Laura and Zsombor are planning their wedding on the beach in Oceanside, California, so when we were talking about where they would like to do their engagement sessions they wanted to avoid the beach.  I thought, as I think Laura did that given Zsombor is an architect they would want to include some San Diego skyline, or perhaps some of the architecture at Balboa Park.  But no, Zsombor told Laura he wanted to shoot outside, someplace like Julian.  Maybe that’s because Laura’s an archeologist and he wanted her to be comfortable since she spends her days digging in the dirt avoiding snakes, scorpions and un-exploded ordinance from an old army bombing range.

Although there’s not the amazing apple pie that Julian is noted for at Mission Trails Park in San Diego, there’s plenty of beautiful tall grass, old split rail fences and open trails to wander with rolling hills in the background.  So we packed a picnic and hit the trails.  Check out a few of the images from their engagement shoot below.  You can also view more on my facebook page.

Oh! And word to the wise … when it says “Gates close at 7:00pm” what they mean is, “Gates close at 7:00pm, and you and your car will be locked in!” I don’t know how I didn’t understand that.  We did manage to get let out at about 7:40pm.

The boudoir marathon has been updated, and we’ve limited it now to one day only! Sunday September 12th in the Inner Harbor.  There are still a few spaces available and you get: two hours of boudoir photography in a beautiful suite at an Inner Harbor hotel in downtown Baltimore complete with hair and makeup!  Included in all shoots is a high resolution CD of forty edited images from your boudoir session.  We also offer high definition DVD slideshows, prints and custom designed books.

Group rates are still available, but spaces are limited.  If you have four or more friends that you want to organize for a shoot we may still be able to do a day just for you and your friends!

Email or call for more information or to reserve your spot!

On a cloudy, then rainy, then misty day in Maryland Erin and John were married.  Through it all their excitement and joy never waned.  We were lucky to have clear skies while Erin and her girls got ready and took advantage of the soft overcast light to shoot some portraits at her Mom’s home in Baltimore prior to the ceremony.  Then it was off to the church where during their ceremony the skies opened up, but then cleared to a light mist after the ceremony was complete.  We wandered the grounds and snuck into the old chapel for some more portraits before heading to the  Country Club of Maryland for their reception.   Click on the image above, or any of the thumbnails below to see a few of my favorite images from their day, and keep your eyes open for their slideshow on the podcast to be posted soon!

Erin and John, thank you so much for including me in your wedding plans and sharing your day with me!

For the second shoot Lindsey and I did together we started work on fitness images for her and my commercial portfolio.  Lindsey was a total sport (no pun intended) about this shoot because she had just finished getting innoculations for her trip to Nepal, went home slept, got up and came to do the shoot with one gimpy arm from all the shots.  Even though she wasn’t feeling 100% she sure gave 100% to the shoot.

I love the range of lighting and concepts that we created through this shoot.  I wanted to make some images that could be straight advertising shots, and some that would be more editorial.  Adding in the outdoor shoot when Lindsey returns will give us the ability to combine the studio portraits with ‘action’ shots to create real dynamic contrasts with the images in the portfolio.

For this next image I wanted to create a more iconic image:  I had Soviet propaganda posters in my head for the posing and lighting as well as the processing of the image.

This final image I played around a bit with HDR processing of a single file to create greater contrast and texture with the lighting and faux sweat!

Oh by the way according to Lindsey faux sweat … not so tasty!

I’m thrilled that Josel & Brad’s Trash the Dress session that Pete and I photographed in San Diego back in March was recently featured on Bridepop.com’s blog.  Josel and Brad planned their destination wedding here in San Diego, and wanted to take advantage of the scenery at the beach, and the cliffs but didn’t have time during their wedding day to do any portraits at the ocean.  So a few days later, before they traveled home to Washington, DC we met up at Sunset Cliffs to photograph a day after/trash the dress session that was outstanding.  It was really an opportunity to create some unique portraits for them both to add to their already amazing wedding memories.

If you haven’t visited Bridepop it’s a great resource and place to find inspiration for your wedding planning and I’m so honored to have my photography featured on their site.  If you’re thinking about a Trash the Dress or Day After session, or just want to know more about them, you can also read my article in the resources section of my blog.

