Welcome to the James Brandon Photography blog. I am primarily a local and destination wedding photographer located in Dallas/Fort Worth. I also specialize in travel, family, and senior photography. It is my absolute passion to make stunning, authentic and inspiring images that will last a lifetime.
This blog is a place where I can post images from some of my latest sessions, as well as share my friends, family, and everyday life with you. I love to travel and I share a lot of my images from those trips here. Being a destination wedding photographer allows me to see a lot of new places!
If you're a bride, or interested in booking a session (or just want to see more of my portfolio), click on the "Website" link above. Thanks for visiting and digging my work!
Please follow me on twitter
and @reply me so that I know who you
are :) Cheers!
@jamesdbrandon twitter updates...
Goodnight world, the mac store repaired my laptop so I'll be back in comission tomorrow! Can't wait! #fb#18 hours ago
About a month ago I helped shoot a surprise wedding at Hillside Community Church in Keller, Texas. The surprise was for the congregation of the church because Kari and Jon actually got married during Sunday morning service! Kari and Jon were actually married before and got divorced, and through the power of God and with the support of friends, family and a marriage class at the church, the two were remarried during the marriage series at Hillside! How cool is that!? I found out I was shooting this wedding the day before it happened and the whole thing happened in about 10 minutes. I was able to meet with the family before and get some group shots, as well as a few right after the quick ceremony. We have been going to Hillside Community Church for over five years now and I am so excited to be a part of what God is doing there! Congratulations Kari and Jon, and thanks for Sushi, it was great!
Hillside Community Church is a great place for a wedding. I shot one for Steph and Noah and had a blast. The main building is literally brand new and has huge windows that let in tons of natural light during the day into the community space. I definitely think it’s one of the best places to have a wedding in Keller.
Hillside Community Church
9915 Ray White Rd
Keller, TX 76244
(817) 379-1052
Meet Kari and Jon!
A video about their marriage and remarriage played right before Kari walked down the aisle. Jon is waiting at the alter!
I love finding an image in my library that I have looked past and discarded multiple times, and then realizing it’s potential and bringing life to it. The obvious photos are great, but these little hidden gems have a special place in my portfolio . On our recent trip to California, my wife Kristin and I were driving back to Orange County after a rather disappointing trip to San Diego. We drove to San Diego to scout a place for sunset and I could not for the life of me find a good place. Now, you can take snapshots anywhere, but an HDR or landscape photograph has a lot of criteria to meet before it becomes worth taking. There has to be something unique or intriguing in every part of the frame. So after visiting the USS Midway and having a corn dog at Hot Dog On A Stick (we ate there during our honeymoon so it’s tradition ), we bailed on San Diego in hopes to find somewhere on the way back the OC. There were a lot of unique challenges in taking pictures of the beach. I have become very picky on what I take pictures of and it can be frustrating at times. Everybody has seen the typical picture of a beach with the sand, the waves, and the sky behind it. So I always try and bring something extra into the sides of the frame when I can. This could be a pier, a bluff, some rocks, people, etc, whatever makes the shot interesting.
When I took this image, there was nothing to bring into the frame besides the sand, the waves, and the sky; the typical image. But to me, there was something unique about this one. The waves would crash and pour in about 5 feet past where I was standing every few minutes. And every time the waves receded back they would pull this deep, buried, black sand with it along with the usual sand. This black sand I guess was native to the beach but was buried underneath the normal sand. What was so cool about it was the veiny streams the waves carved out to reveal the darker sand beneath. Pair that with the incredible colors the sunset provided and the distorted lines of a 15mm fisheye lens, and you have the image below. You may also be interested to know that the only reason the sand is reflecting the colors of the sky is because a wave had just receded back to the ocean and the sand was wet and water was still streaming through the veins down to the ocean. The HDR process brings these reflections out and makes them pop, so the sand is like a mirror image of the clouds and sky above.
