Brian and I have been in Idaho the last few days shooting an amazing wedding! This couple went ALL out on every detail, one of my favorite details being the amazing 18 piece band for the reception!! We can’t wait to show you the slideshow!

At one point during the night, I looked at Brian and said “We need to figure out a way to get up high, like on a rooftop, so we can shoot down on this tent!” And then I pretty much turned around and Brian was gone. The next time I saw him was on a rooftop–capturing what photographers sometimes refer to as “sweet light”.

Sweet Light only lasts for about 30 minutes. It happens at sunrise and just after twilight. The sky will hit it’s bluest point, and if you’re fast (and have good balance on roofs) you can catch it with the help of a tripod.

I love this image out of the series Brian shot because you can see the moon just beginning to rise over the mountains and the blue lake alongside the tent. Yeah Brian! The guests loved his dedication and told me that they were trying to convince him not to jump.

So here’s the recipe for all of you who like to know the exact settings:

1. Brian used the wide angle lense (thanks again Carey! :)) which is the Canon L 16-35m.

2. Aperture was set to a F10 (f means f-stop). We wanted more detail then blur so the higher the f stop/aperture the more detail.

**3. Shutter Speed: Brian left it open for 30 seconds. (I made a mistake and said 1/30th of a second earlier! Sorry you guys! Hilarious!)

4. And the ISO was at 100 (Canon’s “native speed” for best color saturation.

5. I also up’d the saturation a touch to enhance the blue.

We are dying to show you the rest of the images! Katie wore a vintage hat instead of the traditional veil, and I can’t tell you how breathtaking she was! Wait till you see!

Today we have the paper coming over for a three hour interview on our photography and DVD series! Brian said, “It’s as if Tuesdays are publicity day!” since Northwest Afternoon played a week ago today. We are blessed.

How are all of you? I haven’t blogged since Thursday, and it feels like eternity!

______________________________________________________________________________________

To learn more about me visit About Me Ra.

For information on Me Ra’s popular photography workshops visit “Documenting a Child’s Life.”

To see our day job, visit our website.

It’s finally out on stands! Check it out!

Shannon and Rob’s wedding feature turned out AWESOME!!

Yeah Shannon!

First off, thanks so much for all the emails, phone calls and posts about our interview yesterday! You guys are so sweet! We hope to get our own copy very soon and post it on the blog for those of you who missed it!

Portrait Update!

If you’re still thinking about signing up for a portrait session, I have a couple spots left for the August Special! If you’re interested, here are the details (click details). Feel free to email me at mera@merakoh.com.

Also, a handful of you asked if I could offer portrait sessions in the months to follow. I want you to know that I’m working the calendar to see what can happen. I’ll keep you updated!

Workshop Update!

I’m also working out final details for a Seattle, one day workshop, to happen in October! More on that soon!

Yesterday’s Interview Update!

If you tuned into yesterday’s Northwest Afternoon show and have now discovered our blog–WELCOME!! For more info and ordering details on Refuse to Say Cheese, click on the title! And feel free to browse the tips for moms/parents! Glad you found us!

Brian and I just got home late last night after being in LA for three days! It was a packed trip!

On Friday we had a couples dessert with some wonderful friends (and AMAZING photographers, Mike and Dane), on Saturday we had dinner with a new friend and inspiring woman, the handbag designer Gina Alexander (more fun stuff to share on Gina later that you moms will especially like!), and on Sunday we shot a beautiful wedding surrounded by citrus groves–the scent of the oranges was incredible!

AND, I just caught wind of the confirmed time for our first live interview on Refuse to Say Cheese!

If you’re in the northwest, tune in at 3pm TODAY on channel 4 (Komo/ABC) to Northwest Afternoon as we talk about our new dvd series! (You’ll die when you see Blaze! He had his Superman shirt with his blue blazer over the top–super cute!)

Last night, Brian, myself, my parents and youngest brother all went to an awards dinner for the Top 40 Under 40 Businesses. It was an amazing night!

The event was incredibly well done and so generous! I totally felt celebrated!! All of us were given $100 gift certificates to both El Gaucho and Sea Grill, two bottles of champagne, $50 Gift Certificate to the spa downtown and a martini mixer! But the best part is ALL the wonderful people we met that are amazing, inspiring and right here in my local community! I felt so proud to be among them all!

Later in the night, my dad said it got him thinking about what he was doing when he was my age, 34. He said he had 300 people working underneath him and seven retail stores all over the country. I was speechless. My dad had only come to this country in his twenties and struggled to speak English. How could this be possible? He is totally my hero!

This morning our little family of four heads to the studios of ABC to tape an interview with Northwest Afternoon! The producer is super excited about Refuse to Say Cheese, and he’s thinking about having the kids on the set with us. Should be interesting! We’ll be sure to let you know the air dates–I think it’s this Tuesday! Wish us luck, you never know what Pascaline’s going to say..especially when she’s on TV!

 

The excitement around this first DVD has been AWESOME!! So I was talking to Brian over the weekend, and we thought it’d be fun to do something to celebrate with you!

As some of you know, I haven’t been doing portrait shoots for clients outside of our brides for almost two years. And even this week, we got three emails asking us to reconsider. It’s crazy to do portraits with wedding season, but I seriously want to give back to you AWESOME parents who are spreading the word about our DVD!

So here’s the scoop on the August Special that Starts Today!

I have five, maybe six, times open in August for a family portrait session. This special package will be all about capturing the shots when we Refuse to Say Cheese!

It includes a 16 x 20, Fine Art Canvas Print that is Gallery Wrapped (check out the beautiful samples) and ready to hang on your wall, plus, we’re going to throw in the CD of digital images with this special! (Something we usually sell for $1000 a la carte.) We will also upload your images to Pictage, our pro lab, so you can have the option to order pro lab print quality if you’d like!

The package will be $750 instead of our normal $1200 fee.

So if you have a sleepy one…

or maybe you have a curious one…

this special is for you!

Here are the dates and times available!

Wednesday, August 1st, 4pm and 5:30pm

Wednesday, August 15th, 5pm and 6:30pm

Wednesday, August 29th, 5pm and possibly 6:30pm

If you’d like to reserve one of the sessions, email me with the session date and time in the subject line. On some days I get almost a 100 emails, so it’s good to make it clear that it’s for one of the August Special Sessions! mera@merakoh.com

P.S. We just got word that a popular regional talk show in the Northwest is going to feature us and DVD 1, Refuse to Say Cheese, early next week! YEAH!!! Details Coming Soon!!

______________________________________________________________________________________

To learn more about me visit About Me Ra.

For information on Me Ra’s popular photography workshops visit “Documenting a Child’s Life.”

To see our day job, visit our website.

Jennifer Cuellar is an amazing woman!

I first met Jennifer over seven years ago when my mom was leading a Bible Study that she and her twin sister Francis were a part of. She has a laugh that is contagious! I’ve been jealous of her curly hair from day one! And her ability to write music and sing songs of healing is breath taking.

When Brian and I surprised one of our Associate’s brides by showing up to do their wedding, Jennifer was there doing the bride’s hair! We looked at each other and just started giggling! The bride’s mom told me that Jennifer had mentioned not feeling well, but it didn’t seem to serious.

She went in to an Urgent Care type place, and they sent her home. Soon after she was in the ER having tests done. To my disbelief and the shock of so many who love her, she’s been diagnosed with Stage 4, Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL) and already starting chemotherapy. It’s all been so sudden that it doesn’t seem real to ask you to pray, but please pray for her!

To follow her progress, you can read her blog by clicking **here**. Jennifer used to go to my speaking engagements when my book first came out. She’d send me cards with the sweetest messages of encouragement. She’s come over and watched our kids so Brian and I could grab dinner alone (and she almost always brings her guitar :)). My mom thinks of her as another daughter. I’ve never met any one like her.

If you could pray, send her cards, post a comment on this blog today (I’ll tell her to see this–i’ve heard that checking her email and myspace comments is one of the highlights of her day), check her blog to see if you know anyone who could be a bone marrow donor, or whatever else God prompts you to do–words can’t express how much it would mean.

Even in this recent photo she’s smiling. And yet, I can only imagine how scared she and her family must be. Thanks for praying, for posting, for loving her. I know it makes a difference.

If you’d like to send Jenn a personal email, you can send it to her through this email address, Kate_Stinson@hotmail.com. Kate is passing on all cards, emails and calls to her.

Thank you so much for praying and believing!

It’s been a little over a week since the first big shipment of DVD 1 went out to people! I have to share some of the responses we’ve been getting! It’s so exciting!

Pam from the Midwest wrote;

LOVE LOVE LOVE Refuse to Say Cheese!!!!!

Me Ra,

You are incredible! I got home after a long day of running errands with both of my grandchildren in tow to find the DVD in my mailbox. Got them settled and sat to watch.

The presentation, materials, outline, ideas, even the music is on-target perfect!!!!!!

