Last week, Julie assisted me in shooting a wedding in Jamaica at Couples Negril resort! Couples was nothing like conventional resorts with plush white beds and chairs, but they had a lot more color and culture. It was over a year ago when Helen contacted me about photography services. She’s based in Houston and I in Los Angeles, so we just exchanged emails. I knew that she was going to be a fun bride when she admittedly called herself a dork for packing two weeks in advance. To be frank, so did Julie and I mentally.

Matt – Helen’s fiancé and now husband – is a really tall guy. He even towers over me by quite a lot. He served in the Marine Corps and is now a teacher. Helen and Matt met while working together at a hospital. Their union can be called love at first sight if you believe in that…

One day at work, while Matt was on the phone with his best buddy, he told him, “Hey, got to go. My wife just walked through the door.”

Who knew? Three years later, Julie and I were standing at the altar shooting away. I love stories like these.

Anyway, below I have a “fusion” video where photos and video were combined. As many of you might know, I am a photographer and not a cinematographer. The decision to make video on Helen’s wedding was actually not planned. The commissioned videographer did not show for Helen’s preparation, so I took the liberty of doing it myself.

With the Canon 1D MIV and 5D MII, “easy day” as Matt would put it. To be completely honest, it was not so easy if you’re trying to do both. My brain had to switch back and forth and from looking through the lens and at the LCD. I think Julie and I did a pretty swell job considering that this was our first and had no video gear.

I must admit that the day unfolded rather smoothly, which helped with my new video work flow. Helen’s sleight of hand make-up application allowed me to allocate time to cover Matt’s preparation. During the process, I learned something new! All buttons for a Marine Corps’ uniform must be upright and if anything were to have a single scratch it’s discarded. Strict!

Ocho Rios (Eight Rivers) Dunns River Falls

I particularly enjoyed this last section. The morning after the wedding, we thought it’d be cool to jump into the pool. So right before that, I took out my AlienBee800 strobe and took some photos while the sun was at its zenith. The colors are so dark and lovely.

The following image is of me working at Ocho Rios (Eight Rivers) – Dunns River Falls – with Helen and Matt. Yeah, I got chops.

Helen and Matt – it was such an honor to have had this opportunity to photograph [and video] your wedding. Hope to see you again soon – perhaps in Houston!

Sincerely,

Lawrence Chan

P.S. Julie bought a lot of Jamaican spices and we barbecued jerk chicken yesterday. While eating, I had a flash of inspiration and took out two strobes and produced my new profile picture on Twitter.

P.P.S. Special thanks to Grace Ormonde‘s Platinum List exposure otherwise Helen might not have found me!

• Ray Santana – workflow and presentation
• Kenny Kim – business inspiration
• Kenny Nakai – Chicago helping hands
• Becker – passion, profit and community
• Lawrence (ME) – strategic online marketing

IF YOU ARE A BRIDE, I still encourage you to peruse and check out some of my wedding pictures taken at Biltmore Hotel despite this being a post on a workshop – contact me!

After covering topics on business and marketing, 3 real brides were invited to come to be models. We had the opportunity to photographs all throughout Biltmore Hotel and the chapel across the street.

Historic Biltmore Hotel and Resort Coral Gables (Miami)
http://www.biltmorehotel.com

1200 Anastasia Ave
Miami, FL 33134
(305) 445-8066

This awesome image was taken at the penthouse suite at Bilmore Hotel where Al Capone used to reside. It was also used for the movie Bad Boys I in the opening scene. Isn’t she gorgeous?

What an infectious laugh! I love her positive energy!

There was a 3rd bride, but I did not get a chance to photograph her because I was trying to conserve energy for my presentation that followed the photo shoot. Plus, I just hosted my own workshop the day before!

Here’s me teaching (image courtesy of Kenny Nakai):

Here’s a group photo:

Contact me if you have any questions!

Lawrence Chan

P.S. After visiting the Al Capone suite at Biltmore Hotel, my Ritz Carlton suite looked plain.

P.P.S. Did I win, Ray? Hehe

In 2004, Cap Juluca was selected as “Today Show’s” top destination wedding location. One lucky couple and their bridal party were transported to Anguilla for an outdoor beach ceremony and reception. Cap Juluca has a 1.5 mile stretch of white sand and clear blue water, which make it an ideal location for not only weddings and honeymoons.

