Expressive people are the easiest ones to photograph.  To communicate what a subject is feeling and make the photo as powerful as the depth of feeling in real life- that is one of the toughest challenges of photojournalism.  Caroline and Peter made it easy on me.  They are so passionate and expressive.  They look at each other with deep sincere affection, laugh loud, and dance big.

I first got to know them in their home town San Francisco, and we spent a rainy, fun spontaneous afternoon together shooting pictures.  What impressed me most about them was their maturity.  That they are young, but already so grounded in the value of family.  They fell in love with each other partly because they shared those same primary family values.  It was fun to see and get to know their families on the wedding day and get a chance to see where that foundation came from.   Thanks for letting me in on all of it guys!  Much love!… Read the rest

Here are a few bits about Jayne and Kelly that I like:

At our first meeting, Jayne and I went on a long rabbit trail about design and style blogs for a good many minutes, and we both left with new urls to stalk.

At our third meeting, Kelly showed up at the studio with a Cherry slushee from Quick Trip.  I liked that about him.

Jayne and Kelly are a couple of really talented architects, and when we talk about pictures, they get just as excited about negative space and peak action as I do.

They are super-interesting, friendly people, and  I warmly anticipate their lovely wedding a week from Saturday.… Read the rest

Yesterday as Jewel and I shot Karin and JC’s wedding, we looked at each other several times saying, “how sweet are they?!”  and I think we might have even had a few tears as we photographed Karin and JC committing themselves to one another and celebrating with their dearest friends and family.  Today I wanted to honor that by sharing a few of their engagement photos.  Karin suggested just what I like to do for engagement sessions- hanging out at places that are meaningful to them and their story and taking some photos along the way.

We decided to shoot at the two restaurants where their first date unfolded.  They were set up by a friend, and the connection was immediate.  Two years have passed since that first date, but getting to see them together over the past few months, I love the idea of how wonderfully “home” that first date must have felt for them.  They just seem to find home in one another.  Much love to you two.  Wedding photos to come…… Read the rest

Matt didn’t tell me this (he’s a humble guy) but I learned it from his best man’s toast- that he was a 4 time State Championship hockey player.  So it might seem funny that one of the words that comes to mind most when I think about these two is sweetness.  They are both kind, humble, sincere people.  Over the year that I have had the chance to be in their lives, I have become a really big fan of who they are and feel like they are friends more than clients.

I have been excited to share this wedding because Rachel and Matt really made it easy for me to do what I hope to do- which is really, to capture something more important than how beautiful it all was- something longer lasting than that.  There is a transparency and presence to them both that really touched me throughout the day.  I am thankful that I got to be there with you two and I love ya!

… Read the rest

The importance of friends and family comes to mind when thinking about Lisa and Keith and their wedding.

It was obvious that Lisa and Keith value their friendships as well as their families.  In fact it was hard to tell sometimes who was a friend and who was family which I found wonderful.  They even honored friends that were not able to be there.  Part of my job is to certainly tell the story of a wedding day.  The other part, the hard part, is to look for tiny stories that weave together to tell the big story of who people are.  One such story at Lisa and Keith’s wedding was one of honoring a friend.  A few weeks prior to the wedding one of Lisa’s bridesmaids  was in an accident and not able to make it to the big day.  I was unaware of this story till another bridesmaid comes into the room with a larger than life size photo of their fellow bridesmaid’s face on a stick.  It was great to see her represented throughout the entire day sure to not be forgotten.

This is one tiny story amoung many others that showed Lisa and Keith’s dedication to the people that mean so much to them.  It was a joy to watch unfold that day.

To top it all off I was able to be surrounded by friends as well.   Our friends at Soiree did the event design and coordination, our friend Brandon with Wirken Films was there to document all of the moving story,  my friends over at Pech Limo drove us around that day and I was reunited with the parents … Read the rest