Capturing Your Unique Story Through Her Photography

Still looking for a wedding photographer? Look no further!

Name: Janet Wheeland

Occupation: O.C. Based Wedding and Portrait Photographer 

Company: Wheeland Photography

How did you get started?

I stepped into Photography a little backwards than most. I studied Graphic Design at Cal State Fullerton and started a job as an image editor for a high end photography studio, LaNeve Photography. The two photographers at the studio bought me my first "real" camera right before I left to study in Italy for a summer. I learned a lot working at the studio and started taking Photography classes at CSUF. The classes and the studio drove my passion into a career. I then sough out Wedding Photographers that I could second shoot for and learned all I could. I also began shooting at the OC ShootOuts, and any workshop I could find, growing my network of Photographers and meeting a lot of great people. 

How do you describe your artistic style as a photographer and has it changed? 

I love bright, vibrant images and love to capture laughter. I like to have a balanced mix of Portraiture and Photojournalism. I shoot wide and tight to express the fullness of each couple's story. I will give direction but always want the shots to be natural and full of their unique personalities and real moments.

Weddings are great to photograph because there is always something happening so you don't always have to give a lot of direction. That's when I get to be a "ninja photographer" and just capture the moments as they happen.

What training or schooling did you go through to become a photographer?

Learning the technical side of Photography was one of my biggest hurdles to get around. I learned the basics at CSUF, researched on my own, and learned from having great mentors and life experience. I am very grateful to Matthew Saville and Scott Robert Lim for all their instruction and inspiration.

Where would you like to see yourself in 5 years as a photographer? 

I am very excited to see my Photography business grow and over just even the past year I have almost tripled the amount of Weddings I have photographed. In 5 years I'd like to focus on shooting more exclusively Weddings and take on a third photographer to my team so I can be sure to give my clients the best coverage. 

Any advice for those interested in pursuing photography as a career? 

Camera equipment can be expensive so it's good to know where to invest. The thing that really makes your images look crisp and professional is having a good lens, so bite the bullet and invest in a quality lens. My 50mm 1.2/f is my rock. I named my lens "Rafael" - both a fighter and an artist. 

Second, practice, practice, practice! Take your friends and family out and do Photo shoots. Constantly be shooting and it will help you learn and find your own style. Three key ingredients that I use to capture unique and creative photos are: interesting angles, unique focal points, good lighting.

Janet Wheeland is very highly recommended and trusted as a wedding and portrait photographer.  

You can find her at the following:

Facebook

Wheelandphotography.net

Her blog 

Thank you Janet for taking time out of your busiest season of the year to do an interview with Deco Aurora. 

Le Genou De Claire

Sexy

Seductive

Smart

Sensual

Exactly what I hope for in this film.

Just when I thought life was getting boring, things have suddenly turned into something worth thinking about. I have new dreams and I have also found a film to live vicariously through this Summer.

LA Genou De Claire

I have yet to watch, but the trailer has done enough justice as far as luring me into its French seaside setting.

Turns out this is film is part of the series "the six moral tales".

This means I will be busy watching these fantasy filled French films all summer long.

Oh yes, I cannot wait.

Will someone watch them with me so we can compare notes on what seems like a scandalous set of films?

Button Making 101

Back in April al of us ladies had a meeting at road less traveled and had a special button making tutorial as well! Tracy Gayer, Associate Director of GCAC stopped by to show us a few tips and tricks on button making. We snapped a few photos to show you how we made our super cool buttons for the shop/patchwork/craftcation. Its alot easier than it looks, especially if you have the right tools for the job. Thank you Tracy for showing us how to make buttons!

Stop by the store to pick up a button and show some love! 

