Amanda + Adam Engaged! Santa Monica Pier

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Amanda and Adam both love the outdoors and met a couple years ago while working part time at REI. Now an Army-man, Adam is stationed in Texas and Amanda works as a nurse in the ICU. After spending a few months apart, Adam knew he could not be happy without Amanda by his side, so he recently popped the question! Tonight was the first chance I got to see these two together and start documenting the beginning of the rest of their lives together.

I recently met with Amanda about her plans of a July wedding. With the big day just a couple months away it seemed planning mode was in full effect! Adam got back in town right before the Holiday weekend and tonight all 3 of us went to hang out… I bet you can guess where. =)

Amanda loves cotton candy…

We started shooting right before sunset and got some beautiful shots of the warm sun. Even though I shoot at the pier ALOT, it’s never really the same. My experience with my couples is different every time and together we find new nooks and crannies.

I’m so happy for you both and cannot wait to shoot your wedding in less than 2 weeks!

Ben + Amber: Vintage Engagement Photography

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I recently met Ben and Amber at a cafe. We spent most of the night talking about their love for pinatas, puppies, and Polaroids. Ben is also a photographer and like to collect vintage cameras; Amber loves Etsy and pampering their two Boston Terriers. They shared with me the creative details of their backyard-Fiesta themed wedding, and I instantly started day-dreaming of their photos. I was super excited (and flattered) when they booked me for their September wedding! We soon began collaborating on their engagement session. They chose to shoot outdoors during the best light and wanted to included some of their favorite things.

First up some family shots with their adorable pups: Burger and Bacon. Ben and Amber rescued these dogs when they were itty bitty. Now they’re 9 months old and almost full grown! I love their pointy ears.

Ben and I scouted some locations and found this awesome woodsy area on the trail with beautiful back lighting.

Amber and Ben found some icecream/ Popsicle bubble blowers to accent their wedding colors of red and aqua. We had lots of fun getting these shots in “Bubble Forest.”

I wish I could take credit for the bubble idea, but I’m very glad to say it was all Amber! I love when my couples make their session personal with props and toys.

I had to get a great closeup of the ring Ben found for Amber. It’s honestly, the most amazing ring in the world… I’ve never seen something so beautiful! It has intricate details all along the side, with a center stone surrounded with a ring of more bling. I’m inspired to get a new macro lens just to take more beautiful pictures of it! If you’re curious to know, Ben got the ring from his family’s jewelry store in Iowa. I just might have to take a visit back home and drive over there to see what else they have!

Ben loves to take pictures of candy, life, and Amber. During out photoshoot he was watching a few online bids he had going for some vintage cameras on Ebay.

Wendy and James: Santa Monica Engagement

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I met Wendy and James at a coffee shop in February, what now seems like such a long time ago. Wendy has a great bubbly personality with a smile for miles and James (a little more reserved) loves 4wheeling out in the desert. Together, they are currently planning on buying their first home and honeymooning in Mexico after their wedding! For their engagement session, they wanted to incorporate their vintage Schwinn tandem bike! They love bringing it to the beach and riding along the boardwalk from Santa Monica to Venice.

Swanny + Joey: Santa Monica Retro Engagement

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Swanny and Joey celebrate their recent engagement at Santa Monica pier. The met while Joey was on vacation visiting his family in Miami and did the long distance dating thing for a while, but their love grew strong and gravitated their hearts together. Swanny shared with me, that Joey was so nervous when he proposed to her. They went to dinner at a Tiki Bar and he shyly passed the ring towards her. No speach, no bended knee… Just a smile, a question, in hopes that she would say yes! Swanny recently moved to Los Angeles from Miami to be with Joey and they’re excited to plan their October wedding in Miami. Santa Monica Engagement2

IMG_5814x.jpg picture by twinkle63718

Swanny has lots of tattoos, I especially love the ones on her feet! I can’t believe she found these cute pumps at a thrift store. Way to accessorize. Santa Monica Engagement3

Joey has a great smile, and Swanny has a great complexion! I bet they’ll have gorgeous babies. =)

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IMG_5855x.jpg picture by twinkle63718

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Anna & Xav: Matador Beach Malibu

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Anna & Xav are a gorgeous young couple who love the beach, surfing, and mostly hanging out with each other. We sent yesterday evening at Malibu beach getting some casual shots of them together capturing what they love!
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Smile Anna!

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Xavier shared some of his musical skills by playing slide-guitar. Anna looks into his eyes as he plays.

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I often get a lot of questions about the following image and how it was created.

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Well, it really was simple to take and a lot of the special effects were done in post-editing. Honestly, this was one of those happy mistakes. I just took one shot of this image and edited it 3 different ways, pulling out the details in the shadows for one step, bring back the details in the sky, and then details in the ground which I could then merge together in a HDR image. “High-Dymanic-Range (HDR) is a set of techniques that allow a greater dynamic range of luminances between the lightest and darkest areas of an image than standard digital imaging techniques or photographic methods.” -Wiki This method is used a lot in commercial photography with architecture getting shots through windows.

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IMG_0889x.jpg picture by twinkle63718