I absolutely love shooting Day after Sessions and Trash the Dress photoshoots.  Why? Well … lots of reasons.  For me it’s a great opportunity to get a bit more creative with portraits than I often have the time for on a wedding day without the worry of the dress getting dirty, or hair getting messed up before the ceremony or even the reception.  Day after sessions, are a great opportunity to not only pick the location that we’ll do the shoot, but to pick the time of day without any concerns about where the bride and groom need to be next.

No matter how much time we have together on a wedding day, I know there are other thoughts going through my couple’s head than just being together.  On Trash the Dress sessions we get to be completely creative without any concern about what’s going to happen to the dress next.

Want to get in the ocean? SURE!

So what exactly is a Trash the Dress and how is it different from a Day after Session? Well, first, let me say that I’ve never done a Trash the Dress session with the sole intent to destroy a wedding gown.  If the dress gets in the ocean, or mud fine, but to me, Trash the Dress is really more about not being concerned about how the dress looks after the photoshoot than actually intending to wreck it.  Day after sessions tend to be a little less dramatic with what a couple or bride is willing to do.  Laying down in the grass … sure.  Laying down in the sand … possibly.  It really may be more a matter of semantics though as I think lots of couples would love to have the opportunity to shoot more portraits than time allows on a wedding day, but don’t like the idea of actually trashing the dress.

But these are all my thoughts so I decided I would ask a few couples that I’ve worked with in the past on Trash the Dress and Day After sessions what made them decide to do one of these shoots, and what their thoughts were after the fact.  You can view galleries of their images to see more examples from their photoshoots, as well as see a video that was shot during one of my trash the dress sessions below.  Feel free to leave comments or any questions that we didn’t answer too!

If you’re considering a Trash the Dress session or Day, Anniversary or any other excuse to get back into your wedding gown and have a blast drop me an email, or contact me through the ‘Connect’ link above!

Did you do more of a Trash the Dress, or Day After session?

Melissa: We did more of a day after session, with the thought being unique places where you wouldn’t normally see a wedding dress. We didn’t care about getting it dirty, but it was more about getting interesting shots of the two of us than trashing the dress. We just wanted a relaxed photo shoot with a casual background in our wedding attire.

Josel:  My intention for the gown was to get it a little dirty. I wanted to get it cleaned afterwards so that I could have my dress as a keepsake. Halfway through the photo shoot, I realized that having a great picture that captured me in the dress was worth far more than keeping it clean. I suddenly had the urge to dirty it up a bit by laying in bed of sea algae. So although I started out with the intention of a simple Day After session, we ended up doing what most people would call a Trash the Dress.

Jenni:  My intention was to get some fun shots without any care in the world about what my dress would look like afterwards.  If it’s clean, fine but if it got completely ruined I would have been fine with that as well.

Was this truly a day after or was done as a celebration? Anniversary, etc.

Jenni: I decided to trash my dress five years and two kids after my wedding day when I realized I still  fit in it and it was just taking up space in my closet.  I was married in Germany and was disappointed in my wedding photographs so there was the extra incentive to get really fun creative images with the dress.

Rachel: My husband and I did our Trash the Dress session for our first year anniversary.

Melissa: It was literally the day after our wedding.  I grew up in San Diego, but live now in Arizona, so shooting the day after our wedding gave us the opportunity to both have more time in Balboa Park as well as get to Coronado Island to do some portraits on the beach and by the ocean.

What was the main reason you wanted to do a Trash the Dress or Day After session?

Melissa: For one thing, we only had one hour between the ceremony and rehearsal with the sunset. So we knew we would be rushed. And we wanted more than the traditional formal portraits. We wanted architecture, the beach, and interesting shots for us to remember. Plus we knew we would be more relaxed and could have fun.

Rachel: After stumbling across the ‘trash the dress’ idea while wedding planning, I was intrigued and determined to do it, however, I was nervous about ruining my perfect dress. my wedding day came and went and I had my dress cleaned and stored away. as my 1 year anniversary approached, I remembered that I had wanted to trash my dress. I started researching pictures and found that there were different extremes of trashing the dress. I could either decide to not ruin it at all by just posing in a weird funky place or kill it by jumping in the ocean. I soon realized that I didnt want my dress to gather dust in the closet and decided it should go out with a bang! I freaked out initially when I had sand thrown all over me, but then I relished the excitement of making great lasting photos with it.

