Joyce + Jake in Half Moon Bay, CA

Jake proposed to Joyce just a short walk from where they were married in Half Moon Bay.  For guests arriving to the wedding, the first thing they saw was a beautiful painting of these two at sunset, made by Joyce's talented little sister.  By just looking at the painting of this couple embracing in front of a beautiful sunset, you were able to feel the solidness of their love.  The same goes for Joyce, who was so nervous in the minutes leading up to the ceremony, but the moment she saw Jake at the other end of the aisle, all her nerves seemed to flutter away.  For the rest of the night, these two were stuck together, side by side, arms around one another.

It was such a privilege to be a part of their day.  These two come from very close knit families, and so there were many beautiful moments between them and their family members.  Because we had done such a fun engagement session with them a few months ago, we'd had a chance to get to know them so that they were already super comfortable with us from the moment we arrived, which in turn allowed us to capture all of the natural emotion of their day.  Congratulations you two!  We hope you're having the best honeymoon ever and that that carries through for the rest of your lives!

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Joyce's mom made these paintings specifically to hang around the reception area:

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The painting by Joyce's little sister is on the left.  Amazingly, it was overcast all day until the sun started setting so that we could make the picture on the right. 

Family Portraits at Weddings

One of the best things about weddings is that they're events that bring people from all different spheres of your life together.  Your immediate family, aunts, uncles and cousins, friends from your childhood, college friends, co-workers...  The only other event that draws people out of the woodworks like this are funerals, and c'mon, weddings are way more fun than funerals.  Because this is a rare occasion where everyone comes together, we understand that the group family and friend photos are a really important part of your wedding photography.  Many potential clients ask if we do this, and the answer is a big resounding "YES!"  Yes, we are documentary photographers and so we don't pose anything other than the portrait portion, but of course we know you have to have these group photos and so we are happy to take them.  We just don't showcase them in our portfolio because we want to emphasize the documentary side of our style.  On that note, I wanted to breakdown how we go about doing the group photos.

One month before each wedding, I always check in with my couples to tie up loose ends, and this includes asking them to send me a portrait shot list with all of the different group combinations of people.  Depending on how we've scheduled their day, I give them limits on the number of different combinations.  For example, if they have 15 minutes before the ceremony for small individual family photos (the bride with her mom, bride with her sister), I know I can do about 8-10 different combinations so I let them know that.  On the other hand, if they have 30 minutes after the ceremony for larger group photos, I'll let them know that I can do about 15 different combinations.  When possible, I try to have my clients restrict their group photo session to about 30 minutes because I've discovered that after that, guests get antsy and want to start partying.

By asking for a portrait shot list ahead of time, my couples have time to figure out their exact combinations, let significant family members review their choices and add their input, and the best part is, they don't have to think about it on their wedding day.  They don't have to wonder if they're missing someone, if they are getting all of the right combinations....  They can just leave all of the coordinating and positioning to Adm and me.  Working off of a list helps to organize my job which makes things go smoothly and efficiently.  Once I've received the portrait list (about a week before the wedding), I look it over and reorganize it so that I start with the older and disabled people (if there are any), and then I start with the largest group combinations.  This way, I can eliminate people as I go along which is much easier than tracking people down.  With my trusty list and trusting clients who can sip on champagne and snack on appetizers in between coordinating moments of their group photos, we manage to make the group portrait session flow quickly and painlessly.

As for the actual taking of the group pictures, I always try to keep them simple and natural.  Whenever possible, I use solid backdrops such as lots of greenery or a clean wall.  Other times, if there's a cool tree around I might use that to frame my groups.  The farther I bring my subjects away from the backdrop, the more the backdrop just blurs to a neutral color.  My thinking behind this is that with group photos, you want the people and their faces to be the center of the frame and so you don't need a busy backdrop competing with all of the faces in the photos.  I often suggest doing the photos outside, and when it's sunny out, I always put the sun behind my subjects.  This not only provides nice backlight, but it also ensure that my subjects are not squinting into the sun and making strange faces.

Of course, there are times (oh, let's say, high noon) when I can't get that perfect backlight, and so in that situation, I try to look for areas with open shade.  When that's not available either or if my clients have a particular backdrop they want to use but that makes them look all shadowy, then I have to pop in a little bit of flash to even out the shadows on their faces.

Often, when my couples get married in a church, they want to do photos up by the altar.  Nine times out of 10 when this is the case, we have to light the photos, which again is really easy to do.  Adm usually sets up the lights while I'm coordinating the first few shots.

