Orange County Wedding Photographer Jen OSullivan » Boutique Wedding Photography based out of Orange County, California with studios in Irvine, Beverly Hills, and Pasadena.

Friday, August 28, 2009

Beverly Hills Cocktail Party

Posted inABOUT JEN

I recently hosted a cocktail party and open house at my Beverly Hills studio. It was so much fun I had to share some of the photos taken by two of my associates, Holly Steen and Santiago Valencia. The studio was packed with all sorts of really wonderful people: friends, family, and some amazing wedding and event specialists. Among the group were some of my exceptionally talented friends: Graphic Designer Cindi Garabedian, Videographer of BLUECAT International Marc Dahm, Luxury Mobile Beauty Service Provider of Fiore Beauty Jaimi Brooks, DJ Barry Lamster, Noir Artists Brittany Jones and Mitchell Rouse, Umberto’s Celebrity Manicurist Meline, Floral Designer of Anita’s Garden Anita Frump, Lighting Designer of Amp’d Entertainment Arteen Kharrat who was also representing KM Floral Design, Print Artist Sarah LaVoie, Wedding Planner of Memorable Occasions Alice Goetschel and Alexis Campanella, Illustrator Paul Cohen, and Photographers Peter Garr, Darren Yasukochi from BMW, Debra Morrison, Alexandra Marie Pfeiffer Tumbas, Shannon Lee, Karen Rosenbaum, Holly Steen and Santiago Valencia as mentioned. There were many more who are wonderful supporters from past and current students, past and future brides and grooms, as well as my beloved long time friends and family. I was and still am overjoyed at those who attended my party. Here is to a wonderful Summer and a prosperous and joy-filled Fall for everyone!

A photo of the studio at around 6pm with a few early comers Becca (one of my very first wedding assistants), Lauren (a photo student of my of over 5 years ago), Kelly with her daughter Kensington (one of my very good friends), and Jaimi and Santiago in the back.

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Lauren and Becca checking out one of my books

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Chit chat before the storm

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Cheri doing a bang up job serving (she was asked by Bill of Special Occasions if she was available to work for him… Go Cheri!)

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Arteen (ironic with the light flare in the background – he is a lighting guy!)

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My bride and groom, Sarah and Sean standing in front of an engagement photo I took. They are to be wed in October. Can’t wait!

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Marcy James, my trusted Mortgage Broker with her daughter Michelle checking out my work. She is without her other daughter, Izzy who is not here because she is Jacob’s nanny and is watching him while the party is going on!

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Me hanging out with Kevin Falxa, Lee Plaud and his wife, Debbie.

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Here are a few of the fun photos taken in the portrait studio.

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And last but not least, I took a couple photos the morning after the party of the beautiful arrangement Anita made for my party. Thanks, Anita, I love love love them!!!

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Jen is a boutique wedding photographer based out of Beverly Hills, California.
She specializes in alternative, photojournalistic wedding photography and is known for capturing the unique definitive moments during your event.
Copyright © 2009 by Jen O’Sullivan http://www.jenosullivan.com

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Wednesday, August 26, 2009

WORKFLOW: Photo Actions for Watermarks

Posted inWEDDING PHOTO BUSINESS PRACTICE,Workflow

I often get asked what is the best way to add your watermark to your images before placing them online. There is no simple answer as it depends on the type of watermark you have. It it is always in the same place you can easily create a simple to very complex watermark using PhotoShop Actions. With an image open go to the Actions window and click on the right drop down arrow menu and click on New Action. Name the action and hit record. Everything you do on that image will be recorded so make sure you get the steps right. I usually do a save and close in the action too. Make sure you save it to an “action dump” folder on your computer and transfer them later. After that you can automate the entire process by going to File, Automate, Batch. Not certain if this is the same for PhotoShop CS4 as I am running CS3. Otherwise, just hit the play button on every image you want the watermark to be on. You will need to create two actions: one for vertical images and one for horizontal.

If you are really interested in a fully automated system you must check out MikeD’s ProofMaker. It may be just what you are looking for.

