This past weekend, I attended a two-day workshop called Walk Through a Wedding. It was hosted by Justin & Mary, who are some of the most incredible people I’ve ever met. Not only did they welcome us into their home, they shared their vast amounts of knowledge openly and honestly. It’s very rare to have people in our industry do that, but there are those rare gems like J&M who love with their whole hearts…and they want to see everyone succeed.

I met some awesome people this weekend, and I discovered my Why. We pushed ourselves to try something we’ve been scared to try (for example, experimenting with off-camera lighting– something you don’t have the luxury of learning on the fly at a wedding!). I had some horrible shots, but once I finally nailed it, I was so happy. I do, however, need to work on photographing a glass perfume bottle…that was tough! ;)

Here are some images with the “Buckles & Burberry” theme. Props to Julia for setting these up…it was so much fun to photograph the details! I also need to give a shout out to Spring & Silas, our models for the day. We had to practice posing them, which I’m sure gave them a good run for their own wedding day! :)

A hidden M! (This set up was basically in the darkest corner of the barrel room in the vineyard…I didn’t notice the M until the flash fired ;))

How HOT were Spring & Silas?!

If you’re a photographer and get the chance to attend a WTAW workshop, I HIGHLY recommend it! While yes, your head will feel like it’s going to explode from the sheer amount of information you get, you learn so many valuable things not only for your photography, but for your business as well.

…and I’m off to photograph a glass perfume bottle! ;)

This weekend, I attended the first 2012 Walk Through a Wedding workshop hosted by the fabulous Justin & Mary. It ROCKED MY WORLD. Although, I have to admit that I was pretty intimidated because it was my first workshop, and workshops are supposed to make you bare your soul, admit to your mistakes, and most importantly, try something new, fail, and then TRY again.

And that is exactly what happened. As much as it hurt to realize the mistakes I’ve made in building my business, it was also very refreshing that I wasn’t alone. That WE weren’t alone. From seasoned pros to those of us just starting out, the 18 of us bonded over learning and pushing ourselves to try and make mistakes and then try again. Eighteen of us, with different backgrounds, different “whys,” different influences…and we were all there for one common goal: to become better photographers.

One of my favorite parts (and I had many!) was the beginning of the second day. Mary asked us, “What does photography mean to you?” It got me thinking WHY I love shooting weddings, why I love shooting people. It isn’t the “glory” or “fame” you get as wedding photographer…it isn’t about that. For me, it’s about capturing those fleeting moments in between the big events. The moments that otherwise would have been forgotten if not for that photograph freezing that particular moment in time. The moments that, collectively, make up real life.

When Chris picked me up (we were heading to NYC to celebrate the last few hours of his birthday at Ippudo– noodles for long life!), I was talking a mile a minute. Talking so fast that I was breathless and nearly forgetting what I had to say because I had SO MUCH to tell him. Talking so fast that I’m fairly certain certain parts didn’t make sense because my brain was going way faster than my mouth. He soaked it all in, quietly nodding, holding my hand, with the car radio turned down low. When I said all that I could and finally took a few seconds to sort through my thoughts, I asked him what was his Why, what made him want to photograph weddings and people.

“It’s capturing those fleeting moments in between,” he said, not even pausing to think about it.

I couldn’t believe it– his Why is the same as mine. And we’ve never explicitly asked ourselves why we do what we do. That fire in my soul– my husband not only understands that, but he encourages me to keep it burning. He is the wood to my bonfire. It was then that I realized that we were meant to do this; we were working for the same Why, without even knowing it. But now, we’ll continue working for the same Why…together.

Just a quick sneak peek of this weekend– I’m still reeling from it, but stay tuned for some more images! ;)

After having spent a weekend mostly lying in bed, recovering from the remnants of my horrible cough & cold, I had a really strong craving for ramen. Not the instant kind, but specifically tonkotsu ramen. The kind that makes you feel like you’re being tucked into a warm cashmere blanket by your mommy. The kind that makes anything and everything instantly better, especially when your throat is raw from coughing so much.

In this case, being sick not only made me crave ramen, it made me crave the best I’ve had on the east coast: Ippudo in NYC.

And it made me wish I get better pronto so we could take a trip to the city to get a bowl, with a side of pork buns.

Happy Monday folks! Here’s to making it through the rest of winter in good health and good spirits :)

I’ll be honest– one of my guilty pleasures is shopping online. Not necessarily buying anything, but I’m a huge fan of “window” shopping. When I stumbled upon John & Kira’s chocolates on Gilt, I had to get them! Unfortunately, we were about to leave the country for vacation and I wouldn’t be home to get them, so I waited until now. These little chocolate bees are just so darn cute! Best of all, the company is local in Philadelphia and they use honey from a supplier in Millerton, PA. I’m all for local flavors…for some reason they taste so much better :)

Their packaging is beautiful:

And it comes with a description of the goodness inside:

Aren’t they adorable?! Each bee is hand painted and there’s a fact underneath every one. Chris and I discovered this when we decided to do a taste test (and subsequently had to refrain from devouring the whole box in 37 seconds– because I  yelled “NO! I have to take pictures for the blog!”).

The honey-flavored caramel inside is more liquid than chewy, and the dark chocolate is a perfect complement to the sweetness of the center. Yum!

