New Look for Blog... Coming Soon!

Ladies and gentlemen, children of all ages.... we will be revamping our blog this month. It's coming down the pipe and should be live by the end of the month. I figured it's time to get with the program and implement links to common social network sites. Most importantly, the images on the new blog will be in full screen and super high res. And instead of a couple shots here and there, you'll be able to check out a bunch of photos via fancy galleries. I'm stoked and can't wait to get this party started. Come visit our new home: Tom Vo Photography Blog

New blog: http://www.tomvophotographyblog.com/

Hazel & Luke| Palmdale Estate Wedding 4.24.10

Congratulations to Hazel & Luke!! Wow, your family and friends in the wedding party were ridiculously kind! I shot this wedding with an amazing videographer, who happens to be a good friend. Thank you Larisa for this sweet opportunity. I can see why you love working at the Palmdale Estates. It's absolutely gorgeous!!

Location: Palmdale Estate (Fremont, CA)

Videographer: Larisa Marr (HD Video Memories)

Hillary | High School Senior Portraits

Once again, mother nature came through. Thank you, thank you M to the N! I had a scheduled photoshoot with high school senior Hillary and wasn't sure if the weather was going to cooperate. When I asked her what her thoughts were, she said "let's do the photoshoot, rain or shine." Cool! So I got some colorful umbrellas together but luckily we never had to use it. The rain stopped, the clouds parted and sun came out minutes before we were supposed to meet at the photoshoot location. A few dozen snapshots & couple outfit changes later and voila - we had created some very fun images that suited her outgoing and vivacious personality. Thank you for all your efforts Hillary. I hope you and your folks absolutely love the photos.

Location: Hotel Los Gatos (Los Gatos, Ca)

Threshold Racing Presents Reservoir Triathlon | Uvas 4.18.10

My buddy Andy started a multi-sport events company called Threshold Racing and are putting on a few major Triathlons this year. Knowing that I have a history shooting sporting events for Brightroom, Action Sports and Stanford sports, he asked if I would be the official photographer for his events. Of course I said yes not knowing how huge this would become. Here is the highlight slideshow from this weekend's race. Amazing job to Andy and his team and congratulations to all the athletes who participated in this years Reservoir Tri!

Stephanie & Ken's Wedding Slideshow | Pema Osel Ling Wedding 3.20.10

Wedding Venue: Pema Osel Ling

Dress Designer: Maggie Sottero

Best of the Bay | SF Gate

Thank you to whoever nominated us for SF Gate's 'Best of the Bay' Contest. What a huge compliment! Please click on the link above to vote for us!

Homage To Those of Whom I Am Grateful For: Gene Higa

I am one who often thinks about the past because it's important for me to reflect on how I got to this point in my life. I feel that I am very lucky to be where I am at and to have met such amazing people in my life so far.

In 2004, my fiance then (now wife) and I met a wedding photographer named Gene who had the most amazing personality ever. Yeah, he took great photos too but we fell in love with his personality first and hired him to document our wedding day. From that day on, he became my inspiration to become a professional photographer and a mentor in developing my style of wedding photography.

Gene and I have kept in touch and my wife and I continue to watch as his career continues to take off. We've always told him that it's nice to see good things happen to good people. His amazing detailed shots and uncanny ability to get couples to do fun & crazy things became an instant trademark. He is now an award-winning, destination wedding photographer who is highly sought out by couples around the world.

Gene, thank you for your inspiration, your kindness and your friendship. You have been a pivotal part of my photography career and I couldn't have done it without you my friend. Best wishes to you as you move down to San Diego to follow your heart. "Oh The Places You Will Go."

Custom Printed Photo DVDs

One of the my favorite things to do is create the photo DVD after a photoshoot. The photo DVDs we use are custom printed here in our studio. I use these for all my clients because to me, it adds that personal touch to each and everyone of our clients. To me, the generic silver dvds scream out 'BORING", while these say "CHECK ME OUT!" Here are a couple of these uber cool printed dvds that we use here at Tom Vo Photography...

Free iPads from Tom Vo Photography!

SSWEET! The new iPads are now available from Apple. And with a 9.7 inch LED display, it's easy to see why there's so much buzz around it's release. We want to share the excitement with our 2010 wedding couples. That's why we'll be giving away the new iPads (16GB WiFi) to ALL of our couples who book our 8-hour Platinum wedding photograph package during the month of April. Your iPad will be delivered with all your wedding photos already loaded so you can easily share them with your family and friends. Think of it as a wedding present from us to you. :)

Visit our website for more information on our wedding photography packages: tomvophotography.com.

What You See & What I See: Santa Clara Wedding

Julie, my bride, said she was in the process of moving out of her apartment and into a house once her and Jim were married. Immediately I heard my head say "Uh oh, empty apartment bad!" So I asked her to send me a snapshot of her apartment so I would have some idea of what to expect. Here's what she saw:

So a couple of weeks later, I arrived at her apartment to photograph the pre-wedding photos and was pleasantly surprised. Being the optimist that I am, I quickly realized that the blue bookcase was absolutely beautiful! I moved it to a spot in the room where it would pick up the best natural lighting and BAM..instant magic!! Here's what I created....

Julie & Jim | Harris Lass House Wedding

Let's say you plan for an April wedding and it rains the day before and the day after but is perfectly sunny on the day of your wedding. Well then I'd say you definitely need to give mother nature huge props for hooking you up. That's exactly what happened for Julie and Jim this weekend at the Harris Lass House in Santa Clara. The historic museum made for an amazing backdrop for the wedding portraits. The couple has requested that I not post any photos of them in it on my website or blog. I think Julie and Jim are both secret agents so of course I'll respect their privacy. lol Congratulations to you both... over.

Venue: Harris Lass Historic Museum (Santa Clara, CA)

Music: Jasmine String Quartet

What You See & What I See: Pema Osel Ling

Here's the start of new series of postings that will help give you some insight of what goes through my head as I scope out an area for wedding portraits. As a photographer I often envision the potential of seemingly common backgrounds. For example, during the rehearsal for Stephanie & Ken's wedding at Pema Osel Ling, I walked by the gift shop and noticed this pretty cool wall.

Instantly I created an image in my head of how this wall will help us with their wedding portraits. I'll make sure to crop out the flood lights above and random pot to keep the final image clutter free. So after their ceremony, we went back to the wall and together, we were able to create the following shot.

My style of photography is very simple and relaxed. And having the opportunity and ability to create photographs with everyday backdrops is what fuels my passion for wedding photography.

The Garcia Family Portraits Featuring Vinnie | Los Gatos Family Portrait

It's hard to call it work when you're walking around a park with such a sweet family on a perfect day. Tons of folks were out and the goal was to keep them out of our shot. Vinnie their rescue dog was super duper cooperative and stole the show. What a great birthday present for their dad.