CLS Photography Blog Header

Saturday, August 28, 2010

Here We Come! PartnerCon 2010 I NOLA

We are super honored and excited to have been chosen to lead a Shoot Workshop at the Pictage PartnerCon 2010 in New Orleans this November!

I'll be leading a live shooting workshop on Shooting in Manual - how to master your camera before it masters you. :)  I love teaching and this is just simply a phenomenal opportunity (and compliment) to be able to instruct and share with such an amazing group of photographers. Can't wait!

Check it out and register here.

In addition, I'll be offering opportunities for one-on-one instruction and training, so watch for details on that coming soon.

Hope to see you there!

Blessings, Christine Lee Smith 1 (888) 810-4322 | info @ clsphotography.com Los Angeles | Orange County | Long Beach | California Available for travel.

Labels: ,

Thursday, August 26, 2010

Secret Stairs - Photo Day in Los Angeles

Wednesday me and a friend headed out to the Silver Lake area of Los Angeles to attempt one of the walks in the book "Secret Stairs," by Charles Fleming. We ended up having a great time exploring, walking and photographing. It was a fabulous adventure!

I'd like to title this series "Above and Below." As we were shooting I noticed myself primarily being attracted to subjects up above or down below my natural point of view, in particular being absorbed in details along the paths and streets we walked through. Take a look.

Secret Stairs Los Angeles
Secret Stairs Los Angeles
Secret Stairs Los Angeles
Secret Stairs Los Angeles


We ended up having lunch at Madame Matisse's, and it was fabulous.
Secret Stairs Los Angeles

Secret Stairs Los Angeles
Secret Stairs Los Angeles
Secret Stairs Los Angeles
Secret Stairs Los Angeles

And this is my fabulous friend who made the whole day happen. Check out her fabulous blog randomphotooftheday.com
Secret Stairs Los Angeles

Blessings, Christine Lee Smith 1 (888) 810-4322 | info @ clsphotography.com Los Angeles | Orange County | Long Beach | California Available for travel.

Labels: ,

Monday, August 16, 2010

Wedding Tip & Trick: How to Plan Your Wedding...Types of Coordinators

Today we welcome Briana Cannon, owner of Yenuh B. Event Planning, as our very first guest blogger to continue our series on planning your wedding. Enjoy! And let us know what you think in the comment section below. :)


By Briana Cannon, owner of Yenuh B. Event Planning

As you sit and marvel at your gorgeous engagement ring you realize a ticking time clock just went off in your mind - you have to plan a wedding! Don’t panic. Yes, you may start to feel overwhelmed as cake, flowers, guest list, music, entertainment and [gasp] the dress swirl through your mind, but that is okay. Feeling overwhelmed is a normal symptom for the newly engaged! So what do you do next? Well, you can hire a wedding coordinator to help you plan your amazing day or you can visit your local bookstore, library or wedding website and start the planning yourself. In the beginning you may think a wedding coordinator is the best way to go, so here are a few things to consider before you hire one for your wedding.

Cost
In today’s tough economy, brides can’t easily take advantage of all the luxuries wedding planning has to offer such as hiring a wedding coordinator. Wedding coordinators, also referred to event planners, are people that assist brides and grooms in the planning of their wedding for a fee. The fee for a wedding coordinator depends on what type of service you want them to provide. There are 3 basic types of coordination service available:

1. Full Service Coordination: Full service coordination is assistance from start to finish and everything in between. It usually begins by first helping the bride and groom make a wedding budget to know how much to spend on the details of the wedding like invitations, cake, the reception and entertainment. The coordinator will then help with everything from finding venues to assistance with vendors for invitations, cake, flowers, music, entertainment, photography and even guest list RSVP. The benefit of full service coordination is that you have a wedding professional helping you throughout every step of the way and it alleviates a lot of stress and time. Costs vary between coordinators, but full service coordination generally starts around $4,500 and some coordinators charge a percentage of the total budget.

2. Day-of-Coordination: Day-of Coordination is assistance by a wedding coordinator for just the day of your wedding. It usually consists of a couple meetings prior to the wedding and then full coordination of vendors and set-up for the wedding day. A bride and groom should not have to make sure the cake and flowers arrived on time. Leave that stress to the professionals! Again, costs vary between coordinators, but you can usually book day-of coordination for under $2,500.

3. A la Carte Coordination: A la Carte Coordination is assistance for when you need help with just a few things. For example, you can hire a coordinator to help with invitation design and RSVP organization, he or she can assist with securing well known vendors for your cake, music and venue or they can assist with the design and color scheme of the reception. The options are limitless and prices vary by project.

Budget
What is your budget? You may not know how much money you should spend on a wedding cake or flowers, but you should know how much money you’ve set aside to pay for your wedding. Also, please do not go into debt for a celebrity inspired 4-tier wedding cake that you may not even get to eat on your wedding day. Only spend what you know you can afford and set a budget. Parents and family members may want to help out as well, so talk to them before you start planning anything. Wedding coordinators are somewhat of a luxury, so if you have $10,000 to spend on your wedding, then full service coordination may not be the smartest expense. Instead, think about a la carte coordination or enlisting all of those family members and friends that said, “Just let me know if you need any help with the planning!” Here is a special tip: Work with wedding coordinators that are newer to the business. They will usually discount their fees to gain more clients and you can often get great attentive service.

Vision
What is your vision? Do you want a beautiful fairytale wedding with all the bells and whistles? If so, it’s a great idea to hire a professional wedding coordinator because they will help you get the most bang for your buck. Their experience and industry relationships will help make your dreams come true. Do you want something very small and simply? If so, you can probably pull it off yourself with a few friends and family to help. Do you have no idea what you want and feel like you need as much guidance as possible? If so, a wedding coordinator would be a great to help bring your wedding all together! Just make sure you can afford it.

Time
The most important thing to have when planning a wedding is time. If you are too busy to talk flowers, cake and shades of pink, then the extra help from a wedding coordinator is a must. They can take care of setting appointments and making sure the planning process is timely and organized. On the other hand, if you are very organized and can spare a couple hours a day to plan all of the small and big details you can save some money and not hire a wedding coordinator or just consider some a la carte wedding coordination.

Lastly, mothers, sisters, brothers, friends, and even fathers can be your personal wedding coordinators. The key is to delegate, delegate and delegate some more. The weight of planning doesn’t have to fall to just you and your beloved, sometimes all the help you need is just a phone call home.

Yenuh B. Event Planning
“Because you cared enough to plan…”



Blessings, Christine Lee Smith 1 (888) 810-4322 | info @ clsphotography.com Los Angeles | Orange County | Long Beach | California Available for travel.

Labels:

Monday, August 9, 2010

Wedding Tip & Trick: How to Start Planing Your Wedding

Over the weekend I met with the sweetest bride-to-be. She is madly in love with her fiance, and they're hoping to have a beautiful, simple wedding next summer.Yea!

One little thing: they have to plan this beautiful simple wedding first.

It's easy to understand why brides and grooms today would feel a bit overwhelmed at planning such a momentous event in their lives - with the plethora of wedding vendors, websites and Facebook ads, getting lost in the shuffle is common.

We've worked with a number of brides - from small local weddings, to weddings of out of state brides planning California destination weddings - so, my uber-planner side thought it'd be a good idea to share some of my favorite (and well tested!) tips for how to start planning your wedding.

Start with the Big 3:
  1. Choose your date. It's all fine and good to browse Grace Ormonde or The Knot, but until you have a chosen date (or it narrowed down to two or three possibilities) not much else can get set in stone.
  2. Choose your venue. This decision can perplex even the most decisive brides. To help narrow it down, first choose a maximum distance or vicinity you're willing to consider. Then consider elements that are important to you. Not sure how to start? Just close your eyes, and picture yourself and your fiance saying "I do." Are you inside a church? Outside on a beach? Is it formal or casual? Is there water, a lot of trees or beautiful architecture? Jot down the elements that jump out to you about your vision and start from there. Next, if your destination isn't exactly next door, limit yourself to using one online wedding website to help you virtually build a list of possible venues, like Grace's Platinum list or WeddingWire.com.
  3. Choose your photographer. Style is just as important as quality and personality. Based on your location, and your venue, find a photographer that captures the essence you're looking to remember from your own wedding day. If you're getting married in a giant cathedral in New York, look for a photographer that shows a lot of church ceremonies on their gallery site. Planning a laid back wedding on the beach? Find a photographer who shows a lot of casual, fun wedding photography on their site. Remember: we're going for essence here. Read their "raves" or "reviews." Then plan a time to meet with them face to face, or over the phone. You want to choose a photographer or studio that you feel comfortable with. If you're intimidated or underwhelmed now, that won't change throughout the process.
Congratulations! You've just tackled the big three. Check in here next time for the next part of the planning process. :)

Have a great suggestion or idea? Leave it in the comments and we'll review your ideas!


Blessings, Christine Lee Smith 1 (888) 810-4322 | info @ clsphotography.com Los Angeles | Orange County | Long Beach | California Available for travel.

Labels: ,

Monday, August 2, 2010

Check It Out! I The Knot Fall 2010 "Style Stalker"

A photograph of one of our fabulous brides was chosen for the Style Stalker section of The Knot's Fall/Winter 2010 edition! We were so excited when we saw the issue, on newsstands now!

The Knot Southern California Style Stalker

Check it out! And thanks to Jenn for giving the scoop on her amazing style for the feature.

Blessings, Christine Lee Smith 1 (888) 810-4322 | info @ clsphotography.com Los Angeles | Orange County | Long Beach | California Available for travel.

Labels: