Brooks Institute Photo Session

Last month I participated in Jason Madara's fashion photography & lighting seminars two day event put together by Brooks Institute in Santa Barbara CA. I did this event for two reasons, one I wanted to see what Jason was doing professionally and I also wanted to see if I wanted to start incorporating lighting into my photography bag of tricks with wedding photography.

Photography is paining with light. Without light you got nothing.

The class was held at the historical Montecito Campus, which is a beautiful estate that was built in the early 1920’s. It has breathtaking vistas overlooking the Santa Barbara Harbor and the Channel Islands. I just heard recently that its being sold because of the cost of upkeep. Beautiful but expensive.

The first day Jason told about himself and his photography experience. This really opened my eyes to the different world of photography. Jason Madara's work is described as startlingly raw and real or ephemerally beautiful, often at the same time. He finds inspiration from his subjects and the locations where he shoots. Earlier in his career, Madera spent a few years working in Europe and South Africa shooting fashion for magazines, catalogs and ad campaigns. He moved to San Francisco in 2001, where he continued to fulfill his creative ambitions by producing images for editorial and advertising clients, including Pac West Telecommunications, Bosch, Fanta, Interview, Entertainment Weekly, Business 2.0 and Fortune Small Business.

The workshop focused on lighting techniques used in contemporary fashion, beauty, and portraiture photography. We explored lighting techniques the studio using different types of studio lighting: soft box, hard light, and umbrella. We also used flash on location, open shade, backlight and direct light.

We had different models and different stations. We broke up in groups, and then went to each station, Jason showed what he would do, he was photography tethered to a computer with a new Hasselblad H3D-22 with a resolution of 22 megapixels. Sicko. But there is a price to be paid when using this type of camara. He is tethered to a computer. Teathered or leashed, meaning you can only go as far as your leash. I wasn’t teathered, but with all this lighting stuff your model has about a 4 foot radius of where she can move, and the job in fashion photography is directing. Who are you directing, well, the make up artist, the people helping you set up lighting, the model what to do, how to turn, what to think, how to feel. Professional models know how to do this. There is real value in knowing how to do this with non professionals.

For wedding photography what I don’t want to do is take over the day and make a wedding day a fashion shoot. My objective is to relax the bride and groom so they feel comfortable in front of a camera. Being the subject with all this gear set up pointed at you, you really need to be a pro not to feel intimidated. And for me you really lose the spontaneous with all that gear.



Over all I was turned off by the amount of stuff you need to offer this type of lighting, its really amazing how much batteries, cords, lights, bags, sandbags, etc that is needed for this style of photography. I prefer the the camera with a plain vanilla mounted flash in a pinch, hopefully you don’t have to use because natural light is by far the most beautiful light. When all the elements come together, when you see that perfect content, with the perfect mood and the light is just perfect and click….


For more click on santa barbara wedding photography

Photography is art

"Photography is the power of observation, not the application of technology." Ken Rockwell.

Wow, that is the basics of photography. By noticing something interesting, that brings the eye in an capture that moment. The important part is seeing the photo before hand….. Taking the picture is easy.

Photography is art.

Camera do not makes the photos. It's easy to blame bad photos on a camera. Photography is communicating passion and sparking excitement in the mind and body of another person. If you don't care about the subject then the results won't get beyond the basics. Care deeply and incredible things happen. Don't care and you are quickly forgotten.

"If I feel something strongly, I make a photograph. I do not attempt to explain the feeling." Ansel Adams.

Photography is the art of communicating passion. You need to be passionate about whatever it is that you photograph. If you are passionate you'll get great results, if you don't care, you won't.

A photograph is not about technique. A photograph is communicating something, be it an idea, concept, feeling, thought or whatever, to a total stranger. For a photograph to be effective you have to be clear with what you're communicating.

Ansel Adams said "There is nothing worse than a sharp photograph of a fuzzy idea."

Santa Barbara Wedding Ranch Location

Here are several amazing Santa Barbara Wedding locations on ranches!

