natali

Published July 26, 2010 fashion , friends 3 Comments

warning: you will be jealous of this amazing girl.

why? not just because she is 15 and gorgeous. but because she also has a beautiful heart full of amazing dreams. and i know that she is going to achieve them and change the world. one day she hopes to become a doctor or work in the medical field overseas.

natali grew up in turkey with her parents and 3 brothers; together, her family has seen their share of heartbreak and happiness. many of her family members have battled cancer. she is not just 15- she is 15 going on 25. she has this amazing depth that only comes from experiencing hardships.

suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character.

this is one reason i volunteer with teens. i believe in them. and they inspire me.

Continue reading ‘natali’

mike colon workshop review

Published July 22, 2010 photography 4 Comments

right before the amazingness that was jon + ledah’s mariposa ranch wedding i was thrilled to have a chance to learn from an amazing photographer, mike colon.

he held “the seven workshop” in san jose, so it was nice to be close to home for this one. not that i would have minded an excuse to travel to Hawaii or Bali for his workshop…

Continue reading ‘mike colon workshop review’

showtunes

Published July 19, 2010 family , kids Leave a Comment

all it took was a few showtunes to get ella + audrey giggling. well, maybe it wasn’t just the showtunes, maybe it was their dad Mike, singing them at the top of his lungs in the crowded park :

“Do you want me to sing LOUDER so that EVERYONE laughs at me?”

audrey + ella loudly screamed: “YEAHHH!”

that right there, friends, is dedication to the image. because everytime they giggled and laughed at their dad, i was snapping away. and when the showtunes stopped working, we busted out the mini guitar, we danced, and i taught audrey how to click the camera shutter.

my goal is always to get candid, natural portraits for families. it sounds a lot easier than it is. but i wouldn’t be doing it if I didn’t love spending time with people, interacting with sweet girls like ella and audrey, and a challenge.

but you know what, and i know i say this every post, i really love what i do.

thanks for a fun morning in the park, you guys.

Continue reading ‘showtunes’

natural portraits

Published July 8, 2010 photography 5 Comments

the other day my friend gave me the most wonderful compliment. she said “emily, i was looking through your photos and i was thinking to myself- all the people you photograph are beautiful. but then i thought, that’s not totally it. the thing is you make them look  natural, like you capture their natural personality. and that is what makes them beautiful.”

i mean, i could have cried right then and there.

because that is exactly it. exactly what i want with the photographs i take- i want you to see how beautiful you are, just the way you are. i don’t do any photoshop here. i just get you in your best light, being yourself. i want you to see yourself the way i see you- beautiful. unique.

my secret to getting natural portraits? it’s not really a secret if you’ve spent any time at all with me. i just have FUN. i play. if i have to, i will make a fool of myself to make you laugh. and trust me, i have.

i wouldn’t take photos of people if i didn’t love people. love spending time with them. love getting to know what makes them laugh. what makes them smile.

Continue reading ‘natural portraits’

jon + ledah’s mariposa ranch wedding

Published July 6, 2010 weddings 5 Comments

i believe that at the core of everything, we all want to be known. really known. for others to know our hearts, our dreams, our quirks, our fears. and for others to accept us because of and in spite of them. to be deeply loved we need to be really known.

you know those couples that really know each other the minute you start spending time with them. and i think we are drawn to couples like that. ones that really get each other. they can laugh at one another and when they look at one another you can see it in their eyes.

all that to say that jon and ledah: they know each other. and to see them interact is a gift, and it motivates me to love more deeply and cherish my husband more every day. it was awesome to photograph their love.

on june 26th, 2010 at carter ranch in mariposa, california, jon and ledah became husband and wife. they are perfect for one another.

