Alfred Salom Photography | San Francisco Wedding Photographer » Wedding Portrait Journalism

Monterey, CA

“Photo Tips” is a new section of the blog where Al and I share various things we’ve learned. Al will post gadget reqs and other geeky professional tidbits. I’ll share business-related tips and various techniques from a “student” perspective. For example, Al just recently helped me nail down a technique called “dragging the shutter” in non-shutter speak “making the subject crisp and everything else blurred”. More on that to come. Here’s my tidbit for this week:

UV Coating

UV coating is a neat thing to have on prints or album pages, because it’s bonded and cured with UV light.  The coating provides a protective coating against finger prints and such, so I almost always provide it for flush-mount albums.

However, you CANNOT write or imprint on UV coated products. Regular pens don’t work, and black sharpies tend to bubble. So, if you find yourself with a UV-coated book and want to turn it into a guest book album, hmmmm…you’d normally be out of luck.

BUT, I recently found out that SILVER METALLIC SHARPIE MARKERS work! Hence, my love for the ever-reliable Sharpie continues. This also means, that I don’t have to stop providing UV coating for our guest book customers and that I can justify buying loads more sharpies.

If there’s one bride I’d want with me during a red-tag sale at Jimmy Choo, it would be Maria.  I have no doubt she could negotiate a last pair of size 7 pumps out of any woman’s arms. The confidence and charisma just becomes her, and it was evident from our consultation all the way to the wedding.

Alfred, “You think she’d climb up on that ledge in her wedding dress?”

Maria, “Of course!! Just tell me where to sit.”

Alfred turns to me, “I’m in heaven.”

There are some weddings that are just easy. The couple is wonderful, the family is happy, the lighting is perfect, and the venues are just amazing. Maria had one of those weddings. I think it also helped that they were very keenly aware of “the light”. They knew which parts of their wedding had bad light, which ones had good light, and which ones were just “let’s cross our fingers…“. They communicated this early, and set their expectations accordingly. Geez, can you make it any easier! The result? Awesome shots that tell a true story.

A day or so after I sent Maria her teasers, she emailed me saying she now wants to marry Alfred.

Alfred says, “I’ve always been intrigued by Venezuelan women.”

To which I respond, “Do you know how easily an X-Box can just “fall” out of our 3rd story bedroom?”

Ceremony: Carmel Mission

Reception: Highlands Inn

Second shooters: Emma Salom and Aimee Hatcher

Floral design: Floral Designs by Reina

Hair and Makeup: Swirls N’ Curls

Slideshow

Location: Edgewood in Lake Tahoe

P.S. Emma is still hounding me about not taking home more cake..so you know it’s gotta be good!