Lori Wong Photography

I had a conversation not too long ago. This is how it went:

“Lori what type of editing do you do in Photoshop?”

“I will edit blemishes, maybe lighten or darken a photo, sometimes bump up the color. If I am going to do any sort of  major Photoshopping it will be obvious. But for the most part, I edit a photo so you don’t notice it.”

“What do you mean, so I don’t notice it?”

That is when I tried to explain, I don’t edit photos to prove I have edited a photo. I want you to see the people and places in a picture, not any sort of heavy editing in photo. It takes away from the purpose of why I take pictures. I want to show the light in people’s eyes. To see the beauty I see. Personality and relationships and love. I try to edit in the way that though there may be editing, I don’t want you to think about your photo being edited.

If you would have never seen the “before” picture, you would you thought I did a lot of Photoshopping to the “after” picture?

My goal is that your answer is no.

Granted, this means, sometimes my clients wonder what they have paid me for (hahaha), but in this day and age, when photos are manipulated to the point of awful distortion and lack of realism and truth, I don’t want to be a part of that.

I have thought time and again to go back to film for that very reason. It keeps you honest and makes you work hard and think better. But I also enjoy technology. I love looking at a picture right after I take it…if I need to. I like the option to take 15 pictures in 15 seconds. I am able to capture some amazing real moments when I am able to hit that shutter button numerous times in a matter of seconds. If you ask any of those who have been in front of my camera, they have heard that shutter go off a lot at times.

So I try my hardest to find the truth that film brings by thinking about the photo I’m taking while still taking advantage of technology.

I hope this brings a little more understanding to my post work and the work I do in Photoshop, or don’t do in Photoshop. (;

I am happy to talk more about things related to photography, the things I have learned about having a small business and about photography in general. I have had the opportunity to share a meal or two with a few different people to discuss anything photography related…or not related and I just ended up making a good friend! (:

Shoot me an email lori@loriwongphotography.com. Or Facebook me www.facebook.com/loriwongphotography. Or my website www.loriwongphotography.com.

I have not posted these two session on the blog yet, they are coming soon.

I have known Jeni for years now. She is a great woman with fantastic hair! (; I’m seriously jealous of her hair! haha! But really, Jeni and I have had some great times.  Ken is a pretty great guy. He is very kind and sweet to Jeni. I would watch the way he looked at her and the way he interacted with her. I can tell that though obviously driven, (ahem, Dr. Ken…yeah I know) he is an easy going/go with the flow kind of guy.

When I found out that Jeni was getting married, I was very excited for her and then when she asked me to take her photos I was ecstatic!

Here are some favorites, but it was hard to choose with such good looking people involved. There is also a slide show at the end, check there for more photos.

If you want the music to go with it (which makes the slideshow THAT much better go here!)

I have known Jana for a few years now. She is classy. She is fun aaaaand she is a catch. I was so excited for her when she got engaged.

Jana met Reed through a friend. They were set up on a blind date…which can be debated…can any date be blind any more now that we have the internet, and more so, Facebook? I think not. (;  So Reed and Jana had a date, and then another, and then another. When I was talking to the two of them about how they met and how they became engaged, I was able to see how well they fit together.

One of my favorite things to see, as a wedding photographer, is the interaction between couples. Reed is funny, but he really can make Jana laugh. And what I like most about how he makes her laugh, a lot of the time, he is whispering it in her ear, or just so that she can hear it. He is always looking at her. Sometimes I am sure I can see his thoughts. I can tell by the way he looks at her of how lucky he feels that Jana is his.

One of my favorite things about Jana, she loves yellow. One of her wedding colors of course is yellow, which I am super excited about.

We took pictures on one of THE MOST humid days in Las Vegas this year. Though it was nice to not have an extremely hot sun on your neck, it was a kind of hot I am not a fan of. Humidity doesn’t get less humid in shade. You can’t hide from it. But Reed and Jana were troopers and we made it through a sticky day and ended with a beautiful hint of sun on our last shot.

Jana showing some fierceness!!! Looooove it!

Favorite shot of the day below! Love the light!!

Check out the slide show!! More in the slide show!

Bryan and Rachel are amazing. They both have great jobs and love to travel and are charming and funny and…well, you get it. Like I said, amazing! I was so jealous of their awesomeness that I pretty much wanted to hang out with them all day and hope some of their greatness would rub off on me. But unfortunately they had to catch a plane later that day, so shucks for me.

A few years back, Bryan was in England for work. Rachel lives in England. They happen to be at the same party. They got to talking and after a great evening getting to know each other, exchanged information figuring they’d just be pen pals. Funny thing happened though…they eventually became more than pals. They both decided to take some time off working and travel together. You know what they say, you really learn about the person you are dating once you travel with them! So obviously, traveling worked out for them and here we are…Bryan and Rachel getting married!

Bryan and Rachel decided to elope to Las Vegas and I was the lucky girl to help them remember this unforgettable trip! Our first stop was to the Neon Boneyard with some balloons requested by the bride (well done, Rachel). I haven’t shot there since the renovations, and let me tell you…it is awesome! It was a bright day, but there was so awesome overcast that made the light just perfect for shooting in a place like the Neon Boneyard. Unfortunately, Bryan was having some horrible dry eye problems, which cause a lot of light sensitivity (and I felt horrible I didn’t have any drops on me to help him out). He was a major trooper and kept apologizing to his new wife and to me. Poor guy. He was so worried we didn’t get any shots and that it was all his fault…I assured him that we got some great ones…take a look.

Look closely at the sign. It says: in love!! (:

Seriously…the natural light, the sky…AMAZING!

Rachel’s wedding dress is her mom’s…ahem, I mean mum’s wedding dress!

Below is my favorite shot for the Neon Boneyard location. Above shot was a close second.

We hit up the Welcome to Las Vegas Sign of course…

And then we headed over to the Wynn where the newlyweds stayed while they were here. Bryan was so sweet, while figuring out the next pose, he took a hold of Rachel’s hand and kissed it. (collective ‘aaaawwe’, all together now!)

Went for a little vintage look…whatta think?! (:

And this has to be my favorite shot of the day.

Slideshow has a ton more shots!! Check it out below or click here for music.

More to come of Rachel and Bryan.

Real soon.

Keep a look out!