GW6OKUq8OcM

Also let me know if you’d be interested in creating a slideshow for your business.

So Sarah and her mom went to look at rings some time in February so that when it came time to look for rings, I’d know what she was looking for. So even though I didn’t have the money at the time, I came to the conclusion that it wouldn’t hurt to look, and offer some kind of barter. I build a website, I get the ring, type of thing.

Well I went and looked at the ring and of course it was beautiful and too much money for me to afford. So without ever even mentioning that I was a photographer, I asked if they needed a website, and if so, would I be able to barter with them. Well Odette, the owner told me that no, se already had someone building a website, and without skipping a beat, she said, “but we need a photographer.” I was floored. Mind you I had never shot a piece of jewelry or done any product photography before, and I let her know that. But for some reason she liked me, and thought that she could trust me. So two weeks later I picked up some new product photography gear, and started working with Odette on a project that entailed 3 stores and thousands of items.

I’ve since done quite a bit of product photography. The latest client I had is Del Rey Party Rentals of Los Angeles. That was a combo Web Design project along with hundreds of products. I strongly suggest using Del Rey Party for all of your event rental needs. Very friendly people, and great prices. You can build your quote online even(that was a fun project.)

What’s great about shooting products is that it’s 100% controlled. I love shooting weddings, don’t get me wrong. There’s something about capturing the romance, love, and excitement of a couple’s most important day that is just incredible. But it’s impossible to control every aspect of it, and wedding photos come out differently every time which is great. But with product photography, you control the light, you control the shadows, you control the reflection of the products. It’s hard work, but it’s pretty consistent. Even harder is jewelry photography. Shooting an engagement ring without getting any reflection of black on the ring or diamond, while still creating separation is nearly impossible. I love it.

So that, in a nutshell is how I got into product and jewelry photography…

You can check out some of the work that I’ve done on my galleries page.

Seva, a friend of mine, and a couple of his friends are going in on this studio. Well we just found one right around the corner from my house. It’s got a couple offices, and a big warehouse in the back and I believe it’s right on a busy street. Pretty cool. I haven’t seen it yet, but we’re working on the lease this next week or so.

I’ll keep you all up to date on the progress, and I’ll post some photos once we’re moving in.