Be Still Photography Published on One Fab Day

Be Still Photography has been published on the wedding site One Fab Day. Back in September, Fiona and I were asked to be the photographers for a styled shoot in hopes of getting published. Jordan Dull of I Do... Weddings & Events asked us to participate and we were excited about the opportunity.

We had some amazing vendors to work with and the venue was absolutely gorgeous. We had a great time out there and have been rewarded with this publication.

We thank all the vendors that took part in the shoot.

Winter Wedding Shoot Details:

• Planning: Jordan Dull, I Do…Weddings & Events
• Florist: Rae Florae
• Venue: The US Grant Hotel
• Dress: The Dress Theory
• Stationery: Whimsique
• Rentals: Concepts Event Design
• Cake: Sweet Cheeks Bakery
• Hair & Makeup: Danece Van Soelen

Wedding in Carmel Mountain Ranch CC | Tracy + Daniel

Wedding Photographers: Ernie Padaon (Be Still Photography)

We have been delivering slideshows created by Animoto for our wedding clients before they see all the images. It has been an awesome deliverable for clients. We shot this wedding a week ago and was able to deliver this to the clients before they were able to see the group of photos. Adding music onto a slideshow creates an emotional attachment into the photos. Since it is all still fresh.

Family Portraits at the Beach in Carlsbad, CA

Family Portrait Photographers: Be Still Photography Ernie Padaon and Fiona Padaon Location: Carlsbad, CA

We were back at that beautiful location at the beach in Carlsbad and were running some family portraits for our neighbors. The sun has been going down earlier and earlier these days and it has been getting a little chilly out of late, so that made it easier to find spots where there were not random people hanging out in the background of photos.

It was great to hang out and capture some moments with the family. They have beautiful twins and there were some great moments with all of them. Here are some of the photos from their day:

Carmel Mountain Ranch Wedding | Daniel + Tracy

Carmel Mountain Ranch Wedding | Daniel + Tracy

Wedding Photographers: Be Still Photography Ernie Padaon, Breathe In Light Tara Simpson Venue: Carmel Mountain Ranch Country Club, San Diego, CA

I had the opportunity to capture the wedding for Daniel and Tracy over the weekend and had a blast with this great couple.

The venue was absolutely stunning at Carmel Mountain Ranch Country Club.  The ceremony was outside of the clubhouse and the skies were perfectly clear. Everything ran smooth and we were able to get some great light for the portrait session.

Here are a few images throughout the day. This is just a sneak peek while we go through all of the images. These are all straight out of the camera.

Portrait Session in Carlsbad Beach

Portrait session in Carlsbad, CA Photographers: Be Still Photography | Ernie Padaon & Fiona Padaon Location: Beach in Carlsbad, CA (Won't tell all the secrets since it is nice to have this spot without a ton of people around)

We were doing a family shoot with these two and had an amazing time with them. We were able to take them away from the kids for a bit to get some shots of them as a couple. Loved the light that we wer able to get. They were a great fam to work with and the location is dreamy. Love how you can get a beach without many people walking around it.

Senior Portraits in Carlsbad, CA | Lexy

Photographers: Ernie Padaon and Fiona Padaon | Be Still PhotographyLocation: Carlsbad, CA

Senior Portraits are always fun. We were able to do this Senior Session out in Carlsbad, CA out at a beach that doesn't get much traffic. It is such a great spot for beach portraits if you want to avoid all the beach goers.

We have a great time with Lexy and snuck in this session right before the sun went down.

We love doing Senior Portraits for teenagers. It has been great to capture the personalities of the teenagers and love the idea of giving them something different that is not in the studio.

Check out the photos from the day.

Camp Pendleton Wedding | Carson + Mary Kate

Photographers: Be Still Photography, Ernie Padaon and Fiona PadaonVenue: Pacific Views Event Center, Camp Pendleton, CA

What a fun wedding to be a part of this weekend with Carson and Mary-Kate. They were such a fun couple to work with and the wedding party was filled with a bunch of people that were ready to have a great time.

These two have a great future ahead of them. We enjoyed every second of the day. Here are some of the highlights from the day.

Here is a look in at her wedding dress with the "Mrs Ritchie" on her wedding dress hanger.

