To all of you who have been asking about a workshop.. Well guess what? It's here and Im so excited to be offering 3 workshops this year. They are all limited to 5-10 photographers only. Check out the site www.josevillaworkshops.com
+Cypress Albums support +Fuji Booth Monday at 1:30 - 2 pm +Platform Presentation Tuesday 8:30 am +DWF mentor program 12 -2 pm +fly out early Thursday for a Scotland Wedding YAY
WEDshooter just posted this article I wrote, enjoy!
Wow, WPPI is around the corner and Im on the move to get my presentation together. I will be presenting on Tuesday March 27, at 8:30 am. ok.. gotta go.. sigh.. back to work..
I will be at the Fuji Booth on Monday, March 26th from 1:30 - 2 pm doing a mini 30 min. presentation. Would love to meet you!
Anna Costa of Michael + Anna Costa Photography interviewed me recently for the WEDshooter Website. You can check it out at WEDshooter.com
Jose Villa by Linda L. May Weddings: Fine Art Style
"Jose is an inspiration because his art expresses his passion and excitement for the fact that he is obviously living his dream . His energy, enthusiasm and creativity are contagious ! Jose , thank you for being able to express our day in the most beautiful way." The quote above , from happy wedding clients Sara and Joey Gumier , is typical of the praises this California imagemaker receives from the couples with whom he works . With recommendations like this one , it is no wonder Jose's business is a roaring success !"
In 2001, Jose Villa was living his dream when he opened Jose Villa Photography in Solvang, California, immediately after graduating from Brooks Institute of Photography in Santa Barbara. Solvang, a picturesque Danish community about an hour north of Santa Barbara, is in a highly competitive market, where establishing oneself requires hard work, creativity and a strong will to succeed— all of which Jose possesses. Jose is happy to report that studio revenues have increased annually—so much so that he has had to move his studio location three times to accommodate the evergrowing workload and additional clients.
Jose’s striking images have been published in numerous magazines through the years, including American Photo, PDN, Professional Photographer, Wedding Celebrations, Artist Edge, WPPI Photography Monthly, Martha Stewart Weddings, Grace Ormonde Wedding Style, The Knot, Modern Bride, Destination Weddings, and Honeymoons and Brides.
While fine art weddings are his biggest revenue generator (about 60 bookings per year), he also photographs numerous portraits, including engagement portraits, babies and children. Jose does not follow the crowd when it comes to his work. Although digital is the rage these days, he sticks with film and does not apologize for it. In fact, he’s now presenting a seminar, sponsored by FujiFilm, about the benefits of film from his perspective. It’s titled “Film: The New Avant-garde in Weddings.” Jose is one of the featured speakers at the upcoming WPPI Las Vegas Convention in March 2007.
Jose’s program covers topics such as what he loves about film and the benefits he’s found for staying with it. Some of those include a time-efficient workflow and natural color tonality. He will also share how his workflow system grants him more time to enjoy life by sharing a great working relationship with his lab.
“Film is unique these days, which sets me apart right away,” Jose says. “It’s hard to explain, but film has a different look; it feels real, especially the skin tones. I overexpose color film by a stop or stopand- a-half, which results in a beautiful, glowing, pastel lighting effect. The lab processes it normally, which really brings out the saturated colors, giving it more of a fine-art feel. I’m no stranger to digital, but film’s workflow better suits my business.”
Jose composes his images in-camera while shooting, as opposed to just grabbing the shots and cropping later in the computer. For black-and-white, he often shoots Kodak T-Max ISO 3200 film, which gives his images a grainy, dreamy, fine art look. For color work, Jose shoots Fuji Pro H 400 ISO and Fuji NPZ 800 ISO. One big plus for film is the workflow. The lab does all the processing and printing. Jose edits and delivers the finished orders. He does not spend hours at a computer editing, retouching and enhancing prints, which frees him to shoot 60 weddings a year.
In February 2006, Jose moved his business one more time, from a downtown Solvang storefront to a loft studio attached to his house. This is his dream studio, and he has no plans to move again any time soon.
Located on several acres of beautiful, natural woodland, the setting provides ideal outdoor backgrounds. The 750-square-foot space has two huge skylights for natural light shooting.
