Happy Veteran's Day | Weddings in the military

Happy Veterans Day to the many men and women who have served this country. We thank you for all your service and for everything that you have done. In order to celebrate Veteran's Day, here are some of the many great people that were part of our recent weddings:

We love the ability to capture these amazing moments for people. We love that we are part of wedding days. It is such an amazing responsibility and such an amazing feeling to share our artwork with people to tell their story for the biggest day of their life.

Since we live in San Diego, we get the opportunity to take place in a number of weddings that involve the military in some form. Either the parents were in the military or the groom is in the military. It is always a pleasure to work with the military during weddings.

Wedding photographers: Be Still Photog | Ernie Padaon | Fiona Padaon

Happy Birthday Marine Corps from this wedding

Happy birthday to the marine corps. We are thankful for everything that our marines and military have done and continue to do for our country. To celebrate the marines, we will share one of our weddings that we captured in Camp Pendleton. This was one sneak peek into their wedding when they wanted to meet each other before the wedding and hold hands, but didn't want to see each other.

Throughout that whole facility, we only had a glass door that we could use for this moment, so we had to back him in without him looking. It turned out well though and it was an amazing moment!

I love having this moment with brides and grooms. That little meeting before the actual wedding for a quick prayer or a quick hello is full of emotion. It is just like a first look before the wedding, but without the actual looking park.

This seems to be a requested moment over and over with brides and grooms. If they don't have the first look, then we get this moment often and we just have to find the right location to make it work. WE LOVE IT!

Venue: Camp Pendleton Photographers: Be Still Photog | Ernie Padaon | Fiona Padaon

Family Portraits at Old Poway Park

It feels like it has been forever since we were back at Old Poway Park, but we were back there again this week to take some family portraits. It is a photographer's paradise out there, except for all the other photographers that you have to work around. It is not a huge deal since we have worked in that area so many times and we know how to avoid all the other photographers. At Old Poway Park, the train tracks are a huge attraction for a lot of the people that choose that area. There is also a few shaded areas in which you can get some amazing captures.

Here is just a quick sneak peek in on some of the photos from our portrait session with these little twins. It is Christmas time, so we should have a few Christmas portraits coming through.

Here is a quick sneak peek from our shoot. We will have the full edits soon and will share it out on the blog! We can't wait to share this family shoot.

Location: Old Poway Park Photographers: Be Still Photog | Ernie Padaon | Fiona Padaon

Beautiful Wedding Videography at Mt Woodson Castle

What a phenomenal wedding we had with Ivan and Kristin a few weeks ago at Mt. Woodson Castle. The wedding highlights film is all complete and ready for your viewing pleasure. We love capturing the wedding videography for amazing couples in amazing locations. Check out the video here: 

Mt. Woodson Castle is an absolutely beautiful venue and Ivan and Kristin were phenomenal. Everything was put together beautifully and we were blessed to be able to capture the video for their day.

We loved putting this highlight reel together. Everything flowed great and we believe that it turned out very well.

When we create wedding videos, we love the final product. We love the ability to tell the story of the wedding. We love that we are able to hear the speeches from the day and we love to see the movement.

Photography and videography are two different types of arts, but we love the ability to tell the story from both points of view.

Here are the amazing vendors that we were able to work with during this wedding:

Wedding Videography: Be Still Photog | Ernie Padaon | Fiona Padaon Wedding Photography: James Tang Day of Venue Coordinator: Iman Rosario Florist: Organic Elements Cake: Flour Power DJ: Sound Prodigy Photobooth: 321 Smile

Halloween Photo Booth

We threw a Halloween party at the house and set up a quick photobooth with a camera sitting on a tripod with a video light on top and let people take some photos. We set it up all the settings to limit as many blurry pics as we could. Check out some of the fun photos that people took. 

Halloween with the cutest superheroes

Check out our little superheroes all dressed up for Halloween. Sarai wanted to be just like her brother and wanted to be a superhero, so she put on her Superman onesie. We were able to sneak a few moments in her Princess outfit, but she was all about Superman. Caleb was Captain America. Could you tell that he didn't want to take any photos? He really didn't, but we offered him a lollipop and that is all that it took.

