Hey there! My name is Becker and I am a wedding photographer from Orange County, California who specializes in capturing relaxed portraits, amazing details and real moments for the coolest brides and grooms on the planet.
This blog follows both my personal and professional life, and features images from the weddings I shoot, the places I travel and the friends and family members that mean so much to me. It's basically like my own personal photo album combined with an information source for my current and potential clients and a source of inspiration and education for other photographers. This site is a little more informal and I just want to give everyone a sense of who I am, and what I am all about. Thanks for visiting.
Well after 600+ posts, over 10,000 comments and almost 3 million visits to beckersblog.com since April of 2007, I am ready for a change!
I've got my peeps working on a giving my blog a facelift and merging it with my website and we'll be debuting the new blogsite next week on 7/8/9.
So in preparation for the relaunch, I am going to take a little break from blogging for the next week, but don't you fret... you can still keep up with me on Twitter & Facebook. (ATTENTION Photographers: I've reach the 5,000 Facebook friend limit so please become a fan of The [ b ] School on Facebook and/or follow @thebschool on Twitter or better yet, just join the [ b ] School and be a part of the incredible community we are building)
Not only was the couple beautiful inside and out, they were very photogenic and made our jobs easier.
This was a first for me... they had a "self adornment table" set up in the woods so everyone could have a boutonniere or corsage. I've never seen that at a wedding before and I've been to a bunch.
The redwood grove is a spectacular place for a wedding ceremony:
I think this is my favorite shot so far (I still haven't gone through all of the photos... so many!). I love this one because it's straight out of the camera, no Photoshop. I love how the light is peaking through the trees, bouncing off the orange, yellow, red and pink flower petals at their feet, and bouncing some colorful light back up into her face and under her arm. Her expression is perfect and she looks so happy and excited to be getting married.
I also love this one and the couple is about to sneak another kiss before being escorted up the aisle by a piper.
A real moment only seconds after coming up the aisle. I'd like to thank the tree on the right for bending perfectly to help frame my image. (the trees on the left did a fine job as well).
The reception inside of this old rustic barn was incredible.
The light pouring through the windows during the first dance was special!
It truly was a very joyous occasion:
After the first course, I snuck them out of the reception for 5 or 6 minutes to catch some tasty light at the end of the day:
The bride & her dad sharing a special moment.
A view from just outside of the barn. By the way, the LA AllStars had the crowd rockin' all night long. They were amazing!
Thanks for checking out my latest work. I'd love to hear your feedback so please leave me some feedback below. Scott Andrew a friend of mine from the [ b ] School also came along and shot with me and should be posting some images soon. Here's a sneak peak:
One year ago today, I shot my first wedding at the Santa Lucia Preserve in beautiful Carmel, California. It is certainly one of my favorite US venues for wedding photography. From the beautiful hacienda and surround grounds, to the amazing redwood grove ceremony site, to an rustic barn for the reception, the site has gorgeous places to shoot and amazing light. Check out some of the shots from Marissa & Robbie's wedding from June 28, 2008 (Happy Anniversary you two!)
Here a few shots incase you are too lazy to click the link:
Yesterday, I had the pleasure of shooting another wedding at the Santa Lucia Preserve thanks to The Wedding Coach, Sanford Marshall showing the couple the blog post from last year's wedding.
Here's just one quick teaser shot from yesterday, you are going to have to check back Tuesday to see the rest! Aren't they good looking! ;-)
5 biggest photographers on the internet 06.26.2009
Hey now, I was mentioned in a PDN article about being 1 of the 5 biggest photographers on the internet. I just hope they weren't referring to my waistline!
All kidding aside, I was stoked to be featured in the Photo District News online magazine and to be mentioned in the same article as David Hobby from Stobist is pretty dang exciting for me. I've been working really hard building my brand for well over a decade and these last few years the internet has really helped my business; and it has allowed me to help others through my blog and the [ b ] School.
Social networking is the new black and places like Facebook, Twitter and the [ b ] School are really going to become an essential part of a photographer's online presence.
*CLICK HERE* to go straight to the article (I'm on page 5 in case you want to skip ahead, but be sure to go back and check out the others too.).
By the way, this seems like a good time to thank all of you fine people who give me the gift of your attention by visiting this blog, following me on Twitter or friending me on Facebook. Without y'all, no one would want to interview me about social media and I'd just be talking to myself online. Thanks for being a part of my world! Happy Weekend!
Last week I hit the magic 5,000 friend limit on my personal facebook profile, which is now conveniently facebook.com/thebecker (btw, have you reserved your FB username?)
The bad news is, I won't be able to add any new friends without deleting old ones. And unfortunately, in order to make room for actual friends and clients, some folks are going to get cut. Please don't be offended if suddenly we are no longer FB friends (try not to cry yourself to sleep at night).
The good news is, I finally got around creating a fan page which can accommodate all of you wonderful people out there in internet land. I figured since most of my friends/fans are photographers, I'd create a [ b ] School fan page instead of a "the Becker" fan page. Sure, I could do both, but that's a lot to keep up with.
