Anna Wu Photography » los angeles

Best of 2011: Weddings

Anna — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 20:55:40 +0000

I know I know, it’s almost February, and I am still back in 2011, recapping weddings. Please forgive me. I thought about letting this post slide by, but I simply couldn’t let it go. 2011 was filled to the brim with such wonderful couples, unique venues all across the country, the most touching moments, and above all, love, love, love.

Below is a selection of just a few of the amazing moments from the past year. The majority of these are photojournalistic captures of genuine emotion. The laughter! The tears! The hugs! I chose these photographs because they are the types of images that remind me what an incredible honor and privilege it is to be able to do this for a living.

My sincerest thanks to every one of my 2011 couples and to their friends and family who invited me to be there on such a special day of your lives. I hope you enjoy! Click on any image to view the full wedding post.

Little Sarah | San Gabriel Family Portraits

Anna — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 23:31:07 +0000

She might not be able to walk without wobbling all over the place, but she’s smart as a whip! Little Sarah reads entire books and answers all sorts of questions, from “what sound does a monkey make?” to “who is the president?” (both answers are really adorable, by the way).

It was a sunny Monday afternoon when we all met up in Lacy Park, San Marino, for a family session with the Espinosas. We kick it off with the whole fam! Joseph, Sarah, and Marilyn. Plus, another little one on the way!

Fun fact: Marilyn and Jenny (of Kevin and Jenny) are twin sisters!

A kiss for mommy!

Dimple power!

Precious!

Jenny & Kevin | Little Tokyo | Los Angeles Anniversary Shoot

Anna — Thu, 24 Nov 2011 17:50:11 +0000

This is an anniversary shoot. It’s also a story of love and family and Thanksgiving.

It was just over a year ago that we were all gathered in Southern California for Jenny and Kevin’s beautiful wedding. I was their official photographer, and we were also there with our brand new videography company Seaglass Cinema, which Kevin and I had co-founded.

We had already been friends before their wedding, but in the months since, we have all become closer than ever. Even though we live on different ends of California, I’ve seen Kevin just about every other week this year, and I’ve come to regard Jenny & Kevin’s place as a second home. In fact, as I am sitting on Jenny and Kevin’s couch right now on Thanksgiving Day, it’s no understatement to say we’ve become family in many ways– just one of the many things that I’m incredibly thankful for this Thanksgiving.

The anniversary shoot was initially Jenny’s idea as a followup to their engagement session and their wedding photographs, and I immediately jumped on it. I love absolutely everything about the anniversary shoot idea. It’s a celebration of love and life and a reminder that yes, weddings are fantastic (and I love them too), but they are only the beginning. The years that come afterward are just as important and worthy of celebration (if not more!).

So on a lovely fall weekend, we dressed up Jenny and Kevin and headed to Little Tokyo, Los Angeles, to kick off our new anniversary shoot tradition.

I should mention that being close friends with your photographer has its perks. Our other friend Jon and I spent the week leading up to the shoot playing stylists and shopping for a variety of outfits for Jenny and Kevin. Jon actually bought Kev a whole new wardrobe, not just for the shoot. Jon helped out for the actual shoot too, driving us around and playing assistant. I’d like to think our styling efforts paid off!

We pulled off some quiet moments in the Far Bar alley tucked between two buildings.

Love the soft sun flare and long shadows stretching across the frame. And Jenny’s pristine white TOMS complete her second outfit.

More fun with shadows.

Jon drove us to his favorite ivy wall and to a bridge underpass.

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

Technical note: half these images were shot on digitally and processed with VSCO Film (and other tweaks). The other half were shot on a 35mm film on Fuji 400H and processed by Richard Photo Lab. Can you tell the difference? Probably not! (Success!)

Diana Lee | Los Angeles Lifestyle Portraits

Anna — Tue, 13 Sep 2011 17:28:10 +0000

She’s amazing and gorgeous and would never admit it herself. On my visit to Los Angeles last month, I needed some help with office and editing tasks, and my friend Diana needed some headshots to submit to castings as an extra. It made for the perfect trade. I taught her how to do some things on Lightroom and Photoshop, and she even retouched a bunch of these images herself.

