Engagement~ At the Beach

Another adorable couple who will be getting married later this summer. Stacey and Walter wanted their engagement photos done in Laguna Beach because they love the beach and spend as much time there together as possible. I've done a ton of family photos at the beaches in Laguna, but amazingly I had never shot at the beach in front of the Montage. It can get very crowded there in the Christmas photo season, so I usually avoid it in favor of one of the smaller, less popular coves of Laguna. But this being the beginning of summer, I thought it was a great idea when they suggested it.

Engagement~ In the Fields

I photograph between 20-30 weddings a year working for other photographers, yet I don't consider myself a wedding photographer. It's something I market myself as or a type of photography I pursue. Don't get me wrong, I love love love photographing weddings! But I like to leave the business end of wedding photography to those that are better suited for it. But this year, I've had a number of friends or friends of friends contact me about shooting their wedding- so this is the year I just might have to think of myself as a wedding photographer! After about 100 weddings under my belt, I guess it's time?

These two lovebirds are getting married in August in Newport Beach!

I'm So Excited to be Able to Share!!

I'm so excited to be able to share this image from US Weekly! I was so incredibly honored to be able to second shoot this wedding for the amazingly talented Christine Bentley from Christine Bentley Photography. I have been working with Christine this last year as her second shooter but was still honored and shocked to be asked to join the team of amazingly talented photographers who attended and captured the moments from this day! I don't post most of the work I do with Christine. She is an incredible wedding photographer and I want the spotlight to stay on her for her talent... but I had to share this one! The three part series will air on September 2nd on Bravo.

A Blustery Day

I woke up Sunday morning, long before the sun was up, to howling winds outside. Branches crashing, umbrellas falling, even chairs and outdoor furniture scraping long the ground from the strong winds. And those winds never let up! It was a Blustery Day, as Pooh Bear might say! I had two sessions that day, and I was being to worry neither of them might work.

The first was an adorable couple. "H" called me last minute, after being referred by his sister. I didn't realize it was just going to be the two of them until we meet Sunday morning at the beach. "H"'s new wife "A" had to fly back home to Europe that afternoon, so there was little time to discuss things such as "how big is your family?". But it was a pleasant surprise! Lucky for us, the cove I chose was somewhat protected by the wind.
We were not so luck that afternoon!



You may recognise the girls "R" and "M", and maybe even little Mr. "N" from last year. The girls with the stunning eyes! We tried to do the whole family this time- but Mother Nature did really want to cooperate. The winds never let up- they howled all day! But we thought we would give it a go anyway. Unfortunatly, I didn't think about how, after all the dust was blown around all day, it might affect the clarity of the images. Not to mention it made for bad hair! We gave it our best- but this one is going to have to be a reshoot. The dust and other stuff in the air, just made for images that are not sharp enough for my taste. Did I mention that not only was it windy, it was COLD!



And to top it off... "N" puked all over at the end!

Wedded Bliss

I don't do many weddings by myself, I much prefer to work with my good friend and talented wedding photographer, Tracie Taylor. But when friends of ours asked if I would photograph their daughter's wedding, I agreed. Lucky for me it was not going to be a big one- those just put me right over the edge! Give me a screaming toddler any day :0)

We started, like all good weddings should, with an engagement photo session. "E" and "K" decided the rustic look was more their style then the beach- and when I saw their wedding colors, I think they made the perfect choice!

So much style! I loved what "E" and "K" chose for their wedding look! I love vintage! It was such a unique and fun wedding! Nothing pretentious or snobby! It was very "real"- including their love for each other. And I think my favorite "real" part is that "K" actually forgot "E"'s ring at his house in Long Beach! Mind you- the wedding was in San Clemente. They had to call one of their friends from up there, that was on their way to the wedding, to turn around, break into the house and get the ring!!

I was playing around with slideshow applications from a company called animoto and I thought I would post it here

Beautiful Bride

You might recognize this beautiful bride from a wedding I did with Tracie Taylor a few weeks back. These are traditionally called "Day After" photo shoots, but they don't always have to be...the day after. Sometimes it takes 2 or 3 weeks until one realizes that their dress is just going to sit in the closet and do nothing for the next 10, 15, 20 years- our daughters will never wear it (would you wear your mom's??) so why not get some great shots in it before it turns yellow?!

Done with/for Tracie Taylor

So True!

I had the privilege of shooting a wedding this weekend with my friend and fellow photographer Tracie Taylor. As those who regularly read my blog know, Tracie and I have done quite a few wedding together. Well, I have to say...this is the most truly truly in love couple we have photographed. They were so sweet!! C and E it was an honor to be present at the joining of your hands in marriage!

A beautiful day for a wedding!

Once again I was the second shooter at a Tracie Taylor Photography wedding. My much preferred place to be at weddings! I love to be able to stand back and capture the details and the small things while Tracie's personality is much better suited for being the leader and helping make the bride and groom feel just how special their wedding day is! Together we work really well together!! As a matter of fact...look for a join venture in the future! We make a great team and I think we will go really far in the wedding industry together!

Well, we had another great adventure together last week when we shot the wedding of J and A, (along with J's two adorable daughters) here in Dana Point and Laguna Beach. They are such a beautiful couple together! And the wedding was spectacular! Once I convince Tracie that she needs to update her blog I will post links to it so that you can see her take on the day (she's not too into the blog thing...yet!). For now you get my view:

Engagment

I went along with Tracie Taylor to shoot this adorable couple for their engagement photos. I will be the second shooter at their weeding in April. I really like being the second shooter at weddings and not the primary one (as I've mentioned before). And Tracie is always so much fun to work with! I can't wait.

I'm not sure whos idea it was to do it in the morning?? AM shoots are not Tracie's usual idea of fun (AM is not Tracie's idea of fun at all!) It was darn cold at the beach at 7 am! There was frost on the rooftops as I drove to meet up with Tracie. But the sky was beautiful!! Crystal clear after weeks of rain!

Here is a little peak at what I captured:

A One of a Kind Wedding

I was asked by my mom to photograph the wedding of two of her friends. They were going to have a civil ceremony before Christmas and a more formal church wedding sometime in the spring.

Let me tell you, it was one of the most unique weddings! It was so sweet! Both are in their 80's and widowed for a number of years. She had told my mom that she never imaged that she would ever marry again but she found her prince charming. And he just radiates kindness. Here are a few from their civil ceremony wedding.

Introducing Mr and Mrs "C"!!

I really enjoyed photographing the new Mr. and Mrs. "C"!! They were relaxed and fun- as were the guests. And my favorite part was that she did something almost exactly the same as I did on my wedding day! "C" if don't remember- ask me. It was cute!!

It was a beautiful autumn California day and perfect for a wedding!! Here is a sneak peak:

Mike & Coreen

We did the engagement session for the wedding I will be doing at the end of September. What an awesome night!! Obviously I wasn't the only photographer to think so because the first spot we tried had 5 other photographers squished into 50 yards of beach! So we headed to a secret spot I know and got lucky- it was us and the beachgoers.

We had a lot of fun getting sandy and wet! Here are a few of my favorite shots from the evening:

A Beautiful Day for a Wedding

A beautiful day to attend a wedding, but a bit too hot to photograph one! I was the second shooter with Tracie Taylor Photography again this weekend. I really do enjoy being the second shooter for weddings. I can stand back and capture the smaller moments as I have less of the stress. Here are a few of those moments as I captured them: