Matt & Gina

We met Matt & Gina through our clients Joshua & Elizabeth who were married in June. Matt & Gina were married at the beautiful Founder's Chapel at USD and then the reception was at the Bristol Hotel in Downtown San Diego. What an amazing place for the reception! The roof even opened up over the dance floor and we were able to go above and get some amazing shots with the San Diego skyline. We had a great time spending the day with you guys and your family.

New Ashcraft Photo website launching soon...

The countdown has begun...a new site with a whole bunch of new features! We are really excited about the new site and you will be too. Check back soon to see for yourself!

Food photography shots at Falkner Winery

I had the pleasure of doing some food photography for Falkner Winery the other day. Food photography is probably one of the most difficult types of photography. Unlike a person, you can't tell it how to pose or to smile! :) The ultimate goal of food photography is to make it look so good, people will want to buy it. Ever notice how enticing those french fries are on the picture at McDonalds. The fries are all crisp and golden and are leaping out of the box as if they were just freed from purgatory! OK, I stole that line from Dane Cook! Unfortunately when you get them they never look as good as they did in the photo. I will admit though, McDonalds fries are pretty tasty!

So in order to get great photos, you need great lighting. So I showed up at Falkner with about $20K in photography and lighting equipment. I setup with my key on a 7" reflector with a 10deg grid and back lit with a 7" reflector with a 20deg grid and filled with a beauty dish wrapped in a diffuser. I also threw some bounce light off a silver pop up reflector.

Our next shoot we are going to incorporate some cool linens as well as a full table setting.

Once I got setup, the Chef started bringing out plate after plate. Needless to say, by the end of the shoot, I was so hungry!!! Man the food looked so good.

Here are a couple shots from the shoot.

A day in the dirt

For the past few months we have just been slammed with weddings. Between shooting weddings, editing photos, and designing albums, you can get a little exhausted. So, last night my friend Julian D'usseau sent me a text saying that they are going to be riding in the morning and that some magazines and sponsors needed some new photos. So I said...count me in, I could use a break.

As some of you may or may not know, I got my start in photography while doing Action Sports photography. I get a lot of people inquiring about my shooting style and everyone always tells me, "I love your photography, it is so creative, edgy, and fun". So then I explain to them that before doing wedding photography, my roots began in the Action Sports world. Personally I feel that my style is different and edgy because of my background in Action Sports. Wedding photography is competitive but shooting Action Sports is like swimming in a shark tank. When I go to X Games or Supercross, there will be 30 other photographers all shooting the same thing and trying to sell the photos to the same people. So I had to set myself apart. Through years of shooting, I evolved my style into what it is today. And ironically enough, my wedding photography crosses over and inspires my action sports photography now. And although wedding photography is my passion, I still enjoy shooting action sports and will continue to do so when I am not busy shooting weddings.

There is nothing like a Day in the Dirt!

Duncan & Laureen Wedding at Wiens Family Cellars

Duncan & Laureen traveled all the way from Germany for their destination wedding at Wiens Cellars in Temecula Wine Country. They had guests from England and as far away as Australia! What a great mix - they're wedding had so many fun guests and I loved the British accents. Your wedding was SO beautiful and we hope you guys enjoyed your honeymoon and made it back to Germany safely.

The Marry Me Lounge Grand Opening is a Success!!!

Last night, November 5th was the Grand Opening of Temecula Valley's premier Wedding & Event resource center, The Marry Me Lounge. Grand opening started at 5:00 and everybody who was anybody attended. For those of you who were not able to attend, you truly missed out. The event was a huge success and the success was largely due to the hard work put in by the owners of The Marry Me Lounge, Terre and Cathy! Although, many other people were involved with making this thing a success. Not to mention the amazing food provided by The Forge...OMG, to die for! And all the vendors who did their part, great job.

When I didn't have food in my hands and delicious cup cakes stuffed in my mouth, I managed to snap a few photos. Also, be sure to check out L PARKER Photography as she was also running around taking photos.

Click on the images to see a larger view.

This lucky couple was the grand prize winner of a fabulous Fantasy Dream Wedding!!!