Monthly Archives: October 2008


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

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Brian Khang Photographer | Brian Khang Photographer Blog | Wedding Portfolio | Portrait Portfolio | About Brian | Contact Brian

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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.

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.

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.

 

INTRODUCING RAFFAELLA

You all might have remembered my good friends Kay & Steve who’s maternity session I shoot back in June of this year. Well about a month ago, they welcomed a new little one to the family. Meet Raffaella. I almost feel this “life cycle” phenomenon happening, only because Kay and I knew each other back when we were little kids and now she has her own little one. This past Sunday Helen and I came to visit the new happy family.

 

What started with the first image below, inspired the rest of the photos. Kay really wanted that grainy look of film for that particular shot of her and Raffaella in bed. After I edited that photo, a thought came to me. I really wanted to show the images as they were, which meant NO SHARPENING, NO ADDED CONTRAST, NO ADDED PHOTOSHOP EFFECTS. The only thing done to the images was just brightening the photos and adding a film grain to it. The in camera black & whites were just edited with a faint tone to give it a different feel and I also added grain. I know it feels kind of backwards shooting with digital and making it look like film, which was my intentions, but it’s not as easy as it sounds. Even in digital, it’s pretty hard to replicate that look of film, but I did my best and I love the results.

 

In addition, I wanted to challenge myself and shoot everything knowing that I wouldn’t edit the photos as much as I normally do and have the photos speak more than my editing skills in photoshop. I call it a breath of fresh air, but let me know what you think.

 













JP & ANNIE’S WEDDING RECEPTION

Call it fate, but Friday I was able to be a part of Mike & Amy’s wedding ceremony and Saturday I was able to be a part of JP & Annie’s wedding reception. Together you can say it was 1 wedding, but either way, both days were so great.

 

Getting back to JP & Annie’s wedding reception. They were both married this past summer on a cruise and are currently living in Hawaii. This wedding reception was so important because many of the friends and family that couldn’t make their wedding this summer, were still able to share the night with them.  Again, we were blessed with some amazing light and here are a few of my favorites from the night.

 

I just love shooting before sunset.

Newport Beach Country Club wedding photography
The reception was held at the beautiful Newport Beach Country Club.
Newport Beach Country Club wedding photography
Newport Beach Country Club wedding photography
Yes, this is almost the same as the first shot, but I loved it in color too.
Newport Beach Country Club wedding photography
I rarely post family photos, but since this is a change of pace kind of weekend, I said what the heck.
Newport Beach Country Club wedding photography
Newport Beach Country Club wedding photography
Newport Beach Country Club wedding photography
Since the couple is from Hawaii, it’s tradition for the bride to dance for the groom.
Newport Beach Country Club wedding photography
Newport Beach Country Club wedding photography
Newport Beach Country Club wedding photography
Newport Beach Country Club wedding photography
JJ Mena did a great job keeping the happy guests dancing all night long.
Newport Beach Country Club wedding photography

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Brian Khang Photographer | Brian Khang Photographer Blog | Wedding Portfolio | Portrait Portfolio | About Brian | Contact Brian

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MIKE & AMY’S WEDDING CEREMONY

I am getting ready to head out to another wedding, but I just wanted to share with you all some photos from yesterday. I had the honor of being a part of Mike & Amy’s small and intimate wedding ceremony, which was held at the beautiful Calumet Park in La Jolla. We started the day at The Grande Colonial Hotel and just for a change in pace, I am going to show you photos of the groom getting ready. I think the grooms need to have their moment too. Which reminds me to all the couples getting married, if you both get ready in the same place at different times, it makes it really easy to takes photos of both of you getting ready. Here are a few photos from their lovely day.

Calumet Park La Jolla The Grande Colonial Hotel wedding photography
The groom wore suspenders only, no tie, just to be different. I love the idea of keeping it simple.
Calumet Park La Jolla The Grande Colonial Hotel wedding photography
Calumet Park La Jolla The Grande Colonial Hotel wedding photography
I love this little look from Amy at the ceremony.
Calumet Park La Jolla The Grande Colonial Hotel wedding photography
Just the two of them overlooking the ocean and a few quests behind them, it was perfect.
Calumet Park La Jolla The Grande Colonial Hotel wedding photography
Calumet Park La Jolla The Grande Colonial Hotel wedding photography
Don’t we all love colored walls!
Calumet Park La Jolla The Grande Colonial Hotel wedding photography
Calumet Park La Jolla The Grande Colonial Hotel wedding photography
We finished the day shooting portraits of them down by the hotel.
Calumet Park La Jolla The Grande Colonial Hotel wedding photography
I really loved the look of this old tree.
Calumet Park La Jolla The Grande Colonial Hotel wedding photography

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Brian Khang Photographer | Brian Khang Photographer Blog | Wedding Portfolio | Portrait Portfolio | About Brian | Contact Brian

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