Monthly Archives: October 2008

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WEDDING AT THE MONTAGE

This past Sunday I joined [B]ecker for another gorgeous wedding at The Montage Resort in Laguna Beach. There was a dream team of vendors including, coordinating by the one and only Kathy Jo Peterson and florals and decor from Square Root. Checkout some of my favorites from the day.

 

The dress is by Lezu Atelier.

the montage wedding photography

I just love these next two photos.

the montage wedding photography

the montage wedding photography

A great little moment of father and son adjusting their bowties.

the montage wedding photography

A champagne toast before the wedding.

the montage wedding photography

How sharp are these two?

the montage wedding photography

It was such an amazing day down at Laguna Beach.

the montage wedding photography

Square Root did an amazing job as usual.

the montage wedding photography

the montage wedding photography

the montage wedding photography

the montage wedding photography

Sunset lighting is the best, especially at beaches with an insane backdrop.

the montage wedding photography

the montage wedding photography

First time I have shot at the fish wall.

the montage wedding photography

Aren’t these details just amazing? The groom loves cars, so that explains the table names.

the montage wedding photography

the montage wedding photography

The grooms cake looked exactly like him.

the montage wedding photography

The live band brought the house down.

the montage wedding photography

Here is a little moment during their first dance.

the montage wedding photography

TONY & AUDREY’S WEDDING

This past Saturday I was so fortunate to shoot Tony & Audrey’s wedding. Their ceremony took place at St. Cecilia and the party was held at the beautiful Costa Mesa Country Club. After sitting back and thinking about their day, the one thing that really stood out in my mind, is that they have such amazing friends and family that were so excited and happy for the two of them to be married. Some of the amazing vendors that day included Prince Productions, Lauren Chavez and Kathy Henry. Here are a few of my favorites from the day.

 

Audrey looked absolutely stunning that day thanks to the makeup done by Lauren Chavez.
Costa Mesa Country Club wedding photography
2 dresses are always better than 1.
Costa Mesa Country Club wedding photography
Audrey said that she calls her niece mini Audrey and I can see why.
Costa Mesa Country Club wedding photography
Marriage is serious business.
Costa Mesa Country Club wedding photography
There’s just something I love about these 2 photos together.
Costa Mesa Country Club wedding photography
The lovely florals were done by Kathy Henry. You can contact her by email flowersfoodandfun@yahoo.com
Costa Mesa Country Club wedding photography
We just had the best sunset lighting that day.
Costa Mesa Country Club wedding photography
Costa Mesa Country Club wedding photography
Costa Mesa Country Club wedding photography
The boys wanted to show off their new clubs.
Costa Mesa Country Club wedding photography
One of my favorite moments of the day.
Costa Mesa Country Club wedding photography
We put Tony to work that day picking up Audrey.
Costa Mesa Country Club wedding photography
But I’m sure he didn’t mind.
Costa Mesa Country Club wedding photography
Costa Mesa Country Club wedding photography
A Mariachi Band is always a good thing.
Costa Mesa Country Club wedding photography
Costa Mesa Country Club wedding photography
Costa Mesa Country Club wedding photography
Costa Mesa Country Club wedding photography
Strike a pose.
Costa Mesa Country Club wedding photography

Special thanks to Mieng for coming out and shooting with me.

SATURDAY’S WEDDING SNEAK PEEK

I know I know, I’m so wrong for posting a sneak peek, but I shot two weddings this weekend, both Saturday and Sunday, so I won’t be able to blog them till later this week. Both days were just so perfect and I can’t wait to show you the complete weddings. I’ll be doing another sneak peek of Sunday’s wedding shortly.

 

Saturday’s wedding featured a golf course and amazing light!

THE FOX FAMILY

There is something about the word family that brings a smile to my face. Especially when I see grandparents playing with their grandkids, there’s nothing better than that. I was so excited when the Fox family asked me to shoot their family photos, since they were having a get together here in California and they all haven’t been together in 4 years! Again, this family session really hits home with me since my family is really far away now, it’s great to just be around a happy family. Here are some of my favorites from the day.