Please click the image below and then add yourself as a fan
While I do love Facebook for keeping up with brides, friends and photographers, it seems like a lot of Facebook stuff is just a complete waste of time. I pretty much ignore all requests, so save us both some time and don't send them. These are just from the last few weeks:
FYI, you will make it easy for me to decide to un-friend you if you participate in any of the following behavior:
Please don't send me any facebook spam. I get enough email spam, I don't need it on Facebook.
Bad enough that someone spams their friends on FB, but the folks who REPLY ALL are even worse! Don't do it! Ever. No matter what.
Don't you dare throw a sheep at me!
No, I won't join your mafia war.
Don't tag me in an unflattering photo. (At least give me some liquify love... sheesh!)
Don't you dare poke me, or worse, super poke me unless you buy me dinner first!
Please don't send me fake gifts or beers. If you want to give me a present. iTunes and Amazon.com gift certificates are perfect!
Thank you for your understanding.
And since we are chatting about Facebook today, you know those 25 random things notes? I got this shirt the other day. (I love nerdy/clever/funny t-shirts)
The guy in the video below reminds me of the Sham-wow guy:
Ok, that's all for now, please don't forget to become a fan of the [ b ] School. I promise to never spam you through FB.
father's day wedding at the diamond bar center 06.23.2009
This past Sunday after taking my dad out to breakfast for Father's Day, I shot a wonderful wedding in beautiful Diamond Bar, California at the Diamond Bar Center. The June gloom had finally worn off and it turned out to be a gorgeous day. I had a great time shooting and got some really nice images. The bride was gorgeous and it was one of the most relaxed weddings I've ever attended. No one was stressed, it was just a fun celebration for these two souls.
Check out her sweet getting ready sandals:
I loved the texture in her dress:
Hello bridesmaids!
The groom was rocking the pink just like the bridesmaids (and I even coincidentally wore my pink shirt that day too):
We didn't really get to shoot any photos before the ceremony, so I shot some informal portraits in the limo.
When I snuck up the aisle to get the kiss shot, this little thing pretty much attacked me and made quite a ruckus:
The ring bearer and I use the same hair product:
Oh, sure he's nice to the bride, but not the photographer:
Here are a few relaxed portraits:
During the reception we snuck out for a few more portraits during sunset for the tasty light!
Check out the blogs of Jen Berry and Jenny Liu in the coming days to see more images.
I know there are tons of wedding websites out there that help brides plan their weddings and for wedding professional to list their services... The Knot, The Wedding Channel, The Wedding Party, etc, etc... (there are so many these days it's hard to keep track of). But recently I found a cool Facebook App that brings brides & vendors together... right on Facebook, where most of us are hanging out all the time anyway!
Couples can list their wedding profile for free by clicking the banner below and sharing details, info, photos & whatever else they want.
Photographers and other wedding professionals can get a free listing to advertise their business, by clicking the banner below. Of course they want you to upgrade to a featured listing, but you don't have to. I do not pay for any advertising these days*, but if I were going to, Facebook is the place I would be spending my money. More & more people are going everyday and it just seems like it's taking over the world.
*In the interest of full disclosure, I did not pay for my ad on Social Weddings, they gave it to me in exchange for some publicity. But never the less, I wouldn't blog about it if I didn't think it was cool. FYI, I have already got a few leads from this service and I am expecting a signed contract from one of the couples any day now. You may as well claim the free listing, then you can always upgrade later if you think it's worth while.
Happy Father's Day to all of you dads out there. I especially want to wish a happy day to my bro-in-law Matt, father to Cade & Addy. And of course a special Father's Day shout out to my best friend, my dad Gary... a.k.a. GB! -or should that be G[b]? Ever since I was a little kid, my dad always told me I could accomplish anything I set my mind on. He has been a constant source or inspiration and encouragement and he is my hero. I feel so lucky to have a wonderful relationship with both of my parents and I am so stoked that for the last 9 months, my dad has been working with me on the [ b ] School (He's Vice Principal Becker - add him as a friend). It's been so fun working with him on a daily basis and having him around. Life is good! Happy Fathers to my dad and all of the dads out there.
Here he is with a mystery guest at the Tragic Kingdom a couple of weeks ago:
So my girlfriend turned 29 (again) the other day and I wanted to give her some blog love. I was going to post it on her actual birthday, but I wanted to include some of the photos we shot on her special birthday photo shoot and didn't get a chance to post them that night (Too busy celebrating to edit images).
Anyway, here are a few of my faves:
Smart & sexy... that's what I look for in a woman. Keats is the epitome of just that! Please leave her some belated birthday wishes below.
Shot with my new iPhone 3Gs (got the 32GB black one). Sorry the video is a little shaky, hard to hold that sucker still. Please leave a comment with the answer to the question at the end of the video. Thanks so much!
click to show 3 comments
click to hide 3 comments