Check out our little mini photoshoot with the littles for Halloween:

Sugar Skulls photoshoot... because Halloween

We did this photoshoot a couple of weeks ago and had to share the love before Halloween. Halloween is just in a couple of days and the ladies painted some sugar skulls on their face and we went out in the middle of the night to take some photos. Check out some of the photos from the night. We went out to Lake Hodges to start things off and then ended the night at the house.

Beautiful wedding highlight video at the Air and Space Museum in Balboa Park

What a freaking fabulous wedding we had with Joe and Andrea at the Air and Space museum. We had such a great time with them for their big day. We were able to do the photography and also capture video for the occasion. Check out the highlight video that we put together for them:

That venue was gorgeous and both Joe and Andrew were amazing.

Many thanks go out to Joe and Andrea for letting us be part of their amazing day.

Wedding Photographers: Be Still Photography | Ernie Padaon | Fiona Padaon Wedding Videographers: Be Still Photography | Jason Padaon | Caleb Gonazalez | Simon Video Editor: Ernie Padaon

A video teaser for the first look at Mt Woodson Castle

Want a little teaser from the first look over the weekend? https://vimeo.com/143329642

What a tease! I even teased myself. Did he start crying?

We started working on the video that we captured over the weekend and we are excited to share the whole thing when it is all complete! It is going to be epic. We should have the whole highlight reel ready soon.

We are going to drop this little teaser on facebook and Instagram for all the Fam to wet their appetite.

Sugar Skulls photoshoot in the middle of the night

We did a photoshoot with sugar skulls over the weekend in the middle of the night to prep for Halloween. It was awesome and got a little creepy! We went out to Lake Hodges in the late hours and it was almost pitch black by the time we ended shooting. We still were able to get some pretty awesome shots. We finished up at the house to take a few more shots. Here is a quick edit of some of the photos over the weekend.

Breast Cancer Awareness: Photoshoot with a survivor and her story

The story of Briana Silva:

I was 26 years old and it was 9 months after my son was born, while just still adjusting to life as a single mother that I was diagnosed with Breast cancer unexpectedly. I know first thought,  26?!? .

Yep, it can happen at any age,  which is why I'm such a big advocate on doing self exams, being aware of changes,  and being proactive in your health care. Mine was a near miss, that thankfully God's plan had interceded upon.

I had a small lump under my left arm pit for a few years, that I had seen a doctor for and was told it was merely ectopic breast tissue and advised to just keep watch. Well come time to begin breastfeeding my son while in the NICU I had become overly engorged to the point of my whole left axilla  (arm pit) swelling up as well requiring ice packs and such.

When I had addressed it with my ob/gyn he felt it and again reassured me it was probably just ectopic breast tissue that filled with milk with lactation and should go away. Fast forward to July 9 months later, here I was an RN who faithfully does monthly exams because of the strong family history of cancer and I had found a lump in my left breast.

I diligently  went to have it evaluated and ended up down the path of having a biopsy. While doing the ultrasound ,setting up for core needle aspiration of the lump in my breast, they had me position my left arm over my head, in doing so they asked me about the protrusion of the noticeable lump in my axilla. I explained what I had been told but that no formal ultrasound had been done.

They asked if while we were already there doing so if I wanted them to do one now. After a few minutes they stepped out to make a call. When the doctor returned he told me that he spoke with my ordering doctor and saw something worrisome, that they placed the order if I'd be willing to do the 2 biopsies since that was why I was already there, in which case I agreed.

The pathology came back benign on the lump in my breast which I originally had gone in to be biopsied and the lump that had been brushed off by 3 doctors turned out to be a malignant breast cancer tumor called DCIS. Had the tech and the doctor in the room for my biopsy not gone above the orders and advocated for me, I don't know that we would've found it so early.  I met with several doctors, surgeons, oncologists after that.

First I was told I would just need surgery with possible radiation. Then I was told I was looking at possibility of chemo and radiation depending on what pathology showed after surgery with staging.

