Confession: I’ve been avoiding this question… We’re totally digging on our Uservoice page and stoked on all the thoughtful questions people have been asking and voting on, and this is one that has slowly risen to the top, and now I simply can’t ignore it. The truth is that the answer to this question is super simple for...
One of the coolest new features that we just introduced to our blog is the ability for people to interact with our blog by voting for their favorite images. Earlier this week, Erin and I quietly released this feature and our Inbox has officially been bombarded with requests for information about how we did it!...
No matter how much formal education you’ve had in your life, your true education begins when your business begins. There’s nothing like learning on the job to bring you up to speed on your profession, and every education needs a school book, right? It’s so important to continually educate yourself when it comes to your...
It’s no secret that Erin and I love photographers. And we love helping other photographers learn & grow on their journey. And now, we’re taking things a big step further – we’re bringing on interns! We’ll be accepting applications through the end of next week (May 17) for our Summer program, and then we’ll be...
One of the topics that we get asked most about (and I mean most by a long shot) relates to how folks should price themselves in their photography business. It’s hard to give solid advice in a one-size-fits-all sort of way because everybody is so different and every photographer operates a different business – different...
Two weeks ago I blogged about my experience in Malaysia where I happened across a really cool abandoned resort with only 19 frames left on my camera. Instead of deleting some images to make space, or editing my shots in-camera, I decided to pretend like I was on my last roll of film, and challenged...
If you’ve been reading this blog for any length of time, you’re probably well aware of how much we love the photography community, and how much we really and truly desire to help others on their journey through our experiences. Since there’s more to living life as a photographer than simply gear questions and biz...
We’re LOVING all of the questions we’re getting from our photographer readers out there, so definitely keep them coming! We’ve got a bunch of FAQ posts coming soon that cover some topics in an in-depth manner, but a lot of the questions we get have somewhat brief responses, so that’s what this is – a...
I’d been walking for a while – and I didn’t plan on turning around anytime soon because I was content. It felt incredible to feel the waves crashing against the beach, running up along the shore to lap across my feet. I’d set out from our island resort nearly an hour prior, grabbing a camera...
It’s no secret – Jeff and I have nice cameras. And nice lenses. It’s kind of a requirement in our profession. It’s also no secret that we like to travel and have been traveling quite a bit lately. In fact, if you were to ask us to list our hobbies, we would list drinking good...
WPPI 2010 is finally here! We are SO excited to see so many of our friends and make some new onesThis year we’ll be at WPPI for a shorter time – Sunday to Wednesday morning, so I think that we’ve agreed that we just won’t sleep at all!! We’ve been getting a ton of e-mails...
The day before we left Singapore to return back to the US we had the privilege of being interviewed by our good friend Leon Sandoval of Colorati. We chatted about everything from running a business while traveling around the world to how we got started to the different business roles Erin and I have –...
Erin and I are super excited because this year, at WPPI, we get the honor of helping out an amazing organization, Thirst Relief International. Their mission is to overcome death and disease resulting from the consumption of contaminated water by providing safe, clean drinking water to those in need around the world. Along with some...
Webcam chat at Ustream What: We’ll be speaking tonight at the Connecticut PUG, and we’re so excited! We’ll be doing a talk titled “Keepin’ it Real in a Rockstar World” which is the same talk that we gave at Pictage’s Partner Conference earlier this year in New Orleans, but with some fun changes. We can’t...
That’s right, it’s that time of year again! Come and get your holiday party on, San Diego PUG style! This year we’re kicking it up a notch and bringing out the photo-booth setup, cranking the holiday tunes, and gettin’ crazy!! Evan & Kristy (bishophoto.com) have graciously opened up their beautiful Point Loma home for our...
In the last FAQ post, I talked about how to find your style as it relates to photography and the discussion was really centered around just getting out there and shooting a whole lot. One of the ways to do this and also refine your style is to second shoot for other photographers during weddings...
