What Part of Your Wedding is Most Important to You?

Planning a wedding can be overwhelming and stressful.  You have a checklist of services and vendors you need to meet with and hire.  Where do you start?  You have a limited budget, and you need to prioritize what is most important to you.  So how do you do it?

If it were up to us, photography would be first on the list, but we want to hear from you!  How would you rank the following services?

-wedding venue

-officiant

-band/dj

-photography

-videography

-flowers

-makeup

-dresses

-photo booth

-catering

 

Leave us comments ranking these services in terms of importance to you!

Please don’t forget to check out our website.

And browse our wedding and engagement photo albums on Facebook.

Do You Prefer Photoshopped Images?

We’ve been wanting to bring up this subject for a little while. Photoshop is an amazing program, that can allow photo editors to do all sorts of remarkable things.  We sometimes use it to cut strangers/objects out of the background of a picture.  We’ll use it to open somebody’s eyes in a photo, or lighten/darken a photo a little bit.  We also use it for minor color corrections.  However, there are some things we don’t do with Photoshop.  We try not to change the overall photo.  We are experts at capturing sunsets/sunlight/natural colors, so if there’s a sunset, we capture it perfectly.  Our finished product always accurately reflects what the day looked like.

But we’ve noticed a trend towards using Photoshop to move away from an accurate portrayal of the day.  In the example below, the editor uses a picture taken in broad daylight and turns it into a magnificent sunset photo.  

While the end result is a breathtaking photo, it is essentially fake; the rocks, clouds, and sun NEVER looked like that.Yes, the after picture (right) is amazing.  But you can go camp out at that spot for a year and never witness that scene.  But our question to you is, do you prefer it?  If you were looking back over your wedding pictures, engagement pictures, or pictures from another event, would you prefer they accurately reflect the day (left) or would you prefer them to be dramatic and breathtaking, even if the day looked nothing like it (right)?

Below is another example:

They are both great photos.  But if the one on the right looks kind of fake to you, that’s because it is.  The sky and water were never that deep a blue with the vibrant orange sun.  Again, we are curious which you would prefer?  Let’s get a discussion going in the comments.

Please don’t forget to check out our website.

And browse our wedding and engagement photo albums on Facebook.

Intimate Wedding at Verandas Beach House in Manhattan Beach

Anna and Mike enjoyed an absolutely beautiful wedding.  The day started at the Manhattan Beach Marriott, overlooking the beautiful golf course.  Next came an intimate ceremony at Verandas Beach House!  Then to the beach for some beautiful sunset pictures!  Then it was back to Verandas for a delicious dinner and fun-filled reception!    Congratulations Anna and Mike, thanks for letting us be part of your special day!  To see our facebook page, follow this link: https://www.facebook.com/JMMillsPhoto.  And as always, don’t forget to check out our website: www.millsphotography.com 

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Videos Up on YouTube

The past couple of days we have been working on getting some video slideshows up on YouTube.  One of our wedding sites has a tool to put together slideshows with music in minutes.  While it’s awesome to do it quickly, there were some hiccups along the way.  But the finished products are pretty good we think.  (Definitely wish they were HD though).  We have videos up of Our wedding photography, and also real weddings at La Venta Inn and The Portofino Hotel & Marina in Palos Verdes and Redondo Beach, respectively.  Go ahead and see them for yourself, let us know what you think in the comments!

Here’s the link to our youtube channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/JMMillsPhoto/videos?view=0&flow=grid

And don’t forget to visit our website at: http://www.millsphotography.com

Facebook:  http://www.facebook.com/JMMillsPhoto

Another Perfect Wedding at La Venta Inn in Palos Verdes Estates

Casey and Dustin had a lovely wedding at La Venta Inn in Palos Verdes  Estates.  Even in November, there were clear skies for this Southern California Sunday!  With the intimate ceremony performed by a close friend of the couple, friends and family witnessed these two become married!  The details in this wedding were flawless!  From the dress and the shoes, to the rings and floral arrangements, everything added a unique flair to the wedding.  Congratulations Casey and Dustin, thanks for letting us be part of your special day!  To see our facebook page, follow this link: https://www.facebook.com/JMMillsPhoto.  And as always, don’t forget to check out our website: www.millsphotography.com 

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A Beautiful November Wedding at La Venta Inn in Palos Verdes Estates

Julie and Wade had a gorgeous wedding at La Venta Inn in Palos Verdes  Estates.  Even in November, the beautiful Southern California sun was out brightening the day!  Among the highlights was a display on the dance floor that was right out of “So You Think You Can Dance!”  Congratulations Julie and Wade, thanks for letting us be part of your special day!  To see our facebook page, follow this link: https://www.facebook.com/JMMillsPhoto And as always, don’t forget to check out our website: www.millsphotography.com 

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Another Beautiful October Wedding at La Venta Inn in Palos Verdes Estates

Maria and Brian had a gorgeous wedding at La Venta Inn in Palos Verdes! A clear ocean view during the ceremony and a beautiful sunset afterwards provided some great picture opportunities. All that Tebowing paid off!!  To see our facebook page, follow this link: https://www.facebook.com/JMMillsPhoto And as always, don’t forget to check out our website: www.millsphotography.com 

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A Beautiful Palos Verdes Wedding at La Venta Inn

Ashley and Aaron had planned a beautiful October wedding at La Venta Inn in Palos Verdes Estates.  Luckily, there was no sign of rain, and we got some beautiful pictures of this loving couple on their special day!To see our facebook page, follow this link: https://www.facebook.com/JMMillsPhoto And as always, don’t forget to check out our website: www.millsphotography.com 

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A Stunning October Wedding at La Venta Inn in Palos Verdes Estates

Ashley and Richie had a gorgeous wedding at La Venta Inn in Palos Verdes  Estates.  Everyone had a great time, and the wedding party was an especially fun group!  A beautiful sunset was taken advantage of for some gorgeous pictures of the newlyweds and their wedding party.  We were honored to be part of it!  To see our facebook page, follow this link: https://www.facebook.com/JMMillsPhoto And as always, don’t forget to check out our website: www.millsphotography.com 

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A Gorgeous Traditional Church Wedding at St. Anthony’s Church in El Segundo, and La Venta Inn in Rancho Palos Verdes

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Kristianne and Brett were so much fun on their wedding day!  The day started at St. Anthony’s Church in El Segundo with a beautiful church ceremony.  Everyone then headed to La Venta Inn in Rancho Palos Verdes for a beautiful celebration of love!  A beautiful sunset capped off this magical day! To see our facebook page, follow this link: https://www.facebook.com/JMMillsPhoto And as always, don’t forget to check out our website: www.millsphotography.com