Drew B Photograhy

More to come from this fabulous wedding soon!

Boise is photographer heaven.  It’s an absolutely beautiful city full of cool alleys and old brick buildings.  As we flew over the city there were so many barns I lost count.  Unfortunately, the weather was not on my side.  If only it had been 20 degrees cooler we would have been able to take advantage of the awesome sites of Boise.  

Matt and Rachel were married this past Saturday and it was hot.  Very hot.  I was keeping my fingers crossed for cooler weather because Rachel had told me that if it was hot she didn’t want to spend much time outside.  It had even snowed in the mountains above Boise the week before.  However, we had no such luck.  It was over 103 degrees.  Luckily the hotel we were staying in, Hotel 43, had a gorgeous lobby and the hotel employees didn’t mind if we moved the furniture around (well, I didn’t really ask, but they didn’t stop me!) and the boys didn’t mind braving the heat for some pictures.   After the ceremony we decided to let it cool off for a bit before we did Matt and Rachel’s pictures and wouldn’t you know that a storm rolled in.  We don’t get storms like this in California.  You could literally see it rolling in.  Since it stays light in Boise until 10pm (crazy!) we were able to get outside for a few shots, but it was very windy!  Like I said, the weather was not on our side.

Besides the intense heat and unpredictable storms it was a beautiful day.  Rachel looked stunning in her gown and you could just see the excitement on Matt’s face.  It was a lot of fun to shoot a wedding somewhere new and different.  Thank you to both families for making Chuck and I feel so welcome!  And a very special thank you to Tawnya Hood for flying in all the way from Arizona to shoot with me!  Below are my favorite pictures and the slide show!  Congrats Matt and Rachel!

Rachel looked absolutely stunning

I loved Hotel 43.  Such a great place to shoot!

I love antique cars!

Don’t the guys look like a boy band?  I love it.

Two things I really loved from this wedding:

1) The ties the groomsmen wore

2)  The junior bridesmaid’s bouquet

The church was gorgeous!

I don’t even know where to begin with this wedding.  I leave every wedding thinking how lucky I am that I do what I do.  But, there are some weddings where I cry during the ceremony, laugh during the toasts, and really feel like part of the family.  It helps when I’ve known the bride and most of her bridesmaids since junior high school or longer and the Maid of Honor is one of my closest friends.

I’ve been looking forward to Jackie and Stephen’s wedding since last summer when Jackie and her mom, Susan, came to book me.  I don’t think I had seen Jackie in close to 9 years.  She had gone away to school in Michigan where she met Stephen.  You could tell by the way she talked about him how in love she was.  I didn’t get a chance to meet Stephen before the wedding, but once I met him I totally knew why Jackie loved him so much.  When I asked Jackie’s Maid of Honor, Liza, about Stephen she described him as “laid back”.  And laid back he was!  My favorite type of groom

Everything about Jackie and Stephen’s wedding was perfect (well, besides Jackie getting a little stomach bug, but we won’t talk about that!).  The weather was gorgeous and the venue was absolutely stunning!  I was so happy to be a part of such an amazing day!  Thank you to everyone for making us feel so welcome!  It was so great to see ALL of  you!  And to Jackie and Stephen, congratulations!  You two are perfect for each other!  Enjoy your wild adventures in Costa Rica!  Below are some of my favorite pictures and a slideshow!

The beautiful flowers by my favorite florist, Jenny B!

I’m just in love with Jackie’s dress and this brooch.  It was perfect for the dress!

5 of Jackie’s 7 bridesmaids are her best friends from high school.  I was always so envious of the relationship these girls had.  They had none (or very little) of that high school drama that most groups of girls have.  And even though I was a year older than them they let me hang out with them my senior year.  It says a lot that even though these girls all live in different places and went to different colleges they are still this close 9 years after graduating from high school.  Very cool.

And my favorite bridesmaid of all is the Maid of Honor, Liza.  Liza is one of my oldest friends and was a bridesmaid in my wedding.  She is one of my most favorite people and anyone that is lucky enough to call her a friend is a better person for it.

I had never met Stephen before, but he was such an awesome guy.  Totally laid back and excited to get married.  And he has two things going for him.  He’s from Ohio.  I love people from Ohio.  And his Dad’s name is Drew.  That makes him a cool guy in my book!

The first look!

Arroyo Trabuco is my new favorite venue in Orange County.  Not only is it absolutely breathtaking, but they have an amazing coordinator.  I was so impressed with Alyson.  She kept everything on schedule and organized and did it with a smile the whole time.  You can read more about Arroyo Trabuco on our J’adore Details blog!

It was an emotional ceremony to say the least!

My first Hora!

The best YMCA I’ve ever seen!