* I will be adding a video soon of this DIY tutorial stay tuned for updates*

Sea you at the shore

Its been too long since I made a set...so here goes nothing :) Since buying a similar jean jacket I just want to wear it with everything now! That is what inspired this set...then it just went Nautical...

sea you at the shore by mslay featuring cluster earrings

Ted Baker mini dress
£109 - johnlewis.com

Madewell cotton jacket
$118 - madewell.com

J Crew bikini swimwear
$52 - jcrew.com

J Crew bandeau bikini
$48 - jcrew.com

Sabina wedge heels
$35 - macys.com

Felix Rey beach tote
$145 - footcandyshoes.com

Bonbi Forest cluster earrings
£16 - hannahzakari.co.uk

J.Crew plastic sunglasses
$88 - jcrew.com

Retro Photography, Sea and Sun, VW Bus Print, Catalina Island
$22 - etsy.com

DIY Card DIsplay

Its time again for another easy and fun DIY project that we have tested out for you! This time around we created a paper goods display out of an old  door and  base boards. This is a perfect way to display cards for at a retail space or photos or even books & artwork  at home! We love how easy it was to make( we made it the night before we re-opened) and it is very customizable too. 

DIY Paper Goods Shopping List

-paint

-scale

-old door (or new depends on what you can find)

-base boards(depends on how much you display)

-nails (2-3 per baseboard)

-eyelets (2 per baseboard)

-fishing wire/metal wire 

8 Easy steps to making a paper goods display

1. The first thing you need is an old door, you can get these from a lumbar yard, craigslist or buy a new one from home dept. Once your door is selected make not of its width and write this information down.

2. Next step is selecting a variety of base boards which you can find at a lumber yard or in the scrap area of home depot. We chose 6 different base boards for our door. You will want your baseboards to have a thickness of 1" or more to display on top of. *Make sure that the base boards are cut to the same width as the door. 

3. Lay down the door on the floor and place base boards in a way that looks appealing to you and will effectively display your art/cards etc. Now you will have a visual of how you want it to look so you can either take a photo or put a pencil mark saying the number order of the baseboards. 

4. Now its time to paint those baseboards. You will do this separately from the door (less messy). We did alternating colors that matched the shop theme of citron, fuchsia and turquoise. You can choose any color you like. You can also paint the door whatever color you would like. We chose white as a background for our display. 

5. Once the paint has dried on the door and baseboards you can begin assembling them together. Once again layout your baseboards in desired places and check with a scale that they are straight. Then you can  nail the baseboards into the door. 

6. Next you will get your eyelets and assemble them onto the side of the door 2"-3" above each baseboard. You can use your scale to make sure these match up.

7. Tie fishing wire/metal wire into one eyelet and pull across the front of the door to the corresponding eyelet. This forms a barrier for the artwork/cards to keep from falling down. 

8. Begin placing your artwork, cards and books onto your super cute and easy DIY display! 

Below: Are some photos of us in the process of constructing the display. 

A few of our color coordinated baseboards ready to go. 

Beginning to nail down the baseboards onto the door. 

Finished nailing, now ready to add eyelets and begin displaying. 

Eyelets have been added, you can see them on the side. Now time to display all the cards and posters. 

Our finished project in all its glory! Now that wasnt so hard now, was it!!

If you have any questions about this project let me know and I will gladly help out. 

Hmm what should our next DIY be? Any suggestions or projects you have seen in the shop that you want to know how we made? 

MORE DIY PROJECTS

Chalk Board Wall-Raffia Pendant Light-Kitchen Re-Design

Road Less Traveled Workshops 5/7-5/13

This week we have an array of classes and workshops to offer you at road less traveled. Take a look below and if they tickle your fancy go ahead and click on the link which will lead you to our website for more info. There you can pay online as well. We want to make this extra simple for you. Hope to see you at the shop this week! 

• DIY Midi or Maxi Skirt-5/9 6:30-9:30pm
• Sewing 201-5/10 6:30-pm
• Advanced Pickles-5/12 11am-3pm
• Linocut Printing/Stamp Making- 5/13 2pm-5pm

Venice Venture

As I continue my venture from Culver City to Venice Beach I realized that LA can seem so far but so close. In my previous post I had a comment from Dina, writer of My Superfluities who resides in Virginia. Her comment mentioned that she had recognized the icon Knotts Berry Farm Skyline! A comment such as hers made me re think my views on "how long it takes to get to LA". The fact that someone who lives across the country commented on the fact that they recognized something that is part of my backyard was an eye opener. 

