Back Home and Not Slowing Down

Hey hey.

This post is gonna have a lot of photos. So bear with it. Although, I am a photographer... so maybe you should expect it.

After 3 weeks in Paris, we were able to wrap all the filming we set out to wrap. Long days, lots of wine, but a ton of fun. Very glad I decided to join the project.

Me (left) with my brother (center) filming Kevin for a quick scene on a bridge in Paris

screen shot from the film

We even had a few days left to take a toy remote-controlled boat around the city and drive it in some famous waterways (at the Louvre, at Luxembourg, in front of the Eiffel Tower, etc).

Kevin drives our speedboat at the Louvre

After saying our goodbyes to all the wonderful people involved, Kevin went back to Los Angeles, my brother Keith left for London, and I caught a plane to Istanbul.

It was my first time in another country by myself, and was quite an adventure. If you've been keeping up on all the news lately, Istanbul is the center of an uprising that is involving a lot of police brutality. It all started a couple of blocks from where I was staying 3 weeks ago, so it's weird to see all these places I recognize on the news.

New Mosque in Istanbul. Photo by Clay Lancaster

Among the people I met over there, I got to know this rap artist from Tunisia. He liked that I did camera work, so we did a small photo shoot on the Bosphorous waterfront one evening:

After sharing a bunch of beers on a rooftop night after night, looking at the river, he and an employee of the hostel (where I was staying) came up with a music video concept and asked if I'd film it. I figured "why not?" and it was certainly an interesting day.

After a good 17+ hour travel day, I finally arrived back in San Francisco after being gone for almost a month. My new condo was still packed away in boxes, so I immediately set to work getting my new home set up. I still need some sort of blinds for the sliding glass door, but the rest is pretty much good to go!

My first endeavor back in the States was shooting the Napa Bottle Rock Music Festival. We interviewed a lot of cool people on theFIVE10.com, including Jeff Ament of Pearl Jam, comedian Jim Breuer, and some of the cast of the Daily Show.

Perry Farrell and Dave Navarro of Jane's Addiction at Bottle Rock. Photo by Clay Lancaster

Then I jumped straight into wedding season, and have had some wonderful couples so far. I have a LOT of editing to finish:

Finally, yesterday was the international release day for Ben Folds Five: Live, which showcases a photo of mine on the front cover. I'm thrilled to be a part of it, as BF5 has been one of my favorite bands for about 15 years. I see my photo popping up all over the internet... iTunes, Amazon, Target.com, blogs, magazines, etc. It's crazy.

Ben Folds Five Live on Target.com. Cover photo by Clay Lancaster

Ben Folds retweeted a photo from Japan that shows a big in-store display:

Ben Folds Five Live store display in Japan. Cover photo by Clay Lancaster

...to which he said to me (via twitter):

Super cool!

We're almost half way into 2013 and this year has been nuts for me, but really exciting. New home, new travels, new people, new accomplishments, new projects, new clients... and this is also shaping up to be the best year for my business since I started it.

Thanks to everyone who's been so supportive, and thanks to everyone who's found my work good enough to throw your hard-earned cash at it :). It means a lot.

Debbie & Doug - Walnut Creek Wedding (Diablo Ranch)

This past Saturday I was honored to be a part of Debbie & Doug's wedding day. They're musicians, so I think they felt comfortable with my style and personality. To add to the fun, my buddy Isaac (from the band Happy Body Slow Brain) was eager to broaden his horizons and joined me as my assistant for the day.

Set in the rural foothills of Walnut Creek, CA (at Diablo Ranch), this very western-style wedding was loads of fun, with great people and great live music. Here are a few sample shots from their day:

Debbie & Doug's Wedding. Walnut Creek. Photos by Clay Lancaster.

Debbie & Doug's Wedding. Walnut Creek. Photos by Clay Lancaster.

Debbie & Doug's Wedding. Walnut Creek. Photos by Clay Lancaster.

Debbie & Doug's Wedding. Walnut Creek. Photos by Clay Lancaster.

Also, as unflattering as it might be, here's a shot of ME (taken by my assistant Isaac) mingling with a wedding guest. I just found it funny, and interesting because no one ever takes photos of the photographer.

Clay Lancaster "working" and mingling with a wedding guest.

Planning an Affordable Wedding (and How to Waste Money Doing It)

Clay Lancaster - Wedding Photographer

Very few people go into their wedding planning thinking, "Man, let's see how much money we can blow!"... if you're one of the very lucky few that can think like that, then bravo, I guess.

For the rest of us, our budget is limited. Especially lately, as our economy slowly recovers and the unemployment rate seemingly improves at the same speed of which we've been able to stop the war overseas.

From experience, I've seen weddings done beautifully with budgets ranging from $5,000 to $100,000. A lot of these budgets are determined based on the bride and groom's level of expectations, and level of creativity.

What are the common elements that seem to eat up most of these pocketbooks?

• the venue
• the food and alcohol
• the flowers
• the photographer
• the DJ or band
• the dress
• the cake

Most of these are a given, in a sense. You need a venue, you want your guests to eat and drink, you want them to dance, you want the decor to look nice, you want to look nice, and you want the day captured so you can share and re-live the memories.

Of ALL of these items, the one I most often hear complaints about is the photography. Why? because once the wedding is over and done with, your photos are the only thing you have left over to remember this important day.

But why do these couples complain? Because they skimped on the photography portion of the budget.

For some reason in this country, most people refuse to spend money on artistic things. We (United States citizens) are so materialistic in our desires. We want immediate gratification from something we can touch, hold, use, etc. So when it comes to paying a photographer to take photos, many people think "oh, well I can take nice photos with my digital camera, and so can half of my guests... it can't be that difficult, so why should I blow so much money on it?'

And then they complain... either to other photographers like myself, or on something like Craigslist as they search for someone to re-take some photos in order to have something they can frame and display to their friends and family.

The reality is this: the $10,000 that you spent on dinner and alcohol for your 200 guests will be forgotten by bed time. The measly $1,000 that you budgeted on a photographer will give you mediocre results, which will be your only source of memories for the rest of your marriage.

Putting it like this makes it seem pretty obvious. Why spend so much of your budget on something temporary, and barely budget for your life-long keepsakes? It makes no sense.

Unfortunately, seeing that (hopefully) you'll only get married once, there really isn't an opportunity for someone to say "I told you so" and learn from the mistake.

As I recently read on the Denon & Doyle DJ website, "...your guests won't be saying 'that was the BEST chicken dinner I've ever had!' " Yet, so many couples spend most of their budget on exactly that. In reality, your guests would be happy with the simple beer & wine options, and enough decent food to keep them from going hungry all night. If you fear that your guests will be disappointed with a buffet and no mixed drinks to sip on, then maybe you need new guests. After all, they're supposed to be there to support you! Not to get a free meal at your expense.

With that said, you ultimately want a fun and memorable day, yes? And with all the planning and expenses that go into such an event, how are you going to document it? With a "budget" photographer? I don't know about you, but I have to wonder: what's the point in putting in all this effort and not even have proper photos of the fiasco?

Bottom line: Your photos are your main source of re-living and remembering the details of your wedding day. Food and drinks will be forgotten by you and all of your guests as soon as it's digested. Spend your precious budget on a venue that you love, a good DJ that will keep people dancing and having fun, and a photographer that can capture the event properly and get all those smiling faces and amazing poses.

Our revised budget list:

• the venue
• the photographer
• the music source
• everything else

Because honestly folks, some of the most fun and memorable weddings I've been to relied on simply beer, wine, and appetizers. The real magic was in the energy and atmosphere (thanks to the DJ), and the amazing photos that the couples were able to share were due to a good photographer.

Hope this puts things in perspective, and Happy Wedding Planning!

Being a San Francisco Bay Area Wedding Photographer

We all gotta eat. California is an expensive state. Wedding sites like The Knot cost money to advertise, rent costs money... hell, even just driving over that Bay Bridge into San Francisco costs $6 if you go at the wrong times (I'm based in Walnut Creek, so I use that stupid bridge a lot).

That being said, it's all easier to deal with when you love what you do. Being a wedding photographer is not all fun and games, but I try to make it very close to that. The brides and grooms that I work with tend to pick me because of things we share in common (personality, sense of humor, music tastes, etc). 

There's like, 1.2 billion wedding photographers in the Bay Area... give or take a few... so I am grateful that many couples find me and see the difference in how I work and what I do to make their day more enjoyable.

Thank you to all the wonderful couples I've been able to work with, and to those of you still shopping around: Hi! I'm Clay. I run Lancaster Photography. Have a look :)