Fleming and Samantha met back in 2005, on an elevator.  Their relationship grew after some dates, and now 6.5 years later they are planning a wedding in their favorite neighborhood!   These two love hanging out in the Venice/Santa Monica area, their pup Ruby, and exploring the world, and food.  For their engagement session, they wanted to stay close to home and visit some of their favorite spots!  First stop, the popular Binocular building, on Main Street.

The Rose Cafe on Main Street is the location of their rehearsal dinner.

Venice Beach, CA

*UPDATE* Fleming and Samantha chose their favorite 8×10″ to be displayed at the entrance of their wedding.  Here’s what it looked like!

I was going through my archives today and realized I’ve never shared a blog post about my architectural photography work, one my many photography talents.  It may seem like it has little to do with people and weddings, but techniques used in architectural photography can in be applied to other subjects.  More specifically, things that make a good landscape image include even lighting, using a wide angle lens correctly to get straight parallax in images (the vertical lines in an image), HDR editing (high Dynamic Range), and use of a tripod in low light situations.  Here’s some of my favorite samples I recently shot for Orbitz.

Kyoto Hotel.  They recently renovated, and the signature gold and maroon color scheme is found throughout the hotel.  They also have a beautiful rooftop Japanese garden that overlooks downtown Los Angeles.

Terranea Resort in Rancho Palos Verdes.  This shot overlooks one of their many outdoor pools.  They have 180 degree views of the Ocean, a spa room with copper soaker tub, and private Villas!  I’d love to spend a romantic weekend here anytime!

Queen Mary, Long Beach.  A retired cruise ship is now a fun destination for travelers from around the world.  This is a shot of their classic meeting rooms.

Portofino Hotel and Yacht Club in Redondo Beach.  Beautiful gray lounge.

Noe Restaurant, downtown Los Angeles

Pacific Palms Resort Spa.  The cool lighting in this room changes!

Hilton Universal City Cafe with glass atrium

Hotel Erwin, Venice.  Very modern rooms

Hotel Erwin, Venice.  Hightop lounge with Ocean views

Roosevelt Hotel, Hollywood.  Great location in the heart of Hollywood along the Walk of Fame.

Roosevelt Hotel, poolview king room

Roosevelt Hotel’s pool

I’ve always wanted to visit a real ghost town, and after much research I found Bodie, CA.  A gold mining town that boomed in the late 1800s, Bodie quickly became California’s second largest city.  After the gold rush was over citizens left, and in 1942 the mine closed.  Now a national park and ghost town, many of the shops and homes of early Bodie residents can be found in tact with merchandise and furnishings still in place.