So friends lets start the second leg of our mini LA adventure continuing in Venice Beach! 

The crew was groggy and the sky was too, it was time to fill up on some cafe espresso and lattes from Espresso Cielo (also located in Palm Springs)! All of us being from Coffee Shop backgrounds agreed that this one was a winner, if not better than Inteligensia! 

Rad skaters! 

I was drawn to the Free People window display . Artsy, organic, feminine. 

Super hot model guy was posing away next to this super gangster mural at Venice Beach! He reminded me of Skeet Ulrich! SO 90's SO HOT! 

This is what it looked like walking down the boardwalk...

Loved the couple to the left. Venice beach always makes me think of Xanadu! This time there were less roller skates and more skaters though. 

The guy on the right must be a model, or I must be a great photographer! 

Three fourths of the group. Katrina refused to walk on the sand. This is why she looks like she is a giant floating person above Leigh and Nate who were walking below. 

Dont ask what the robot face is for...Im not sure. Im guessing it was a garage door opener? Wildflour Pizza had a cool store front, love the bright yellow, really bold choice. Super cool window display using spools of yarn! And yeah those are some huge binoculars! 

Hope you had fun on my photo adventure of Venice and Santa Monica! These are my fav posts, sharing photos about more than what I wore...or what to buy...just cool experiences. 

Culver City Day Trip

Come along for a photographic adventure that takes place in Culver City! 

The week of my birthday I took 5 days off work in hopes of having my tax return ready to go on a vacation, but no...no money came. But I still had an awesome birthday week and made sure to take advantage of those days off :) 

The first thing on my itinerary was a day trip to Los Angeles, I know it sounds stupid but I live in OC and hate the traffic so I rarely go outside the orange curtain :) But on this glorious Tuesday noon we made it there in no time flat! 

 First things first, a stop at the gas station for fuel for both us and the car! Does Katrina not  look excited? 

With the girls in the back and me and Nate in the front we left on our way out of OC, passing by the iconic Knotts Berry Farm skyline! If you're afraid of heights, then don't look! 

 So the main reason for going to Culver city that day was to look at art galleries, and well, take silly pictures. There were the best photo op areas like these orange and red squares on the wall! 

Long alleys 

It doesn't hurt to be tall and thin either...

And to top it off a huge pile of cracked concrete! 

And this is my fav pic I have taken of Katrina! Cute/crazy sums it up!

This was the only art gallery open that day :( It had these scarry ice cream cone people that had holes in them. Im pretty sure this explains why I had a nightmare a few days later involving my hands having holes al over them!!!

I love that Nate was in the moment and everyone else is moving, texting, oblivious to whats going on. And its also taken at a bus stop, ironic how its called a stop when most who us it are on the go.

This is one of many models they had on display at the SPFA: Studio Pali Fekete Architects

I couldnt resist taking a photo of  the color combos of Pinches Taco's exterior paint job against those succulents. So exotic! 

We attempted to eat lunch at fathers office, but they weren't open yet :( I have been wanting to go here for a while now! So I just took a pic in front of it to prove my defeated attempt.

This shot was of us in the mirror that was in the back of the store but taken from outside the front door. 

My fav concrete design: The Nixon! 

We spotted Cool Haus didnt know they had a location in Culver City?

We all liked this piece that was hanging on the outside of a building....

And this is the home of the artist who painted the above artwork. Can you decifer her design aesthetic? Black background and white silhouette! She was very friendly and so were her 5 cats! 

Well my friends, this concurs my trip to Culver City, later that day we headed to Santa Monica and Venice...which will be posted soon. So many great shots from this day! 

Also next week June 10th is PATCHWORK CULVER CITY! You should go, its at HELMS BAKERY!