The Photo Blogger's Equivalent to Non-Verbal Communication... and why we moved our blog

for the last 1,084 days, our blogger photo blog has been the perfect tool for the telling of our story; it was simple, free, and it was the space where you, our friends & our family, offered the most valuable gift you possess: your attention & a wonderfully elaborate conversation.

then, about a year ago, carlie & i began asking a new question, with the aim of bringing more value to you, our friends & our family...

what is the promise we are making as the gabriel.ryan. brand?

it is commonly known that in communication, most of the exchange that takes place in a conversation is actually non-verbal: facial reactions, hand motions, tone. so, it was in asking the question "what is the promise we are making..." that we discovered the answer would be found if we could properly answer another question: "how should we make that promise?"

we learned the value we bring to the market place as a husband and wife wedding photographer boutique is not simply the content of our conversation: the photos and ideas we love to share. we learned the value of our story, of our brand, is both the product we deliver as well as the way we deliver that product.

with that in mind, we began discussing the re-invention of our blog. and, after countless emails, a handful of fights, numerous mini-victories, and the aid of an incredible team of people over at into the darkroom, we are excited to share the new arena for this conversation to continue.

so, we urge you to update us in your favorite bookmarks, and stop by our new blog. we can't wait to continue the conversation!! come tell us what you think.

the new url is http://www.gabrielryan.net/blog. see you there...

Thank God for Northern California - Emily and Pablo

it seemed as if God had opened the flood gates of His favor upon the east bay of san francisco, with nothing but greens and purples and golden light pouring down from the skies and dancing up from the earth.

no, i am not exaggerating... it was magical. and no, not like gob-and-the-aztec-tomb-magical, but REAL magic. add to that, two incredibly personal and beautiful people, and the joy of my job as a wedding photographer nearly stopped me in my tracks.

but, you've heard it a million times before. and the answer is, YES, we are truly blessed by our clients. so, for this post i would like to share [and hopefully, emily you don't mind me sharing], the words of our client and our friend, emily.

just days after returning from shooting emily and pablo's engagement in northern california, we received a hand-written thank you note. as if the gift of their friendship weren't enough, emily & pablo's gratefulness is truly touching. i slipped the card out of the envelope and it read:

Dear Carlie & Gabriel,

Thank you both so much for coming up to Nor. Cal. for our pictures... Pablo & I had SO much fun! I was amazed at how fluidly you two operated & worked together. Gabriel, the way you silently scoped out the area, with a big smile on your face, says so much about your passion for what you do... & I loved it every time you said, "killer," because I knew that you were really happy with a picture :) And Carlie, you guided Pablo & I so well! We never felt out of place or awkward and that's all thanks to your direction & placement of our hair, smiles, and poses. Together, you guys are AMAZING! Thank you from the bottom of our hearts!

You guys ROCKED it!

XOXO,
E&P.

no, emily... YOU guys rocked it!!












view our portfolio. contact your local southern california wedding photographer.

Topless Dreams

ask any artist, any olympic athlete, any agent of change how she started her journey, and i guarantee you, if she is the real deal, that she started her journey with the end in mind, with a vision in her head, of what the view would look like from the top. she most definitely did not start out without at least an inkling of her vision... what things might look like once she completed her course. in comparison, ask most people how they go about their days, and though i don't doubt most people's passion & intention to be successful and live a more fulfilled life, i do have a hunch that most of us would fail to be able to clearly articulate the view from the top of the hill we are climbing.

that's what i mean by topless dreams... not sure exactly where you were going with it, but i urge you to continue the conversation with me.

1960's psychologist maxwell maltz studied how the human brain accomplishes tasks. and i believe his findings might help us lead a more purposeful & accomplished life.

in short, he compares our mind to a torpedo. when a torpedo is set in motion, it zig-zags forward until it intercepts its target. if the target moves, the torpedo course corrects and zigs. if the torpedo gets off track, it course corrects again and zags. hence, with the coordinates of the target always in mind, the torpedo's only aim is towards the final outcome - its target. how important is it to KNOW the target BEFORE the torpedo is set in motion?

we are much the same. the only difference; we are already en route. we are en route to our destination, whether we have a clear picture of our destination or not, and whether that destination stays constant or changes sporadically.

ironically though, i believe our destination is not the most important piece of the equation; the journey itself is. that said, without a set destination, we are merely wandering aimlessly, instigated and propelled by whatever calls our attention at the moment, as opposed to actually being on a purposeful journey... the kind of journey that causes other people to watch in awe.

in his e-book Zen to Done, leo babauta talks about the importance of finding your passion. start there, and i agree with the author, the steps required on your journey will become clear.

