Briones Regional Park

The East Bay Area has such a charm to it. It’s a wonderful place for families to live if you want to be near San Francisco, but in a reasonably priced larger house. I grew up just 10 miles south of Briones Regional Park over in Pleasant Hill. It’s a quaint little town right between beautiful Walnut Creek and the suburbs of the east bay area. Briones Regional Park is a great place for hiking and picnicking. Lucky for me, I not only got to visit Briones’ beauty, but I got to see my really good friend Hannah! We met back in High School and she came into town after her husband graduated from Yale. Pretty cool huh? I got to meet their beautiful 7 month old baby and catch up with Hannah’s all grown up siblings. It was super fun!

Hannah suggested taking photos in this area because her grandma lives nearby in a beautiful home. We had such great views of the hills and these lovely Oak trees. As always, I created images that have a classic look to them with some filters on some of my favorites. Here are some examples for you to compare which style you like better. What look do you prefer?

San Francisco Baker Beach Engagement Photos

Emma + Calvin taking pictures near Sunset

Emma and Calvin are the cutest. Originally both from Oregon, these two met in ISRAEL while on a trip abroad with multiple members from the LDS church. At first, Calvin was waitlisted and last minute someone dropped out of the trip so he joined. That was meant to be. Thank you to whoever didn’t go on that trip to Israel. While dating, Calvin lived in San Francisco and Emma lived out in Palo Alto. Two of my favorite places.

I met Emma at church while we were both in Palo Alto. Wait a minute, we go back to maybe 2015. She was a missionary at Temple Square as was I and she happened to know my companion who was from India. I think they actually met in India. How cool is that! Emma and Calvin were meant to get married at a different date, but had to reschedule their ceremony multiple times because of COVID-19. They are troopers. Emma is even moving to Utah to secure a date to marry in the temple. Wish I could be there! I think only family can attend in small numbers.

The Golden Gate Bridge is the perfect emblem of San Francisco. If I were dating my fiance who lived in San Francisco, I’d want engagement photos there too. Oops, I actually did that once, but we broke it off. Seeing Calvin and Emma work together to take the most beautiful photos was so moving. Calvin is a sweetheart and I could see how much he loves Emma. Last I saw Emma she was still figuring out her job situation. She waited years before securing the right job. Now she works at Facebook. Well she did the same with Calvin. He is worth the wait. I can just tell these two are going to be one of those power couples.

I’m so happy I could take photos of them. My typical photo style is darker, warm, and some call it “moody”. I knew Emma would like the more classic light and airy look so I attempted to recreate that light and airy look and added in some of my filters at the end. What photo style and filter do you like?

Saratoga Foothill Club: Saratoga, California Wedding Venue

Mishel + Nick’s Wedding Day Portraits

Remember Mishel and Nick!? They are that lovely couple that I took engagement photos for back in January! Guess how I originally met Mishel? Through my dad and step mom back when I was maybe 10 years old or so! Despite my dad separating from their family maybe 15 years ago, I’ve been in touch with my former step mom, Laura and because of her I got in touch with Mishel again! She started following my photography and asked for a session. I’m so glad she did because it’s been so good reconnecting with her. She’s grown into a beautiful woman and I’m so happy for her to meet the stunning Nick. He’s a sweetheart and I can tell how much he loves Mishel.

Mishel and Nick’s original wedding ceremony was going to be on June 6th with a ton of guests. Unfortunately, COVID-19 hit and we have all these restrictions in the bay area on the amount of people who can be together. Luckily though, some close family members were able to join this intimate ceremony at the Saratoga Foothill Club grounds. The site was decorated with classy candles and floral garlands everywhere. I loved seeing loved ones gather in a small open half circle around Mishel and Nick opposed to the traditional seated rows.

Throughout the uncertainty over the ceremony happening or not as planned, Mishel and Nick stayed so positive about the whole pandemic and kept their marriage as the priority. They believe in God and I can tell they meant it when they made their vows to one another.

I’m so grateful to be a part of Mishel and Nick’s wedding ceremony. It truly was romantic, spiritual, and sophisticated. I look forward to their wedding reception in September! Here are some photos from their special day.

Stella's 1st Cake Smash

Ok guys, for the first time ever, I attempted a cake smash with my baby daughter Stella. She just turned 1 year old and I used my home to take her photos. I want to tell you about how I made the cake and set up the perfect scene for Stella.

The cake. If you go on pinterest and to any wedding these days, you’ll see a ton of the cute trendy naked cakes that are absolutely adorable. I thought I’d make one of those not only because they are cute, but because I thought it would be easier considering I didn’t have to make any fondant. Here’s a little secret for you… everything was from a box or container! I used a Duncan Hines yellow cake mix and a whipped frosting from a container to put this cake together. Why would I make a fresh cake with home made frosting just for Stella to smash!? I’m probably just a little lazy, or efficient… After looking up a YouTube video to decorate this cake with flowers, I became pretty confident that I could do this. I bought flowers from Trader Joe’s and inserted straws into my cake to attach the flowers. I bought a “one” cut out for the cake topper on Etsy and a cake holder from Target. This did take a little planning ahead of time since I had to buy 6 inch pans as well. What else was I going to do during my downtime with quarantine though!?

For the backdrop, I used my wall and my kitchen table. I used a white table cloth to cover the table and later edited out the line where the table met the wall to make it look like a solid white backdrop. With the string I had at home and the flowers from Trader Joe’s, I tied about 10 flowers upside down and strung that on the wall as decor. All I had to do after that was dress Stella up and get my husband to help me position Stella.

Ok, a frustrating part of this was Stella’s clothing. It was hard to shop with all the stores closed and another item that was supposed to come in the mail didn’t come on time, so I ordered this outfit from Amazon and it came before Stella’s party. It worked perfectly.

While shooting at F 1.6 for that dreamy out of focus background you all love, I got beautiful portraits of Stella. Next time, I’d probably shoot at F 1.8 instead to have both Stella and the details of the cake. I hope you enjoy the photos! Not bad for my first time, right?

Good to Meet You!

Hi! Welcome to my diary about all things photography!

This is my first post on my photography blog and I should’ve started it a year ago, but I didn’t because I was intimidated, so bare with me my while I begin sharing my story. Quick fact. One of my first blog posts was when I was 19 years old. I wanted to share my adventures in China while teaching English so I posted photos and shared my stories online. I was never a great writer, but I do have great photos and I want to share them with you. On this blog I’ll be sharing updates like photos from sessions, tips like how to set up your own home photoshoot and any other news that has to do with my photography. Before I start sharing about my work, I’ll fill you in on a little about me.

Right now I’m 29 years old, married to a guy who fascinates me with his intellect and beautiful gray blue eyes. We have a baby girl named Stella who is about to turn 1 soon. So stay tuned for an upcoming post about how to set up a home photoshoot. I’m from the east bay area originally and have lived in many places over the last decade. I never really knew what I wanted in my life until I was about 26 years old and til’ this day I’m still learning about who I am and what I like.

After I left the class clown years of high school behind, I went off to college to study business. I was really interested in marketing and advertising as well as videography. I didn’t know where to go to school so I ended up accepting admission to two different universities to give them both a try. I started at Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo where I was on track to study business. I loved the climate and serene atmosphere of the hills and ocean out there. Parts of me wonders what my life would have been like if I finished out my 4 years there. Instead, I left to Brigham Young University- Idaho to find a bitter cold winter, and extreme rules that contradicted my need for independence, but I made friends with really good people who had the same values as me. I decided to continue at BYU-I because tuition was 1/4 of the price and I got free scholarships for having a good gpa. As well as having people around me who I hoped to have more in common with.

Now this is where China comes in. While on break from school I taught English abroad for a semester. At that point I got into taking tons of photos and making videos for fun also. From that exciting experience, and the sad reality that I was overwhelmed when I tried to take an online excel class on a non pc computer, I decided to change my major from business to elementary education. Let’s fast forward a bit. After BYU-I wasn’t working as well as I hoped I ended up transferring to BYU- Hawaii. Why didn’t I do that in the first place? I really don’t know? It was never my thing. I finished out my elementary education degree there in hopes to have a well rounded knowledge about how to teach children since I wanted to be a mom one day.

Ok, believe it or not, I moved again. And again and again. Just wait…

While in Hawaii, I fell in love with taking pictures of the crystal clear ocean, and the lush greenery in the Malekahana region. Something wasn’t right in my life though so I thought I needed to get away and the best way I figured I could do that was to teach English by being a nanny in Istanbul, Turkey. That was wonderful! I lived with such a kind and modern Muslim family who lived in Florya on the European side of the country. This gap year really allowed me to find who I was. I’m a strong believer in traveling. It’s good for the soul to explore, learn and contemplate the simple ways of life around the world.

I took a bunch of photos and videos in Turkey. Why didn’t I get into professional photography and videography at that point!? I wish I did. I loved it. One reason was because my dad told me there wouldn’t be security or money in those type of creative jobs. At least I loved it and did it for myself. Turkey was great. Stunning. It may be one of my favorite places. Since I was already on that side of the world, I thought it would be wise to also see Jordan, Israel, and Greece. Wow. Traveling became my thing.

I became so adventurous, I even went on a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Guess where I was assigned to go? Utah. Salt Lake City, more specifically at Temple Square. I thought that was funny because I became a world traveler by then and I was going to stay state-side? It ended up being perfect since Temple Square is a large tourist side where thousands of visitors pass through while they are touring the USA.

While on my mission I took tons of pictures of people. It was fun! I volunteered to take photos of guests and we didn’t get tipped… I started taking photos of foreign sister missionaries so I learned how to get along with people from a variety of places. I got comfortable working with people very quickly. Maybe that was because my mom is the most outgoing person you will ever meet.

People ask me if I’m ever afraid to take photos at a wedding or how I’m able to work with “bridezillas” and I think to myself, you have no idea how taking photos energizes me more than anything. If I could teach elementary school for 2 years in San Jose, California, I can do anything! Besides leading large group tours on my mission, my teaching experience is what helps me be confident in directing groups of people and showing them what to do. My career after college was enlightening and teaching filled me in so many way. Overall though, I was pretty burn out from doing it full time so after about 3-4 years of teaching including substituting and student teaching, I was ready for something else.

Thank goodness for Lexie. She was my own wedding photographer. My husband actually found her! I had the hardest time knowing how to select a photographer and out of all people, my husband Ben found her? Lexie is the best. She is the most sweetest person and became a legit friend of mine. While taking photos at Point Lobos near Big Sur in California, I saw how Lexie directed people and loved the natural way she posed me while making the photoshoot fun. I left feeling so on top of the world and thinking I have experience with a camera! I could do this.

It wasn’t until 3 months after I was married that I took that thought seriously. Lexie needed a second photographer for a wedding at City Hall in San Francisco and I was overjoyed to step up to the plate. That was scary. I was so new at taking photos. But, I LOVED IT! From then on, Lexie was my mentor and she became my saving grace. I was going through a rough time with teaching and just living in San Jose. Settling down in one place was new for me and there weren’t many young couples to help make me feel at home. All of our family lives in the bay area though. So that’s a blessing. Stella has three sets of grandparents. My parents are divorced. Although my parents are divorced, I’m a strong believer in marriage and family. I love that I can be a part of someone’s wedding day because I love celebrating marriage and I love taking photos.

Lexie showed me the ropes and we traveled to various weddings in California. I started taking photos on my own after advertising through Thumbtack and people hired me so I guess I was good enough. I wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for all those lovely people who trusted me to take their photos. My style and work is always changing, but with what I have, I’m proud of what I’ve created.

So that’s my intro and a short story that explains my background with photography, people and loving family. I look forward to meeting you and learning what makes you, well you. :)