Diann Valentine's Surprise Wedding Photos | Beverly Hills

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...

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

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!!

Voting Begins Tomorrow

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

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

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

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

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

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

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