I ended up being referred to a second opinion for a surgeon, and thank God that I did, because not only did she get me in quicker, she was more aggressive in taking out bigger margins. After surgery and pathology results came back,  I was diagnosed DCIS stage 1 breast cancer, with no lymph node involvement, after another scan and the surgeon taking out so much extra tissue during surgery,  i was told that they got it all and I didn't end up requiring the radiation, only tomaxafen an oral med to take for 5 years after.

I am so blessed that God was watching over me through all of this, calming my nerves during such a scary time, that he positioned those men to be there as my advocates the day it was found, who guided me to a new surgeon that ultimately saved me extra treatment and suffering.

We were very lucky to have found it so early, and i count my blessings daily that we did. I was a lucky one, I may not have gone through a horrific battle like so many cancer patients I take care of or know, but I'm here to be a voice and example to advocate awareness that there is no such thing as being too young or too careful when comes to cancer.

Which is why it's so important to do monthly exams. Although it was a scary time, and yearly scans/tests bring up some anxiety,  I rest peacefully with my faith in the Lord that I am healed, and that it was merely a mountain in my journey that revealed strength I didn't realize that I had when faced with real fear."

Fiona and I want to spread awareness and we wanted to do it in the only way we knew how. It is October and it is Breast Cancer Awareness month and we wanted to have a photoshoot with a survivor. One of our friends is a survivor and we went out to the Elfin Forest to shoot some photos.

Here is our photoshoot from the day. We would love to do this again.

Here are some of the photos from the day:

MUA: Macy Ornelia Hair: Blyss Macias Photographers: Be Still Photog | Ernie Padaon | Fiona Padaon Location: Elfin Forest | San Marcos, CA

There is a 2nd kiss at a wedding?

Everyone knows about the first kiss at the wedding. Every photographer waits for that moment when they kiss as husband and wife for the very first time. That is the moment that everyone sees and it is in front of everyone.

Does anyone remember the second kiss? The second kiss usually happens after the bride and groom procession out from the reception and after they believe that they are away from the rest of the world, they give that second kiss. The "I can't believe it" kiss or the "we made it" kiss.

It really is an awesome moment and it happens almost every single time at a wedding and it is something that we are always looking for. Sometimes it makes for a better moment than the actual first kiss.

Here is one from the wedding over the weekend that I 2nd shot for Cary Pennington. You can see after they had walked away from the reception, they met for a quick quiet moment at the church door.

Our job as photographers is to capture moments. This is a moment that we like to capture from every wedding. As the guests are cheering and grabbing their stuff to head to the reception, the bride and groom are sharing a nice little moment away from the chaos.

San Diego Wedding Photography: Be Still Photog | Ernie Padaon (2nd shooting for Cary Pennington)

Photoshoot for Breast Cancer Awareness Month

  We recently did a photoshoot for breast cancer awareness month. We went with our friend who is a survivor and we wanted to do a shoot for awareness.

We got some amazing shots that we are working on and will love to share as soon as we are ready. We will also share Briana's story in that post.

For this post, it is all about awareness. Here are some stats straight from breastcancer.org:

• About 1 in 8 U.S. women (about 12%) will develop invasive breast cancer over the course of her lifetime.
• In 2015, an estimated 231,840 new cases of invasive breast cancer are expected to be diagnosed in women in the U.S., along with 60,290 new cases of non-invasive (in situ) breast cancer.
• About 2,350 new cases of invasive breast cancer are expected to be diagnosed in men in 2015. A man’s lifetime risk of breast cancer is about 1 in 1,000.
• Breast cancer incidence rates in the U.S. began decreasing in the year 2000, after increasing for the previous two decades. They dropped by 7% from 2002 to 2003 alone. One theory is that this decrease was partially due to the reduced use of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) by women after the results of a large study called the Women’s Health Initiative were published in 2002. These results suggested a connection between HRT and increased breast cancer risk.
• About 40,290 women in the U.S. are expected to die in 2015 from breast cancer, though death rates have been decreasing since 1989. Women under 50 have experienced larger decreases. These decreases are thought to be the result of treatment advances, earlier detection through screening, and increased awareness.
• For women in the U.S., breast cancer death rates are higher than those for any other cancer, besides lung cancer.
• Besides skin cancer, breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer among American women. In 2015, it's estimated that just under 30% of newly diagnosed cancers in women will be breast cancers.
• White women are slightly more likely to develop breast cancer than African-American women. However, in women under 45, breast cancer is more common in African-American women than white women. Overall, African-American women are more likely to die of breast cancer. The risk of developing and dying from breast cancer is lower in Asian, Hispanic, and Native-American women.
• In 2015, there are more than 2.8 million women with a history of breast cancer in the U.S. This includes women currently being treated and women who have finished treatment.
• A woman’s risk of breast cancer approximately doubles if she has a first-degree relative (mother, sister, daughter) who has been diagnosed with breast cancer. Less than 15% of women who get breast cancer have a family member diagnosed with it.
• About 5-10% of breast cancers can be linked to gene mutations (abnormal changes) inherited from one’s mother or father. Mutations of the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes are the most common. On average, women with a BRCA1 mutation have a 55-65% lifetime risk of developing breast cancer. For women with a BRCA2 mutation, the risk is 45%. Breast cancer that is positive for the BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutations tends to develop more often in younger women. An increased ovarian cancer risk is also associated with these genetic mutations. In men, BRCA2 mutations are associated with a lifetime breast cancer risk of about 6.8%; BRCA1 mutations are a less frequent cause of breast cancer in men.
• About 85% of breast cancers occur in women who have no family history of breast cancer. These occur due to genetic mutations that happen as a result of the aging process and life in general, rather than inherited mutations.
• The most significant risk factors for breast cancer are gender (being a woman) and age (growing older).

Here is one of the shots from the shoot: We can't wait to share more from the day.

Model: Briana Silva MUA: Macy Ornelia Hair: Blyss Macias Photographer: Be Still Photography | Ernie Padaon | Fiona Padaon Location: San Elijo

A sword and sparklers at this wedding cake cutting

During a wedding that I shot with Cary Pennington over the weekend, our couple decided to pull their cake outside on the patio at Morgan Run and cut it out there. They had the sparklers behind them to bring in some light for everyone and the couple decided to cut the cake with a sword. It definitely was a unique type of cake cutting event, but that is what made it awesome!

Check out this image that I was able to capture from the day. 

It might not be for everyone, but it was pretty awesome to have the lights from the sparklers and the cake cutting done with a sword. If you are looking for something that is a little different from the rest, you could definitely make something like this happen. It is always awesome to have something unique like this during a wedding.

What are you going to do to make your wedding unique?

Photographer: Ernie Padaon (2nd Shooter for Cary Pennington) | Be Still Photography Venue: Morgan Run | Del Mar, CA

To the couple that kissed for the cam at the color run...

  To the couple that kissed for the camera at the Color Run.... I LOVE YOU GUYS!

After shooting for 4 hours of people running and jumping in front of the camera, it was great to have something fresh to capture at that very moment. Capturing moments during an event like the mud run can get a little tedious and mundane for a portrait and wedding photographer, but then a moment like this happened.

I almost wanted to pull them to the side to pose them even more. The background was full of orange smoke and their faces and clothes were full of color from the run and it could have made for an interesting shoot!

Of course that is what I was thinking! We could have made some very interesting and different photos if they decided to hang out for a little bit. :)

I did have a job to get done though. Here are some of the other interesting photos from the color run:

 I kept seeing the little ones walking through all the color and I don't know if they were enjoying it at all. It seems like a kids paradise, but then after walking through it and having people toss it in your face, it might not be the funnest situation.

Anyway, it was fun working the color run. Thanks for that couple for kissing for the cam. When you guys decide to get married or need some photos.... you know who to call!

How do you write a good blog post as a photographer?

How do you write a good blog post as a photographer? I just got done listening to the webcast from Michael Hyatt on writing a good blog post. There were a lot of keys that I am going to put into effect immediately in order to see if they make an impact.

If you didn't know, I am a successful blogger that still has not been able to find my voice in the photography blogging world. It is a different beast in comparison to the sports and news type blogs that I have been doing.

I currently write about the San Diego Chargers on a successful blog called Bolt Beat. The engagement is high there and I helped build that thing from the ground up. The world of photography blogging is different.