Low Tide at Carlsbad State Beach, California
P.S. I put my heart and soul into making these image. If you like what you see, or don’t like what you see, let me know! Comments are how I gauge whether or not I’m creating images that people love and remember. Cheers!
P.S.S. After I took this shot, we visited a place called Harbor Fish Cafe right on the beach. They had some of the best fish n’ chips I’ve ever had. And I am complete sucker for good fish n’ chips. They served the fish on a cardboard plate with a roll of paper towels. Brilliant! Can’t wait to go back!
Brides, if you are looking for an amazing, classic, elegant place to get married, look no further than Bass Performance Hall in Fort Worth. Bass Hall is located right across the street from one of my favorite places in the world; The Flying Saucer, in the heart of Fort Worth at Sundance Square. I have always been a fan of Bass Hall, so when Julie Eastman of Extraordinary Events and Design asked me to shoot a wedding there, I was all over it! Julie Eastman was an absolute pleasure to work with by the way, and I would highly recommend her and her team to any discerning bride who wants the best. She is a brilliant decorator and a crazy gifted planner!
Bass Performance Hall
525 Commerce Street
Fort Worth, TX 76102-5440
(817) 212-4400
MEET AMBER AND BJ
Amber and BJ (the bride and groom) are two of the coolest people I have ever met! We finally got a chance to meet about a week before the wedding (something I insist on!) and I could tell right away that it would be a fun wedding. Both of them have great personalities are very genuine! I am drawn to genuine people, and because of this we ended up talking until the coffee shop closed and they had to kick us out! The wedding was a blast and very few wedding have that much dancing, for that long! That’s why I LOVE weddings! They are massive parties where everyone is having a blast, and I am there to capture it for everyone to remember. It was a blast, and I have some great pictures from the wedding! BTW, the two of them operate a marketing company called Anchor Marketing and Design, so check them out if you are in need of marketing advice, a website, blog, etc. But not now, they are currently on a plane to sunny Cancun to honeymoon! Have fun you two!
DETAILS, DETAILS | VAN CLIBURN RECITAL HALL AND MCDAVID STUDIO
The ceremony was located in the Van Cliburn Recital Hall which is actually slightly under ground. It’s pretty cool when you walk in because while there are windows lining the walls near the ceiling, the windows are at ground level. The room is covered in genuine, dark hardwood and the room is equipped with brilliant lighting with flourishes that adorn the walls. After the ceremony we headed over to McDavid Studio for the reception. McDavid Studio is another gorgeous room that you really can’t describe without just showing an image! Below is a sneak peak of the wedding. I will post more later, just a few details for now .
Hey guys! I know I know, I haven’t blogged in over two weeks. I’ve been incredibly swamped with editing photos, organizing things on the business end, researching print labs and products, etc. I will start posting regularly again this weekend! I have a lot of material to post so let the games begin! Today I found this wordpress app that allows me to post directly from my iPhone! How cool is that?! So this post is merely a test, here’s some images from my phone to male sure this works!
February has been quite a month. It seems like every day has either been too cold, to windy, to wet, raining, or we have been immersed in the biggest snowstorm in our known history! The aforementioned weather conditions are widely known for ruining photo sessions or causing people to hold off until spring. But I (and I am admittedly an optimist) believe the worst is behind us, and we have a lot of sunny days ahead of us! While the grass may not be green, there are still plenty of amazing places for engagement sessions, family portraits, senior portraits, and anything else you can think of. Not every location requires green grass, but merely warm weather! For example: the Grapevine Train Station, the streets of Fort Worth or Dallas, Las Colinas, the Fort Worth Stock Yards or that old rustic barn on your property to name a few. Or what about taking advantage of the bare trees and leaves on the ground and doing a session walking through the woods? There are plenty of ideas out there! So why not get your pictures done now while there is a discount?! Here are the details…
Any session held between now and March 20th
Take $25 off your session fee (normally $125)
Take 10% off print orders and products
Excludes Wedding Packages
This add has become
a rather good
triangle
!
HUNTINGTON BEACH SURF COMPETITION
And now for some images I took at a surf competition during my recent trip up and down the coast of California. For some reason I always thought Huntington Beach was run down and a little ghetto, but I was pleasantly surprised when I realized how beautiful and clean the town was near the beach. There was a local surf competition that day and I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to get some shots of these guys. I’ve always loved surfing, it amazes me. The really sad and depressing part is that I’ve never been I’ve been to California multiple times now, and every time I tell myself I am going to surf. But I never get a chance to! It’s really frustrating! The one time I got really close, my wife’s cousin was going to take me while staying with them in San Luis Obispo. He woke me up at 6:15 in the morning dressed like an Eskimo, with a hood covered in fur and mittens on his hand. It was freezing cold outside and I could only imagine the water wasn’t any better. Somehow the idea of getting out of bed and into a freezing ocean until my body went numb just didn’t seem exhilarating at the time. In hind sight it wouldn’t have been that bad, but now I have to keep waiting. Maybe if I get a chance to go to Hawaii this year I will do it, and then I don’t have to worry about water. But I digress. Here are a couple of shots from the surf contest for your visual enjoyment. For my visual enjoyment I like to read comments to gauge whether my readers like the content I am putting out, so get to it and leave some photo love (or hate)!
As many of you know, HDR photography is a huge passion of mine, equal to wedding photography I’d say. Up until this point, my HDR images have just been a hobby and something I do to get away from everything else. Well, in the next 1-2 weeks, I will be working on organizing a site for you to purchase these prints in very limited quantities. The prints will be sold in small sets to ensure that the owners are few and far between. They will be signed by me with a number stating which sequence the individual print is in that set.
Seeing these HDR images on a computer screen is one thing. Seeing them hanging on your wall is completely different. The detail in these images are incredible and a 15 inch computer screen just doesn’t do them justice! I will try and make the cost of these prints as low as possible. They will hopefully bring in enough income to allow me to travel to other places and keep these images coming. Fort Worth is a great place, but the world has so much more to offer and it’s a huge passion of mine to bring that to life in my images!
If you’re interested in reserving one of these prints, please email me by going to the contact page of my portfolio website. You can get there by clicking the “Website” link at the top of the blog, or by scrolling all the way down and clicking the contact me link at the very end of this web page. The Limited Edition print sets will be released one at a time and probably on a monthly or weekly basis. Haven’t decided yet. These first prints will be extremely limited, in order to test the market and see the demand for them. If they sell out quickly I may add a few more in the future. As always, thank you to all my fans for your support! The comments I get here, on facebook, on twitter and through email always make my day!
TOWER 1 AT SUNSET
It’s freezing outside in Texas. A high for today of 40 degrees with wind chills in the upper teens to lower 20’s. The snow was fun for the first day but now it’s old, my yard is like a flooded swamp, and I’m ready for some warm weather! So this morning I am sipping some steaming hot coffee and posting a picture of sunny California. I took this shot a few weeks back in San Clemente, about twenty minutes south of Laguna Beach. San Clemente is a beautiful beach town, my only complaint was the incredibly annoying train that went right through the beach (about five feet behind where I stood to take this picture). I was down there for a photo walk with Trey Ratcliff of Stuck in Customs and every ten minutes or so he would be talking and a train would pass through blaring it’s horn. Other than that, I loved this place! And the little hole-in-the-wall pizza place we ate at had some of the best pizza I’ve had in a while! Anybody know what that place is called?
I found out this morning that we officially broke the all time record in Dallas Fort Worth for snowfall. We Texans don’t really know how to process all of this snow. About halfway through the day yesterday a tree fell down in our yard taking a power-line with it, so we called the electric company and bailed! I wasn’t about to let a day like yesterday go to waste without building a snowman of some sort and exploring places to take pictures. I got a lot of shots yesterday so I might post some more later, but for now I will just share one that I had time to edit.
