Wednesday, May 30, 2007

Jules Bianchi speaks for the PPGBA!

Last night I was the final speaker in the Professional Photographers of The Greater Bay Area's "Four Nights" Series for May. May's topic was weddings, so among other things, I talked about marketing, shooting, workflow and how I use my custom xmp files to easily and quickly batch process RAW files in Bridge without ever opening ACR. (Shoot me an email if you're interested: jules@julesbianchi.com)

Thank you to both my mother and sister who came to hear me speak and shot all of the photos for my blog. Love you, guys!!

The lecture was held at PhotoLab in Berkeley, and besides the fact that I LOVED seeing all the FILM that was still stocked there, I almost fell over when I saw what they were using as a DOORSTOP.



I had one of these when I was 17!!



You can see my blog behind me because we touched on the importance of blogging and what that could mean to them on a marketing level.



I spent most of the lecture here behind my computer because most of my talk was workflow demonstration.



This is my new friend, Harry Burton. Check out the film behind us!!



They even presented me with this lovely certificate. THANK YOU, guys, it was an honor!

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Monday, May 28, 2007

The Claremont Hotel & Spa, Berkeley

christy & gary.

What an absolutely adorable couple. Christy & Gary have been together for over 10 years and were married yesterday at The Claremont Hotel & Spa. Built in 1915, the hotel has amazing architecture and history which makes it a gorgeous place for a wedding. I was so excited to shoot there again!

I've blogged a bunch of my favorites below, but to see even MORE click here to check it out the slideshow we played at the reception!

Christy looked so lovely and radiant.





Gary didn't look too bad himself.



I love this shot Joy caught of the boys...



First look!!





Mr. & Mrs....





They hired a trolley that took us through the Berkeley campus where Christy & Gary first met.





Christy really loves the lobby of the Claremont...



...I can see why.



Their reception had really elegant details.



I just LOVE this shot. We were shooting on the bacony when the wind kicked up and picked up Christy's veil. Congratulations to you both!!

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Wednesday, May 23, 2007

May PUG

Another month, another fun PUG! I lead the Los Angeles Pictage User Group on the third Wednesday of every month, so if you are a Pictage member and live in the Los Angeles area, come on down!

I had a chance to demonstrate my workflow and show the group how to use my xmp files to more quickly batch process RAW files. If you are interested in batch processing your RAW images with my custom xmp files, shoot me an email for more info! jules@julesbianchi.com



A big thank you to our Studio Spotlight tonight, Marie Bunke of PhotoArt By Marie. Its always great to see other photographer's work and learn a little bit about each other.







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Tuesday, May 22, 2007

Maison 140, Beverly Hills

I love doing boudoir shoots at funky, cool hotels! Yesterday's shoot was in a bright orange room at Maison 140 in Beverly Hills.

Most of the images were a little too racy for the internet, but here is a little sneak peak.







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Monday, May 21, 2007

Ritz Carlton, Marina Del Rey

Jennifer & DJ.

What a super gorgeous fun amazing wedding! Here are just a FEW of my favorites.

You can also click here to see the slideshow that I played at the reception.

I loved the silver Manolo's!



The weather at the Marina was perfect.



Handsome DJ.



Beautiful Jennifer.



Getting married amongst the elegant pale roses.



The bridal party was a bit unruly - just the way I like them!!



Mr & Mrs....





I loved all the details - check out the tiny inscription on the M&M's!!



The cake looked like a giant, yummy gift.



These two may look gorgeous, but they are trouble....



First dance as husband & wife!



Delicious Otis Spunkmeyer cookies sent everyone off on their way. A couple after my own chocolate heart!!

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Thursday, May 17, 2007

World Wide (Web) premiere of Jules Bianchi Photography promo video!!

Because I returned from shooting in Seattle so very late last night, I did not plan to get up early. However, this morning Joy woke me with a call to tell me that Ron Dawson of the super creative Cinematic Studios.net (for wedding industry types) AND Cinematic Studios.com (for brides) created the coolest, funniest promotional video for Jules Bianchi Photography! I met Ron last year when we were shooting the same wedding together in Sonoma (me for photography, Ron for cinematography) and we've kept in touch ever since. After working with me on a few more jobs, he's documented a little slice of my life for your enjoyment.

click here to check out funny out-takes or various speeds of the promo. Or just click on the link below to see it right here in my blog!! Thank you, Ron, for such a cool promo!


Click To Play

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Sunday, May 13, 2007

UCLA

Stephanie and Jeremiah not only met at UCLA, they were engaged here! They decided that the campus would make the perfect place to shoot their engagement photos. I like being around Stephanie & Jeremiah because they both laugh so easily. Stephanie originally discovered me through my blog and hired me over the phone for the much coveted wedding date of 07-07-07! She is a self-proclaimed Jules Bianchi Photography blog stalker, (Hi Stephanie!) so its kind of fun to have shots of her and Jeremiah finally up on the site!

Some of my favorites from today:



















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Saturday, May 12, 2007

Boudoir

Today I was in Westwood at the W for a boudoir session with Stephanie. Although boudoir sessions are popular, the shoot is usually a surprise for the fiance. This means I don't post any images. However, because Stephanie's man knows about today's shoot, she gave me permission to post a few of my favorites! I think she is so beautiful.

This was the first time I'd actually met Stephanie since she hired me over the phone months ago... but we hit it off immediately. She is really fun, and I'm looking forward to the engagement shoot I'm doing with her and Jeremiah tomorrow.

