Its Finally Up - Click Here to See the New BLOG

It's faster, better looking, smarter, and much more powerful! My New Blog is Finally live!

First thing I need to say is THANK YOU for being so patient with me - I know it took so long to get the new blog (click here) up and running.  I think I just got a bit too ambitious with programming the back end of it, made it too complex, added to many 'widgets', and it just wasn't very good.  I finally ended up using a ProPhoto Blog template and my world suddenly got better! If you're also looking to update or get a new blog, I highly recommend ProPhoto hands down.  The new one is faster, sleeker, way better, and definitely more powerful when it comes to being visible on the internet.  The best feature for me is that it is much easier to tweak now.  After all, I'm a wedding photographer not a web developer.  Check it out: Bumatay Studio Blog

Thank you for checking by, and be sure to update your link to the new blog, which is also my main url: http://bumataystudio.com

Also check out my Facebook Page and Twitter Updates on the latest wedding pictures, life portraits, and Bumatay Studio news.

Wedding Photography Class @ Cypress College - Fall 2009

I'm really blessed to be able to teach at Cypress College! This fall semester I got a great group of eager students that compose of a wide range of backgrounds. Some are just starting out in the world of photography, ambitious to learn as much and as fast as they can. Some are more advanced or have even done pro gigs as photographers, enthusiastic about learning more about the business side and wanting to improve their photography skills. All are here to learn about wedding photography.





Guest Speaker: Jasmine Star!
To start off the semester with a BANG, we had the honor of having Jasmine Star as our special guest speaker. She WOWed the class with her personality and excellent presentation.

Jasmine showed us that the most important asset that we each had was our individual personality. She explained her business philosophy and how she leveraged her assets. She gave so much useful information but the best thing she talked about was being yourself. So true because nobody else has what you have.


And after each class lecture I typically would take some students out to shoot around campus. There's just no better way than to learn anything hands on.


Tags: Wedding photography class at Cypress College, Greg Bumatay, Jasmine Star, JD de la Torre, Orange County wedding photographer, teacher

The Treasure Hunt

This semester at Cypress College blew by so fast! During one of my last shooting assignments, I had the students go out and find several items on campus - a chair, a plant, the Cypress College obelisk, and a book. They had to either find or come up with unique shots and perspectives while varying their compositions. The images they came up with were so cool! Here's a collage of the images that my students took:

In many ways photography is like a "treasure hunt". Every situation, environment, event, or subject can have a story that can be told by images taken of it. And there is always that gem of an image that will tell the story differently by the visual impact it creates. The collage above shows just a few (out of countless) different perspectives and possibilities that a simple object can have. You just have to look for it.

It was a pleasure to teach this semester. I'll be back at Cypress College next Fall in 2009 for the 104C Wedding Photography Class.

Tags: Cypress College Wedding Photography Class by Greg Bumatay, Photo 104C, Digital photography classes at Cypress College, Orange County Photography Courses, Fall Semester 2008, learn photography

Photography 104: Composition

Just an update on the class - after learning the foundations of photography, we're spending more and more time outside shooting and practicing with manual mode settings. This past week's lecture and assignment was finding interesting compositions in any situation.
Composition: the photographer's choice in arranging the elements to show the image's intended meaning. What the photographer shows in his/her picture reflects their style and what they are trying to convey. Composition can include placement of elements, lighting, depth of field, and even the choice in shutter speed. During the class photo shoot, I encouraged my students to use (and design) negative space to lead a viewer's eyes to the subject. All these things combined can contribute to the mood or story that's being told. It's fun to go around and seeing how each person composes their picture differently from the next student.
Tags: Cypress College Wedding Photography Class 104C, photography composition, negative space, rule of thirds, the heavenly composition, learning digital photography

Super Special Guest Jasmine Star

Last week my wedding photography class at Cypress College was graced by a rising star - let me rephrase that - it was more like we were struck by a SUPERNOVA. We had the honor of having Jasmine Star come by to share and inspire my class as our special guest speaker. I met Jasmine a couple of years ago in the beginning stages of her photography career and immediately saw her passion for it. She is an incredibly lovable person, amazing photographer, and a genius writer. In less than two years she has built a fabulously successful business specializing in wedding photography and her blog is one of the most popular and influential resource to countless aspiring (and pro) photographers from all over the world!

During her talk she got right down to the nitty gritty of what made her such a huge success by sharing her story of how she got started in the industry, evaluated what her strengths and assets were, and figured out exactly what she wanted to do. A big part of her success comes through her ability to capitalize on what makes her unique and her branding.

Here's a snapshot I borrowed from her blog:

And one with the rowdy kids:

Jasmine THANK YOU so much for giving us so much of your time and knowledge!

The Wedding Photography Class at Cypress College

It's a new year, a new semester, and another rowdy bunch of uncontrollable college students!
Photography 104 C

I truly have a love for photography and a passion for teaching it. Why else would I put up with a classroom full of unruly college students? They throw stuff at me like gum, paper airplanes, and really bad jokes, and none of them listen to what I have to say. But I go on teaching anyways because it's what I love to do. OK, my students aren't really like that at all - they're all well mannered and eager to learn.

This semester I'm teaching wedding photography at Cypress College. The course will cover everything from shooting in manual, to the post process, creating a business plan, and marketing. There will also be an emphasis on having the skills to shoot in changing lighting situations and capturing storytelling images. I'll be posting more pictures as the semester progresses so stay tuned!

Special Guest Jules Bianchi

Jules Bianchi came all the way down from Los Angeles to share her experience and knowledge with my wedding photography class at Cypress College. She's a talented speaker and mentor (be sure to check out Jules Cafe!), the students loved her and there was not a single empty seat in the room.

Jules gave an awesome presentation. She shared everything from her shooting techniques, to her digital workflow, branding and custom albums. She also had some great tips for outdoor and indoor lighting. Her album designs are simply amazing! I wished I got a shot of one. My personal highlight of the night was when she talked about being true to yourself. It is so important to live by what your say!

THANK YOU Jules! Here is our group action shot:

Photo 104 with Joe Photo!

My students had no idea what a treat they were in for last week. We were graced with Joe Photo as our special guest speaker! He came to share his knowledge and how he got into doing wedding photography. He inspired everyone with his spectacular images, many of which were landscape photographs (he doesn't just take great wedding pictures!). Joe Photo kept the class entertained with his very animated style of speaking, and he went on to share everything from how he got his name, how he books clients, his shooting style, post process, and his stylish clothing. He also gave us invaluable insight in designing wedding photography packages. The students were just frantically taking notes! It was truly an amazing evening. THANKS Joe!!!

Here's Joe Photo with our class in action!

Fall Semester Update

This semester is indeed flying by so fast - so far my wedding photography class has covered topics like creating a photo blog, history of wedding photography, photo equipment, understanding ISO, aperture, shutter speed, white balance, digital editing, various styles of wedding photography, using available light, posing, group photos, studio lighting, and an introduction to a digital workflow! I've assigned projects that explore different lighting situations.

Here's a slideshow created by one of my students, Lawrence Lau:

We've had a couple of excellent guest speakers. The first guest was Britney Alves, who came and shared her background and how she got into wedding photography. She also talked about the importance of differentiating yourself. She totally rocked with all her sample promo materials, presentation options, and custom albums! I'm just kicking myself that I didn't bring my camera to get some pictures.

Our second guest speaker was Miguel Pola who shared everything from how he books and interacts with his clients to how he customizes each wedding package. He was smart enough to bring his camera, so we got this cool group shot!

Light Exploration, part I

We're into the sixth week of my wedding photography class in Cypress College already! Time flew by so fast - that's because we're having that much fun right?! My students' first hands-on photo shoot was a blast and we got to practice shooting in low light situations all over campus. Topic: Exploring Light. We walked around campus experimenting with low light situations, using video light, ambient light, and various background elements.

Here's a group shot taken (a la timer) by Romina:

Photography 104

I survived another night of lecturing in front of over 30 loud, scary, obnoxious, rowdy, wild, crazy , out-of-control, college photography students. There were paper airplanes flying all over the classroom, I forgot what my lecture was about, nobody was paying attention, a fight broke out, and the chaos was just unbelievable!

Ok, it didn't really happen that way. All my students are fantastic - they listened, participated, and asked great questions that kept a nice flow throughout the evening (actually I thought I talked too much). So far, it's week 2, and I've already gotten tremendous feedback from my students emailing me. I'm completely excited because I get to share my passion and I truly enjoying teaching and helping people that are interested in the art of photography.

I started teaching the Wedding Photography class (Phot 104C) at Cypress College last week, and I'm already loving it! Cypress College is fairly small school but their photography program is amazing - they have nice studios, equipment, well-equipped computer labs, top notch instructors (ahem...), and highly motivated students (are ya reading this guys?! hahaha). Hopefully I'll have some images to show by next week, so come back and check it out!

Orange County Wedding Photography

Welcome to my blog! I'm a professional wedding photographer in Southern California.  I mainly shoot weddings in Orange County and Los Angeles, but I'm also available to cover destination weddings worldwide.  In here you'll find the latest news, happenings and pics. I promise I'll try hard to keep up with everything that happens, but I gotta let you know that I suck as a writer. I'll try NOT to write too much borring stuff and keep you updated with new life portraits and wedding pictures.

Anyways, I hope you're having a spectacular day. Please feel free to leave your comments/suggestions/feedback! ; )

If ya have any questions, feel free to email me: greg@bumataystudio.com
or call the toll free number: 1-877-837-5898