The Expressive Blog

I am pleased and honored to announce that one of my images was chosen out of thousands submitted by a select group of California wedding photographers, to grace the cover of the January 28th, 2010 "The Ultimate Wedding Guide" issue of Good Times Magazine. Shown below, is the cover of today's issue of Good Times, illustrated by one of my recent wedding images, taken at Carmel River State Beach. Although Expressive Photographics is available for weddings and events nation-wide, the majority of my work happens in the Monterey and San Francisco Bay Areas. The Carmel and Pebble Beach area has some fabulous wedding venues, all within short distance from amazing photo-opportunities such as this beach photo-spot!

Cecilia and Ron held their fabulous, festive, wedding at their home on 12/31/2009. From now on, NYE will be twice as fun for the both of them! I had a blast capturing all the laughter (there was a lot of that), and everyone celebrating this sweet occasion. Congratulations Ron and Cecilia, and thank you for allowing me to be there as your wedding photographer!

They also had the able assistance of Nina Leis, of Leis Events, who choreographed a perfect night of ceremony and celebration, and worked tirelessly to make sure everything went off without a hitch. If you are planning a wedding or other special event, and you want it to be fantastic AND easy... do connect with Nina, to see how she can help make it happen for you!

I could go on and on about the beautiful sparkly details, and great things that happened on this evening, but the photos tell the story so much better than I can. Here is a small sample of the pics from Ron and Cecilia's wedding...

After the ceremony, the guests enjoyed a cocktail hour, while the Great Room was completely reset for dining. Paul Alexander, of Continental Caterers, and his great crew made quick work, and the results were gorgeous. Like this...

Here, Nina, of Leis Events, makes sure the tower of cupcakes is all set to enjoy. Nina is one of those professionals, who make you wish all event planners had her kind of personality, because while she is very effective at getting things done, she does it all in such a pleasant way. I think she must love what she does for people!

Kelvin and Sumaiya held their wedding overlooking the Monterey Bay, at the renowned Monterey Plaza Hotel on Cannery Row, Monterey. The day was amazing, and the couple and their guests were all great fun to work with. I would like to send out my personal thanks and best wishes to Kelvin and Sumaiya! Here are a few of my photos from their wedding day...

Hair styling was done by Nana, of Artisans Salon, of Monterey.

Makeup by Terri Estrada, Monterey area aesthetician.

The floral creations were exquisite, and I couldn't resist taking lots of detail shots with them! The florals were provided by Floral Designs by Reina, who can be reached at theflowerlady2000@yahoo.com.

In this traditional Tea Ceremony, the bride serves the parents of her husband and the groom serves the parents of his wife, as a gesture of respect. Beautiful moments...

I was so happy that Sumaiya and Kelvin wanted to take some quality time with their photographer, at the end of the evening. They asked if we could capture something romantic, with the lights reflected in the waters of the Monterey Bay. Of course I LIVE for cool photo-opportunities like this! The icing on the cake, was that due to the fact that things ran about one hour later than planned(no, I'm not kidding... the bride's getting ready process was very elaborate and took just a wee bit longer than they expected), um... like I was saying, the icing on the cake was the amazing moon, which we would have missed if things had gone according to schedule. See for yourself...

Todd and Stephanie were attracted to the vintage uniqueness of Saint Peter's Chapel, on Mare Island, Vallejo. The Saint Peter's chapel, built in 1901, is renowned for the exquisite stained glass windows, designed by the legendary artist, Louis Tiffany. The dark natural wood, stained glass, pipe organ and red carpet of this vintage chapel, all comes together for a gorgeous and unique wedding ceremony site. It was a very sweet ceremony, and a wonderful gathering of family and friends was there to celebrate the occasion with them. We started out, at the family residence, in Danville. Here is a sampling of images from the day...

I have a lot to be grateful for... and one of those things, is the great people I get to work with - like Wesley and Sarah. It turns out I have more ambassadors out there, talking up Expressive Photographics, than I realize, and that's how Sarah and Wesley learned about me - from the mother of one of my happy brides! Remember folks, I am available for assignments anywhere in the USA - not just the Bay Area. If you know someone planning their wedding in another area, who is looking for a photographer, I hope you will let them know about Expressive Photographics... But I'm getting off the real subject of this post, which is Wesley and Sarah's wedding.

