Mother Daughter Dance

On one of the wedding photographer boards to which I subscribe, a fellow photographer had asked what new wedding traditions people had observed at weddings they had photographed. My first answer was the ringbearer girl, who carried the rings in a nest, that I had blogged about in part yesterday.

I remembered today another tradition that I have seen last year that I thought was particularly beautiful, the mother daughter dance, from Vanessa and Paul's wedding. Here Vanessa (who proudly stitched on the coat of arms of her new family name, Grazzini, onto her wedding dress herself, dances with her mom (as do many other women).


Out of this, spontaneously, the women started forming little circles in which familial lines blurred and the bride and her mom danced with Vanessa's younger sister who is in a wheelchair, some of the bridesmaids, and an aunt. I love how this tradition got so many people out of their seats and onto the floor and let all the women who wanted to participate regardless of traditional dancing ability.

New business cards are coming

I just saw the prototype of my business card today. They are designed to match the look and feel of my website, and will be ready in a few days (will put up a photo of the fully designed, ready to be distributed ones when I have them):
The couple featured on it, Gerardo and Chauntel, were so excited when I first put this picture of them up on my website. Chauntel said she told everyone and that now they were famous.

One photographer friend told me that the above shot reminded her in a cool way of Cinderella. She did look like a fairy princess, but instead of mice to help her she had beautiful flower girls (who couldn't resist twirling in their dresses as we waited for the limo to arrive):

and a beautiful female ring bearer who carried the rings in this unique nest:

Bonsai!

On our last shopping trip together to Borders Book Store with my friend, Colleen, along with some books I picked up a Mini Bonsai Tree in a box kit.

I hadn't opened the box yet, as I thought planting a tree on Martin Luther King, Jr.'s birthday would be fitting. Upon doing so I learned there are many pieces inside and quite complex instructions.

So it turns out that the first step is to soak the seeds overnight. The seeds apparently float (not mentioned in the instruction booklet), so hopefully they are soaking as they are floating. (This is turned upside down to show them, and righted afterwards for more water exposure.

So the seeds soak for a day, then get wrapped in a damp paper towel and put in the fridge for a week. Then planted. I will keep you posted on the growth of the tree, and show photos as it comes along, assuming all goes well.

Stillie Awards - Engagement Sessions

As I've previously blogged about this year's Stillies, the photo moments from this year that make me metaphorically stand still as favorite moments in time, it's time to look at the Stillies from my wedding photojournalism, starting with some favorites from engagement sessions.

The first Stillie involves a photo from a session where the groom had said it took practice to remember to smile for photos before we had begun. This reminds me of an episode of Friends where Monica and Chandler decided to get engagement photos done (theirs were done in a studio) and try as he may Chandler couldn't show a natural smile whenever the camera was on him.

It was much easier for this couple, Chauntel and Gerardo to smile naturally than Chandler, in fact, Gerardo told me at the wedding that he even looked daily at this photo, to remind himself to just relax and smile. He did a great job of enjoying himself and smiling at both this session and the wedding day, itself.

Stillie for Best Smiles at an Engagement Session:


The second Stillie involves Jill and Aaron, a couple who are originally from the south, and who have come to love California and call it their home. For their session they wanted to go to many easily recognizeable places so the folks back home could appreciate the beauty of the state.

They wanted photos both where the scenery was itself a separate subject and where they would all blend in together. In this photo they blended in well, and with the light enveloping them and the statues surrounding them, it feels to me like they are getting a blessing on their relationship.

Stillie for Best Overall Use of Background Scene


The last Stillie involves John and LaTrisha who really wanted to match their surroundings and each other at their sessions. Conventional photo wisdom is that a couple should dress similarly both in terms of colors and formality of clothes to look like they belong together in these photos. They not only matched dress wise, they also brought three sets of outfits and we matched them color and style wise with their enviornment.

Stillie for Best Overall Matching




Congratulations to Gerardo and Chauntel and Jill and Aaron who were married in 2006. I will be photographing La Trisha and John's wedding on January 24.

The Artistic Side of Photography

My job as a photojournalist has let me capture many forms of art. One assignment to write and photograph "La Virgen de Tempeyeac" at the Mission San Juan Bautista featured visual, and auditory art forms.

In 2007 I'm hoping to grow more as an artist both as a photojournalist for the paper (I love that we refer to photos as art or artwork) and for my wedding clients, and as a designer for my albums for the wedding clients.

I hope to take more creative risks (like I did with using the dress as background for many pages of La Trisha and Johns' sign in book). I'm part of a professional wedding photographer forum that is discussing reading "The Artist's Way" and discussing it as a group, which should help me as well.

Finding new angles, light, timing, etc. for my photos is artistic (though I had a sculptor debate with me once if the album designing was more artistic as there I was starting more with nothing and creative something), and also just shooting daily (for the paper, my clients and even myself is another of my goals for this year.

Photos of the Week (Ending 01/12/07)

It was an interesting week at the paper with stories about the Boy Scouts Christmas Tree Pickup (and car rides with the boys, the chaperones and I discussing who had the worst travel stories - with their frequent camping trips they sure had me beat), interactive white boards and a request from the publisher that we bring back some pictures highlighting sports outside of the norm for us.

