LOS ANGELES WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHER - RUSTIN MICHAEL BLOG » Engagements

CSU Long Beach Engagement Photography – Adam & Victoria

RUSTIN MICHAEL — Sat, 19 Jun 2010 17:43:06 +0000

Last weekend I had a fun time meeting up with Adam and Victoria at CSULB for their engagement shoot. Adam was great tour guide of the campus since he took the leisurely route to getting his degree, just like me. We agreed who really wants to spend just 4 years in college. We also had a great time talking about some of our favorite TV shows from the past season including “Modern Family”, “Glee”, and “Community.” I am really looking forward to Adam and Victoria’s September wedding, I know it will be a blast.

Here are a few of my favorites from their shoot.

I love these next 3!

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Manhattan Beach Engagement Photography – Elliott & Laura

RUSTIN MICHAEL — Fri, 14 May 2010 17:43:07 +0000

Last week I had a fun evening hanging with Elliott and Laura in Manhattan Beach shooting their engagement session. Elliott, being an avid surfer, brought along his surfboard for some of the shots. We had beautiful weather and light for their session which made shooting a breeze. I am so excited for Elliott and Laura’s July wedding!

Here are some of my favorites from the shoot.

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Palos Verdes Engagement Photography – Justin & Melisa

RUSTIN MICHAEL — Thu, 22 Apr 2010 00:00:53 +0000

This past Saturday evening I met with Justin and Melisa in Palos Verdes to shoot their engagement session. I am so glad the weather finally cooperated with us, several previous attempts to meet for the shoot were rained out.

Justin & Melisa are new parents with 11 weeks old twins. I had fun talking to them about being a parent and shared the news of our new little one coming in November. Justin, along with being a respected DJ, is an amateur photographer so we had fun chatting about cameras and lenses. I had so much fun, we could have kept shooting long after the sun went down. Justin & Melisa are getting married this coming September in Palos Verdes.

There were so many great shots from our evening together, it was hard to choose what to blog. Here are some of my favorites from the shoot.

I love this next shot as a panoramic.

I also love it in the traditional 35mm ratio.

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Downtown Disney Engagement Photography – Cesar & Natalie

RUSTIN MICHAEL — Tue, 13 Apr 2010 00:04:49 +0000

On Easter Sunday I headed over to Downtown Disney in Anaheim to shoot Cesar and Natalie’s engagement session. We managed to get the session in between a big earthquake and a rain storm. Even with these natural speed bumps the crowds were still out in full force making it challenging to find locations without a ton of people around. Easter along with Christmas tend to be some of the busiest days for Disneyland. Here are some of my favorite images from the shoot.

A few at Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel & Spa where Cesar & Natalie will be getting married this fall.

The rest are from Downtown Disney.

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Looking for “American Marriage” Couples

RUSTIN MICHAEL — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 17:57:13 +0000

If you have been following me on twitter you already know I have been working on the documentary “American Marriage” with my talented friends Mike Flanagan and Courtney Bell. Please read this full post for some amazing special offers for couples getting married before the middle of June 2010.

“The new documentary film “American Marriage” is looking for couples who want to have their nuptials featured in the movie. One of our main fundraising avenues has been filming weddings. Couples have taken the money they would have paid videographer and donated it to the film’s budget through the International Documentary Association (making their donations tax-deductible), and in exchange we’ve filmed their entire ceremonies and receptions and delivered the wedding video on DVD, just like a normal wedding videographer.

The shoot itself is exactly comparable to a normal wedding videographer shoot. We film the ceremony preparation, the ceremony, and reception on a single 3CCD HD Camera (the JVC 110u, a professional theatrical quality HD camera as opposed to the Prosumer HDV cameras standardly used in the wedding industry). The groom wears a microphone to ensure the highest quality audio of the ceremony. The footage is edited, and assembled with graphics, music, and minimal effects (dissolves, etc). We provide the couple 3 DVDs, authored with chapters and animated menus.

Because we’ll use some of the footage in the finished film, we ask the couple to sign an image release waiver allowing us to do so. We also ask that they make a donation through the I.D.A. and forward us a copy of the Paypal receipt before we arrive to film the event. We also ask couples if they would like to have a short “When Harry Met Sally” style interview that will be included in the movie.

You can view the trailer, which features footage from several weddings who took advantage of this model, below.”

