At the beginning of every year I often wonder that the next big things are going to be in the wedding industry. It always excites me what crafty people can put together and bring to life. And every year I am more and more excited with where trends have taken us and where we are now.

I wanted to share a look back at some of the biggest trends of 2011 as well as some of the up-and-comers for 2012.

2011: Ombre

Source: Cake, Dress, Flowers, Napkin, Escort Card

Ombre hit big in 2011! It seemed like all of the sudden these monochromatic details were just the thing needed to create a romantic and elegant look. Of course, this trend will continue to hit weddings for years to come, but the gorgeousness that is ombre will definitely be remembered as the up-and-comer detail to have of 2011.

2012: Color Blocking

Source: Dress, Invite, Table, Wedding Shot

Color blocking became popular right before the close of 2011. Every designer, especially Kate Spade, was embracing pairing one bold color to another until you created a well-executed look that made you pop. This trend is something that hasn't hit the wedding industry too hard just yet, but come 2012, we will see it in both subtle and obvious ways.

There are plenty of reasons why the underwater world is mysterious and unfamiliar terrain for humans. Though most of us have at least been in the ocean, our own bodily limitations (if only we had gills!) mean that 70% of earth’s surface is off limits, inaccessible for us to explore (without expensive equipment and training, that is).

Which is a shame, considering that the sea’s floor is a treasure-trove of creatures, colors, and textures that would send us into visual-overdrive. Even the most familiar of sea creatures - like coral, starfish, or octopus - are host to some of the most aesthetically unique hues and shapes.   Which is to say, we’re glad that underwater technology has advanced to the point that we can bring records of some of these stunners above-ground, in the form of photos and videos, crisper than ever before.

Underwater Wildlife Art by Andrey Narchuk

Without context, these could certainly be works of modern art, or a study in color and shape. But these underwater shots, taken at close range, capture details like a fish’s scales or tail, or vegetation in motion. The photographer says “Nature has created a huge amount of art. They fill our planet. It’s not surprising that the underwater world just hides a lot of them.”  

See more Underwater Wildlife Art photography by Andrey.

Another World: Underwater Experiments by Alexander Semenov

The photographer calls these creatures, “Beautiful monsters.” About his work at Moscow’s “White Sea Biological Station,” he says: “When I went underwater for the first time, I was absolutely shocked. White Sea showed me another world with it’s own aliens.” We agree, these unfamiliar animals, with their unnatural colors and pitch-black backdrop, look otherworldly.

See more Underwater Experiments photography by Alexander.

Natural History Film Series by Morphologic Studios

Who knew that unaltered shots of sea life would make the perfect music video? A Marine Biologist & a musician (Colin Foord and Jared McKay) collaborated to make this series of 24 short films. By pairing shots from a Miami aquarium with original music, “they transform the minute creatures that inhabit our coral reefs into strange, abstract works of surreal art.”

See more cool Natural History Film Series videos by Morphologic Studios.

Make sure to visit each artists Behance page for more fantastic images and in some cases the full view of a piece borrowed for the post.

Creations made/used:

The entire COLOURlovers Team spent the better half of last week at Print's COLOR CONFERENCE in NYC. This was the first year of the event and I can definitely say we look forward to many more!

Aaron & Darius (aka Bubs) | "Creative Differences" 

As the event organizer, Print had the tough job of narrowing down what topics would be covered to rein in color at its finest. Topics ranged from color trending to a variety of looks at color in product design to how color affects our lives on personal levels, business and even non-profit. Between some great speakers, fun activities and CMYK Cocktails, I'd say we all had a wonderful time discovering color in ways we hadn't thought of before. It was truly intriguing to meet and talk to so many people interested in color and who work with it in a variety of fields. From those who deal with it broadly between science and art, every attendee brought a unique addition to the conference.

If you'd like a full rundown on the happenings, see blogpost, Viva Color at Print's First Color Conference  - great images of the CMYK Cocktails, the speakers panel and many fun candid shots.

Andy Gordon of 48HourPrint.com using Jamie Aylwin's palette | "Planking" | @48hourprint

The business world of app development is huge. With so many tools at our fingertips, I am constantly discovering new apps. Be it for iPhone, iPad, iTouch, Android, Blackberry and so on, I'm sure you're all like me when find I would be lost without some of my favorites.