Continue reading ‘jon + ledah’s mariposa ranch wedding’

japan

Published June 30, 2010 personal , travel 4 Comments

i like japanese things. i like that sometimes japanese products are adorable for no other reason than to just be adorable.

i went to the daiso japan store (japan’s equivalent to the 99cent store) in mountain view recently and picked up a few adorable things.

each little knick knack holds an inordinate amount of sentiment for me, because each item reminds me of the sweet year i spent in tokyo, japan after i graduated from UCLA in 2006.

i am reminded of the constant surprises and joys of new things in a strange and wonderful place.

i am reminded of the lifelong friends i made while working with college students there.

i am reminded of Aaron’s surprise proposal at the end of my year there, after many hard months of long distance calls, and i remember crying on that bridge, in the rain.

i cherish all those things.

they start to feel like a lifetime away, until i find a little japanese joy in the form of a sponge with a face:

Continue reading ‘japan’

shannon + jeff : south dakota engagement

Published June 28, 2010 engagements , travel 4 Comments

shannon and i sat and talked excitedly about her upcoming wedding at the historic rengstorff house in mountain view in september. and she told me about this guy, this one that stole her heart, and she talked about beautiful south dakota.

i’ll just be real right now and say what i was thinking, “south dakota…beautiful?” see when you grow up in california you have this horrible tendency to think that anywhere that far from the ocean can’t be that beautiful.

how WRONG i was about south dakota!! and just in case any california girls out there are thinking to themselves, what is even in south dakota? i hope this blog post enlightens you about this gorgeous place.

but back to shannon and jeff…

jeff is the kind of guy who, in the words of shannon’s dad, you can’t help but like. he’s just so dang sweet and funny. and i was immediately predisposed to like him when i saw the way he looked at shannon. a man who looks at his woman with that kind of fondness and love, is a man i can get behind.

you’d never guess it started with one little facebook post…

jeff had just graduated from flight school in the air force, and lots of friends were congratulating him on the facebook. but none of them quite caught his attention the same way that one little post from a girl he kind of knew in college. shannon said something like “congratulations on graduating from flight school…that’s cooler than cool” because shannon is awesome like that.

jeff did a little facebook stalking and became more and more intrigued by this shannon, who he kind of knew in college. and so he sent her a message in response to one of her statuses (be careful, ladies what you post on facebook…) about wanting to go on an adventure. jeff suggested they go on an adventure together to south america, and ended with “that would be one crazy first date.”

and would you guess that shannon was intrigued as well? wouldn’t you be if a guy asked you out on a first date to south america? well they didn’t actually go but they did spend a weekend together while some mutual friends got married in davis where they both went to college, and that was all it took for jeff to be officially smitten.

after a lot of long distance, and trips to texas where jeff was stationed, and many hours on the phone, jeff proposed to shannon.

…here’s to many adventures my friends!

I know you are going to love your new life together in south dakota soon enough. Continue reading ‘shannon + jeff : south dakota engagement’

delaney + bliss

Published June 23, 2010 kids Leave a Comment

i should warn my clients that if you want me to take photos of your children, i tend to bring out the sassy in them.

taking photos of delaney and bliss was pure joy for me. rolling around in the grass with these 2 sassy girls was hilarious.

anyone who knows delaney will tell you how hilarious this girl is. and she has a voice that she is not afraid to use. always telling a story, or asking a question, or singing a song, she is purely wonderful. Continue reading ‘delaney + bliss’

one week on a houseboat

Published June 21, 2010 friends , personal , travel Leave a Comment

this past week I lived on a houseboat, along with 35 high school students. I am just as crazy as I sound.

It was incredibly refreshing and soul-restoring to get away from emails and spend time stargazing, swimming and laughing on beautiful Lake Shasta.

Continue reading ‘one week on a houseboat’

b1 bomber and the badlands

Published June 10, 2010 engagements , friends , travel 1 Comment

welcome to day 2 of my adventure in rapid city, south dakota!

so many new sights and sounds today. i am exhausted and exhilarated by it all.

jeff is a 1st lieutenant at ellsworth air force base; so he was able to show us around the base, and we had to get a few photos in front of the b1 bomber. jeff flies one of those beasts. it’s pretty stinkin’ awesome.

we then took a drive to badlands national park.

we took one million pictures. south dakota is just as scenic and breathtakingly beautiful as you imagine it would be.

i am so excited about all the photos we took and it was agonizing to choose just ONE to share for now, but here’s a little gem for you that shows a little of the badlands rock formation in the background.

gorgeous. am i right? i promise to share more later, you will love them.

for now, it’s time to get my beauty sleep.

mount rushmore tomorrow!!

xoxo

em

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