Wedding Day Photography Style and Approach
Weddings are one of the most important days in a person's life and being able to capture these priceless memories is very important to us at Brandon Toma Photography. Every Wedding is unique and we always look forward to seeing how the day will unfold. It is always our goal to make sure you walk away with images that you will treasure for a lifetime.
We strive to capture the day in a variety of photography styles that will best suit the moment. These styles would include Photojournalism, Cinematic Portraits, and Traditional Wedding Photos. Here is a little more information on our photography styles.
Photojournalism
Throughout your Wedding day, we are always looking for special moments that may occur and will work to capture these moments as they unfold. These moments could be as simple as a Grooms smile when he sees the Bride in her wedding dress for the first time, or maybe a Bridesmaid shedding a tear seeing her best friend saying her vows. We understand that these moments are extremely important and we always have our camera at the ready to capture any of these treasured memories as they unfold.
Focus Points of Photojournalism
- Candid moments from a creative composition
- Meaningful and Impactful moments as they unfold organically
- Natural unscripted moments that occur during the day
- Things that might go unnoticed
This Groom was overcome with emotion the second he turned around and saw the beautiful Bride in her wedding dress. (Photo location: The Blomgren's house at Blomgren Ranch in Santa Clarita, CA)
Looking for emotional moments is always a point of emphasis for photojournalism, here you can see the maid of honor unable to control her emotions as she sheds tears of joy for her BFF. (Photo location: Wedding ceremony site at Blomgren Ranch in Santa Clarita, CA)
In this photo, you can see a rockstar Dad walking his daughter down the aisle. The joy in both their faces during this candid moment was one of their favorite images. (Photo location: Torrance Beach Wedding in Torrance, CA)
Traditional Ceremony events often create very meaningful memories. Here you can see this bride and groom laugh with excitement and probably a little horror as they are hoisted into the air during the Hora. (Photo location: Reception site at Storrier Sterns Japnese Garden in Pasadena, CA)
Cinematic Portraits
Cinematic Portraits are one of the signatures of Brandon Toma Photography. We always strive to capture unique images that have a "Bam!" (think Emeril Lagasse when saying it) effect when displayed. We draw inspiration from magazine spreads and movies for these photos as they often require complex lighting setups that help use lighting to tell the story of the scene as well as make the subjects "pop" out of the frame. We take the time to set up the lighting so that the pictures will be near perfect straight out of the camera. We will then take the time in post-processing to perfect the image. These photos are great as an album cover or wall-art and when displayed they will have the "Bam!" effect.
Focus Points for Cinematic Portraits
- High-detail images that capture the whole scene
- Dramatic and Editorial (fashion) style posing
- Complex multi-light setups help tell the story
- Combination of Wide and Medium zoom lengths
We used cinematic lighting techniques to help this couple "pop" out of the frame while preserving the beautifully dramatic sky and details of the environment. (Photo location: Pt Fermin Light House in San Pedro, CA)
This scene was originally dark, but we utilized various lights to simulate a spot of daylight through the trees to bring light onto the couple. (Photo location: Japnese Tea House inside Storrier Sterns Japnese Garden in Pasadena, CA)
Here we used a few lights to highlight the groom while he and his groomsmen were celebrating with a cigar. (Photo location: Private House Wedding in Northridge, CA)
This couple grew up performing in the theater, so we wanted to give a little bit of a theater feel to this image by using lights to add to the ambiance of having spotlights on you. (Photo location: Renaissance Long Beach Hotel in Long Beach, CA)
Traditional Wedding Photos
Traditional Wedding photos will incorporate many events through a wedding day. These are some of the most photographed and timeless moments during the day such as Formal Family Photos, Ceremony Kiss, First Dance, Bouquet Toss...etc. For the portrait sessions, we will often use natural motions to capture a true reaction. We will usually try to use natural light for these photos, but we have also mastered the ability to bring our own light when the situation calls for it.
Focus Points for Traditional Photos
- Romantic and Airy Feel when using natural light
- Formal or posed photos
- Clean and Sharp Images
- Photos during all the main wedding moments
Here is a traditional photo of a bride about to walk down the aisle with her father from the shaded porch at the venue, we used the natural light from the open walkway to light them as they are about to enter the ceremony site while trying to capture the natural expressions of everyone involved. (Photo location: The porch of Churchill Manor in Napa, CA)
This is a fun take on a traditional photo of a bride and groom heading to their reception. We took this photo using natural light and positioned golf carts to give them the best light and we added a little motion to the image by throwing the train of the dress and veil. (Photo location: Outside the clubhouse at the California Country Clube in Whittier, CA)
We decided to have a little fun during the groomsmen's photos by adding this little twist to the scene. (Photo location: The Barn at Bookview Ranch in Agoura Hills, CA)
For Bride and Groom portraits we always look for venue elements to include in the images to help add to the storytelling of traditional photos. (Photo location: The Old Western Town at Blomgren Ranch in Santa Clarita, CA)