Half way thru my grandson, who is eight, asked me if he could get my camera. I’ve been letting him take pictures with my cameras since he was old enough to understand to put the strap around his neck.

Tammy from the Northwest wrote;

last night instead of renting a movie we spent time together watching your BEAUTIFUL family. James and I had a BLAST and we were laughing and smiling the whole time! IT was so helpful and fun to watch. You have inspired me to remember to capture more than I had already been doing. Just the other day prior to this, I had driven up to my driveway and there was Ellyanah with a bright hot pink skirt on, no shirt, sitting next to her 11 yr old brother where they were both fully enjoying a popsicle together sitting on the base of our basketball hoop. I quickly ran into the house to grab my camera to capture the sweet moment with popsicle streams dripping down her tummy and her red hair an absolute mess hanging in her eyes. I love this!!

I am definitely going to order the next DVD, when is it available? OH ya, I forgot to mention that we watched every single part of that dvd and we were laughing so hard at the part where you and Brian answer all the questions. What fun it is to laugh!

Dori from Northern CA wrote;

Me Ra and Brian, Y’all ROCK. Thanks for all the writing, effort, sweat and life that went into making the DVDs. Looking forward to the next one. (It arrived today and I actually squealed with glee!) Just finished watching the chapters - eager to watch the bloopers and interview stuff next.

It was so fun for me to finally get to hear your voice on screen; I feel like I know you from the blog and exercises; you have taught me so, so much already! Just wanted to say thanks from a Mom down in Nor Cal - I am grateful you’re helping me capture little Pete while he’s still little (just turned 2).

I am definitely beating down a path to your door for a workshop as soon as I can stand to leave him overnight.

Rebecca from TN wrote:

I LOVE the DVD that I got in the mail on Saturday!  I started a photography business just under 2 years ago, and I learn so much by reading and following people like you who are so willing to share.  The DVD was awesome because it just made sense.  It wasn’t about rules and jargon, it was about capturing the personality of our children…I am excited to watch it again and put some of this into practice!!!

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR EMAILING US!!!!!  You have no idea how much it means to get your feedback!  The week we started shipping I couldn’t sleep at night.  It’s so scary when you put your heart and soul into something.  You just pray people are going to connect with your message.  Your many emails are showing Brian and I that you are more than connecting!  You are totally catching the message behind Refuse to Say Cheese!  I’m on the edge of my seat for us to finish up DVD 2, Beyond the Green Box! 

And FYI, Brian and I spent some time this weekend mapping out the upcoming year.  It looks like we’ll be doing another SEVEN workshops for moms!!  Email me if you’re interested!  

 And keep the feedback coming! Stay tuned for a couple cool things this week!  One is a funny, funny photography exercise to do with your kids!  You’ll get a kick out of this one!  Two, a fun announcement that some of you moms having been waiting a couple years for!  (do I have your interest peaked? :)) 

p.s. please excuse the crazy formatting today!  I can underline and then I can’t…the font sizes are crazy…I have no idea what the problem is…must be monday! 

______________________________________________________________________________________

To learn more about me visit About Me Ra.

For information on Me Ra’s popular photography workshops visit “Documenting a Child’s Life.”

To see our day job, visit our website.

It’s hard to believe 10 years ago, we did this!

And even though we’ve had some tough storms, we’re still doing this!

HOORAY to our 10 year wedding anniversary today!!!

(credit goes to Lynette Johnson, our wedding photographer and Bradley Hanson for the great family stuff he did of us)

Somehow I convinced my buddy, Carey of Barefoot Memories in San Diego, to sell me her wide angle lens before she even took it out of the box! She’s the BEST!!!

But it was on one stipulation. I promised to show her on the blog how I used it at the next wedding.

Let me just say Brian and I were in heaven!

Since the rain was being stubborn, we ducked into this local Seattle cafe on Capitol Hill. We did some fun shots of Monica and Ryan that I can’t wait to show you when the wedding is done being processed. They give me goosebumps! The light coming in through the front windows was perfect as the couple snuck a quick kiss. There isn’t any photoshop done either. This image was straight out of the camera. (and of course it helps that Monica and Ryan are a beautiful couple! :))

A wide angle helps you grab so much more in the shot. And the flexibility of having more width in your frame opens up all new possibilities for composition. Especially when you’re shooting groups. This was my favorite shot from the groomsmen! Without a wide angle, I wouldn’t have been able to get that close to the groomsmen on the right and still have the others ones in the shot.

Thank you Carey! Your (or now mine :)) wide angle did just the job!