Mike Colón | Blog

Mike Colón presents at IEPPV

2010-02-17T14:47:00.000-08:00

I am very excited about tonight's lecture at IEPPV! It's going to be a great talk and I am looking forward to seeing some familiar faces! If you are in the SoCal area and have some free time, come check it out! Details below:

Time: 7:00-9:00 p.m.

Location: Riverside Art Museum: 3425 Mission Ave. Riverside, CA. 92501

Cost: Free!

Mike Colón in Atlanta - May 11-12, 2010

2010-02-16T14:05:00.000-08:00

Atlanta Workshop is officially open for Registration. Seating is limited to 20. Early Reg discount for 1 day only!

***CLICK HERE TO REGISTER!***

Diann Valentine's Surprise Wedding Photos | Beverly Hills

2009-12-30T14:52:00.000-08:00

I first met renowned celebrity wedding designer Diann Valentine when we worked together at Usher's wedding. Since then Diann Valentine and I have become good friends, so I was thrilled to hear of her engagement to marketing mogul Damon Haley. A few nights ago in Beverly Hills I was honored to photograph the surprise wedding of Diann Valentine to Damon Haley (co-founder of Urban Marketing Corporation of America and UMCA Sports). What started out as an engagement party at the Beverly Wilshire Four Seasons Hotel for close family and friends turned into a surprise wedding. Everyone was shocked...including me! First Option Entertainment's Event Producer Paula Bond made it easy to photograph and capture Diann Valentine's sense of style and 'fabulous' flair. Check out a sneak peak of Diann Valentine and Damon Haley's wedding photos:

The Winner is...

2009-12-18T09:11:00.000-08:00

You guys voted the heck out of this contest. It has been a lot of fun to watch! The winner of my Hawaii Scholarhip Giveaway is...Raquita Henderson!!!

Yay! Way to go! Congratulations:) We'll be seeing you in Honolulu Hawaii on January 25, 2010 for The Seven Workshop Honolulu!

Results for Honolulu Scholarship voting can be seen here:

Poll part 1

Poll part 2

Let the Voting Begin

2009-12-15T17:13:00.000-08:00

The Poll is ready. You have until Friday at 5:00 p.m. to vote for your favorite contestant! Get your social networking on...and call on your grocer, your barista, your sister, and your pappa to vote, vote, vote. (You can only vote once).

Because of the overwhelming response in registrants this is going to have to be a 2-part poll. This is the first of 2 polls that I will have, in order that each contestant has the chance to be voted for! Everyone has blown me away with all the response! I'm excited to see who the winner is going to be!!

Who do YOU want to win Mike's Scholarship Giveaway for The Seven Workshop Hawaii?(polling)

Who do YOU want to win Mike's Scholarship Giveaway for The Seven Workshop Hawaii? Parte Dos(poll)

Voting Begins Tomorrow

2009-12-15T15:38:00.000-08:00

Photo by: Scarlett Lillian

Oh. My. Gosh. You guys are taking this contest seriously. My email box is going crazy. Put it on your calendar, and get rrrready to V-O-T-E! You guys vote, you guys choose the winner!

Wednesday morning, yes that's tomorrow, at 9:00 a.m. PST we will post all the contestants, and you guys are going to vote like crazy through Friday afternoon.

The winner of a free registration ($777) to my next workshop: The Seven Workshop Hawaii will be announced Friday evening after the polls close.

Call in the troops...Are you ready to get your vote on?

Photo by: Corey Ann

Seven Workshop Honolulu Scholarship Giveaway

2009-12-09T15:15:00.000-08:00

Photo by: Scarlett Lillian

Yep. You read right. I'm giving away a scholarship to my next workshop in Honolulu on January 25, 2010. Get excited. One lucky person will receive a scholarship that will cover registration to the workshop...that's $777!

If you or someone you know is interested please email my assistant (katherine@mikecolon.com): a picture of Y.O.U., your email, and your website/blog address.

Here's the deal:

Submission deadline is: Tuesday December 15, 2009 at 5:00 p.m. PST.

Voting begins: Wednesday December 16, 2009 at 9:00 a.m. PST.

Voting ends: Friday December 18, 2009 at 5:00 p.m. PST.

The Winner will be announced shortly after.

Get ready to tweet, text, facebook, email blast, sing loudly in public places, dance a jig...and get your vote on!!!