And here are some of the flower details from the day. And the ring shot.

The venue was beautiful with an outdoor setting.

The two wanted to sneak a little hand hold before the actual wedding, but they didn't want to see each other until she walked out so we made something work out for them.

Here is the video of their amazing day.

Blogging with SmugMug... Not so hot

I tried to work with creating blogs through SmugMug and I just don't see it working out in the same manner as WordPress. I have been working with WordPress for so long and know how to quickly get something posted on the site and just didn't want to deal with customizing each page to make it look the same on SmugMug.

SmugMug will still be the spot where I hold images and such, but it will not be the location where I will have the blog running from. Wordpress has this thing on lock and is what they specialize in and will be the way that I continue to post. It is so much easier to get found on google with wordpress posts as well. Have to stick with the right tools if I want the proper results.

Sorry I left you for so long WordPress... .and by so long, meaning not that long at all!

Trash the Dress Photo Session in La Jolla Teaser

Fiona and I were able to shoot a "Trash the Dress" session over the weekend and had a blast with this couple. We started out the day in Point Loma jumping in a fountain and worked our way up to La Jolla to splash around in the beach. We have some amazing shots of the couple and here are a couple of teasers from the portion in La Jolla.

This one was an amazing shot that was taken by Fiona. That wedding dress was flung out perfectly on the shot and we were able to get the area clean enough to make that composition.

On the photo from above, Fiona was working with "bride" while I just shot off to the side and found a perfect spot to get them both into the photo. Having a pair of photographers on sessions has its benefits.

Trash the Dress sessions are so great! Can't wait to get more of these booked on the schedule!

These are just a couple of teasers from the session over the weekend and we should have more to share in a few days.

San Diego Photographers: Be Still Photography | Ernie Padaon | Fiona Padaon

Location: La Jolla Cove

Grand Tradition Estates Wedding Teaser | Andessa + James

Andessa and James have been friends of ours for a couple of years and I had the honor to shoot their wedding day. The wedding was beautiful and the location was perfect for the vintage look that they were looking for. I have a couple of teaser images from the day that I wanted to share with everyone as we run through all the images.

One of my favorite images on the day is with all the groomsmen and the groom walking back to the room after portrait sessions. This of course was part of the session, but I just kept shooting and picked up this magnificent shot of everyone. Everyone lined up perfectly and we are able to see all the groomsmen in the shot. It could be a poster to a movie.

Here is another shot that worked out perfectly during the grand entrance of the bride and groom. I took a risk sitting toward the back of the room while shooting the entrance since the other shooter was at the bottom of the stairs and was able to catch this shot with perfect framing. The napkins were being waved around in the air and James and Andessa lined up perfectly in the middle.

San Diego Wedding Photographer: Be Still Photography Ernie Padaon & Ray Mickshaw Wedding Venue: Grand Tradition Estate | Fallbrook, CA

Blogging... it is important

Photo from wedding at Grand Tradition in Fallbrook this weekend. Still needs to clean up the random guy on the right side, but it was shot yesterday.

I have known the importance of blogging as a marketing tool for a while but for some reason I keep slipping on the blog for our photography site. Partly it is because of the madness of the day-to-day of family, photography and my other job and my other blog that puts this on the back burner.

I also run a couple of NFL sites called NFL Spin Zone and Bolt Beat and know how much traffic that can be brought in for blogging. I know how to do it and can do it well, but I still seem to push it on the backburner. It needs to go to the front of the priority list.

Working on a wedding this weekend and met with this DJ named Earl Henry from My DJs and he was telling me about his business and the marketing that he gets just from blogging. There was important pieces that he included on those blogs that I didn't even think much about. I was in sports blogging and know my way around that world, but in this blogging environment in photography I am still trying to find my way.

List out the vendors of events. List out the location. All these people deserve credit for the things that they do and search results for certain venues can have you linked to them. I am not sure what people that are getting married put in google when they are looking to find photographers, but I could imagine them writing "Grand Tradition Fallbrook Wedding Photographer."

I imagine that customers try to find a place to get married first and then figure out the rest. If you already have the experience at a venue, it is going to put you ahead of the line.

