slideshow for Beatrix

Beatrix is now almost 5 days old! She is doing wonderfully and is happy to be home with her parents. I got together all the photos from her first hours in the hospital and put some of the best into a slideshow. Click the link below to view it.

CLICK HERE FOR SLIDESHOW

Published!

As you may or may not know, Josh has organized two workshops for Portland photographers this year and has another one underway for next month. We have posted the results on our blog when the workshops wrap so you can see some of the results on the links below. The majority of the photographers are friends in an online community that Josh and I participate in called JPG. It is a wonderful site to post work and get feedback from talented people all around the world. The magazines creates 6 issues a year and sends them to thousands of subscribers and they also sell them in store likes Borders and Barnes and Nobel.

The latest issue has a story on the workshops Josh has been organizing! WHOA! And it was the first article in the magazine! The top photo was taken by me, hence I'm not in it, but I did participate! It is so great that they recognized the hard work and amazing projects that Josh has put together. Keep it up Josh!




WORKSHOP 1
WORKSHOP 2

Welcome Baby Beatrix!

My sister and her husband welcomed their first baby into the world today. Her name is Beatrix and she sure is loved by all of her family. We have been waiting anxiously to see her and now that she is here and healthy (and quite adorable!) we can all breathe a sigh of relief and enjoy this sweet gift. Stay tuned for many more photos in the next few days!

10 tips for brides

I came across this post on a wedding photographer's blog (Trystan Photography) that works and lives in Denver, Colorado. I found it to be a brilliant and great resource for brides. Pay super close attention to the eating tip, that often is a problem for brides... it is hard to remember when the day gets going, but having food in the belly is key to a happy day. Also, keep in mind that most of these tips are great for other photo shoots, especially engagement shoots. Read carefully and enjoy!

1. DO A DRESS REHEARSAL:
I mean it. Rehearse putting on your dress. Nothing throws off a carefully planned wedding like a complicated corset taking a virtual army of mothers and bridesmaids half hour to cinch, hook, or thread when you thought it would take 5 minutes.

And with that in mind…

2. PRACTICE BUSTLING THE DRESS:
Bustling is usually pretty straight forward, but sometimes those little ties and/or hooks can be pretty good at hide-n-seek. Whoever you select for your crack team of “bustlers” needs to have a detailed knowledge of where to find your “bustling hardware” because the last thing you want to deal with before you finally get to relax and party is a long, drawn out bustling of the dress (and your DJ constantly poking in and saying, “So, any idea how much longer before we do the introductions?”).

3. FAKE TANNER/OVER TANNING:
Let’s do the math here: Most likely your dress is made of the most delicate light cream and white materials, pure and clean (just like you). Fake tanner is orange/brown. You will probably sweat on your wedding day. Sweat makes fake tanner run… on to your wedding dress. Under the armpits and top of the bodice are common victims, but believe it or not the front of the dress gets a little copper rub-off most often from your forearms! Let’s review: Don’t use fake tanner, ever.

Now for over-tanning... Authentically tan skin does look stunning in many warm sunny environments in that gorgeous white dress. However, certain details often escape the attention of our average well browned bride. Firstly, don’t ever tan anywhere in the weeks before your wedding day where you can’t go in the buff because you will not be liking the white and ever-so-obvious tan lines from you bikini top (i.e. only use tanning beds). Secondly, don’t over do it. You will not like the leathery look of overly tanned skin in your bridal portraits, or (God forbid) you get sun burned! (Do I really need to explain why being burnt is bad for photographs?)

4. EAT!!! (!!!!):
Many of our clients have the completely natural tendency to avoid eating much or any food the morning of their wedding due to nerves, or over drinking the night before…

This may sound and feel like a good idea at the time, but please bear in mind that by the time we really get going that day, you might be a little low on the blood sugar and:

a) pass out during your ceremony.
b) become a little cranky
c) become really, really cranky. (And this is supposed to be a party, remember?)

So save your your fiance, your wedding party, and your poor wedding photographers the grief and nibble a little throughout the day.

5. THE IMMACULATE DRESS:
Do not assume that your dress cannot get a little dirty. Especially the underside of the train and hem. It touches the ground, so it will get dirty, and the best part is, no one can see it! I get such a kick out of brides who want the shot in the grass or field or off a trail in trees or something and then look down and see bits of stuff stuck to the tulle and freak out! It’s OK, as long as there is not a stain, you’ll be fine. That’s why you have bridesmaids, to pick tiny pieces of stuff out of your tulle and veil before the ceremony. Hello! And in the worst case scenario where you do get visible stains or dirt on the visible parts of the dress, you’d be amazed how little if any is noticeable on the photographs, and if they are just have them removed!

6. NOT-SO-TIMELY FLORISTS:
The wedding vendor (other than the photographer) who can really hold things up by being late, is the florist. Photography grinds to a halt if the bride insists flowers have to in all the post-getting ready pictures (which is definitely preferable) and there are no flowers. Florists often take multiple contracts for the same day and are sometimes running behind from their earlier appointments. And always ask if they can take care of the wedding party’s flowers first, before they do any ceremony and altar flowers.

7. HAVE SENSIBLE SHOES AVAILABLE:
You’re going to be on your feet all day. It will probably be the most standing you’ll have done in a while. Have a pair of comfy shoes to wear and give yourself a break. Plus, if your wedding is outdoors or we’ll be heading outdoors for photography, high heels tend to aerate lawns for free, if you get my drift (I’ve even seen heels break because they sank so deep into the lawn).

For more formal shots where we won’t be able to see your feet under your dress, feel free to slip on some comfy shoes, and pop the hot shoes back on for the moving stuff.

8. NO AISLE RUNNERS:
This has a lot to do with heels on lawns, but I’ve have yet to see a runner on a lawn that doesn’t trip someone up coming down the aisle. The heels drive it into the ground and it gets all bunched and folded by the time the bride makes it down, and she’s usually the one who gets tripped up. And the same goes for windy areas. Unless you’re going to have tent stakes every foot, the wind picks up runners like a giant kite.

And speaking of wind…

9. NO UNITY CANDLES OUTSIDE:
Unity candles just don’t work outside. Most of the time you can’t even get the candle to light, and if it does light, it blows out a few moments later. That kind of ruins the symbolism, don’t you think?

Unity sand is a great alternative. You each have a different color of sand (usually your wedding colors) and you pour alternately and together into a crystal vase of some sort and the pouring sand creates these amazing swirls and designs within the vase. It even works in wind!

10. THIS AINT YOUR MOMMA'S PHOTOGRAPHY:
Until the ’90’s wedding photography was a predictable, bland and stale mix of aesthetics that remained unchanged for decades. It was predominately formal, posed pictures and tons of altar formals with bad lighting. Wedding photography today is a sexy, stylized, spontaneous experience and no one can identify with this less than the parent’s of most of our clients. They will usually insist on an absurd number of photographs involving 2nd cousins and crazy aunts. And by all means, have the extended family in your formal pictures, but just make most of the formals into group shots and not individual combinations.

I’d love it if every couple saw each other before the ceremony (you can get the huge bulk of the photography done before), but if you don’t see each other before, you absolutely must not overestimate how much photography can be done during the cocktail hour between the ceremony and reception. Our focus at that time as modern wedding photographers is getting the sexy “wow” shots of the couple (together) and fun, creative shots of the wedding party. So, if your altar formals are too extensive, we can end up rushing our most important photography in order to get you to the reception on time (and you do not want to keep your guests waiting).

Baby Brenna!

We were thrilled to hear from some past wedding clients of ours a couple months ago. Megan and Larry were married almost two years ago and just welcomed their first child, Brenna, into their family. We just met Brenna for the first time this weekend and she wowed us with her sweet smiles and amazing blue eyes! She has such a kind little soul and we were so happy to meet her and see her parents again. Enjoy some of our favorites below!

Emily & Cameron's wedding ~ 05.09.08

Emily and Cameron were married just over a week ago at the Discovery Center overlooking the gorge in The Dalles, OR. This was our first wedding in the gorge and it was a phenomenal location! The weather was also perfect all day long. Emily and Cameron have been wonderful from their engagement shoot through their wedding. They have welcomed us as if we have been long time friends. And they always know how to whip out some rock star poses! Check out some favorites from the day as well as a link to their slideshow. Enjoy!

CLICK HERE FOR SLIDESHOW

Obama in Portland

Josh and I went to the Obama Rally this afternoon on the waterfront in downtown Portland. There was quite an amazing crowd, one of the largest yet on his campaign. No matter what you believe and who you support in this election, it is hard to deny that there are some amazing things happening in our country right now. It was a moving and exciting experience. Check out some photos we snapped.

Paint Mines

Here are some shots I took last month on my trip to Colorado to see my mom. We went out to a place called the paint mines just outside of Colorado Springs. The colors have not been edited! The photos looked like this straight off the camera. If you are ever near the Springs, you should stop by this beautiful place.

comfy

We thought we would share what Josh and I look like on days when we work all day at home. I love my coffee!

sneek peek: Emily & Cameron

Check out some shots from Emily & Cameron's wedding this past weekend. More will be posted soon so stay tuned!

Kiersten moved!

My brother and his family moved just up the road from us this last week! We are super excited to hang out with him, his wife and our niece Kiersten more often. Here are some photos I snapped while we were helping them move in this weekend.

Random photos from April