Photo by: Corey Ann

The Seven Workshop Newport Coast

2009-12-04T13:21:00.000-08:00

Several weeks ago I did a Seven Workshop here in Newport Coast. Home Sweet Home. The day started and we hit the ground running, and didn't stop until late into the night. The weather was perfect, and it was such a fun day. We did something a little different on the shoot, and it turned out really cool. Special thanks to: Pixel2Canvas and Pictage for their steadfast support; Maria Longhi who did hair and make-up, and my assistant Kat who styled the shoot. A final and major shout out to the models (who had awesome chemistry): Sean, Sarah, David, and Cameran who went swimming in the Pacific Ocean in November...and they made it look easy...most of the time! Here's some shots from the day:

As always my attendees had some great shots. Thanks guys for making it a great day:

Theresa Minnette Photography:

Jessica Elizabeth Photography:

Perfect Zoom Photography:

The Seven Workshop New Orleans & Pictage Shoot...Sneak Peak

2009-11-20T15:30:00.000-08:00

New Orleans.

So many things come to mind when I think of New Orleans; it's such a place of depth, history, and beauty. The colors are rich, the people friendly, and the food...spicy! It's a different world from Southern California. Pictage held their annual Partner Conference in New Orleans. I had the chance to spend some time teaching, doing some rad shoots, and playing with the photographers that were in town. It. Was. FUN. While I was there for the Pictage conference I was able to do a Seven Workshop. With my workshop attendees we spent the afternoon in the French Quarter and played with our cameras. The next day with a group of 25 photographers we got to do another shoot in the heart of New Orleans for Pictage Partner Con. The shoots rocked, and I must to give my thanks to: Pictage and Pixel2Canvas for supporting the shoots; Camille Russler from Ever After who sent some ridiculous gowns, shoes, and accessories; Brandi Howard from Kelly Moore Photography who styled the shoot; Tiffani, Amber, Syndey, Lindsey and Jessica for being rockstar models; Stormie Robinson for the unreal hair, and Katie Malone from Pixie Cosmetics did an awesome job on make-up.

For a few years now I've wanted to shoot a black wedding gown, and I finally got my chance...and what better place to shoot a black wedding gown than in New Orleans! Here's some images from the shoots:

Here's a few from my attendees. They had some great shots!

Adam Houseman Photography:

and a few from Carlyn Photography:

The Seven Workshop NYC 2

2009-11-20T15:02:00.001-08:00

My Seven Workshop in NYC was so fun...I just had to do another one in the city. This time though it was cold! The attendees and our model braved out a shoot in the cold NYC rain. It was a great learning experience to say the least. Mindy Woon from Group 868 Inc. took care of us for the day. She let us hang out in her showroom all day, use her lovely gowns for the shoot, and even rounded up a great model, hair and make-up. Thanks so much Mindy! Here's a peak at some of my favorites from the day!

Once again, the attendees had some great shots. There were these 2 cousins that braved travel from Newfoundland! Charla and Lori. Here are some of their images.

Charla...

And Lori...

The Seven Workshop NYC I

2009-11-20T11:21:00.000-08:00

The past several months I've been doing a workshop series called 'The Seven Workshop'. At different locations throughout US I've been spending the day with groups of 7 photographers. We spend the day going over things from composition to marketing, and end the day with a shoot. It's been such a blast, and it's about time I post some images from the fun shoots we've been doing!

About a month ago I did a workshop in the heart of NYC! The beautifully talented Ines Di Santo donated amazing gowns for the shoot. Edward Powell did a fabulous job on the make-up! Here's some of my favorite from The Seven Workshop NYC 1:

My attendees had some fabulous images, and I wanted to show-them off to you all! Here are some of my faves from the attendees:

A few from Sharon Bushman:

John Stickel also had some great images:

Here's a few from Martha Dickinson:

It was such a fun day, and we had such a blast at the shoot. Thanks guys for sharing the day with me!

New York Photography Workshop

2009-10-14T23:26:00.000-07:00

If you are a photographer in New York, please join me for my New York photography workshop at the PPGNY Conference in Douglaston, New York on Monday October 26, 2009. I've put together a special full day New York photography workshop that you won't want to miss! Click here for the details about my New York photography workshop!

Location of New York Photography workshop:

Douglaston Manor

63-20 Commonwealth & Marathon Parkway

Douglaston, New York 11363

Mike Colon Wedding Photography DVD download

2009-09-10T01:05:00.000-07:00

Good news! I just made my Reaching the High-End Bride® wedding photography DVD available for download! This wedding photography DVD download is for aspiring wedding photographers looking to start their wedding photography business off on the right foot. It is also for established wedding photographers who are looking for a new edge to take their wedding photography business to a new level.

I created this wedding photography DVD retailing for $249 several years ago to give wedding photographers who want to target high-end weddings a clear vision for reaching their goals. I made it simple and easy to follow and it's been a hit ever since. If you've waited this long to buy my Reaching the High-End Bride® DVD, you've been missing out! But the good news is, you now get it for less and you get it instantly!

There are a lot of wedding photography DVDs out there, but there is only one Reaching the High-End Bride DVD® and now it's available for download at discounted price for a limited time! This wedding photography DVD, originally available in DVD format shipped via snail mail is now available as a digital download instantly from anywhere in the world!

If you are a wedding photographer looking to successfully Reach the High-End Bride®, you must download this DVD and watch it immediately. Why wait any longer! CLICK HERE NOW TO DOWNLOAD!

Miami Wedding Photography Workshop at The Biltmore

2009-08-13T19:42:00.000-07:00

Congrats to Ray Santana and Kenny Kim for putting together a killer wedding photography workshop in Miami at the Biltmore Hotel of Coral Gables! If there are two more generous people in our industry, I don't think I've met them. These guys have so much to offer and I highly recommend grabbing a seat before this Miami wedding photography workshop is sold out! To make a good thing even better, Becker is making a guest appearance at the workshop in Miami to share his wisdom! Check the details below!

Wedding Photographers Ray Santana and Kenny Kim with guest speaker Becker - Miami Wedding Photography Workshop at the Biltmore Hotel of Coral Gables

Topics will include:

+Equipment & Settings (White balance? Kelvin Temperature?)
+Nail the important shots from the start not back in Photoshop
+Workflow (Lightroom? Raw? JPEG? Canon? Nikon?)
+Album design
+Business
+Branding & marketing
+Networking
+Plus much, much, more!

Details:

Date: 10/13: Optional evening social mixer > 10/14: All day workshop at the hotel > 10/15: Optional morning coffee talk (Q&A)

Cost: $750 (lunch provided) Bring your own coffee unless you want to steal one of Ray’s Red Bull drinks.

Who: Photographers from novice to intermediate level who want to immediately reshape their business and learn. Photographers of all levels who want to sharpen their skills and create a killer portfolio at one of the most premiere luxury hotels in the world.

Location: The Biltmore Hotel in Coral Gables - 1200 Anastasia Avenue - Coral Gables, FL 33134 (http://www.biltmorehotel.com) + one hour shooting inside a beautiful spanish-style church.

Travel & Lodging: Miami International Airport (MIA) is 5 miles away from the hotel. A block of rooms have been reserved at The Biltmore Hotel at an incredible special rate of $179/night! (Average cost $300-600/ night) Contact us for the special code.

What To Bring: Camera gear, laptop, good attitude & smile. If you bring all these, we will promise you some major good times!

Sign Up: 14 (out of 20) seats left. Full non-refundable amount due upon registration. Contact portfolioplus@kennykim.com or 800.539.1294 for questions.

THE MIAMI WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY WORKSHOP LOCATION (THE HISTORICAL BILTMORE HOTEL OF CORAL GABLES, MIAMI)

The Seven Workshop

2009-07-30T00:26:00.001-07:00

Check out my all new workshop scheduled for August 25th, 2009. Click Here

Thirst Relief Tanzania Benefit

2009-07-18T16:59:00.000-07:00

I am in Tanzania right now... check out some blog posts here!

I've heard great things about this!

2009-06-17T13:59:00.000-07:00

Cover Shoot for Grace Ormonde

2009-06-08T07:00:00.000-07:00

Thank Jeff Wright at Blue Skies Cinema for spending a day with me in Joshua Tree and many more days in his editing room making another awesome video for me! Click here to check it out!

WINNERS OF THE WEDDING CONTEST!!!

2009-06-05T12:40:00.000-07:00

First I want to thank and commend all of the applicants for their selfless giving and worthy causes! I was so impressed to see so many couples giving their lives to better our world!

After a long and difficult decision process, I have decided on a winner for my wedding photography give-away contest. I am proud to announce my winners Teresa Ornelas & Juvel Flores!

Congratulations Teresa & Juvel! On behalf of Mike Colón Photographers, Leather Craftsmen, and Pictage Inc., This deserving couple will receive the following gifts for their wedding:

An Engagement Session and Full Wedding Day Coverage by Mike Colón

A Leather Craftsmen Custom Designed 8500 series Album

Pictage Online Proofing, Bound Proof Books, Large Canvas Print, & $500 in reprints!

This couple's story really moved and inspired me! I want to share their story with you. Please read their application below:

Non-profit organization and contact information

We work for Mika Community Development Corporation (CDC), a non-profit organization located in West-side Costa Mesa that exists to identify and equip leaders in low-income neighborhoods to build communities with VISON.

Our office number is 949.645.0075, and you can contact our Executive Director, Crissy Brooks at 949-400-3095. You can also find more information about MIKA at www.mikacdc.org.

Why we work for MIKA and what it means to us

Teresa:

I work at MIKA part-time and I am a full-time student at Orange Coast College. I currently work at MIKA as the Youth Development Assistant and as a part-time Volunteer Coordinator. Some of my responsibilities are to assist my supervisors in administrative tasks that have to do with volunteer and youth development, which includes creating program applications, credit cards expense trackers, and other various documents that make their jobs easier.

I work for this organization because I want to help people appreciate and help their neighbors and take ownership of their community by walking with them and helping them find the resources they need in order to achieve the goals they have for their community.

I grew up in MIKA’s first neighborhood, Shalimar, and I see Mika as a huge help to families in west-side Costa Mesa. Before MIKA, many of us had few options as to what we could do after school. As I was growing up, many of the older youth, and even some of my friends, were involved in gangs and many other self-destructive behaviors. Shalimar, the neighborhood I grew up in, had a horrible reputation. I was ashamed of telling people were I lived because I hated the comments they would make after I mentioned it. I was lucky I loved school and learning, otherwise I could have ended in jail or doing drugs, or even pregnant, like many of the girls I hung out with.

I attended Express Yourself (EXY), a MIKA youth arts program when I was high school. I have never had any artistic talent, but attending EXY was far better than staying at home by myself or watching adults sell drugs to younger kids and much better than being outside watching the street drunks glaring at us in ways that were not appropriate.

Even though MIKA was not as diverse in its programs as it is now; MIKA gave me and many other youth options –activities we could do instead of getting in trouble

Juval:

I also grew up in the Shalimar neighborhood and I currently work as a Neighborhood Advisor at MIKA’s Center St. neighborhood. Some of my responsibilities are to help the neighbors organize neighborhood events that benefit the community by bringing them together. I also conduct home-visits with neighbors to connect neighbors with one another and give them an opportunity to share their concerns.

I am working for this organization because I believe that the opportunity was something God had planned for me. Before Mika, I had been working at a retail auto parts store for two years. I felt the hunger for something better, something with a purpose, something that held real value in my heart. I wanted something more than selling wipers or break pads for cars.

One day after a very frustrating and tiresome day at my former job, I drove home with a sense of happiness on my face, praying for something else. When I arrived I was preparing to do an oil change on my car when Crissy called me. She had a job offer for me; there was no arguing the fact that this job was planned for me. The first year, I still worked full time for the auto parts store and part time for Mika, because I was paid through Ameri-Corps and my pay averaged out to about five dollars an hour and I still had to find away to pay for my bills.

My second year at Mika I was able to leave the auto parts store and work full-time with an organization that shares the same passion that I do – helping people help themselves in a way that is good in Gods eyes. The work that we do means a lot to me because it shows that there are people in the world that will dedicate their lives to walk with others through the example that God has set for us.

We were youth that were helped by MIKA and we are blessed to be able to work at MIKA and give back to our community. We believe we have great things to offer not only to MIKA but to our community because we grew up in it and because we care about our community. We want to set an example to other youth and adults that there really are other options to improve our community and that it is possible to attain good things by walking with our neighbors.

Why wedding photography is important to us

Wedding photography is extremely important to us. We love taking pictures, especially of moments we care about because they make us relive the wonderful feelings we had during those events – the problem is that we are rarely in those pictures.

We both tend to shy away from the camera and we would like to be the ones taking pictures at our wedding, but by having our wedding photographed by a professional, we do not have to worry about it being done well. We know that wedding photography is expensive and our other option was to ask friends to take pictures, but they will not be as beautiful as a professional photographer’s would be.