Josel: Our wedding was destination wedding in San Diego and we only had a few days there after our wedding day. It was important for us to capture all the beautiful scenery and ambiance San Diego had to offer. We decided to take a few hours out of our “mini-honeymoon” to do the photo shoot. We wanted to take advantage of the beach which we did not have enough time to visit on the actual wedding day. It would have also been hard to coordinate the entire bridal party before the reception. Our makeup and hair would have been ruined and I did not want everyone to feel uncomfortable during the reception so doing a day after session made total sense to us to allow us to enjoy our wedding day and still get the more creative shots that we hoped to get while in San Diego.

How did the TTD/DAS differ from your wedding portraits?

Josel: Before my wedding I debated on whether to wear my hair up or down for my wedding day. The day after session gave me the opportunity to wear my hair both ways!  During the day after session, I was able to connect even more so with my new husband. We did not have any alone time during our wedding day and it was nice to be in our own little world together the next day.  I think the day after session photographs looked more relaxed and laid back. First of all, I was barefoot. Secondly, my husband was wearing khaki pants, a white shirt and flip flops. It gave our pictures a very San Diego feel, which we loved!

Jenni: In every way! From the location to the weather; my husband wasn’t in the Trash the Dress session, oh! and I went swimming in my dress which obviously was not something I did  on my wedding day!

What was your favorite part of the Trash the Dress session?

Melissa: Evan had us crawl in this massive tree trunk and lay down in the leaves. It was really beautiful in a non perfect way. Everyone raves about the contrast between the wooded setting and the dress. It’s so unexpected, we loved how we knew everything we were doing was going to generate a buzz. And each picture could hang on our wall rather than a stuffy posed picture. Evan had a great vision for how to bring our ideas to life.

Josel: I enjoyed getting dolled up and wearing my dress again. I also enjoyed feeling like a supermodel the whole time!

Jenni: I loved doing something I don’t get to do everyday and something that was just for my benefit.  It was a lot of fun! Also, since I’m a photographer myself it was great to work with another photographer who’s work I respect.

Did you try to have your dress cleaned after your TTD/DAS?  Did it get cleaned?

Jenni: I let my dress sit for over a week before trying to wash it.  At that time the dirt stains had settled in.  Most of the dirt and stains came out but not all of them.  If I had cleaned it right away, it probably would have come completely clean, but I really didn’t care as I didn’t plan or expect to wear it again.

Melissa: My dress was already ripped in 3 places from the reception and with the combo of laying in the trees and walking in the tide the dress was toast. but I got some great wear out of it and now it will  be a dress up dress for my kids.

Rachel: I took a shower with it when I got home, dried it, then shook out the sand. I did not try to have it cleaned again. It looks a little sandy now, but its fine for wearing for my husband on our anniversaries.

Josel: After walking on the beach and laying in a bed of slimy green sea algae, my dress had noticeable stains on it. My mother insisted on getting it cleaned so she hand washed it first, then got it dry-cleaned. All the stains came out and now it looks brand new!

Would you do it again? Is there anything you would do differently?

Josel: I would absolutely do it again! It was extremely fun and I felt like a real model. Because Pete and Evan were so enthusiastic about photographing us and took the time to get that perfect shot, it made us feel comfortable. To me, it didn’t matter if my hair was messing up, or if my dress was getting dirty. I was able to feel more at ease and sexy during the photoshoot since I was not worried about ruining my makeup, hair and dress.

In addition to getting incredible images, being on the beach at sunset with my new husband was very romantic and created even more memorable moments. We were able to enjoy each other’s company in a beautiful setting and backdrop.

Melissa: Absolutely! We loved the location in Balboa Park and the beach. If we did it again, we would have gone further into the ocean, into the waves. My dress was ruined in the tides, so we should have just gone for it.

Rachel: I would do it again in a heartbeat. I tell all my friends getting married that they should do it. Its a wonderful liberating event. The only thing I would do differently is have my hair and make up done professionally. I just did it myself and I wasnt that impressed with myself

Jenni: I would do it again in a heartbeat!  It was exactly what I hope it would be and the photographs are so unique!