Jeff and I are not what you would call “morning people.” Let’s begin with that. When our alarm went off in our hotel room at 5am for the third day in a row, my body all but revolted. Suddenly my arms nailed themselves to the bed and my eyelids turns into mini-anvils. My feet had...
Question: What happens when you get a bunch of photographers together with way too little sleep and way to much camera gear? Answer: You get the third annual Bedjump This year’s Bedjump includes my good friends (from left to right) me, Jeff McCue, Scott Anderson, Gerald Pope, and Jared Bauman. Big thanks to Jeff McCue’s...
I always know I’m home when I wake up and I can’t move my feet. When I crawl into bed at night, I like to curl up into a ball, bringing my knees to my chest and pressing my curled up self against the warmth of Jeff’s body. Jeff always laughs, murmuring something about “only...
Erin and I just wrapped up an incredible week in New Orleans for Pictage’s Partner Conference and we had so many great conversations with photographers from all over the country, and I was surprised by the number of photographers who had questions about how to find their style. In reality though, its no surprise at...
I guess I didn’t realize how much work goes into this kind of thing. I knew it would be difficult. I knew we would have to dig deep to overcome some things. Some fears. Some insecurities. But I never understood the kind of months and hours it takes to form a message together. To understand...
She is soooo cute. She is so, so cute. And soooo adorable. When I start saying the same thing over and over again in my head when I’m shooting, it has to be true, right? But there’s more when it comes to Julie. Not only is she sooooo, well, cute and adorable and amazing, but...
Before I dive into the exciting news about PartnerCon, I just have to say that we just had a CRAZY weekend!! Our last wedding of the year was on Saturday and 2009 couldn’t have ended on a more beautiful or wonderful note. We’ll have all of the juicy details and highlights from Erin and Blair’s...
Jeff and I realized last night as people began arriving at our house for our monthly Pictage User Group (PUG) meeting, that most of our photographer friends never actually get to see what our house normally looks like. Every month, we have to rearrange our little abode to even have a prayer of squeezing in...
This is just a quick announcement that the San Diego PUG is taking place tonight at 6:30 at (the real) Casa de Youngren! We’re so excited to be featuring Leon Sandoval, founder of Colorati, a color-correction and design firm based out of Carlsbad, CA. Leon comes with years of post-production expertise, and he’ll be talking...
One thing that used to be a constant source of frustration for us in our business was our website, and my hunch is that if you’re a photographer (or other creative who uses a website to display their portfolio) you know exactly what I mean. The two biggest issues we encountered with the different websites...
The sky had turned cold and drizzly over Newport Beach, turning everything gray. A wet breeze blew past the door, a woman clutched her sweater as she strode past, signs flapped in the wind, and curtains blew inward. Even the dogs laying at the coffee shop on the corner buried their noses in their fur...
Erin and I absolutely love connecting with other photographers; it’s why we lead the San Diego PUG, why we participate in Shootouts, and why we began doing the FAQ Posts here on our blog. We remember what it was like when we were first starting out, and we remember the overwhelming feeling of being completely...
Now that we’ve done a handful of our FAQ Friday posts, the questions from you guys are starting to really pour in! So I’m going to use today’s FAQ installment to answer a bunch of the questions that are definitely worthy of talking about, but don’t require a full FAQ post. As always, if you...
Between the smell of morning coffee, doing pilates in my pjs, and the purr of kitty Gracie, it was a fantastic morning. Warm sunrise light filled our kitchen as Jeff cracked some eggs for breakfast and let them sizzle while he pulled me into a hug. I stirred the orange juice and ran upstairs to...
Jeff started this photography business in the worst way possible. He’s had a camera since he was ten years old, and he photographed anything and everything until he went to college. It was then that he put the camera down. He loved photography, he knew he did, but it wasn’t something he could live on....