I'll be researching and picking (at random) an app I feel is worth mentioning each month. This month's selection is by Dear Future Astronaut AB and a bunch of fun so far. What initially caught my eye was their color-wheel style logo. I love the colors and layout of the finished infographic too! Very clean and fun to look at. Kudo's to the developers!

PHOTO STATS APP - 1st Infographic Creator for iPhone.

If you use your phone to take a lot of your point-and-shoot photos, and you really like to take photos, this is definitely for you! I've recently been playing around with it and it's pretty fun! At a base, .99 - totally worth the fun.

photostatsapp.com

A few months ago, we released ColorSchemer Touch, the official COLOURlovers iPhone app, on the Apple App Store. We spent a lot of time making it super-simple to create palettes, sync creations with your COLOURlovers account, and take the incredible COLOURlovers community with you wherever you go. And thousands of downloads later, we've been blown away by the positive response we've received from everyone who's used it so far.

But that's still not enough! We want everyone - even people that have never visited COLOURlovers before - to see how easy it is to share their colorful ideas and inspirations from a coffee shop, a car, or even a hiking trail in the middle of nature.

That's why starting today, the ColorSchemer iPhone app is now FREE in the App Store!

So what are you waiting for? Download it today to see why thousands of other COLOURlovers think it's the best way to browse, comment, Love, Fave and interact with the COLOURlovers community at home and on the go.

(And we haven't forgot about you Android users. We're talking with and looking for a great developer to port the app over. If you know somebody we should be talking to, let us know.)

Getting Started: Create a Palette in a Snap!

One of my favorite features is the PhotoSchemer tool within the ColorSchemer App. Take a picture (or use one from your image library) and start picking colors for a palette. Super fast!

Businesses large and small have embraced big color full force. Commercial Artist, Chuck Anderson, is a Photographer and Digital Artist. He has been a unique resource for many businesses since 2004, breaking the rules and becoming a design phenomenon. In more recent years, you might have seen Chuck appear in interviews as the Windows 7 brand designer for Microsoft.

'humanlike' - on Npandco.com

"I don't honestly think I ever actually decided to become a designer. I've just always been an artist - since I was a child. It's always been a part of me to create things." - interview from mocoloco.com

photos from interview with rapidgrowthmedia.com

What I've learned about Chuck is that he's just a regular guy and he was a regular kid (starting at 17) with a strong passion for creating, using color to the max and experimenting outside the box. Many interviews ask him how he got where he's at and he would answer that he still doesn't really know. From what I can see, hard work, being unique and obviously having a super cool personality has taken him a long way. We've pulled together some questions for Chuck that might help you, as an aspiring or even seasoned creative find inspiration and resources from. Enjoy!

The Interview

COLOURlovers: At the age of 17 you defined your image as NO PATTERN to give yourself some flexibility in who you were as an artist and what type of work you did. You are currently known for your freeness of style and expressive work with photography, light and color - do you still consider yourself as undefined as you were when you were 17 or 18?

NoPattern / Chuck: Yes and no. On one hand it's clear I've developed a distinctive style that I've come to be most recognized and hired for. I don't deny that, but I don't think it's in any way a bad thing. When I was just starting out at 17, 18 years old, I was so raw and completely still finding what it was I was going to be most drawn to, which meant a lot more in the way of experimenting. Now that I've hit a sort of groove and found what it is I'm generally best at, I just do my best to continually evolve that style and continue to develop it. However, the name NoPattern, at it's core, is the idea of always being in flux, never staying exactly the same and continuing to grow. I think that's something that I try to hold to in every project I do.

Both yellow and gray- together and separate- have been big trends in wedding colors lately, and they're definitely going to stay that way for a long while! I love yellow because it pairs beautifully with so many other colors, which is perfect because it can be used for plenty of different wedding styles!

Yellow paired with gray can either be incredibly chic & modern, rustic & whimsical, or of course, anything in between. The two colors are so interchangeable depending on the details, location, and accent colors involved.

