Archive for the ‘Celebrate Love’ Category

Engagement Sessions: Breaking it Down.

October 26th, 2011

Brides have been asking lots of questions about engagement sessions lately. Everyone wants one, but isn’t quite sure how to go about making theirs unique. So I put together a quick reference for all of you lovebirds. Location The first hurdle is figuring out where you should have your photographs taken. Parks, historical landmarks and [...]
 

Brides have been asking lots of questions about engagement sessions lately. Everyone wants one, but isn’t quite sure how to go about making theirs unique. So I put together a quick reference for all of you lovebirds.

Location

The first hurdle is figuring out where you should have your photographs taken. Parks, historical landmarks and homes are almost always safe bets, but don’t forget to think outside of the box. Think about where you met, your first date, where he proposed. All great spots!

Not feeling it? How about a quirky location like a bowling alley, amusement park or an ice cream shop?

Torn? Some photographers will allow two locations for your engagement session if they are within reasonable distance. Just ask!

Theme

A theme is a fun way to spice up an engagement session and make being in front of the camera a little bit more comfortable. Are you and your honey into old black and white movies? Cuddle up on a couch with a bowl of popcorn for your session, or gear up in your modern day Casablanca ensembles. Are you sports fans?  Head out to an empty stadium, with all of your fan paraphernalia of course. Self-proclaimed foodies? Get in the kitchen and whip up something amazing. Whatever you are into, run with it!

 

One of my favorite theme additions is recreating a moment in time. Find a picture of your parents or grandparents when they were your age and recreate the pose!

Props

You’re bringing your beautiful faces and the bling ring, what else do you need? So you have a location and a theme, so now its time to add some detail. If you are having your session at a park, bring a blanket and a few goodies a la picnic in the park. If Union Station is the location of choice bring along some newspapers, magazines or a custom map… destination: wedding. Costume changes and personal items like love letters and gifts always make a session more interesting too. I always advise couples to bring 2 outfits, an every day outfit and something a little more formal.

 

Now that you’re going to have amazing engagement photos, don’t forget to use them to personalize your wedding. Engagement photos make great save the dates, photo guest books or decorations for your reception. Get the prints enlarged and display them on easels at your sign in table or desert bar or project them in a digital slideshow.

Tags / Categories / Comments

breaker

Celebrate Love | Thousand Oaks Engagement Photography {Sara & Todd}

October 6th, 2011

We went back and forth on locations. From hotels, to nature preserves, to gardens, finally deciding to meet at Conejo Creek Park in Thousand Oaks. Being that I’m not very familiar with the Conejo Valley I immediately did a Google Map search for this location. As the little red drop pin on the map came [...]
 

We went back and forth on locations. From hotels, to nature preserves, to gardens, finally deciding to meet at Conejo Creek Park in Thousand Oaks. Being that I’m not very familiar with the Conejo Valley I immediately did a Google Map search for this location. As the little red drop pin on the map came into view, I have to admit my heart rate sped up just a little bit… and I don’t mean in the I’m so excited kind of way. The green triangular splotch right off the 23 freeway was causing a slight panic attack as I realized it was a park. For some reason all I could imagine was a baseball field and direct sunlight. A photographers nightmare. So I did what I thought was best… I tried not to think about it.

When the day came around to capture Sara and Todd, I pulled up to the park and my sense of panic was amplified when I parked in one of 8 parking spots. EIGHT. As I sat staring at a picnic area that was occupied by a family reunion, I realized car after car whisking behind me. I thought to myself, where are all these cars going? I started my engine and followed a white Corolla into an oasis. Well, almost. The open space, the baseball field, the direct sunlight, that was all there. But so were these beautiful weeping willow trees and a fountain, and perfect backgrounds for an engagement session.  PHEW. Good thing I didn’t panic or anything…

Sara and Todd were such a fun couple to work with (with a great sense of style too!). I’m glad they introduced me to my new favorite place in Thousand Oaks!


