Dallin & Ashley Wedding, Part II

Here are the rest of the pictures from Dallin and Ashley's wedding. Enjoy.

Dallin & Ashley Wedding, Part I

I know, it's a miracle, right? Another post, and it's only been one month! I like to think of it as a little President's Day miracle. I hope you enjoy it, and guess what - I'll even post again tomorrow. I know, I'm a slacker - especially since I shot this wedding about a month ago. Doh!

This is Dallin and Ashley. Dallin is the son of one of my co-workers and the brother of Kelli (see more here and here), whose wedding i shot back in 2007 - one of my first gigs.

This was actually a pretty short notice shoot too. i came back from seven weeks of business travel, had Christmas and the New Year and then this wedding. No engagements, no bridals, just show up on the wedding day and meet the bride and groom for the first time. Well, actually I already knew Dallin from the last wedding. No, not his, his sister's.

This was also the first shoot where i also used my Canon G9 with my Canon EOS 30d. That way i could shoot wide with the G9 and up close with the 30D. It worked out pretty well and made me realize i really should be shooting with two cameras in general. So go figure, now i want need another camera. Yeah, i know, i'll let you know when that happens.

Fortunately, it didn't matter that i had only met the two of them that day. They were both really easy-going and a pleasure to work with.

So why'd it take so long to get the pictures posted? Besides the obvious fact that i'm an occasional slacker? As soon as i got back from my DC business trip it was time to start wrapping up all my assignments and projects for the class i was participating in. So that kind of took the priority for a while. Fortunately everyone was really understanding.

This shoot was actually fairly stressful for me. Since i hadn't formally met the bride and groom yet, i was a little nervous about the dynamic we would have. And usually, by wedding day (the most important shoot), you've had at least two previous shoots (engagements and bridals) to get used to each other.

And while wedding day is always stressful, by that time, i typically have two succesfull shoots under my belt. These previous shoots have built up my confidence and kind of provide a mental safety net; i can think to myself that worst case scenario, if for some reason the wedding shots don't turn out, at least i've got the engagements and bridals.

Instead, i came in not only not having the two previous shoots, but also not being able to control the location or lighting. Sure, i brought my studio lights, but it's not the same as natural light. Don't get me wrong, i like my studio lights and wish i could use them more, but i like having a good number of natural light shots as well. And quite frankly, shooting in an LDS cultural hall (gymnasium) kind of limits the poses and backgrounds you'll be able to use.

But even with all my anxiety, i think everything turned out really well. Or at least i hope so. And as nervous as weddings make me (i love bridals and enjoy engagements), after everything turns out, i'm glad i have the opportunity to do them.
It may actually be time to start advertising. So far my photo business has been by referral only. But i think as i do more, i'll gradually get more comfortable and less anxious/nervous. And of course i'll get better. i think that as a photographer, i've grown quite a bit since my first shoot. And i enjoy being able to see those results.

Let me know what you think of the pictures. Hopefully with my class finished i'll be able to slowly start catching up on some of my other posts. Check back tomorrow for the rest of this wedding.

Thanks for looking.

Thank You Cards

After completing my 30-day job detail and 5-day job shadow in my headquarters office i wanted to send thank you cards to the various people i worked with while there. The pictures show the front picture, the inside picture, and the picture on the back of the card.
This first card shows various images of Havasu Falls in Havasu Canyon.

I really wanted to make the thank you cards a little more personal and decided to try and use my own pictures for the cards. After browsing around for a bit, i think it was Jen who finally told me i could do the cards online with Costco.
This card shows Falls Creek Falls from Swan Valley, Idaho on the front. On the inside and back are some photos from American Fork Canyon it Utah.

So i spent a few days going through pictures, editing them, and gettig them ready for the cards. You have to get them in sets of 10, so i didn't use all the pictures i wanted to, but because you can put pictures on the front, inside and back, it still ended up working out pretty well. Or at least i thought so.
This card shows a picture of the Subway on the front, and then some photos from Zion National Park on the inside and back.

Some of these pictures had actually never been edited. The pictures from Bryce Canyon, for instance, were my first photo trip with my new camera. That had to have been at least two years ago, and i just barely got around to going through them. Yep, i'm a slacker.
The front photo is Navajo Falls, on the inside are Havasu Falls, Beaver Falls, and Havasu Falls again. All from Havasu Canyon in Arizona.

