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08 Oct

Posted on October 08, 2019 at 10:35pm in Blog, Short Wedding Film, Wedding Videography by

There is something magical about weddings in the Fairmont San Francisco. This historic and incredible wedding venue served as a beautiful and elegant backdrop for Tobias and Poornima’s multicultural wedding. Tobias and Poornima’s wedding weekend started with a few Indian cultural events at the Lexington Ridge Inn in Los Gatos, CA. Both Tobias (German) and Poornima (Indian) participated in their families’ traditions of Henna (mehendi), Churrah, Miayan and Jaggo ceremonies. These cultural events kicked off a perfect wedding weekend and really gave this Western and Indian Wedding film the pop of color that we are used to seeing. We also fell in love with both families and the atmosphere that both families created for us. Additionally, the organized, structured and on-time events were quite a surprise for us as well. This harmony really helped us to capture amazing wedding footage and wedding photos. The next day, both families headed to San Jose Gurdwara for the Sikh Wedding. We noticed Tobia’s family members looking in awe at all the cultural events taking place throughout this Indian Wedding day. The events at the Anand Karaj (the Sikh wedding ceremony) were very special to both sides of the family. You can see the groom’s family mesmerized by every detail, especially when Tobias led his bride four times during the laavaan, a custom in Sikh weddings. The tear drenched vidaii was a perfect and SUPER emotional ending to this beautiful Sikh Wedding Day. The last day was at the beautiful Bay Area Hotel - Fairmont San Francisco. Both the western ceremony and the reception took place at the Gold Room (my personal favorite ballroom at this venue). The gold room was beautifully decorated for the ceremony and then quickly converted for the reception. The ceremony included a beautiful poem written by one of the bride’s best friends. We decided to use many of the speeches at the ceremony and reception in Hindi and German in this wedding film. I felt including these non English phrases gave the film the perfect mood for their wedding and fit perfectly with their wedding story. Don’t ask how...

03 Sep

Posted on September 03, 2019 at 5:51pm in Same Day Edit, Wedding Videography by

We traveled to Seattle, WA to capture this stunning wedding of David and Raychel at the Olympic Sculpture Park. What made it even more epic was that we filmed and edited a Same Day Edit that premiered at the wedding reception. It was an amazing and stressful weekend in Seattle, but we loved the challenge and captured a memory that the couple will cherish for ever. When Raychel and David initially reached out to me, they mentioned that they wanted a Same Day Edit to play at their wedding reception. I love Same Day Edits! I understand they are quite challenging and extremely stressful, but I also know they are quite rewarding for the couple and their closest friends to watch their beautiful wedding film at the wedding reception. So of course, I agreed to this challenge. We arrived two days early to capture some Seattle scenery, time lapses and video session with the couple. Our first stop was Alki Beach. This gave us an epic view of Seattle from across the bay. We captured a few shots there, especially of the Space Needle, and headed on. The next morning, we headed to Gas Works Park with David and Raychel and spent some filming them with their dog. Since their dog, Gary, wasn’t going to make it to the wedding, I made sure that he made it into the Same Day Edit. We then drove to Pike Place Market, getting a few more shots of the couple simply being “them” around each other. Most of our second day, we spent driving around Seattle capturing time-lapses of clouds through building, the Space Needle, the Seattle Great Wheel and more city shots. At this time, I already started to get an idea how the Same Day Edit might start. So, we headed to our hotel, copied the first batch of cards, and I begin the editing process. That same evening, we headed to Olympic Sculpture Park for the rehearsal. We cleared up and planned the Same Day Edit premier with the involved wedding vendors. It was definitely something that helped to make...

