Shana + Travis are just so wonderful! Whenever she sends me an email she calls me Darling Dana and I call her Sweet Shana! Ha! I love it. I’ve had such a great time getting to know them over their engagement, doing their guestbook and Shana’s B Session book (which Travis loved!). And the coolest thing was we got to go to Bacara Resort in Santa Barbara for this wedding to work with some of my favorite people in the world:

Brandie Bedell did makeup
Melody Rachunok did hair
Claressa Jaen of Driftwood Films did the video
Tiffani Michelle was my fabulous 2nd shooter
Lauren Reeves of Prince Events styled everything

We had such a great time!

The groomsmen took a dip before the wedding.

The first look was really sweet.



Shana’s friends were just so happy! Everyone was in tears.






Fun bridal party.





The Spazmatics!

Posted in Weddings 2010 | 5 Comments »

Jaymi + Andy are a great time! She’s in the fashion industry and he is professionally tall. Just kidding. He is 6’5 and I guessed it!  He makes her laugh and they have great banter. We did the session at their house and around town. I always suggest shooting at place the couple feel reflects them. What better than their house and a coffee shop that’s like the one they had their first date?

This is in their amazing lounge. It was on TV!

Love the way he looks at her and she laughs at him!

I really feel like this is so them!

Posted in Engagements | 4 Comments »

I loved this email I got from Catie:

“I am so in love with that wedding…and it’s mine!!! The pictures turned out soooo cute. I didn’t even know half that stuff was there! I heart my pictures! I can’t believe the weird stuff you took pictures of. So perfect! You captured the day beautifully. I hope Ben doesn’t mind driving to California for all of our photography needs:-)”

I also loved what Catie said about photography:
“I spent the most money on the thing that was very most important to me which was photography. That was more than half my budget. The rest was all my friends and family. (You can get anyone but I wanted the best.)”-Wow, thanks Catie!!

And check out Catie + Ben’s feature on Green Wedding Shoes! It’s at the top since it’s so popular. She also answers a lot of questions about how she designed her amazing wedding.

Posted in Love notes, Weddings 2010 | 1 Comment »

Taryn and Brandon are so much fun! They brought cool props. They’re naming their baby girl Sawyer, which I love!

Happy soon to be Mother’s Day Taryn! And Happy Mother’s Day to all the moms!

Posted in Maternity | 5 Comments »

Last week, I joined SoCal Photog ShootOut to lead a group.  I highly recommend attending one. I went a few months ago and got so much out of it. So I was really excited when Hanssie asked if I wanted to lead a group. They have several ones all over the country that take place pretty often. Thanks to Hanssie, Matt and Rob for having me! Rob was the main speaker who inspired me with ways I can better my business.

What I talked about was finding the right clients since I seem to attract such fabulous people! It was a good learning experience for me and my type of “leading” which is more like a collaboration. It’s the same principle I apply when I shoot my client-friends; I’m inspired by who they are and the kinds of things they like.

I spent much more time talking to photographers (which I take so much out of) and my model than I did shooting, which I feel is an important thing to do. I’m all about getting to know my clients. It helps everyone feel comfortable and get better pictures. I believe it’s even more important than being technically good.

But here’s few pictures I did take, so this post isn’t boring!

This is my model Kristin, who I just adored! I hope I get to work with her again. If you go to SoCal Photog ShootOut you can see tons of other photographer’s pictures that turned out so good!

Hair: Melody Rachunok
Makeup: Brandie Bedell

Posted in Personal, Photographers, Portraits | 2 Comments »