It felt amazing to be able to let loose.

Brad and Czarina…. Thank You.

You made my week with this Engagement Shoot!

More to come…

As I stealthily stalked them on the tourist packed beach in Newport this evening, I thought how stinkin’ lucky I was, in that moment, to be able to share this with my cousin Scott and my soon to be cousin-in-law Kate. (Is that right? Cousin-in-law?) Anyways… I’m so so SOOO happy for them… and so proud that two such talented and ridiculously intelligent good looking people found each other and fell in love. Here’s some shots from the evening…

Scotty and Kate, I was so honored to be included… and I hope you know I love you more than all the sand in Newport. You rock my world, you give me something to strive to be when I grow up, and I hope you enjoy every second of your engagement. Lastly, Kate… take care of the name you’re marrying into… I’ll expect nothing less than excellence from the future “Katie Akamine.”

John, Liz, and I had a BLAST hanging out and shooting their engagement pictures! Seriously…. Liz and I could chat for days and not get tired of each other… and John is SO FUNNY. Here’s some shots from the “urban-y” part of the shoot at Orange Circle….

Liz… you are just TOO CUTE…

Okay… and I have to tell you all. I have found a NEW favorite place to shoot at Orange Circle… this little back area was so PERFECT! The light bounced off of 3 different white walls… I’m pretty sure I jumped up and down with excitement like a little school girl.

John is a a reader of this blog…. and was quite inspired by Billy Jack’s model escapades…

After a quick wardrobe change, we made a beeline for Irvine Regional Park to take some shots as the sun was going down. John and Liz changed outfits while I scoped out the park… and I was surprised to find no one around. No joke… it was completely silent besides the sounds of nature…. soo peaceful! John brought out his baby…. his Martin Acoustic Guitar and strummed softly as the sun’s rays softened into yellow velvet across their faces….

After some shots in the park, we went exploring into the creek bed… and the light was GOOOOD.

Fact: John’s a quiet and reserved person… until he gets a guitar in his hands. I’m pretty sure at least a third of the shots I got of John rocking out on the guitar are blurry because I was laughing so hard…

I couldn’t help myself…

We ended the evening with some good old fashioned fun… and Jonas Brothers Jumps…

John and Liz. You rock my socks off. You’re so fun to be around, you’re both gorgeous people inside and out, and you like sushi. I’m glad we got to spend the evening together and I’m super excited to shoot your wedding next April.

I had so much fun.

Aaaand I can’t wait to show you more…

Here’s the latest Guest Sign-in book that arrived this morning… custom designed by me!

It’s an 8.5 x 11” Hardcover Book….

That has a fully customizable front, back, and spine….

It’s pages are premium UV coated paper with great picture quality… and the pages are hinged… so you get the lay-flat effect. Love it!

The pages are thinner than Album pages, but thicker than just standard computer paper…

I’m a big fan of these White House Custom Color books… and I just wanted to share a little of my excitement this afternoon with you! Happy Wednesday!

Hmmm… what to say about Chelsea…. She’s everything a lady should be. She’s one of the only nurses I would want if I were in the hospital (she recently finished her Nurse Practitioner’s degree and rolls with the big dogs now ). She’s gorgeous. She has a smile that could make glaciers melt. Her quiet, yet quirky sense of humor never fails to have me in stitches (no pun intended…)…. and the list goes on and on. She’s someone I would want to be like when I grow up.

You can imagine the look on my face when Chelsea first asked me to be her wedding photographer…. well, basically I had a blank look of complete and utter shock on my face. I’m beyond honored Chris and Chelsea have chosen me to be their wedding photographer… and I couldn’t ask for more perfect clients and friends than them! We had so much fun shooting at the Orange Circle and Peter’s Canyon… and I’m SO excited for their November wedding at Strawberry Farms! Here’s some shots from our afternoon…

By the way… Chelsea claimed to “not know how to ‘work it’ “…. riiiiight.

Chelsea cracks me up… she’s so darn cute!

After we spent some time exploring around Orange Circle, we took a quick drive down Chapman and ended up at Peter’s Canyon… another one of my favorite places to shoot. The hills were painted a gorgeous spring green and as the sun set, we enjoyed the vibrant colors all around. Seriously… the whole time, Taylor Swift was singing “Today was a Fairytale” in my head… because that’s what it looked like.

Okay…. I couldn’t help myself. I HAD to shoot some of the details… because they were so good! I ADORED Chelsea’s dress from Anthropologie and the cute bouquet of flowers she brought along….

I was also a HUGE fan of her cute yellow strappy sandals from Nordstrom. (And I have to admit… I saw them at Nordstrom and almost bought them…)

Chris certainly brought “man-ness” to the shoot with his studly cowboy boots.

This was one of my favorites from the day…

Another “couldn’t help myself” moment… the sun flare was just so cool!!!!

Chris brought his truck… yay!

Passion.

Dear Chris and Chelsea,

You rocked my world with this shoot.

Not only were you easy on the eyes, but you were a breath of fresh air to my soul.

I loved getting to know you both better and I can’t wait for your wedding day.

I might cry. This is fair warning.

Loooove,

Kate

Before I begin any engagement shoot, I always tell the couple this…. ” I know it’s a wierd thing to have your pictures taken… on purpose. It’s wierd because, unless you’re a model, people look at you funny if you act like one. Today, you have full permission to not feel ridiculous showing me your best fierce face. You have full permission to be “love-y-dove-y”… in face, I encourage it because those are the pictures you will love. Have fun today. Let yourself feel sexy…. let yourself feel in LOVE… because that’s what these pictures are for… to help you remember that time in your life when you were so in love you chose to take the next step and prepare to pledge your lives to each other. Enjoy it!”

Well… I didn’t really need to tell Billy Jack and Alissa any of that… because they BROUGHT the fun….and the sexy…. they BROUGHT the love. And it was soooo fun to share this amazing time in their lives! Their friendship and their love comes natural. I was inspired and left the shoot that night with a big smile on my face knowing that two of my very good friends had found the love of their life. They’re truly happy. They truly bring out the colors in life. And I’m so honored to be able to spend time with these two, and documenting “them”! Here’s some of my favorite shots….. (there’s a TON… I had a hard time narrowing my favorites down)

Alissa….. you are smokin’ hot woman!

Billy liked Alissa in that pose so much… he thought he’d try it too….

This was one of my absolute favorites from the day….

When we stopped for a quick coffee break at a bookstore, they both saw the giant checkers board and ran to play a quick game before we continued with the shoot. I love this about them… they love to play

Poor Billy got cold…

Thanks again you guys! I had a blast hanging out with you on Wednesday and I can’t wait to shoot your wedding in May! You guys rock my socks off….

Today was inspiring.

The air felt full of creative vapor.

I took a deep breath and gave it my all.

Here’s a sneak peek from today’s engagement shoot with Chris and Chelsea…. more to come….

Here’s a sneak peek of the engagement shoot I did with Billy Jack and Alissa yesterday in San Diego. More to come!

Zak (Cave Rock) and Katrina (Firefly) didn’t originally meet at camp, but they both worked there for the summer… and the experience seemed to be game-changing for them. Both from Ventura, they ventured up to camp, pumped to be spending 10 weeks with crazy campers playing, hiking, and learning about what it means to be a disciple of Christ. Although they spent their time pouring into other people, their love and friendship deepened through it all and soon after, Zak was on his knee asking Katrina to be his wife.

Zak called me the day after he proposed and immediately asked me to consider being their wedding photographer… we ended up meeting at a Starbucks in LA… and talked for quite a while about…. everything. I found out Katrina is a fellow YWAM Alum just like me, and it was really cool to hear her experiences and thoughts about God, missions, and her life. I love them. They’re such a cool couple with a unique perspective on what life is supposed to be… missional.

We had such a fun time exploring around the Santa Monica Pier area on Monday… and I totally fell even more in love with them during the shoot. If this engagement shoot is any indicator of how awesome their wedding will be…. it’s gonna be off the hook! Take a look…

This was one of my favorites… I dig the raw feel of this shot… pulls my heart strings <3

Katrina is GORGEOUS. And I loved how her laugh is contagious…

This is kind of a random shot, but we walked past this little garden area with these Greek looking pillars… I think Katrina looks kind of like Aphrodite in this shot…

This is another favorite…. so sweet!

I saw this awesome tree on our way to the beach, and I barely mentioned it before Katrina jumped in it and shot me this look that could make glaciers melt…. I love this girl… we’re on the same brainwave.

We finally made it to the beach just as the light turned an awesome degree of perfect….

The light was gorgeous…

This shot was definitely my #1 favorite. She was DETERMINED to get him in the water….

DETERMINED.

Zak… Katrina…. I love you. Really Really with sugar on top. And I had so much fun with you guys in Santa Monica! Can’t wait to hang out with you guys in September!