1.Orella Ranch

2. Condor Ridge Ranch

3. Rancho Dos Pueblos (Casa Grande Gardens), Amber Donati at 805.896.1827 (no website)

All are located on California’s majestic Gaviota Coast, and have amazing coastal views.

Brazilian Wedding

My wife Camila and I where invited to attend her cousin Fabiana wedding, who lives in Brazil. We haven't been for a couple of years, so we accepted and booked our flights. After a 14 hour plane ride from Santa Barbara with 3 transfer, that we (my wife, our 11 month old daughter Luana and I) had to sprint to catch each connection, we arrived in Salvador, Brazil in one piece without any luggage. The grandparents and uncles were thrilled at the visit, and greeted us at the airport. Truth be told the grandparents greeted their one and only grandchild Luana, and we happened to arrive on the same airplane.



Fabiana lives in the interior of Brazil in a town called Feira Santana. Its about 2 hours from Salvador, and the dive is an adventure. There are two ways the none existant law enforcement reduce Brazilians drivers break neck speed. Hidden radar camera, that take a photo of the licence plate and "Quebra Molas". Quebra Molas, translated is "break the spring", or a large, steep speed bump that would most lilkly break your springs, all your shock, a tire or two, and who knows what else. Throw in the mix, semi trucks, all shapes and vintages of cars, a couple of donkey pulling carts, some deep potholes that have no bottom in sizzling heat and humidity and wala, driving in Brazil. Of course at the Quebra Molas, because you come almost to a complete stop, you also have people selling everything under the sun, included ice cold drinks.

The function was to start promptly at 7:30 sharp. In Brazil, this means start getting ready a 7:30. We arrived at Camila's uncle house at around 6:30 to get into our suits (aaaggghh, its still 90 with 95% humidly) and give time for the ladies to get dressed. Brazilian wedding are extremely formal, dark suits and ties for everyone..well except me. I had a light suite, I didn't get the "dark" suit memo until after we arrived. Oh well, the gringo has the light suit.

When we showed up and the groom, Orlando, was at the entrance of the church greeting the guests. Of course I brought my camera and was excited to see another pro at work. I had no idea what the style or what types of photos they were going to take. Its great to see other professional take wedding photos, to see different angles and equipment. You never can stop learning.



Fabiana had told the photographer that I was going to be at the wedding so when I pulled out my camera, (Canon 5D with a 24-105mm lens) he came up and greeted me in Portuguese. My Portuguese is far from perfect, but we had a bit of a conversation. He was photographing with a Nikon D100 digital camera. Good equipment is a good start to great photos.

The church was pretty well lite, but he also had two strobe light set up along the church to provide light. His on camera flash triggers the strobe flash. This can be good and bad. If you have no light, its great because you can get the details of the church. But flash also flatten the photos and gives sharp shadows. I try to avoid any flash if possible. I photographed the below photo without flash:


Any church where you are doing wedding photography in Santa Barbara, the minister usually tells you in advance, no flash. Which is ironic because all the guest pull out there camera and flash away. Anyway I digress.

Also in the mix was two guys videographing the wedding. There set up was far from professional, one guy was working the camera and the other was holding up a pole with a extremely bright light. It felt like a small sun on the top, every time the light fell on you the temperature went up 5 degrees and the "deer in the headlight"syndrome kicked in big time. Also the light set up was plugged into the wall so the guy was dragging a 100ft extension cord behind him the entire time. Tripwire, yikes.

I would have photographed the wedding with a mounted flash, aimed at at a wall or celling to give depth of field. I would have also used a tripode. Like I said the church was really well lite and with my 24-105mm f/4 L IS USM lense and my EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM which are some of the fasted lens on the market, I would have been fine. So the bride arrives at 8:30, and hour late which is perfectly on time for Brazil. Everything here is exactly one hour late, it must be the weather. The photographer and the videographer sprung into action, as the procession came down the isle.



Wow, talk about NOT wedding photojournalist. Painful...they stopped each couple and the bride to get poised photos in isle, the ultra bright lite waved, heating the onlookers. I snapped a few shots from my vantage, without a flash, because I didn't want to set off the hired photographers strobe. The this type of photography continued thought out each stage of the ceremony.