Since I’m such an impatient person when it comes to cute, yummy, or otherwise awesome stuff, I really appreciate that John & Kira’s chocolates arrive within one to two business days (that could be dangerous though, haha). Perfect for a quick gift for someone (or the most important person in your life, YOU)! They definitely make an impression, both to the eyes and to the tastebuds.

Happy Friday!

I love it when movies have blooper reels at the end, especially in Rush Hour with Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker. Priceless!

Likewise, I love it when I’m going through images from a shoot and find a bunch of hilarious outtakes. These don’t usually make it on the blog, but it always gives us a good chuckle. I found out during Christine and Christian’s shoot that photos with pets = a ton of bloopers. Here are my favorites!

This started off normal…Kenji and Mochi were behaving and actually looking at the camera! Then…Mochi got distracted and started licking Kenji. Oh, dogs…

Kenji did NOT want to pose…in fact, he was so interested in running around that he actually BUSTED OUT OF HIS COLLAR.

…………yeah.

After Christian got him to calm down and brought him back, he proceeded to act cute and lick Christine’s face off.

Don’t worry Kenji, you’re SUPER cute! How could you not love a face like this?!

After moving to the UNLV Library, we realized it wasn’t just pets that made photos funny. We told Christine to reach up while Christian crouched down. It wasn’t until later we noticed it looked like Christian was Tebowing:

Happy Wednesday!

Christine and Christian’s engagement session in Las Vegas was a ton of fun– I have a newfound respect for pet photographers after shooting Kenji and Mochi with the humans! Kenji is a big, furry ball of fun and energy, and all he wanted to do was get off the leash and run around. Mochi is usually a little more hyper, but she had just gotten a procedure done at the vet so she was a bit subdued. Nevertheless, we managed to get them looking at us a few times, so I’d call that a success! :)

We shot around the neighborhood before moving on to UNLV. The light was perfect and there were very few people passing through.

Kenji looks totally calm, huh? Don’t be fooled– he managed to bust out of his collar and take off down the path before anyone could stop him (more on that in a future post). We couldn’t stop laughing!

A little note about these first few UNLV photos: even though Christine and Christian went to the same high school and university (even the same college), they didn’t find each other until after graduation. Seems like they kept missing each other around campus! ;)

Happy Monday!

The lights. The energy. The sounds. The smell of cigarette smoke winding its way lazily around people betting their hard-earned money. The soft clink of casino chips against each other as a lady pushes a stack across the table, betting it all on black. The tinkling of a slot machine as its reels turn, its spinner is holding his breath in the hopes of hitting the jackpot. The pounding bass barely contained in the walls of the club.

I’m in Vegas and I’m not feeling it.

But let me clarify. I don’t like the stereotypical Vegas. You know, the kind you see on tv and movies with all its glitz, glamour, and Ocean’s Eleven fame. Rather, I like the low-key, underrated Vegas, the kind that locals appreciate and tourists and gamblers miss out on. Off the beaten path, so to speak.

This weekend, Chris and I were in Sin City, and though we were on the Strip for a grand total of 90 minutes for lunch, we had a blast hanging out with good friends and trying out new places to eat. We lost a dollar gambling, but hey, you gotta let loose once in a while, right? ;)

I like comfortable and cozy, and I’ll always choose comfortable and cozy over glitzy and high energy…even in Las Vegas.

Christine and Christian are already married, but they’re having their big ceremony & reception this summer and wanted to do a set of “engagement” photos in their hometown of Las Vegas! Chris and I flew out to hang out with them for the long weekend. Here are a couple of sneak peeks…

Happy MLK Monday!

As I was going through Liz & Kevin’s photos for this blog post, I had a huge grin on my face– it’s so obvious these two are totally in love with each other and best of all, they make each other laugh. When we started, Liz said they didn’t take photos well, but I completely disagree! We told them to be natural and just act like they normally do, and we got these great shots of them laughing and playing around. It’s my favorite kind of session when couples are comfortable…not necessarily in front of the camera, but with each other. Like it should be in a marriage.

Liz & Kevin, you guys rock! We had so much fun, and we can’t wait for your wedding in July!

It was a gorgeous day in San Francisco, Sonoma, and Napa Valley, and we started off with the giant arrow at The Embarcadero…

One advantage of having two photographers shooting the same subject is the different angles we get. The photo on the left is mine, and the photo on the right is Chris’.

I LOVE brick walls!

One of my favorite shots, ever.

As Chris and I drove into the city, we were enveloped in a thick fog (like, we could barely see the cars in front of us!). I was super nervous that the Golden Gate Bridge wouldn’t be visible, but thankfully the fog had burned off before we arrived at Crissy Field.

Off to Sonoma and Napa…

Nothing makes you more feel more amazing than drinking wine on a balcony overlooking this:

Love this set :)

We managed to catch a little bit of golden hour on our way out…Chris found this beautiful archway and I love how the light gives Liz an angelic glow. Kevin’s one lucky guy! ;)

For more photos of Liz & Kevin’s engagement session, click here for a slideshow!

Yesterday, Chris and I celebrated our wedding anniversary…the best three years ever. <3

Photos by eWed Photography.