The Amberlight Collective

Hi, I'm Danette. My life is all about photographing weddings & engagement pictures for awesome people. I live in Las Vegas, NV. I specialize in wedding, engagement, and family portraits not only in Las Vegas, but also in the Santa Fe & Albuquerque areas of New Mexico, and southern California. Here are a few things you should know about me, besides the fact that I love taking pictures: I'm a big nerd. I'm obsessed with England, and I love my car. I've perpetually been reading the Harry Potter series every single day since 2003. I have a fear of public restrooms. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind is the greatest movie ever made. I have a tattoo on my camera trigger finger that says, "say cheese.". I love Jesus. I've played guitar for 16 years. I love ray-ban wayfarers, burt's bees, anything made by apple, and mandolin music. Lets chat.

My greatest desire in photography is to create portraits that are not only beautiful, but that evoke the emotion that you were feeling when I took the picture. I fully believe in investing in memories, because those we love are precious and we all deserve a beautiful reminder.

Tim + April

06.12.13

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When you’re in the wedding biz, you meet all kinds of couples here in Las Vegas. Wedding photography here is colorful and eclectic. I’ve met couples who’ve known each other 10 days, and others who’ve known each other their entire lives. Tim and April are one of those couples that has such a fun and unique story. Its like they’ve known each other for so long, and have really come full circle within their relationship. From meeting, to dating, to not dating, to reconnecting, and finally realizing, “OH! This IS the one!!”. I love stories like this. It really shows how love endures. And when I take a couple out for engagement pictures, it becomes evident very quickly if the couple ‘clicks’, and when I met Tim and April (or T&A as Tim so aptly pointed out to me!) it was apparent right away. They are SO FUN! They also brought along their little doggie for the shoot!

Even though it was sweltering out, April looked lovely, with her cute curls and sun dress. Tim, of course, was rugged and manly. And he really hung in there well! (I know its the guys who I really torture during a photo session!)

Floyd Lamb Park

We chose Floyd Lamb Park for how different it is, and wanted to portray that within their engagement photography. In Las Vegas its hard to find anything other than desert locations! But for anyone looking for a good photo location in Las Vegas, look no more. Floyd Lamb is BEAUTIFUL! There is tons of wildlife, fishing, ducks, geese, and squirrels. Just adorableness. (Except for the geese, those guys are terrifying) So for a great location to take your wedding photography in Las Vegas, or your Engagement session, or even just a chill spot to picnic with the family, look no further! There is a small park fee, however it is very affordable, and the staff is very nice!

So without further adieu, enjoy a few of the pics from our fun, hot, but beautiful engagement session!

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Craig + Nashiya

05.06.13

Good Afternoon!

When you think of Las Vegas, what is the first thing that comes to mind? Probably the Vegas Strip. So when it comes to choosing photoshoot locations for your photography in Las Vegas, that is probably the first location that comes to mind. But Las Vegas is a HUGE city with so many amazing photo locations to choose from other than the Strip!

The downside of being a wedding photographer in Las Vegas though, is the fact that the city is extremely commercialized, so most of the cool and desired photo locations either don’t allow outside professional photography, or they charge a hefty fee. Luckily there are tons of locations that do not charge a fee, and are still beautiful choices for your wedding photographs or engagement pictures.

Exploration Park is one of those locations. With sprawling lawns, and a huge hill to hike on and overlook the city, it is a great alternative to the typical Vegas spot, and dare I say, would make a beautiful Las Vegas wedding location, and certainly an excellent spot for portrait photography. (Check out 10 locations for wedding photography in las vegas other than the strip)

While talking with Craig and Nashiya about engagement photo ideas, Exploration Park was the first and only choice!

Now, I should back up. This wasn’t an engagement photo session, per-say, but it was a beautiful couple’s session for my clients, and hopefully a glimpse of what the future holds for them.However, I am an engagement photographer in Las Vegas, so I label photo sessions thusly!

Craig and Nashiya met 9 months ago at a bar and hit it off. When I see Craig look at Nashiya you can see his entire face light up! I love Nashiya. She is such a strong girl with a great personality! Originally from China, she relocated to Vegas 3 years ago and loves it. Craig is a hilarious guy and throughout the entire photo session all they did was make fun of each other. (In a loving way, of course!)

This was such a fun day, and I think the photos really reflect that. I also hope that they help you with any engagement photo ideas, or even any wedding photo ideas you may need or want!

Thanks for reading, and be sure to check the blog often for everything you need to know about Vegas, weddings, and photography. As always, I’m super blessed to be a wedding photographer in Las Vegas. So much to photograph.

On to the photos!

