2009 it was nice to know you, you came quick, flew by in a second and are already a distant memory. We were able to shoot a lot of really amazing weddings in 2009, got to see some of our past clients and friends at weddings and made some new friends along the way. Thanks to all of our great clients for letting us into your lives, a wedding is such a huge day in your life and we are grateful to be able to capture memories of your day. It’s always hard for me to pick some highlights of a full year, I have so many favorites from each day that I normally have a list in the thousands of what I love. So here is a quick little show with some of our highlights of 2009.

Stagi Imagery 2009 weddings from mark stagi on Vimeo.

2009 was another year with some pretty awesome weddings we were able to photograph. We get to travel all over for weddings and always get to see some pretty amazing locations and work with some really fun couples and families. Here is a little review of some of the great weddings we shot in 2009.

St. Claire Hotel wedding photography

Clos La Chance winery wedding

Opera House Los Gatos wedding

Seascape golf course wedding

You can also check out a slideshow with more images here, Seascape Golf Course wedding photos

The Ranch Golf Club wedding

Workshop schedule for 2010. Wedding photography workshops by Mark Stagi.

Our wedding photography workshop schedule for the first half of 2010 has been finished! I am excited to meet a new group of photographers this year and help to inspire one another to keep raising the bar with our creativity. Our workshops are only limited to 8 photographers to give everyone a personal experience so sign up early! We are also looking into hosting our Weddings that ROCK workshop in a few other states depending on our travel schedule. If you would like us to consider visiting your city (or would like to host a workshop at your studio) fill out a contact form and let us know!

There are 3 different workshops we host:
Weddings that ROCK!
This is a full review on shooting weddings from planning the shoot, how to “pose” and light wedding shoots (we don’t traditionally pose but have a fresh way of working with the bride and groom), and ends with post production and marketing ideas. This workshop has an emphasis on finding your style, expanding your creativity and unleashing the artist in you. We will cover some basics in using natural light in an artistic way and start to get a little more complicated with bringing in external lighting to your weddings. Get more info and sign up here: http://workshopsfromtheheart.com/

Marketing in 2010
2010 is here and times have changed dramatically over the last few years when it comes to marketing. 2010 is here and if you want to have your photography business thrive in this age you have to learn many new ways to market yourself (as well as some tried and true methods that have worked for ages)

On Location Lighting
Brand new for 2010 we are doing a 1/2 day workshop on Location lighting. This will be a 1/2 day workshop in the evening from 7:00-11:00 on location in San Jose

For anyone who needs one-on-one training we are staring up a new idea
“One-on-one coffee talk” where you can get 2 hours of dedicated training time to cover any topics you would like. This can be live in the bay area or for everyone out of the area a conference call.

To check out the schedule and for more info check out our website, Photography Workshops

I am looking forward to meeting many of you in 2010!

As 2009 is officially over I am very excited to be entering our 11th year in business. 2009 was a crazy year, it flew by way too fast and was filled with some amazing moments for us as well as struggles. It was our first full year with baby Faith who is now walking and has such an amazing personality. It was awesome to see her grow every day and the time I was able to send with her each day priceless. It was also another very full year of work, I was able to shoot some amazing weddings with the best couples and families I could ask for. I worked a lot this year and also really expanded our family portrait side of the business. I also started Digitalphotobuzz.com a website for photographers to share tips and inspiration. It was a very busy year with many new beginnings for me.

It was also a hard year. So many people I know lost jobs in 09, had physical struggles, mental struggles, it seemed like almost anything that could happened did happen to at least some one I knew (or me). Looking back at 2009 I realized that no matter what happens at the end of the day I am still standing. God gives us all breath each day and as long as I have that breath I will give thanks for what I do have and not let the negative impact me.

As we move on to the new year I always am thankful and grateful for all of the good things that happened and for those difficult times they are done, its time for us to move forward. I believe the best is yet to come and 2010 will be an amazing year! One thing that I learned in 2009 from running my first marathon was to Never give up, and that message remains with me in 2010. For all of you who started something in 2009 and it didn’t work out the way you wanted, keep at it, don’t give up. Hard work and persistence will pay off, just give it everything you got and then some. 2010 will be the year for all of you hard work to pay off!

Keep your eyes peeled for some highlight images from 2009 coming to the blog next week. We shot some amazing weddings and will have some recaps coming soon.

I wish you all the best in 2010, for everyone with weddings coming up I am excited to be a part of your day!

- Mark