Chic & Modern

A nice collection from a modern, chic yellow and gray wedding that was featured on Every Last Detail (everylastdetailblog.com) / photographed by Stephanie Williams Photography.

See the full wedding {here} on Every Last Detail

Rustic & Whimsical

And here are some rustic and whimsical yellow and gray wedding shots, photographed by Simply Bloom Photography.

See the full wedding {here} on Every Last Detail

I've created a Yellow and Gray Weddings Group so we can all collaborate on the possibilities of palettes! Go ahead and add your own version of a color palette for a yellow and gray wedding! Let's see what you've got! :) I'll be doing a lot more posts on wedding color trends, how to use colors in weddings, and also wedding planning tips and advice, so keep an eye out for my posts!

Palettes with either Yellow, Gray or both...

Both colors go amazingly with other accent colors too! Here are just a few examples...

The work of Daniera ter Haar & Christoph Brach, who have become better known by the name of one of their projects, Raw Color, is highly prismatic, covering the spectrum between art, design, photography and color research by mixing the powerful colors of vegetables, innovative color harvesting processes, with unique applications for print and textiles. Each project is created with an astute design sense and captured with stunningly composed photography.

The Eindhoven, Netherlands based team uses color as the 'connection between their different practices' posing questions like, 'what is the nature of a color and what is the connection to its physical state?' This post focuses on their use of photography. In a pervious post we covered their  research on vegetable pigments, and we will cover their design work in an upcoming post.

Stuffed - Peep

This photo series is playing with the perception of stuffed birds. The written word is a reference to the former voice signature of each bird, the peeping. In Ornithology (the study of birds) this is specified by each bird species. These animals being exposed to the camera are now nothing more than an image of themselves, they are no longer flying or whistling. Via a mix of colours, letters and birds evolves an image from universal language. Our starting point was the historical collection stuffed animals from MEC in Eindhoven. 'Peep' is presented at the exhibition 'Stuffed' during the Dutch Design Week 2008, were all the participating designers are inspired from the stuffed animals, translated into their own designs. After this exhibition 'Stuffed' went on tour and was on show at Salone del Mobile, Milano 2009 and at the NAI, Maastricht 2009.

Nick Campbell is the founder of an iPhone App company called BananaCameraCo, he runs a motion design education site called Greyscalegorilla, talks about the business of creativity on Nickvegas.tv, and speaks to students and creatives about how to be creative and get paid to do what you love. ...And all this came about AFTER he already had his "dream job" as an animator and a photographer making title sequences and TV commercials.

His business(es), all started as complementing side projects to his work as a motion designer under the the simple ideas to "help creatives and creators make cool sh$@" and “as I learn it, so do you.” From this he has developed a number of products and mobile apps all stemming from his core focuses. Everything from fun apps like ShakeItPhoto and CrossProcess that reach a general audience, to Photoshop for Photographers and Vintage Films for Looks reaching amateur and professional photographers, to even more technical industry focused products like HDRI Light Kit Pro and HDRI Studio made specific for the program Cinema 4D used by motion designers.

I had a chance to ask Nick a few questions about how, out of his client and agency work, he developed his own products, started spreading the know-how through blogs and podcasts, and created an effective business model out of it all.

The Takeaways

1) You'll never regret working for yourself but you might hate yourself if you never try.

2) Put yourself and your knowledge out there (blogging, podcasts, educating), if people trust you they'll trust your products.

3) Use those interactions to help fuel new ideas and product development

4) Start by branching out from what you're already doing. A successful idea is one that is already working for you.

5) Offering education and functional products not only expands your business it expands the business community, indirectly creating more opportunities for everyone.

Interview With Nick Campbell

A quick rundown of the progression of your work, please.

I graduated from Illinois Institute or Arts in 2005 with one of those degrees that don't mean anything. "Digital Media" or something like that, I didn't take enough design classes. I worked around town a bit and ended up at my dream job at Digital Kitchen animating title sequences and awesome TV commercials with some of the most talented people in the city (world?). I was clearly the worst designer there, but luckily they were willing to take me under their wing and teach me how to be awesome like them.