22 Aug

Posted on August 22, 2019 at 8:28am in Blog, Photography, Wedding Photography by

I have been an Indian wedding photographer since 2014 and still the Fairmont San Francisco Hotel is one of my most favorite wedding venues to photograph in. So you can imagine my excitement when an Indian bride tells me that I get to capture her wedding photos in one of the most beautiful wedding venues in the Bay Area. When Sonia and Harman contacted me, I had a great feeling about their wedding. Not only was the couple exceptionally beautiful, they also had Amrit of Anais Events on their team to plan every detail of their wedding. Well, just as I predicted, I enjoyed photographing this beautiful Indian wedding. Beginning from the moment Sonia was getting into her red lengha to their first dance in the Grand Ballroom and even up to the final dance offs at the end of the reception. The love shared between the couple and the families was very evident and it was a pleasure capturing all of the beautiful, candid moments through my lens. Enjoy over 100 wedding photos from this beautiful Sikh Indian wedding at the Fairmont San Francisco hotel. ...

03 Jun

Posted on June 03, 2019 at 9:20am in Blog, Short Wedding Film, Wedding Videography by

Avneet and Irene’s wedding was special to us in many ways. We experienced 2 weddings in one weekend at 4 different venues and 4 different days. This multicultural wedding was an Indian and Chinese wedding with both cultural aspects present at the wedding. We had the honor to film at San Francisco City Hall, San Jose Gurdwara, Dogpatch WineWorks, and lastly at JW Marriott San Francisco Union Square. On top of all that, we had the coolest and most trusting couple (and their family) to work with. They welcomed us as family from the very beginning, and getting to be a part of their beautiful, cultural, meaningful, love filled wedding weekend was such an honor to be part of! We are so excited for them to have this treasure we captured for them for generations to come. The first day, we filmed at the most beautiful and iconic buildings in SF, San Francisco City Hall. It was a simple 3 minute western wedding followed by a bit of filming inside the City Hall with the couple. The challenge at this beautiful and majestic venue was capturing footage with just the couple in it. I know it might sound crazy that we even tried to do that, but it worked. Many of our shots (during the creative shoot) had 2-5 takes, hoping that the people in the background walk faster. This allowed us to capture amazing footage inside of the San Francisco City Hall and have the focus on the beautiful couple. The second day, was the Sikh Wedding at the San Jose Gurdwara. Because it was a cultural wedding, you can see the bride and her family members looking in awe at all the cultural events taking place throughout this day. The events at the Anand Karaj (the Sikh wedding ceremony) were very special to both sides of the family. You can see the bride’s family mesmerized by every detail, especially when the groom led the bride four times during the laavaan, a custom in Sikh weddings. The third day, we filmed the first wedding reception at Dogpatch WineWorks. This...

04 May

Posted on May 04, 2019 at 8:00pm in Blog, Engagements, Photography, Teaser by

Amit and Veena dated for 7 years before Amit surprised Veena with the question of “will you marry me” in Yosemite National Park. Even though both Amit and Veena were already planning their Engagement party and Wedding, Amit still did not give Veena the ring. He wanted that moment to be epic and special. So Amit started planning an engagement photoshoot in Yosemite and reached out to us for help capturing his big day. After one of our meetings, Amit directly messaged us and told us his secret. He wanted to surprise his girlfriend at the photoshoot and officially proposal to her - right in middle of the most beautiful place on earth. We loved that idea and of course agreed to be part of it. Over the weeks, we planned the photo and video shoot. We followed the weather in Yosemite and learned that only the valley will be accessible for us during April as the snow still covered the mountainous peaks. That’s ok, we still knew we’d get amazing shots for both photography and cinematography during spring. We we all (we really were) super excited to capture the scenery at Yosemite with the beautiful couple. The day we arrived in Yosemite was simply perfect. Warm, beautiful and not a lot of people. Perfect conditions to capture a Yosemite proposal. So we got to work - capturing both photography and cinematography as the day unfolded. Especially when Amit got on his knee asking Veena the burning question and was finally able to place the ring on her finger. Enjoy the MODERN Yosemite Engagement video (above) from the day and here are the photography results....