Their wedding was held at the Saint Joseph Basilica, in Alameda, where generations of their family members have also been married. The reception was at the Claremont Resort, in Berkeley. It was a beautiful day, and here are the pics to prove it...

Above, Wes awaits the start of his wedding ceremony. Below, he escorts mother and grandmother to their seats.

Sarah was escorted by her grandfather. I love these next captured moments.

With some weddings, the timing is planned to allow a break of several hours, between the ceremony and reception. Such was the case with Wes and Sarah's. After the ceremony, they planned almost three hours of photo-taking, in various locations. About twenty minutes was dedicated to doing some traditional family group shots, and the rest was dedicated to many cool photo-ops with the couple and their attendants. A special note to other brides-to-be... I am often given 60 minutes or less, to complete all requested photos of the family, plus the wedding party, plus the bride and groom together, and I can get great results with less time when necessary. However, if you want the most from your photographer on your wedding day, be sure to allow them plenty of time to work creatively with you. Why would anyone invest thousands of dollars in photography for their wedding, and then short-change themselves, by not giving the photographer time to create something very beautiful for them? You might be surprised to see, how I often must do a great deal of photography in a very short time! Of course, as a pro, you must learn how to perform with the time-constraints of real-world weddings! Playing "Hurry up, but make it pretty" was not the case, with Sarah and Wes though. We actually had PLENTY... more than plenty of photo-time, which was a good thing, as it turned out. That "extra" time came in very handy, as an opportunity for Sarah and Wes to slip upstairs... just to check in to their bridal suite, at The Claremont, that is.

No matter who your photographer is, it can be very beneficial to carve out as much time as possible, to allow them to create the images that will preserve your memories of one of the most joyful and important days in your lives. Even much of what is today called "wedding photojournalism" is often more about "creating (and then capturing) the moment", than about just capturing the moment. Many moments are best captured with zero input/interference from a photographer - such as the wedding ceremony, first dance, toasts etc. I believe the best approach to capturing a wedding, is to direct or choreograph less, rather than more, but a good photographer also needs to know when and how to interact with the people in front of the camera, to bring out the best in any moment. Oh yeah... and it helps if you can make the experience fun!

Okay, I'll stop ranting. Here are the rest of my favorite shots from Wes and Sarah's wedding.

With this image, I wanted to produce a grainy, vintage look.

Noelle and Chris actually got married a while back, and this was their event to celebrate with all their family and friends. No ceremony required! Been there, done that! What did they do at the historic Sainte Claire Hotel on 4/18/2009 you ask? "P". "P" stands for PARTAY.. and also PICTURES!

I really enjoyed working with them because we had more time than I usually get to work creatively with everybody, and capture some very fun and cool images. Here are a few of my personal favorites. I hope you enjoy them!

Who would have known that this synchronicity would happen in the crosswalk, as we went about our downtown photo-shoot? One bride heads East, as another goes West, meeting in the middle of South Market Street!

Below, we have two versions of the same image. I could not decide which way I liked it best. What do you think? Feel free to leave comments.

Afternoon temps were in the eighties, which feels plenty warm to a guy like me, who lives next to the ocean. Many people, including our fun-loving bride, were enjoying the cool fountain. The next two were taken at San Jose City Hall, just a few minutes away from the Sainte Claire Hotel.

Once again, I feel so fortunate to have the opportunity to get to know and work with yet another great couple! No wonder I love my job! Linda and Hussein held their wedding and celebration at the stylish and sophisticated Hotel Sofitel, in Redwood City. Note to brides looking for a fine venue, for their wedding: check out Hotel Sofitel, it's very cool. I had a blast shooting the day for Hussein and Linda. Here is a small selection of the images.

Tiffanny Aurelio, the Social Catering Manager at Sofitel San Francisco Bay, was on-hand making sure every detail was perfect. I was truly impressed with everything about the hotel staff service and style. Really... this is a venue to consider, if planning a wedding or other event on the peninsula. All the gorgeous bouquets and floral arrangements were from H&L Photography and Flowers.

After the ceremony, we had a brief photo-session at the nearby Oracle campus.

The guests were treated to a professional dance performance, by Project EM. You can see the Project EM Myspace site here. Lots of great photo-ops here!

Later in the evening I was able to take Linda and Hussein, briefly out for some cool nighttime shots at the hotel. I have found that if time permits, it is well worth the effort to do some relaxed photos of the couple, away from the guests. I think they really enjoy the quite moments reflecting on the day together!