San Diego Wedding Photographer

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Time for another FAQ POST :) I’m pulling all of these questions from MY FORMSPRING ACCOUNT — so feel free to go there if you have a question :) Let’s get to it…

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Any tips for increasing blog readership? I feel like I try super hard, but just don’t have a big following yet. :(

You know, blogging is a funny thing. I don’t know if there are real ways to increase blog traffic if you suck as a blogger. That’s the foundation. Some people have a nack for it and others really, really don’t. I’d say, if you enjoy it, there’s a good chance you’re cut out for it. But if you don’t, then it’s probably going to be tough for you — and your readers will see that (or they won’t as they might not ever read it!).

When I started blogging, I felt a bit funny. I was writing as if people were reading — but I saw that I was getting maybe 20 hits a day. It felt a little silly, but I knew in the long run I would be glad I started blogging. For obvious business reasons — showcasing my work and giving my potential clients a chance to see what their photographer is like (if they chose me) — but also for personal reasons. Now I blog whatever I want. I blog what I have fun posting — and some people seem to enjoy it (no need to go into all the people I probably annoy ;).

So I guess my tips would be to enjoy it. Think of it as a way to show who you are to your couples, a way to jot down your thoughts in general, and something that you and your children can look back at when you’re 80 years old. That last bit, the historical value of blogging, is the most important, in my opinion. That’s what keeps me blogging as often as I do.

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Do you guys drink alcohol? if not, why not?

As a young skateboarder who listened to Fugazi and Minor Threat, I went through my high school years thinking that people who didn’t drink, but still had an awesome time, were the cool ones. Now I just don’t really care either way — and I have a good time with people of all walks of life. I’d add that if alcohol tasted like coke and it didn’t put me to sleep, I might have a real problem on my hands :) But it all tends to taste like straight hairspray for me. I’d literally rather eat a bowl of broccoli over drinking a beer — and I don’t really like broccoli. I do drink occasionally — but it’s only on the rare instance that I need it. And it’s always straight vodka to help me sleep as I’ve struggled with insomnia my entire adult life.

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Are there any Northern Californian wedding and/or photo blogs that you follow/really like?

I’m sure there would be if I paid better attention… I have a small group of photography blogs that I check — and I only check because they are close friends of mine. It’s literally one main one (because she blogs every day and that helps me remember more often ;) and maybe two or three others I’ll remember to check once a month, or so, just because I enjoy seeing what they’re up to. I probably stopped checking photography blogs for inspiration a couple years ago? I found that I get better inspired outside photography and the arts. Nothing wrong with checking 4000 blogs a day though — whatever works, you know?

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xD do you teach people how to photograph? (if so, how much do you charge? :D)(teach meeeeeeeeee~~)

You know, I spoke at a workshop a few months back and I didn’t hate it nearly as much as I thought I would. Over the last year (or so) I’ve turned down a few speaking arrangements around the world — I’m just not comfortable taking peoples money for something like that. I might be someday — but I’m still waiting until I feel genuinely good about doing it. It’s one thing to have people asking for something, and as a guy with a business mind it’s not easy turning them away. But I want to be able to believe in my own heart that I’m providing them with something I’m proud of. So… we’ll see ;)

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Do you have a “packet” of info for clients and/or potential clients? What kind of information do you put in such a “packet” if so?

Negative. I’m very “unprofessional” when it comes to this stuff. Obviously, I believe I’m plenty professional — but I know there are many photographers that make their client meetings much more formal than my own. And there’s nothing wrong with that. Just a different approach. I don’t bring contracts, additional images for the couple to view, pamphlets or packets… When I meet with couples, I know they’ve already seen enough of my work to know that we’re a fit there. All there is after that is to see if we’re a fit in person. For the most part, we just talk about how the couple met, where they’re getting married, what they do for a living, what they want to do with their lives… we just hang out. If they don’t enjoy hanging out with me, then I want them to know that so they can make their decision accordingly. And if I don’t believe we’re a great fit, then I’ll tell them that I have a great photographer in mind for them that will be able to take care of them better than I can :)

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And since blogs like this without photos are a bit… bleh…

… here’s one of me with my boy. We were taking my dad out to Claim Jumper for his 69th birthday and Clive refused to stay awake :)

Bobby

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Time for another FAQ post :) I’m pulling all of these questions from my Formspring account — so feel free to go there if you have a question for me! Let’s get to it…

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What are your flaws?