Meanwhile, in "internet land", I started a photoblog called Greyscalegorilla where I posted a photo per day for about three years. I also started posting Photoshop tutorials to the site for people asking me how I processed my photos. Of course, word got around that I also knew After Effects and Cinema 4D, so I posted tutorials of that, too. Well, it seemed as if there were PLENTY of Photoshop and After Effects tutorials floating around the web, but when it came to Cinema 4D, I was one of only a few. Especially when it came to showing how to use 3D for Motion Graphics and Logo Design instead of flying spaceships and crap like that. The site took off like crazy.

During all this, I also started dabbling in making iPhone apps. At the time, the iPhone app store was new and I wanted in. I made a Polaroid simulator called ShakeItPhoto and it was starting to do pretty well, that was really exciting.

I had a blog that people liked, an iPhone App people liked and a full time job that I liked. Lucky me! But, there was a problem. I didn't have enough time. I decided to leave the full time job and focus full time on the blog and the iPhone apps. It was hard decision, but I had to try it or I would hate myself later.

It seemed as if there were PLENTY of Photoshop and After Effects tutorials floating around the web, but when it came to Cinema 4D, I was one of only a few. Especially when it came to showing how to use 3D for Motion Graphics and Logo Design instead of flying spaceships and crap like that. The site took off like crazy.

What percentage of your work is for clients and what percentage is for personal business and other non-business or more artistic projects?

After I left Digital Kitchen, I have had no clients. All my income has been from my own projects and products. Sometimes I do work for my friends if they need a quick logo animation or something like that. But it's never for money. Always for favors or beer. It's quite liberating actually. I didn't get into this stuff for clients, I got into it to make cool stuff.

Educating others has become a big part of your business model, and you're not just educating people about your own products but offering useful tutorials, open forums with feedback to others learning, etc... Has this helped your business grow? Does this interaction help you come up with new ideas for teaching topics and new product development?

The speaking and educating part has been an exciting part of this year. I get to talk to students and try to help them though this crazy design stuff. There are so many things that I wish people would have told me when I got started in all this. Now, I get to be that guy. It's weird, but fun. As far as being good for business. I think there is an aspect of that. People get to know me though the live show, podcast and speaking gigs. They trust me or at least like what I am saying. Then, when I have something to sell that people think is useful, like an iPhone app or a plugin, they trust me that it's not a peice of crap. Really though, the education thing is fun enough to do separately from selling a bunch of stuff.

People get to know me though the live show, podcast and speaking gigs. They trust me or at least like what I am saying. Then, when I have something to sell that people think is useful, like an iPhone app or a plugin, they trust me that it's not a peice of crap.

With some of your products in mind... Why can slight color variations make such a huge difference visually and emotively?

Color is hugely important in the work I do. When using most software, lights and colors usually default to 100% black or white and most people tend to leave things there. Even in Photoshop, the defaults are 100% black and 100% white. When people make things "Black" or "White" they tend to use these defaults. It almost always makes for a boring and unrealistic design. One thing I talk a lot about is the idea that nothing in real life is 100% black or white. You should always add color and variation to everything you design. Adding slight variations in blacks and whites go a long way to making things more realistic and interesting. This took me a long time to figure out, but it's one of those things that makes a huge difference.

What's coming next for you?

What's next? I hope to continue posting fun or interesting stuff to my blog and to continue making more Photo based iPhone apps. I am also playing around with the idea of brining some of my iPhone Apps to the new Apple App store for use on desktops and laptops. Our CrossProcess app will probably be first out. It will allow you to take any of your digital photos and turn them into photos that look like they were shot on film and processed in the wrong chemicals. It gives them a really cool color and adds a TON of contrast. I'm really excited about that one.

Normal Colors Are For Babies

Pulled from the tag for his product, CrossProcess, the phrase "Normal Colors are For Babies" sums up quite well Nick's career path, i'd say. While many could never think of leaving a dream job, Nick choose to, and ended up supporting himself and a greater community of creatives in process.

When I found out that one of the photographers that I stalk, I mean uh, follow on twitter wrote a book on the subject of wedding photography, I had to buy it. I really didn’t even think about it. I saw the post that Fine Art Wedding Photography was released, immediately went to amazon on my phone and Jose Villa’s book arrived 48 hours later.

