Christine Chang Photography Blog » Recent work, Photo Tips, & Random Rants by Christine Chang.

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  • Christine Chang

    Destination Wedding Photographer. Adventurer. Ninja.

    Lover of brussel sprouts, chubby dogs, and Disneyland.

    I began taking pictures in middle school when my best friend and I would set up a portrait “studio,” which consisted of hanging up a bed sheet and shining house lamps toward it. Fast forward 20 years and today I am living my dream as a worldwide photographer based in Los Angeles.

    Here you will find some of my recent work along with some personal adventures and useless banter.

Jan 14 2013

Q&A: Prepping For Tax Season, Flash Diffusers, Lenses For Wedding Photography

Here are the answers to last week’s Q&A on Facebook. :)

Thanks to Jana Williams for snapping this photo of me last week with her iPhone.  I look like a bad ass!

1. Angel W.:  Do you have any advice for those getting into wedding photography?

An excellent question to ask yourself is – do you truly love it?  If you don’t, then I would recommend doing something else.  Wedding photography is A LOT of work, and if you don’t love it, you will probably freaking hate it.  I do it because I love it!!

2. Marsha C.:  What’s your biggest tip to prep for tax season?

This is a question I should be asking other people!  I suck at anything tax related.  Every year I tell myself that I need to be more organized so I’m not digging for info when April rolls around, but year after year, I do the same thing.  I throw my receipts into a shoe box and let my book keeper handle it. ;)

3. Ashley B.:  What’s the best book you have ever read?

A New Earth by Eckhart Tolle.  The 4 Hour Workweek by Tim Ferriss.

4. Christine S.:  What do you think of the ring flash?

The concept sounds cool, and the gadget itself looks pretty darn cool, but I’ve never liked how photos turned out when using the ring flash.  Too harsh for me.

5. Dolores P.:  What lenses do you use for wedding photography and in which situation do u use each of them?

50mmf1.2 – getting ready, candids, details, reception

70-200mmf2.8 – ceremony, first dance, speeches

Soon I am also going to invest in the 100mmf2.8 macro for the detail shots.  It takes amazing photos of details!

6. Christine C.:  How and when did you decide on your second shooter to team up with?

I decided the first time we worked together.  We have great chemistry.  I don’t have to say anything and she knows where to be.  She is also super duper talented. :)  Love you Carla Choy!

7. David A.:  What’s your favorite animal?

An orca.

8. Claudia T.: Which flash diffuser do you recommend for a Canon Speedlite 580EX II?

I have the simple soap box shape diffuser cap and it works the best out of everything else I’ve tried.  Everyone is different.  I’ve seen people use napkins and taping paper on top of the flash.  Overall, you don’t need anything really fancy.

9. Eric B.: What advice would you give to someone who was graduating this year and looking at taking some classes and going to school for photography?  Any advice on majors or classes or things like that?

From the people I’ve spoken to who went to formal school for photography, they all said it was expensive and not necessary.  I think that you can take classes at a local community college and learn all you need to learn.  I highly recommend taking a film class that allows you to work in the dark room.  There you will learn the fundamentals.  You can also learn from online classes for FREE, like on CreativeLIVE.

From my experience, you learn the most by doing, so another great option is interning for a photographer you love.

10. Trinette R.: If all technology went out for 24 hours, what would you do with your day?

Run for the hills.

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Jan 11 2013

Walking Down The Aisle: Keep Your Eyes Up!

Attention bridesmaids!  As a photographer, I’ve seen this hundreds of times, and if I could give one piece of advice for walking down the aisle, it would be this:

KEEP YOUR EYES UP! :)

People tend to look awkwardly down when they walk down the aisle.  When I look through photos from past weddings that I have photographed, 95% of people have their eyes down, or they are looking into the camera with a confused look as if they’re asking, “Where should I look?”

Be present.  Don’t look at the ground, don’t look at the photographer.  Look at the groom and your friends in the audience.  Enjoy your surroundings. :)

My best friend got married last year.  It was the first time I walked the aisle as a bridesmaid.  If you’ve never done it before, it really does feel awkward.  You’re alone, holding a bouquet with both hands, while everyone is staring at you.  As I began walking I remembered how it looks from the other side, so I took a deep breath and let go.  When I saw the pictures, I said, “Cool, I looked up!” ;)

Note: You don’t have to keep your eyes up the WHOLE time, because that can be awkward too.  I’m reminded of that scene in the 40 Year Old Virgin when Steve Carrell is in the nightclub using his “peripherals,” and knocks over a table.  Anyone know what I’m talking about?  Yeah, don’t do that.

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Jan 08 2013

See It As Opportunity

One important characteristic I see in people who are successful is that they know how to see things as opportunity.  Unsuccessful people bitch and complain about how bad things happen to them.  They don’t see things as an opportunity, or have a willingness to do what it takes to create opportunity.

A couple stories demonstrating the benefits of seeing things as an opportunity:

Story #1:

My buddy broke up with his girlfriend recently.  They were engaged and he thought he was going to marry her.  Although he is HEARTBROKEN, he said, “When I feel deep pain I know I’m gonna evolve big time,” and also, “Never focus on the loss. Focus on the amazing gain that you couldn’t see before. Life is a never ending growth.”  What a way to stay positive and see a breakup as opportunity for growth!  And if you think about it, why would you want it any other way?  If you stay all sad/bitter/depressed and hang on to what shoulda woulda happened, you are keeping yourself in prison.  Learn and move forward.  You’ll get to where you need to be faster. ;)

Story #2: 

A few years ago I put an ad up on Craigslist looking to trade my services for something.  I got some responses, but a lot of people also wrote me complaining, saying that I was cheap, and to offer some real money.  In my opinion, the people who complained are struggling for work for a reason.  If you learn to see things as an opportunity, amazing things can (and WILL) happen.  When I first started photography, I responded to a similar ad.  A hairstylist was looking for a photographer to shoot a small event she was having.  She said there was no pay but that she would trade for a couple hair cuts.  I didn’t have much money at the time and I wanted more experience shooting events.  I thought – I get to practice shooting AND look pretty?  Sign me up!  The opportunity sounded great.  A friend of the hairstylist saw the photos from the party and got my contact info from her.  She reached out to me.  This friend happened to be a celebrity PR person.  Some people ask how I’ve gotten my celebrity clients.  This is one of them.

Getting paid to photograph Nick Lachey & Vanessa Minillo’s Halloween Party and having it featured in all the gossip magazines?  Sure, why not!  This was the start of me photographing for celebs.

No matter how unrewarding something seems, there is ALWAYS an opportunity.  See it as that, and you will open the doors, one after another, super duper fast! :D

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KristinaG - January 8, 2013 - 1:39 pm

Totally Agree! I love that line of thinking, gives you energy and brings you energy too!

maricle - January 8, 2013 - 4:01 pm

Thanks for this post. I love it and need it!

dayen - January 17, 2013 - 6:22 pm

hi ms. christine your stories were so inspiring. I just discover your blog 2 days ago when I’m researching on what settings for my camera for indoor events, it happened that I discover your website. I was so happy and thankful that there were lots of things to learn from you. Starting last 2 days I always look around at your blog and read every lines it was simply amazing. Keep up the good work always. ;)

Jan 07 2013

Q&A: ISO Speed For Indoors, Best Restaurant In SoCal, Egypt Wedding Photography

Hi everyone!  Here are the answers from last Friday’s Q&A.  To see answers from previous Q&A’s, go to the Categories tab above and select “Ask Me.”

1. Mic H.:  How high do you set your ISO speed during an indoor event?  Will a 2.8 aperture work?

I typically have my ISO at 1600 for an indoor event.  A 2.8 aperture is usually good, unless you need everything in focus, in which case you would bump it up.

2. Christine C.:  What are some of your favorite techniques/methods/conversation starters you use to get your clients to feel comfortable and not awkward, and help them act natural in photos?

I’ve written a separate blog post about that here.

3. Christina W.:  What’s your favorite place to eat in socal?

Café Gratitude.

4. Hannah D.:  How often do you do yoga?  Do you juice vegetables?

Right now I do yoga 2-3 times per week, although soon, I am going to commit to 30 consecutive days of yoga to hopefully turn it into a daily habit.  I’ve also considered getting teacher certified.  Yes, I juice vegetables.  My favorite concoction is apple, beet, carrot, celery, with a dash of ginger.

5. Hagar M.:  Would you come to Egypt to shoot a wedding?

Absolutely.  Do you know someone getting married?

6. Maricle K.:  Is fast focus is determined by lens (ex. f stop) or camera?  and why is it important?

By lens.  It is important because if there is a lag, you miss moments.  My 50mm f1.2 is my fastest lens, and that is one of the reasons why I love it.

7. Sean D.:  If you could be a dinosaur, which one would you be?

A brontosaurus.

8. Tosca S.:  What are some of your fav jams on the iPod??

Ignition Remix – R.Kelly, I Wanna Dance With Somebody – Whitney Houston, Climax – Usher, Guantanamera – Wyclef, Last Kiss – Pearl Jam, Human Nature – Michael Jackson, Love Will Never Do Without You – Janet Jackson, You Make My Dreams – Hall & Oates, Wake Up – Arcade Fire, You Can’t Hurry Love – Phil Collins, Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now – Starship

9. Sandra M.:  What are the necessities in your travel makeup bag?

Depends on where I’m going.  I probably wouldn’t be wearing make up in the Amazon (hehe), but in general this is what I have (starting with the most important): mascara, blush, eyebrow pencil, eyeliner, eyeshadow, lipstick.  Oh and tweezers.  Good to have tweezers.

10. Michael L.:  How do you find someone’s “good side” without them telling you?

I usually ask.  If they say, “I don’t know,” then I ask which way they tend to face when taking a casual picture with friends.  There is usually a dominant side.  If they still say, “I don’t know,” take a picture of them facing both ways and see which one looks better.

11. Vency M.:  Where do you keep your cameras and your lens at home, do you bring your cameras to the Canon center frequently for cleaning or check up?

I keep my cameras locked in my office at home.  I take good care of my equipment so I only send them into Canon when they need to be fixed.  I just dropped one of my Mark II’s off today.  It’s like dropping off one of your kids at camp!  Can’t wait to get it back.

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Jim Freeman - January 8, 2013 - 10:32 am

It would be awesome if you could do a photo spread of yourself taking wedding shots. I am sure there are more like me who would love to see how you are positioning yourself for photos during a ceremony and such.