599 Blackhawk Club Drive
Danville, CA 94506-4522
(925) 736-6550
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Photographer’s Review
For the Bride/Groom: We really like Blackhawk as a wedding venue because it provides ample space to move and a good photographer shouldn’t be in anyones way at this place. Great service and the on-site coordinator is on every last detail. If you’d like a more techie review, please read on but don’t forget to check out our article on getting the most out of your wedding photographer.
Photographer’s review: This venue certainly is one of the more posh locals in the East Bay and works well for larger weddings. There is plenty of room to move around and the staff are very helpful and responsive to every need. The place is fancy and elegant, which is perfect if you like that sort of thing. It does not have the old, classic sort of feel. The ceremony area is usually set up so that the front is angled into a “V”, which makes it challenging for the photographer to get bride/groom faces. The angle that seems to work best is actually from behind and below the patio, near the shrubs. Then a telephoto can shoot up through the black iron railing to capture the bride reactions during the ceremony. The groom shot is tougher, since that same angle from the behind the patio would put you in the water. The ballroom is spacious but high ceilings won’t help much to bounce your flash. They have an in-house projector and screen but no digital video connectors for Mac (we bring our own).
One knows on the drive into the Blackhawk Country Club that they’re not in Kansas anymore. The treelined road approaching the club has by far the largest mansions we’ve ever seen and provide interesting possibilities for portraits. The entryways to any number of these homes could grace the cover of Sunset magazine.
Lighting notes: East Bay in the summer means there probably won’t be clouds. Prepare for harsh light and hot day during the summer. The reception ball room has high, wood/ white painted panelling.
Equipment
Body: Nikon D3, D200
Lenses: Nikon 12-24 2.8, 70-200 2.8, 16 2.8 fisheye, 85 1.4
Flash: Nikon SB900, 40″ umbrella
Pro-line projector & 60″ portable projection screen (not used since BH has in house projection)
Click here for pictures from our Blackhawk weddings