We just wandered around Alhambra and snapped these portraits in about half an hour. Diana claims she can’t pull off a serious or a sexy look, but clearly, she’s wrong.

Gorgeous!

Karly & Mario | Descanso Gardens | Los Angeles Wedding Photography

Anna — Thu, 08 Sep 2011 22:39:26 +0000

Are you ready to get married? Most people joke or laugh or have a slight look of disbelief when you ask them this question. But he responded simply with a smile, I’m ready. Not a single ounce of stress, anxiety, or hesitation.

Despite their very different backgrounds, Karly and Mario are kindred spirits who have found their homes in one another. Simply seeing them together is a bit magical. All morning, the outgoing, outspoken Karly buzzed about, checking on details and getting ready for her wedding day, while Mario stood by, calm, steady, and ready to be there with her, for her. And when they finally got to see each other and let the reality of the day set in, everything just slowed down to the perfect pace.

First off, Karly & Mario’s highlight film created by our sister videography company, Seaglass Cinema.

Karly and Mario | 08.20.2011 from Seaglass Cinema on Vimeo.

Karly & Mario’s “first look” was so sweet. I also love how it came out in the Seaglass Cinema video!

I absolutely loved the Oak Forest at Descanso Gardens. It was such an amazing setting for the ceremony, and plus, Lauren, the site coordinator for Descanso was amazing to work with!

Gorgeous wedding party. Amazing light.

This was such a beautiful ketubah– the Jewish wedding contract, reflective of Karly’s heritage.

They also threw in a surprise Mariachi band to get some of Mario’s heritage in there too! The band popped up after the ceremony and serenaded guests over to the cocktail hour.

I love a good cupcake-cake combination! These look divine.

A shoutout has to go to Lindsay, Karly’s sister giving the toast on the right, for being the 4th degree of connection who brought us to this wedding. (The chain goes through my good friend Talya, who told her friend Rashida, who told her friend Magali– one of my other brides this season– and they told Lindsay, Karly’s sister.) Basically, all of these people are awesome and I can’t wait to see them at more weddings in the future!

Congratulations Karly & Mario!

Wedding Vendors:

Ceremony & Reception Venue: Descanso Gardens, La Cañada Flintridge, California
Hair: David Alva
Makeup: Courtney Miller
Florist: Luis Perez
Catering: Patina
DJ/Musicians: Masta
Cake/Cupcakes: Fantasy Frostings
Videography: Seaglass Cinema
Photography: Anna Wu Photography

Jenny & Kevin’s Wedding Albums | Kiss Wedding Albums

Anna — Thu, 09 Jun 2011 16:48:09 +0000

Hooray for more wedding albums! Jenny and Kevin’s albums arrived last week, and they are beautiful. Jenny and Kevin opted for twin 8×8″ albums, the small sized albums, and they will be gifting one to Kevin’s parents and keeping the other.

The first spread– the beloved fountain image!

Here is a reception details spread:

And probably the funniest spread with the very intense bouquet toss sequence:

All of the spreads were designed by me with Kiss Wedding Books’ SWAT designer. I love that tool and would definitely recommend it for other photographers!

The books are always framed by these beautiful black linen end pages.

For size comparison, here is a stack of the 12×12″ black leather book with the two 8×8″ brown leather books on top. Each book comes with a protective cloth cover.

One more side by side of the large 12″ book versus the small 8″ book:

And finally, Jenny and Kevin’s two albums, ready to be delivered to them!

I absolutely love seeing these wedding albums delivered in my mail! There is nothing quite like holding an heirloom quality book in this digital age. Clients past and present– if you’d like to create an album, email me today!

Oscars Photo Lab vs. Richard Photo Lab | Shooting Film, Part 4 of 5

Anna — Wed, 13 Apr 2011 20:25:47 +0000

After I shot my first few rolls of film, I did a little experiment. I sent one roll to my local lab, Oscar’s Photo Lab, in San Francisco, and I sent the rest to Richard Photo Lab in Los Angeles. Richard Photo Lab is easily the most well-known film processing lab in the country today, and all of the major film shooters, at least in the wedding industry, use them. They have a reputation for quality and great customer service. But honestly, I was silently rooting for Oscar’s Photo Lab. I can walk a mile to their storefront, I would be able to drop off and pick up my film in about two days, and it would be slightly cheaper too. I also thought it would be a great way to support a local small business.

