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

In honor of Caitlin & Steven's Big Day...

These were done in the cold rain here at the PruneYard and yep, we had an awesome time!
Proof that you don't need trees and pretty-pretty in the background (or even daylight) to get some fun and emotive engagement session images! Just great light and a carefree attitude. Maybe some latte?
I can't wait to see you two this weekend!

Christina's got some eyes!

Ahh, March! Engagement session time! I love it - I get to shoot gorgeous couples in love and get to know them a bit before the wedding. Yes!

I'm only just starting post production for Christina & Brian but I had to stop everything and post this. Whoo, that girl's got the fire eyes!

So I dug in a bit more and then, dang, so does Brian!