Robert Ellis Photography: Blog https://www.robertellis.com/blog en-us (C) Robert Ellis Photography [email protected] (Robert Ellis Photography) Tue, 26 May 2020 01:02:00 GMT Tue, 26 May 2020 01:02:00 GMT https://www.robertellis.com/img/s/v-12/u130426322-o974132668-50.jpg Robert Ellis Photography: Blog https://www.robertellis.com/blog 96 120 She Said Yes! https://www.robertellis.com/blog/2017/4/she-said-yes It's such a treat to witness something as romantic and touching as a marriage proposal. Joseph had contacted me earlier in the week and we talked about how he wanted to ask his girlfriend to marry him. We came up with a casual plan that made it so she had no idea. He dropped to his knee and She said yes of course. Afterwords you could see her playing back the clues in her head - aha moments started to click. So much fun and so very, very touching.

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[email protected] (Robert Ellis Photography) Carmel Monterey Proposal engagement photographs proposal photographs proposal photos wedding proposal https://www.robertellis.com/blog/2017/4/she-said-yes Sun, 30 Apr 2017 05:59:04 GMT
Real Estate Video Walkthrough https://www.robertellis.com/blog/2017/2/real-estate-video-walkthrough

 

Video walkthroughs are a super way to highlight a property and really gives the viewer a sense of space and the flow of the home. This is a beautiful house in Salinas with lots of nice touches and a bright and airy floor plan. The still images I did of this home work well on flyers and the web while the walkthrough adds another dimension and motion to the listing.

 

 

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[email protected] (Robert Ellis Photography) Carmel Monterey Pebble Beach Real Estate homes properties salinas video walkthrough walkthrough https://www.robertellis.com/blog/2017/2/real-estate-video-walkthrough Fri, 10 Feb 2017 23:53:57 GMT
Cima Collina Winery https://www.robertellis.com/blog/2017/1/cima-collina-winery Well crafted wine, really great people

Cima Collina is one of my favorite wineries and a wonderful group of people to work with. I have photographed their staff and winery for their website and shot some video and for their site and social media channels.

Two new team members came on board this January and I spent some time getting aquatinted and photographing them. Their tasting room in Carmel Valley serves as the backdrop. Cima Collina has a delightful tasting room and the people are always very warm and inviting. So that is the message we are trying to convey with the images.   

A trick I use when photographing people in their workplace is to give them something to hold or to lean on. Many of us would naturally hold onto something when chatting with a friend, so putting them in that situation tends to get them more relaxed. A lot of times people just don't know what to do with their hands - so hold a glass of wine or the door open to let guests know they are welcome.

Oh, and don't put them in the same spot or the same pose. These photos were taken about 10 minutes apart and are literally 5 feet from each other.

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[email protected] (Robert Ellis Photography) Carmel Valley Pinot Noir Tasting Room Wine Wine Tasting https://www.robertellis.com/blog/2017/1/cima-collina-winery Wed, 11 Jan 2017 05:15:00 GMT
Dance Kids Nutcracker https://www.robertellis.com/blog/2016/12/dance-kids-nutcracker  

Incredible performance of the Nutcracker

And yes they are kids

It never ceases to amaze me what young children can do when they put their hearts into it. Each year Dance Kids of Monterey County puts on a truly remarkable performance of the Nutcracker ballet. The stars are children ranging from age 3 on up to 18. The supporting cast are, for the most part, just parents of those kids along with a couple very talented male dancers for 2 key rolls (mostly because they can do lifts and studied dance their entire lives too).

Each year I photograph the performances so that the parents (me included) get well done photos of their children's 15 minutes of fame. They start rehearsing in September and put on 3 shows in early December. Hours and hours of rehearsal. Sore and bandaged feet balanced on the toe box of pointe shoes. Memorizing choreography for 6 or more scenes. Doing homework and studying for finals in the dressing rooms between numbers. Commitment.

For the record, dancers may be some of the best athletes - like gymnasts. They have strength and poise. My 8th grade daughter holds the sit up and push up record at her middle school - boys and girls. As she says to the boys "Oh you play football? That's cute."

And these dancers shone like the stars they are. Nothing cuter than a teeny ballerina or more impressive than a 14 year old girl dancing with the beauty and elegance that 11 years of dance training and commitment can bring.