 

Here are just some of the boys that managed to get up on the fence.

Kids, bless their hearts, but it was really hard to get 10 kids to sit still for one photo. We did our best and I kinda like that they were all looking in different directions.



Near the end of the day, some still had a lot of energy and some were just plain tired and fell asleep.

To be a kid again…

The entire Fox family. I loved how they all coordinated their colors and checkout some fall foliage?

All 7 boys got together for a photo on top of the train on the playground. Not the most safest spot, but we had the parents on backup just incase.


The grandparents with all the grandkids. We had to trick them to sit and wait for the group to get this photo. It’s so great and funny how the kids were all doing something different.

JESSE & LISA’S WEDDING

This past Saturday, Jesse and Lisa were married and this time more than ever, I really felt like a guest at their wedding. Maybe because their day was planned so well by Lisa or that all of their friends really helped out in making the wedding perfect for them. The ceremony was held at the beautiful Our Lady of La Vang Parish and after the ceremony, we headed over to the OC Performing Arts Center just in time for the sun to set. The light was absolutely stunning and I’m so glad they picked that location for their photos. The party then kicked off at the Doubletree Hotel where the guests got to eat and dance the night away. I enjoyed the wedding so much apparently, that I shot to many photos during the reception and fried my Canon flash. Good thing I had a back up and not to worry, it’s at Canon now being repaired. It was all worth it for Jesse & Lisa. Well, checkout some of my favorites from their day and congrats again to you both. I hope you’re having fun on your honeymoon in Napa and have a save trip back home.

 

Lo Ann from Let’s Get Beautified did an amazing job on Lisa’s makeup.
doubletree santa ana OC Performing Arts Center wedding photography
Lisa’s mom helping her with the finishing touches.
doubletree santa ana OC Performing Arts Center wedding photography
doubletree santa ana OC Performing Arts Center wedding photography
Leaving for the church.
doubletree santa ana OC Performing Arts Center wedding photography
doubletree santa ana OC Performing Arts Center wedding photography
doubletree santa ana OC Performing Arts Center wedding photography
Married!
doubletree santa ana OC Performing Arts Center wedding photography
I loved the bridesmaids dresses from J.Crew.
doubletree santa ana OC Performing Arts Center wedding photography
doubletree santa ana OC Performing Arts Center wedding photography
doubletree santa ana OC Performing Arts Center wedding photography
doubletree santa ana OC Performing Arts Center wedding photography
The amazing florals were done by Commerce Flowers and they did such a great job!
doubletree santa ana OC Performing Arts Center wedding photography
doubletree santa ana OC Performing Arts Center wedding photography
When Lisa told me her ring probably fits in Jesse’s ring, I didn’t believe it. Then I tried and look at that, it does fit in perfectly. I guess they’re a perfect fit? Oh and that’s a 3.5 vs 11 ring size!
doubletree santa ana OC Performing Arts Center wedding photography
doubletree santa ana OC Performing Arts Center wedding photography
doubletree santa ana OC Performing Arts Center wedding photography
doubletree santa ana OC Performing Arts Center wedding photography
doubletree santa ana OC Performing Arts Center wedding photography
Lisa was totally up for laying down on her dress and I’m so happy she did because this is one of my favorite shots from the day!
doubletree santa ana OC Performing Arts Center wedding photography
doubletree santa ana OC Performing Arts Center wedding photography
This incredible cake was made by Givral Bakery which I highly recommend to anyone.
doubletree santa ana OC Performing Arts Center wedding photography
Since I have an extra Canon 5D lying around, I decided to shoot some in camera B&W photos for their first dance. This photo was shot at 3200 ISO on a 85 F/1.8 lens at F/1.8, manual mode, NO flash.
doubletree santa ana OC Performing Arts Center wedding photography
The image to the right was shot at 1600 ISO on a 50 F/1.4 lens at F/1.8, NO flash. Thanks again Jesse for sitting down on the wet fountain!
doubletree santa ana OC Performing Arts Center wedding photography
DJ Vicious-Lee aka Shannon Brown did an awesome job keeping the crowd dancing, not to mention playing some killer remixes to some old school R&B jams during dinner.
doubletree santa ana OC Performing Arts Center wedding photography

 

A special thanks to Araxi for coming out to shoot with me.