Jen is a boutique wedding photographer based out of Beverly Hills, California.
She specializes in alternative, photojournalistic wedding photography and is known for capturing the unique definitive moments during your event.

To view more helpful photo tips go to JensTips.com and learn something new today!
Copyright © 2009 by Jen O’Sullivan http://www.jenosullivan.com

Posted inWEDDING PHOTO BUSINESS PRACTICE,WorkflowTags: ,,,,
Tuesday, August 25, 2009

QUICK TIP: Diffusing Flash Photography

Posted inPhoto Tips,WEDDING PHOTO BUSINESS PRACTICE

The quickest, easiest way to diffuse your flash light, other than to get tricky with bouncing it off walls (which is preferable in many situations) is to put a swanky little omni bounce cap on and set your flash to 45 degrees. The very last part of that sentence is what is important: “set your flash to 45 degrees.” Many people do not understand that the way to properly use their cap is precisely that way. I see many pro shooters with the cap on their flash and the flash cocked straight at the people at a 90 degree angle. Light travels straight through and will still render the same look as with it off. By placing it at a 45 degree angle, the flash will light up the cap and glow in several directions creating a slightly softer light.

Jen is a boutique wedding photographer based out of Beverly Hills, California.
She specializes in alternative, photojournalistic wedding photography and is known for capturing the unique definitive moments during your event.

To view more helpful photo tips go to JensTips.com and learn something new today!
Copyright © 2009 by Jen O’Sullivan http://www.jenosullivan.com

Posted inPhoto Tips,WEDDING PHOTO BUSINESS PRACTICETags: ,,,,,,,
Monday, August 24, 2009

MARKETING PHOTO TIP: SEO

Posted inWEDDING PHOTO BUSINESS PRACTICE

SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is on the mind of every person with a webpage, even if they do not completely understand it.  Here is some advice from the blog of SEOmos. To see his full post on SEO and blog writing go HERE.

The following was Posted by randfish

Write Title Tags with Two Audiences in Mind
First and foremost, you’re writing a title tag for the people who will visit your site or have a subscription to your feed. Title tags that are short, snappy, on-topic and catchy are imperative. You also want to think about search engines when you title your posts, since the engines can help to drive traffic to your blog. A great way to do this is to write the post and the title first, then run a few searches at Overture, WordTracker & KeywordDiscovery to see if there is a phrasing or ordering that can better help you to target “searched for” terms.

Jen is a boutique wedding photographer based out of Beverly Hills, California.
She specializes in alternative, photojournalistic wedding photography and is known for capturing the unique definitive moments during your event.

To view more helpful photo tips go to JensTips.com and learn something new today!
Copyright © 2009 by Jen O’Sullivan http://www.jenosullivan.com

Posted inWEDDING PHOTO BUSINESS PRACTICETags: ,,,,,,,,
Saturday, August 22, 2009

STUDIO: Your Email Address

Posted inStudio Practice,WEDDING PHOTO BUSINESS PRACTICE

Oddly enough, I still see industry professionals still using an @sbcglobal.net or @aol.com (etc) address event though they have a website with their business name. Please, please, please, keep things consistent with your studio branding across the board. It looks campy, unprofessional, and homey if you are using your service providers email account. If your website is www.thebesturlinthisindustry.com then your email should be yourname@thebesturlinthesindustry.com  There may be a fear that you will not be able to successfully change over since so many people have the original one. If this is you, know it is not hard at all. You can do a simple forward to your new address if you do not want to bother everyone. It is however important that you change your email across the board if it is on your website or on other sites that link to you. If you are a student and do not have a website, I recommend buying your name and having that be your email. It is so frustrating to try to decipher who is who these days. When I go to email someone and have to remember that they are whalelover154@yahoo.com rather than jessica@jessicasmith.com is can be hard to find them and I may just give up. Get yourself off those service providers and onto yourself.

Jen is a boutique wedding photographer based out of Beverly Hills, California.
She specializes in alternative, photojournalistic wedding photography and is known for capturing the unique definitive moments during your event.

