It’s totally true that best friends little sisters totally grow up! I remember the first time I met Shay…I think….over at Cory’s house…just hanging around and I think she was in high school.Then, I remember her 18th birthday at the Cowboy Boogie…..then I remember seeing her at her sister’s birthday with short hair and one beautiful flower tattoo on her shoulder. She kept growing up. She fell in love, with Al..and now she is getting married! Time is never a friend of mine and I wish it would just stand still, but then there are the times that you love to see people grow and become wonderful, stay beautiful and loving… Shay is beautiful and she loves her soon to be husband Al…It was so fun to finally photography photos for them, with a reason besides asking them to be my models for a workshop, or to enhance my portfolio! SO fun! OH! and…if you are a bride, Shay does makeup and hair! She has worked with a few of my brides, so please inquire. Love you all! and the photos of Berlin turned out so cute! She was an amazing little helper at her Mommy and Daddy’s engagement shoot!

When there is tradition, there is a photographers dream, and when there is love, there is the dream of a couple. Rowena and Tarik, had so much to celebrate, and celebrate in many ways. While they both are very spiritual people, they are very traditional and true to their culture, which for me was a dream come true. Not only was the love between them very apparent, but the attention to the passion of their culture created a timeless ambiance to their wedding day. Generations of family members, from both of their sides, came together to celebrate the beginning of their life, as a married couple, husband and wife! I have to say, it was a bit chaotic, in a very very good way. Every second of this day, was filled with beauty and celebration. I am so honored to have been a part of this day, to tell their story. As always, I have so many photos, and choosing the images to blog are so difficult. I can’t wait to get their full gallery out to them….so they get the complete picture. I honesty have never taken so many photos at a wedding….it was such an honor and I wish you both the best as you begin your lives together! XXOO I want to thank Rowena’s sister Sylvia for tirelessly making sure everything was in order, Both sides of the families for being so amazingly welcoming and fun! And Kristine Andrews, my super hard working companion on this day…I know, I too could barley walk on Monday!

“You often hear people ask, HOW DO YOU KNOW WHEN YOU’D MET, THE ONE?”: Written inside the program for Alan & Jennifer. How do you know? Can you answer that question? How do I know as a photographer, that the history I’m about to photograph is about two people who are meant for each other. How do I know? I’m a stranger, in the beginning. I don’t know you from the next couple, until you walk through my doors, sit on my studio sofa and tell me all about YOU. It’s really in these moments that I can tell, if you are meant for each other. Really. I mean this. I can tell by your body language, where your glances begin and end, and what’s important to you. I can tell by how you either like to talk about each other, or yourself, or how you say your loves name. Oh yes, I can tell. I can tell when I see smiles. An expression we have little control over, since we all can spot that fake school photo smile, a real smile speaks for itself because it simply can’t be controlled. Alan and Jennifer sat in my studio for a record 3 hour consultation. We stopped talking about weddings midway through, and talked about dogs, traveling…engagements….and photos. We talked about what was important to them, as a couple..not him or her, and the page they were on was torn from the same book, the same chapter, the endless love story that they are beginning together. They held their hands close, they laughed, and smiled the entire time. I like to think people are smiling in my studio because I am so fun to be around. And although that may be true, they were smiling because they were talking about who they are as a couple, what brings them together, and how spectacular their celebration was going to be. I can only tell you that Alan is the most determined groom I have ever met. He surely knos what a good thing he has with Jennifer, but his determination to make her the luckiest bride in the world was evident in his crazy attention to every detail that would make her the bride she deserved to be, and the couple that together they are destined to remain. From arranging an engagement session in Vancouver, Canada, to making sure he brought the bottle of wine they first celebrated with, to the tango, to the love song he “rocked” her with at the wedding. This wedding was truly a celebration of finding, falling, loving, and holding on to “The ONE”. I can tell. Smiles, and laughter…..an abundance of friends, gifts of love and charity, beauty and details, travel and adventure, food and wine and a little rock and roll. This wedding had it all and once again I am humbled to have had the opportunity to share their celebration. You are both wonderful, please enjoy this taste of the details of your day. I can’t wait to get all the rest of the images to you….hugs and kisses, Christine.

I couldn’t have done this wedding without the amazing vendors who made this day amazing for Jennifer and Alan, but also made photographing their day a complete pleasure. Thank you Steven Reynolds and Maggie Ford for being to amazing, you are superb photographers and I am honored to have you as part of my team.

Wedding Planning & Coordination: The Pampered Bride, Jill Watson
Venue: Rancho Las Lomas, Silverado CA
Catering: 24 Carrots Catering & Events, Irvine CA
Florals & Design: Inviting Occasions, Larrisa Rehder
Lounge Furniture: Found Vintage Rentals
Videography: Russel Fowler Studios
Lighting Music: The Event Company
Band: Fans of Flannel
Groom’s Custom Clothing: Glenn Palmer
Hair and Makeup: Design Visage
Wedding Cake: The Confectionist
Groom’s Cake: Sweet Gems
Brides Shoes: Jimmy Choo
Bridal Gown: Lazroa, The White Dress, Corona Del Mar
Bridesmaid Dresses: Watters WTOO, The White Dress, Corona Del Mar

It never takes me long to blog, usually that is, but for this post I feel like I have so much to say, not show. I met Jana’ee and Brendan a few months ago, in my studio for their consultation. Like many of my couples they came together for a reason. I know how that sounds but what we have in common and what we share about who we are, is how we fall in love. Being in love never means that life if perfect. I am a believer that the definition of perfect is everything that perfection is not. There is no such thing. Love doesn’t mean perfection. Love is easy when everything is perfect. Being in love is acceptance that our beauty may fade. It’s knowing that wrinkles are on their way. Grey hair is without a doubt going to be seen in our hair brushes. Children may result in love, growing our families. Love is complete adoration for the things that drive us crazy. But mostly, we know when we are loved, when we lean in, when we give our hearts to another who will do anything to protect it. Love keeps us in the direction our lives were meant to go. Love helps us through those times that are the most tough. As you turn to that person to your side, love reminds you there is no one you would rather have there when you are at your worst. For this couple, love came when they needed it most. Love came as a blessing to get each other through the most difficult times their young lives, and the lives of their family have ever known.

Jana’ee and Brendan celebrated their vows of marriage, before God, and both their fathers in heaven. The only difficult job about photographing their wedding was hearing blessings, and stories about their fathers. It was hard to keep my camera focused through tears. Having recently lost my mother, it was all too familiar….and always gives me pause while taking those standard posed family photos….I know how much they will mean. Although love doesn’t mean perfection, it creates perfection in our chaos, in our needs and our desires. Jana’ee and Brendan, probably like many others have already been through great trials, and it’s the beginning. Together is where they began, and together is where they will remain. Holding onto each other, loving each other in the perfection that they created. Their lives are so full…so ready for the future of love, laughter and amazing happiness. I wish you two beautiful amazing people nothing but the best!

I want to thank the my friends Stevn Reynolds and Maggie Ford for tirelessly helping me not only for this Saturday wedding, but also the following day, there is no way that I could’ve done this without you!

Wedding Coordinator: Heather Hoesch with LVL Events
Venue: Balboa Bay Club, Newport Beach
Church: Our Lady Queen of Angels, Newport Beach CA
Reception: Harborside Grand Ballroom, Balboa Island, Newport Beach CA
Wedding Dress: Mon Ami Bridal, Costa Mesa California
Hair & Makeup: Hair Comes the Bride

With the help of my amazing friend and mentor Bob Davis, I read up a lot of the 5DIII referencing the words of Rudy Winston. If you have a moment. Google him and you will learn a lot about how and why your Canon gear works. Totally worth it! Thanks Bob! So what I wanted to research was HOW the AF on this new camera body was better. I felt that understanding why it worked would not only give me a better handle on how to use the new camera, but also consider if it is worth it in terms of any limitations. It is as you know not a cheap camera!

I really haven’t had much of a problem shooting still objects with my 5DII, not saying that you can’t have issues there but knowing the need to recompose and take my time I really felt that when I shot table tops or objects that were still I was in good shape. When I got my 5DIII, I didn’t want to test it’s focus on things that were NOT MOVING……if this camera was going to be worth it for me I wanted to make sure that I could find a use for the many custom AF options, and that they worked, and worked very very well!

The first time I used my camera I had an engagement session. My couple moved around and the camera seemed nice, but I knew the perfect place to push it. The next day  my son was celebrating his birthday at Sky High in Costa Mesa, time to see what this bad boy can do!

I know a lot of photographers may be turned on by the high ISO capabilities on the new Canon 5D Mark III. To be honest, this truly doesn’t interest me. I use a lot of off camera flash so ISO ratings never really got my attention. Yet, I wanted to TEST this camera. I truly feel that photographers shouldn’t rely on ISO to replace light….you can never replace light, quality light is essential….but that’s another blog post. More on the ISO. This place was pretty massive and tons of kids, kids of all ages, not just our birthday party so setting up remote speed lights, was something I didn’t even want to try. Plus I thought I’d like to use this opportunity to challenge the presets. This very first set of images of my son are pretty impressive considering that first it was shot on AWB (Auto White Balance), not bad color for weird flourescent lighting. Next I pushed the ISO to 5000, something I would never think I would ever want to do because noise, but because of the processors in this camera, it wasn’t an issue. I used my 70-200 with Image Stabilization OFF. Why? Well…..because I was shooting with 1/640 shutter speed, the time it would take my lens to stabilize, the shutter would already had been released introducing camera shake. Therefore it was OFF. I also chose the first preset “Case 1″ Versatile Mode to capture my little guy jumping…..not bad!

Above Photo: Canon 5D Mark III 70-200 @ 175, 2.8 @1/640 ISO 5000 SOOC

The next thing I wanted to do was play with the very next AF preset that really really intrigued me. “Case” 4 Subjects that accelerate and decelerate. My friend’s son who was a bit older and quick was the perfect subject. He moved very fast! I also wanted to really really see what 25,600 ISO really looked like in AWB at a smaller aperture of 5.6. The result is amazing I feel! I have to say the quality of the available light was not at all good, this camera performed amazing not just at the extreme ISO setting but also with white balance. Although I would be horrified if my wedding clients got this quality, I’m impressed with what my new lil’ toy can do!

The Above Photos: Canon 5D Mark III, 70-200 @ 80mm, 1/1000 5.6, 25,600 ISO SOOC

So how does this transfer to weddings? Here’s the thing. I think that camera’s that are ABLE to go as far as this, are not intended to be used at this extreme for paying clients. What I am saying is that the end is not the camera’s sweet spot. I would never suggest using 25,600 ISO to shoot anything or any person…really I wouldn’t. But what this extreme does is give us more play in other realms, like say 5000 ISO, did you see how clear and low noise the images above were? Once an unheard of setting can now be practical. That’s nice. I also feel you shouldn’t buy this camera just because of ISO settings, but the other many amazing functions, ESPECIALLY THE AF!!! There are more amazing aspects of this camera I have yet to explore. But as an aside, I just wanted to mention how perfectly matched it was the other night while using my 580EX II speed lights with my ever so reliable radio poppers! Muah Canon…..I’m in love with you!

Canon 5D Mark III: Left Image: 24-700 @ 24mm 2.8 1/160, ISO 2000, AWB, 2 Flashes ETTL W/ Radio Poppers Right Image: 24-700 @ 70mm 2.8 1/160. ISO 2000, AWB, 2 Flashes ETTL W/ Radio Poppers SOOC