Tags / Categories / Comments

breaker

Celebrate Love | Los Angeles Wood Ranch Golf Club Wedding {Danielle & Jair}

July 10th, 2011

In my last post about the Mike Colon shooting workshop I mentioned how I’ve fallen back in love with weddings. Well, is pretty serious. I’m talking spending Friday night watching TLC’s Say Yes to the Dress marathon serious… Grilling my non-engaged friends on wedding plans serious. Oh yes, I’m that girl right now. Its no [...]
 

In my last post about the Mike Colon shooting workshop I mentioned how I’ve fallen back in love with weddings. Well, is pretty serious. I’m talking spending Friday night watching TLC’s Say Yes to the Dress marathon serious… Grilling my non-engaged friends on wedding plans serious. Oh yes, I’m that girl right now. Its no wonder why I have time to sit at home on a Friday night watching TLC.

A few weekends ago I had the chance to not only witness the marriage of two good friends, but I was also the photographer! You may remember Danielle and Jair from their engagement session back in May. Well, they are now Mr. & Mrs.! As I mentioned before, Danielle and Jair are very good friends. Danielle met my hubby in college and stayed close friends over the years, when the significant others entered the picture (me and Jair) the friendship was second nature. Whats not to love about a couple who prefers bowling over bars, church over clubs and is willing to eat my soggy waffles on New Years morning… that’s another story.

I have to admit, I was a little flustered at the thought of being a guest and the photographer at this wedding. I get in a zone and its hard to take my foot off the gas sometimes. I tried to imagine ways to pose as a guest and sneak in some shots without seeming like the craziest “Uncle Bob” known to mankind. Ya… that wasn’t going to work. I even had thoughts of RSVPing “not attending” to the guest invite, or writing a note “please serve meal in the vendor area” so I could just do my thing. But my hubby was one of the best men and I din’t want to abandon him either. So I did what any smart photographer would do, I hired a second AND a third shooter. I am so lucky to have found two great photographers to work with me on this near and dear event. Lizzi and Valentina were so on top of things that I not only got a chance to make a day-of slide show, I actually got to inhale eat dinner at a guest table with my hubby, and I got a chance to DANCE! Successful wedding? YES!

*Normally I wouldn’t blog images from other shooters, but like I mentioned I was a guest at this wedding too, so there are some moments I didn’t photograph. In order to tell the story of the day I had to include some of the amazing shots from Lizzi and Valentina. :) (Thanks ladies!)

To see more of the wedding don’t forget to view the slideshow!

I’ve been to Danielle’s house many times, but this was the first time I really looked at her home. I couldn’t have asked for a better place to photograph a bride getting ready. The furniture, the lighting, the warm homey feeling. Danielle’s complete history is within these walls and every little inch told a story just like a fairytale.

Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue… Danielle’s incorporated such beautiful and meaningful pieces into her day. She tied her late father’s wedding ring into corset strings of her dress, she was blingin’ with her new round diamond drop earrings and her borrowed delicate diamond necklace and her tiny blue evil eye stone amulet was pinned inside her dress to ward off all the haters. You know what I’m talking about.

Did I mention Danielle has lived in this house until this very day? Like, this actual day. She won’t move into her new house until Jair finishes replacing the floors. Lucky for me, because I was able to get this awesome shot of her dress in her bedroom. An absolute favorite!

When I saw these shots, I knew my girls had it under control!

What a great shot of the groom Valentina!

Lizzi caught the boys trying to make an escape for the 1st tee! I’m sure it was all the cute bald guy’s idea!

Fierce! I love how they worked the serious look for the shot, then went right back to having fun!


Tags / Categories / Comments

breaker

All American Wedding Style

June 30th, 2011

I had an opportunity of a lifetime to learn from celebrity photographer Mike Colon. Mike is an amazing photographer and such a down to earth person! His workshops come highly recommended and I now know why. He’s an open book with years of experience, a resource that is not often accessible. As most of my readers [...]
 

I had an opportunity of a lifetime to learn from celebrity photographer Mike Colon. Mike is an amazing photographer and such a down to earth person! His workshops come highly recommended and I now know why. He’s an open book with years of experience, a resource that is not often accessible. As most of my readers know I have been on the fence about wedding photography, as I wasn’t sure it was the type of photography in which I wanted to specialize. Well after hanging out with the crew last week at the Southern California Mike Colon Shooting Workshop, I fell in love with wedding photography all over again. I mean what’s not to love? Abundant details, beautiful happy people, yummy light, and an opportunity to fulfill my entire intention behind photography, capturing people’s most cherished memories. Sounds magical right? That’s because it is! Proof is in the pictures!

 

Stylist:  Kat Harris, Mike Colón Photographers; http://www.mikecolon.com/kat/
Hair & Make-up:  Rachel Burney; http://rembaproductions.com/
Floral & Set Design:  Sussanna Davidson, French Buckets; http://www.frenchbuckets.com/
Linens:  Dahlia & Veronica:  Designer Specialty Linens-OC; www.designerspecialtylinens.com
Pies and Treats: Mary Lallande, Jays Catering; http://jayscatering.com/
Models:  Rachael and Henry ( http://www.brandmodelandtalent.com/ )
Bridal Attire:  Look 1:  Gown:  Cocoe Voci (http://www.cocoevoci.com/); Jewelry:  J.Crew (http://www.jcrew.com/index.jsp)
Look 2:  Dress:  Madewell (http://www.madewell.com/index.jsp); Shoes:  Calvin Klein (http://www.calvinklein.com/family/index.jsp?categoryId=3134553)
Groom Attire:  Look 1:  Suit & Tie:  Zara (http://www.zara.com/); Shirt:  J.Crew (http://www.jcrew.com/index.jsp)
Look 2:  Pant & Shirt:  Gap (http://www.gap.com/) Tie:  J.Crew (http://www.jcrew.com/index.jsp)

 

Tags / Categories / Comments

breaker

Valentine’s Day 2011

February 14th, 2011

I’m not one for heart shaped balloons and chocolates…. I prefer my chocolate in the shapes of turtles with almonds and carmel inside… but that’s beside the point. I’ve never given into the hoopla over February 14th. I cringe at the thought of over crowded restaurants, over priced floral arrangements and giant red helium balloons. [...]
 

I’m not one for heart shaped balloons and chocolates…. I prefer my chocolate in the shapes of turtles with almonds and carmel inside… but that’s beside the point. I’ve never given into the hoopla over February 14th. I cringe at the thought of over crowded restaurants, over priced floral arrangements and giant red helium balloons. Oh, and don’t get me started on the root of all evil, Hallmark (is it just me or does anyone else hear the sound of cash registers?).  I’ve never been a fan, and its not because I had a bad experience. Or maybe it was. In elementary school we had to bring valentines for every student in class, which meant I had to assemble valentines… for every student in my class. Then when I got older my friends wanted to exchange gifts, which meant I had to go out a buy ridiculous fluffy things and pretend like I was into it. Which brings me to today and my dislike of the obligations of Valentine’s Day. But don’t think I’m the V-day Grinch, I just think love is something that should be celebrated all the time and I prefer to leave all the bells and whistles behind. In effort to defy all of Cupid’s rules, our tradition is to order pizza and orange Fanta soda and watch a movie at home in sweats. And yes, the sweats are mandatory. Throw in a bowl of popcorn and a little snuggling and voila! The perfect Valentine’s combo.

Whatever your Valentine’s Day tradition is, I hope you all have a fabulous day full of smiles and warm feelings.

Here’s a little something from a few friends of mine…. XOXO

Tags / Categories / Comments

breaker

Celebrate Life, Love & Family | A Year in Review 2010

December 26th, 2010

I’ve been preparing for this post for a while now. Just after Thanksgiving it hit me, its been almost a year. Almost a year since I picked up my first DSLR. Almost a year since I decided to take a leap of faith. Almost a year since I’ve been living my dreams. When I started [...]
 

