Posted by on February 29, 2008
A few weeks ago, my friend David Lee asked for some help on an Engagement Shoot. David was one of my assistants at Tom & Ashley’s wedding, so I didn’t hesitate to offer my services 
We met at The Mission Inn in Downtown Riverside. To the best of my knowledge, The Mission Inn charges a fee to use their location for photography, so I wondered if David had gotten permission to shoot there. Well, he hadn’t. However, we were presently surprised to see that there was a bridal show there, so we were able to wonder about for quite some time without being detected. In fact, no one approached us until we tried taking photos along a walkway outside. When they asked us to leave and did so immediately, so it was no big deal. Luckily, the area just outside along the mall is really nice. There are some antique shops with cute facades, benches, statues, water fountains, etc. That served as a perfect background for our shots.
I really enjoyed the experience and I heard from David that the couple was pleased with all of their photos
Posted by on February 22, 2008
We had a great time! The couple was joyous and we took as many photos as humanly possible. As I had hoped, David and Mark were wonderful that night. Kathy, the groom’s mother and church coordinator, said the guys were more professional than some other “professional” photographers who’ve showed up wearing shorts! (more…)
Posted by on December 31, 2007
It’s Monday, December 31st and I’m getting ready for my shoot tonight. I’m taking deep breaths and will try to meditate in a bit. I’m pretty relaxed (even though I was sick yesterday) especially because I was able to take a brief vacation last week. I made it over to Houston to spend the holiday with my family and while I was there made the most out my time by stopping in to say hello to Lucy! We visited the Houston Museum of Natural Science on Thursday and it was thrilling to say the least. I think mostly because my nieces and nephew were so excited. We’d told them about it before going in so the whole time they were say “When are we going to see Lucy? I want to see Lucy!” So when we finally got into the room they were ecstatic and amazingly interested in what all the museum people were saying. Lucy was under a class case that we could walk right up to. Also, there was a statue of her as she would have looked like before death. She stood just over 3 feet tall and my 6yr old niece liked that she was the same size.
Now I’m charging everything up and getting ready for tonight. Two of my classmates are going to help me out tonight. I loved their work during class, so I’m ecstatic that it’s the two of them helping out tonight. I think it will go well
Posted by on October 18, 2007
At the end of the year I am shooting my first official wedding on contract. I have done a wedding before, but it was for a friend and even though she loved the photos, I hadn’t started to consider myself a Wedding Photographer yet. Well, now I’m on my way. In preparation I enrolled in a Digital Wedding Photography class this fall. I am so glad I did. The instructor (www.marykristen.com) has been in the business for 22 years now and has done a great job of detailing the realities of day to day work as a photographer. All of the students in this type of class are just starting their businesses or are thinking of taking the plunge so we talk a lot about our common fears and no question is too basic. For the most part she’s been following the book Digital Wedding Photography: Capturing Beautiful Moments by Glen Johnson, and I have to say it’s a good way to go. Johnson covers every single detail of what it takes to be a wedding photographer. He goes from the mundane explanations of how to use lighting to the more complex rundowns of workflow and dealing with clients. It’s a real eye-opener and I appreciate his frankness. Also, his explanations of the basics are a good refresher and maybe something important to remember when dealing with clients. I can definitely see a situation where a potential clients may ask me to explain why I use the equipment I do. Having been immersed in photography so long, sometimes it’s hard to remember basic things like that and the impulse is to just say, “Because I just do. Because it’s the best for what I do.” Johnson reminds me of how to answer the why.
What I’ve learned so far has been invaluable and it’s gotten me out there shooting more photos. All of this instruction will be beneficial to my client this winter and I am hoping to many more clients to come.