Capturing the moment

I thought I was great at capturing moments until I watched a Creative live with Tyler Wirken this week. I am on Creative Live constantly and learning all the time from the epic photographers that they bring on set. I pick up a nugget from everyone that is on the show and this time around, I learned so much about moving my feet in order to capture moments.

“A good photograph is knowing where to stand.” - Ansel Adams

I know that Ansel was a landscape photographer, but that quote speaks so much truth about capturing moments. I can't say I agree with everything that Tyler said on the show, but everyone has their own style and their own way that they shoot. Most people shoot in Manual mode, but one of the best photographers on the planet, Joe Buissinck shoots in P-mode.

I will not argue with the way people shoot. It is the images that will completely shut me up. You can't deny the images that are produced by some of these greats.

The thing with Tyler, there was a video of him during a wedding and you would see him working through the scene and getting into the proper spot in order to catch moments. Catching a photography of the bride laughing is not enough, he had to get the picture of the bride laughing and have the thing that she was laughing at as part of the photo as well. He would hustle his way through in order to make his photo. It may be a bit disruptive for me, but you could not deny the images that he had at the end of the day.

When you catch the moment, you catch everything about that moment and can tell the story in that one photograph. You don't take a photo of the laugh in one image and the thing being laughed at in another image. You position yourself in a manner that you are able to gather the whole scene in one shot.

There was so many moments that have been missed in the past simply because I didn't move my feet. That will be a thing of the past and there will be a whole new way of capturing the moment. Move those feet and know where to stand.

Family Portraits at Poway Railroad Station

We just did a family portrait session out in Poway at this old school railroad station yesterday. It was the first time that we have ever been out to the station and found it by looking up poway and photography through google. Apparently everyone and their mother knew about this location for photography though. There were at least 4 different photography sessions going on at the same time that we were out there. It was crazy. We all had the same locations in mind to shoot and we even saw some photographers steal ideas on our posing.

Either way, the posing part of family sessions is the shots that we make sure to have because it is traditional and everyone has it. They definitely are a must to take, but the style that we will be pushing is more of the photojournalistic feel. Shots like the one above. Shots that show you the love and fun that the family have.

The shots are set up in a bit, but posing and popping hips out and smiling are not part of the requirements. We want real reactions and real movements. We want real laughs and real smiles.

We still have to edit through this batch, but we will share more of these types of shots from this weekend's shoot.

Bringing the prints

I just ordered my first few prints in forever from Richard Photo Lab. I chose Richard Photo Lab because I wanted to use the best and they are one of the top names in the business. I want to see what I will get in return and will see if they are the company I use for proofs.

There is something about holding a tangible image that is so powerful. The plan moving forward is to make more prints of these images. In the digital world of facebook and instagram, the art and appreciation for prints has gotten a bit lost.

I plan on bringing that part of the world back. There is something powerful about it. There is something great about running across an old box of photos and skimming through what is in there. I don't think that happens in the digital age as often.

Any time I am asked to do a shoot or have my camera for some type of deal, I plan on making prints and bringing that as a gift to people.

There is a shoot today that I plan on making prints for. I also will be doing the baptisms at church and believe that printing those out would be awesome as well. Just a small gift, but I think it can go a long way.

Bringing back the power of prints!

Surf Photography Session from last week

It has been some time since I was able to get on here to write about the photography adventures. It has been a bit busy the last few days though. I was able to get in on a surf session last week right as the sun was going down and it made for some phenomenal photos. The surf was a little junky, so there wasn't a lot of great "surf" shots in the set, because the surfers weren't able to do much, but the sky was amazing.

After shooting the surf and the beach for the whole day, my favorite photo from the night may have come on my walk to the car. I saw this runner headed toward me with headlights and the beautiful sky. I focused in as quickly as I could and snapped off this gem.

Ever get asked how much photoshop it took to get that image? SIGH. Was asked that about the image above and the truth is that I barely touched that photo out of the camera. People think that they are complimenting your photoshop skills when they say such things, but they do not realize that photographers are insulted by such chatter.

Addicted... to photography

The addiction to wedding photography is real. Just the addiction to glamour and editorial photography and nature and all kinds of other photography is real. I have an addiction and it is bad! I can't get enough of photography. My favorite photography is of people. I love the photojournalistic approach to things, but the love of editorial photography shoots is growing on me. I think it would be amazing to have models and makeup artists and hair stylists and fashion designers all working for a production. Having those high class portraits would be amazing.