i propose living a life immersed in the journey. but to do so, you must... i must... first create the vision of the final outcome.

so, the next time you are about to ask a question on a forum, or you find yourself perusing the internet for information to complete a project or task, or you feel the urge to splurge on the latest gear, ask yourself to what purpose am i aiming? you may just find that the questions you have been asking all along, have been the wrong questions. and if you have the courage to take a bite of humble pie, i implore you to course correct, and zag back in sync with your vision of the future. my hunch is, your journey will be much more enjoyable.


know.your.story.

p.s. and because every post is better with a photo, here's a teaser from our latest engagement shoot in laguna canyon, styled by the oh-so fabulous event sylist, carissa of jl designs.

view our portfolio. contact your local southern california wedding photographer.

Three Weeks is Too Long Not to Blog

LIIIIINNNNCCOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOLLLN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


view our portfolio. contact your local southern california wedding photographer.

That Oozing Floating Ever-Present Kind of Love - Jodie and Nathan

well, what do you guys do on the weekends? what do you do with your spare time? i continued typing in response to a chain of back-and-forth email as jodie and i really tried to articulate how we might best style her engagement shoot. simply put, jodie & nathan, and carlie & i, were looking for the uniqueness in their story.

and ironically enough, we found jodie & nathan's uniqueness in the simplicity of a cup of coffee. it turns out most saturdays, jodie & nathan follow a special tradition: first coffee, then breakfast, then they ride their bikes.

it's nothing extravagant, thinking of a cup of joe and some scrambled eggs, but isn't that the kind of place where relationship REALLY happens? isn't that the kind of place where story lives?

for jodie & nathan the answer is a resounding YES! love could be found in the way he ordered their drinks. love oozed out of them as they sat in the grass outside the coffee shop. and love floated across the channel as i just sat and watched two people enjoy the simplicity of the afternoon.

i feel like thank you is never enough for the joy our clients bring us. and despite my fear of seeming selfish for my next sentence, i must take this moment to say how much i love my own wife. carlie, i pray that you forgive me for devaluing the simple moments in life. i love you.

and jodie & nathan, thank you for sharing your story with us. you have transformed me in the simplest and most profound way.

enjoy.the.story.









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Perfection Was Never the Aim

rather than quickly offering the baited response, carlie and i pause, look at each other, and take a short breath through our teeth...

...well, believe it or not, we don't take THAT many photos of him... and then we proceed into a well versed and rehearsed dialogue offering an irrational explanation as to why we don't take more photos of our baby boy, when in fact, we had committed to capturing at least one... JUST ONE... intentional image of our little lincoln roe, each day for the first 100 days of his life in this world.

less than 30 days in, and we dropped our commitment.

now, i understand that it is not the end of the world. we will take many many MANY photographs of lincoln as he grows. and up until now, we actually have taken quite a few photographs. but no, that's not the point.

we failed to see through on our commitment.

and along with about 95% of the 304,059,724 americans who made new years resolutions, and finally found their excuses by valentines day, we dropped the ball.

BUT...

...and i love this part.

perfection was never the aim.

so what do we do? we take more pictures of our son today. we live the life we are in now, and we don't allow perfection to the gift out of the present.

enjoy.the.story.






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The Perfect Engagement Shoot - Melanie and Jason

you guys up for it?, i asked through the small sliver-like opening of their driver-side window, rain dancing off our cars in the parking lot.

jason nodded his head in agreement and anticipation with melanie leaning over from the passenger side. i parked my car, grabbed my gear and my umbrella, and we started shooting.

i am always in awe, though not usually until after the fact, of how creative the Master Storyteller can turn an unfortunate change of events, something completely out of my control, into something truly remarkable... and all He asks, is that i lean into it.

though i can't take much of the credit on this one. the day of melanie and jason's engagement shoot, the weather picked up momentum throughout the day, until we found ourselves in the parking lot of the lab, in costa mesa, watching sheets of rain pour down on our shoot location. and it was melanie and jason who saw opportunity to pursue something unique that rainy day. so, with their willingness to get a little wet, their excitement to capture something special, and their confidence in my leadership to guide them, we started shooting...

we found nooks & crannys, shot under trees & umbrellas, through corridors man made & natural... and finally, as it subsided just enough, under the soft rhythm of the rain itself.

the first half of the images below are some of my favorites ever, and not because of the rain... nor because of the setting or the wardrobe... and not because i feel like i am God's gift to photography [because i am definitely not]. these are some of my favorites because melanie and jason are just the kind of people we feel blessed to come across in our work; the kind of people that find themselves no matter the setting.

we can't wait for your big day, and are so thankful we will be there to capture it. oh yeah... and thanks for the sprinkles.

enjoy.the.story.










