Following up on the previous posting about Sheena & Ganesh’s pre-wedding festivities, I wanted to share some of the moments from the big day. The activities moved from Milbrae over to San Mateo Marriott for the wedding and then to the Burlingame SFO Marriott for the reception. You may recall seeing Molly & Vid’s wedding photos from the San Mateo Marriott as well and it’s indeed a wonderful courtyard location for an afternoon wedding ceremony.

And I can’t proceed further without a thanks to AK Sandhu for second shooting with me!

And another call-out to Sheena’s aunt, Indra who actually served as the wedding planner/coordinator!

Sheena had this amazing custom designed wedding outfit brought over from India…by a designer not to be named here

As you can see here, Ganesh had a blast during his baraat! Once Sheena’s family welcomed him into the hotel, some of the Fiji specific traditions began, like the Dwaar pooja where you notice Ganesh and Sheena’s father sitting across from one another.

And let’s not forget that Ganesh’s family is Tamil so there was also an Oonjal ceremony before the start of the main wedding ceremony. I actually really liked how the families meshed their unique traditions into a single event.

As the evening approached, I took Sheena & Ganesh out for their portraits in their reception outfits. Purples were the highlight color for the evening!

Now before proceeding further, I’ve gotta comment on the decor. As you can see in some of the photos, there were flower elephants, peacocks, and an amazing array of other decorations. None of it seemed over-the-top, but the families clearly spent a lot of time ensuring these elements made a lasting impression. Those charger plates with the peacocks on them were actually custom designed favors which the guests got to take home with them. Oh, and if you’re wondering why there’s a Cabbage Patch Doll on the sweetheart table…well, Sheena’s cousins actually arranged to have Sheena’s “lost” Cabbage Patch Doll flown to India and outfitted in an outfit identical to the one that Sheena wore for the reception. Pretty cool and thoughtful!

And finally…who could forget that cake! WOW! The cake actually took well over 30 mins just to assemble on-site and it was worth the effort. The peacock menagerie, as I like to call it, had so much detail in it and the colors really popped. I noticed guests coming over to look at it most of the night!

And, of course, what’s a wedding without a little dancing?! Since Ganesh is a lawyer and Sheena will be a doctor, the party started off with a little MD/JD dance-off. Thanks to DJ Bitsy for keeping the crowd jumping all night.

A couple of months ago, I had the pleasure of photographing Sheena & Ganesh’s wedding weekend. With multiple events and traditions spanning 3 days, there was a lot going on. Here are just a few highlights from the weekend.

I had known both Sheena & Ganesh through previous clients who are friends of their’s and since I had also photographed their engagement portraits, when I arrived at Sheena’s house on Thursday night, it was great just catching up with them. Meeting the rest of the family was also great since that helps to put all of the traditions in context. In this case, Sheena’s family is Fijian Hindu and Ganesh’s is Tamil Hindu so there were a variety of elements combined into a weekend of fun.

If you’ve ever been to Fijian Hindu events, you’ll notice that while many of the rites seem familiar, there’s just a bit of a difference as compared to, say North Indian Hindu traditions. Yes, there’s a fire, there’s flowers, turmeric, and coconuts, but have a look at the photos below and you’ll see some of the unique elements!

Many thanks to the talented AK Sandhu for second shooting with me!

Check back in for highlights from their wedding day!

Okay, so this post won’t be full of every deep, dark secret of mine, but the title is very appropriate since I want to share a posting from another website called Neo Indian which is about the “confessions of a newly returned Indian”. My friend Seshu shared a link this morning on twitter to this article (along with a few others as I noticed throughout the day)

Have a quick look at the posting, it’s not too long, but I find it quite hilarious: A foreigner’s guide to traditional Hindu weddings

There are so many little jokes that I could quote from the post (Vuvuzela’s, anyone!?), but I wanted to provide you a bit of my take on attending Hindu weddings both professionally as the photographer, but also as a guest…

Now, if you’ve ever been to a Hindu wedding, I’m sure you found it chaotic, but in the end, a crazy-hectic-fun affair full of every emotion under the sun. As a wedding photographer who covers a boatload of Hindu weddings, I can attest to the truthiness of neoIndian’s description of Hindu weddings. To be honest, if a Hindu wedding isn’t crazy and hectic, I feel like bride, groom, and their families missed out on the fun. That’s not to say such weddings aren’t well-planned, but the cultural elements surrounding these weddings are as much a part of the tradition as the religious rites. Let’s face it, a lot of the things that happen during Indian weddings are kind of strange and nobody can easily answer why they’re done. But seeing the fun, hilarious, and ridiculous aspects of these traditions are part of what makes Indian weddings so much fun to be a part of!

