Noah Hawthorne Photography | San Francisco Wedding Photographer

Julia & Stuart | Palo Alto Engagement Shoot

Noah Hawthorne — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 04:30:56 +0000

Julia and Stuart scheduled their engagement shoot long in advance of any weather forecasts, and then drove up from LA to meet with me for our shoot, with pouring rain greeting us on the way to meet in Palo Alto. With another stroke of brilliant good luck, my second engagement shoot of the weekend just managed to avoid any torrential downpours, have a bit of fun with a drizzling winter rain, all while taking some amazing images. Beyond just getting some good images for clients, engagement shoots are a great way to get used to photography in preparation for the wedding day, get to know the photographer (and vice versa). After playing around Palo Alto (even some time around the Farmer’s Market) we headed over to the back alleys of Stanford for a different look.

Julia and Stuart met at a Salsa class, and when I left them alone, it seemed like the couple just couldn’t stop dancing.

I’ll be looking forward to shooting Julia and Stuart’s wedding at El Mirador in Montecito (by Santa Barbara) this May.

Salina & Elijah | Legion of Honor Engagement Shoot

Noah Hawthorne — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 22:14:02 +0000

It doesn’t seem wise to plan an engagement shoot in the pouring rain, but a little bit of water seems to add a nice touch to an engagement session. Salina and Elijah braved the Winter storm, some admittedly frigid weather, and joined me at the Palace of the Legion of Honor in San Francisco for their engagement shoot. And best of all, after rain all day, the clouds parted just in time for us to have the perfect lighting for an afternoon of photography.

Tatyana and Julian | Palo Alto Engagement Shoot

Noah Hawthorne — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 02:31:00 +0000

Tatyana and Julian came out to the Bay Area from Illinois for the holidays, and took the opportunity to meet up with me for some engagement photos after Christmas. We wandered around Palo Alto, into the foothills for beautiful California oaks and golden hills, ending up downtown with the holiday lights sparkling around the city.

Nancy

Noah Hawthorne — Sun, 18 Dec 2011 08:35:19 +0000

Matt & Caroline | Embarcadero Engagement Shoot

Noah Hawthorne — Thu, 24 Nov 2011 18:39:55 +0000

Sometimes the weather doesn’t cooperate with photoshoot plans, with a grey and rainy day instead of a beautiful sunset on the beach. However, aside from a bit of anxiety as I’m pushed to be even more creative, I absolutely love the challenge of working in difficult photography situations. With fading light, scattered showers, and the twinkling lights of Christmas just starting to go up around the city, I headed out with Matt and Caroline to get some photos of the two of them before they get married in February. As Texas transplants, Caroline had always wanted to go to SF as a tourist, taking photos around the town. Now as Bay Area residents the Golden Gate may seem a bit less glamorous, but we still had our chance to grab a few city view photos for them to bring back with them when they head back home for the wedding. We had a wonderful time, only got a little bit wet and I think that these photos are absolutely worth it. A few quick favorites are below.

Zara and Kate

Noah Hawthorne — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 07:23:45 +0000

My past wedding clients David and Uyen just had two beautiful twins, Zara and Kate last month. It was my absolute pleasure to get to know and photograph these little bundles of joy. They grow so fast!

Ani

Noah Hawthorne — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 06:34:46 +0000

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Paul

Noah Hawthorne — Tue, 27 Sep 2011 21:58:07 +0000

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Divna

Noah Hawthorne — Tue, 27 Sep 2011 21:57:38 +0000

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Mark + Kimberley Wedding Fusion Film

Noah Hawthorne — Wed, 18 May 2011 19:58:40 +0000

Mark and Kimberley’s New Years Eve wedding at the Berkeley City Club was a grand event combining the holidays, a party with dear friends and family, and of course a celebration of love between two wonderful people. I always love to look through the story that I tell with still images first, and then compare that to what can be presented through moving images and sound. I feel like the drama of a moment can be accentuated with a still photograph, light can be adjusted to accent an image, and it is easier to bring an artistic interpretation into an otherwise plain moment. However, with film one can find more emotional nuance through conversations and interactions- one that is less subject to the manipulations or interpretations of the person behind the camera – but is an unscripted and real presentation of personality, emotion and character that documents an important moment in an entirely different (but complimentary) way. In our fusion films, my partner Peter H. Chang and myself work to find the best presentation of the moments of the day and weave them together into a blend of moving and still images that is both cinematic and photojournalistic- to document the beauty, the nuance, the emotion, and the unique personalities of the wedding day in a single fusion piece.

Of course, it’s always helpful when our clients are so well spoken, love each other completely, and have such devoted friends and family around them. Congratulations to Mark and Kimberley. Thanks to Peter H. Chang for his primary work on this film, and for the assistance by Christopher Fuzi and Sierra Hawthorne as assistants during the wedding day.

It is always a fun challenge to work on the cutting edge of wedding photojournalism, and we really enjoy putting fusion films together. While we will undoubtedly continue to do a handful in the future, both Peter and I will be stepping back from weddings this year to shoot and develop an IMAX feature film. More details will follow as that project develops.