With such an interesting week I chose two favorites, first this one of Stephen using a stylus on a Promethean board to complete the word hide. I really love the educational toys nowadays, and the look of understanding and learning is definitely in his eyes, as is the look of pride in his teacher's eyes.


Armed with the idea to bring back less common sports and fitness stories we succeeded, in fact, we didn't even bring back one shot of a sport using a ball. My favorite from the lot was this one of Charlie reaching for the upper part of the climbing wall. It was his first harness-based climbing wall lesson ever.

How "Pet of the Week" Returned to Our Paper

When I first started at The Pinnacle it had been awhile since the Pet of the Week feature had run. One of our reporters, Melissa, who is now the City Editor, did a story on pet owner rights and responsibilites, and one thing requested to be photographed was animals in cages at the local animal shelter. I did some wide shots and some tight shots, and really fought for this little Airdale to get in the paper, which he did.


I really like this photo, something about his eyes just haunts me, and the look on his face is priceless. I figured he was a survivor, and apparently I wasn't his only fan from the letters I got about him, from people wanting to adopt him or just wanted to know what happened to him. It turns out that his owner saw his photo in the paper and came to get him.

After the overwhelming responses I got I pitched bringing back the Pet of the Week to the paper and my editor, an animal lover who had enjoyed it in the past readily agreed. I alternate, dog one week, cat the next.

This week when I went to photograph the pet of the week, they told me that it had happened again, that last week's pet, a cat had had her owner call up and come get her. I love hearing that the photos helped a pet get adopted or reunited with their owners, and a good number of people call the shelter for the animals I shoot.

Here's looking at you

One of the best parts of both my job as a photojournalist and as a wedding photojournalist is the opportunity to photograph people being themselves, often having fun, as part of the story of the day.

Today I had to photograph in an elementary school and as with many places where kids were around several thought they had to look at me and pose. In general, even if the story for the paper is a feature one a posed shot is too static to use (though, of course, stories often use mug shots as secondary art).

I really like camera unaware shots if they help tell the story, like this one of a street fair and a great collection of girls on the street having fun with their balloons. They probably didn't realize they were campaign balloons. Each girl is clearly doing her own thing different from her friends.


Noncamera aware shots look more natural even if it isn't posed per se. This little boy was clearly aware I was there, I can't make up my mind if he was nervous around cameras, or thought I was going to try to take one of his Capri Sun treats.


Nonposed shots can often tell a little story about the person. As Chloe concentrates on cutting the paper, with a serious expression (and a little tilt to help make it look like the big task it is to her), the moment comes alive.


This is not to say that posed shots can never convey a sense of story. This shot, from the same kindergarten shows two best friends who share the name Jacob, and their class pet Mr. Bear. I think the shot conveys both their friendship and how they relate to the bear.

Aquariums and High ISOs

I had a bride and groom ask me on a recent meeting how I would photograph in a dark church without a flash. I answered them that many officiants have had me shoot weddings entirely without flash and even if given permission I to use flash I would do so only on the processional and recessional.

For the rest of the ceremony I would use the camera set to a high iso (800, 1600, or even 3200 if the conditions required it), with fast glass on my camera (I use f 2.8 a lot at many weddings). The professional cameras I have produce good results in higher ISO conditions than many consumer cameras would.

I photograph in a dark nightclub weekly without flash, and working for the newspaper has also put me in even darker conditions such as the Monterey Bay Aquarium. If you look closely you can see spots in both photos that were the results of the focus beams on cameras on people who did not obey the instructions to turn off their flashes on their cameras.


This is a very young shark. To give perspective, the turtle swimming next to him is a Great Sea Turtle.

John + La Trisha's Sign In Book

I completed this weekend the first sign in book I've ever created that had I deliberately only showed to the bride for approval. It's going to be a beautiful 8x6 book.





The book was designed to follow the playful mood of the couple who changed outfits and locations throughout the session. Many of the pages are the exact black and red color picked out by the bride as her official color.

The reason I only showed it to La Trisha is since several of the pages also use various aspects of her bridal dress as background. So for everyone reading this who isn't La Trisha's fiance, John, feel free to click here and see the whole book.

Pinnacle's Sports Moments of the Year 2006

Our sports editor, John Bagley, choose 10 stories to focus on as the biggest local sports moments of the year. With the events prechosen for me, I chose the actual photos (though the water polo was my second choice, as my favorite, the one of the kids throwing the coach into the pool had been run last week). As with the photos of the year from the week previous, two of my photos were included in this.



To see the story and all the photos chosen, go here.

In addition to being a great source of fun photos, the timing skills I've built from anticipating and shooting at just the right moment also come into play during fast moving nonsports events like wedding receptions.

Photo of the Week (Ending 01/05/07)

My photo of the week selection is from the only sport I had to shoot this week, girls basketball. It was a slow week in terms of sports play as the schools were on holiday break. We did a really great year in sports double-truck (two page spread), and I'll blog about the photos for that in another entry.