Yeah, there’s the fun of stealing the groom’s shoes (not just a Hindu tradition, mind you) and dancing during the groom’s procession, but there’s so many side things going on. Whether I’m hired to cover the event or attending as a guest, I’ve lost track of the aunties who whisper that the priest is “doing it wrong”…meaning he’s not following the family’s tradition when it comes to weddings. Or the mother-of-the-bride who has to keep asking someone else about what they’re supposed to do next. Or what about the complaints that the priest is dragging the ceremony on too long? Especially on a hot summer afternoon, everyone finds it a bit difficult to listen to un-ending Sanskrit prayers. Sure, many priests try to liven it up by telling jokes or just by explaining the rites in common English, but the truth is that Hindu weddings are just as much about family & friends getting together for a long-weekend of fun & laughter as it is about a man and woman beginning their married lives together.

Ask most elders at a Hindu wedding about why certain rites are to be performed and you’ll receive one of two answers: The long answer will hark back to centuries old tradition carried on by many generations (half of which is ad-libbed). The short answer will be “I’m not sure beta, but isn’t it so wonderful?!” followed quickly by “So what do you do? Are you a doctor?” Since I’ve been to so many weddings in my life, I can probably explain the origins or details of most types of Indian wedding traditions, but the bottom line for me is that the weddings we all have a love/hate affair with are about enjoying the time with family & friends. And now that we live far from most of our family, my wife and I can attest to the fact that weddings are a time to catch up and re-connect with our loved ones and strengthen those bonds. To be honest, if it weren’t for weddings, I don’t think we’d ever see some of our family members. That alone is a great reason to attend. That alone is a reason to enjoy the wedding in the context of a larger family.

So if you’re attending an Indian wedding…don’t worry that you can’t follow or understand every rite being performed on the mandap…don’t worry that you might be standing some where inappropriate…and don’t get intimidated by all the people wearing such expensive wedding attire…each one of them is there to celebrate the vows of the couple getting married, but each one is also there to celebrate their family & friends sitting in the audience with them!

As I’ve been sharing more about the non wedding photography I like to do (namely family photos), I think it’s hitting folks that photography isn’t just about the big moments in your life, it’s about all the moments in between. And so it’s nice to do family portraits…for no other reason than, “just because”. And keeping that in mind, watch out for some information about Family Portrait Days I’ll be organizing very soon which should make it easy for every family to have wonderful portraits made without having to set aside a whole afternoon or deal with boring photos from the chain stores.

So with the summer holidays upon us, I spent some time with the Thekdi family for portraits while everyone was in town. We started off at a park near their Saratoga home, then proceeded to some portraits in their house as well as in their backyard. Here are a few I liked from the session. Enjoy!

This first photo is actually montage of several photos laid out for an enlargement…rather than just enlarge a single photo, this is a great way to show off a number of photos all at once. We actually have a number of these in our own home and we find them to be so much more unique:

N. is into tennis and longboarding so we took some time for some fun shots while he was doing what he loves.

If you liked these family photos, drop me a line to setup a session for your own family!

Man, I’ve been waiting to post these photos since before I even downloaded them from my camera! And I finally get to share them with you all.

Smita & Vikas just got married over the weekend and I was holding these wonderful portraits so they could surprise their guests with a lovely slideshow. Now that the couple are married I can give you all some peeks into this wonderful session. I actually took portraits of Smita several years ago at Stanford. Now that she was getting married to Vikas, they wanted some relaxed portraits in San Francisco. So we started off at the Palace of Fine Arts for some formals, then moved onto the Letterman Arts Center, and finally to Baker Beach. All of that was scheduled around the Laker finals games which were in full force at the time!

During the session I kept finding new “session favorites” even before looking on the LCD and I couldn’t help but chimping with Smita & Vikas during the session to show them how great things were looking. This actually lead to a really interactive yet casual session. We mixed some poses with some downtime where I just quietly took photos of the couple as they whispered to each other. I knew I was doing my job when Smita asked me “Are you taking pictures of this?” as they were hugging and talking to each other. So now you see why I’ve been anxiously waiting to post these!

So let’s jump right into these as I’m sure you all will love this couple as much as I did…

Congrats Smita & Vikas, I hope you enjoy your portraits for years to come!

Following up on the previous two posts, I wanted to quickly provide more info on some common camera settings that can go a long way towards better photos. I’ll stay away from too many details since there’s a lot already on the web, but these simple tips should be easy enough to keep in mind when out and about. By the way, you might want to read up on the previous two posts about selecting a camera and what to focus on for better vacation photos.

Regardless of the camera my friends have, here are the typical things I hear:

• The camera doesn’t take photos fast enough! The dog/kid/alien visitor have already gotten away before I can take a picture!
• Everything’s blurry/dark/blah!
• The flash photos just suck!

Half-press to be ready

For the first point, most point-and-shoots will take longer to get focused and ready to actually take a photo. Big SLRs are faster at this, but it still may not be fast enough if you’re not prepared. Regardless of the camera you’ve got, there’s a trick to lessen the impact. Basically, you want to half-press your shutter button. This will force the camera to get focused and get its settings all sorted out. You’ll hear the camera doing its thing and it may even beep once it’s ready. Once done make sure you keep the button half-pressed and then WAIT. Wait for the perfect moment. If you want your kid looking at the camera, wait for the camera to do its thing, then call your child and as soon as they look, press the shutter the whole way. There will still likely be a small lag, but it’s a LOT less than if you go from unprepared camera to full click.

Like I mentioned in the last post, this requires you to be in the moment. Getting a fun, interesting photo typically means more than just quickly turning on your camera and yelling, “Wait! Let me take a picture! Hold On! Hold On! Okay smile!” Hang out with your kid, your dog, your little green friend. If you’re mentally prepared, you’ll know when to get your camera prepared with the half-pressed shutter, and you’ll end up with a higher rate of cool photos.

Basic Settings

This is covered in much more detail all over the web and in books, but to recap…the basic variables in a photograph are:

• The shutter speed – how long the camera actually exposes the photo (typically measured in fractions of a second like 1/60th)
• The aperture – the amount of light the camera lets in while exposing (a smaller f-stop number actually means more light is being let into the camera so f/2.8 means more like than f/4…I won’t get into the ratios, because it can be confusing)
• The ISO – how sensitive the camera is while exposing (based on the film world, typically noted as 200, 400, 800, 1600, etc; the higher the number, the more sensitive)

Rather than explain how to set each one, I’m going to propose something which may surprise you: Use your camera’s creative modes like Portrait, Landscape, Sports, etc. As weird as it sounds, I think it’s actually a great way to learn. As I mentioned two posts ago, camera companies spend a lot of time and effort making their cameras “smart” and so I think it’s a good idea to take them up on the help they’ve built into the camera. Don’t ALWAYS rely on it, but it’s a great starting point. So here’s what you should do if you want to learn what each of the basic settings does:

• Take a photo in Portrait mode
• Take the same photo in Landscape mode, Party mode, Sports, mode, etc
• Compare the photos and compare the settings – you’ll notice something like this:
  • Portrait mode has a small f-stop number; there might be flash, there might not be
  • Landscape mode has a high f-stop number; there’s no flash
  • Sports mode has a quick shutter setting; there’s no flash
  • Party/Night mode has a long shutter setting and probably a small f-stop number; there’s flash

Basically, I’m asking you to see the patterns and keep them in mind for when you feel confident enough to move away from the creative modes

• When taking photos of kids running & playing or (non sleeping) dogs, try settings similar to Sports mode – fast shutter speed (like 1/100 or less) This will help stop the action.
• When taking kids or pets not running around like crazy (like maybe sleeping or relaxing), try settings similar to Portrait mode – small aperture number (like f/3.5 or less if your camera allows it) This will let you take advantage of all the light in the room resulting in a more natural photo without having to use flash.
• When taking photos of an indoor party, try something like Party/Night mode – slow shutter speed (like 1/50) with flash on. If your flash can be turned to the ceiling, then do it! This will light up the background without overexposing your friends faces.

I haven’t mentioned ISO above because I see it as a secondary adjustment that can get things just right, but only if you need it. Generally, keep your ISO at 400…it’s a good place to start with anything. If you follow the above guidelines but all your photos are too dark, then try raising your ISO (640, 800, etc). If the photos are too bright, then lower the ISO (200, 100, etc). Keep in mind that the higher your ISO, the grainier your photos will be. This may or may not matter to you, but it’s worth a try.

Now, your specific camera may not be able to do all these settings, but all of the cameras I mentioned two posts ago can do it. Yeah, an SLR gives you a lot more flexibility with this stuff, but you don’t NEED an SLR. I know I’m pounding your head with this over and over, but the most important thing is to actually spend time taking your photos! The tips above are great starting points, but they’re not much use if you only pick up your camera the moment something interesting happens – by the time you turn on your camera, recall which settings you want to use, and finally press your shutter, the moment has already passed!

So grab your camera today, tomorrow, this weekend, whenever you have time…and have fun!

[UPDATE: On Twitter, Ben Cardy (@benbacardi) asked why I recommend ISO 400 as a good starting point. Fact is, the lower the ISO, the less grain you'll get, but with the SLR I use (Canon 5D Mark II), I find 400 to be most useful and provides a good balance so I don't have to keep flipping the ISO settings when taking photos around the house & around town. However, your starting point may well be lower. Ben has a Canon 350D (Canon Rebel XT) and finds ISO 200 to be the best balance between grain and usefulness. So give the setting a whirl and find what works best for you.]