Updated August 9, 2010 to include the latest additions to our backup schematic. We frequently get asked how we go about backing up our images, and I’ve been really surprised by all the photographers I’ve come across that have some pretty wacky backup schematics in place that are not only time consuming but can be...
Every month our house gets invaded by the most wonderful people I know. There’s chips, dip, sandwiches, music, friends, wine, beer on tap, and – as always – my famous bottled sangria filled with whatever fruit I can find in our fridge. I can’t believe how amazingly tasty it turns out every time! Seriously, its...
During our last FAQ Friday, I (Jeff) talked about how we made our blog using WordPress, and I mentioned that this time we’d be talking about how we actually prepare our images that go on our daily blog posts. This is something that we get asked about frequently, and I’m surprised how many photographers I’ve...
Little known fact about me: I used to do public speaking competitions as a kid. And I did really well at it. I would work tirelessly at being the best I could be, spending hours writing and crafting and re-writing every sentence of my ten minutes of competition glory. I came up with catchy titles,...
It’s no secret that Erin and I love our blog. Our blog is much more to us than simply a glimpse into the recent weddings and engagements that we’ve photographed – it’s also a journal of our lives, both photographically and personally. We’ve really enjoyed sharing our journey with all of you over the past...
One of the questions we get asked most often is about the gear we have in our bag – what lenses we love and why. So hopefully this will be a great start to the FAQ posts. As always, if you have any questions about this topic, or other topics, just ask it in the...
Erin and I love to share, and we consider ourselves to be total open books when it comes to photography. We definitely remember what it was like when we were first starting out: the questions, the uncertainty, the search for some semblance of help in a world that was growing noisier and noisier and more confusing...
When we got the call last week from Pictage asking Erin and I to come to New Orleans and speak at their annual Partner Conference, we were fall-out-of-our-seats excited, to say the least! Erin and I attended our first PartnerCon three years ago, and after having attended some *other* super big conferences, this one just...
Very common dialogue between Jeff and I: Jeff: “Hey Erin, have you heard of this new [insert some form of technology/idea/book/Apple product here].” Erin: “No.” In marketing, there are the groups of people known as the Innovators and the Early Adopters. I am not one of them. I am the one that never had a...
This is why I’m a photographer. I stumbled upon this commercial a few weeks ago that Kodak put out a while ago, and I really like what the video has to say. To me, it’s about photographs and how they cause moments (and more importantly, people) to live forever. There’s something so true and real...
One night a few years ago, Jeff turned to me and asked if I remembered this guy, Dane, that he had second shot with at a wedding a few months prior, and then asked if he could invest in this book Dane was going to write and become something called a “Founder.” I honestly don’t...
Last week Erin and I had the pleasure of being interviewed by our friend Sara France for the Pictage Podcast! We had an absolute blast chatting about how we got started, our thoughts on where the industry is going, workflow, and our clients. Also, I learned that my laugh sounds HILARIOUS (read: dorky) on tape....
As promised, here is Part Two of Matt and Abby’s engagement session that was part of our private workshop that we did for a local San Diego photographer (more on this later – we promise). Matt proposed to Abby at the beginning of this session, much to Abby’s surprise and sheer delight! Read our post...
About a week ago, Jeff and I asked for cool couples to volunteer their time and, well, dashing good looks for a little private workshop that we did for a local photographer (more on this later). I really have to say a huge THANK YOU to the awesome response that we received. There were so...
Well folks, its really happened. I’m behind. For the past couple of months, I’ve been in a place that is extremely rare for someone of my profession. In fact, I didn’t want to talk about it because I knew it could be jinxed. I was caught up. Completely caught up with all of my most...
Jeff and I are looking for a fabulous couple to photograph for a private workshop that we’re hosting on Tuesday, May 26. We’ll wave the portrait session fee (normally $500) and all the images we take will be yours. We’re looking for a cute, fun couple (married or not) that is totally in love and...