It took some much out of the event, it became a phtotoshoot, not a wedding. When the couple where putting on their rings, the photographer poised them, are you kidding me?!?

Painful, I was sad for the couple, their celebration of love was tarnished by the people documenting their wedding. My goal at each wedding is to take amazing, creative photos with as little interaction with the events as possible. Ninja photographer. All in black, melting in the background...unseen. This is so that that the bride and groom can live the moment, not be instructed on how and what they should be doing and feeling.

After the ceremony, after the rings have been exchanged, after they bride and groom have been mobbed by all their friends and family showering them with congratulations, then I step in to do the formal photos, going as fast as possible, so that they can return to their celebration ASAP.

That again was not the case in this wedding in Brazil. The formal photos didn't stop after the wedding, it was also at the reception, he took the bride away for another hour an posed them again and again to the point where the groom had enough and quit. At this photographer didn't know what to do, and my wife suggested he take some candid photography, which seam like a completely foreign concept to him.

Ojai Wedding

Congratulations to Kristina Cheh and Daniel Beck. They were married on December 10th and I was thrilled to get the chance to photograph their wedding and reception. Held in tranquil Ojai, California at the beautiful Ojai Presbyterian Church, the wedding itself was a small and private affair for family only. Ojai is about 45 min away from Santa Barbara.

The weather, with clear blue skies, a few scattered clouds and a light wind, was perfect. I absolutely loved shooting at this location; the grounds were so inviting. I got some great shots of Daniel's family lighting candles and some shots of the gorgeous bride before the ceremony.

One of the best things about being a Santa Barbara wedding photographer is getting to see how new families come together. In this case, some had never met. Kristina's attendees included her mother, father and grandmother, all of whom had flown from Korea and don't speak any English. Many of the women wore beautiful traditional Korean wedding dresses.

Daniel, who works for a Los Angeles law firm, comes from a large family that lives in Santa Barbara. He has five brothers and two sisters, all of whom were in attendance. One brother is the church's minister, and because only family was in attendance, he did an amazing job.

The candles created an amazing backdrop with which to present the new husband and wife. I couldn't get enough of the perfect light and setting for a wedding photography shoot at the Presbyterian Church and took over 400 pictures there.

Eventually, though, it was time to move to the reception, which was held at the dramatic and elegant Ojai resort, renowned for its pastoral valley views as well as the cooking staff's delicious dinner creations. The atmosphere was that of two loving families brought together.

This particular wedding left me with a feeling of profound respect for the ancient ritual of marriage, an institution that bridges cultures and brings people from all over the world together. This wasn't so much about a party as it was a story about love.



More photos at this link under recent events: Santa Barbara Wedding Photographer

Hiring a Creative Professional

Like many brides and grooms, your wedding could be the first time you will be hiring a creative professional.

How you manage your relationship with a wedding photojournalist can have just as profound an impact on the photographs as the day unfolding before the camera. Luckily, you and me (your photographer) both want the same outcome: amazing photos that capture the feeling of the wedding day.

I suggest focusing less on the business process and more on the creative one when you are working with a wedding photojournalist. Of course, we both sign a contract, and ultimately there will be details relating to the types of packages purchased, schedule, costs, and possibly album design, but that should all be secondary when it comes to selecting and working with your creative professional.

More than anything, you must trust your photographer. Part of trusting your photographer is being able to hand over the reigns. Accept that you cannot control everything; that’s why you hire professionals to carry out a shared creative vision.

For example, I am not a fan of the big list. The small list is ok…formal photographs, certain family members from out of town. But not the lists of all the moments: the candles, the garter toss, the bride walking down the aisle. I will get that...

If you give a wedding photojournalist too long of a to-do list, it distracts them from what you hired them to do in the first place: shoot spontaneous, once-in-a-lifetime moments that can not be predicted, and therefore, could never be included on a list.

Santa Barbara Events Calendar

What's going on in Santa Barbara you ask, take a look at Premiere Events Calendar.