In my previous post, I talked about getting a new camera before your summer vacation. I generally don’t think you should get a new camera just because your old one is…well…old. However, I hope it helped summarize the key points to keep in mind when shopping for your new toy. So let’s move on to the actual photos!

I don’t know about you, but before a vacation, I know I’m guilty of thinking I’m going to take the most amazing & artistic photos. Something I can put as my computer desktop wallpaper and maybe even enlarge and frame on my living room wall. For a travel photographer, this may well be pretty common, but as an average person, I think it’s an unrealistic goal. That’s not to say you won’t be able to take amazing photos, but the idea that you’re going to be the next great travel photographer in your spare time is something you should just admit is not going to happen.

So how do you take better vacation photos? Well, in a few short bullets, here are the things you should keep in mind:

• Focus on what you love
• Have your camera ready at all times
• Photograph in the moment

Notice that I’m not talking about your camera or its setting at all in this post. I may post about that in the future, but I fundamentally believe that the key to great photos is not the camera or the settings.

Focus on what you love!

I can’t tell you what to take pictures of while on vacation since I don’t know what you’re into. Me? Well, I love taking photos of people so when on holiday I focus my photography mainly on my family with a few other things thrown in there. I want to remember my daughter’s reaction upon seeing flamingos at the bird park; my daughter will only be this age once. The flamingoes (or their descendents) will be around forever. Here’s some photos of my daughter enjoying herself during a trip to Singapore:

But you may love photos of architecture or subways or sunsets or flowers. So think about what you really love and concentrate on photographing that while on vacation. I can’t give you tips for every situation you might be in, but here’s a good site to start with for reference: Digital Photography School.

The point is that you shouldn’t plan on taking photos of anything and everything. If you do that, then your mental focus is just lost and you’ll likely end up with a jumble of photos that really aren’t very memorable. If you can’t decide on just one thing, that’s okay, but narrow it down so you can really concentrate. Chances are you’ll end up with a really nice set of photos that you can actually present to family & friends. Doesn’t a wall full of Parisian architecture photos sound more interesting than blurry photos of the Mona Lisa behind bullet proof glass? Thought so.

There are also some things I choose to totally stay away from. I personally avoid taking photos of “the sites”, landscapes, and zoo animals. Why? Well, for a variety of reasons:

When it comes to “the sites” and landscapes, I’m just really not good at that type of photography and more than likely, you aren’t either. You know what? Take a couple of photos of the sites, but other than that, do yourself a favor by just buying postcards of the sites. Mail them to yourself while on vacation and you’ll have nice souvenir to put on your fridge at home. For landscapes, there’s a huge level of skill & planning required there. While I’m certainly working on that skillset, I definitely don’t do it while I’m on vacation. The two times I’ve done that was while I was visiting Kerala in India and while visiting the Grand Canyon. That’s it. No more getting up at the crack of dawn for amazing sunrise photos or enjoying a sunset through a viewfinder.

As for zoo animals…well, do you really want to be carrying a gigantic lens all day then stand by the lion exhibit until you get a big yawn or growl? All the while complaining that you don’t have enough zoom on your camera? Seriously…enjoy the day with your kids…watch them get excited about the animals and leave the “wild animal” photography to the pros…who actually do it in the wild and not behind zoo exhibits. Then, when you get home turn on Animal Planet or crack open National Geographic.

One last note on this to help you “discover what you love”…unless you’re going to the uncharted jungles of the inner Amazon, chances are, other people have photographed the same spots that you’ll be visiting. So have a look around at what other people have photographed. And I’m not just talking about pro-level desktop wallpaper examples. I’m talking about checking with your friends or searching on flickr.com. You don’t need to copy those photos, but I bet you they’ll give you some ideas. Take this a step further and check travel guides like Lonely Planet for specific things that might interest you and then search for specific photos online. Again, the idea is to get your creative juices flowing and find ways to incorporate interesting activities on your vacation with photos capturing the fun & relaxation.

Have Your Camera Ready at All Times

How are you going to take memorable photos unless you have your camera ready to take photos? That means out of the bag, lens cap off, ready to take a photo. You don’t have to be like paparazzi and take photos of every second of your trip, but keep that shiny toy with you and think about what you can photograph. Hanging out poolside? Well, take photos of your umbrella topped drinks, your kids in their floaties, or whatever catches your fancy. Going parasailing? Take that camera up with you and take pictures showing what it’s like to be up in the air like that! Walking the street of Paris? Take a picture of that street vendor, or the line outside the Musee D’Orsay, or reflections off the pyramid at the Louvre.

My point is that there’s ALWAYS something to photograph. And to be honest, the most interesting stuff happens between the times when you have your family or friends stand in front of a site and smile for the camera. So keep your camera around your neck. Better yet, keep it in your hand and remember to focus on what you love.

Here’s a few photos we took while at Newport Beach. My wife and took turns playing with our daughter, but also just let her have fun in the sand. In the meantime, we had the camera sitting on top of the bag, turned on and ready to go. The photos are nothing totally special, but they help us remember why we went to Newport: to enjoy our time off with each other.

Photograph in the Moment

I know that sounds really cheesy, but let’s think this through…when you have your camera ready, you should be ready too and in a reasonable spot. Those beach photos with our daughter? For the most part, we were sitting in the sand with her, not standing up. That allows us to take photos in the moment…as participants, not just observers. Don’t wait to take photos only when everyone’s smiling and looking at the camera. Sure, it’s nice to get some of those, but take lots of photos in between. It’s the fun things in between that you’ll probably remember anyways. So why not have some photos to help you recall things?

I’m going to refer you now to something that’s totally scripted and not specific about vacations, but it’s still totally relevant to my point. If you’ve seen the show “Modern Family”, you may have already seen this. Here’s a snippet..skip to 15:51 in the video if it doesn’t do so automatically (bear with the ads, sorry, it’s the only way to embed this video):

In this recent episode, the mom of the family is trying to plan the perfect family portrait. It’s taken months to get the scheduling right, get the right clothes, etc, etc. And then everything starts to fall apart. The stairs aren’t perfect so she tries to fix them for the photo. When that fails, she wants to use the backyard, but the sprinklers turn on. Etc. etc. In the end, the family portrait that they love is one where everyone has mud all over them, but they’re happy. They’re in the moment. Yes, it’s cheesy and totally scripted, but I’ve got photos with the same essence. And you should too!

Check this photo of my mother with my daughter. Like any grandmother, she wants to have a nice dressed up photo with her granddaughter. While getting ready for the photo, something made both of them laugh. It’s far from the perfect photo, but I actually like it a lot more than the photo I eventually took where they were both looking at the photo and smiling. This one is in the moment and reminds me how much my mother loves being with her granddaughter…and vice versa.

So I leave you with you these reminders when taking vacation photos:

• Focus on what you love
• Be ready
• Be in the moment.

If you keep just those three things in mind while on vacation, I think you’ll be much more happy with the photos you take. They may not all be perfect, but they’ll be memorable, personal, and real.

No, I’m not the one who needs a new camera. However, with summer holidays fast approaching, I have friends and family who come to me for advice on the best gear to get before they head out for their vacations. It’s no surprise that people wonder which camera will be best for whatever situation comes along. Whether it be a smiling child, roaring lion, or creepy alien visitor. There must be a camera for every scenario, right?

Well, yes.

And no.

The cliche is that the best camera is the one you have with you. And I’ll add something extra to that: The best camera is the one you have with you AND know how to use. And let’s not forget the best photos aren’t taken magically…they’re taken when you actually USE your camera! So I’m going to break this down into two posts. I’ll tackle the equipment part of the puzzle right now. In the next post, I’ll tackle what I believe is the more important part: Learning to take family/vacation photos without worrying about your camera (or should I say, without obsessing about your camera?!)

The reality is that most “cheap” $200 point-and-shoot cameras can take great photos. The flip side of that is that really expensive cameras can take really bad photos too, especially if you don’t take the time to learn how best to use the features! And let’s face it, most people just want the most gadgetry for their money. The problem with this thinking is that the most feature-laden, high tech camera may not be the right one for you.

So here are some questions to ask yourself:

• What type of photos do you want to take? And I don’t mean things you might conceive of photographing in some ideal world like a wild man-eating tiger in the swamps of India. Seriously, what do you want to take photos of in the next 3, 6, 9 months? Your kids? Your vacation? Nights out with friends?
• Do you know how to use most of the settings on your current camera? If you don’t know how to make the most of your current toy, you should know that it can probably do a lot more than you think it can.

To be totally frank, simply getting a new camera definitely will NOT improve your photography if you can’t talk to the above questions. I can’t answer the above questions for you, so think it through. I’ve actually written a bit about this before on a digital photography wiki so have a look at an extended discussion about this matter here: Starting Out

In the meantime, let me jump forward to a summary of what you should realistically consider.

Don’t Buy an SLR unless you really love to learn & tinker…and lug weight around!

If you just want to pick up a camera and take decent photos, then an SLR is most probably not for you. And to be honest, no matter what my friends and family may tell me about how they want to take awesome pictures most people I’ve heard from really just want to turn the camera on and click away. It really is as simple as that. So why make things hard on yourself and buy a more expensive camera that requires more thought than you want to put in? Don’t get me wrong, if you want to spend time figuring things out, it’s really not that difficult to learn some important things quickly (and my next post will get to some key tips), but please, don’t kid yourself into thinking that spending $600 or more is going to be the motivation you need to start learning. Remember…that’s what you said the LAST time you got a nice camera

By the way, if you’ve thought things through seriously and really want to get an SLR but have more questions, please, leave a comment below and I’m more than happy to answer your questions!