Celebrity couple Courtney Cox and David Arquette celebrated their wedding at Cap Juluca!

The following are some pictures of Cap Juluca courtesy of Cap Juluca Resorts.

Enjoy a variety of massage choices as a way to iron out the pre-wedding tensions.

Ideas for an afternoon wedding reception or…

…evening wedding receptions. Either way, Cap Juluca offers breathtaking afternoon sun or moonlit brilliance.

As an elite destination wedding photographer, I enjoy frequenting various islands to photograph weddings because each tends to offer slight differences. Contact me here for help on wedding planning, coordination, photography services and etc.

Sincerely,

Lawrence Chan

P.S. Grace Ormonde asked me to blog about this awesome location because it is one of her favorite places!

If you are a bride, please check out the photographers below! If you are a photographer, follow @tofurious and subscribe to the mailing list!

The San Francisco SEO and marketing workshop was hosted at Hilton in the Financial District. I had the privilege of staying in one of their business suites and had a pretty wicked view (not the best, but very nice at night). I don’t mind having an office like this.

Right next door was Chinatown where R&G Lounge was a skip away. For those who have not been there, try the salt-and-pepper crab!

Awesome San Francisco (and Canadian) Wedding Photographers

The Memory Journalists – wedding photography led by Jennifer Dunham Starr based in Folsom, CA
Tiffany Fosnight – Adeline and Grace are wedding and boudoir rockstars in Napa Valley
Marin Kristine – Bay Area boudoir and wedding photographer
{ WLQ } Photography – San Francisco based engagement and wedding photographer
Rebecca Wilkowski Photography – SF and Bay Area Green photojournalist
Jessie Cho Photography – SF and Bay Area wedding photojournalist
Dave Shilling Photography – a tall white guy from Sacramento who shoots rad pictures
Lori Paladino Photography – SF and Bay Area wedding and lifestyle photographer
Jerry Yoon Photography – San Francisco wedding photographer woot
Kirstie Tweed – wedding and portrait photographer based in Banff, Canada
Sara Goetz – wife of Chris Goetz and operate from the Bay area
Ashley Summer – a girl who shoots all types of things – bang!
Kameron Olds – Shooting Gallery with brides as targets

I love the city of San Francisco. I’ve even considered to move to the Bay Area and start a new wedding photography business. Who wants to let me second shoot?

Be well,

Lawrence

P.S. Seattle’s Dick’s Burgers < In-N-Out

P.P.S. I am using this post to do some test If you guess right, I’ll think of a cool prize to give away.

Over the past two years, I moved up from shooting weddings at $300 each to $5,000 each. My inquiries are still strong (2-3 a day) despite current economic conditions.

Understand that I am not the best photographer out there and I still have a lot to improve on. However, I do know a thing or two when it comes to making a wedding photography business work.

There are 3 things you should know:

1. Why are you doing this business?
2. What makes a good photographer?
3. How do you market yourself effectively?

Direction

Why did you start a wedding photography business? Or any form of photography for that matter? If you don’t know why, then that’s a big problem.

Dane Sanders focuses on the core of one’s business vision through Fast Track Photographer. The first step is to understand why you are doing it. If it is passion, then fantastic! If it is because the industry is lucrative, then fantastic! Whatever the reason is, you need to know why and exactly what you are cooking up for your clients.

Here is an excerpt from a recent article Dane Sanders wrote for Scott Bourne:

Technique can be taught but your core focus needs to be discovered first. And the best news is once you have a working sense of what you were made to create for the world, the sky’s the limit on where you will go with your craft.

Skills

When I started my business, I had my heroes and I think you should pick yours too.

I have heroes to give me inspiration – a goal to aim for. “One day, I want to shoot like them!”

If you are interested in learning the skills from one of my heroes, then a photography workshop that is coming up worth considering is the “DAVIS LOVE STORY” workshop. It is a 3 day experience with celebrity photographer – Bob Davis – as he photographs the wedding of Sarah and Brent at the exquisite Ocean Lodge hotel in St. Simons Island, Georgia.

DAY ONE begins with a meet and greet and flash lecture at the exquisite Ocean Lodge hotel in St. Simons Island, then on to a night shoot with Sarah and Brent.