Stephanie's hair and make-up were done by the very talented Jacey Jean Costentino. I have worked with Jacey many times now, and I highly recommend her.

I also invented a new xmp file JUST for Stephanie: "jb vintage red." I used it on almost every image below.













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Friday, May 11, 2007

Tea for Two, a mentoring session for YOU!

How cool is this??

Amy Trahant of Take AIM Photography is one of the photographers who recently purchased my xmp files. Today she sent me a few images that she'd created using "jb vintage blue" and "jb sultry." She gave me permission to post them here...I love it!

Amy is also going to be the first person to participate in my new "Tea for Two" mentoring program. Tea for Two is $200 per hour and catered specifically to you so that you learn what you want to learn! Shoot me an email if you'd like to know more.

Check out the cool images Amy made using my xmp files!! (Remember, xmp files are "recipes" that are applied to RAW files. Because the original file remains untouched, she can easily apply a DIFFERENT xmp file to these images and get a totally new look and a new jpeg. Then, if she wants, she can apply her favorite actions to the jpegs... but she doesn't have to!)



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Wednesday, May 09, 2007

Warning! Geek Alert! A Post on Workflow

This post is for the photographers who read my blog... I know Lightroom is all the rage these days, but if you convert your RAW files with ACR like I do, you will want to read this post! Using xmp files save a lot of time in post-processing. I have had so many people ask me about my post-processing that I've decided to make all thirty-four of my personal xmp files available to those who want them for $60. You just need PSCS2. Shoot me an email and I'll give you the details! jules@julesbianchi.com.

I LOVE PhotoShop. I started with PS 4, and I now love using Bridge to convert my RAW files into jpegs. Even though I'm a Mac girl, I have a right-click mouse and use a pull-down menu to batch process many images at once with xmp files. I have even invented many of my own xmp files to create unique looks and cut down on jpeg-fussing time. Here is an example of a few black and white xmp files I've created - these images were made in Bridge using ACR. No actions on the jpegs at all.



This is a funky look I just created tonight...I'm calling it "vintage blue" and here you can see how it looks on several images.



And this is a look I created a very long time ago. I just call it "dramatic".



To give you an idea of how easy it is, this is what my pull-down menu looks like.

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Monday, May 07, 2007

Greystone Mansion, Beverly Hills

julie & alex.

Yesterday was not only Julie & Alex's wedding day, but it was also the six year anniversary of their being a couple. How cool that it fell on 05-06-07! Julie & Alex's wedding was so stylish and fun - just like them.

It took me all day to choose some favorites ...there are just too many good ones. I know this a lot for one blog post, but you know you wanna see it!!

I was completely smitten with Julie's veil & feathers - that is SO my style! When I saw them, I knew it was going to be a good day. Julie's was made gorgeous by Mariah Nicole Makeup & Hair Artistry.



Julie's bouquet.



This is the moment Julie & Alex first saw each other - Julie was trying very hard not to cry.



Party people - I love the bridesmaid dresses!



Look how perfectly Julie fits in with the style of Greystone.



Alex was looking mighty dapper himself.



The flower-drenched chupah.



Getting married.



Husband & Wife. I love the flowers caught mid-air!



Alex had the most romantic inscription on his wedding band... "The one in whom my soul delights"



Julie & Alex were radiant all day!



Greystone Mansion all dolled up.



The bridal party in repose with all of Los Angeles as their backdrop.



The bridal party doing a crazy cover of Grease's "Summer Nights"



Mr. & Mrs. looking lovely.







I like this shot Dana caught of me shooting with the vintage camera I mentioned in my last post!



Kissing in the Bentley.



Off to have a wonderful life!

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My funky Holga

I am still going through all of the beautiful shots from yesterday's wedding and will blog about it soon - I promise! In the meantime I was distracted because I just got back the roll I shot with my Holga at Lindsay & Spencer's wedding, and I wanted to share my favorite image with you. I FedEx film to Pictage to develop and scan for me. Its automatically uploaded for me and I can then download it to myself to tweak in PhotoShop. Its so easy.

Yesterday's bride asked me to bring a vintage camera to her wedding, so I shot with my Fujica Compact Deluxe (circa 1965 - it has a thumb wheel in the back used to focus!!) in addition to the Holga. I can't WAIT to see those shots!

In the meantime, here is one from Lindsay & Spencer's wedding:

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Saturday, May 05, 2007

Soolip, part two

If I ever get married, Soolip is going to make the invitations. They are just so creative!

Last year I photographed Soolip's line of wedding invitations, and this year I took care of their corporate invitations. After photographing the store yesterday, I took the invitations home with me to photograph today.

Here are a few favorites:









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Friday, May 04, 2007

Soolip Paperie & Press

I have always loved Soolip Paperie & Press. They have the most gorgeous paper, gift wrapping ideas, glassware, etc. I feel so lucky to be able to call Soolip's founder, Wanda Wen, my friend! She asked me to come by today to snap a few shots so that they can update their website.

Here are a few favs:

















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Thursday, May 03, 2007

Jules Bianchi on TV!!

Well, Pictage TV anyway! I was really honored when Pictage came to my home studio to interview me. We talked about a lot of things, but today they featured me explaining why I love my life as a wedding photographer.

And I DO!!

click here or on the photo to check it out!

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