I’ve been preparing for this post for a while now. Just after Thanksgiving it hit me, its been almost a year. Almost a year since I picked up my first DSLR. Almost a year since I decided to take a leap of faith. Almost a year since I’ve been living my dreams. When I started on this journey it seemed like there was infinite space ahead of me, almost like a black hole. I wasn’t sure what was going to amount from this experiment. I didn’t really know if I could be “good enough” to keep up with the billions of other photographers in LA. I didn’t know if I could survive in a business by myself. But as December comes to a close, I can’t deny that I’ve come a long way. In my opinion success is measured by happiness, which means I’m doing pretty darn good! I am beyond excited for 2011. Cheers to the new year!

Here’s a stroll down memory lane…

Chiara’s 3rd Birthday. My very first shoot. I was excited, and nervous, and completely exhausted by the end. I have never seen so many children running around in circles. And these were children from the school I where I was teaching at the time. Definitely felt like being thrown in the lion’s den.

Monique. I told Monique I wanted to practice shooting techniques. I didn’t let her put on makeup, we ended up shooting for 2 hours, then I put the images on my blog. She wasn’t happy, but can you blame me!? Some people just don’t know how naturally beautiful they are.

Jeff’s 40th Birthday. Julie discovered I was a photographer at Chiara’s party and enlisted me for her husband’s surprise party on the spot. The details of this party were absolutely fabulous and I’m still planning to do my own version of the shindig for my hubby in a couple of years.

The Photog Shootout. My first crack at weddings in the most appropriate setting- a workshop. I loved this experience and got some great images from it as well!

Laura & Billy’s wedding. Many of you remember the creativeLive Jasmine Star webcast I attended in Seattle. This was a surreal experience which really helped to launch my career. This image was so special to me, because of the 7 photographers shooting this wedding, I was the only one with this image.

Cerina is an aspiring entertainer. She’s a magnet to the lights, camera and action. We decided to do portrait style head shots to highlight her true personality, youth and beauty.

Yvette wanted portraits to commemorate her last year in her 20′s. She and her husband were planning to start a family around this time and Yvette actually found out she was pregnant a week after we took these photos! I still get chills!

Madden’s christening was the beginning of my sweet tooth. My sweet tooth for photographing baby cheeks, and lips, and fingers and toes…

Sonny and Maggie’s wedding was my first wedding I booked for myself and shot by myself. It turned out great, but I will never try to be Superwoman again.

Tracy and Cameron are my photo BFFs. But that only happened after we had a fun and fabulous engagement session at our alma mater CSUN. I’m so grateful to know wonderful people.

Mia Natalia was just 3 weeks old when we did her newborn session. Just after this shot Mia was introduced to the pacifier for the first time and we had a calm quiet baby. But I’m so glad I got this shot first!

Karly’s 6 month photos were definitely of the experimental nature, but she was very patient throughout the entire process. I love how pure this image feels.

Aneesah’s portrait session was a party! For real. There was music, drinks, fabulous shoes and accessories all over the place. It was like a small glimpse into my future studio space. :)

Aneesah_231

The Hill’s Family session was a last minute, just before Thanksgiving dinner race to find good light. It was difficult, but we got a few keepers.

Nina and AJ’s wedding. I was the second shooter for this wedding, but I stylized a few shots for my own portfolio. I like using chairs and sofas as props, but by far this is my favorite sofa ever!

The last event of the year was the Shootsac holiday party. I might try to make it a tradition to shoot a holiday party at the end of every year.

Thank you for joining me on this journey and I wish everyone a happy, healthy, prosperous 2011!

Tags / Categories / Comments

breaker

Celebrate Love | Long Beach, California Wedding {Nina & AJ}

December 21st, 2010

A few weeks ago I had the pleasure of second shooting a wedding at the Ebell with Charla of Charla Blue Photography. It was sort of a last minute thing, but sometime the most wonderful things happens last minute. And this was one of those occasions. Charla is such a laid back person, just like [...]
 

A few weeks ago I had the pleasure of second shooting a wedding at the Ebell with Charla of Charla Blue Photography. It was sort of a last minute thing, but sometime the most wonderful things happens last minute. And this was one of those occasions. Charla is such a laid back person, just like me and there is nothing better than working with someone who  just gets it. Not to mention the bride and groom were also totally cool, score! I had so much fun at this wedding. To see all the details click here, to see the moments in between scroll on…

Tags / Categories / Comments

breaker

Celebrate Love | Northridge, California Engagement Photography {Tracy & Cameron}

October 26th, 2010

They are photographers, who are most certainly in love… and awesome people too. (And I’m not just saying that because we all graduated from CSUN.) Cameron and Tracy met at Cal State Northridge some number of years ago. He studied business, she studied communications, yet now they spend most of their time behind the lens. [...]
 

They are photographers, who are most certainly in love… and awesome people too. (And I’m not just saying that because we all graduated from CSUN.) Cameron and Tracy met at Cal State Northridge some number of years ago. He studied business, she studied communications, yet now they spend most of their time behind the lens. But for two hours I had them in front of my lens, and we had so much fun! Although we had just met, we cruised down memory lane like old friends, attempting to recall what the campus used to look like before all the renovations.

Cameron and Tracy are getting married next fall, so they wanted to have an autumn inspired shoot, so we started our day at CSUN’s famous orange grove.

Then they turned the cameras on me for a minute

The Oviatt Library

And cue the amazing light…

Cameron and Tracy, I had a great time with you two. I wish you a wonderful life together!

Tags / Categories / Comments

breaker

Celebrate Love | La Habra, California Wedding {Maggie & Sonny}

October 18th, 2010

Along with many newlyweds, 10.10.10 will always be a special day for me. I started this company 7 months ago and my ride has been nothing less than amazing. I’ve been meeting so many friends along the way and now I get it when other photographers say “I love my clients,” because I love my [...]
 

Along with many newlyweds, 10.10.10 will always be a special day for me. I started this company 7 months ago and my ride has been nothing less than amazing. I’ve been meeting so many friends along the way and now I get it when other photographers say “I love my clients,” because I love my clients. Maggie and Sonny are no different. I booked this wedding about three weeks before their big day and I knew that this wedding was going to be special. I met Maggie a couple of weeks earlier at Madden’s christening, and it was an instant connection. It was like we booked the wedding without even talking about the wedding.

On Sunday I arrived at Maggie and Sonny’s home and the first thing Maggie said to me was “have some pizza.” Like I said before, instant connection. The sun was shining, family was all over the house getting ready at their own pace, and no one seemed stressed. Who could ask for more on their wedding day?

The ceremony and reception were held at the Westridge Golf Club in La Habra, Ca. The dessert table was compliments of Sonny’s daughter Irene who makes the best macaroons in the world! And the event designer was my favorite Cinthya Barreras who handled all the florals and custom linens. Irene and Cinthya are also startups and I think its awesome that Maggie and Sonny gave us this opportunity. Thanks guys!

To see more of Maggie and Sonny’s Wedding click here.

Tags / Categories / Comments

breaker

My first double header weekend…

October 11th, 2010

I made it out alive. I don’t know what I was thinking when I agreed to doing two events in the same weekend without any help, but somehow I pulled it off. Fortunately the florists and the pastry chefs were amazing people who do amazing work and made my job a whole lot easier. The [...]
 

I made it out alive. I don’t know what I was thinking when I agreed to doing two events in the same weekend without any help, but somehow I pulled it off. Fortunately the florists and the pastry chefs were amazing people who do amazing work and made my job a whole lot easier. The only problem is now I want to be a florist and a pastry chef so I can make beautiful and tasty decorations! Can’t you just see it, S. Miller | photographer | florist | pastry chef | and I can wash your car too. :) Here is a peek at some of Saturday and Sunday…

Saturday: 50th Birthday at the Reef, Long Beach, CA

Sunday: 10.10.10. Wedding {Maggie & Sonny}, Westridge Golf Club, La Habra, CA

More images are on the way!

Tags / Categories / Comments

« More Entries