Stephen Anthony Photo: Wedding Photographer, Portraits, California, West Coast Photography » Engagement Shoots

SNEEKPEEK

Stephen — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 02:55:35 +0000

Seeing the light! Light paints your world and for photography it is an absolute element photography cannot live without. Understanding it can always be tricky so knowing what you want for an image is of utmost importance. Your light source can bring impact, feeling and emotion. If you notice in our teasers four different elements on light: artificial, available light, natural light and naturally directed light. All play a different roll and give a different feeling to each photo. Sudha + Suchit bring the element of artificial light to bring a dynamic feel that gives impact to an image while exposing their surroundings. Mai + Marlowe bring the element of using available light when there is virtually little to no lighting available. Flash is avoided so that shadows and a mood can be created by only available light, in other words creating an image based on where the light source is. Joyce and Ryan is probably the easiest light to shoot in because its natural light. Lets face it, everyone loves it because of the look and feel of images from natural light. Natural light is fresh, bright and oozing with loveliness. Lastly, Kate + Adam are a similar case of natural light only that natural light is directed through a window allowing light to be more controlled to create shadows which can create mood. Window light is like diffused light in that the light source doesn’t directly hit its subject first.

In wedding photography, people usually hire a photographer based on the type of portfolio they have and what style wedding the bride might be looking for based on her theme. Whether you’re a bride who likes glamor with all the lights or maybe you like those country side weddings like me that invite a earthy warm tones we love shooting all styles from dark romantic places to bright and green luscious places =) But the most important thing we take into consideration with photography is getting to know YOU the best as possible. Everyone has a different taste, style and feel they want for their wedding so the more we get to know you the more we understand what you like and don’t like when it comes to imagery. We believe firmly that good photography doesn’t just consist of showing up for a shoot but actually directing the look and feel of your shoot/wedding day.

SUDHA + SUCHIT | PART 1 CIVIL DAY

MAI + MARLOWE WEDDING

JOYCE + RYAN

KATE + ADAM

MEERA + TIM

Stephen — Thu, 27 May 2010 20:02:53 +0000

After being married earlier this year in Goa, India – we had the pleasure of shooting Meera & Tim on a gorgeous Spring afternoon.

With Spring significantly representing all things new, growth and beauty, I don’t think there could have been a more perfect time than this to shoot Meera and Tim, with the trees bustling, the flowers blossoming around us really complimented the colours of Meera’s beautiful sari and the Traditional Indian wedding outfits. We had so much fun on this shoot with Meera and Tim, their outfits were absolutely gorgeous and you can’t help but have a real appreciation for the intricate beading and sequins that all seemed to catch the light at all the perfect times! It was so refreshing and awesome to see that even though Meera and Tim came from different cultures, they were so in tune with one another, it was evident that they both have a deeper respect and understanding into each others’ background and culture yet ultimately coming together as one. =)

Shooting Meera was probably the easiest thing to do, this girl, you cannot get a bad angle and don’t get us started on her dazzling hypnotic eyes – we told her that when we look into her eyes, we can’t help but fall in love with her! but it’s so true! She just laughs it off but probably the most beautiful thing about Meera is that she’s so genuine and so modestly beautiful. Tim, you’re one heck of a lucky guy! lol I’m sure he knows it too, i think Tim spent the entire day being directed by us to stare at Meera! lol Thanks guys for an awesome shoot!

Well the rest of you please enjoy and comments are welcomed =)

NOMINATE ME

Stephen — Tue, 18 May 2010 06:02:05 +0000

Wow! What an honor it is to be nominated for Best Photographer Contest 2010 by KCRA A-List. I was speechless when I received an email from KCRA’s A-List contest for the local Sacramento Region. I am more than thrilled but and would appreciate your vote if you appreciate the work I do =) Your support and faith in what I absolutely love to do is beyond my words of thankfulness I can express. It is a wonderful feeling to be a nominee and I hope I can continue to inspire others to pursue their dreams. Thanks for the love and support. – Stephen Anthony

VOTE FOR ME BY CLICKING THE IMAGE =)

SUDHA + SUCHIT | THE ENGAGEMENT

Stephen — Thu, 15 Apr 2010 22:25:25 +0000

We met up with our friend’s Sudha + Suchit for their engagement shoot and as soon as we stepped into Suchit’s apartment, he made us both feel right at home, we chatted over cups of tea and hung out before shooting, Suchit even washed the windows for us so we could shoot through them! – What an awesome dude!

Shooting Suchit + Sudha, it’s so evident to me that they’re both so in love, there seemed to never be a dull moment between them! Suchit’s quite the comedian and our shoot never had a dull moment, he kept Sudy and us all laughing which I really think helped to put Sudha at such ease in front of the camera. We feel so very blessed with our clients who are just so open and trusting in our vision and artistic imagery and they really let us take the reins with our creativity and directing, it’s just so fun and what we’re really passionate about!

Thank you Sudha and Suchit for an amazing shoot, Sou-Wah and I are so overjoyed to have you both as our great friends and we really can’t wait to shoot your amazing 4 Day Indian Wedding Bonanza this Summer!

I hope the rest of you also enjoy this set as much as we enjoyed shooting it! =)

JINGYI + BEN

Stephen — Tue, 13 Apr 2010 17:56:47 +0000

Just like a photograph can say a million words , so can a beautiful smile. With a smile like Jingyi from ear to ear you can’t help but notice how much Ben really makes her happy. Despite their shoot being on a beautiful snowy winter day, they both kept their spirits up and kept each other cosy and warm! With everywhere blanketed with snow, the fire flaming in their cozy lounge and ending the shoot wandering around the German Market where Ben kindly treated us to gorgeous delicious German Frankfurter hot dogs made this shoot warm us from outside in! =)

Enjoy!

CHOOSING THE RIGHT WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHER

Stephen — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 07:59:22 +0000

Can someone give me a high five or some sugar =D? Blogging nearly everyday this week, I should definitely get some brownie points here but I suppose a nice high ten would be all the better. As many of you may all know, my fiancee Sou-Wah and I are happily engaged and excited about our big day next year. Although we have not settled on a specific date and location yet we have already begun the process of ideas and themes for our wedding day. Sorry guys, no secrets will be spilled here or in the near future until you see our wedding photographs =). Which leads me to the obvious, who would photograph our wedding? Ah, fantastic question. The answer is…WE…DON’T…KNOW YET! Now that wedding planning is just around the corner for the both of us, finding the right photographer turns out to be a lot harder than we expected, go figure. You’d think we would know by now but now that I think about it, brides choose wedding photographers a lot of times based on the theme and style of their wedding. So they choose photographer whose portfolio fits their vision. If you portfolio displays a lot of outdoor weddings they are more likely to book someone say like Jose Villa (brilliant film photographer). Maybe you fit the fashion and glamor ticket more and You’ll go with someone like Jerry Ghionis. Maybe you’re the type of bride who loves the fine arts approach and you choose our loving mentor Scott Robert. Or just maybe you’re a designer and appreciate photography such as Apertura, Jerry Yoon or Images Found. But, truly at the end of the day I believe most brides ultimately pick wedding photographers based on people who know or recommend them or your web presence is extremely likable along with having amazing imagery. If you’re the type of bride who basis wedding photography on price only then you probably wouldn’t consider any of these artist or myself not that their isn’t a price on weddings. We obviously have our budgets we have set and many of us want to stick to it.

However, with all things considered I still believe the most valuable thing to invest in on your wedding day is your wedding photographer. I’m not just saying this because that’s what I do but I believe it to be the truth. I’ve had several people whom I’ve connected with on inquires who have added me as facebook friends tell me later they regretted not hiring me or a photographer they really loved based on price. Weddings are a once in a life time thing (hopefully for most) and at the end of the day no one will remember your cake, the food, the venue, who was there, what happened exactly and things that happened on the day many forget to see. It’s PHOTOGRAPHY that brings back every single one of these memories back to life. Might I add wedding cinematography is definitely hitting its revolution since the entry of the Canon 5D Mark II. So when it comes to choosing your wedding photographer there are a lot of things to take into consideration so choose wisely. If you care about photography enough, don’t hire a VENDOR PHOTOGRAPHER. Hire a artist who is inspired to capture your day with passion. Vendor photographers are there for the job not YOU.

PS PHOTOGRAPHERS: Always make sure you education your clients on expectations. That is the #1 rule. That means getting to know them but also layout all the details so there are no surprises. No one likes to be left in the dark.

Don’t worry, this isn’t going to be a photo-less post. =) Just wanted to share a few snap shots from our engagement dinner with friends at the Lowry in the UK. =) Thanks for stopping by again everyone.

Sou-Wah & I at the Lowry. Doesn’t she look absolutely smashing? =)

The O So Lovely gang who shared our joyous celebration with us =) Thanks everyone =)

I am the most BLESSED MAN alive.

The Fellas…

…And the beautiful ladies.

WAI HAN + DAVID | THE ENGAGEMENT

Stephen — Wed, 07 Apr 2010 20:51:56 +0000

It so refreshing to be back blogging regularly. I know my activity here has been quite sluggish but rest assured I’m still here!