The Winner

Well, it turns out that Richard Photo Lab wins, and not by a small margin either. I still feel a bit bad about the declaration, since I do like the people at Oscar’s Photo Lab. I also just found out the timing of this post is really unfortunate, because Oscar’s Photo Lab just suffered a devastating loss a couple weeks ago when their lab went up in flames. Luckily, everyone is ok, and though they are temporarily closed and without most of their equipment, they are in recovery mode and plan to return to business as soon as they can.

Nevertheless, the review stands. And I think it is probably reflective of most photographers’ experiences of their local labs versus the inimitable Richard Photo Lab. The number one reason for this is better shown than told. And so we kick it off with some images– sneak peeks– of a collaborative styled shoot we did in San Francisco. They are all raw scans, just as I received them from the labs with no color or exposure corrections on my part.

The Images

First off, a scan from Oscar’s Photo Lab. Not bad! It looks just a little bit muddy to me– so if I were to adjust it, I would have just raised the curves a bit, but it’s definitely a good, usable scan.

Below, a couple scans from Richard Photo Lab. Looking great. No complaints here.

Based only on these outdoor portraits, the two labs are comparable. Obviously the settings on the photos are different, so any differences in color are going to be hard to compare. But if these were the only samples, I might just go with my local Oscar’s. Unfortunately, Oscar’s goes downhill from here.

Below, two indoor portraits, processed and scanned by Oscar’s Photo Lab. The images begin looking underexposed and the midtones look a bit gray. Well, you might point out, I was probably the one who underexposed the actual negatives when I took the photos! Yes, but the whole point is that the lab should be able to compensate for this when they produce the scans. If you keep scrolling down, you’ll see what I mean.

Another scan by Oscar’s Photo Lab. Clearly not looking very good. The image is extremely grainy, especially in the dark areas. And the entire image looks underexposed.

And then, a scan by Richard Photo Lab of the same scene, shot with the same film, with the same settings.

Two more images, just to drive the point home. Oscar’s Photo Lab:

Richard Photo Lab:

Based on the last red tablecloth image alone, I would not want to process my film with Oscar’s Photo Lab. The image is simply not something I would be able to present to a client. With Richard Photo Lab, every single frame of every roll I have received has been more than presentable. It’s been shockingly beautiful. I’m often pleasantly surprised by what comes out of the camera. But just to be analytical and to demonstrate the weighing of options, I will outline some of the considerations that actually went into this experiment of mine.

Costs

Lab	Color Process + Scan	Scan Quality (other options are available)	Shipping	Turnaround Time
Oscar’s Photo Lab	$5.00 + $13.00 = $18.00	“super resolution” jpg (2797 x 2048 pixels)	none	2 days
Richard Photo Lab	(process + scan) = $18.50	“+/- 15MB” jpg (2797 x 2048 pixels)	~$4.00 there, $9.00 back	5-10 business days

Basically, if it weren’t for shipping, the costs would be almost the same, and RPL would just have a longer turnaround time. But with shipping, it costs about $13 extra, and it takes a lot longer. Of course, all of these added costs are basically moot when one turns out an image that you can’t use and the other consistently produces excellent results.

When I did this experiment and saw these results, I immediately wanted to know exactly what it is that makes Richard Photo Lab stand out and why their images are just so much better when you get them back. So the last part of this post is a huge rave about everything they do. No, they did not sponsor me or give me anything to write any of this. They really are just that amazing.

Richard Photo Lab

Customer Service

When I posted my first blog post in the series and tweeted Richard Photo Lab about it, they actually saw it and responded! Angela from RPL emailed me this out of the blue: “I saw your blog a few days ago about how you were sending us a few rolls of film so I went back to production and asked them to push your order along for you! Normal turn around time is about a week to 2 weeks but I definitely wanted to make sure that you got your scans back quickly since it seemed like they were test rolls.”