Just about the only time Jeff and I actually shot with our DSLR during our trip to Disneyworld was at Hollywood Studios’ afternoon street show called the Block Party Bash. The couple that we went on our trip with, John and Christie, have a really good friend, RT, that works as an acrobat, stuntman, and...
When Jeff and I were sitting at the Pictage booth at WPPI with microphones in our hands and a crowd of people around us, we asked if anyone else had questions for us. A cute girl in the front row raised her hand and asked, “What exactly is branding?” As if I didn’t already feel...
Out of the loads of lessons that I’ve learned about myself since I began shooting weddings and working in this business full time, I think the most important lesson has been that a simple encouraging word can transform the world for someone. I’ve been making it my goal lately to remember to encourage those that...
My eyes blurred open this morning to two feelings – humility and exhaustion. Both of which were very good feelings. The past week has been a crazy one. From the moment Jeff called me last Thursday with the news of a “sideache” on his lower right abdomen to the moment my head hit the pillow...
If you’ve been following Jeff or me on Facebook or Twitter, you probably heard that Jeff’s appendix decided that it was about time to jump ship. Around 10am last Thursday, Jeff suddenly felt a stabbing pain in his side, and by 7:30 that night his appendix sat inside of a jar instead of his body....
Yes, you read that right. Joe Buissink will be at the San Diego Pictage User Group on April 15th at 7:00pm at the Handlery Hotel and Resort! Come on out to hear Joe talk about “The Psychology Behind Shooting Weddings.” Everyone is welcome, so load up the ol’ station wagon and bring your friends. However,...
“She rounded the corner and turned into the warm shade beneath the corridor, holding her dress, stepping softly. The warm browns of the walls bounced off her skin and her dress sparkled lightly as the sunlight cascaded through the vineyards, down the hallway, and onto her dress. She looked up at the figure standing with...
Recently we shared on our blog our tips and tricks for having a great engagement session, and Pictage asked if we would share our tips and tricks for having a great engagement session from the photographer’s point of view. As leaders of the San Diego Pictage User Group (PUG), we love sharing our knowledge with...
This is my first St. Paddy’s Day not working in an office with other peeps around, so I didn’t get to sport my favorite Paddy’s shirt. But don’t worry, in the spirit of the day, Jeff and I will be hitting up Taco Tuesday at En Fuego’s in Del Mar celebrating with tacos and margaritas!...
Tuesday morning was a good morning. In the days leading up to Tuesday, the wheels that had been steamrolling us through life merged from the express train tracks back to the slow regional line. And if that metaphor didn’t make sense to you, all I mean to say is that life feels back to normal...
I saw the video below over on Zack Arias’ blog the other day, and I have to say, it was exactly what I needed to hear. If you’re a photographer and you haven’t watched this video yet, you need to. If you’re not a photographer, you might want to watch it anyway. The ten second...
Erin and I will be in Vegas until Thursday attending the WPPI Tradeshow & Convention, and we just wanted to give you a quick run-down of where we’ll be for all you photographers out there. If you see us around, give us a holla! For the most part, we keep our scheulde pretty flexible at...
Erin and I recently had the priviledge of getting to work with Anton Lorimer of Lorimerworks in the production of our promo video. I can’t even describe the wonderful experience the whole thing was, and it was so fun getting to know Anton through the process – he’s seriously the best in the business! Erin...
By the time I was eighteen, it didn’t bother me anymore. Every morning, at 7am (I repeat, 7:00 in the morning) the dogs in Idaho are fed and they bark right outside of my childhood bedroom window. All fifteen of them, including the puppies – the shrill yapping not-quite-barking-more-like-howling puppies – take part in their...
A little while ago Pictage used the Bed Jumping image from PartnerCon LA in their thank you e-mail to all the participants! I had to giggle when I got an e-mail asking for permission to use the image. After all, the guys were jumping pretty hard on a hotel bed in an upgraded suite… But...
