I want to talk a about a certain photo shoot location. Now of course we had lots of fun and made a lot of good photos at a lot of great locations in 2011. But, of all the locations that I’ve done photo shoots at this past year, one location really stands out in my mind. The reason for this is that initially I didn’t think this location was going to produce very good photos. OK, let me back up a little bit. The location I’m talking about is an antique shop. To be precise La Folie Antiek in ‘s Hertogenbosch. Now for some reaseon, when my clients suggested an antique store as the photo shoot location I was thinking about some old dark store with low ceilings and little windows. So naturally I was a bit apprehensive about it to say the least.

But, when I walked into the store, my attitude changed. This place was great! It has high ceilings, lots of light, and great features all over the place. Totally not what I expected, but definitely something we could work with. And it did work out really nice. Even more so because the location was also a very fitting extension of the personality of the couple.

Here are a couple of photos taken at this awesome location.

A while ago I got to photograph the wedding of a couple that made their own wedding cake. I thought that was pretty special. On top of their cake they printed a poem with edable letters. That was one of the most special cakes of this year for sure. But, I chose another wedding cake as the highlight of the year.

When I first saw this wedding cake I was really impressed. I had heard before from the bride and groom that the cake would be made by his grandma and aunt. So, I made sure that taking photos of the cake before it was cut, was pretty high on my mental todo list of the day. So, when I first saw the cake I really loved the look of it. It actually is a quite simple, as far as any wedding cake can ever be called simple, three layer cake. But the fresh fruit that is draped on and around the cake, and the fruit juice that is coming down, it just looks really good. Truly one of those cakes that you just want to eat a piece of right away. Really very creative. Simple yet very special, and it tasted just as good as it looks!

All wedding cereomonies are filled with emotion. Sometimes humor is the most prevelant emotion. Sometimes tears are flowing. Every ceremony is different and unique. The photo below was taken during the wedding ceremony of a couple that is a little bit older than most people that are getting married. The wedding was a very intimate affair. There were only five guests! The ceremony took place in the beautiful snug basement of the old city hall of Oirschot, in Brabant in the Netherlands. The couple was married by a good friend. Because the group was so small I did not feel like I was someone who merely was looking in from the side line to take photos. I felt like I was one of the guests. It might sound a bit strange but I really felt privileged to be part of this select group of people that were allowed to be present on the day that was so very special for this couple.

The embrace in the photo took place right after the groom read a self made poem his bride to be. During the reading of the poem they both had to really strain to keep their tears from flowing uncontrollably. When he was done with his recitation, this beautiful embrace followed. When I look at it I can just feel the emotion that erupted at this moment. I am very happy that I was allowed to be there to capture this precious moment.

In the interview he was asked the following question.

Brides and Grooms are often advised by those in the know, that they should ‘invest’ in the best wedding photographer that they can afford, why is this?

I thought his answer was very interesting:

“A wedding is a huge event for everyone involved in the day. It is a coming together of families and friends and for some it can also be a very spiritual experience. It is one of those defining moments in your life. To me personally it is so important that it is photographed properly to allow future generations to enjoy the day through the pages of an album. However, it is quite common for brides to put photography quite low down on the list of importance and budget during the planning stages, but after the wedding the photography suddenly becomes the most important thing. The problem is that you don’t get any second chances at shooting the wedding again if the pictures aren’t very good. So investing in a cheap or inexperienced photographer could end up being a source of disappointment and frustration after the day, with that album you wanted as a family heirloom simply sitting in a box because it is too disappointing to look at.
One of the first questions I always ask my clients is how important their Wedding photography is to them. I am very fortunate because with my clients having good photography is paramount to their wedding day; many have experience in the arts and creative media and so have a fundamental appreciation for the visual aesthetic.”

So he is saying that a lot of people don’t reserve much of a budget for a photographer in the planning stage of their wedding. But, when the wedding is over the photos all of a sudden become the most important thing. If the photos are not very good then there’s nothing you can do about it. You can’t go back and retake the photos. So, make sure you hire a good photographer.

You can read the complete interview here.

People overtake me on my bicycle all the time. I see them look forward and just go wherever they are going. I’m looking around, enjoying the sunrise and the beautiful colors it creates and I think, what a pity, everyone seems to be missing out on so much.

So, when you look at the photos below, don’t dismiss them right away as being photos of boring objects. See the beauty in the bright blue and red colors. Enjoy the contrast between the red of the traffic sign and the blue of the sky. Look for the yellow light of the sun on the buildings in the background. See the colors. See the light.

So, when i saw my yard I figured I’d better go outside and check out the details, with my camera of course. I was lucky because the sun came out as I walked out the door and I started seeing nice little details all around. My backyard is not as ugly as I thought afterall.

Here’s some of the photos that made my backyard beautiful again.

Jasmine Star is known for her very beautiful photos, but maybe even more so because of her personality. In addition to making photos, she does seminars and workshops, and has a very successful blog, where she blogs almost daily. She has really put herself in the market as a brand name, and that is very clear when you visit her website.

Her style of photos is the style that I would want to use if I would photograph a wedding or engagement session. De photos are usually light, bright and very sharp. The photos that stand out the most, in my opinion, are the ones with a very shallow depth of field, or in other words, those where the subject is in focus but the background is not.

Jasmine Star is a photographer who inspires me in the field of marketing as well as photography.

And, because I can not post one of Jasmine Star’s photos here, and I don’t really care for a post without a photo, here’s a photo that I took this afternoon, of Ella.

One of those blogs is Jose Villa’s blog. Jose Villa is a wedding photographer based in Southern California. There’s probably thousands of wedding photographers in Southern California, which means that there are a lot of very good wedding photographers in that area as well. However, the style of Jose Villa really stands out in a positive way I think. Without his permission I can’t show any his work here of course, but this is a good example of his style.

When I first saw his photograhy I couldn’t quite figure out what made his photos so special. After some searching I found an article about him where there’s a bit of an explanation on how his photos are made.

In addition to his unique compositions, he accomplishes his style by using natural background lighting. In Northern California there are lots of overcast days where the sun is still very brightly shining through the clouds. By using the sun as back lighting you get a very pleasing effect.

Next, he overexposes his photos by approximately 1 stop and he uses analog film cameras. The film he uses also adds to the pastel-look that his photos have. These pastel colors can be accomplished in a digital camera by consciously offsetting the white balance a little bit towards a green, blue or pink color, depending on the color effect that you want to create.

After having read these tips I went and took some photos of my daughter. I didn’t try to copy Jose Villa’s style but I have used his photos as an inspiration, and I went to work with his techniques in the back of my mind.

My daughter usually isn’t a very willing model. She doesn’t give me a lot of time to think of any pleasing compositions. But, I am very happy with the result none the less.