The wedding photography admiration is taking over at this time though. I am all over instagram looking at all kinds of images that people have taken at other weddings to get me inspiration. I think I have more wedding magazines at the house than people that are getting married.

I want to be the photographer that people look up and are inspired by. I want to be the photographer that people lose their minds on. When people see their images from their shoot or wedding, they are in awe.

Nerded out on this old school camera

Fiona and I were given this old school camera and I spent a good amount of time nerding out on it. Was trying to figure out how the thing even worked. Didn't' even know where a person was supposed to look through the cam to see the photo.

After messing around with it for a while, I noticed that you don't even look through the back of the camera to see the image. Then I noticed the aperture settings on the cam and all kinds of other things.  Then it became full nerd mode on the old school camera. I appreciate the digital camera age now and love everything that cameras are able to do now.

I still don't fully know how to use that Kodak camera, but it is pretty sweet to have sitting on a shelf in the pad.

The photographers that inspire

Photo above taken by Joe Buissinck There are so many people that have influenced me in this game and inspired me to get better and better. Here is a quick list of the best people that I follow on blogs and youtube . Jared Polin "Fro Knows Fotos" (amazing low light and concert photographer), Jasmine Star (Southern California Wedding Photographer), Joe Buissink (wedding photographer for the stars), Brett Florens (unreal wedding photographer) and Bambi Cantrell (San Francisco based wedding photographer). They are all amazing follows and give great information on how they get the amazing photos that they get. 

The only non-wedding photographer of the group is Jared Polin. He is REAL though and will teach you everything you need to know about low light. He isn't afraid to tell people the truth. He did wedding photography in the past and has that photojournalistic approach. He is amazing at what he does and is all about telling a story with his photography.

Jasmine Star is a wedding photographer from SoCal that has a story that is very similar to the path I want to follow. She started a bit clueless on the industry, but quickly made herself into one of the best in the business.  I love her story and she gives great tips.

Bambi Cantrell.. I am in awe with the photos that she takes. She makes everyone look like supermodels! I don't know why, but one of the biggest things that she has said that has stuck in my brain is "I would rather ask for forgiveness, then ask for permission."

Brett Florens and Joe Buissinck are the guys that get called in for the big dollar weddings. If you can match their approach,  then you will be in your own league.

I love this group of photographers and business people. It will be a dream to be mentioned with some of these people.

Happy, Happy Birthday!

  Birthday parties. Birthday parties. Birthday parties!!

I was just running though our galleries and noticed how many birthday parties we have been a part of.

Having our own little rascals running  around means invites to more and more birthday parties. I remember growing up and having a birthday party every year when I was a kid. I love seeing "the littles" run around with other littles and enjoying the sweets and the games and all the other things at birthday parties. 

Fiona and I enjoy taking photos for little kid birthdays. Kids are full of emotion and they are always great for the camera. They are so photogenic.

The best part is when the kids get all the cake all over their faces. I am pretty sure the parents want that shot at the end of the day. I have seen the parents just force the cake all over their kids in order to make it happen.

Check out little Benton and his birthday donut face.

Fiona and I were asked to shoot this birthday party over the weekend and had a blast. We get so much joy in taking photos for friends and saving those memories for them.

Running around Hollywood over the weekend

The fam and I took a little field trip to Hollyweird over the weekend to see all the people doing their thing in the streets. The streets were packed with onlookers and all the performers were out. We saw Michael Jackson running around the streets doing his thing.

Some people were sitting and enjoying the sun. I found this guy staring at the Hollywood sign creating his own masterpiece. I probably should have peaked over his shoulder to see what he actually was drawing. He had all the pens ready to go. He also had a couple of baby bottle nipples pinned to his shirt. <shoulder shrugs>

The street performers in Hollywood were on their game. This robot had a ton of attention from the crowd and put on a great show.

Every time that I have gone out to Hollywood for a field trip, I tend to be interested in taking photos of the people more. I still get the architecture, but the people is where I get drawn in. The performers are working hard for that dollar. The people stand out. One day I will go out there and actually take pics of the stars on the ground, but the people on the streets grab my attention every time.