A blog hacker? What?!

Hello everyone! I got some icky news from the tech team redesigning our blog. It's been hacked not once, but twice. Huh? Quite honestly, what poor schmoe has nothing better to do than spend time hacking into the blog of a photographer? Unless they really want to use some of the photos I've posted as their wallpaper...

So until I get the word, I'm gonna lay a bit low on the blog. You can always follow me on twitter or facebook in the meantime. Happy summer!

Congrats to Dianne & Mike! Palm Event Center, Pleasanton

Man, that's what I get for trying to do five things at once - I wanted SO badly to post this before the entire wedding was released to Dianne & Mike so I could surprise them. Dangit! A huge congrats and hugs to you both...

E-Session: Tiffany & Javier

Rose Garden, at high noon. Am I a total idiot? Even newbie photogs know that you don't shoot at high noon. Everyone gets icky bags under the eyes since the light is coming smack down from above. But Tiffany and Javier didn't have much of a choice - with their jobs, it was lunchtime or nuthin'! And honestly, I can't think of a more fun way to spend lunch than biking around the Rose Garden with my man and having multiple excuses for us to snuggle and kiss. Awww. :D So we found some trees, got creative, and had a blast. Know why I love e-sessions so much? It's because it's a great, no-stress, yes-fun way to really get to know how a couple interacts. How does he look at her? Does she giggle or full-on laugh at his jokes? Are they kissy or more reserved? In general, the more active a couple is with each other, the more evocative their images. So if a couple's more reserved, it's up to me to work with them in small ways to get a bit of interaction between them.
Their big day is this summer at Cathedral Basilica of St. Joseph and the stunning Nestldown. I can't wait!

Here's who gets me up in the morning...

Meet Alex and Nicole. They live together, raise their dogs and their garden together, and thank god almighty, make coffee together. I swear, Alex is the only human being who knows the secret of how to make a soy latte. Nicole's is pretty bada** too. hehehe I love you two! You can find them in the mornings at Coffee Society in the PruneYard.

Congrats to Melanie & Mike! Clos la Chance Winery

The perfect example of an idyllic wedding - two gorgeous people in love under as close to a Tuscan sun as California can get. Melanie & Mike, I loved spending your big day with you!

Location: Clos la Chance Winery, San Martin
Planners: At Your Request, Saratoga
Floral Design: Ingela Floral Design, Campbell
Catering: Le Papillon, Saratoga

Still need a gown? Huge sample sale at Gabrielle's!

Gabrielle's Bridal Atelier is throwing a sample sale May 29th and 30th at their Los Gatos location located at 104 University Ave., Los Gatos, CA 95030. This is a true sale - Gabi's getting ready to move into her new storefront location (along with the amazing Nicole Lisanne of Nicole Lisanne Weddings & Events By Design) less than a half mile from me here in Campbell. That means making room rather than packing. Yipee!

Gowns will be 50-70% off!!!

Call or e-mail to make an appointment at 408-399-9393 or appointment@gabriellesbridal.com

Gowns will be 50-70% off. Did I mention that?

The gorgeous bride above is Talia, who speaks very highly of Gabrielle. It's where she found this beautiful Melissa Sweet gown.

Armando Sarabia, Stylist Extraordinaire!

Any excuse I can get to photograph my friends in action, OR photograph my friends looking all gorgeous, I'll jump on it.

So when I found out my friends from Casa Real and Palm Event Center were going to have a special "what to do with your own makeup" session with one of my favorite stylists, Armando Sarabia, well...I got a two-fer!



Armando is a true talent, so much so that he's ridiculously booked up doing hair and makeup styling for brides and others. He was even on a recent episode of Who's Wedding Is It Anyway?! You can find him at Get Your Do Up.

A few fun shots from the day!

Introducing de la Nuit Boudoir Photography. Bringing sexy back, 40s style!

I've always thought my biggest strength, what really separated my work from others, was my photojournalistic approach. Ninja with a camera, gettin' all the moments, you know? And most of my couples agree - they hire me because they want as little fuss and muss when it comes to portraits, preferring to go through family portraits quickly and efficiently so that as much time as possible is spent on my candids. And they love that, even if we only have five minutes, we can still get some fun couple portraits and get them back to their party ASAP.