Well, for starters, I can say my neck is flawed! I’ve been out of commission for 3 days now because of my neck not allowing my head to move :) Luckily, I’m definitely doing better today.

Seriously now, I have so many flaws. It’s just ridiculous. I am a chronic interrupter. I don’t mean anything by it. I never mind (or notice) when people interrupt me. But I think I’m much better at controlling it now than I was years ago.

Another one? Alright. When someone goes ridiculously slow in the carpool (HOV) lane — and blocks a ton of people — I become a vigilante. The moment the break comes in the road (in California you can only enter and exit the carpool lane in designated sections — which is why people get stuck in them) I jump in front of them and go 10-15mph slower than they were going in front of me. I do this until they get out of the lane and then I speed up to normal — freeing all the people who were stuck behind them. Mind you, I only do this when people are going well under the speed limit. It’s well-intentioned, but I’m sure it’s a flaw :)

There’s plenty more, but I’ll stop there.

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How do you get your settings ready for any kind of lighting??? like while you are traveling and you see an animal to take a pic of…you dont really get a 2nd chance!

Honestly, shoot, shoot, and shoot some more! There is no get rich quick scheme when it comes to being able to use your camera quickly. What is happening with those of us who can shoot in changing situations quickly is that we know our camera. We know it sort of like we know how to reach down and scratch our foot without looking. You just know where your foot is — you don’t need to look. Same goes with your camera. Use it a ton. Shoot like crazy. The more you do, the sooner it’ll become second nature for you.

This image is a perfect example of shooting without thinking. I finally saw a cheetah in the bush! But this cheetah sat down and looked in my direction for a split second. I lifted up my camera, adjusted my settings, and took the photo instantly — and I have no clue what my thought process was. I just did it, if that makes sense. Now I’m far from the most accurate/technical photographer when it comes to exposures — but I’m good enough to get things done, I think :)

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No question, just wanted to say that I look forward to meeting you next time you’re down under in Australia… hint hint nudge nudge.

I’d love to head back to Oz to do another photog meetup! And I’d organize this one a little better than just throwing a tweet out the day before (like I did last time :). I actually was planning on doing so again this year as I was shooting a wedding in Fiji for an Aussie couple. I guess Fiji/Oz relations went really bad for a while there and they had to postpone the wedding. But I’ll get out there soon enough!

Last year’s photog meet up in Sydney.

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Your top 10 favorite bands of all time?

Oh man… I hate listing favorites! I’ll just list ten bands I really like — the first ones that come to my head — or else I could be thinking about this for a while :)

1. The Pixies. My favorite band of all time.
2. Frank Black.
3. Johnny Cash.
4. Fugazi.
5. The Ramones.
6. Sonic Youth.
7. Gnarls Barkley
8. Headphones
9. Ennio Morricone
10. Luis Enrique Bacalov

A photo I shot of Frank Black (of the Pixies) a while back.

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I shoot canon, mainly primes, my 135L is my favorite. for shooting wide Is have a 16-35L. I’m looking at moving to all primes and am debating between the 24L and the 35L. Which of the two would you choose? or would you do something different?

For me, the 24L is amazing! But it has a catch. It’s only amazing on a FF camera. The amazing-ness of the 24L is that it alone is the only way you can achieve that “24L” look. So many other lenses are hard to pinpoint — but the 24L at f/1.4 (when on a FF camera) is immediately identifiable. The 35L is awesome, but I never cared for that distance. It also seems like every image I see on the 35L could have just as likely been the 50L — and I prefer that focal distance much more.

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If you had to fight Chuck Norris what BJJ moves would you use to take him down?