Adriana and Dawn met while rehearsing for the play ‘How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying’.  After a while they struck up a friendship which developed into romance.  Nine years later they celebrated their relationship together by being married among friends and family members at the Lakeside Community Center.

When Adriana decided to ask Dawn to marry her, she secretly purchased a ring, and shared it with Dawn’s children, Lorelei and Noah.  Lorelei and Noah, knowing that their mother had already purchased a ring for Adriana, kept their secret and told neither Adriana, nor Dawn.  When Adriana asked Dawn, Dawn’s response ‘Hold that thought’ and leaving the room certainly must have taken Adriana aback.  When Dawn returned however, she produced a ring of her own and likewise asked Adriana to marry her.  Dawn, as it turns out, had planned to ask Adrianna later that night.

On their wedding day, both Adriana and Dawn got ready together at the Residence Inn in La Jolla.  Their bridal party met them at the hotel prior to heading to Lakeside for the ceremony and reception.  After a few quick portraits at the hotel, we left for Lakeside.  The ceremony was held outside under a clear blue sky and friends and family mingled after the ceremony on the deck while we took family photos and wandered around the edge of the lake for some more photos with Adriana and Dawn.  After that we headed inside for an amazing reception, great toasts by Adriana and Dawn’s friends as well as both their parents.

It was such an honor to be a part of Adriana and Dawn’s wedding, and I really feel like I’ve made friends with these two wonderful people.  Friends and Family members can sign up to view all the images from their very special day at Pictage.  Many thanks to my good friend Reuben who helped out as an amazing assistant all day, as well as contributing some fantastic shots of his own.

I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to meet with and interview Brenda Swann, wedding planner extraordinaire of Swann Soirees for my second vendor interview.

I found out about Brenda via her frequent twitter updates at the weddings she plans and I had the amazing opportunity to photograph Brad & Josel’s to see her in action.  She has such an attention to detail, and really knows how to manage a wedding to keep the day on schedule without stressing out anyone, most importantly the bride and groom then second of course, the photographers!   In talking to her before, but especially in this interview, Brenda has a truly infectious energy and gets really excited anytime you get her talking about weddings. I know this translates to her couples, and regardless of the type or size of wedding she’s helping plan, she can envision what the couple wants, and not only how to make that happen, but how amazing it can be.

Want to hear Brenda talk about Swann Soirees, wedding planning, why she loves being involved in weddings, San Diego, the Navy, and my shoes? Check out the audio clips below:

San Diego’s Brenda Swann Wedding Planner

Some of my favorite out takes from the day!

Introduction Outtake

Pretty Cool Kicks

If you didn’t see Josel and Brad’s wedding photos, check them out now. Their wedding was the epitome of elegance and sophistication, so when Pete and I had the opportunity to shoot Josel and Brad at Sunset Cliffs as a day after session, rolling around in the grass, climbing trees, getting down in the surf, and on the rocks we couldn’t pass it up.  I absolutely love photographing day after and trash the dress sessions.  It allows both me and the couple to create images that are completely different from their wedding day and still be a compliment to the wedding photos.  They’re always so much fun and more laid back because there’s no ceremony or reception to get to and there’s no concern about the dress getting dirty before everyone sees it. Plus if you get in the water, you don’t have to worry about wearing a soaking wet wedding dress the rest of the night!!

Pete and I arrived at Sunset Cliffs about an hour before sunset, and poked around to talk about the locations we wanted to take Josel and Brad.  We started out in the grasses high above the Pacific, and through the trails of Sunset Cliffs Park.  The light was fabulous, and before long we were heading down the steep stairs to the rocks and the ocean.  Josel was a total sport and willing to get in the ocean, and while we didn’t get her all the way in, she definitely got the dress wet, and ended up laying down in a bed of algae that made for some amazing and dramatic images.  We finished up the night just after sunset and again climbed the stairs back to our cars.  Since Josel and Brad were in town for only a few days, this was a great opportunity for them to get some portraits by/in the ocean that we weren’t able to do on their wedding day.