Jose prefers there be a business aura about his operation so that people don’t feel like they are entering just another home. A flight of stairs right inside the front door leads to the loft studio. At the top of the stairs is a long hallway with a high, vaulted ceiling, where Jose hangs 30x34-inch (or larger) breathtaking images. Displaying such large prints has afforded him more wall portrait sales than ever before.
“When I had the downtown studio, most people bought 8x10 prints,” he explains. “But I was only showing 11x14 prints in 16x20 frames at the time. Now, I’m selling more 11x14 and 16x20 because I am showcasing larger prints. I also display some of my personal fine art images on canvas, just to show people what is available. Even though I am not pushing the canvas, I sell a few of those prints, too. You can’t sell what you don’t show.”
At the end of the hall, clients walk directly into the reception area, which is tastefully furnished with canvas couches positioned around an aluminum table with a frosted glass top. To the left is the assistant’s aluminum desk, which matches the reception room table, as well as Jose’s desk. Large windows on both sides of the room create a light and cheery environment. The walls are a subdued khaki color, which is a world away from the red walls Jose had in his other studio. He was ready for a change, he says.
Jose uses Canon 35mm cameras, along with a Contax medium format, and a variety of focal length lenses. However, his favorite lenses are the 16–35mm zoom for his Canons and the 80mm f/2 lens for his Contax. To spice up his work, he also shoots with a Holga, for which he paid $15, and a Hasselblad XPan panoramic camera. Because he shoots mostly by available light, he has no studio lights, and only uses the Canon 550EZ flash unit when absolutely necessary. Jose travels light, carrying only one camera bag so he can work fast and efficiently, and not take clients away from their celebration.
Considering the praise he gets from his clients, it’s no wonder that most of Jose’s new business comes by personal referral. Connecting with other vendors, like wedding coordinators and florists, also increases studio revenues and gets the word out about his services and images. The Internet is also a lucrative source of new clients. Just to keep his name before the public, Jose buys a full-page ad in the local and statewide magazine Your Wedding Day.
The future looks busy for Jose; he is still working on his picture book of children, Strangers In Mexico, which he hopes to complete this year. Born in a small village in Mexico himself, Jose still has family there and has deep ties to the country.
“Last year, I shot eight weddings in Mexico. While I was there, I took a day off during each trip to go to small villages and gather images for my book. In 2007, I plan to take a few weeks off to backpack across Mexico and shoot enough to finish the project. My assistant, Bretaye Gaw, and friend Linda Chaja, who are both photographers, are accompanying me. That should be an adventure in itself!” Jose says, smiling.
Besides installing hardwood floors in his loft studio space, Jose plans to continue growing his business and making people happy with his fine art photographic memories. And, he plans to do it his way!
“I’d like to play more with digital capture in the future,” he says. “In this digital age, I must remain competitive. Richard Photo Lab, my lab in Los Angeles, scans the negatives so I can offer images on CDs, which are quite popular. For now, I’m comfortable with film, but I am always open to change and improvement.”
Readers may contact Jose Villa in Solvang, California, via email at weddings@josevillaphoto.com, or view his websites at www. josevilla.com and www.josevillakids.com.
Jose Villa will be presenting a program at WPPI 2007 entitled “Film: The New Avant- Garde in Weddings,” on Tuesday, March 27 in BALLY’s Bronze Rooms 3–4, from 8:30–10:30 a.m.
Linda L. May is a freelance writer/photographer based in the Midwest.
Cameron and Anna asked me to shoot super 8 film for their amazing wedding. I was so honored to have shot it.. I cant wait to see it.. These few photos are from Cameron's Camera I snagged right before the grand entrance. You can check more out on Jeff Newsom's blog and on Cameron's blog Jeff Newsom did an awesome Job!!
These are the last of the Mexico images. Enjoy!
Michael Costa and I went out for a shoot once again. This time the fog was out and the day was white. It was perfect for some amazing soft photos
I love my Holga Camera. This first shot was with my Holga.
I had lunch with John Griffin, Gene Higa and Ann Hamilton yesterday. They are all amazing wedding photographers. Tanya, Gene's Assistant took this photo. I went to Brooks with her. See you guys at WPPI. Hugs..