Well… BJJ doesn’t really deal with take-downs :P But inside leg kick, overhand right, double leg is an easy way to get someone down. Inside leg kicks throw people off, the overhand right comes quick off of it, and a double leg takedown is transitioned into pretty swimmingly from the overhand right, imo. Enough MMA-nerdery :)

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Whats the next piece of equipment you have your eye on?

I’m really, really, really wanting an Ikelite underwater housing for my 5D Mark II. Mainly for video work. Would be tons of fun!

Bobby

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So ever since I made a formspring account, some of you guys have asked silly questions, serious questions, and some extremely interesting questions. I figured I’d keep answering some on that page — but I’d also pick a few out every once and a while and answer them here on the blog. Here we go!

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Do you genuinely believe anyone is better than anyone else, or do you think everyone is equal?

Interesting question! I have no problem with saying that some people are better than other people. Lindsay (my wife), for example, is absolutely a better person than Saddam Hussein was. I could see one believing that there is a point where we started out equal — but our actions after that can result in us being judged as “better” or “worse.”

Of course there are things we need to take into account before we judge people too rashly (i.e. where they were raised, who they were raised by, any sort of childhood trauma, etc.) — but I don’t think those factors change the fact that some people are in fact better than others (and some are worse, as well).

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Why do you love Asia so much more than Europe?
It might be because I grew up hearing everyone fantasize about going to Paris or London. I went to those places — had a great time — but then I went to Asia. China, specifically. Wowzers! I was hooked. Then places like Japan, Thailand, and Cambodia just set it in stone for me. Asia is amazing. Here are three quick reasons…

1. Culture. I generally enjoy Asian cultures more than European cultures (that being said, some of the sweetest people I’ve met have been in Europe and I’ve met some of the dodgiest characters around in Asia).

2. Food. Specifically China. Tangcu liji (sp?) is the best thing in the world. Not to mention a Korean BBQ place in Beijing that is quite literally my favorite restaurant in the world. Can’t wait to take the the RPTE: China crew there in a few months!!!

3. I love their perspective on life. See my post on my dear friends who work as Tuk Tuk drivers in Cambodia.

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I have really been wanting to give my photos a nice color pop and really enjoy the color in your photos. How do you pop the colors in your photos? TRA’s, (if so which action?) or the settings in your camera? Thanks for your time.
Check my Before and After Wednesdays ;)

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What’s the craziest thing trouble has done so far?
He threw up one morning. I walked out to check on him and he had apparently swallowed two decent sized rocks. Sometimes I wish we named him “Lil Bastard” because he’s such a little bastard :P

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Why do you and your wife appear to be so badass? And how can I appear to be as such?
You hit the nail on the head. Appear. It’s VERY easy to appear badass — especially when I control what is and isn’t blogged. Hang out with me in person and you will see gobs of “un-badassness” all over the place ;)

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What is your biggest pet peeve?
Bullies. Hands down. People that intimidate other people who haven’t asked for it in any way. If you’re going to yell at the person who’s serving your food — and they didn’t really do anything wrong — you don’t want me around. I can’t help but jump in. Freak out at the check out person at the grocery store because the price checker rings up your item incorrectly (or better yet, you just made a mistake)? I can’t help but put my two cents in the mix. Get physical with someone who didn’t ask for it? Especially if they look a bit scared? Odds are that I’m going to get physical in return. I really can’t stand bullies. Can’t stand them at all.

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Anyways, this Formspring thing is so fun! Feel free to give me more questions  on my formspring page. If you want to ask Lindsay something, just specify that it’s for her :)

Dane second shooting with me at Katie and Anthony’s wedding. I think we’re both trying to figure out where the “on” switch is ;)

Bobby

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Lately, I’ve been getting a fair amount of emails from beginner photographers. I love this fact — as I remember how rad it was to get bits of help when I was starting — but there’s just no way I can write everyone back. I’ve sort of been answering emails based on “can I answer this question in about three minutes?” — and if not, I just have to move on :( So I’m doing this blog post and will use it as a way to answer these questions in the future when I get them.