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Unnamed Gallery

Anthony + Angii

05.01.13

A few weeks ago I had a double whammy of a weekend, shooting two weddings back to back. On the Monday after my weddings, I slept for 16 hours. Just kidding, but I wanted to. But what an amazing weekend it was! My first wedding of the weekend was that of Angii & Anthony. As a wedding photographer in Las Vegas, I get so busy shooting at wedding chapels and strip locations that its been FOREVER since I had the pleasure of photographing at a church. Anthony & Angii chose to get married at the International Church of Las Vegas (ICLV) which was super meaningful to them as it was where they met, fell in love, AND where all of their friends and family attend. It was only natural for them to also have their wedding ceremony there. Its always fun for me to step inside of someone else’s life for a day to see just how much love and joy surrounds them. This was true for Angii and Anthony, as you could so evidently see how much the people around them love them.

After the ceremony we decided to step off of the church property for a few more wedding photography ideas and options and opted for near by Angel Park. What a pretty park that I’d never known about! So for my readers, Angel Park wedding photos turn out AMAZINGLY! If you ever need a great location, consider it as there are tons of opportunities for creative wedding photography!

Oh, but before I show you the photos, I have to say, if I could rate this wedding on a fun level scale of 1 to 10, I’d definitely rate it a 10….because they did a Harlem Shake video.

So onto the photos! Enjoy! And be sure to check back frequently for all your wedding photography tips, tricks, and ideas!

Anthony Angii

The Great U.K. Wedding Giveaway!

04.06.13

It’s that time of year again….where I give something big away. This time we’re talking really big. Like, HUGELY big. I will be finding myself in the U.K. in the middle of May (wow, that rhymed). And as I was planning my trip I began thinking, “What if I gave away a wedding session while in the U.K.?!” And HELLO, idea became ambition. So thats whats happening. I’m giving away FREE wedding day coverage to some lucky couple in the U.K.

Here are the deets:

If you find yourself living in the U.K. and are getting married somewhere between the dates of May 17th-May28th, then you’re eligible to have me come and photograph your wedding. This is good for an ENTIRE WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY PACKAGE and includes wedding day coverage, your digital negatives, online proofing, and online slideshow. (£1,100 value!)

If you’re interested, hit up this link to register to win!

And, if that wasn’t already cool enough, I’m also giving away a FREE LONDON ENGAGEMENT SESSION to anyone living in the or around the London area between the dates of May 25th-28th. If you’re interested hit up the contact section to apply!

Happy Shooting!

Adding a sky in Photoshop

03.23.13

Hey guys!

Tutorial time! People always ask me how I make my skies in the photos I take so vibrant and while I’d like to tell them, “I’m just awesome like that” I’m going to let you all in on a little secret…. sometimes my skies aren’t always totally real… SHOCK! I KNOW! I definitely

I’ve put together a small tutorial to demonstrate how I replace sky in photoshop. For this tutorial you’ll want a basic knowledge of Photoshop, particularly with Layers and Layer Masks.

Alright, here we go. Here’s how to go from blah to WOW sky! There’s an accompanying video at the end of this post to help out!

Before:

After:

1. Open up both the photo you’d like to replace the sky in, and the sky photo you’ll be using to replace the sky.

2. With the [Move Tool(V)] selected, hold down the [Shift] key and drag your sky photo onto the main photo you’ll be working in

3. With your sky layer now chosen, hit [Cmd+T](Mac) or [Ctrl+T](PC) to Transform the sky layer. Resize the photo by holding down [Shift+Option](Mac) or [Shift+Alt](PC) and selecting a corner of the layer with your cursor. Now drag to resize. When you’re finished, double click the photo or select the check mark at the top right of the screen.

4. To make the sky look natural we need to gradually fade the sky in from the horizon. Select your sky layer and add a Layer Mask by selecting the Layer Mask button at the bottom of the layers palette. Make sure your layer mask is White (Reveal All) and that your foreground and background colors are set to Foreground Black, Background White. Next, select the Gradient Tool(G).

5. From the bottom your photo drag your gradient up to just past the middle of your photo. Continue this process until horizon line looks natural.

6. Select the Brush Tool(B), use a very large soft brush, with the Layer Mask on the Sky Layer still selected, continue to work on making the horizon look natural.

7. Select the Sky Layer and go to Filter>Blur>Lens Blur. Try to match the bokeh of the original image as best as possible.

8. Apply any color corrections as necessary. I used Curves, and a Black & White layer that I overlayed to bring a bit more drama to the colors, as well as a Hue/Saturation layer to desaturate the colors slightly.

The Amberlight Collective

Tim + April

Floyd Lamb Park

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Craig + Nashiya

Unnamed Gallery

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Anthony + Angii

Anthony Angii

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The Great U.K. Wedding Giveaway!

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Adding a sky in Photoshop

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