First, I still am trying to figure out my audience. I know that I have the content to make the blog spectacular. The content is the photos. That is what we do as photographers. We just need to find a way to reach people and get people to open up our posts. Who is the target audience that I am trying to reach?

I have struggled with that question for a while. Of course I want it to be brides and clients, but I tend to write more to other photographers on the blog. Potentially, this blog will be for both audiences. I will treat it in that manner and see what comes of it.

The generic titles that I had in the past were not grabbing attention, so I am going to have to switch that up. When I want to get the attention of clients, I have to get a title that will get them to click in. All I want is for people to click in and see what we do as photographers. The headline will be the way to do it.

Just as Michael Hyatt said, you can have the fanciest fish pole in the world, but it is the bait that will bring them in. Our bait has to be the headline. Get that headline out there and maybe someone will make their way into the post.

Some of the principles that were taught will be used on my Chargers blog and I will see how the growth works there. I will be also keeping track of what happens around here. I am expecting some big things to open up.

Time to see some explosion in the photography blogging world.

San Diego Infant Portraits | Lyric

Infant Portraits Photographers: Be Still Photography | Ernie Padaon | Fiona Padaon

We love the Garcias and we loved doing the infant portraits for their little one Lyric. Lyric is the cutest and we feel that the signature shot from our session was having her rest on the guitar. What else would you do when the baby is named Lyric? We used James' guitar in the session.

Lyric is so precious and she has amazing parents. Andessa and James are going to be the best parents for that little one. They show so much love for her and they will be great.

It is so crazy to see that we did the wedding photos for the Garcias and now we are doing infant portraits for the family as well. We look forward to seeing more of their life through our lens.

Check out some of the photos from the portrait session that we had at their home. 

Create content worth sharing.

 I guess it really is simple. I was listening in with Michael Hyatt during his Influence and Impact Summit and he shared the simplest word in order to make an impact and in order to create a following. 

CREATE CONTENT WORTH SHARING. 

It really is that simple. It makes too much sense. Sometimes we get stuck in the mode of writing up posts on our blog or on our facebook just to write a post. If you come at it with the approach of creating content that is worth sharing, then you will have a little more purpose with your content. I want to take this approach more with all things social that I do. I want to do it with all my blog posts. I want the content that I create to be worth sharing.

I started it out with some Instagram posts that I created. You can check that out here:

 I want whatever I create to be shared with others. I used the humorous approach with the Instagram post above.

I want to have the approach of creating viral type of content. That will be the approach. Now for the execution.

San Diego Baby Photography | Lyric

Baby Photographers: Be Still Photography | Ernie Padaon | Fiona Padaon

Here is just a quick look in on our camera from our shoot earlier this morning with Baby Lyric. We will post more after we are done processing all the images, but wanted to sneak in on some of the images from the day.

We did the shoot at the Garcia house in their nursery. We loved having the shoot in the comfort of their home. It helped keep baby comfortable for the shoot.

We used their curtain as a backdrop for some of the photos and we used Andessa's guitar as a prop for some of our favorite photos.

Check out some of the images from the day.

The new themed photoshoot we have in the works

  The calendar switched to October and the craving for another themed shoot is real. With the calendar switch, we are thinking of doing a shoot that will have a pink theme for Breast Cancer Awareness month.

Currently, we are just coming up with the different ideas we can run for it. We are thinking some big pink makeup over the eyes at the moment. You can check out our pinterest board for some of the ideas that we are thinking for this shoot.

The last time we did our themed shoot in the backyard, we were dealing with the theme of RAIN. This time around we are thinking PINK.

This is definitely a cause we wanted to support. I don't have anyone in my family that has had breast cancer, but I know plenty of people that have had to deal with it. I used to run at the Susan G Komen run all the time. This time around, here is another way I can show my support.

We do want to gift a shoot for a survivor as well.

We can't wait to do this shoot. It should be a blast to put together. Luckily for us we have plenty of people around the house that are always up for doing things like this.

At this point, we are not sure how big we are going to go with it. If you got some big dresses or head pieces we can work in, we would love to hear from you.

THINK PINK! It is breast cancer awareness month!