I really like sports photos (both my own and others) that show the tension and determination the faces of the athletes, so this one is my pick of the week.


As way of follow up, Morgan, shown with the ball, did successfully keep it away from Paloma and scored a basket, and the girls in white, the Balers, who are the local team, went on to win the game.

Invitation Printer: Announcing Vendor Info Sessions

On Thursday, I will be interviewing Bonnie Flores Voropaeff, owner of Design, Line and Granger Printing (Hollister, CA) for my blog. Her company prints beautiful invitations for weddings, mitzvahs, quincenaras as well as printing many other items.

I'll be asking her about paper types, printing types, envelops, etiquette, save the date cards, etc.
If you have any questions you would like me to ask her, feel free to post them as a comment here or email me directly at Danielle@NotSoStillLife.com

This will be the first vendor informational interview of my blog, I'll be interviewing vendors that are involved all aspects of weddings and receptions both in and around the town I live in, San Jose, CA, and the town I work in, Hollister, CA.

If you have any vendor types or specific vendors you would like me to interview, or if you are a vendor and would like to volunteer to be interviewed, feel free to contact me via comments or email.

Working with Clients to Create the Album

One question I often get from brides, and occassionally also from grooms, is how do the photos that go into the albums get chosen.

I use magazine style albums that are 15-spreads (30 pages if thought of in book terms). The photos used are chosen by the couple. I have them choose 60-65 images for the album and 2 images for the cover as photos are printed on the front and back. Sometimes they will choose more but list ones they cannot decide between and then tell me to choose one or the other for them.

I design the album to tell the story of the day, in some ways like building a photo story for the newspaper. I also have the couple tell me which photos to not include, for example I am often photographing the bridal party getting ready and perhaps a bride only wants photos of herself with her dress on for the album, whereas some like photos of the getting ready preparation.




The reason for having the couple list photos they do not want included is occassionally I will also have to include one or two photos to fully develop the flow of the story and/or page, and I like to know which photos ahead of time the couple do not want included for any reason. In this spread, the middle photo of Peter walking his daughter, Molly, up the aisle was one that I chose.



By letting the couple choose the photos for the album they are both part of the creative process and help me create a keepsake made of their favorite specific moments of the day.

Surprise Proposals and Parties

I read yesterday that a man only identified as J.P. was seeking sponsors to fund a Superbowl ad in which he would propose to his girlfriend. He'd tried unsuccessfully to raise the millions needed, netting only $100,000, and now was trying to sell the taping of the proposal and the product placement of the reaction. I can think of lots of companies, nationwide florists, jewelers, etc. who might benefit if they went for it.

This reminded me of some surprise parties and the surprise proposal I shot last year.

Linda's boyfriend took off the day from work to catch her completely by surprise. He asked her to marry him at the school they had both attended. She said yes. (Her shirt says SJSU Computer Engineering, The Best Five to Eight Years of Your Life. Hysterical.)


Jason's friends thought he already knew the party he was attending that night was really his own, but decided to yell "surprise anyway", good thing since he said he knew nothing about the party's true purpose, and really did look surprised on camera, too.


After Tina's husband had her friends arrange to meet her at a bowling alley for a surprise party, she got to spend some quality time bowling with her niece. Tina was very surprised as her birthday was over a month away, but since she was only in the area for a short time, it was the only chance to see certain people then.


Some online research I did on surprise parties suggests that the invited guests talk only with the host(ess) about the party, letting the guest of honor make reservations/plans for that day, but discreetly cancel them, and if a guest, don't contact the guest of honor for weeks before if you can't keep a secret.

Eachbox - Music Promo Shots

Mike Tinoco, who performs as Eachbox needed some new promo shots for his upcoming shows release of his new CD, "The Beat Within". Mike had had his last set of promo shots with an urban city feel, so he wanted to get out with nature for this set.

Mike is a beat boxer, someone who makes all the sounds he needs to perform by his mouth.

Mike was a great sport climbing a few trees, walls and going down a slide. At the park I don't know who was more surprised to see an adult going down a slide, the young girl Mike took turns with or her dad.



We even found a great wall with different flowers painted on it, I had Mike beatbox for me by the wall.

Weddings on iPod

Two of my new packages feature a selection of wedding photos on an iPod. To better demonstrate them to clients I purchased a new second generation Nano to go with my 30 gig video iPod.

I also like the color a lot, my car is red, as is my phone, so it's not surprising that I bought a red one, also, it is part of the (Product)red campaign where manufacturers have donated a part of their profits to The Global Fund to fight HIV/AIDS in Africa.

Colleen challenged me to describe the color of it, and upon finding a roll of duct tape given to me by another friend, I think it's an apt way to describe it.


The next few shots are meant for size comparisons and to show what wedding photos will look like when they are delivered "fully loaded" with memories of your day.



Having your weddings on iPod will give you a chance to show them to family, friends, neighbors, when you are on the go even in the grocery store. The packages will also include an AV video hookup so that the high resolution images can be played from the iPod onto a TV screen.

As someone on the go I decided to buy both of the iPods outer protection, so here they are styling in their plastic cases.