All this traveling and working all over has it’s perks, I feel very blessed to be able to by my lovely fiancée’s side doing what we love most and what we’re passionate about – our photography. I really believe that “the world is a book and those who do not travel read only a page…” I’ve learnt so much and we feel so fortunate, as many of you all know who follow Sou-Wah and I is that we’re cooking you all something up delicious to feast on which unfortunately has bought on neglecting you all with some blog love so please accept our apologies. I’d also like to take this opportunity to say thank you to all our followers and subscribers who always offer their warm words and their support for our work and to us. We feel incredibly humbled and blessed, thank you! We’ll be making a much more conscious effort to blog due to the ongoing demand, even if it takes strapping our macbooks to our backs in shiny satchels, we don’t want to let you all down and hope you’ll welcome us back with open arms!

We’re kicking this off officially with a well overdue post of our friends, David & Wai Han’s Engagement shoot in Manchester.

David the secret Rocker! & Wai Han the Shoe Fiend!

Enjoy!

WE’RE ENGAGED!

Stephen — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 02:58:08 +0000

Hello world. I know it has been ages since I have properly posted photographs here. I’m in the process of merging my photography business with my fiancee and we can’t wait to show the world our new developing site. In the mean time I have some awesome and exciting news. We’re engaged. =) I’ll save the details for my NEW future BLOG so I’ll leave you with a handful of photos to share with everyone. =)

A YEAR IN REVIEW 2009

Stephen — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 11:53:19 +0000

2009 was an amazing year with extraordinary adventure and I know 2010 will be awesome as it already on its way to a great start. Considering how fast 2009 went and how busy I am setting my eyes and focus on 2010 it is easy to forget what 2009 looked like. So here is a small year in review of some of the weddings and engagement session for some of my clients. You guys are the best and it’s always a priviledge to be a part of your love story. So thank you all for a brilliant year and lets bring on the awesomeness of 2010.

I admit I enjoy making dinners over skype with Sou-Wah. That’s right part of how her and I stay so connected 24/7 and I do mean close to 24/7 maybe 23/7 is through skype video. Such an amazing tool for anyone who wants to keep in contact with their loved ones. Anyways, when I say I spend 24/7 with Sou-Wah I literally mean that. I am always connected to her world even when she is not there at the very moment. I share my dinners, conversation, ideas, things were doing at the very moment together even making tea. With my handy dandy laptop Sou-Wah can always feel connected to my world here in the USA in all aspects of my life. Of course it’s not better than being with one another in person but while we are apart skype is our closest friend. So to skype, thank you for being the amazing medium of communication to our relationship. Sou-Wah and I send you our love and thankfulness.

Your truly,

Stephen

MAXINE + DAVID | SACRAMENTO, CA

SACRAMENTO WEDDINGS

HEATHER + MIKE | SACRAMENTO, CA

SACRAMENTO WEDDINGS

ROSALYN + GABE | PORTOLA VALLEY, CA

PORTOLA VALLEY WEDDINGS

YACHEN + SUNG | MILBRAE, CA

MILBRAE WEDDINGS

LESLIE + SAM | SAN JOSE, CA

SAN JOSE WEDDINGS

ANNA + MASOOD | CUPERTINO, CA

CUPERTINO WEDDINGS

CATHERINE + HENDRA | OAKLAND, CA

OAKLAND WEDDINGS

MARY + NELSON | DUBLIN, CA

DUBLIN WEDDINGS

JACKIE + KENNY | SAN FRANCISCO, CA

SAN FRANCISCO WEDDINGS

JAMIE + JARED | MODESTO, CA

MODESTO WEDDINGS

AMY + CARY | SAN FRANCISCO,CA

SAN FRANCISCO WEDDINGS

AMY + CHRIS | PLEASANTON, CA

PLEASANTON WEDDINGS

MOWSY + MOWSA | ELK GROVE, CA

ELK GROVE WEDDINGS

ANA+ KENNETH | DAVIS, CA

Stephen — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 01:55:34 +0000

Meet Ana + Kenneth one of our many beautiful clients we have the privileged of photographing. Ana + Kenneth flew all the way from Washington, DC for their photo shoot and it was loads and loads of fun. It was a chilly day here in Davis, CA with a chance of rain but the sky was o so gracious to us, thank you =) Kenneth is cousins to one of my good college roommate, Kevin. Thanks Kevin for connecting Ana + Kenneth and I hope you all had a marvelous time. Ana + Kenneth are perfect for each other and you can just tell they love each other so much just being around them. Part of documenting love stories is really understanding and getting to know couples is one of the most key ingredients that go into creating photos that represent you specifically. Ana & Kenneth, thank you so much for inviting us into your love story and I hope you both had a marvelous time. Thank you both for being proper troopers on the shoot. May the Lord your God bless your life together on your journey together as one. The journey is infinitely more beautiful than the destination. Our destination is our vision but who we are with on the journey is what matters the most. Thanks for tuning in everyone and hope you enjoy this shoot as much as we did =)

Love,

S + S