Here is the link to Amber and Nathan’s wedding slideshow. The song is the song that they danced to for their first dance, which I thought was really beautiful and perfect for this awesome couple. Enjoy!
Click here for the slideshow!
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I spent Saturday in Santa Barbara at the University Club shooting Alison & Steve’s lovely, very fun wedding. I’m a little behind on blogging and know I still need to post Amber & Nathan’s slideshow, but I wanted to get these images up asap.
The University Club was built in 1919 and has a very charming and classic atmosphere. It’s just a coincidence that two weekends in a row I’ve been able to shoot in an old-school setting with very classic and formal decor (after shooting Amber and Nathan’s wedding last weekend at the Camarillo Ranch mansion). So, I took advantage of the decor once again with some fun indoor portraits and off-camera lighting.
As you can see, we had some wedding portrait crashers. These are Steve’s nieces, the flower girls, after they changed out of their adorable dresses.
This pose was her very own idea… She was definitely working the camera.
As a side note, my beautiful, talented sister was my assistant on this wedding. She is seriously very talented behind the camera and was so much fun to have there. Hayley, you rock! 
Here she is being a great model for some lighting test shots.
And here she is hard at work during the reception.
Happy Monday, everyone!
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Like I’ve said, I love Amber and Nathan! Thanks to a referral from my friend Brandon’s wife Amanda, I was introduced to Amber earlier this year and it was love at first talk. We spent our whole first conversation talking about shoes while planning for their fabulous engagement session which we were able to shoot at Nathan’s fire station! (Super cool shoot… see it here.)
Well, their wedding day went off without a hitch thanks to their fabulous coordinator Vanessa of Cachet Wedding Designs. You should definitely call Vanessa if you’re in need of a great coordinator in Southern California.
It was truly a gorgeous day filled with emotion and everyone involved had a great time. Thanks to Meg for helping me shoot this wedding and for creating a moment before the wedding that we will always have to laugh about. Don’t worry, Meg, I’ll never publish the details of what happened. 
I have TONS of favorites from this wedding, it was super tough to narrow them all down. Here are my top 24 or so favorites… I’ll be posting a slideshow soon!
The fab blue shoes on the left! They went perfectly with the decor of this upstairs bedroom at the fantastic mansion that is on the property of Camarillo Ranch.
Amber’s first look at herself in the mirror. I think she was half shocked by the tule explosion… her term, not mine. How stunning is she?!
I was totally inspired by the classic feel of this mansion in so many ways. Here are two more photos of the very fierce bride.
Then we went downstairs to test some lighting for portraits on this couch. I love this moment of Amber putting on her garter.
When Amber booked her wedding with me, she was talking about the venue and said, “There’s a red barn!” Needless to say, I was as excited as she was! Meg and I had a great time shooting here… bright sun and all.
The girls wanted to do some shots with personality. I think this jumping shot captures their energy perfectly.
I call this Amber’s Frollick.
The portrait session on the couch.
This room just oozed classic, stoic portrait.
A great series that captures the essence of Amber and Nathan’s individual personalities. Can you see how they are just perfect for each other? How fabulous is this wallpaper, btw?!
One of my favorites of the romantic photos.
This is my friend Brandon’s niece. She was so not into the camera– that is until she flopped upside down and hung from her dad’s arms– then she could handle the photos.
The ceremony.
I loved how these two seemed to float back down the aisle after saying “I do.”
Something Amber was pretty upset about was the fact that her brother Michael was going to be unable to attend her wedding because he is in the military and is currently deployed. A few weeks ago Michael contacted me and told me he wanted to send a video greeting to Amber and the rest of the family to surprise her on her wedding day and wanted to know if I could help. Of course, I said I would do anything I could. So, after the ceremony and before the grand entrance Meg and I gathered the family around my laptop in the dining room of the mansion and began the video. Amber was stunned and it was a very special moment for the whole family. Michael, thank you for your service! Get home safe, your family misses you.
The first dance. I just love the movement in Amber’s dress.
Nathan’s dance with his mom.
An exterior shot of the mansion at Camarillo Ranch.
Amber and Nathan — I can’t tell you how much it means that I was able to shoot your wedding. Your confidence in and enthusiasm for my work makes what I do worthwhile. I am so lucky to have gotten to know you this year and look forward to seeing how your life together unfolds. Hope you are having a rocking time in Antigua!
Slideshow will be posted soon.
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Amber and Nathan were married last Friday…
Words cannot express how much I love and appreciate Amber and Nathan. They are two of the most fun, loving and friendly people and I am so lucky to have been able to be involved in their special day. I am also honored to call them both friends now after having been able to get to know them ever since I shot their engagement session back in April.
Here is one photo from their awesome wedding. Many more to be posted very soon!