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This Is How We Do It - Image Processing

a core value here at gabriel.ryan.photographers. is setting clear expectations for our clients and delivering the goods on time, every time, exactly as promised... and with a smile. simply put, we make promises to our clients and we aim to follow up on each of those promises.

and though most of what we do, the actual work of owning a wedding photographer studio, is social; connecting with new people and getting to know them... there is still a very tangible need: delivering remarkable photographs.

for that aim, every image we present to you goes through a very specific artistic process. first, we capture the raw image. second, we create a proof of each image. third, we refine a select few that have been chosen to be hung on your wall or shared in your wedding book.

as simply as i can share, but no simpler, here's an overview of how we do it here, at gabriel.ryan.photographers.

.::THE CAPTURE::.
nothing can compare to a well-crafted image. as photographers and student's of our craft, we first focus to capture quality images... in camera. we define a well-crafted image to blend a great moment with the right light, great composition, and proper exposure. even though you will never see one of these raw images in your custom gallery, or on our website, it serves as the foundation for what defines our style here at gabriel.ryan.photographers.



.::THE PROOFS::.
what is a proof? well, first, the "proofs" are simply a set of well-crafted images that we have been further processed, to refine exposure, contrast, and tone.

after we have culled through the raw images from a shoot, we promise delivery of your proofs quickly, but without sacrificing quality. for weddings, we can turnaround proofs in 6-8 weeks. and, for engagements, the turnaround time is 2-3 weeks. it takes time to refine each image, but considering the debut of your proofs will be the first time you see your wedding images, we want to make sure they look great.

the first time you see ALL of the photos from your wedding, you will be browsing through your own custom online gallery. and, we also include a disc of the hi-resolution proofs in all of our collections, unless otherwise specified, which are delivered WITH the wedding book. these proofs are a great way to archive ALL of the images from your wedding and engagement.


.::THE SIGNATURE EDIT::.
for a select few, the artistic process continues. if an image is going to be shared in your wedding book, maybe you plan to frame & hang an image in your home, or even send a few fine art prints to your parents as a thank you gift, we want those images to look their absolute best. basically, any image will receive this special attention that is either: ordered through your online gallery to be printed, OR is selected to be a part of the story in your custom wedding book.

for this final step in the process, carlie [aka our empress of style] will open up each image individually, adding that signature gabriel.ryan. flare you have found on our website & blog, or in our custom books. though other photographers might disagree, we want to give you the digital copies of these fully-edited images, too... which is why we wait to deliver your disc of images with your wedding book... that you might have ALL of the final edits on disc.


we get asked all the time what do you actually do to your images and what do we get if we book you. at the end of the day, we revel in the responsibility to tell your story through our lens. and we can't wait for the day when that package arrives in the mail, with the gabriel.ryan. signature, and you open a box full of memories to be cherished forever.

.::UPDATE::.
p.s. we use a combination of our own custom lightroom presets, tra's totally rad photoshop actions, and kevin kubota's magic sharp, when processing our raw images to produce each client's set of proofs, and to achieve our look. also, we believe that our post-production efforts are best invested in the initial selection of our favorite images [the initial cull] and the final artistic retouching [the signature edit]. those two parts of the process are our stamp, our brand, our signature... so, we hold those parts of the process close, while outsourcing the bulk of our color correction to the incredible team over at shoot dot edit.


view our portfolio. contact gabriel.ryan.photographers..

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Finding a Tree in the OC - Amy and Shayne

the two of them looked overhead, at the canopy of branches that seemed to stretch from one horizon to the other, and chuckled to each other. amy could not have been happier; we had found her "big ol' tree."

in emailing back and forth about wedding plans, amy mentioned that her invitations would have an oak tree motif and she really wanted a woodsy look for her engagement photos. we set the date and location. but, as the day approached, and due to the rain, many of the local parks were closed, including our location for the shoot.

fortunately, for every missed opportunity, one just as great seems to appear.

we had dismissed one of the local wilderness parks, having shot their before, and looking for something unique to offer shayne and amy. but, with the scarcity of open trails, still recovering from the passing storms, we headed for the local park, praying that they might be open...

...and, sure enough, they were. not only were they open, but the winter storms [thanks to the glorious climate here in southern california] had given birth to a blanket of green foliage, sprouting up from the once dry earth, transforming the entire park.

needless to say, amy was thrilled. the following images tell the story. thank you shayne and amy, for the invitation to photograph your wedding, and amy... i am so glad we found you your tree.










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