I got this idea from sweet Adrienne on her blog, For the Love of Weddings. Adrienne is absolutely adorable and I love watching her move through the wedding planning process! Seriously, planning a wedding can be the most stressful thing you’ll ever do, but it is the most fun I’ve ever had! I love living...
The chatter slowly grew as 6:30 turned to 6:45. More and more friends came pouring through the door as I poured more ice tea and stirred the lemonade. Katie and I tossed the salads (actually Katie tossed, I threw lettuce everywhere), and the voices grew louder. I smiled to myself as I picked up another...
Pictage Partner Conference is an annual photography tradition that apparently comes with many other “traditions.” Last year, our good friends and San Diego photographers Jared Bauman and Bronson Pate initiated The Bedjump. The Bedjump has since become one of those urban/conference legends that many believe doesn’t exist or, more likely, wish that it didn’t exist....
Pictage is a wonderful company for lots and lots of reasons (giving us our life back to name one), but I think the best reason is their commitment to the industry as a community. Not only do they sponsor the Pictage User Groups, of which we lead the San Diego group, but they also put...
So I’ve found this fun blog idea that I want to try, and I’m definitely not the only one! I first saw it on Stacy Cross’ blog and followed the trail back through Kate Mefford, Leah Simmers, and it ended at Ruby Rideout. And seriously, if you want to take a delightful stroll through blog...
San Diego’s August PUG came a week later than usual this month, but it was well worth the wait! We had Kevin Swan and Shaun Austin, the dynamic duo from Kiss Wedding Books, out to talk about the art of selling albums (which Kevin has PERFECTED by the way). These guys were so fun to...
Stan hadn’t seen a girl like her in a very long time. He had been in broken relationships and his heart wasn’t ready to love again. But this girl. He just had to be around her. She was pure energy, pure fun, and most of all, pure joy. Her undaunted faith in the Lord kept...
I wanted to cry. I looked around at the office and couldn’t think of anything else to do so I tried to cry. But nothing came out. Argh! Why is it always when you need to just get some stress out, you just can’t cry? I leaned my head back, thought about everything that was...
A successful entrepreneur very rarely considers themselves as having succeeded. The most distinguished experts always have something new to learn. A good photographer will never be quite good enough. What a thing to think about. This weekend at the Shootout, I didn’t do much shooting due to logistics (I was keeping everything running together!), but it gave me...
This past weekend Erin and I got a bunch of the folks from the San Diego Pictage User’s Group (SD PUG) together for an awesome afternoon of hanging out, shooting, and learning from one another. One of the coolest things about Pictage is how much they dig fostering a community of photographers and Erin and...
Day one of WPPI has come to an end, and it has been an absolute blast so far! Erin and I arrived in Vegas yesterday and after a quick stop off at our room at New York, New York we headed over to the Pictage Headliners event, which was great. Super valuable and great info...
What do you think of Erin’s & my new headshots? You know what I think? That my wife is smokin’ hot
Check this out. Apple just can’t stop, they just consistantly feed my addiction! Apple just announced today the release of a new MacBook Pro, and a standard MacBook which are both more powerful than their predecessors and have a bunch of new features, the coolest of which is that they’ve introduced the multi-touch technology that...
This one goes out to all you photographers out there. Our couples might be interested in this too, but this is primarily a bunch of photo-dork talk! One conversation that I’ve had over and over again over the past few weeks with various photographers surrounds the idea of backing up our images. Folks, as a...
Tonight was the San Diego PUG meeting, which is something I look forward to every month. This month was extra fun, though, because I got to give a talk on the importance of personality as a wedding photographer. I’ve been preparing for the talk for a while, and it was so great to get to...
Hey guys! Just a reminder of the holiday deadlines for ordering reprints:December 7th: Cutoff date for STANDARD shippingDecember 12th: Cutoff date for PRIORITY shippingDecember 14th: Cutoff date for OVERNIGHT shipping (Also Erin’s birthday!) If you’re waiting for your images to be placed online, rest assured that we’re working very hard to get them online as...
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