{Originally published on Melissa Jill’s blog}

I’m back in Phoenix having some great memories from my two weeks in the Bay area. Michelle and Brent were married Thursday in Half Moon Bay.

Brent is a farmer in Iowa and Michelle, originally from Arizona, has moved there to be with him. So this was a destination wedding for them.

This wedding was so special to me and here’s why. If I wasn’t already born into an amazing family, this is the family I would want to adopt me:

{Originally published on Lawyer Mama}

In photography, the best shots usually come with the best light:
shortly after sunrise and the hour before sunset. At this time of day,
everything looks magical. Everything looks beautiful. The light
diffuses the world with warmth and a special ethereal glow. Everything
is simple and clear for one. magical. hour. every day. The golden hour.

Because I am not a morning person, my golden hour is the hour before sunset.

I spend my day at the office focusing on facts, analysis, crafting
legal arguments. I deal with petty office politics, avoid those I
don’t care for, and court favor with those I do. I attend committee
meetings and client meetings and depositions and hearings. I write
briefs, pleadings and professional articles. I take client calls and
conference calls. I scour contracts for loopholes and alternative
language.

My day is added up in 6 minute increments and ruthlessly accounted
for. I can tell you how much time I spend in the bathroom or getting
tea every day.

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Originally published on Kellan Studios.

We booked Kristen’s wedding last fall, for the upcoming fall. Not
only is she incredibly funny, but she gets the award for most patient
“bride to be”. I say that because during our consultation she got a
phone call from her fiance. Not unusual, except that he was calling
from Djibouti, Africa. Charles was finishing out his last few months
with the military over in Africa. I am constantly amazed at technology
that she was chatting away with him in our living room and he is almost
1/2 way around the world!

We were so excited that they wanted to book an engagement session so
we could meet the illusive Charles. He was just how we expected him to
be, incredibly witty! We had soooo much fun with this couple shooting
around downtown and Old City Cemetery. We did not have to try hard to
get them to laugh. In fact, it was just the opposite, trying to get
them to be serious!

Can I make a personal note? This couple is TALLLLLLL! Charles is
6’4” and Kristen is 6’0…but had four inch heels on and Ryan is 6’6”. My
vertical is 5’2”. I felt like the little sister that was tagging along
16 inches below! Luckily, they let me play too.

Here are some of my favorites from our blisteringly hot session.

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Originally published on emilie inc. photography.

I could hardly sleep last night because I was so excited for today! I
popped out of bed early for one final cleaning of the studio and a few
last minute additions to the walls before the art walk.
At 10a, the balloons and signs went up outside my door, and I started
distributing stickers on each visitor’s map- those who received a
sticker from each studio was entered to win a raffle.

I would
say, in the 6 hour span of the walk, I easily had 100 visitors. I was
very humbled by the kind people, many of whom gasped when they rounded
the corner at the top of the stairs and peeked in the studio (a few
asked if they could move in!). Everyone offered their congratulations
and “welcome to the neighborhood,” as well as tips for great brunch
spots and neighborhood organizations to join. Mothers with
not-yet-engaged daughters tucked my business cards into their purses
with a wink. People marveled at the artwork, the beautiful light in the
space, and the yummy cupcakes (yes, the mini version of my birthday
party treats- I’m hooked!). It was a long day, but boy, what a great
way to introduce emilie inc. to the East End and kick off the official
wedding season.

Once the tour wrapped up, J and I headed to
dinner at Flatbread with the emilie inc. associates and their families.
What a treat to spend an evening with Geneve, Steve & Sage, and
Wyndee, Pete, Olivia & Chloe. Really looking forward to working
with you!

Here are a few pictures of today’s set-up with the
studio’s finished look! Some of you may recognize photos of yourself on
my walls!

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Originally posted at [b]ecker’s Blog.

I was recently chatting with some friends at a party, and I was asked if I knew what my favorite wedding image was. I laughed at the notion that I could ever narrow it down to a single frame, but it did get me thinking of some of the more memorable images I’ve captured over the years, and today I’d like to share with you 20 of my all time favorite wedding photographs. Of course, if you ask me tomorrow, I may have a completely different set of images. I am always striving to create better images that capture moments in time that the subjects will cherish forever.

I define my style of photography, as capturing relaxed portraits, amazing details and real moments. I feel these images do a good job representing my abilities in doing just that.

These first few images are scans from back in the film days… the 90’s!

I absolutely still love this portraits of a bride from July of 1999. Her expression was real, and she was just a gorgeous person inside and out.

***

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Originally posted at Beyond Megapixels.

One of the most important things your photo should have is an
ability to hold your viewers attention. There are a lot of techniques
that can be used to help you compose your shot so that people will
spend more than a second looking at it. Besides keeping your viewers
focused on your photo, the techniques below can also help emphasis your
main subject.

There are many ways to hold your viewer’s attention. Here are five that you can easily start off with:

1. VIGNETTE

A
vignette is a gradual loss of light and picture quality towards the
edge of the photo due to poor lens construction. Although it is
considered a lens aberration, a vignette is helpful in drawing the
viewer’s attention towards the center of the photo. It also adds
character to a photo since it makes it look like it was taken with an
old camera.

CC Photo by australian overanalyzerTo add a vignette to an existing photo with Adobe Photoshop, refer to our previous article found here.

2. SHOOT THROUGH A FRAME

This
is probably one of the oldest tricks in the book. You simply choose an
object you can shoot through that frames your main subject.

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