Archive for April, 2008

{ A First }

When I first became interested in wedding photography, there were a few things I did.

I upgraded to a shiny new camera. I researched and bought lenses (and freaked out about how they were more expensive than the camera itself). I read books. I blog-stalked wedding photographers whose work I loved. I contacted some of those photographers, and prayed that they would spare a few moments of their spectacular wedding photography lives to grab my flailing newbie hand out of the sea of photography jargon & post-processing techniques & business practices and point me a bit in the right direction.

The Furious Photographers were the first to come to my rescue and my first real contact within the wedding photography realm. It just so happens that they were planning their very first workshop right when I emailed them. It was an awesome workshop filled with a bunch of priceless tips and the chance to shadow a real live engagement session.

Which is basically how I found myself, camera in hand, at my first real live wedding 2 weeks ago, shadowing Lawrence & Doug of FP. The wedding couple Sharon & Derek were in fact the same couple at the engagement session back in January and are both amazing amazing people. They were so kind for letting me come along and so sweet and easy to get along with. Their wedding had an adorable Disney theme – I especially loved how the tables were labeled after Disneyland rides (a la “Splash Mountain” and “Matterhorn”) and included a nostalgic picture of Sharon & Derek in front of the ride. And seriously, as they celebrated their amazing love among their closest family & friends it really did feel like – you guessed it – the Happiest Place on Earth :)

A big thank you to Sharon & Derek for allowing me to share their day with them. And of course a huge thank you to Lawrence & Doug for inviting me to tag along, for being so patient, and for giving me useful tips throughout the day!

A few shots…

Mirror mirror on the wall…



Mirror mirror off the wall (thanks to Lawrence’s quick thinking)

And while the mirror’s off the wall…

Bridesmaids at work…

Sharon is all smiles (and so stress-free – I was in awe!!)

Sharon’s adorable niece all dolled up!

With her mom right before stepping out of the limo (into the blistering heat… it was like 85!!)

Doug & Derek are rebels.

Some portraits before the reception…

One thing I love about Sharon & Derek is the way they interact with each other. I love love LOVE couples who are silly together!!

Tell me this cake isn’t rad:

Can you guess who caught the bouquet?

At the end of the day, after the bouquet was tossed, thanks were given, dances were danced, Lawrence & Doug had a final treat for the couple. We all went into the parking lot and did some light painting! The bridal party got really into it and we tried all sorts of different things – hearts, blown kisses, lightsaber battles, hadouken balls – it was such a cool idea and so much fun to execute. Here’s a little sample from the FP blog:

{ A Mini-Adventure }

As we were driving back from the birthday party in my last entry, I kept noticing the gorgeous yellow wildflowers. Some growing along the median, along the hillsides that lined the freeway – they were everywhere, they were uber spectacular, and I could not stop talking about them for the life of me. It’s no wonder Scott finally suggested we pull over and try to find a field. (Either that or I somehow uncontrollably veered off the road into one.)

I’ve been admiring all the beautiful wildflower sessions so many photographers have been doing recently and have been obsessed with finding the perfect field of flowers. This one we stumbled upon was pretty amazing. A huge field of tall flowers, a gorgeous mountain backdrop, and a dirt parking lot allowing you to pull right up to the field! We ran around for a bit taking some fun shots with a tripod, dubbing them “self-engagement photos” (maybe the next big trend? [note to Mom: we are NOT actually engaged]) before heading back to the car. We were about to head straight home, but the little cluster of stores across the street from the field caught our eye and we ended up making a last minute decision to check it out.

And there begins the next adventure. Tom’s Farms is like Disneyland for people who like Trader Joe’s. A fruit/vegetable stand, wine & cheese shop, candy store, pizza parlor, a bunch of small booths selling jewelry, belts, and other knickknacks. We loaded up on chips & fresh guacamole, vegetable focaccia, fudge, rocky road, and bunches of other sweets and grubbed on them in the little park area, complete with a pond, carousel, and bright yellow train. Definitely need to make a trip back there sometime, especially since we didn’t get to hit up “Shed World” (Scott’s eyes lit up when he saw it as if it were Tomorrow Land.) Anyway, a definite stop to make if you’re ever in the Corona area!

Some pictures chronicling our adventures…

Setting up the tripod…



Strange field wildlife.

Jumping for joy! This shot took about 12 times to get. Scott got air every time but I kept looking like I was just standing in the flowers with my hands above my head.

>Tom’s Farms!

Picnicky area…

Inspired by Kaga Takeshi (of Iron Chef fame)


Speaking of Disney/Disneyland, this past Saturday marked a very exciting opportunity for me. Blogging will come soon, but until then here’s a little hint

{ Happy Birthday Christian & Brooke! }

What were all the things that made a birthday party awesome as a kid? A jumper slide was one. Lots of bubbles was another. A personalized cake that you can dig your fingers right into? Doesn’t get much better than that!

I had the honor of photographing a party on Saturday that had all of this and more! Twins Christian and Brooke were turning the big TWO and had a spectacular party to celebrate, full of family and friends. Those two are lucky to be born into such a cool family – everyone was super friendly and always making sure we had enough to eat and drink – they even packed us plates full of food and cake to go!

It was an awesome party and the fun of the day spilled over onto the drive back, as we happened upon a couple exciting places, but that shall be saved for a separate entry. Until then some party pics!

Some details… I love the green theme!


Balloons galore:





Meet Christian:



Fervently comparing chip size…







Meet Brooke:









The jumper slide!


Grandma has a go :)



Some goodies…





A few more fun moments…



Brooke looks a little disconcerted in this photo, but she’s really in the midst of saying “cheeeeeese!”





Time for the cake! This one’s for the guests…



…but Brooke & Christian get their very own!





The damage: