ZumaPhoto

Brian’s Proposal | Park City Wedding Photographer

Shaun — Fri, 25 Mar 2011 14:00:07 +0000

A couple weeks ago, Brian flew his girlfriend Leslie out to Park City for a week of skiing and her birthday celebration. He also had planned to propose to her on her birthday, but she had no idea. Since Leslie is a photographer herself back in Alabama where the couple is from, he knew how important it would be to her to have photographs of the event.

Brian searched the wedding photographers in our area and decided I was the perfect person to capture the special moment. We planned the whole day out and it all went off without a hitch. I met them in Atticus a great little coffee and tea book store where I told them i was just shooting some promotional images for the store. She totally bought it.

After they relaxed with some warm beverages, they headed across the street to the town lift where the proposal was to happen. I stealthily followed behind, I was totally a super secret agent. The moment Brian went down on his knee, I got all teary and a little bit shakey, I was so nervous for him. She of course said “yes!” and I gave them a little more time before I popped out and let her know I was in on it. She was so excited and suprised, it was wonderful!!

From there, we went around Park City for an engagement shoot. Leslie was so great because she already knew how to hold herself and be comfortable in front of the camera. Brian wasn’t finished with the surprises yet, he had arranged to take his best girl on horse drawn sleigh ride and finish the day with a fireside table for dinner at the Goldener Hirsch at Deer Valley. So romantic right!?

Thank you so so much Brian for arranging such a magical day! I loved capturing such a wonderful day for the two of you, and I hope our paths will cross again if you two make it out to Park City again! Good Luck with the Wedding!!! L, Logan

This is a video that Leslie put together of some of the images from that day and she has shared with us. I was going to make one myself but she beat me to it and did a grand job. Thank you Leslie!!!

Get a better browser!

Happy National Unicorn Day! | Utah Wedding Photographer

Mitchell — Thu, 24 Mar 2011 10:33:38 +0000

As I’m sure everyone is well aware, yesterday was National Unicorn Day – a magical celebration of Joy, Joyfulness & Joyousness (and Joy)! Oh rapture!

Every year at this time, we at ZumaPhoto fill our hearts with a rainbow of fruit-flavored, glittery happiness and love. This year, led by our own little Alpha-Corn, Angela, the ladies of ZumaPhoto went all out with happy-hilarious-head-horns, chirpy-cheerful-cupcakes, and perky-playful-pizza-pie!

All in all, it was a mirthful festival of all things blissful, blithe and gay! And an impressively elaborate excuse to avoid work for an hour.

From all of us at ZumaPhoto, here’s wishing you a tweeful unicorn day full of sunshine, pixie-dust, and MAGIC!

Next year, come join us on March 23rd!

‘Ad-horned’ with the very special unicorn horns fashioned by Angela, we kicked off the celebration in Shutterbooth’s photo booth.
We were truly a Glory of Unicorns on that day, I can tell you.

Here you can see the entire glory in the full glory of stop-motion gloriositude.
GLORIOUS!

Finally, Logan got creative with her iPhone in Self-portrait with Quinn.

Oh joy.

Heidi Publishes Her First Lighting Guide!

Heidi — Wed, 09 Mar 2011 21:15:49 +0000

Heidi Ann get’s asked a lot about the lighting behind her gorgeous Haute Pink images. So, she decided to put all that info into a book! The result is ‘Lit – Lighting Sketches from the Workbook of Heidi Ann’

‘Lit’ features 78 of Heidi’s signature fashion forward images, with 14 sections demonstrating historical “looks” including Old Hollywood, Off Broadway, Throwback to the 70′s, and Avant Garde. ‘Lit’ will give you the confidence and permission to go out and just play with light. Its an invaluable tool for getting started with your own lighting experiments!

Read on to order your copy today!

Want to see more of LIT?
Click here for a PDF sample
or
Buy it now!

Snowy Engagements | Park City Utah | ZumaPhoto

Shaun — Mon, 07 Mar 2011 14:00:38 +0000

I had such a fun time playing in the snow up in Park City with Kim and Ray. They were up for tromping through the snow, getting wet socks and all, but I think the image we got was so worth it! I just love aspen trees year round, there isn’t a season in which they don’t look awesome.

Kim and Ray just look perfect framed among all of those black and white trunks. Thanks Kim and Ray for being such great sports in the wet snow!

Ripped from the pages of Vogue… Literally.

Heidi — Wed, 02 Mar 2011 18:46:02 +0000

Last week was the annual pilgrimage to the mecca of portrait and wedding photographers, the WPPI convention in Las Vegas.

I had been asked to do a fashion shoot of the beautiful Ashley while there. We came up with the concept of making a dress quite literally ripped from the pages of Vogue.

After hours and hours of designing, cutting, gluing, and building, the dress came together. Click to see the results!

ZumaPhoto Goes Hollywood! (Sorta)

Mitchell — Mon, 28 Feb 2011 16:07:22 +0000

So just HOW cool is the ZumaPhoto studio space? Cool enough for movies, yo!

Triple threat (writer/director/actor) Jason Falasco approached us about shooting his production company’s (Trilogy Productions) short film ‘Soft Focus’ in our studios over a weekend this past December, with the ultimate goal of presenting it for funding into a full feature. I have a bit of background in film, so I wasn’t really keen on the idea of turning the studio over to a film crew (filmmakers are all savages…SAVAGES I TELL YOU!). But after much cajoling, flattery and plain old American bribery, we finally relented. Jason and his team shot this behind the scenes vignette as a kind of thank you card to us. Enjoy!

One note: ’Soft Focus’ is about a disgruntled wedding photographer finding love and renewed passion. While we acknowledge the similarities between life and art here, we would like to assure our clients and friends that we are definitely gruntled with our wedding photography! So gruntled it hurts.

Thanks to Jason, Mario, Moises, Brian, Rachel and the whole crew!

P.S. – Rachel, you know where to find me.

Heidi Ann Profiled in Professional Photographer Magazine

Heidi — Wed, 23 Feb 2011 16:02:18 +0000

This past October, Zuma’s own Heidi Ann was featured in Professional Photographer Magazine as one of the Top-10 up-and-coming photographers, or ‘GenNext’, as the magazine puts it. These are PPM’s picks for the artists to watch in the coming year and we couldn’t agree more. Way to go Heidi!

They used one of her fabu images for the table of contents as well.

Sadly, Heidi was not the one to shoot Mr. Clooney’s mug for the cover. But she’s working on it….. Next time!

Mitch Interviewed for BrideAccess TV!

Mitchell — Mon, 21 Feb 2011 21:49:50 +0000

This was run on the BrideAccess TV show an Robin was kind enough to send me a link to share. So this was at the end of the Bridal Showcase Bridal Fair in January. Zen had kept me up most of the previous night and I had been at the show for some 10 hours by this point and I was so tired that I literally had no recollection of what I had said until I saw this. I’m just relieved that I didn’t call for the overthrow of the government or confess to any murders or anything.

Guess those secrets are still safe…..DOH!!

Heidi Ann Joins the Zuma Team!!

Heidi — Mon, 31 Jan 2011 15:01:30 +0000

It is with great pleasure and pride that I announce that Heidi Ann has joined us here at ZumaPhoto! Those familiar with Heidi’s previous work through Retrospect Studios already know what a singular talent she is. And for those of you who are not yet familiar with her work – well, you’re in for a treat!

Heidi’s brings a fashion-inspired aesthetic to bridal photography – ‘Bridal Vogue’, if you will – and the results are dramatic…striking…and just flat out GORGEOUS! The addition of her unique vision and her position as a leader in the photo community broadens ZumaPhoto‘s range to even greater heights and we are absolutely thrilled to welcome her to her new home. Read on for a few samples of her work!

This is Heidi.

And below is just a sample of her stunning work.
Be sure to check out her bio and complete portfolios on her profile page.

Utah Bride and Groom 2011

Shaun — Thu, 13 Jan 2011 14:00:50 +0000

We are so excited that the 2011 issue of Utah Bride and Groom is here!! It is filled with wonderful tips and inspirations for the Utah Bride to Be. And I am thrilled that our photography has been chosen to be featured in the magazine both for the articles and in Vendor’s adds.

Thank you Tessa and all of our Wedding Vendor friends! We look forward to a busy and successful 2011!

Our images are the highlighted ones
(or all of ‘em on the page if the whole page is highlighted).

THIS WEEKEND – The Bridal Showcase at The Salt Palace

Mitchell — Thu, 06 Jan 2011 20:13:09 +0000

Its the original Utah bridal fair, and in our opinion still the best.
Which is why its the only show we do all year!

The 28th Annual Bridal Showcase at the Salt Palace Convention center.
Friday, January 7th: 3pm – 8pm
Saturday, January 8th: 11am – 7pm

• Come meet the photographers, look over some of our award-winning albums, and generally have a good time.

• We have FREE tickets available here at our über-cool® studio for you to pick up (email quinn@zumaphoto.com to arrange).

• As an added bonus, we are giving a MASSIVE 30×54 inch canvas gallery wrap print to any client who books at the show.

That’s a $1200 value, yo!

See you there!

Holiday Music 2010 | Zen’s Christmas Toybox Stream

Mitchell — Mon, 29 Nov 2010 04:42:41 +0000

It’s BAA-ACK!

As featured on Arcade Fire’s News page!
(seriously – we’re about halfway down under ‘Technology’. LOL!)

ZumaPhoto’s tradition of streaming Christmas/Holiday music continues for 2010!
More songs! More merriment! 13% MORE MIRTH!

(Works for iPhones/iPods/iPads too! Read on to play!)

Many ways to play:

Flash-enabled browsers:

Just click the play button in the player below.

Configuration Error!

Also, there is a pop-out version of the player above left (the one that looks like a play button) for those of you who would like to close this page but keep listening.

-/-

iTunes/WinAmp/Windows Media Player:

Just click the appropriate icon in the upper right left, above
(just above the embedded player).

Great for pushing to AirPlay devices, Roku, etc.

[Note: depending on your system configuration, rather than opening the stream
automatically in your player you may instead download a 'listen.m3u' file.
Just drag that to the player of your choice to start the delicious tunes....mmm...
The file is available here should you have any problems.]

-/-

iDevices (iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch):

Just click this link and it will load up in Quicktime!

http://xmas.zumaphoto.com

(or you can enter the URL into Safari manually)

TIP: If you have the new iOS 4.2 update try using it with AirPlay to push the deliciousness to your good speakers!

Enjoy!

And as always, if you have suggestions or request to add to the playlist, drop us an email at zenbox@zumaphoto.com or just leave it in the comments section.

-/-

Marisa & Mickey’s NEW ‘Save the Date’ Video

Mitchell — Wed, 17 Nov 2010 23:14:26 +0000

Remember Marisa & Mickey’s stop-motion ‘save the date’ video that we did for them back in September?

Well…plans have changed.

So we did a NEW version of the video to bring it up to date.

So yeah I had to do a bit more work on it.

But on the upside, guess who’s going to BERMUDA?!??!

Wedding on Lake Champlain | Vermont Wedding Photography

Mitchell — Thu, 28 Oct 2010 13:44:23 +0000

Stephanie & Kyle are mad, hardcore ski Gods. They coach alpine racers around the country including for the U.S. ski team and they just don’t ever get it out of their system: they even spent their ‘Honeymoon’ in the mountains of Chile teaching kids how to fall down a mountain with style! So when they decided to get hitched everyone pretty much assumed that it would take place on some mountain top somewhere. Instead, they decided to head back to Kyle’s home state to Vermont’s GORGEOUS Lake Champlain – no snow this time.

Here are a couple of video montages to help share the experience.

I’ve only been to Vermont in the winter – for yes I too have the skiing jones and its taken me to Stowe a few times. All I can say about early Autumn in that part of Vermont is WOW! The place is just astounding in its color and history. Thank you Stephanie & Kyle for giving me an opportunity to explore it a bit.

I had one entire morning to myself and this first video shows some of my impressions of the area en route from Burlington to
Basin Harbor the day before the wedding, and the gang that I found relaxing by the lake when I got there.

And here’s the wedding day itself at the Basin Harbor Club on the shores of Lake Champlain.

Again, thanks to Stephanie & Kyle, and their wonderful families and friends who made me feel so welcome.

New Studio Manager | Meet Quinn!

Mitchell — Tue, 19 Oct 2010 20:56:19 +0000

We are SO STOKED to introduce you to our new studio manager, Quinn!

Quinn will be seeing to the needs of the most important part of our business – our clients! From scheduling a shoot, to helping choose a florist to album consultations, Quinn will be on hand to address all of your individual wants and desires, and putting up with your most outrageous demands.

Quinn will be the face of ZumaPhoto to a great extent, so its lucky for us that she has tremendous energy, a vibrant disposition, an artistic flair, and is sharp as a tack! She also has a great sense of humor, so introduce yourself today by calling the studio line and wasting her time with a lot of bogus requests: 801.220.0020

In all seriousness Quinn, we are so happy to have you on board. You have already become an indispensable part of Team Zuma and we can’t wait to see what you accomplish once you learn to read.

As fantastic as Quinn is, she does have one little quirk: a near phobic fear of cameras.

And she work’s at a photography studio. Nice one, Quinn.

Accordingly, we have thus far only succeeded in getting a few parting shots as she runs away or pulled a few from survailance footage.

You’ll have to come meet her in person to get a good look at her, but here’s a collage of bits of her.

The only real shot of Quinn NOT doing something silly for the camera.

This is more typical on-camera behavior.

Even her toes are camera-shy

Here is a photo of her pineapples.
At least they stood still for the shot.

Phone capture of Quinn pretending to work.

Great to have you on board!

Downtown Chic | Salt Lake City Engagement Session

Mitchell — Tue, 19 Oct 2010 01:14:58 +0000

Chemistry.

That’s what I’m looking for in an engagement session, and Michelle & Lance had it in spades.

No fancy chatting on this one, just a quick share of a few of my favorites from the session.

Emily & Chris’s Big Fat Greek Wedding Album

Mitchell — Mon, 11 Oct 2010 13:57:32 +0000

“Ooooooooooooooooo!”

That, or some variation thereof, is what nearly everybody who took a gander at this album for the few days it was in or studio said when they saw it. I’m particularly stoked by it because I pushed hard for this combination of new leathers in the cover and it turned out even better than I had imagined it would. The cover is a filigree-stamped split-grain leather with a quilted leather spine. Nom, nom nom!

This album was a long time in the making – the wedding was over 2 years ago and in fact was one of the very first that Logan and I shot together. But it just goes to show that its never too late to have us put the images from your wedding into the best possible setting. Congratulations Emily & Chris!

Wedding: Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church
Reception: Little America Hotel
Album: 100-sides, 11×14, 100% fabulous.

What follows are a few layouts and some personal favorites from the album.

People manifest anxiety in different ways. Sometimes its pretty subtle.

I know just how he feels some days.

So the first dance started off typically enough.

But there is evidently a Greek tradition of showering the happy couple with cash during their first dance.
The children rushed in to gather it up so the intimacy of the moment was rather shattered.
Made me laugh though and that’s really whats important, right?

Noelle’s Bridals on The Salt Flats | Utah Wedding Photographer

Mitchell — Tue, 05 Oct 2010 01:54:40 +0000

CONGRATUALTIONS to Noelle & Garzhai who done tied the knot this weekend at the Grand Hall at The Gateway.

That means that I’m finally free to share Noelle’s high-concept (well….middling-concept, anyway) bridals!

We lugged ourselves, some furniture, and one 1950′s-era vacuum cleaner out to the Bonneville Salt Flats for a bit of high-key fun in the desert.

I really enjoyed this session, Noelle. Big thanks to you, your mom AND your sister for putting up with my ‘creative conceits’.

So this was my sort of satire of 1950s domestic roles.
Noelle’s mom wasn’t really into it, but she put up with it and was a good sport.
Besides – I lugged the vacuum out there and it WASN’T to clean the place up.

Noelle ordered this triptych as a 12×30 canvas gallery wrap. Gorgeous!
I couldn’t stop looking at it during the reception.
Is it tacky to be in love with one’s own work?

Marisa & Mickey’s ‘Save The Date’ Video

Mitchell — Wed, 15 Sep 2010 19:57:21 +0000

Occasionally we’ll have a client ask for something different. Something out of the box.

Marisa & Mickey had seen a few stop-motion videos used as ‘Save the Date’ notes floating around the web and asked if we could do that for them. Now I havn’t played with stop-motion since high school (I seem to remember it involved a lot of dismembered clay people), but I’m not one to avoid a challenge.

Someone (probably a thief) once said that good artists borrow while great artists steal – so, M & M took some ideas they found out there, added a few touches of their own and asked us to make it happen.

Please to enjoy!

Want us to do one of these for you?!

Well…ok…but just because its you.

UPDATE: Mickey & Marisa’s plans have CHANGED,
so we did a new version of the video!

Indian Ceremony at Red Butte Gardens | Kavitha & Fred

Mitchell — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 02:29:05 +0000

Following up on Friday’s post of Groomals, we have Kavitha & Fred’s gorgeous Indian ceremony in the fragrance garden of Red Butte Garden.

Indian ceremonies are known for a few things: their duration (though this one was highly modified to just a couple of hours); their amazing colors; their complex symbolism; and their sense of fun and celebration! Sharp-eyed readers may have noted that our groom Fred’s ancestors probably hailed from somewhere a bit further east than India, and so it was great fun to watch someone be at the center of all this pageantry without really knowing what was going on.

Fred weathered it like a champ!

Kavitha receives a blessing from her family prior to the ceremony.

Kavitha’s bridesmaids in waiting.

Kavitha and Fred get a first good look at each other in their full regalia.

One of the things that I love about Indian ceremonies is the sense of it in part being a kind of
trial or test for the couple. A lot of games are played throughout the ceremony that
require them to prove themselves or to work together. Here Fred is surprised to be
lifted up on the shoulders of his groomsmen so that he can ‘capture’ his bride with
a garland of flowers.

Of course, its a competition….

…and here we see Kavitha throwing down the challenge.

Teamwork.

I just got a kick out of this – the laptop was held for the duration so that a remote family member
could be at the ceremony through the magic of Skype.

The coconut is an important symbol.
I never really caught for what but…its important,
that’s all you need to know.

Another sort of game involves pouring handfuls of rice over each other.
This was something that Fred could really get behind and as a result
he did it rather too early – hence Kavitha’s look of surprise.

Thanks, Kavitha and Fred, for having me along on your day.

Next up – the reception!