So if you’re reading this after emailing me, I hope this helps!

1. What’s your go to lens?
My Canon 50mm f/1.2L lens is by far my favorite. I love that lens. It’s loved by many — and just as many write it off as the cliche wedding lens. I couldn’t care less about any of that. I just know that I love images on that lens when shot on my 5D Mark II (full frame camera) at f/1.2 (the 5D Mark II’s are what I shoot with right now). I just love it. If I had to, I could shoot an entire wedding with that lens.

p.s. the Canon 50mm f/1.4 is a great (more affordable) alternative to the L version ;)

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2. I’m not a pro so I don’t need a super expensive pro camera that will kill my bank account. What camera should I get?
This is a question people think too much about, in my opinion. There is honestly no wrong DSLR these days. They are all great! And also, without sounding too arrogant, I don’t know much (if anything at all) about equipment other than pro gear. I had a Canon Rebel XTi a few years back and it was great! But since then, I have no clue about the newer models or about the best point and shoot (I have a Canon G10 — which I love — but I’m sure there’s tons others that are great). Honestly, just look for anything at a good price. Most online retailers have the same prices on new gear.

A great place to buy (used gear) is at the for sale forum on photography-on-the.net. I think you have to get a free membership. I usually search back over the last month for what I want to buy and check out the items that actually sold. That gives me a great idea for how much I should pay for whatever used item I’m looking for ;)

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3. How’d you start in photography?
HUGE question that would take me an hour to answer. Long story short? Loved traveling, bought a camera, shot travel photography, then shot a few friends’ weddings for free, started charging slowly, and once I was proud of my portfolio I charged more.

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4. How’d you book your first paid weddings?
Craigslist. I had no shame. I just wanted photos. My first charged wedding was $500. Second was $600. That’s just how I did it. There’s a million ways to get your first weddings. I’ve noticed that the people that end up getting them (and keep it up from there) are in love with photography and are completely determined. The people that struggle are the people who don’t like their current job and think photography would be an easy gig ;)

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5. Any tips for someone just starting out?
Another one that could take a TON of time. Briefly? Shoot ALL THE TIME. Seriously. No, I’m not kidding. All the time. If you aren’t comfortable with shooting outside the auto mode, for example, reading books won’t do nearly as much as going out and getting a healthy dose of “practice makes perfect.” You literally cannot shoot enough. Shoot your friends a ton. Get in uncomfortable situations where you don’t know what you’re doing (not professionally, of course). Challenge yourself. Just shoot, shoot, and shoot more.

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6. What lens should I get next?
TOTALLY impossible for me to say. I love primes — but that’s me. If it helps, here’s the lenses I own and why. Keep in mind they are all on a full frame sensor…

Canon 50mm f/1.2L: I use it for portraits, the ceremony, walk around PJ… I just love this lens.
Canon 24mm f/1.4L: I use this for extreme close up portraits as I enjoy the outer edge distortion. Love it.
Canon 135mm f/2L : Main lens during ceremony and toasts. Also love it for full body portraits at f/2. Incredible lens.
Canon 15mm f/2.8: rarely use it but it’s fun to have :)
Canon 16-35mm f/2.8L: worst lens I own (optically) but I LOVE it for the party/fun dancing shots. I use this at EVERY wedding.
Canon 70-200mm f/2.8L IS: haven’t used it at a wedding since I got the 135L last year.
Canon 24mm f/3.5L ts-e: LOVE this lens but almost never use it. Enjoy it more for traveling.
Canon 45mm f/2.8 ts-e: LOVE this lens, as well. Use it a lot during couple portraits.

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7. I’m uncomfortable when shooting the bride and groom. I don’t know what to say or how to pose them. Any advice?
This was the last thing to come to me as a photographer. I used to HATE the couple portraits at my weddings. I didn’t know what to tell them to do — or how to tell them to do it. Unfortunately, in my experiences, it took experience to get me comfortable. There wasn’t any “Get rich quick” type of thing. The more you do it, the quicker you’ll figure out how you do it… if that makes sense. Another rad option is to find a good workshop. My friend Jasmine does AWESOME ones!

