Sofitel and San Jose Gurdwara

Reena and Simon
May 08 2010

Slideshow
Full set of pics

So this wedding is forever going to be one of the stories I tell people when they ask me about the "what if something happens to you" clause in my contract. I broke 2 ribs about a week and a half before this 16 hour, 4 location wedding in May. Don't ask me how--I basically tripped over my own feet and fell sternum first on a sharp step-thingie near my bank. Two days after the fall I couldn't breathe properly, couldn't really sleep unless I was propped in a kind of diagonal halfway between my back and side, and couldn't do anything (including lifting my arms, moving, or breathing) without major pain. Now unlike a leg or an arm they really can't do anything for you if you break ribs--they cant put a cast around your chest, and even a wrap is usually frowned upon because it can cause chest constriction and pneumonia. If you have little pieces of rib floating around inside you they will operate and remove them, but other than that you kind of just have to wait it out. By the time the wedding rolled around the worst of the pain was over, but I was still only about 35% healed. Still, as long as I was able to stand and hold a camera I wasn't going to let my couple down.

I already had a 2nd shooter for this wedding and was considering hiring an assistant as well, to carry my gear and help me hobble around, but I couldn't find anyone on short notice and so I decided to just pack really light. I stocked up the morning of the wedding with advil, aleve, and more 5hr energy shots than I care to remember. The couple was scheduled for 10 hrs with a break in the middle, but I knew that they would probably need me for a minimum of 5 extra.

The wedding was hard, and long, but it was surprisingly easy to lose myself in my work--especially when we didn't have to move around too much. The hardest part of the day was probably the ceremony, because the room was packed with people and the longer we were in there, the hotter it got. I told Julio (my 2nd) what I was dealing with and that I might need to have him take over primary shooting for a few mins if I needed to rest, but if I remember correctly I don't think I ever ended up needing to do that. There were a few points in the day where I really had to push myself, especially during times when we were waiting for something or between events--I found that as long as I was shooting actively, I could forget about my body, but when the action died down and I came back into myself it was really hard to keep my energy up.

This is not the first time I've had to shoot a wedding with some kind of debilitating illness or injury. When I first started shooting, I was terrified of getting the flu or something like it during wedding season...but after the first wedding I shot with the flu, sick as a dog, I looked at my pictures and saw that they were not only fine...they were good. I had hired a 2nd shooter for the day just in case, but I ended up only using her images to supplement mine; the couple from that wedding never knew there was anything wrong with me, they adored their pictures and so did everyone else who saw them. I realized then that I was good enough at photography at that point in my life that I could do a great job at it, no matter how I felt or what was going on with me personally. And from that point on, I was a lot more confident about walking into any situation.

Anyway, getting back to Reena and Simon. The couple got ready at their respective parents houses, and then had their ceremony at the Gurdwara (Sikh temple) in San Jose. They went back to Simon's parent's house for a few traditional post-wedding games and family time, and then we set off to shoot couple portraits at Stanford. I loved how their glittering hot pink outfits looked alongside the repeating collumns and brick facades of the school, and Reena and Simon came prepared with a few ideas to play with, which were inspired by both traditional Indian wedding portraiture they'd seen and my own previous weddings at Stanford.

After Stanford we headed to the reception at Sofitel, which is where I shot Marc and Daisy's wedding reception last year. I love their Chihuly inspired glass sculpture, and all the other little touches of art and design that make this hotel a really fun place to shoot.

The decor at the reception was spectacular--the colors were bright and poppy, and I've never seen BLUE orchids in my life. I'm pretty sure they were dyed, but I didn't care; I must have spent 20 mins just shooting the flowers. The couple planned an entertaining reception for their guests, including many funny and touching speeches, and a Bhangra dance performance by their young relatives. I was a little sad that, because things were running so late already, Reena didn't want to keep us on to shoot very much of the dancing/party portion of the evening. But by that point I had been up and working for nearly 20 hours straight, and I think maybe she was taking pity on me as much as on her checkbook. ;)

By the time it was over I was physically and emotionally drained--after I packed up my stuff and dragged myself out to the parking lot, I climbed into the front seat of my car, put my head in my hands, and just sat there like that for awhile before I felt awake enough to drive. And then I went home...and didn't get out of bed for 2 days. Whew.

But in the end it was a small price to pay both for keeping my client's trust, and doing something I can be proud of.

reena's outfit for the ceremony, in morning light


I love heels anyway, but seeing them with mendhi (henna tattooing) is just that much better.

mmm...negative space...





so i kind of have a shoe fetish. But I really didn't mean to put two shoe shots from the same wedding in one blog post, it just happened...





exchanging Jam Mala (leis)


in both Sikh and Hindu ceremonies, the couple circles the altar mutiple times, with the bride following the groom. In Hindu ceremonies only however, the couple makes the circle one final time with the groom following the bride.











I think this shot is freaking gorgeous; I love their body language and how cool Reena's nose ring looks.








Sofitel ballroom; decor by Yasin from Prime Party Rentals and Decorations


Reena's evening outfit, which just happened to match the carpet at Sofitel almost exactly.





another one of those lovely public/private moments


the Bhangra dancers





blue and purple orchids





vendors:

ceremony: San Jose Gurdwara

reception: Sofitel

event coordinator: Tiffany Aurielo for Sofitel

event design, flowers, linens, decor: Prime Party Rentals

catering: Bombay Garden

cake: the Cakery

videographer: Suresh Roy

DJ: Roneel Prakash

hair/makeup: Ruby's Beauty Studio

big thanks to the talented Julio Duffoo for 2nd shooting with me!

Garre Winery: Martinelli Center

Kristie and Jeff
April 16 2010


Slideshow
Full set of pics

I've shot at the Martinelli Center before but it had been awhile, and at a totally different time of year. I was excited to hopefully see some flowers blooming and to photograph Kristie and Jeff's wedding in the warm, crisp almost-spring light of April.