To view more helpful photo tips go to JensTips.com and learn something new today!
Copyright © 2009 by Jen O’Sullivan http://www.jenosullivan.com

Posted inStudio Practice,WEDDING PHOTO BUSINESS PRACTICETags: ,,,,
Thursday, August 20, 2009

TECHNIQUE: Tips to Give Your Clients for Great Photos

Posted inTechnique,WEDDING PHOTO BUSINESS PRACTICE

Five Ways to Look Your Best in a Photograph
1. Wear solid dark toned colors. Dark colors will make you look slimmer and because photos literally flatten you out patterns are the worst thing to wear to a party when you know you will be photographed or a portrait session.
2. Get rid of that double chin. If you make sure the photographer is slightly higher than you there will be no chance of them catching even a hint of a double chin. Sometimes even the slimmest of women still get a double chin when they laugh and we all hate our double chins. If you can be seated and look up at the photographer that is even better. So remember to look up!
3. Keep your face matte. Often times at parties it can get warm at times and just from standing around you will get a bit of a glow. Carry blotters with you so you can keep from getting shinny. Even though that dewy look is so great on models, it really does not do wonders for the rest of us. Here is a silly little trick if you are in a public restroom trying for a quick touch up and find yourself without blotters: use an unused toilette seat cover, they are perfect for soaking up extra moisture and grease. Believe me, this works perfectly (almost better than those powder infused blotters) even though it is a bit odd.
4. Talk with a smile. If there are photographers taking candids at the party, it is best to keep a smile going anytime you think of it. The worst is to see a photo of yourself deep in conversation. Don’t be so serious.
5. Giggle. Here is the number one best piece of advice I will give you. For the rest of your life, anytime you are getting a photo taken of yourself, giggle. Even if it is fake. If you just giggle a little you will always love the outcome of your photos. Here is why: your laugh muscles are different than your smile muscles. When you giggle your brain thinks you are going to laugh and so it triggers your more natural laugh muscles and not your fake, forced smile muscles. It works every time. So what if your friends think you are a little crazy giggling to yourself, you will always look great in a photo and that is all that matters!

Jen is a boutique wedding photographer based out of Beverly Hills, California.
She specializes in alternative, photojournalistic wedding photography and is known for capturing the unique definitive moments during your event.

To view more helpful photo tips go to JensTips.com and learn something new today!
Copyright © 2009 by Jen O’Sullivan http://www.jenosullivan.com

Posted inTechnique,WEDDING PHOTO BUSINESS PRACTICETags: ,,,,,
Wednesday, August 19, 2009

WORKFLOW: Lightroom Black and White Conversions

Posted inWEDDING PHOTO BUSINESS PRACTICE,Workflow

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Lately it has been the hot topic across several platforms that I am involved in: “how do you do your black and white conversions?” There are multiple ways to do this in LightRoom and in PhotoShop. I just learned a new way tonight from one of my students (that I will most likely never do since I can get the same results faster in LightRoom.) Everyone does it the way they feel most comfortable, however time is of the essence and I will always take the short cut if in the end I get the same results.  Someday I will have to count how many ways I can come up with. There must be at least 40 different ways. They will all render your black and white image slightly different and you will have to choose which way works best for your aesthetics and workflow. Here is how I do them:

I work in LightRoom and fully destaturate the image using the “Saturation” slider. Then I bump up the brightness, bump up the contrast, and occasionally at 1-4 points of black. I then use the lens correction to taste darkening the corners just a tad. Whatever you do, in PhotoShop or LightRoom, do NOT convert to grayscale. This will render a flat image and will not print well.

Feel free to comment on this blogpost (the actual blogpost and not the Facebook import) how you do your black and white conversions.

Jen is a boutique wedding photographer based out of Beverly Hills, California.
She specializes in alternative, photojournalistic wedding photography and is known for capturing the unique definitive moments during your event.

To view more helpful photo tips go to JensTips.com and learn something new today!
Copyright © 2009 by Jen O’Sullivan http://www.jenosullivan.com

Posted inWEDDING PHOTO BUSINESS PRACTICE,WorkflowTags: ,,,,,,,,,