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8. Which TRA’s should I get?
When I got my Totally Rad Actions, I jumped in head first. I bought both sets. When I loaded them into photoshop, it didn’t separate them as “set #1″ and “set #2″ — so I literally have no clue which one I use most. I know that isn’t helpful, but it’s the truth ;) What I can say is that I’m pretty sure I’d still buy both as I use a ton of them!

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9. Do you really like your Shootsac? Or do you just say that because that’s what everyone says?
Okay, as a wedding photographer I guess I could live without my shootsac — if I had to. Don’t get me wrong, I freaking love it over what I used to use. As a matter of fact, I just love my shootsac, plain and simple. But I love my shootsac even more for traveling than anything else. It fits three lenses and has three other little pockets for other goodies (cf cards, batteries, keys, mobile). So instead of walking around with a photo backpack (what I did before) I now have my 5DII and 50L in my hand with my 135L, 24L, and 45mm ts-e in my shootsac. I have no idea about the specs compared to other things — but what I know is now I don’t look like a weirdo with a huge backpage when Lindsay takes a picture of me when we’re traveling and this thing feels like nothing compared to my old photo backpack.

So it’s worth it for weddings, hands down. Even more worth it for traveling/walking around, hands even more down. Mine has been to God only knows how many countries — I’m pretty sure I’ve put mine through more than it was intended so I need to get another one soon!

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10. Are Lightroom and Photoshop worth it? If so, which should I get first?
Both are totally worth it — but I’d say it depends which you’re going to get first. If you’re going to be a wedding photographer, I’d say LR first since it’s WAY more affordable and does everything you really need. Once you get it, save up and then get PS — as it’s such an incredible part of the photography process!

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11. I have a cropped body — should I switch to full frame?
Do whatever you want. I had a pro (1 series) body before I got my first 5D — I had NO idea that full frame was supposedly “better” (so I wasn’t bullied into thinking this way). But when I got my first 5D and put my 50L on it? I literally stopped using my 40D and 1D Mark II N (my other cameras at the time). I just loved the images right out of camera so much!

Having said that, there are TONS of incredible photographers who use non full frame cameras. And buying a full frame camera won’t instantly make your images better. So if you want to make the jump, go for it! If you’re happy with where you are, don’t worry about it ;)

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12. Can I shoot with you sometime?
I wish I could shoot with every photographer who asked! Here’s the problem… Lindsay is ALWAYS with me at weddings. She’s sort of my second shooter — but way more importantly, she’s my other half of my brain. She helps me come up with poses, think of where/what we should shoot next… Just tons of help.

Anyways, it’s hard to bring along three photographers to a wedding without sort of making guests feel overwhelmed. This means it’s VERY rare that I bring along a third shooter. So if you’re wanting to shoot with us sometime, you’ll be much more likely to on one of our phototrips – so sign up and come on the next one!

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13. Who made your website?
Yours truly. I say that with no real sense of pride. I’m no graphic designer — and I’m sure that graphic designers look at my site and think “this is why only pros should design websites…” :P — but my site is all me.

However, more importantly than me making the site is the software that I use that enables me to make it so easily! I use Showit Sites. It’s freaking amazing. Sure, I’m friends with the inventor — but I’m friends with lots of people who run cool things in the photography world and I don’t just recommend things for no reason. Fact is, DJ is a freaking genius and made the most ridiculous website making software ever. It’s literally drag, drop, and just about anything else you could ever want to do.

Oh yeah, and you can make a site for free!!! So do it!

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I really hope this helps!

And since this post is a little better with a photo…

The Cinque Terre (Italy) after sunset — one of the possible photo trips we’ll be leading next year! Over a hundred people are signed up to be in the know (only taking 12) so be sure to sign up if you’re wanting a shot at going!