THE SNOWY BRIDGE TO NOWHERE
Well, I’m sure it went somewhere, but with all that snow who can tell!? I found this little pond in a really upscale neighborhood in Keller. The snow was really coming down and I couldn’t stay out very long without getting my camera soaking wet. I will also note that I recently acquired the camera of my dreams! And if I didn’t have this camera, there is no way I would have ventured into this weather. The Canon 1Ds Mark III is fully weather sealed and works flawlessly in harsh environments. I’ve read stories of people shooting in the dessert and spraying the body down with a water bottle to get the sand off. I probably wouldn’t go that far, but I had no problems using this camera all day in the snow. And when I got back to the car, the camera was soaking wet from snow melting on contact with it. I just wiped it off with a shirt and kept going! The massive lens hood on my 24-70 lens kept most of the snow away from the glass, just a drop of water here and there. Anyways, I will more than likely be adding a review to this site before too long on this amazing camera. I may even do reviews for all my gear eventually, since I get quite a few questions on what I use. But I digress, here’s the picture!
I thought for today I would post a few more shots from Stephane and Noahs vintage style wedding at Hillside Community Church in Keller, Texas. Hillside Community Church is probably the best place to get married in Keller. They just finished a brand new building where the reception was held. The community space is lined with glass from the floor to the ceiling with rustic brick and stained concrete floors. So if you live in Keller Texas and want to get married locally instead of traveling, I highly recommend this venue!
Hillside Community Church
9915 Ray White Road
Keller, Texas 76244
817-379-1052
Some people just click. You can always tell when a couple was meant to be together, and that is definitely the case with Daniel and Lauren. I’ve known Daniel for years and I am so excited to have the opportunity to photograph and document their journey from engagement to marriage! In June we will be traveling to Cancun for a laid back wedding on the beach with a few close friends and family. Can’t wait!
A STROLL AROUND THE FORT WORTH STOCK YARDS AND SUNDANCE SQUARE
For the engagement session, we met first thing in the am on a somewhat chilly November morning. We went early because we knew the streets of the Fort Worth Stock Yards and Sundance Square would be empty. Our session started out walking down main street and taking over random alleys and rusted staircases. The chemistry between these two love birds was intense and that’s the best part of taking engagement photos. The feeling and idea of getting married is at it’s freshest point, and you can see that excitement and joy every time the couple locks eyes.
We also hit up the White Elephant Saloon which turned out to be an awesome location. I love shooting at empty places that would otherwise be standing room only at night. There is also an exit behind the outdoor stage that leads to a beautiful courtyard with walk ways, trees, and a really cool tunnel. To end the session we headed north to Sundance Square in downtown Fort Worth and walked through the streets some more. Oh and I almost forgot, we got to have lunch at my all time favorite restaurant in the world, El Rancho Grande! It’s just north or the stockyards before you drive into Fort Worth at the corner of Northside. I have been going there since I was a kid and they have the best Mexican food in the world! Don’t try and argue with me because you will fail!
Below is a video slide show of the session, followed by a few images. The video slide shows are something we specialize in, and I am willing to bet you have probably not seen anything else like it!
One of the best parts of my job is the relationships my wife and I get to form with our clients. I met Jake and Michelle back in August and really got to know them while shooting their engagement session, which you can see by clicking here. Engagement sessions and Bridal sessions aren’t just included in our wedding packages for the purpose of getting the images. They are also included because it gives us a chance to get to know each other, to get comfortable around each other. And in every case so far, to become friends! That way, come wedding day your not wondering who that guy wandering around in the background is and why he’s taking pictures of everything. If a bride doesn’t need engagements or bridals for whatever reason, I still insist that we meet with each other at least once.