DAY TWO is a meeting at the Ocean Lodge hotel and photographing of Sarah and Brent getting ready — making sure to cover all of the details. This leads to the first look where Brent will see Sarah for the first time in her dress followed by a beautiful photo walk…dinner, sunset ceremony and dessert reception.

DAY THREE will begin at the Ocean Lodge hotel in a conference room where Dawn Davis (Bob’s wife) will show you how she creates her beautiful book designs. She will share with you her Photoshop knowledge and all her secrets to designing for the stars (literally – like for Oprah)! After Dawn’s album design workshop, there is a “Trash The Dress” session at the ever-so-amazing Driftwood Beach on Jeckyll Island with Sarah and Brent, along with a few of their friends who will model.

I understand that there are only 5 seats left…actually, it might be 4 if I can squeeze it in.

Marketing

Donald Trump once said:

I like thinking big. If you are going to be thinking about anything, you might as well think big.

It’s nice to think big, but you must know how to get there. It’s nice to aim for 30 weddings a year at $5,000 each, but the steps to achieve that and to sustain that is quite a pickle.

I use two forms of marketing for my business:

In Person – yes, that simple. One suggestion is to organize a coffee meet with other photographers every Friday afternoon just to hang out, network, trade ideas or refer clients!

We create friction and connection by meeting people in person…these connections outweigh any online ones.

Online – There is a great deal of talk about SEO, but sadly that isn’t everything. It’s really two parts:

1. Getting the traffic through SEO
2. Converting the traffic into clients

Now these are my observations for becoming a successful wedding photographer and/or business owner. I would love to hear your thoughts on this!

@tofurious | subscribe to mailing list

On Monday – September 7th, 2009 – a number of Orange County wedding photographers attended the very first public Tofurious SEO workshop! I was humbled to see so much talent in the room – especially those whom I admire as heroes.

Check out these phenomenal OC wedding vendors!

Joel – Los Angeles based wedding photographer
Jay Hsiang (studio) – Destination wedding photographer based in Los Angeles
Amanda Rae – an awesome Ventura County wedding photographer
Chris Schmitt Photography – another cool LA wedding photographer
Henry Wang Photography – Los Angeles wedding and portrait photographer
Kien Trinh Photography – Orange County wedding photographer
Miguel Pola Photographers – Orange County wedding photographer
Scott Land Photography – a selfless Southern California wedding photographer
Caren Lazarus – Wedding and bridal hair accessories!
Peter Garr – Southern California wedding photographer & LA Smug Leader
Michelle Johnson – Los Angeles engagement photographer
Chelsea Elizabeth Photography – Sassy Santa Barbara portrait photographer
Shaun Austin – Kiss Wedding Books (World’s Simplest Album Company)
Jeff Jochum – marketing guy from Smug Mug
Robert Evans – Celebrity wedding photographer
Candice Cunningham – awesome inventor of Camera Slingers
Doug Boutwell – The most rad photoshop actions for wedding photographers
Jenny Liu – sassy girl with a camera
Jeff Neal Photography – guy who taught me how to use the tilt-shift lens
Lynnette Coalson – one fun San Diego photographer!
Gayla Elizabeth – who owns a rad print lab
Lynnette Coalson
Trish Roberts

Make sure to subscribe to the mailing list | and follow @tofurious for more updates!

Sincerely,

Lawrence

P.S. NEVER reserve a seat in front of the emergency exit row on an airplane because the chairs DO NOT recline!

I’m super excited to share some wedding pictures from Langham Huntington Hotel (Pasadena branch). If you are a bride, feel free to contact me here!

The last time I photographed there was when it was under Ritz Carlton’s management. Plus, I just got myself this 45mm f/2.8 tilt-shift lens!

What is a Tilt-Shift lens?
It is a lens that bends the depth of field allowing photographers to discern details in images

Ngoc Nguyen – Skybox Event Productions (coordinator)
949-293-9510
skyboxevent@gmail.com

The Langham, Huntington Hotel and Spa (San Gabriel Valley)
1401 South Oak Knoll Avenue
Pasadena, CA 91208
626-585-6244

Without further ado, STEPHANIE AND GEORGE!

Pretty wedding shoes!