I was very excited to see these two at the wedding!  My life was changed when I went to Maui in the summer of 1997 with Sandey, Ron, and their daughter Meredith.  It was with Meredith in Maui that I met Chuck.  If they wouldn’t have invited me to go on that trip when I was 16 years old who knows where I would be now.  And yes, I am still VERY sorry that I lost the rental car keys  

Congratulations Jackie and Stephen!

I get a few emails from fellow photographers every week so I decided to compile a FAQ that I can point them to. So, if you’re not a photographer this might be boring to you or you just might learn something new

The number one question I get asked is actually not photography related. Everyone wants to know what song is on my website! It’s “Chocolate” by Snow Patrol. Isn’t it great! I have really wanted to change it to “Love Today” by Mika, but it’s a totally different vibe. What do you think? Change it or leave it?

The next most often question I get asked is how I get vivid color in my pictures. Let me first say that I can’t even express to you what a huge compliment that is! That other photographers like my work enough to ask ME for advice! It means so much to me! I by no means think that I’m an expert, but I have been working really hard the last couple of years to get my pictures to look the way they do and to develop my own style.

There are 4 components to how I get bright color in my images:

1) Everything you see on my blog was shot in Jpeg. For engagement shoots and portrait sessions I shoot solely in Jpeg. But, for weddings I shoot in RAW and Jpeg. It’s easier to color correct 1000 images in RAW. But, it’s easier to edit the pictures for the slideshow and my blog in Jpeg. Plus I like the color that comes out of Jpeg much better than RAW. It’s much more bright.

2) I use prime lenses primarily. My current favorite is the Canon 85 1.8 (the one I got in a car accident at 37 weeks pregnant to get!). I shot with the 24-70 L lens for a long time thinking that it was a superior lens because it is really expensive and it’s an L series lens, but once i started shooting with prime lenses my pictures were much more crisp. And they are cheap(er) lenses! I also like the 28 1.8 and I think I’ll eventually hop on the bandwagon and get the 50 1.2. I’ve rented the 50 a few times and didn’t LOVE it. So, we’ll see.

3) This is pretty obvious, but correct exposure and good lighting helps! I think most people think that if a picture is under or over exposed they can just fix it in photoshop after the fact (especially with RAW), but once you can nail the exposure in camera your pictures start to pop! This takes practice, practice, practice!

4) I use Totally Rad Actions. The Oh, Snap! and the Pro Retouch are my favorite. TRA are by far my favorite actions. They just came out with a new set. I’m not sure if I’m going to buy them yet, because I really like the first set, but we’ll see.

This is something I’ve never done before. Here’s a before and after shot from a recent engagement session:

Straight out of camera:

Edited with TRA’s Oh! Snap and Contrast Luma

And here’s another SOTC

And after with Oh! Snap, Pro Retouch, and a Curves Adjustment

I hope this helps a little!  I feel that consistency in your images is super important.  So find what works best for you and stick with it!

By the way, I have the best “blog stalkers”! I get the nicest emails and comments from you all and it really means the world to me. I think the best compliment I can get is from another photographer so thank you all for taking time out of your busy schedules to write me. You all rock!

Have a radtastic weekend!

1 year ago today I found out this was growing inside of me.

What a difference a year makes. I’m so lucky.

Have a great weekend everyone!

I already knew I loved Natalie and Scott. They have been a joy to work with from day 1. It is usually the bride that I get to know the best because they are my contact and, let’s face it, it’s the bride’s day. Most grooms don’t love getting their pictures taken. I know that. And that’s why I try to make it easy and a little fun for them. So, when it was 100 degrees this past weekend, I figured Scott wasn’t going to be too happy about having to get back in his suit to take their day after pictures. However, I was totally wrong. The guy didn’t complain once! He was fun and came up with great ideas and poses. He was even giving Natalie a little direction (not like she needs it. The girl is a natural in front of the camera!). At the end of the shoot I told Scott how impressed I was and he said, “You know Drew, marriage is all about compromise”. He’s so right! Scott knew that shooting this day after session meant a lot to Natalie and he just wanted to be with is bride. I love these two! I’m sad my shoots with them are done, but hopefully we will be doing maternity and baby pictures in the future (but, not too soon because Natalie has to finish her masters first!).

Oh, and if this little story didn’t convince you of their awesomeness then this picture will. Don’t kill me for posting this, Natalie!

This picture just cracks me up! I told you. The girl has mad modeling skills

Here are my favorites from the session!

PS Happy Anniversary to my Mom and Dad! I love you!