I actually have quite a few more pictures that are ready to be made into cards, and of course i have quite a few more that i haven't gotten around to looking at yet that could also probably be made into cards (the grand canyon, etc.).
This is Mesa Arch from Canyonlands National Park's Island in the Sky District outside of Moab, Utah. On the inside are some more pictures from Canyonlands National Park of Green River Overlook and Mesa Arch. On the back is Dead Horse Point State Park, also outside of Moab, Utah.

Anyway, if anyone would like some 5x7 folded greeting cards please let me know. They come with envelopes and you can have your return address printed on the envelopes if you want. You can also opt for different text on the back (can't get rid of Costco logo though), no text on back, and no pictures on back or inside. A set of 7 different cards mailed to you is $15. A set of 10 of the same card mailed to you is also $15. I think if you want more than one set it'll probably be a little more shipping.
These pictures are all of Bryce Canyon National Park in Utah.

Other than wedding photos, these are the first photos i've ever attempted to sell, so my pricing is very preliminary. If you are interested, not that anyone will be, i'd get them now before i realize that i'm not charging enough to cover my costs.
These pictures are of Upper and Lower Antelope Canyons outside of Page, Arizona.

Hair Cuts

Does anyone even still check this blog? No? Can't say that i blame you. Anyway, i thought i'd post some pics i took of my hot wife after her recent hair cut.

I don't know what it is, if it's a guy-thing in general, or just a me-thing. But i am not in favor of haircuts.

It's not that i'm opposed to short hair, i guess i'm just opposed to change. Fortunately, for me i guess, Jen didn't get her hair cut near as short as i thought she would. And of course she's still super hot!

Yes, i know, i'm lucky.

I should probably point out that Jen does not think her hair is as red as it may look in these pictures. Of course i have no idea.

i also know i'm very behind on pictures, and i apologize. (Please note i did NOT say i'm a very big behind, although that could be true too...). I do still hope to get the pictures up from this past summer, etc... one day.

Of course Aaron wanted to get it on the photo action as well.

It's Only Fair

Thank you all so very, very much for your plentiful and extremely helpful feedback! You all are, quite simply, the best!
I ended up tallying the results of everyone's feedback, combined those results with my personal preferences and then stared at the photos right up until the very last minute - seriously, it was the last minute. The first printer i called said they couldn't have prints ready in time, the second said i absolutely needed to have the pictures in to them by close of business that Thursday. Of course, to complicate matters, i also had to work Thursday night. With five minutes left before i had to leave for work, i still hadn't decided; so i sent five or six of my favorites to the studio to be printed. i hoped that, when enlarged, i would possibly find some imperfection, etc. that would help me narrow down the three finalsists.
Yeah, it didn't help, they still looked good, even enlarged. i still couldn't choose. To maximize opportunities for recognition (ie. prizes), i opted to submit only one picture per lot (you can't win more than one prize per lot). This forced me to choose between some of my favorite pictures.
In the final tally, Mesa Arch ended up being the "audience" favorite with Havasu Falls close behind.
Mesa Arch

Havasu Falls

And while i really like the picture of Mesa Arch, i seemed to remember having seen at least one or two in last year's fair, thus i wasn't sure what kind of originality points it would score with the judges. So i went with the photo of Havasu Falls which really is one of my most favorite pictures.
I also really like the panoramic image of Navajo Falls, and submitted it as well.

And finally, since my only real "professional" photography experience comes from the wedding field, i felt it somewhat necessary to choose a wedding-related photograph, and the close-up of Kira in front of Multonmah Falls is one of my favorites. (I also really liked the vertical panaroma of Kira and the Falls, but felt the people on the bridge were too distracting).

Anyway, i hate to say it, but it looks like most of you were right; my favorite picture of Havasu Falls didn't win anything and there were no other pictures of Mesa Arch, so the Mesa Arch picture may have done better.

And the kind of disappointing thing was that the picture that won was from Antelope Canyon, and i kinda think my old Antelope Canyon pics were slightly better.




Since no one from the "audience" had really chosen this bridal picture of Kira as one of their favorites, i was somewhat surprised to see this...

That's fourth place, which isn't too shabby!
And we were very surprised to see this in the panoramic section...

That's first place, can you believe it?! There were definitely some great pictures over in the panoramic section, so i was both pleased and surprised my photo did so well.
Anyway, thank you all again for you help. While i may not have chosen the same photo you did, i definitely considered and appreciated everyone's feedback. Maybe next year i can get the pictures submitted before the last second.