When we decided to renovate the studio, we wanted to create a cozy, inviting space with lots of natural light and elegant furnishings. But we weren’t just thinking about the inside environment; we wanted to do something good for the outside environment, too.

That’s why on top of all the other renovations we made to our studio—literally—are 28 SunPower solar panels. They are the most efficient panels in the business, and will help us save money and cut way down on greenhouse gas emissions.

I don’t want to bore you with too many numbers, but this is pretty impressive: the panels will offset our power costs by $300 a month. Over the next twenty-five years, we’ll save a whopping $92,000.

But the environmental benefits are even more amazing. By installing those 28 solar panels, we’re saving the equivalent of driving a car 354,000 miles. We’re saving the amount of CO² produced by 3,400 trees. Imagine if a family that never recycled anything started recycling all their cans and bottles and paper. Twenty-five years later, they have saved 98,400 pounds of solid waste from ending up in landfills. That’s the equivalent of how much energy we’re saving!

With all the lights and equipment we need to use, photography shoots can suck up a lot of energy. But we believe creating a beautiful photograph shouldn’t come at the expense of the natural environment. The new solar panels help us give back to the planet while bringing our power bill down—a real win-win!

We decided to go with SunPower because they have been around for over 25 years and offer the most efficient solar panels on the planet. They’re so efficient that they even generate power on cloudy days! The panels sit low over the roof, and their sleek design makes them barely noticeable. We don’t have to put in any extra effort at all. And whenever I want to see something that will make me smile, I can just pull up the SunPower app on my iPad to see how much energy we’re saving.

Come visit our newly renovated studio to see all the improvements we’ve made, inside and out!

As we say goodbye to 2011, we also say goodbye to the headache of renovating our photography
studio. We spent 3 months dealing with the fine white dust from the drywall, the teeth-shattering jackhammering, and the noise from dawn till dusk. Renovation is super stressful, especially if, like me, you’re someone who is meticulous about the tiniest details: light, color, the shape of the tiles, design, ambiance, and on and on.

But the good news is that our studio renovation is finally complete! Champagne all around, please! Happy New Year!!!

We decided to go through the remodeling process because we wanted to be able use the studio as an elegant backdrop in photos. Renovation of this proportion usually takes 6 months, but we
completed a majority of it in just under 3 months because we are utilizing the space as a studio and can’t have such a long downtime. We had to be extremely creative in making the renovations in sections.

We did all the interior design ourselves, and we’re so please with how it turned out! The studio used to be really dark, but now light pours in from skylights and windows. Glass doors open onto the yard, creating a flow between indoor/outdoor living space.

We created more light by adding 7 new skylights, and a bunch of new windows. We also installed at least 60+ new light fixtures into the studio, most of which are LED (energy efficient and non-toxic).

The interior has a wedding theme with a glamorous, contemporary, warm and extremely sexy feel. The furniture is modern and cozy, the perfect place for couples who are getting married to get comfortable, have some wine and cheese, and chat with us about their plans.

The fireplace is elongated, see-through and set into beautifully curved tiles, bordered by wood. The other side has a large black granite surround, sitting on a sensual red wall. The see-through fireplace is fun because it’s essentially 2 fireplaces in one.

The salon also received a facelift with new light fixtures, glass French doors and new flooring.

With its beautiful lighting, flowing design, comfortable furnishings and elegant touches throughout the space, visitors tell us the new studio has the feel of a high-end lounge.

Usually, wedding photography is totally different from product photography. There are numerous times where our commercial & product photography skills really come in handy: when we’re shooting bridal jewelry. Part of getting up close and personal with many couples on their wedding day is getting close-ups.

A lot of couples ask for shots of their wedding rings, and brides who wear tiaras or other heirloom pieces passed down from generation to generation will ask us to photograph them.

Using a close-up macro lens is important for jewelry shots, of course, but lighting is the ultimate key. Natural lighting tends to work badly for ring shots, due to a reflective blend of colors that can mottle the jewelry. To really make the jewels sparkle, close-up photographs tend to need a LOT of light and they need to be well-placed lights.