But I've found over the last two years just how much fun I've been having with my bridal portraits. Yes, we're fast with the family shots, but if a bride and/or groom gives us plenty of time to shoot the two of them, I'll take it! :D Heck, I could shoot them all day!

So when my friend Maria Chang of Professional Makeup Artistry (yes, one of the best I've ever worked with!) teamed up with Jen Skog to offer couture boudoir portraits, I was intrigued. I'd met Jen briefly at Una Bella Sera at Casa Real and just loved her. And when I saw her boudoir site, I was floored. Couture most definitely! Jen has this amazing way of making every woman look like she should be a model and that you're reading a fashion magazine.

But would I be comfortable shooting naked people? Eek!

So I thought about it. And I talked with Maria and Jen when they both kindly and generously donated their time to Project Smile (see previous posts). They formed a partnership, offering styling and shooting to create these magical images. I thought about it a little more. Then I talked with another of my favorite stylists and Project Smile volunteer, Monina Wright of Natural Images. She'd been toying with boudoir, too!

We came up with a unique approach, one that I couldn't find with other boudoir sites. And I most definitely wanted to leave the couture to Jen and Maria, since I'm convinced that Vogue should be begging Jen to shoot for them! I've always loved movies from the 30s through the late 40s - the cinematography has always blown me away, and that super saturated feel of the black and whites is what I strive for in my own work. Wow, what if we did a type of boudoir that was similar? And what if it told a bit of a story, too? I knew I wasn't into the "show it all" style I'd been seeing, but more of the suggestive style, like they did in the 30s and 40s, but with a more contemporary twist.

And no way was I only going to shoot women. I really wanted men to want to do these, too! I would LOVE to see my hubby looking dapper like Cary Grant, with a starched shirt undone and his hair slicked, looking like the most fascinating and sexy man ever. So I bet there are tons of other ladies out there that would want this for their birthday/anniversary/holiday/groom's gift.

So Monina and I decided to go for it. And with a very generous gift of the penthouse suite at the beautiful PruneYard Plaza Hotel for the day (have you seen this place? It's gorgeous!), we asked my couples past and present if they'd like to be involved. The response was amazing! We actually had to turn a few away. Wow, were we onto something?

So Friday the 1st, Monina and I started at 9 am and didn't stop until 9 pm. Whew! Monina and I talked with each person or couple, thinking about the style that they most represented. One of my clients looked unbelievably sexy when she smiled, but the one right after her looked so much sexier when she didn't. I had clothes and lingerie and hats and jewelry - the jewelry! Monina's friend Bonnie Harper of One World Designs showed up with piles of the coolest bridal and costume jewelry. There were rhinestone edged blushers, and feather hair clips, and pearls and gleaming glam and we could use whatever we wanted. Yay, Bonnie!

But what really made me smile was how FUN everyone made it. They brought bags full of things, one guy even went as far as doing a full on shopping spree the week before. Nice! It was like a big costume event, with a lot of goofy fun and some sexy thrown in here and there. We had upbeat music going, and my assistant Jen, who is just as much of a goofball as I am, would be boppin' to the music while holding reflectors or adjusting backdrops.

So here's a taste of what we were able to get. Most are body parts until we get full permission - no way I'll post faces until I get an okay from my clients, ya know? ::grin:: PLEASE, tell me what you think, either by email or post it here on the blog. Is this something you'd do? And what would you do with the images? Right now we're thinking that a "pillow talk" book would come with each shoot...

Amanda Marries Zech!

What a way to ring in Spring. I fell in love with Amanda & Zech last winter, when I discovered that they were up for shooting in the cold winter rain for their engagement session. And talk about being crazy about each other. Wow!

So when the wedding day came, and I realized that their families were just as special and wonderful as they were, well, I covered the wedding more like Amanda's big sister and Zech's favorite aunt. I think there's even a shot that Kelvin got of the big hug Zech and I gave each other when he arrived at the Palm Event Center!