Now, Jake is in the Navy, which you may have noticed by our re-make of the famous kiss in their engagement session. This wedding was very bitter sweet, because Jake was set to ship off shortly after the wedding. Fortunately they got a month or so (correct me if I’m wrong Michelle) to spend together after the wedding before he went off to serve our country. The wedding was absolutely gorgeous though. It was located at the Lantana Golf Club in Lantana Texas. Lantana Golf Club is a really fancy golf course with an even fancier club house. I was amazed at how beautiful everything was. The entire place was decorated in a rustic, old western style which was perfect. The location for the ceremony and reception was a huge room completely surrounded by glass doors that let in a TON of natural light. It was exceptionally challenging to get pictures during the ceremony because it seemed the sun was setting right on Michelle’s face! Jake had to reposition himself a few times to get the sun out of her eyes.
Let me go off on a short little tangent real quick. This is one of those lighting situations where you have to know your camera or you won’t get good pictures. The sunlight flooding in overwhelms the camera and if you don’t tell the camera what to do and where to expose (instead of setting it to automatic and hoping for the best) the pictures will be lost forever! This is one reason to spend the extra money for your wedding to get someone who knows what they are doing. Not some $400 so called wedding photographer that you found on Craigslist! I’m not trying to be mean, but this is the only wedding day this couple will have, and you don’t want to leave anything to chance. I take it very seriously!
Now where was I!? The ceremony! This ceremony was beautiful! I was really excited that all the groomsmen were wearing their Navy uniforms. It made for really slick pictures and I have the utmost respect and admiration for these men who risk their lives so I can be free and pursue a career in photography because I want to. I think that is amazing. After the ceremony, everyone went to the bar area for about 45 minutes so the staff could tear everything down and set up the reception. During that time we got some one on one time with Jake and Michelle as well as all the group shots. Afterward we had the reception, and I must say that I have never in my life seen a group of people dance for that long at a wedding! It was AWESOME! Receptions are my absolute favorite part of weddings. It’s a party and there is nothing better than a party, right? I love getting in super close to the dance floor too. Most of the time you will find me in the middle of the floor, holding the camera above my head (I’m short I know!), or getting down low to get different perspectives.
Anyways, Jake and Michelle were a blast. Thank you guys so much for letting Kristin and I be a part of your day and for the friendship we developed! You guys were amazing! And for anyone in the Argyle/Denton area, Lantana Golf Club is a great place for a wedding! And to sum it up, here are some of my favorite shots from this great wedding, enjoy!
Lantana Golf Club 800 Golf Club Drive
Lantana, Texas 76226 940.728.4653
Cheers!
P.S. On a side not, I seem to have fallen in love with Chipotle lately. I’ve always liked it, but now I want it all the time. That’s all.
. On our recent trip to California, my wife Kristin and I were driving back to Orange County after a rather disappointing trip to San Diego. We drove to San Diego to scout a place for sunset and I could not for the life of me find a good place. Now, you can take snapshots anywhere, but an HDR or landscape photograph has a lot of criteria to meet before it becomes worth taking. There has to be something unique or intriguing in every part of the frame. So after visiting the USS Midway and having a corn dog at Hot Dog On A Stick (we ate there during our honeymoon so it’s tradition 
.
I’ve been to California multiple times now, and every time I tell myself I am going to surf. But I never get a chance to! It’s really frustrating! The one time I got really close, my wife’s cousin was going to take me while staying with them in San Luis Obispo. He woke me up at 6:15 in the morning dressed like an Eskimo, with a hood covered in fur and mittens on his hand. It was freezing cold outside and I could only imagine the water wasn’t any better. Somehow the idea of getting out of bed and into a freezing ocean until my body went numb just didn’t seem exhilarating at the time. In hind sight it wouldn’t have been that bad, but now I have to keep waiting. Maybe if I get a chance to go to Hawaii this year I will do it, and then I don’t have to worry about water. But I digress. Here are a couple of shots from the surf contest for your visual enjoyment. For my visual enjoyment I like to read comments to gauge whether my readers like the content I am putting out, so get to it and leave some photo love (or hate)!
