I read a number of wedding photographer’s blogs. These photographers have a unique style. I would classify a lot of their work as art.

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.