Two of my favorite moments, and an extra one that I didn't see until I started doing the post production:

1. The one I didn't see was Zech's face when he saw Amanda coming down the aisle. Yay Kelvin for catching that while I was with her and her dad as they came up the aisle!
2. The ball and chain. A big tradition in Zech's family - he had to do a lap around the Palm Event Center (and that's not a small place!) with a bowling ball shackled to his leg. Yeowch.
3. Tained Love. I'm lucky, I've gotten to hear them now twice in 6 months! I think the guitarist recognized me this time. If you haven't heard them, it will make you think twice about how vital good entertainment, be it DJ or band, is to a wedding reception. You could even ask Amanda's dad - the band was an extra special treat for the newlyweds! Yep, he's that awesome of a dad...

Kelvin and I really do have the best job in the world. And the best couples. I'd put my couples up against anyone, anyday! Down to earth, funny, sweet, and of course, gorgeous inside and out. Congrats you two!

Yay for Amanda & Zech!

Here are a few from my very very fun, very in love couple Amanda & Zech, married a few weeks ago at the gorgeous Palm Event Center. Slideshow coming soon, Amanda! :D

It's spring, which means it's engagement session time!

Ligaya & Paulo just made my day. So in love, and so happy, and just so much fun to hang out with. Here are a few of my faves from our recent session:
And I gotta say, Ashley & Allan looked amazing during their shoot with Kelvin! I don't know how they did it, but check out the amazing wall of yellow flowers...

Zippie whoo! I won two!

Competition is getting fierce. But hey, I still placed two out of my 5 entries! Yipee! If you're interested, go visit the Wedding Photojournalist Association. Truth and real moments wins out over Extreme Photoshopping, at least in my little world. ::grin::

Una Bella Sera 2009 is almost here!

Okay, I'm ridiculously excited about this...

Una Bella Sera is a very unique showcase of vendors from around the Bay area, designed to be more of a party than an overwhelming "eesh, too much stimulation!" experience at some bridal fairs.

It'll be April 5th (that's coming up soon!), at the Julia Morgan Ballroom in the Merchants Exchange Building in San Francisco. Some of my very favorite vendors, from styling to cakes to yes, other photographers, will be there to say hi and answer questions. We'll be milling about just like you so that you don't feel funny about going up to a booth.

The highlight of the whole day is the amazing decor and table designs by Nicole Ha (floral design) and Amazae Special Events' Crystal LeQuang (event designer and planner). They're the masterminds behind the show and dang, if they aren't two very talented people.

Here's a link to the site - you must register and soon! - www.unabellasera.com. And the invite, too...see you there!

It may feel weird, but trust me...

One of the reasons why I always always always give my couples an engagement session before the wedding is because it's really more of a "get comfy" session. No really! I want to get to know my couples, and for them to get to know me. I'm a total goofball! Perfect example - today with Silvia and Danny, I actually squished my face in to show what happens when you pose cheek to cheek without pulling away a bit.
(Speaking of Silvia & Danny...this is him trying to kiss her and she's not letting him! Fun!)

Portrait sessions are hard! They're scary and intimidating and you want your images to look good but you don't want to "model up" and where the heck do you look, right? So by getting my couples comfy with me, with each other and most importantly, with my big a@@ camera, within 20 minutes it starts to get fun. But those first 20 minutes can be a little unsettling.

Some of the comments I might get back are, "this kinda feels weird" or "really, lean over that much?" or "what the heck do you mean like a turtle?"

I thought that maybe I'd share with the three people who read this blog (grin) what goes into a few of the shots. First, the story, then the photo.
Melanie and Mike and I were wandering around Santana Row when I gasped. "Oh my gosh, this is awesome! Can you two lean down all the way to me?" Yeah, they felt really stupid, but I was able to lie on the ground (almost) and get the sillouette of the M on the building behind them.
I love this shot. It's sexy and anonymous and yet so sweet and touching! I had to keep moving the grape vines so I could get just the right amount to circle their lips. Poor Kat & Scott just had to keep kissing and kissing, I'm sure that was annoying. hehehe

Back to Melanie & Mike - I was so impressed when we were all able to pull this off without laughing. I told them I wanted to see a little passion, and showed Melanie exactly where to put her back against the wall, and Mike I told to get as close as he could with his face - then just...just..just touch a tiny bit. Steamy!

So what to remember during the portrait session? If you like the work they do, then trust your photographer. Yeah, he or she may have you doing some of the weirdest things, but it'll look yummy. :D