02 Apr

Posted on April 02, 2019 at 3:11pm in Blog, Same Day Edit by

Harman and Navroop Indian Wedding was filled with a lot of laughter, fun, smoke bombs and even crying. But it was definitely a week that we enjoyed capturing amazing footage from this unforgettable Indian Wedding. To wrap up the many days of celebrations, we created this Same Day Edit that we premiered on their wedding reception. The most humbling and inspiring moment is watching the couple and guests enjoy the timeless memories we captured just moments before. Seeing the endless smiles, and sometimes even sweet tears, from the family members, reminds me why we do what we do as wedding cinematographers. Both the bride and groom were beaming as they watched the film we put together. The wedding couple, Harman and Navroop, were simply enjoyable to work with. Both were super sweet to us as well and treated us like family. Not only were they beautiful and natural in front of the cameras, they completely trusted us to capture a day that they will cherish for the rest of their life together. We, as a Bay Area Wedding Cinematography team, were honored to be part of their Indian wedding at the Elk Grove Sikh Temple. Enjoy Harman and Navroop’s Indian Wedding Same Day Edit. ...

18 Feb

Posted on February 18, 2019 at 1:32pm in Blog, Wedding Videography by

Every love story starts with a unique beginning. Whether it is an accidental meeting or a forced blind date, the beginning marks the start of how two people fall in love. In this case, after a busy work week and another late night ahead, Sahil wasn’t too eager about going to a wine tasting on December 6, 2014 but his friend gave him the extra push he needed to leave his house that morning. Little did he know, that was the magical day all the stars aligned and Sahil laid eyes on Natasha for the first time. After that night, he confessed to his friend that he couldn’t stop thinking about her. As their love story continued, the two faced many dragons and a few painfully awkward early dates but Sahil and Natasha kept fighting for their love until 1301 days later, they tied the knot and started their new beginning together as husband and wife. Enjoy this South Asian Wedding of Sahil and Natasha at the largest Sikh Temple in America, the San Jose Gurdwara Sahib....

05 Feb

Posted on February 05, 2019 at 9:54am in Blog, Engagements, Photography by

When the fruit and nut trees started blooming last spring in Yuba City, it wasn’t the only good news that the Thiara family was awaiting. One of their sons, Harmon got engaged to the beautiful Betha and they began planning their late spring Indian wedding. This gorgeous Indian couple met in high school and their love blossomed from there into an amazing relationship. Blossoms and fruit trees are very familiar to Harmon. He spends a lot of his time in the family orchards so photographing this gorgeous couple’s spring inspired engagement session in their own orchard was an awesome idea. We picked out the prime blooming period and went out to capture these amazing engagement photos. Betha couldn’t stop smiling as Harmon gave her a tour of his blossoming orchards. Their love for each other and beautiful smiles deeply enhanced the beauty of the blooming trees. The romantic scenery and gorgeous couple surely helped me produce some of my favorite engagement photos....

04 Feb

Posted on February 04, 2019 at 6:23pm in Blog, Wedding Videography by

After filming weddings for over 14 years, I still love and thoroughly enjoy what I do. And, you may be surprised to know, even despite having so much experience, I still get nervous before filming EVERY single wedding. Maybe it’s because I understand that my passion, as a wedding videographer, affects each couple directly. They trust me to to capture their once-in-a-lifetime memories. So I make sure to capture a work of art at each and every wedding. With this wedding, it was no different. The wedding itself was in a way different and unique, but we made sure to approach it thoughtfully. The multicultural couple incorporated their Italian and Indian traditions throughout the 2-day celebration and I wanted to capture the essence of both cultures accordingly. Predictably, I was nervous before filming this wedding but I think my delicate and professional approach is felt throughout this wedding film. What increased the pressure a bit was that I met Bikram and Camila a few years before they reached out to me about their wedding. I filmed Bikram’s sisters wedding a few years back and have met (and filmed) many of their wedding guests’ weddings. It was truly an honor being part of their wedding because it showed me that they continued to trust me and my work. Enjoy this wedding film from Bikram and Camila’s wedding at San Jose Gurdwara and Castlewood Country Club. Read more in depth about this wedding in the full post. ...