Natalie likes the cake and Scott likes the frosting. How much more perfect can two people be for one another? I guess that’s why they decided to get married

Natalie and Scott were married at the Villa de Amore in Temecula on May 3rd. This was the second time I shot at the Villa and it’s just breathtaking out there. It helped to have the amazing Jenny B as their florist. She made an already gorgeous venue even more beautiful. I always love working with her and not just because she brings me presents every time

It was my first time working with Kendra from Prima Events and I would highly recommend checking her out if you’re looking for a coordinator. I don’t recommend very many coordinators, but she did a great job of keeping everything running smoothly and attending to all the little details. She even went and bought more beer when they ran out after the cocktail hour. Yeah, it was a good party

Natalie is one of the sweetest brides I’ve ever worked with. She sent a card when Brayden was born. She helps me find things I’m looking for on the internet. She’s just a very thoughtful girl and I’m so happy her day was perfect. I’m also very excited to shoot their day after session in a couple of weeks! I hope you two are enjoying Maui! You two are awesome and I can’t wait to see what the future has in store for you! Enjoy your slide show!

The gorgeous dress

I love it when brides think outside the box and wear different color shoes!

Doesn’t she look stunning?

Scott and the guys aren’t too bad either

The reception details

Natalie had different bouquets for each of her bridesmaids. What a great idea!

The cutest flower girl and ring bearer!

Natalie choose Villa de Amore because of the vines, so we took advantage of them and got some great shots in the vineyard

Love the reception details

I love grooms cakes!

The first dance

Natalie being serenaded by her Delta Gamma sisters

They were pretty cool for being DG’s. D to the E to the L. L to the T to the A. T to the R. R to the I. Delta Delta Delta Tri! Sorry I couldn’t help myself. I’ll always be a Tri Delt at heart

Everyone really wanted this girl to catch the bouquet

And, guess what? She caught it. Need a wedding photog?

If I couldn’t be with my hubby on our 10 year anniversary, I’m glad I got to be with Natalie and Scott on their wedding day.  Such a gorgeous day and beautiful wedding out in Temecula!  And now we share an anniversary  Can’t wait to share all the pictures, but for now here are two of my favorite!

Michelle and Shawn picked a very beautiful (and very HOT) day to get married. They were married at Michelle’s cousins home in Alta Loma and everything about the day was perfect.

The gorgeous flowers were done by Barb Short (626)-798-0221. Not only is she an awesome florist, but she is also very sweet. She gave Michelle a very thoughtful note and hankie. It brought Michelle to tears

The bridal party was so awesome. Michelle and Shawn are the last of their group of friends to get married so they were all very excited for them!

It was HOT! But, these guys were great sports and we ended up with these awesome pictures. Guys always love the Reservior Dogs pictures.

The gorgeous ceremony! I love backyard weddings.

I love a girl who’s not afraid to get her dress a little dirty. It’s going to get dirty anyways so you might as well get some fun pictures out of it, right?

My second favorite picture of the day

This one is my favorite. Another bride with a long veil. LOVE it!

I found the perfect field for Michelle and Shawn’s pictures. When we were heading down the road we saw a worker from the city putting yellow police tape around the field. We thought they were probably doing it because of fire danger. But, as we were walking out there the guy yelled at us and said there were swarms of bees all over the field! What is it with my luck lately? A mountain lion and now killer bees? I swear my next encounter will be with a rattle snake. Well, we drove a bit further and found this field. No bees, mountain lions, or rattle snakes. Just red ants. I can deal with red ants. And the light was actually much better here.

See what I mean about the light? Gorgeous!

I absolutely loved working with Michelle and Shawn. Michelle is so genuine and kind. She is going to make a great mom someday (hopefully sooner than later!). And Shawn cracks me up. They are perfect! Except that Shawn happens to be a huge fan of that other school in LA. Boooo!

Silver Service Catering catered the wedding. They made the best potatoes I’ve ever had. And I’ve eaten a lot of potatoes at weddings. No pictures of the potatoes. I should have taken a picture of them, they were that good. But, here’s a picture of the gorgeous cake!

I love this shot of Michelle and Shawn’s mom watching them during their first dance. Don’t they look so proud and happy?

The bridal party did such a great job with the toasts. If everyone laughs and cries then it’s a perfect toast.

The best man gave the worlds longest toast. It’s a good thing Michelle had already married Shawn because she may have just changed her mind when she learned about how Shawn caught his butt on fire while trying to light his farts. Yeah, I know. TMI. But, he’s a Trojan so I had to publicly humiliate him on my blog

And my favorite DJ’s, VOX, were there to keep the party going all night long. Even when the power went out during, “Please Don’t Stop the Music”. How ironic is that?

Michelle and Shawn, thank you so much for trusting me with your wedding photography. You two are truly perfect for each other and I’m so happy you found one another. Your wedding reminded me why I love what I do so much. You two are so lucky to have such loving and supportive friends and family. It was such a magical day and the perfect wedding! Thank you for including me! I hope you are loving every second of Costa Rica! Here’s your slide show to the most perfect first dance song ever. Congratulations!

I’m 2 for 2. Another absolutely fabulous wedding with another amazing couple. How do I get so lucky? No mountain lions today, but we did have an encounter with some killer bees.  Here are two of my favorites. More later!