For example, couple of weeks ago, we shot a wedding at the Ranch Golf Club in San Jose. The wedding colors were purple and green, and the bride’s flower of choice was purple tulips. When we shoot up-close with petals, getting the lighting right is super important—the rings in the purple flower would look dingy and purple, had the setting not been backlit with well-placed lights and reflected back. This shot took us just a few minutes, but could easily be used by a jewelry company for a full two-page spread advertising in a fashion magazine!!!

One of my other favorite jewelry shots was from a wedding at Far Niente, an amazing high-end winery in Napa. The winery has huge wine caves built into the hills, and their wines are in the hundreds. They do not usually hold weddings in the vineyard, but since the groom works there, they made an exception. The couple’s love is in its early phases now, but will age like a fine wine, so we honored the occasion and the spectacular setting by showing the rings against the ripening grapes.

The natural light outdoors made for great wedding shots, but we used lights for the ring pictures. Like the tulip photograph, this was especially important, because the light going through things like leaves and petals can leave a weird tint on the metal and jewels. By carefully lighting the rings in this shot, we made them sparkle and really pop against the green leaves and purple grapes.

One more that I LOVE is this stack of rings. This is from another incredible wedding, this time at the Ahwahnee Hotel in Yosemite. The groom has a son and daughter, and they decided to buy them rings for the wedding too, so that the wedding was not just about the couple, but also about the memorable and meaningful new bond between the kids and their step-mom. Isn’t that sweet?! It totally melted my heart. We stacked the rings together to show how the family’s rings were a symbol of their togetherness—all the separate rings became one.

Below is some of our commercial photography work, photographed for Brilliant Earth, a San Francisco conflict-free gem company that sells wedding rings to couples who are concerned about the source of their diamonds. As you can see, the type of work is not much different from the personal jewelry shots!!

When couples ask us to photograph their rings, we always look for creative ways to tell a story with the picture—it shouldn’t look like an ad for a jewelry store; it is personal and real. And it should definitely have the right lighting. ☺

So exhilarating is the experience of getting to know two people in love. We felt very blessed photographing Jed & Becca’s engagement session in San Francisco and San Jose. The photos are possibly one of our best so far. We strive for unique photos every time and it makes us super delighted.

Oh, about the best shot, here it is. Thoughts?

And here are the others shot in San Jose’s HIstorical Park, beach, Palace of Fine Art, etc. So MUCH fun! At the end of it all, Jed, Becca and I had a blast. They also decided that they also wanted us to be their wedding videographer. It’ll be fun doing photography and videography / cinematography in the Stanford Memorial Church in Palo Alto and the San Mateo County History Museum. Can’t wait!!!

No wedding day is perfect. However, the beauty is that the imperfections make the wedding memorable and unique. See the Nestldown wedding photos in PR Web

“Rain on your wedding day is not the ideal for most couples; however, Michael managed to take the gloomy weather and turn it into some of the most amazing photos,” said Jennifer Hiatt, the bride.
Read more in San Francisco Chronicle

“True artists can create beauty from adversity. Capture the Love found the silver lining on our rainy day,” said Jasper Hiatt, the groom. “When you look at Michael’s photos, you feel the couple’s personality and energy. That’s what capturing the moment is all about.” Read more in Yahoo News

The original post with full photos from the October 30th’s outdoor wedding photos in Nestldown, Los Gatos can be found in our Rain on my wedding day blog posting.

We are very blessed to be one of Yelp’s highest ranked photographer in the bay area. Yup, with approx. 50 FIVE STARS reviews, we feel loved. However, today came an email stating that we now have a negative FAT ONE STAR review in Yelp! A one-star what?!!

We’re breaking the mold ! Making history and causing chaos in the industry. People officially now hate us on Yelp!

- Michael Soo
Sad Photographer of the Year

Just the name, Shakespeare Garden, conjures up thoughts of great love stories, and one immediately thinks of “Romeo and Juliet”. But in this particular wedding, we celebrate Bee and Eric’s love story. It’s cool that Romeo and Juliet met at the Capulet family party and all, but it’s really impressive how Bee and Eric met thousands of miles away from home, in another country! They both live in the Bay Area but happened to have made a trip around the same time, across the globe all the way to Thailand, and found each other.

Since Bee and Eric both enjoy nature, they chose to have their wedding ceremony at Shakespeare Garden in Golden Gate Park, while opting for a traditional Asian banquet reception at the Grand Palace Restaurant in South San Francisco. The two locations vary greatly in terms of the background scenery. Our job, as photographers, is to think ahead about how to work with the different locations to capture the perfect wedding pictures, no matter what the backgrounds look like.

With its natural green scenery, and tucked away in a quiet area of Golden Gate park, Shakespeare Garden offered a great backdrop for photos. It features plants and flowers mentioned in the works of William Shakespeare and is designed with many elements of an English garden including arched brick walkways, flowering trees, and old-style benches, all of which are simply beautiful for picture-taking.

Grand Palace Restaurant, shown above, like many Chinese restaurants, presented us with some challenges. The restaurant had yellow walls and harsh yellow lighting which aren’t the most attractive for pictures. However, with our experience, we were still able to capture beautiful photos by working certain angles and using our own camera lighting. That’s what great photography is about – being able to work with whatever background you have and yet creating that special moment in pictures.

Between the two locations, we captured another special photo as well against a backdrop of the city. On the way from the garden ceremony to the reception, the bride needed a restroom and so we followed her as she wandered about in her heels and wedding dress. It’s a rare sight to see a bride on a city street and so we couldn’t resist snapping shots of her and her stylish BCBG shoes. “Who knew that walking to find a restroom could look so good!” exclaimed one of the bridesmaids. The city streets can provide an interesting background but often, it can look cluttered as well. It’s all about how you take the picture, but we have to agree, the bride looked awesome rocking her dress in her BCBG’s.

Dress by David’s Bridal
Bride’s shoes by BCBG
Bridesmaid dresses by BCBG
Bouquets and flower arrangements by Nicole Ha

We recently photographed some pretty cool looking products and it made me think. Ok, not too hard but…

Ever wonder why women have so many purses? I figure that it might have all started back in the caveman days. You know, women were the gatherers and we men, were the handsome, daring, not to mention, hairy hunters. Ok, back to the gatherers. Well, the women had to collect berries and what other food they could find and you know all of that doesn’t fit into their hands. So came the invention of the purse – some cloth or fabric or other material to hold the food. But then they added colors and made the purses out of different materials and so came the invention of the designer purse! It’s a theory anyways. I think this evolved into a display of color to attract us men, you know, like how some birds attract others with cool unusual colors.

These days, women switch up their purses so much, one might worry that it could be a wasteful hobby. Well, worry no more. Wo Schiffman, founder of the new company Fibre Arts Design, created a line of bags that are made from recycled materials. Recycled purses that can eventually be recycled. That sounds really awesome. Well, you probably don’t want to recycle these though. They’re the latest trend and they’ve traveled to fashion shows in L.A, San Francisco, and are now on their way to Milan! Who wouldn’t want to keep these new bags! From my perspective as a photographer, the unique colors and fabrics definitely have caught my eye.

Her new line also includes bags for us men. For years we’ve pretended that we didn’t need purses, er, bags and we try to stuff the minimal into our wallet and into our back pocket. Sometimes it does get uncomfortable especially when you’re sitting down for a long time. Nowadays, we’ve got a lot of other gear like sports water bottles, cameras, etc. Besides, hasn’t it occurred to you that it might be dangerous for men to stick their keys in their front pocket? Guys, there is serious potential for injury here! Think about it! Besides I could use something to hold my extra camera gear. Maybe I should consider a man purse after all, er I mean a bag. You think that I could attract the opposite gender by sporting a cool new bag from Fibre Arts Design? Would women find me fashionable? Should I try?

[Show as slideshow]

Makeup Artistry and Hair Styling by Tiffany Chiang of designHERimage

18 year old Reilly is leaving Atherton, California for college in Texas. Everyone is excited for him, but at the same time, sad. As fine art photographers and cinematographers, our imagery and video/cinema speaks about the family we photograph. Even more so when each family members have so much love and fun with each other.

We almost felt like close relatives, being there, absorbing the love and resonating and reflecting the TLC back into our photographs and cinema. This was photographed in the backyard of their home during our family portraiture session in Atherton, CA (next to Menlo Park and Palo Alto). Enjoy Texas, Reilly!

(Notice Georgia whispering “I love you” to Reilly when she was leaning on his shoulder? )

Behind the scenes in the NFL Tampa Bay Buccaneers photoshoot by Soo Photography.