SNEAK PEEK SUNDAY : JESSE & LISA’S WEDDING & THE FOX FAMILY SESSION

Don’t you just hate sneak peeks? I think they’re so wrong, but so good at the same time. I had a really fun weekend and I just wanted to share with you all a photo from Jesse & Lisa’s wedding that took place on Saturday and the Fox family session that took place today. I’ll probably be blogging the complete photos in the days to come, but for now, here is the sneak peek.

 
The day was so perfect and the lighting was amazing.

 

These were only half of the kids! Just wait till you see rest of the cute bunch.

DELSON & JULIE’S WEDDING

What do you get when you combine an awesome couple, a great location, amazing details and an outstanding coordintor? You get of course Delson & Julie’s amazing wedding at Mastro’s, full of fantastic vendors including, Tic Tock Floral, Fascination, Great Dane and coordinating by Christina Wright of Simply Modern Weddings. A few weeks back, I joined Marisa for this fun filled wedding. Everyone there made us feel so welcomed and really took great care of us. We even enjoyed a delicious filet on a 400 degree plate and I’ve been spoiled ever since. Checkout some of my favorites from the day.

Mastro's Costa Mesa wedding photography
Mastro's Costa Mesa wedding photography
Mastro's Costa Mesa wedding photography
Mastro's Costa Mesa wedding photography
Mastro's Costa Mesa wedding photography
Mastro's Costa Mesa wedding photography
Mastro's Costa Mesa wedding photography
Mastro's Costa Mesa wedding photography
Mastro's Costa Mesa wedding photography
Mastro's Costa Mesa wedding photography
Mastro's Costa Mesa wedding photography
Mastro's Costa Mesa wedding photography
Mastro's Costa Mesa wedding photography
Mastro's Costa Mesa wedding photography
Mastro's Costa Mesa wedding photography
Mastro's Costa Mesa wedding photography
Mastro's Costa Mesa wedding photography
Mastro's Costa Mesa wedding photography
Mastro's Costa Mesa wedding photography
Mastro's Costa Mesa wedding photography
Mastro's Costa Mesa wedding photography

PHOTO FAQ : MONITOR CALIBRATION

Thank you everyone for emailing me such awesome suggestions.  I had a question from Tim Goodchild that I chose, because it’s a good question and plus I do love emails, but Tim was the only one who posted it in the comment section, so I decided to write about it first.  I’ll definitely be bringing back some more questions I received in future blog posts.

 

Here is what Tim wrote, “Lately I’ve been having some trouble with my prints being dark but maybe that’s just because I edit on a laptop… Anyway, I’d love to hear how you keep your monitor calibrated”

 

I think this is something that can definitely be overlooked.  Again, I want to let you all know that I’m no expert on monitor calibrations, but here is what I do.  Once a month usually on the 1st of each month, I run a monitor calibration tool on all of my monitors.  I use Spyder to calibrate them. It’s really easy to use, just push a few buttons and it only takes minutes to do. Also on my laptop I do notice that the screen isn’t as bright as my other monitors, so I try not to edit off of it, but if I do, the laptops are usually set on full brightness, while my other mac monitors are usually almost turned all the way down. It’s really trial and error when it comes to brightness on monitors or you can just follow what the calibrator tells you.

 

Besides brightness, skin tones and colors are always tricky too. And what I do to resolve that is to get test prints. Normally I do have print orders every month or so, so I just normally test it to see if it’s close to what I’m seeing on my monitors, which they normally are. If I don’t have any prints ordered, I contact my printers and ask for a test print. Normally there isn’t any charge for that. What also helps is that they have ICC profiles from your photo lab that they can send you and you can use those to help calibrate your images on your screen vs printing them. If you’re using either their ICC profile or a calibrator, you should be really close.

 

I hope that helps out and if not, please post your questions in the comment section.