Yes, customer service. The amazing thing is that they treat everyone like this, even when they are just ordinary customers like myself. I emailed Angela a couple more times, and when I told her I would be writing more blog posts in the series she connected me with Bill, who readily indulged all my questions for about 45 minutes on the phone. Below is a bit of what we talked about.

The Process

The first thing that happens is the chemical processing, C-41 color processing in this case. According to Bill, it’s important to maintain consistency, but for the most part the objective is just to get a clean result. The real magic happens in the scanning. RPL has three scanning technicians who do all of the scanning, and they have a level of awareness and attention that most other labs just don’t. When they scan film, they preview each individual image and do color and density corrections for each frame. When you submit your film, you can also write the names of photographers you love, so they can emulate the look for you. For instance, Jose Villa’s look is warm and yellow, while Jonathan Canlas’ tends toward the cool side. Bill also mentioned that for weddings in general, photographers usually like detail shots and children to be brighter. All of these considerations are made by the scanning technicians even with the standard processing.

The results of their standard processing are already awesome, but if you get to a point were you want more customization, RPL works with you to create a custom profile that reflects all your preferences, almost like a moodboard. This service costs $450, but it’s refundable if you do a certain amount of business with RPL.

There are many more things we talked about (including their digital RAW file processing, which I will be testing out next!) but the bottom line is clear. If you’re going to start shooting film, it’s more than worth it to send it off to Richard Photo Lab, where they’ll treat you like a star and create better results from your film than you even imagined possible.

Want to see for yourself? Check out:
Oscar’s Photo Lab of San Francisco
Richard Photo Lab of Los Angeles

Check the related links below to see the other parts of the Shooting Film series!

Connie & Tony’s Wedding | Temple City & Alhambra, California

Anna — Thu, 17 Feb 2011 19:37:50 +0000

You might not see the silly side of them right away, poised as they are as the lawyer and the police officer. But give it just a little bit of time and the right conditions, and their playfulness comes right through. They’ll laugh together and be goofy together, but they’ll also cry together and they will support each other, through and through.

Time and time again on the wedding day, their friends and family chimed in on this refrain: these two are incredibly selfless, always willing to serve others. But this day– with the perfect weather and the gorgeous setting– was their day.

Love the red shoes!

The pearls on the right were a gift from Connie’s mother. They were given to her mother from her father’s mom when she and her father were engaged.

Connie and Tony opted to do a “First Look,” seeing each other for the first time before the ceremony. It’s a really great way to have a moment to yourselves before the momentum of the day takes over, and we got some really wonderful portraits too.

And I love that you can see their silliness. It’s so them.

It’s always great when the guy holds the bouquet. Just a candid moment as we move from one space to the next.

St. Luke’s made a perfect backdrop for these portraits. The fountain on the left was captured by my second shooter Christina Chou. And on the right, a very sweet & elegant moment.

And then we embraced a bit of childhood regression as we took advantage of the playground in the church.

Love.

And I love this angle too, captured by Christina.

And then it was time to get married.

I love that this captures her emotion, as Tony’s arm reaches for her.

A hug for her father.

After the ceremony, we stopped by the gorgeous San Gabriel Mission for some photographs with the wedding party. I bet you can’t even tell, but three of the five bridesmaids were pregnant!

And then it was off to Lunasia for the reception, a full ten-course Chinese banquet.

Perfect for the couple that can’t decide between cupcakes or cake, the best of both worlds– cupcakes, topped with a cake! This whole setup was personally put together by the owner of Dots Cupcakes, an amazing shop in Pasadena. I can tell you personally, they are delicious!

Tony’s brother, the best man, ragging on him a bit as they laugh in the background.

And of course, Connie and Tony cut the cake, but eat the cupcakes.

Finally, my surprise same-day-slideshow, which had a tough act to follow, since they put together one of the best personal slideshows I’ve seen. But I heard so many lovely things about both their guestbook and my slideshow from the guests afterwards. I was definitely feeling the love!

Vendors:

Florals: Shirley Liu/Flower Mart, Temple City, California
Ceremony Venue: St. Luke the Evangelist Church, Temple City, California
Reception Venue: Lunasia Chinese Cuisine, Alhambra, California
Wedding Day-of Coordinator: Mika Walton, friend of bride
Emcee/DJ: Rick Lee, cousin of groom
Cupcakes & Cake: Dot’s Cupcakes, Pasadena, California
Photography: Anna Wu Photography, assisted by Christina Chou

And now for some behind the scenes photos (more are on my Facebook page, if you’re ever curious). Many thanks to my second shooter Christina Chou for capturing these! Now I know how ridiculous I look when I’m shooting with two camera bodies.

My brand new HTC smartphone came in handy twice during the reception. One, to light this ring shot (while I wear my fashionable new lens hood bracelet), and two, when I used my free Grooveshark trial to pull up Connie & Tony’s malfunctioning first dance song, which we used for the same-day-slideshow instead. And miraculously, the slides were perfectly timed to finish exactly as the song came to a close. I was rather surprised and impressed, but I’m sure no one else knew it was just serendipity. Way to go, Droid.

And at the end of the night with the newlyweds! Congratulations! I’m so glad to have gotten to know you both. You’ve been amazing to work with.

Connie & Tony | Downtown Los Angeles Engagement Photography

Anna — Thu, 27 Jan 2011 23:15:23 +0000

Theirs is an absolutely wonderful engagement story with just the right amount of theatricality. Last June, Tony brought Connie to see Wicked, one of their favorite musicals up in San Francisco’s Orpheum Theater. After the show, he had arranged everything for a sly backstage tour, and just to complete things, he even had “the green witch” Eden Espinosa partake in the proposal. By the time the very starstruck, awestruck, lovestruck Connie realized what was happening and Tony asked the big question, there was really only one answer to be given– “of course!”

I had such an amazing time with Connie and Tony on our exploration of downtown Los Angeles. It’s not exactly known as a pedestrian’s city, but we walked across town, hitting some of the city’s most iconic venues along the way. First off, we had an amazing session in the historic Bradbury Building, the oldest commercial building in Los Angeles.

Then we headed over to Bunker Hill. Fans of 500 Days of Summer may recognize this hill from the movie. In fact, the Bradbury Building was also an important setting in the movie (the lobby scene at the end with all the couches, which aren’t actually there in the building). So you might call our shoot 500-Days-inspired. Minus the heartbreak.

After the visit to Bunker Hill, we walked up to Walt Disney Concert Hall, another architecturally iconic building in Los Angeles, but in a totally different realm. To say this is a popular spot for engagement sessions is a total understatement. We saw two other couples with their photographers doing all sorts of great, awkward poses while we were there.

Love the play with available light.

And atop the concert hall is an unexpected little garden and an amphitheater.

Connie and Tony will be married in less than two weeks! So I’ll be in Los Angeles again soon, and you’ll be seeing lots more of these two. Thanks again to you both for showing me a really awesome side of LA.

Inspiration | Pyramid Lake, Castaic, California

Anna — Tue, 25 Jan 2011 20:35:01 +0000

The drive down I-5 from San Francisco down to Los Angeles is extremely boring for four of the six hours. Flat lands, straight two-lane highway, and the only somewhat interesting thing is the occasional semi-truck obstacle course or the not-so-pleasant odors of the industrial-sized cow farms.

It isn’t until around hour 5 that you hit the Grapevine and climb into the mountains. And just as you descend back out of the hills, you round a corner and a lake comes into view. Pyramid Lake. It’s tucked away so unexpectedly– a paradisaical little oasis– just an hour outside of sprawling, traffic-ridden Los Angeles.

In a hurry to get to LA, I didn’t stop there the first time, and I immediately regretted it. But I took the time to stop, absorb some sunlight, and snap a few photos upon my return.

Inspiration often comes from the unexpected. It’s extraordinary beauty tucked away in the mundane. It’s there to be found with the most basic of cliches, when you know to stop and smell the roses.

Inspiration is incredibly important; perhaps doubly so for those of us in the creative sector. Inspiration is sought, inspiration is found, and inspiration is definitely meant to be shared. So I will be starting this “Inspiration” blog series with whatever I come across, and I encourage you all to send your inspirations my way too.

Also, if you’re at all curious about Pyramid Lake, it’s a man-made reservoir, built as part of the California Aqueduct in 1973. That explains why the water seems so out of place, but it doesn’t make it any less gorgeous.