Environmental Portraits

I had an opportunity today to photograph a series of portraits for a local Remodel contractor. I had to move quickly and get nine different settings for nine different people. This requires fast thinking, light weight gear and a strategy for environmental portraiture (thanks again David Tejada).

I used two Nikon SB-900's with an SU-800 commander for almost all of them. I balanced for ambient light and created the effects where I wanted them. I really like the SB-900's for their expanded versatility over the tried and true SB-800's, the fuctions for the SB-900 are very easy to change quickly and that is awesome when working without an assistant.

I wanted to capture sincerity in their expressions and give each person a distinct setting.
These kind of images can do wonders to create a sense of humanity within a corporate setting.
It's a great way to put a face (or series of faces) on a business.

Creating Sunlight for Interiors

I recently photographed a beautiful home in which I was posed with an interesting challenge. How do you convey that there is a great big window in the room when it is not in the frame? Second, how do you add romance to a small room that is really nothing more than a bed and some end tables? the answer came from a technique I saw Joe McNally use in a Nikon video.

With a single SB-900 flash and tungsten gel on a 13' stand. I was able to mimic the golden glow of the sun through the big arched window. Adding some interest to the shot and giving the viewer that sense of romance that makes an image so inviting. I used pocket wizards to trigger the flash at full power for the effect.

Lastly, I just experienced a lighting workshop with David Tejada called Small Strobes Big Results in Orange County. It was dynamite! A great class and really cool people. I strongly recommend it to anyone pursuing this kind of photography. I can't wait to put some of these new techniques to use.

Thanks to all who were in the class.

San Diego Harbor

San Diego is one of my favorite cities in the United States, I always enjoy the chance to go there for work and what's more I love the harbor most of all. So this wedding was a particularly good time for me.

However, With a late afternoon ceremony, we had very little time for photos with the cityscape in the background after the ceremony ended. This dilemma gave me an oppertunity to employ a quick lighting set-up to bring our night skyline and our bride and groom together for some really fun shots. In fact, it worked so well that we shot several couples in this manner.

More wedding imagery at joelcummins.com

New Website

Well, after lot's of deliberation I have finally hammered out all the details of the new website. Regrettably, my blog has suffered quite a bit but I am now ready to resume posting. this photo is a recent addition from an architectural shoot. this and many others are available for viewing on the new site.

If for some reason you are reading this and didn't get here by way of the website, the address is http://www.joelcummins.com/

Orange County

Kate and Phil exchanged vows in laguna Hills, It was a meticulusly designed ceremony and reception. The day offered many heartfelt moments and glimpes of the love and care shared by these two families.

See more images at http://www.joelcummins.com/

Outside in November

There aren't too many places in the US that will afford you a gorgeous day for an outdoor wedding in November, Palm Desert happens to be one of those places. Courtney and Michael were married on the fairway at Monterey Country Club , the mountains and palms provided a stunning backdrop and lots of opportunity for photographs. The Reception was held at the clubhouse just a short walk from the ceremony and offered a romantic Spanish-style surrounding for the festivities.

Best wishes to this wonderful couple!

-Joel

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Off to La Jolla

Coastal weddings are always so much fun, David and Krystle were married in La Jolla and celebrated their reception at a nearby hotel. I thoroughly enjoyed both families and was touched by the spirit of purity and commitment in their relationship.

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