You may remember Mayra and Marcos’ engagement session from my blog post on April 7.  Well, their wedding is this weekend and I wanted to share a couple of pages from their Guest Sign-in Book.

Mayra and Marcos ordered a gorgeous 11×14 print of their favorite photo from the session - shown below.

In addition, they also ordered a Guest Sign-in Book.  These books are beautiful and have a minimum of twenty pages.  We select the images for the book, digitally lay them out allowing enough room for guests to sign during your reception, and have it printed in a beautiful hard bound book.

The following are a couple of the spreads from Mayra and Marcos’ book.    Each spread is two side-by-side pages with each page being 8.5 x 11 so when you open the book you have an 8.5 x 22 space for images and signatures.  Mayra and Marcos also chose an upgraded clear cover for their book - a solid plexiglass front cover that shows off the first page in the book!

These books are a wonderful addition to an engagement (or bridal) session and are a gorgeous replacement for the traditional sign-in book.  You have a beautiful, hard-bound book with all your favorite images from the session, all your guests best wishes, all serving to add to your wedding day memories.

So, just something to showcase and if you are interested in adding a book to your session, just let us know.

This week saw me continue my education.  My commitment to delivering the best possible photographic products and customer service includes continuing education and I’ve had the absolute pleasure of learning from some of the best. 

This week, that tradition continued by attending the “Two Views” seminar with Joe Buissink and Yervant - two of the top wedding photographers in the world.  Two different individuals.  Two different approaches.  Two different styles.  Two views resulting in the same outcome:  incredible quality of work and very satisfied customers.

While they are different, they both share the same passion for quality, customer service, improving the industry, and capturing outstanding imagery during weddings.  While they “are” different, I think they are very much alike.  While Joe takes a more “documentary” approach, Yervant takes a more “fashion” approach.  The thing is, they both catch the key moments and emotion - differently.  Joe mentioned a wedding they both photographed.  When Joe asked the bride about the images, her response was “Joe, your images made me cry while Yervant’s made me smile.”  Different, but the same.  That’s what weddings are about:  emotion and capturing those moments so the memories can live on forever and re-ignite that emotion when you see the images.

They shared openly everything they had.  Joe’s ”moments”.  Yervant’s incredible style and “sexy” approach.  They shared their very different roads to success.  They shared how they run their business.  They shared personal stories.  They photographed a bride, explaining what each looks for.  They “developed” those images, explaining what they seek.  The outcome was incredible.  The passion they both have came across loud and clear.

What an opportunity to finally meet two giants of the industry that I had spoken with in the past via cyber space but never had the opportunity to meet before - OK, I had the opportunity to meet Yervant while in Tampa earlier this year but passed on it so I could mentor an aspiring photographer and pass on some of my knowledge.

Joe, Yervant, thank you for everything.  Look forward to chatting with you again in the near future.  Most of all, thank you for sharing your passion.

L to R:  Joe Buissink, Jesus Tirso, Yervant.  Photo courtesy of my friend Roy Krisanto.

This week was a bit crazy - which is why this post is so darn late!

When I started the blog I told myself I’d post at least once a week and I’d try to include photos with every post.  This past week was tough since I couldn’t use photos from my two sessions last week.  Why?  Well, they were bridal sessions and the dresses are to be kept from the prying eyes of the groom-to-be.  Let me just say that I had a great time shooting with Valerie and with Jeniffer and I am VERY happy with the results.  You’ll get to see them in June right after their wedding!

So, not only was I busy with two bridal sessions but I also went back up to Fort Collins, CO, for a couple of days.  Upon my return I found myself processing print orders for Andrea and Giff’s wedding, for Mayra and Marcos’ engagement session, and for my local frame shop.  Yes, that’s right - the same place where I do all my mats and framing work sold a few of my “fine art” prints.

So, with that as an intro, let me share them with you.

So, there you have it.  These were printed on gorgeous metallic paper and someone is going to really enjoy them!

By the way, Jeff at Creative Framing and Mirrors has been kind enough to provide me with gift cards that I will be including with all future print orders as a way to thank you for your business and encourage you to get some high quality frames for your photos.

This past weekend I finally had the pleasure to work with one of my friends.  I traveled up to Dallas to assist my good friend Mark Ellis of JosephMark Photography.  I first met Mark a little more than a year ago and he’s become a good friend - someone I go to for advice and just to chat.  We have been wanting to shoot together for a while and this was actually the first chance we had.

I must say that shooting with someone else is one of the best ways to learn.  You see how someone else works, how they approach things, how the pose the formal portraits, how they handle the bride and groom, how the select and light the locations.  I learned so much - and enjoyed being able to talk with Mark for a while afterward (we were up until nearly 2:00 AM talking!)

Anyway, enough writing.  With his kind permission, I will share a couple of my favorite photographs - from a second shooter’s perspective!

Katie - off a mirror while Mark was taking formal portraits.

 The rings being blessed during the ceremony.

Their beautiful cake.

Their first dance - and they did a great job mixing a traditional dance with a salsa!

The best man’s toast - which was one of the funniest I’ve ever heard.

Their exit.  As the second shooter, I was able to stay behind and capture a very different angle - something that is only possible when you have two photographers!

 Finally, the lovely Lakewood Country Club where the wedding took place.

My thanks to Mark (and Joe and Steph) for giving me the opportunity to work with him.  It was an absolute pleasure, a learning experience, and I look forward to doing it again in the future.