Actually, first we met up with them in the historic district of San Juan Capistrano. We took some photos around the train station and movie theater before wandering Los Rios Street in search of some fun. Some of the ivy-covered walls still look like Autumn, as do the trees in the park. Just our style!

The sky threatened rain all day, but we had such good luck on Los Rios Street that we thought we might press our luck and try a new trail not far up the freeway to get a little different look: fields, flowers, oranges. There aren’t many orange orchards left in Orange County (at least not accessible to photographers) but this one beckons just over the railing, so in we went.  And we’re glad we did! Check out this adorable duo!

Apparently Morgan digs tractors, so to speak, and who can skip the chance to skipper this old jalopy?

Morgan and Ryan were great to work with, and they’re sweet with each other. We can’t wait to help them celebrate their wedding at the Muckenthaler Cultural Center in Fullerton this July.

OK, we have to confess…the balloons weren’t exactly for us.  Officially, the colorful helium-filled bubbles were on hand to help the cute little guy, Nate, in the photo below, celebrate his 5th birthday.

You see, our business officially started five years ago when we found ourselves in Nate’s nursery, photographing him at just four weeks old.  It was his first time in front of the lens, and our first time behind it.  We got a couple cute shots.  Nate was a great guinea pig model and his expressions made the afternoon fun for all of us.  But boy, did we have so much to learn!  Aperature?  What’s that?  Shutter speed?  How does that work?  ISO? How do you adjust that?

But over the past five years our expertise for photography has grown by leaps and bounds, just like Nate!  Thanks so much to our good friends, Greta and Chris, for letting us borrow their son for portrait practice numerous times since that very first session.

We’d also like to thank all our fabulous clients for supporting us as well.  Your trust in letting us record your memories and special events means the world to us.  Thanks so much for an awesome five years!  We can’t wait to see what the next five years has in store for us!

On our own anniversary (which is October 1, 2005 in case anyone is tracking) we often pull out our wedding album and relive all the happiness which was (and continues to be) our wedding. To help Dustin and Katie celebrate, we thought we would put together a few images to remember all the fun details from their big day.

For us, the best part of photographing Katie and Dustin had to be how much time we had to work with them.  We spent a couple hours just on bridal portraits—about an hour on the grounds of the Newport Beach Temple for formal shots followed by an hour of portraits at The Lab in Costa Mesa for photos with a more casual look.  It was awesome not to have any time constraints for portraits before heading to their reception later that evening.

In fact, we had so much fun taking pictures at their wedding that we actually added a special package aimed at budget-conscious LDS couples who still appreciate great wedding photography (check out our Orange County LDS wedding photo package).

So without further ado, here are some highlights from Katie and Dustin’s wedding.

Congratulations love birds!

This cute couple met at the 2005 Anime Expo, one of the largest Japanese animation and video game conventions which happens to be held right here in southern California. It’s like a Star Trek convention for gamers, to which many attendees come dressed as a favorite character. Jennifer came dressed as Yuna and Scott assembled his best Seifer. For fun, why not take the engagement pictures with a similar idea in mind?

Gamers will appreciate all the detail that went into the outfits: her gold sash, his grey suit, the nearly-to-scale weapons, and even small accents like a “Believe” bracelet that harkens to Jennifer’s favorite game moment.

But even without the fun outfits you can see how comfortable they are together.

We enjoyed our afternoon with Jennifer and Scott—they have great personalities make such a sweet couple. We look forward to helping them celebrate their wedding later this June at the Sea Cliff Resort in Huntington Beach. Here’s two last shots, our favorites from the session:

And we’re not the only ones who are in love with Jennifer and Scott’s creativity.  This engagement session caught the eye of Rock N’ Roll Bride, one of the top UK wedding blogs, who just featured the photos on their site.  Be sure to head across the Pond to check it out!

Last night, Keith and I thought it would be fun to take a look at all the photos we’d taken the past 12 months.  Our hard drives are full of 40+ family sessions, engagements, weddings, birthdays, and anniversaries that we had the awesome opportunity to photograph.

But it’s always better to show, not tell, right?  So to visually recap the year, we’ve put together this nifty collage featuring ALL of our fabulous 2011 clients.

So to all our our families and bridal couples, we’d liked to say THANK YOU.  Thank you for trekking through the tall grass, across the sand, or up the hill to find the perfect photo spot.  Thank you for dazzling us with your cute outfits, adorable hair ribbons, and stylish shoes. Thank you for your smiles, giggles, and the little dances in front of our lenses. But most of all, thanks SO MUCH for trusting us with capturing your celebrations, memories, and special moments.

Meet Cate and Ian, a gorgeous twosome we photographed at the Newland Barn in July. