Tim and Athena's Wedding in Hollister, California
In this day and time in wedding photography, it’s very important to have the bride and groom actually like their professional photographer. Crazy I know, but too often I come across fellow wedding photographers who mention their lack of connection with their brides and grooms. As a result, while their wedding photographs are technically correct but there is many more that lack expression or honest untamed emotion. Now this may be over the edge for many of my shutterbug readers but more often establishing great lines of communication between the photographer and client is paramount. I mention this every time I meet with brides and grooms regarding my wedding photography and the services of R&R Photography.
I met Athena and Tim as a customer referral from Steven at Higher City Films. Steven and I have been working closely for the last couple of years. His talent and approach to wedding cinematography is inspiring and reminds me of myself a few years ago. Tim and Athena were great to meet from the start. She mentioned her background in journalism and his love for motorcycles. Instantly, I thought it would be great to incorporate his bike into the engagement photo session. They liked the idea and after a couple more meetings and answering all their questions, R&R Photography and Higher City Films were in.
As always, I’m excited when we earned our client’s trust and confidence to be their professional wedding photographer. It was great to also do Tim and Athena’s engagement photos with his motorcycle a few weeks prior to the wedding. Their wedding day started out great. We arrived at their home and were welcomed by the mother and grandmother of the bride and bridesmaids. Athena was so great as she prepared all the ceremonial wedding objects on her bed and I quickly got creative and started to take photographs of her wedding dress, high-heel shoes and all things wedding. I definitely won the women’s respect as a photographer after showing them some of the photos from my camera.
Tim and Athena’s ceremony was absolutely beautiful. It was nicely located in the rolling hills near Hollister. While the sun was shining bright there was not a cloud in the sky to offer some shade and relief. The weather was warm and set the beginning to a gorgeous sunset later. As Tim and Athena began their ceremony of matrimony, I can see many smiles from their family and friends. The vows were exchanges in harmony and laughter. They truly showed their love for one another and it was great to capture these moments. Tim and Athena ended their wedding day with food, drink and lots of family and friends who danced the night away. Thank you for allowing us to capture these photographs.
Beto and Acela's Engagement Shoot in Big Sur, California
When it comes to a Memorial Day weekend, most people can think of a few common things. It may include the daily BBQ cookouts, an extra day off and spending time with family and friends. With good weather it can be a reinvigorating holiday. On top of all that, there should be a thick atmosphere of remembrance and humility. As a son, grandson, nephew and brother of military veterans I can’t help but be reminded of the importance of Memorial Day. In the good words of James Garfield, “For love of country they accepted death.” Thank you for those who have served and fought for our freedom.
Memorial Day is also my unofficial start to the wedding season. Just in the 3-day weekend, R&R Photography was booked for an engagement photo session, a college graduation portrait session and a full day's wedding. Also with SIX weddings lined up one after the other, I’m excited to jump start the season with a beautifully planned engagement shoot with Acela and Beto. I came highly referred as they knew a couple of past brides and grooms that I had the honor to work with. Acela had a lot of good questions when inquiring about my professional photography skills so what better way to show off my skills than to bring a couple of wedding albums and two 11x14 matted and framed wedding photos. I did strategically use a nicely dressed military groom as Beto is also in the military. Maybe that would give me an advantage over my competition. Wonderfully enough, my team and I will be excited to see them with their California mission-style wedding in San Juan Baustista later this Fall.
Now when it comes to planning an engagement photo session, I love to listen to the bride and groom’s idea and vision. With knowing exactly what they expect, I know where to focus on with my creativity and including my own brand to the engagement photographs. Like most modern brides, Acela created a specific board on her Pinterest just for me. This was great because as a professional photographer, I have visual learning tendencies so sharing engagement photos are absolutely perfect.
Acela and Beto make a great couple. Often through their photo session, they laughed so naturally and created a good energy as I had the opportunity to take their photos. Their intimacy shows how much they are in love with each other and how exciting their wedding will be for not only themselves but attending family and friends. As I was taking their engagement photographs, it was relatively quite at times as you can hear water from a small river nearby or the gentle winds blowing through the historic redwoods of Big Sur. These are my silent moments of euphoria as I enjoy being in a natural setting and taking photographs of beautiful people.
Thank you Acela and Beto! We’ll see you in September on your special day. =)
Ryan and Kathleen's Wedding in Carmel, California
There’s something that had to be said with photographing the most beautiful wedding repetitively. I don’t know if every wedding photographer has this experience but it’s the essence of wedding photography when the photographer loves what he or she is taking photographs of. The photographs within this blog and showcase of Ryan and Kathleen’s wedding have been one of many favorites of mine because of their cool demeanor and just the relaxation of enjoying their wedding day. It’s kind of the secret to success when having the perfect wedding day. R&R Photography has a photojournalistic approach to wedding photography where the bride and groom get to just live in each moment during their wedding day. We love to capture those moments.
When we arrived at Mission Ranch in Carmel to prepare for Kathleen and Ryan’s wedding it was a pleasant surprise to see our good buddy, Clint Eastwood, signing some autographs and taking a couple of snaps with our military men. With a start like that, we knew this wedding was going to be very special. My prior communication with Kathleen and her mother, Mary, were all through email and an initial call. Mary was emailing me from Wisconsin! So it was great to finally meet them in Monterey a couple days prior to the wedding. Kathleen was so “California cool” with everything. She made her expectations clear and it fit with everything that I wanted to do as a professional wedding photographer. Everyone couldn’t be more excited about what was about to happen.
We arrived at Carmel Mission Ranch where it has spectacular views of Point Lobos, Carmel River Beach and the Pacific Ocean. The weather was absolutely beautiful. Not a cloud in the sky and bright! It was a surprisingly warm Spring day. Ryan and Kathleen enjoyed their wedding day with close family and friends nestled in the heart of Monterey Bay. I got to photography Kathleen as she was preparing with her Maid of Honor and bridesmaids while the rest of the team was hanging out with Ryan and the guys. It was such a great experience taking these wonderful wedding photographs. There were lots a personal detail in the wedding that we were able to capture and have it compliment to the entire wedding.
Ryan and Kathleen’s wedding was a great jump off to the 2014 wedding season. It’s been a great few weeks as we were able to experience 6 beautiful weddings every Saturday for 6 weeks. Wow is right! It’s been fun and I have had a wonderful time taking such amazing photographs of brides and grooms and their family and friends. I’m overwhelmed with all the warm welcomes and have enjoyed every moment. Thank you for all the support and praise with R&R Photography. Please don’t hesitate in emailing me at [email protected] to discuss your professional photography needs.
Jeffrey and Alison. Their wedding in Carmel, California.
Tim and Athena's Engagement Shoot in Big Sur and Carmel, California
Within recent past months, you never are sure how the weather might look on the Monterey Peninsula. We’ve been lucky to have sun-kissed days when there are more grumblings about our extreme drought conditions. It seems that more tourists are out and about earlier this season than most. The great part of our area is that can be sunny and hot inland towards Salinas and also a nice surprise to see the Carmel area with rays of sunshine. With a few weeks already under our belt in planning this engagement session, Tim and Athena were great in spending the day with me. We coordinated the locations with a quick phone call and a few texts. It was easy to work with Athena even when she sent me a few photos of her vision with the engagement shoot. We laughed about it but also incorporated them. During the weekend, we headed out to Big Sur to enjoy some sites, get to know each other and take some beautiful engagement photographs.
Athena was picture ready as most brides to be are with their engagement shoot. She was primped and dressed for the part with Tim in tow as we drove down to Big Sur. Most grooms are are pretty hesitant in taking photographers when they agree to do a session. Tim was a trooper. I was more than happy to have a couple be able to agree to some local gems of locations on a shoot like these two. I guess being as fun loving as Tim and Athena are, I shouldn’t be surprised. Initially when meeting Tim and Athena, she said that she likes photography so I knew my A-game better be on point. While it’s my intention to have couples be relaxed in front of the camera, Tim and Athena were very personable and made the most fun of their candids.
As planned for the last location, Tim also brought “his other girl”, a Yamaha R1 sports bike. It is a beautiful machine and probably goes as fast as a speeding bullet. Both are avid riders so it’s only fitting to snap a few motorcycle photos. By the end of the shoot, we were all pretty exhausted. With sharing more of the afternoon together, we came away with a better working relationship and made some new friends. Tim and Athen’s Spring wedding will be nestled in Hollister, California and we can’t wait to see them again.