So was it all I expected?

More.

What I expected was a book of some of his favorite images, how he goes about his day and then maybe some pointers. It is a comprehensive book about his whole career. He goes through all of the types of photos he takes during the wedding day, the technical aspects of it (down to his camera settings and film choices), his business practices, marketing, and how to move your business up to the next level. It is much more detailed than I anticipated… to the point that in some instances I thought, “I can’t believe he’s sharing all of this with everyone.”

One thing that I’ve always had a hard time doing is marrying my fine art background to wedding and portrait photography. Jose does just that, and does it beautifully. He taught me to not be afraid of grain or blur… that it can sometimes give life and energy to the images.

i.e. – this shot of the bride and groom dancing (on left). The groom has a bit of motion blur to him, but it shows the energy of what’s really happening.

For this shot, I upped the ISO and lowered the aperture for the low light. I love that the bride and groom have a little motion blur to them but you can still see the great expressions on their faces.

For reception shots he really focuses on capturing emotion. One of my favorite things is to capture those moments that nobody thinks anyone is watching.

The black and white image on the left page is an example of this with the focus on the emotions and reactions to the couple dancing. My take on emotion photography is similar.

Far Left // These ladies have such a different reaction to the dancing going on that it is one of my favorite images and makes me smile every time I see it.

Top Right // With the bride and groom dancing in the foreground, the parents of the bride look on. The mother wipes her tears away.

Bottom Right // The mother of the bride dancing with her new granddaughter-in-law.

I love the sweetness in this image. It takes a simple hug and turns it into a palpable moment between the bride and flower girl.

If you could only have one word to describe Jose Villa’s work I would say it would be elegance. There’s a beauty and sophistication to his images that comes with time and hard work.

One of the little nuggets of information that he gives is sections called “Lessons Learned” where he shares times that he’s made a mistake or two and what he’s learned from it. This gets a big “Hallelujah” in my book that even great photographers like Jose Villa can be real enough to share their mistakes. I applaud him for these little sections and make notes for myself.

During the marketing section he talks about getting featured on blogs and magazines. Most of the publications like to see lots of detail pictures. These are some of my favorite things to photograph because it brings individuality to each wedding. It also shows the bride that you’ve noticed all of her hard work in the small details of her day.

Far Left // Guests grab a glass of champagne after the ceremony

Top Right // Bride putting on her shoes

Bottom Right // Grooms shoes

Some of the other topics that he discusses are the importance of the bridal portrait, bride and groom portraits & family portraits. Here are a few of my favorites from recent weddings.

I think that the book says without actually saying, that there are lots of photographers out there that will create images that are very “now”… but will they stand the test of time? Fine art photography will always be beautiful and will always "wow". No need for gimmicky editing or post effects. No need for quirky props or backdrops. Even though those can still be fun at times, creating your business or selecting a photographer for your wedding that does high-end fine art portraiture will always stand the test of time. You’ll never look back at your photographs and think, “what were we thinking?”

His book is an instant classic for me and a definite “go-to” for inspiration. I will definitely be flipping though it again and again as a refresher and bout of encouragement before all of my weddings.

True wedding photography is a fine art. And Jose Villa is a fabulous artist.

Want a Copy Signed by Jose Villa? We have three!

Basic rules to be a contestant in a random drawing from the comments:

• - You must leave a comment with either your photography website/blog OR a photographer's site you adore.
• - We'd also like to hear why you think you deserve/want this book.

Contest will run from today, Thursday, May 12th through Thursday, May 19th, 2011. You must be a COLOURlover to be entered (to be able to leave a comment) so register if you need to!

Jose Villa

Jose Villa is one of today's most in-demand wedding photographers with his cutting edge style of fine art wedding photography. Fine Art Wedding Photography shows you how to produce the lush, stylized images modern brides love. Complete with lessons learned and camera detail settings, a must have book for every wedding photographer.

You can purchase a signed copy of the book from the book website. The book is also sold at the following locations (on/offline): Amazon.com, BORDERS, Barns & Noble and INDIBOUND.

Jose's Blog - josevillablog.com | Book Site | Follow Jose on Twitter - @josevilla