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Donna and John were married one year ago today, and that’s just insane. I cannot believe how quickly this year has gone by. Although so much has happened in my life professionally and personally the past 12 months, it still feels like it wasn’t that long ago all of us ladies were scrambling getting ready for the wedding day.
Congratulations, Donna & John. I love you both so much! Here’s to many more years just like this one.
Since I was in the wedding, I didn’t do a whole lot of shooting… but here are the images I did manage to capture.
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Meg has posted some of the photos she took of me last week at our double portrait session. Here’s one of my favorites– a fun series we shot in Los Feliz Village, but check out her full post and give her some comment love!
Speaking of comment love… seriously, post comments when you stop by a blog. At my wedding on Friday for the fabulous Amber and Nathan (to be posted soon), I met some lovely people who told me they love my blog and read it daily (thanks to the encouragement of Amber), but that they never leave comments. After expressing my grattitude, I asked them why the never leave comments and they couldn’t give me an answer. So, I know you blog stalkers are out there and I would love to express my appreciation to all of you for checking out my work… but I can’t if I don’t know who you are. Let this be a new day… leave some comment love.
Happy Monday, everybody!
7 Comments » Posted by admin / My Life and Portraits & Fun and Just a thought...
Here are some more images from my day with the lovely and talented Meg Perotti. Seriously, we had so much fun together! I’m so lucky to be able to work with her and call her a good friend… LA would not be the same for me without this woman!
This was one of our first locations… and outfits. I just love this shot. I think it may be my favorite. It reminds me of a girl exploring the secret garden or something… Anyone feel me on that one?
Then we went to this great secret location that Meg new about. I loved it! Great light and a cool, rustic feel.
Amazing light! This shot is also one of my favorites from the entire day.
This gate is the gate to the Ennis House, which I never even knew was in the hills above Los Feliz. I seriously love that neighborhood… you can see something new everyday. The gate looked so awesome with that amazing dress she is wearing!
Serene…
…and sassy!
And, let’s not forget the silly side of Meg.
Then we went to this open field (yes, an open field in LA!) and had some fun with this great chair from Meg’s apartment.
This was the result of a wacky, artistic vision I had. It worked out perfectly.
Meg,
We so need to do this more often!
Happy Friday, everyone!
5 Comments » Posted by admin / Portraits & Fun
I spent Sunday afternoon in Los Feliz, one of the most amazing neighborhoods in Los Angeles. I was lucky enough to live there with Meg for a little over a year while attending grad school at USC. It was one of those things that just happened because of perfect timing, and we had some GREAT times living there together. I love that area so much and it was great to spend an afternoon there…
The purpose for our day together was to get some portraits of each other for our Web sites and blogs. And, thanks to some amazing locations around that area and some great light, we got some great images! It’s always a good time shooting with Meg, but normally we are shooting other people. It was quite a different experience to shoot each other, but it was tons of fun! If you have been reading my blog, even for just a little while, I’m sure you can tell that Meg and I are very close. We met while living in the dorms together at Cal State Long Beach, and we’ve been lucky enough to get going into this photography industry at about the same time. We have similar goals in business and in life in general, and our responses to the things that happen around us are often so similar, it’s surreal. We’ve shared some amazing experiences together (most recently– seeing an exclusive screening of the soon-to-be-released film Twilight complete with a conversation with the director!) and have fun together no matter what we’re doing.
I’m still going through all of the images, but this shot just popped out at me. First of all, how fabulous is Meg’s dress?? Totally Med Men-inspired. Second of all, doesn’t she look amazing? So elegant and ‘polished.’ (That last adjective is for you, Meg.):)
More from this shoot soon!
1 Comment » Posted by admin / Portraits & Fun
A couple weeks ago, I shot a great wedding with Kim Fox at the Adamson House in Malibu. (I’ll be posting a few images from that wedding soon. Visit Kim’s blog for her images.) In between shots of the bride and groom, and of the great party they had, I found myself snapping photos of the many gorgeous details that make the Adamson House one of my favorite places to shoot.
I adore the rustic feel of these details.
The tiles that cover the Adamson House are simply amazing.
This is my favorite detail shot.
Finally…. not a bad place to spend a Sunday afternoon…
2 Comments » Posted by admin / Just a thought...
I spent the day today at a great annual event hosted by Pictage, an online gallery and lab service that I currently use along with thousands of other photographers around the country. This event is a chance for photographers to get together and hear from some of the industry-leading photographers about key topics in our field — everything from the art of photography to pertinent business issues. I heard some great speeches today from some accomplished, knowledgeable photographers, and also got to meet and get to know other very talented, fun photographers from across the country!
I’ve been having a great time here, and am totally exhausted from being up far too early this morning and all the information my brain has had to process all day. And… tomorrow it starts all over again!
I’ll have more to talk about after tomorrow’s sessions… just all part of my constant effort to improve my art and my business!
1 Comment » Posted by admin / My Life and Just a thought...