It can also be really fun for me to go back to a venue I haven't shot at in years, since my work improves so markedly year by year--I like seeing how much of a better job I can do with the same location.

The first thing I remembered when I walked into the bride's room was this mirror, which confounded me like crazy when I shot back here in 2006--my flash kept bouncing off it, which would mess up the camera's light reading and cause the image to underexpose. Thankfully I know a lot more about flash now than I did then. I shot on manual, and got some great images with and without flash in the dressing room.


this is one of the ones without flash. I like how black and white can turn a relatively straightforward image into a collection of abstract parts. The body language and elegant turn of Kristie's foot makes me think of ballet, maybe like a Degas painting.

(yes, I just compared myself to Degas. It's all about the self esteem. ;)



I don't know what these are--can anyone tell me? They are really cool. They look like they were put there as decoration but I think they are just naturally growing on the tree. Beautiful shot by my intern Jason: this is totally the kind of thing 2nd shooters are great for; taking the quiet pictures that the primary photographer is too busy to notice exist.








myself, Kristie, and Jeff went out shortly after the family portraits to do some couple's shots around the venue in really nice late afternoon light...





and then slipped out again right after the first dance, to shoot at sunset.


this baby was loving the spotlight


the corks were used to hold place cards, so I nabbed a few and took pictures of them with the rings, and the flowers, and the shadows of the rings. I figured this one was a little more appropriate for a wedding ring shot than the "Menage a Trois" cork, LOL. Although, because there were 3 rings, it ended up as kind of a cool play on words. I took a shot with each--guess I'll let the couple decide which one they want in their album.




one of the many things I could not have done back in 2006--playing with shadows from off camera flash.








vendors:

ceremony and reception venue: Martinelli Center, Garre Winery

event coordinator: Alanna Grossnickle for Garre Winery

flowers: Flowery Affairs by Annie

DJ: 21st Century Sounds

officiant: Larry Wilkerson

St. Mark's Lutheran Church and San Francisco Design Center Galleria

Imran and Sarah
December 27 2009

Slideshow
Full set of pics

This wedding was a little while ago but I'm catching up on my blogging and I had to post it. It was my 2nd time shooting at the design center, and a unique wedding with two ceremonies--the first, an interfaith ceremony at St. Mark's Lutheran Church in San Francisco, and the second a Muslim ceremony on stage at the SFDC Galleria where I had shot Bhavna and Emil's wedding last year.

There are only a handful of venues in the bay area that can handle the guest count at Indian and Pakistani weddings, which often gets up in the mid to high hundreds. The Galleria is by far one of the classiest.

I had met and shot an E session with Imran and Sarah only a few weeks before. The first thing I noticed about them was how good they looked together, in that way that some couples have; where they look not alike as if they were related, but rather they complement each other so well physically that they almost could have been cast to be a couple. They just look like they were meant to walk through life side by side. They also had great chemistry and that relatively rare but cherished ability to phase out the rest of the world and focus only on each other when we're shooting. So the e session was a breeze, and the wedding was a visual treat from the moment I got there.

this whole wedding had pretty much amazing lighting from moment one


I love little private moments in the midst of big public ones like this





It was great that they did a spontaneous 2nd kiss, at the end of walking back up the aisle.


OMG, those shoes.


the videographers were really nice and accomodating to work with. They spent some time posing the couple for specific shots they wanted after the ceremony, which left me time to shoot quiet, beautiful portraits while no one was paying attention to me.





I rarely get time inside the limo with the couple because I have to drive my own car to the reception, but at this wedding I made it happen. It's some of the only alone time they get during the whole day, so emotions are visible and easily captured.





I love shots that show a couple getting lost in each other and the world just going on around them.








Sarah and Imran got tons of sweet gifts from friends and family on the stage. I don't think she was expecting some of the things they received, but her expressions of surprise and gratitude made for some really beautiful images.


yay video lights! Years ago, before I started learning how to creatively light my own weddings using off camera flash, I would get really excited whenever I shot a wedding that had a videographer, cuz I knew I'd get to take advantage of their lights. Now I don't need to rely on them anymore as I bring my own supplemental indoor lighting, but they're still fun to play with.





I'm also a big fan of shots where the point of focus is not at the obvious place. The faces of Sarah and her dad are a little soft in this image (the point of focus is her arm, not their faces); which, combined with the low light, lends a soft warmth to the image that wouldn't be there if their faces were tack sharp.


and I had to put this one in. Denon and Doyle DJs inspire random breakdancing.





vendors:

church: St. Mark's Lutheran Church

reception venue: SF Design Center Galleria Jill Schnaps, Director of Events

other pastor: Pastor Tom

wedding coordinator: Clever Girl Consulting Karin Kamb

event design: Aesthetika Noreen Tariq

florist: The Flower Shop Fremont Steven Okada

caterer (Pakistani food): Mehran Restaurant

cake: Ambrosia Bakery

church music: SF Strings

DJ: Denon and Doyle Mark Haggerty

drinks/coat check: GML

hair and makeup: Salon DNA

nails: Nova nail spa

dress: Priscilla of Boston www.priscillaofboston.com

videographer: Lee Studio

big thanks to the talented Julio Duffoo for 2nd shooting with me!

mini session pictures

Here are some pictures from the mini portrait sessions I've been doing lately:

I will be holding a new series of mini session dates very soon! See the previous post for info on the way mini sessions work, cost, etc. If you're interested in doing a mini session, please comment or email me asap with some dates and general locations (ie east bay, SF, south bay, sacramento) that might work best for you and I will give you first consideration when I pick the dates/times.

Thanks!