There is no set donation amount. We ask that couples donate what they can afford. If you have a budget for a videographer we hope that, if you choose this opportunity, you would still be willing to use that budget to help the film. If you would like to take advantage of this opportunity please click on contact in the menu above.

If you chose to make a donation and be in the film I am offering 20% off any of my photography packages. You can view my portfolio on my website.

Here are some links for the film
Official Website
Facebook Fan Page
International Documentary Association Listing
IMDB Listing – I got my first cinematographer credit on this film
Mike Flanagan – the man behind the film

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KISS Wedding Books

RUSTIN MICHAEL — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 23:48:11 +0000

Last week I received my first sample album from the album manufacturer KISS. KISS markets itself as “the worlds simplest book company.” I love how fast and easy it is to place an order with them and the 3 week turnaround which is outstanding in the album business. Even though they are fast and simple, their quality is definitely up there with the best in the industry.

KISS doesn’t offer a ton options like other album companies. They offer hard or soft books in 4 sizes 4×4, 8×8, 10×10, and 12×12 and 7 colors. I love how their books are simple, classic, and elegant. These are just a couple of the reasons why KISS is my preferred album company. Here are a few images of my 12×12 hard sample album I made from Ryan & Lisa’s October Stone Manor wedding.

The albums are delivered with this sweet looking dust cover.

I love the lay flat binding with no gap across the spread.

The color swatches

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Update on “American Marriage” – The Movie

RUSTIN MICHAEL — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 22:59:23 +0000

You might remember a couple months ago I posted the first trailer for the documentary I am working on “American Marriage” here on my blog. This week we released a 10 minute extended trailer for the film. The new trailer is what we are using to apply for grants to finance the film and gives insight about some of the topics we will be covering. Below you can watch the new extended trailer in it’s entirety.

Please head over to Facebook and become a fan of the movie, make sure you tell your friends to do the same. The more fans we have the more likely we will be able to sell the complete film allowing it to reach a wide audience across the US. We are still filming and plan on completing the film Summer 2010 before the entry deadline for Sundance. Hopefully this time next year I will be planning a trip to Utah.

Here are some links for the movie
Official Website
Facebook Fan Page
International Documentary Association Listing
IMDB Listing – I got my first cinematographer credit on this film
Mike Flanagan – the man behind the film

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Mike & Jessica – Wearing the Past

RUSTIN MICHAEL — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 23:57:05 +0000

Last month I headed out with my friends Mike & Jessica for a little photoshoot. We drove just down the road from me to a cool little spot in Marina Del Rey. Jessica brought along her Grandmother’s vintage dresses, that she wore when she was Jessica’s age. We had a blast grabbing some images together for a gift for Jessica’s Grandmother.

It is such a blessing to have Mike & Jessica as friends. Victoria and I are always happy when we get to spend time with them. Here are some of my favorites from our little shoot.

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Website Updates

RUSTIN MICHAEL — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 01:25:43 +0000

I just wanted to give everyone a couple updates regarding my website and blog.

- I added my previous post Before & After Examples to the links section on my blog listed as “Before & After”

- I launched a new section of my Weddings Website called Featured Couples. It is is under the portfolio section of my website. Make sure you go and check it out. I should be adding a couple more shoots in this section in the near future.

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Before & After Examples

RUSTIN MICHAEL — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 22:58:16 +0000

Anytime you see an image posted here on my blog or up on my website it been touched by Adobe Photoshop. Photoshop is an amazing tool when used properly. Many times I use it for something as simple as resizing, adding my website address, and doing a little sharpening to the image. Other times I use it to adjust the color & contrast of the image to make it look more accurate to real life. Most of the time when I am shooting I already have in mind what I want the final print to look like. Photoshop allows me to bring to life what I originally envisioned when taking the image. Photoshop can also be used to soften lines around the eyes, remove stray hairs, soften shiny foreheads, remove blemishes and distracting elements from images. These are the types of things I do when an image is ordered for your album or as a print through my online store.

Even though Photoshop is an amazing tool I still strive to get a near perfect image at the time of capture. Every minute I spend in Photoshop is one less minute I get with my family.

Below are a few examples of images straight out of the camera like my clients get on their DVDs or you see on my online store, roll your mouse over the image to see what spending a little time in Photoshop can do. If you are viewing this post on Google reader or some other feed please jump over to my blog so the rollover images will work.

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