All-In-One Consumer Cameras are probably the best value for your money

I’m always surprised at how well today’s mid-range “all in one’s” perform. They’re not too big, not too expensive, and you don’t need to keep spending more money on lenses, flashes, and other accessories like you might need to with SLRs. This class of camera provides manual settings, better quality of lens, and more responsiveness than pocket digi-cams without having to lug around a camera bag with lots of heavy lenses or having to fiddle with accessories. Plus, most of them do pretty good video too. So you can knock off a lot of needs in a single device:

• Easy to take on vacation
• Nice zoom range to take photos at the zoo, on a cruise, at the beach, or indoors
• Pretty quick shutter release to snap a photo before your kid runs away
• A good range of manual settings to let you learn and try new things
• Pretty smart “creative” settings which will do a good job with specific photo situations when you’re not sure what (semi)manual settings to use.

Here are some examples of the type of camera I’m talking about:

• True consumer all-in-ones where you don’t need to buy anything else:
  • Canon Powershot SX20
  • Sony DSC-HX1
  • Olympus SP-800 UZ
• Other mid-size cameras which may require you to spend more on accessories, but are a step up from the previous three. These may seem more expensive than SLR kits at Costco, but they’re actually great value because of the quality of lenses, sensors, and features you get:
  • Canon G11
  • Olympus PEN EP1
  • Panasonic GF1

This is just a short list of cameras which I think are good options. I don’t have them personally, but I’ve fiddled with similar cameras and I think they meet more of my friends’ needs than they realize. Seriously, get over the need to brag about how much you spent on your camera or how big your lens is and start to think about how much fun and how useful these smaller cameras are going to be!

As you make your decision about which camera to buy, make sure and try them out in person. While you may order from Amazon.com, I think it’s a good idea to drop by Best Buy or a local camera store to check these cameras out. The specs may look great on a webpage, but the menu system or ergonomics of that camera may not be so hot once you hold it in your hands. So save yourself the trouble of a return and try things out in person.

Now…about those creative settings…a lot of pro’s abhor the idea of creative settings like “Portrait”, “Landscape”, “Night”, and the like. But you know what? I think they’re actually pretty useful especially when you know what they do. The reality is, camera manufacturers have put a lot of time & effort into the brains of these cameras. So why not use the smarts of the camera?! Even before you buy your next camera, take your current camera and switch it out of the “green box” mode and onto those creative settings. I’ll get more into camera settings & actually taking family photos in the next post. In the meantime, keep these things in mind:

• Your next camera should be one that you will realistically carry with you
• You should be honest with yourself (and your wallet) about what you want to photograph and how much time you’re going to spend learning the craft of photography
• You should try all the settings on your camera, whether it’s new or old

More to come in the next couple of days! Please leave me any more detailed questions or comments you have below. Thanks!

[UPDATE: Check out my next post about taking better vacation photos]

Following up on the previous post about Shefali & Hitesh’s Pre-Wedding events, here are some highlights from their wedding day which was at Ruby Hills Winery in Pleasanton.

If you’ve ever attended an Indian wedding ceremony (whether it’s a Hindu ceremony or not), you’re probably familiar with the baraat (groom’s procession) and the milni (meeting of the two families) before the ceremony itself. As usual, it’s a madhouse during these moments, but it’s really a perfect example of how much fun these events can be. Along with the religious traditions that the families follow, there are a lot of fun traditions that the guests follow and that includes games the groom and his mother-in-law play during the milni.Most ceremonies at the Ruby Hills Winery are done in the courtyard out back, but in this case, Shefali & Hitesh wanted to change things up so they had their ceremony in the barrel room instead. I thought it worked out really well with the chandeliers and focused lighting on the wedding mandap (stage).One of my favorite moments of a Hindu ceremony is the “first look”. Now, a lot of couples do their first look photos beforehand and as photographers we get to capture the emotions as the bride & groom first see each other in their wedding attire. Regardless of whether we’ve done that, I just love the emotions on the mandap itself and the antharpath (that’s the sheet separating the bride and groom on the stage) is lowered and the couple see each other just as the ceremony is to begin. Shefali’s smile says it all to me!After the afternoon ceremony, everyone reconvened in the evening for the couple’s reception. Again, Shefali & Hitesh mixed things up by adding some fun to their first dance…in addition to a slow dance, they kicked off the fun with a dance to “Jai Ho”Shefali & Hitesh, congrats again!

Last summer, we had the opportunity to capture a fun-filled extended weekend at Shefali & Hitesh’s Wedding. You might recall their engagement portraits which we shared earlier on the blog. The festivities got started well before the wedding day with the mendhi (henna) night, then proceeded with a Gujarati prayer ceremony at home called the the Grah Shanti the next morning. The pre-wedding events finished off with Gujarati folk dancing during their Garba-Raas night.

Here are some highlights from the mendhi night. For people not familiar with such parties, henna is used to decorate the hands of the bride and her guests. I like to think of these nights as sort of like rehearsal dinners with just the closest family & friends attending and having a wonderful time in the backyard with henna painting, singing, and dancing.

The next morning, the family had a Grah Shanti prayer ceremony at home. This is actually a string of different traditions tied together basically ensuring the bride has a wonderful wedding day and a happy married life. As with most Hindu traditions, it includes a lot of prayers, a lot of laughter, and a lot of participation from everyone.

And finally, before the wedding day could begin, both families joined together for a night of Gujarati folk dancing. Garba & Raas are actually two different types of dances, but are usually enjoyed on the same night, in the same venue. Raas is the “stick dancing” that you might be familiar with.

Stay tuned for highlights from the wedding day itself!

As long as I’ve been passionate about photography, I’ve been a voracious learner. I openly learn from people who I think have something to offer. Case in point is that I subscribe to a whopping 144 different weblogs ranging from technique blogs to other wedding photographers’ blogs. By keeping track of so much out there, I really feel like I’ve improved my photography end-to-end by leaps and bounds. And for the last couple of years, I’ve really tried to make it a point to share my experiences and learnings from wedding & portrait photography with others. I mean, what have I got to lose? Call it “Paying it Forward” if you will, but it’s all about offering something to others.

So last month I lead an outdoor portrait workshop with 11 colleagues in San Francisco (North Beach & Baker Beach). Since it’s something I’m quite familiar with, I felt I could help others learn some tricks to taking better outdoor portraits. I tried to break things down as much as possible to make sure I could actually deliver against what I was offering to my students.

Before the photo shoot, I held a discussion session about what folks should prepare for with a portrait session including goals around style & location. I didn’t want to dwell on equipment and settings since I felt it would get us away from most important part of the photo session – the couple. I used this presentation as a guide to help everyone focus and reference what I thought were the important things to keep in mind.

You can download the powerpoint presentation here.

After the session, I followed up with each student to ensure they had some specific examples of portraits which they wanted to refer to during the photoshoot. Yes, I had them all do homework I required this because I wanted the students to find what THEY loved and not just try to re-create photos I’ve taken. Not surprisingly, the students showed me a pretty wide variety of reference portraits.

Well, with ALL that said, here are some of the results!

I’ll start with some photos which I took during the photo session. While taking these photos, I was trying to provide specific points for the students to keep in mind and show where & how I position myself for the photos. Again, I tried to stay away from camera settings, but was happy to clarify how to accomplish a shot from a technical nature.

Here’s a selection of the photos from the students. As students were taking photos, I would chimp with them and ask about their settings and most importantly, if they were getting shots that they liked. I was also trying to setup poses/shots for each student based on their personal goals. I’ve picked 3 photos from each that I think represents their time & efforts very well. The photos were taken by the students, but I did the final editing:

After the photoshoot, I’ve spent time with students to go over their experiences before & during the photo shoot. I really want to understand if they learned what they had hoped for and how the session could have been improved.

I certainly found this session very challenging! I know there were just too many students at the session to really give each student the time I think they deserved. Many times I made the mistake of basically just telling the students “okay, go for it” and simply let them shoot away. This confused the students and the couple being photographed. A huge creative concern for me is that I ended up relying too much on poses during this session. My usual portrait sessions are a mix of poses & really casual/romantic stuff. With so many students, I tightened up a lot and just went to “winning poses” for the couple. Certainly, the poses aren’t bad, but I do think the variety of photos and the more casual nature of my usual portrait sessions isn’t represented with how I lead this larger session. I have other areas of improvement I’m still mulling over and I’m collecting feedback from the students about this.

In retrospect, I have a MUCH better understanding of how tough it is to run a formal learning session (call it a workshop if you want). While I put a lot of time into the planning, I still think I have a many improvements I can make to such sessions. I know the students appreciated the time & opportunity and I’d like to ensure that any future learning sessions I lead provide the most for everyone’s time & effort.

Last, but certainly not least, I’d like to thank our models, Krystal & Deven for their time and patience with us! They were real troopers with the posing and the weather. It was quite cold & windy out on the beach. While I’m used it (I was in a t-shirt & shorts), I think I was the only one out there so unaffected by the cold! I wish you two the best with your wedding later this year and I hope you enjoy your portraits for years to come!

Besides Wedding Photography, I’ve gotta say that I just love photographing children. I don’t do as many children and family photoshoots as weddings, but the fact that I’ve got a 2-year girl at home means I spend a lot of time photographing children! These are just a few photos of my little one…we were taking holiday photos last fall and dressed her up. She’s great in front of the camera so we combined a little bit of light posing and just letting her play in the leaves.