Bobby

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Been a little while, so here’s another FAQ’s post :)

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David asks: “I HATE shooting formals! My last wedding was about an hour wasted on formals. A friend of mine… knows you and says you don’t spend more than 20 minutes on them. Is that true? If so, would love to hear how you do this!”

Real fast – I typically don’t spend more than 15 minutes on formals (wedding party AND family), but it isn’t because I hate them. I see so much historical value in these photos. They’re probably going to be looked at as much as (if not more than) my favorite artistic couple shot from the wedding day.

So want to not hate formals? It’s simple – but give me a second to explain it…

I tell my couples when we meet up that we’re going to spend about 15 minutes on ALL formals. This means I don’t do the bridesmaids and groomsmen separately before – then do all together after the wedding along with the family. I save it all for ONE setting. Getting everyone together is what takes the longest – so I don’t care to do that part twice :)

I explain that I believe that the formals have incredible historical value – but I personally don’t see a lot artistic value in them. I know many photographers do – but this is where I do things differently than those guys :)

Because of this, I ask that they give me a list of who they want in the photos and how they want them. This saves a TON of time as so much time can be wasted just in the “do we want a photo with aunt Patty and cousin Sal?” It’s important that I don’t just have a list of everyone – but also everyone in every photo they want (i.e. 1. mom, dad, sisters, and bride 2. mom, dad, bride, groom). This also helps me not ask for people who have possibly passed on AND it helps me not to stick my foot in my mouth by asking Uncle Mark and Aunt Susan to put their arms around each other when they haven’t been speaking for 7 years ;)

When it comes to the wedding party, again, I explain that I see historical value in these. I’m not AT ALL opposed to doing fun shots with the girls or crazy shots with the guys – but I personally don’t have a list of cool ideas up my sleeve. I explain that if they know something like that, we can TOTALLY do it! But if not, we’ll just hammer out the wedding party photos in about five minutes and I can get to doing what they hired me to do -> get romantic, hot portraits of the two of them and document the rest of the day :)

Why do I do this? I find that people who WANT these fun group shots usually have no problem figuring it out for themselves what THEY think is fun (as opposed to some general trick meant to make every wedding party laugh as if everyone has the same sense of humour). And people who don’t care about them just think that every idea in the book is totally lame – so the time and effort isn’t spent well.

Again – this is NOT because I hate formals! This is just my approach to them and it’s worked out swimmingly! Everyone gets the photos of everyone that they want, grandma doesn’t have to wait around longer than she wants, and the wedding party can take their jackets and heels off and get to the cocktail party :)

Hope that helps!

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Mark asks: “How often do you use a flash such as the 580ex?”

I rarely use flash as a means to simply add more light. I almost exclusively use it for when I want it to be there to add something that even natural light couldn’t add to the photo. Here’s an example…

I was out in Nashville for this wedding where the couple got married in their back yard. They had a huge field – it was amazing!

Well around midnight – pitch black – I noticed it was CRAZY humid and figured it could show up really well with two flashes. I put one flash directly behind the bride and one on my camera directly at her. It was so pitch black that my flash couldn’t find her to focus, so Lindsay had to hold a candle next to her so I could get a focus :) But I don’t force myself to do this for every wedding – as every wedding is so different. So typically, I’m not using flash unless I really feel it :)

The only time I use flash regularly is for the fun/party dancing on the dance floor. I put on my 16-35L, my 580EX, and away I go! This might be one of my favorite times to photograph at weddings :)

The bride and groom (another Nashville bride – one of our favorite places in the world) getting loved on by their wedding party :)

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Aleksander asks: “Any chance you could post a full album so we could see your design? Would really love to see your approach here.”

Sure! The big link below has a full album preview you can see from the amazing people over at Couture Book. Their books are absolutely stunning – definitely worth a click on over to them :) Anyways, here’s a link to my full album (a destination wedding out in Phuket, Thailand)…

http://couturebook.com/build/viewer.html?productId=100056265

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Keep the questions coming and I’ll keep doing these :) Hope everyone’s having a good week!

Bobby

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