Pretty wedding dress!

Pretty engagement ring and wedding bands!

Pretty girls!

Pretty bride-to-be Stephanie! So far my job sounds easy-peasy! Why anyone wouldn’t want to do wedding photography, I don’t quite understand.

I later learned that this picture might be unflattering because of “back cleavage,” which I rolled around laughing when I heard it. Nevertheless, I am posting it because I love the lighting!

…All creased out.

First glances are always so romantic! If done properly, the groom normally does not know what to expect (hairdo, makeup, dress, everything)! It’s like Christmas, but early!

Tilt-shift formals?! I wouldn’t suggest it because you might get some blurry foreheads, but since I was second-shooter, I could do whatever I want!

Oh so rad! When I saw the light pouring through the back, I knew it was going to give them awesome depth because of the hair-light; And it did, so I’m happy with the result!

The Langham Hotel garden is as beautiful as I remember it (back in the day – gosh, I feel so old).

Gosh, it was so hot (especially with the brush fire)! So we just sat. The only thing missing that would make this scene better would be a blisteringly cold Brisk Iced Tea.

This silhouette was my favorite for the day.

Sincerely,

Lawrence

P.S. Hope everyone’s wedding season is doing well!

Please click on the following image to proceed, but I still highly recommend that you to read the content of this blog post first

code to embed video on your own blog / forum
<embed src="http://blip.tv/play/g54rgZPSSgI" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="480" height="300" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true"></embed>

link to video
http://blip.tv/file/2398877/

SEO – search engine optimization – is a wonderful tool that can be applied into any industry. It is the basis for my online marketing technique in my photography business. Although I do not book every inquiry, I have been fortunate enough to get an average of 2-3 a day despite the depressed economy.

I don’t deny it – SEO is complicated. It took me two years to have a strong understanding of it. I bought books, read tips, and experimented; everything seemed to help just a little, but I was unable to find a direct formula for SEO for photographers.

I Decided To Teach It

When I started Tofurious, I had one goal in mind and that was to help photographers – namely on business and marketing elements [but maybe on taking nice pictures in the future...I am only one person!]. My success as a wedding photographer lies mainly on SEO.

The more exposure I had, the more clients I could book. It’s quite similar to how people apply for corporate jobs – send out 10 resumes for a chance of one interview…send out 100 resumes for a chance of 10 interviews. Conversely, as photographers we do not have places (brides’ addresses) to send our resumes to. Therefore, we need to rely on exposure.

This allowed me to do a number of things:

• I can dictate my own prices
• I can select which weddings I wanted to photograph rather than any that comes my way
• I can quit my day job
• I can be independent with my business
• I can have time (and freedom) with my family and friends rather than editing 80 hours a week

When I decided to share what I had learned, I made a mock presentation for my girlfriend. I will be honest with you – my presentation was 8 slides and 10 minutes long…and when I was done, she gave me a befuddled look.

Fortunately, my girlfriend (@bullysaurus) is a 4th grade teacher. Her job is to take complicated ideas and break them down into digestible segments. And that’s what she did.

Anyone Can Do It (after the workshop)

After practicing my presentation, I gave my first SEO workshop in San Francisco and another one in Orange County. They were successes! Now it was time for me to extend this further to the public.

If you are interested in more about the workshop, please add yourself to the mailing list for more information!

Please help filling out the following survey so that I have a better understanding of what issues (if any) are being faced. Thanks!

Click Here to take survey

Cheers,

Lawrence

P.S. I enjoy chicken kabaps.

subscribe | follow @tofurious

Thank you everyone who could make it out! We had local photographers from Orange County to super cool ones from far away – San Francisco, San Jose, San Antonio(Texas).

Due to overwhelming interest, the beginner’s workshop sold out in a few hours. Intermediate and advanced ones coming in the near future. They will be much smaller than this one because of the technical aspects of learning creative lighting.

Beginners – 3 hours

• Understand what equipment to use
• Get a feel of the difference between studio strobes and mobile lighting kits
• Locate sources of ambient light and how to angle / compensate for them

Goal: Student will be able to setup a 2-3 point lighting scenario and properly calibrate for subjects

Intermediate – 5 hours

• Learn how to frame an image effectively
• Use of harsh / creative shadows
• Understand how to reflect or deflect light
• Play with ring lights, barn doors, honeycombs, grids, etc.

Goal: Student will be able to use creative lighting setups and calibrate for virtually any scenario in a matter of a few minutes

Advanced – 5 hours

• Must have strong grasp of lighting
• Use of snoots for pin-point lighting
• Advanced level post production
• Learn how to fashionably pose subjects

Goal: Student will be able to book badass gigs based on flippin’ sweet lighting setups

Models Information

Need a model or makeup artist? In fact, they can even do their own makeup and hair so it saves you the trouble!

Tracie Cotta – model / makeup artist

http://traciecotta.com

http://modelmayhem.com/ivebeenshot

traciecotta@gmail.com
@traciecotta

Kyuri – model

http://www.modelmayhem.com/880296

headcase.kyur@gmail.com

Some Student Work

The first image (my fave) is by Jenny Liu Photography (Orange County photographer)

All images taken at Ritz Carlton (Laguna Niguel) after marketing workshop

Cheers,

Lawrence

P.S. You all ROCKED! Just too bad, I did not take any pictures myself boo…

subscribe | @tofurious

Wednesday – June 3rd, 2009

What a day so far. I cannot even begin to explain. First off, @lanbui, @vubui and @DFurious photographed @iJustine. As much as I wanted to participate in the photo shoot, I had to prepare my notes for the wedding photography workshop the next day.

Anyway, just wanted to share with everyone the spectacular view from our suite at Ritz carlton (Laguna Niguel).

The Ritz Carlton Laguna Niguel
One Ritz-Carlton Drive
Dana Point, CA 92629
(949) 240-2000

Thursday – June 4th, 2009

Butterflies fluttering, cold sweat, nervous shivers, you name it, I got it. The only thing that got me through the private workshop were the smiles from familiar faces – thank you for your support. Prior to everyone’s arrival, I recited my lecture notes over and over in my head. Upon opening my mouth, my scripted speech turned into a series of barely cohesive words meshed into a ball of thoughts.

Why the anxiety?

1. The attendees included some of the world’s top weddings photographers
2. Even without the titles, I still had an insurmountable adulation for them
3. I copied one of the photographer’s pricing sheet when I first immersed myself into this industry

I do not remember the exact words, but it went something like this:

Me: Sara [France], I did not mean to copy your pricing sheet, but it looked so pretty.

Sara: It’s okay, when I was starting out, I copied (name).

A wave of relief swelled inside of me as I am reminded by @bullysaurus’s words that “they are regular people too, so don’t worry so much.” It’s funny because this same scenario happened in San Francisco’s private workshop.

Attendees:

• Gene Higa
• Ann Hamilton
• Aaron Dieppa
• The Boudoir Divas – Kimberlee & Marissa
• Lauren Hillary
• Sara France
• Dane Sanders
• Jules Bianchi
• [B]ecker
• Keats Elliott
• Victor Sizemore

Special thanks to: Anton Lorimer!

Some cool OC peeps:

• Bridal Mode – http://www.bridalmode.com/
• Design Visage – http://www.designvisage.com
• Jeffrey Neal Photography – http://jnpstudiosblog.com
• Jenny Liu Photography – http://www.jennyliublog.com

I am particularly proud of Victor Sizemore being able to implement the strategies taught in the workshop virtually immediately! At first, I thought Victor was chatting or writing an email instead of listening. He later shared with me what he was up to.

While you were talking, I Google’d one of my previous wedding shoots and it was on page 3 of search results. [not so good] While listening to you, I made a number of changes to that blog post. Upon return from giving my testimonial to Anton, I Google’d the same thing and I am #1. [WOW]

It made me proud to see that I was able to deliver complex concepts over effectively.

TwitPic – @bonny and @lanbui enjoying breakfast at one of the three patios while @Dfurious played server

TwitPic – @genehiga soaking in some Vitamin D outside the suite on our last day

Looking forward to the next one,

Lawrence

P.S. I am entertaining the idea of hosting my first public workshop on a yacht (in Orange County). Special perks for coming to this first one include

• wine / champagne
• get to be in a high production music video (still planning)
• boat ride – yay!

Add yourself to the mailing list if you want more information in the coming months – subscribe