Most of my posts on this blog are related specifically to photos we’ve taken, but occasionally I’ll post about the photography world or things other than our actual portfolio.

I recently wrote a guest article about a controversy going on right now in the world of wedding photographers. To provide some background, there are a LOT of workshops for wedding photographers. The workshops may help with technical usage of equipment, they may be about posing, or they may be about marketing your business. In any case, there’s recently been a lot of backlash about how valuable these workshops are and it has included some name calling.

My guest article on my friend Seshu’s site called Tiffinbox asks photographers to take a step back and re-assess not just workshops in general, but what we, as photographers want to learn. Even if you’re not a professional photographer, I think anyone can take the last few questions about learning to heart. Hope you enjoy the article!

Read it here: When Did Teaching & Learning Photography Become Such A Controversy?

Wow, what a long break for updates on weddings we’ve photographed! Well, I’ve got a lot of catch up to do so here we go!

Last summer, Molly & Vid invited us to photograph their wedding events in San Mateo. Here are some favorite highlights from the day. Starting from when Molly & Vid were getting ready in their hotel rooms all the way through the end of the dancing. Enjoy!

Molly & Vid, it’s been a pleasure working with the two of you. You’ve shown an immense appreciation for our work!

Oh boy…where does the time disappear. After months without an update, here’s something which should make everyone smile. The Qureshi family have been great clients of mine for some time now and when Tayyiba, Cody, and little Z-Man were in town last fall, we got the chance to take some fun family portraits.

This was actually Tayyiba & Zamaan’s second photo session with me in 2009. Here’s some of the previous session with his masis

With family portraits, we never know what exactly to expect, so the sessions are way more loose and playful than usual. As you can see from this sampling, Zamaan didn’t leave us much chance to pose for shots…which is a great thing!

Earlier this summer, I took Aparna & Jeff all over San Francisco for their engagement portraits and what a fun time! We got to try out some new spots on that beautiful summer afternoon so it made for some wonderful moments. It was also great since they didn’t mind a little public display of affection while we were taking their portraits

We started out in North Beach, then headed to the Presidio, and finally to Baker Beach. With each location, since we had extra time, we were able to find some cool little spots that helped their photos to be as unique as possible.

Here are some samples!

I just love this next portrait due to the wind blowing Aparna’s hair just so and especially that look in her eyes!



Aparna & Jeff, I can’t wait for your wedding next month!

Mamatha & Ranjeet got married a couple of years ago and I was lucky enough to photograph their wedding in San Ramon. Fast forward to this spring and they had a son just a little bit after we had our own daughter. So it was a pleasure doing a life session focusing on their one year old son, Ishaan. We started off with some clean portraits with a background then moved onto their backyard and finally to Piedmont Park nearby. I’ve gotta say, photographing a child in his or her own environment is key to capturing great moments…

I went a bit more abstract with some of the editing. Since I was getting so many great expressions from Ishaan, I just had to go out on a limb with some of these photos.





The dreamy look in this next photo really just hit it for me. I knew it was out of focus when I took it, but I couldn’t let go of it. I’d say it’s my second favorite from the afternoon.

And what’s my fave shot from this session? The next photo! The sheer joy on Ishaan’s face with Ranjeet in the background is what these sessions are all about!


And finally…the happy family!

Thanks guys for inviting us to your home. We had a great time and hope to see a lot more of Ishaan as he grows into the rockstar he’s destined to be!

The Gellons are close friends of our’s and with their son Zaver’s first birthday coming up earlier this year, I wanted to make sure they had memorable portraits before his birthday. Instead of going out to a park or the beach, we decided to take advantage of Vic & Sophina’s lovely home. We all thought this would not only lead to fun portraits, but make them much more personal.

I had trouble narrowing down the selection of photos for this session, so enjoy this cute and handsome young fellow!

The next bunch of photos are actually from the galf course which is in their backyard.

One of the most popular spots for taking portraits has been Stanford University. While it’s not as popular nowadays as it has been in the past, it still provides some really classic elements like the columns you see in the background of the first photo. There are also great little spots around campus which provide for great variety. In addition to the Stanford campus, we took a little trip to downtown and had some fun walking in the streets of Palo Alto.

This shot is one of the very few where I do any really visible editing. Usually, the photo speaks for itself, but in this case, I felt that adding in the layers of texure & blur helped to give the shot some extra oomph!

When we moved onto Downtown Palo Alot, I was just in love with all the brick facades!




Raj & Jag, congrats and I wish you all the best in married life!

One of my favorite things about photography is sharing my work with clients. And a part of that is giving little teasers to whet their appetite for more once the full set of photos is complete. I just had to share these few photos with Molly & Vid earlier this week and I figure blog readers would love to see these too….so here’s just a very few from their big day. Many more to come….