While I'm taking the group photos, Adm is there to help in all different ways.  He's another set of eyes that watches for things like sunglasses, drinks in hand, purses, kleenexes...  He's there to take these things away which help clean up the photos a bit.  He also sets up my next combination so that people can easily move in and move out so we're not losing a lot of time in between taking pictures.  With all of this on his plate, Adm still manages to look around him and take some candid photos of people who are waiting in the wings.  Here are some of my favorites that Adm has made behind my back while I'm taking the more formal photos:

So, there you have it.  That's our breakdown of how we do the family photos.  The only other thing I might add is that for large group pictures, we often go in Photoshop during the post-processing and will replace faces if we have to.  Someone with their eyes closed or their mouth mid-speech in a group photo will kill the rest of the picture.  Thanks to the motor drive in digital cameras these days we can fire off a lot of frames very quickly so that we are sure to have at least one good face for everyone in the photo.  I hope this post is helpful for current brides and grooms and maybe some photographers out there as well.

Amy + Brett Engaged

Longtime followers of the blog may recognize Amy as one of Judith's bridesmaids in Judith and Tom's wedding our very first year.  We are thrilled to be photographing hers and Brett's wedding later this year at Viansa Winery in Sonoma, which is where we met up to do some engagement photos this past weekend.  These two were such troopers to brave the elements because despite the fact that it looks sunny and beautiful, it was actually incredibly windy (and cold) outside.  Then again, they do both live in New York where I'm sure they're used to much more extreme weather.  After taking some photos at the winery, we headed to downtown Sonoma, which is super charming, and made pictures at the Mission.  I'm always a sucker for the rustic feel of all missions in California, and so I loved using the wood beams and textured walls for framing and backdrops.  We can't wait for their October wedding to get back to Viansa and photograph these two with their family and friends!

Prairie + Andris in San Francisco

Anyone who plans an outdoor wedding in San Francisco in April is keeping their fingers crossed to have the weather gods on their side.  Well, it was actually lightly raining about an hour before Prairie and Andris' wedding in the Shakespeare Garden of Golden Gate Park, and the weather seemed farthest from their minds.  These two are world travelers as they both work for international non-profits, (Andris was unexpectedly sent to the West Bank just days before the wedding), so I should've known that a little rain wouldn't have fazed them.  As an observer, you could just sense their excitement and happiness for what was to come, and in the moments leading up to their ceremony, the drizzle stopped, giving way to one of the sweetest ceremonies we've witnessed.  Adm and I had so much fun photographing these two, who have such a pleasant and easygoing aura about them.  We wish them loads of happiness as they continue their adventure together, now as husband and wife.

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Prairie's gorgeous dress was custom-designed and made by Karleen Eberle.

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Vu Family Session

Adm and I had a fun little family portrait session last weekend at the beautiful Hakone Gardens in Saratoga.  There were two moms, four daughters and a husband, and we had a great time photographing them all together.  The session was prompted by the fact that one of the daughters, Michelle, is in the Army and heading to Afghanistan soon.  We wish her well and hope she returns safe and sound.

Ariadne + Nicholas in Pasadena, CA

Ariadne and Nicholas were married in Pasadena, CA, where I pretty much grew up.  Actually, Ariadne and I went to high school together so it was really fun to photograph her wedding in my old stomping grounds.  We hit a number of different spots throughout Pasadena including City Hall for some portraits, before ending up at her parents' house for one of the most beautiful summer backyard weddings that Adm and I have been to.  She and Nicholas live in New Jersey, and so Ariadne's mom did almost all of the planning and coordinating, and she just did a fabulous job.  There were so many sweet details, like the colorful shawls hanging over the backs of the chairs that not only added to the decor, but also served as favors for guests to take home and use as the night went on, or the signs that instructed guests how to play games which were set up in the front yard.  Everything about the wedding felt very natural and comfortable, and we could tell that a lot of thought and care had gone into trying to make guests feel welcome and at home, which is exactly how I remember Ariadne from high school.  She was always calm and collected, and genuinely expressed her care for other people and what was going on with them.

Although Ariadne and Nicholas had a short engagement, from the way they were with each other on their wedding day, we think they'll have an infinitely long marriage.  I guess it goes back to that old saying, "When you know, you know."  Thank you, Ariadne and Nicholas for having us along for your wedding.  We loved documenting you two and your families and friends, and we wish you years of joy.

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