Happy Thanksgiving! Today is so wonderful, I wish every day was thanksgiving. It feels so much better to be thankful than to be grumpy. Not like I’m ever grumpy or anything. haha

Everyday, I am sooooo very thankful for my client-friends! Hope you all have a truly blessed day.

I have three, count them THREE weddings I’m working on right now. Hoping to get them done soon.

Here’s a random picture from my 4th that I love. Sometimes I like to bring my camera to out-ings to see what craziness ensues. Hope you had as much fun as I did!

Kelly + Mike, Mt. Woodson Castle So many great details I can’t wait to show you! Guys wore purple bow ties!

Erin + Jorge, Pine Rose Cabins Another colorful + fun details wedding.

Julie + Johnny, Mission Santa Barbara So much happiness and love on this day!

Welcome to my newly designed blog!  I wanted to add some features and come up with a new design. It was time for change! Plus I needed to add items that reflect my personality and style a little better, like the tag and twine. I’m so in love with it!

You might notice that my logo now has the word “boutique”  in it because it fits so well. It means, ” A small shop serving a specialized clientele.” My client-friends are SPECIAL-lized.

Another fun new feature is the side bar of inspiration, latest and popular. I have such inspirational clients, I wanted their ideas to be easily accessible and fun to look through. You can also find the latest posts easily instead of scrolling down and popular posts are always a good time.

Facebook is now connected and every post can be tweeted, Facebooked, blogged, baked and fried however you like! It’s delicious!

Also, updated is my about me page. There’s a ridiculously silly video of me. Watch it at your own risk!

I want to thank Allison of Designed by Allison for doing such an amazing job! I couldn’t be happier. Use her, use her for everything and anything!

Let me know what you think! (But only if it’s good! haha)
xoxo,
Dana

la la la la la Well not exactly night; evening, if you will. How much did I love shooting at The Frank Sinatra House? A lot, thanks for asking. I especially love this shot my associate nailed of this cool “stranger”.

This wedding shall be blogged soon….

Lately I’ve been exploring the concept of what I’ve been calling “Reject Art.” Started by my Reject Heart. It’s all about making something beautiful accidentally or finding the art in something that didn’t turn out “right.”

I finally developed some Holga film (I usually wait so long, I forget what I’ve shot and it’s like Christmas when I get them back!) One of the reasons I love the Holga so much, it’s not perfect. But my recent developments, were even more un-perfect.. But the more and more they come out wrong, the more I’m loving them. These are all medium format film and even that didn’t quite turn out right. Only part of the side of the film showed up.

Nothing even came out on these ones, but I’m in love with the numbers and the colors.

This is a little more typically Holga but still cropped off. From one of my favorite weddings.

From this rad wedding. Even though these didn’t turn out, I gave them to the bride and she loved them.

A merry go round in Perris (looks totally creepy to me) and a building in Paris, Ireland or London.

Totally wacky, from this Engagement Shoot.

From my trip to Utah in December.

This is closer to the look I’m going for with my Holga, but this is also (accidentally) double exposed.

I’ve been wanting to make a Polaroid heart for years since I first saw it in Domino or on some blog many years ago. V-Day actually inspired me to finally do it. I thought about making it out of my favorite Polaroids but then thought each image wouldn’t be appreciated like it deserved. So, what’s a girl to do?

Instead I decided to make it out of the mistakes I made trying to figure out how to use my dang Holgaroid. I like the idea of making something out of what didn’t quite turn out the way you wanted. Although these are rejects separately (even though I actually like a lot of them) together they make something great as a whole. That’s a lot like life and love and that’s the kinda thing that makes me happy.

I call it my Reject Heart.

Jennie is my cousin. Actually my first cousin once removed (my first cousin’s daughter). I took an overnight flight out to shoot this (immediately after I shot Izabell + Josh’s) which was crazy. But I had so much fun and was so happy to see my wonderfully funny family as a bonus.

Jennie + Joe are also my FOURTH couple to have met on Match.com! Awesome.

Cute little OH-HI-YA church.


First look.




This is just for my own personal amusement. My Daddy and my Patte.


The theme at the reception: games, mustaches and fun!


Mustache fun. I too had to get in on this action.

For the next week I’ll be visiting my sister, nephews and Kailua friends! I’ll be spending as much time possible enjoying one of my most favorite beaches, Kailua located on Oahu. I’m taking advantage of my break in weddings and preparing for an insane September jam packed full of shoots!

I took this picture last Hawaii trip in January and I love what this music blog did with it! Also, the mix of music is worth listening to.

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

I got this from the hilarious blog, Photographer’s Math.

Going to WPPI in Vegas for the photography convention (or fun convention?) of the year. I don’t actually go to the convention, I go to the trade show and all the parties. I meet lots of people, see old friends, talk photography, learn stuff and party like it’s 1999. So I’ll be out of the office for awhile. I’ll be checking my emails.