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[email protected] (Robert Ellis Photography) Carmel Nutcracker ballet dance https://www.robertellis.com/blog/2016/12/dance-kids-nutcracker Fri, 16 Dec 2016 03:45:00 GMT
Family Portrait session https://www.robertellis.com/blog/2016/12/family-portrait-session Family portraits around the holidays 

So it's official. The holidays are nearly here and that means family portraits with many of my clients that I have enjoyed photographing over the years. It's a treat to see how much the children have grown (why don't mom and dad look a day older).

I have had the privilege of photographing this family for several years now, so we all know each other well and it makes for fun and beautiful images. Each year we try something a little different in a new location - such is the fortune of living in a diverse area with beautiful scenery nearly everywhere we look.

They even send me a Christmas card with their favorite images from that day. I look forward to seeing how much they've changed next year.

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[email protected] (Robert Ellis Photography) Carmel portrait Family portrait Monterey portrait outdoor portrait portrait https://www.robertellis.com/blog/2016/12/family-portrait-session Fri, 09 Dec 2016 04:30:00 GMT
Hello from the Inside https://www.robertellis.com/blog/2016/11/tips-from-a-wedding-insider Who knew planning a wedding would be so much work

So many important decisions to make, so many things you didn’t know that you didn’t know. To help you get to your goal of making it through the wedding planning process (still wanting to get married), I asked some recent brides what tips they would pass along to their friends who were getting married. I also added some of my own thoughts from my experience.

  • Plan, plan, plan. Find a venue that suits who you both are and enjoy planning all the details. If you have a budget for it, hiring a wedding coordinator can help - especially on the wedding day (if not, entrust a close friend to help). But then, on the wedding day - try to let it go. Invariably some small things will go wrong - don't let it ruin your day. Your guests won't even know.
  • Your wedding will be a very surreal and highly emotional experience - You’ll know the meaning of those words afterwards. It sounds crazy, but the entire day will zip by. So soak up the moments as they happen. Use sense memory to your advantage. A sound or a smell can whisk you right back to a moment so a new perfume and cologne you both wear that day will always take you there again. Or the sound of the birds or the wind through the pine needles or the sound of the surf.
  • If your guest list begins to take on gargantuan proportions, one couple offered this advice. They knew their venue could only hold 80 people, so they had to make tough decisions and found that they wanted to invite guests that they would have more than a casual conversation about the weather.

And seriously! How do you choose a wedding photographer?

Many seem to have good photos on their website - how do I know who is right for me? Here are a few questions I have heard from prospective clients who did a lot of homework. I also seem to get a lot of photographers as wedding clients and they ask good questions...

  • What is their style? This should be fairly clear from their sample images - but ask to see one entire wedding. It's easy to show a few great images from several different weddings - but another thing to get great images all in one day.
  • What kind of back up equipment do they have and use? If they only have one camera and a couple lenses, what happens if one of them dies at a critical time?
  • Is photography their only job or do they have a job during the week and weddings are a side business? Full time photographers use professional gear, professional labs and know that their livelihood depends on them giving their clients beautiful work and those clients will return for portraits and recommend you to friends.
  • Do they shoot in JPEG mode or RAW mode? Absolutely, RAW is much better (higher dynamic range to handle difficult lighting and exposure challenges, and much better for color/exposure correction). JPEG is much easier for the photographer (less work, files are smaller). If they just pop the card out of the camera and copy the JPGs onto a flash drive - hmm you might not be happy with the results. Real professionals spend twice as much time in post production (after the wedding - as opposed to on the wedding day), editing and color correcting files - each and every one.
  • Can you get digital files that are high resolution and have rights to reproduce? Some photographers will give small online sized files that are good for social media, but you can't print them. Some will charge extra for high resolution files.
  • Ask if you can contact some of their recent wedding clients. This will give you a good idea of what they are like to work with. Are they fun to be around or a photo-Nazi?

You Got This

Go enjoy the process and make your wedding your very own unique and special day. You'll find so many great ideas from friends, Pinterest and many other resources. Don't forget, it's your wedding so don't be afraid to ask for exactly what you want.

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[email protected] (Robert Ellis Photography) Wedding photographer wedding wedding photographer Monterey wedding photographer carmel wedding photography wedding planning wedding tips https://www.robertellis.com/blog/2016/11/tips-from-a-wedding-insider Fri, 18 Nov 2016 02:30:00 GMT