10 Jan

Posted on January 10, 2019 at 11:21am in Blog, Wedding Videography by

Destination weddings are probably one of the most exciting tasks we take on as wedding cinematographers. We get to experience an exotic, new place, usually an island on the other side of the globe, while capturing breathlessly romantic ceremonies and epic receptions. It’s such an exciting getaway for us and the stakes are always higher to deliver our very best work. The couple who requests us to join them on their wedding weekend, expects us to create the perfect, flawless wedding film. A wedding film that captures the most sentimental and priceless moments of their big day. It’s always a thrill to see how we can stretch our creativity to ensure we capture the perfect angles and moments throughout the weekend as the couple exchanges their vows, makes their grand entrance, and dances the night away, all while surrounded by only the closest of family and friends and the bluest ocean and greenest mountains. Barron and Dana first met in 2012 and after Barron proposed, they began planning their magical wedding. They chose Saint Lucia for its warm and tropical weather and it was such a perfect touch on their big day! It was as if the clouds knew exactly how to compliment the setting and add the perfect glow, making our job almost effortless. Planning the wedding reception was like “planning the best party of our life, with everything and everyone we love” and it was evident that the guests were enjoying themselves during the party. Barron and Dana were radiating so much joy and happiness that filming their wedding was not only a blast but it was genuinely very exciting to be there in that moment with them and their loved ones. ...

09 Jan

Posted on January 09, 2019 at 1:46pm in Blog, Tutorials by

In this tutorial, I dig deep into a proxy workflow in Final Cut Pro X that took me years to understand and achieve. It all seems simple to me now, but I wanted to share this knowledge with you. This tutorial covers setting up the FCPX project, optimizing the media, encoding video files, batch renaming, testing the project, sending the project as a zip or sparse image, and receiving the project back from your editor. I hope that my desperation into finding a perfect proxy workflow for me is something that you can benefit from as well. This has sped up our editing workflow, turn around times, and most important (and why I did this) the quality of the edit. I can answer any of your questions about this Final Cut Pro X workflow down in the comments. ...

30 Nov

Posted on November 30, 2018 at 1:00pm in Blog, Wedding Videography by

We have been filming Indian weddings all over California and United States and we love the challenges each wedding presents us. For instance, at this Indian Wedding, we were challenged to create a beautiful film from just the wedding reception alone that Raj and Pam had in Sacramento one week after their epic wedding on the East Coast. What makes this challenging is that we don't have the wedding content to work with to tell a story. Additionally, we're not able to have the variety of wedding footage that we are used to. Sadly, many wedding videographers would simply "slap" together a simple long and boring video. However, I wanted to approach this a bit more creatively and create an Indian Wedding Reception Highlight Film. I wanted the reception film to have emotions, be epic and have a story. My goal is so when you are done watching the reception wedding film, you have met the beautiful couple and have been at their wedding reception. I believe we pulled this off with this short film from Raj and Pam's wedding reception in Sacramento, California. One of my personal favorite scenes from this film is their first dance before the guests arrived to the reception hall at the Hyatt Regency Sacramento. The couple wanted to see their reception hall full decorated before the guests arrived. More importantly, they wanted to practice their first dance one last time. It's our job, as wedding cinematographers, to capture a story. So me and my team took that opportunity and filmed their special moment as they danced away on the empty reception dance floor. Looking at the footage later, I was please as it gave me some romantic footage that I found fitted perfectly into their film. Raj is an accomplished doctor and it was an honor to be part of their wedding celebration in Raj's home town, Sacramento, CA. So enjoy this Indian Wedding Reception Highlight Film from the heart of California at the Hyatt Regency Sacramento....