CONGRATULATIONS TERESA & JUVEL! I WILL BE IN TOUCH EARLY NEXT WEEK!

Grace Ormonde Benefit Shoot for Thirst in Tanzania!

2009-06-03T23:05:00.001-07:00

“It is only in adventure that some people succeed in knowing themselves - in finding themselves.”

Join me and a dozen other wedding photographers for the adventure of a lifetime on a trip to Tanzania to benefit Thirst Relief International! Words can't express how excited I am about this! Check out this schedule!

July 13-14: Travel to Tanzania (staying overnight in Dubai - how cool!)
July 15-16: Grace Ormonde Fashion Shoot (8-10 page spread to be featured in Jan 2010 issue!!)
July 17-18: Deliver and Install Bio-Sand Filters (and capture impactful images for Thirst)
July 19-20: Overnight Safari (bring your big lens!)

July 21 Rest, Pack up, shop around Dar Es Salem
July 22-23: travel home (through Dubai again.. hopefully we'll get some poker in!)

This trip is sold out but there are two more seats and two ways to win! Click here to learn how!

Here is the list of the awesome photographers going on this adventure with us! These are all super great people with amazing talent behind the lens!

and Me :)

Also, JP & Kennedy Pierce are coming to document the whole trip in HD :)

Click here to find out more!

An Unseen Image from GO Fashion Shoot

2009-05-16T08:25:00.000-07:00

This is one of my favorites from Grace Ormonde Fashion shoot that never made it to print. Who says you can't shoot at high noon?

Firenze, Italia 2008

2009-05-15T02:30:00.000-07:00

Outtake

2009-05-14T22:16:00.000-07:00

Here's an outtake from a recent fashion shoot. Thought it was interesting and wanted to share it with you. Thoughts?

Mike Colon Wedding Photography Giveaway!

2009-05-06T19:31:00.000-07:00

Ok, so I've decided to finally do something I've wanted to do for a long time! I'm giving away my services to one deserving couple. I will be accepting applications immediately and will be making my decision based on the following criteria:

1. I must be available on your wedding date (obviously)

2. You (or your fiance) must be working full-time for a charitable non-profit organization

3. Your wedding must be in 2009

4. Applications must be submitted by midnight on May 20th, 2009

Please answer the following questions and email your entry to giveback@mikecolon.com

Q1 You and your fiancé's complete names and contact information

Q2 The date/location/venue for your wedding

Q3 Name of charitable non-profit organization you work for with contact information for verification

Q4 Why are you working for this organization - what does it mean to you?

Q5 Is wedding photography important to you? Why?

Q6 How did you find out about me and this give-away?

Please include in your email entry a photo of you and your fiance so I can post the winning couple on my blog. My decision will be made and announced here on my blog on Friday June 5th, 2009

Good luck!!! I can't wait to bless a great deserving couple out there!

Updated 5/7/09: CRAZY AWESOME NEWS! LEATHER CRAFSTMEN IS ON BOARD!

Ira at Leather Craftsmen just notified me that they will make a free custom album for the winning couple! Retail price on this Leather Craftsmen album is $5,000! Thank you Leather Craftsmen! This is such a generous offer and I appreciate you supporting this cause!

Updated 5/8/09: MORE AWESOME NEWS! PICTAGE IS ON BOARD!

I absolutely love it that these great companies are jumping on board with a spirit of giving! Michael Caro at Pictage just emailed me and said that they want to donate online proofing, hardcover proof books, a large canvas print, and a $500 credit towards prints!! Wow!! Thanks Pictage!!!

Mophie Juice Pack air - iPhone 3G

2009-05-04T13:02:00.000-07:00

Ok, first impressions of my new Mophie Juice Pack air - iPhone 3G after 1 day of use:

-A little bulky but feels nice in my hand and actually doesn't bother me as much as I thought it would.

-Looks a bit like a marshmallow but I like marshmallows :)

-battery life IS in fact double... I used my phone all day on wifi and didn't even use up the juice in the case so my internal iPhone was battery was still completely full!

-I really like having the extra battery life since I use the 3G network or wifi all day. This will be especially useful when I travel.

-I haven't dropped the phone yet but the case is solid and should survive a nice bounce off my garage floor.

-Power indicator on back of case is useful

-Only wish is that they made it waterproof :) haha