Drew B Photograhy

I’ve been a really bad blogger this week.  Being right in the midst of wedding season is crazyness!  This is my first weekend off in a while.  Well, not technically off, but just not shooting a wedding.  And next weekend I head up to Sonoma to shoot Katie and Brad’s wedding so I’m just trying to get prepared to be out of the office for a few days.

Okay, enough whining.  Onto the real reason I’m blogging today.  Julie and Mark’s wedding!  Their gorgeous wedding was held at the Four Seasons Westlake Village, which is really a fabulous venue.  I wasn’t even aware that there was a Four Seasons in Westlake Village!  It’s a new hotel with lush grounds and beautiful ballrooms.  I know Julie and Mark put a lot of hard work and time into planning this wedding and it was well worth all of the effort.  This was my first real Jewish wedding (I’ve shot a couple of weddings where they have used different Jewish traditions, but have never done everything).  I loved the signing of the Ketubah before the ceremony and the way the parents are so involved with that.  It’s always fun to see new and different traditions!  And of course I love the Hora!  I only got stepped on twice with no major bruises

Those of you who frequent my blog may have read a little of Julie and Mark’s story when I posted their engagement pictures.  Julie and Mark met at camp when Julie was 12 and Mark was 16.  Julie had a BIG crush on Mark, but Mark of course didn’t have any feelings for Julie at that time (because that would be creepy).  But over a decade later the two of them met again at a networking group in San Francisco and Julie knew exactly who Mark was when she saw his name tag.  How is that for fate?  Next to the cake the letter that Julie wrote to Mark after camp was displayed.  Can you believe Mark still had it?  They have such a story.  I love it!

Julie and Mark, thank you so much for including me in your wedding celebration!  You two did such an amazing job with everything.  I hope you are enjoying your time in Europe and relaxing!  Here’s the slide show!

All my brides have such gorgeous smiles!

Loved the flowers from Flora by Fauna!

The first look!

Right after signing the Ketubah, Julie’s veil is lowered.  I love these two pictures!

Gorgeous decor!

Hora!

Best groomsman ever!  I’ve encountered a lot of groomsmen who think they are funny, but they really aren’t.  But, this guy was hilarious!  He had everyone out on the dance floor, even my second shooter Tracy!  Tracy, don’t kill me for posting this picture!  

And I love how they ended the night.  With all their friends and family around them!

It’s been almost a year since I shot Alex and Corey’s engagement session in New York City. Chuck and I had so much fun hanging out with them and hearing all of Corey’s fun stories and interesting facts that I couldn’t wait for their wedding! Corey is the BEST tour guide! We learned so many fun things!

Alex and Corey were married at the Gainey Vineyard in Santa Ynez. Earlier in the week we all got a pretty big scare when a big fire broke out pretty close to the vineyard. But luckily the only sign of fire were just a few water dropping helicopters (one that came RIGHT in the middle of the ceremony!) that came to a lake behind the vineyard. Other than that, it was an absolutely gorgeous day!

Alex and Corey are the perfect fit for each other. Alex is a little quiet and reserved. While, Corey is very exciteable and outgoing. They balance each other out perfectly. And both of their families are amazing. When Corey’s mom would send me checks she would include such sweet notes to me even though I had never met her! Unfortunately, Alex’s family are diehard ‘SC alums… We all know how I feel about those people! But, really that is their only fault. Besides that they were very wonderful and welcoming people. As long as they didn’t have the ‘SC marching band there they are good in my book

Congratulations Alex and Corey! I feel so lucky and honored to have been a part of your day! Next time we’re in New York we’ll have to get together! Here is your slide show!

Not all wedding shoes have to cost hundreds of dollars. Guess where Alex got these cute shoes?

Alex is so classy! From the very first time I met her I just thought she was so classy and sophisticated!

Alex had a very small bridal party, which was very refreshing.

I was just in love with these flower girls. Not only were they super cute, but they were also such nice little girls and fun to photograph!

I love that Corey was just as excited about this tractor as I was!

I just loved the boys suits

And the flowers by Debbie Odell

The location for the ceremony was so gorgeous and the light was perfect!

There were so many great locations to shoot Corey and Alex’s pictures

There’s those shoes again! They’re from Target believe it or not!

I’m not usually a fan of textures, but I was playing with the new ones in the TRA2 set and I really like the ones they included because they are so subtle.

Alex made almost everything herself, but these are two of my most favorite details

These crazy kids were attempting a quadruple self portrait.  All their cameras on timers.  I offered to just take their picture with their cameras, but they wanted to do it themselves.  They are pros!

One of my favorite moments from the reception was the father daughter dance. Alex use to dance on her dad’s feet when she was little.

I can’t forget the gorgeous cake

And the rings

I think these naughty groomsmen were trying to tell Corey something before the ceremony…

Don’t worry.  Corey didn’t listen to them and he married his gorgeous bride, Alex.

What’s really funny about that first picture is that the groomsmen were really scared of what Alex would think.  She has them trained well!

More pictures from this gorgeous wedding coming soon!

I woke up this morning to find out that Ashley and Tyson’s wedding was featured on Southern Weddings blog! That’s BIG time! They only feature the best of the best so I was super excited when I got an email from Danielle, the editor, asking if she could feature Ashley and Tyson. I am seriously so honored. If you haven’t already checked out Southern Weddings you should! It’s really an awesome resource for brides and wedding professionals. Happy Tuesday!

I know all my faithful blog readers remember this couple!  Chelsea and Sean are my incredibly beautiful and stylish couple from the Viceroy.  I love these two and have been so excited for their wedding at the Montage Resort in Laguna Beach.  When I walked into the hotel lobby I spotted Sean at the bar with his groomsmen and he was smiling ear to ear.  It was so cute because you could see the excitement on his face!  He wasn’t nervous at all, just excited to finally see his bride walk down the aisle.

And I didn’t think Chelsea could be anymore beautiful then when we did their engagement shoot, but I was wrong!  That girl has such an impeccable sense of style.  Everything from the dress to the shoes to the 75 (yes, seventy-five) carat diamond necklace that she wore was absolutely amazing!

I knew the details and everything about their day would be perfect because the awesome Jeannie Savage from Details Details was coordinating the event.  I was also excited to work with the innovative Square Root for the first time.  Their flowers aren’t just flowers.  They are a work of art!

Chelsea and Sean, thank you for including me in your wedding!  I have really enjoyed getting to know you both over the last few months!  Congratulations on a truly amazing wedding!  Below are a few of my favorite pictures (I double checked to make sure there are no wardrobe malfunctions this time!  Ha!) and here is the slide show!  Congrats!!!

I’m not a shoe girl, but these shoes are to die for!  Christian Louboutin, I love you.  

I was so excited to finally get to work with Square Root.  Their flowers are breathtaking.  Everything they do is a piece of art!

  Sean is awesome.  I love his reaction to his gift from Chelsea.  He almost had all of us in tears!

More awesomeness from Square Root!  I’ve never seen an aisle like this.  It’s amazing!

And the Chuppah!  Wow!

The ceremony details!  IN-CRE-DI-BLE!

The beautiful cake from Sweet Gems

The toasts were hilarious!  I’m so happy they had the awesome Elysium Productions there to capture them on tape!

Bling bling!

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!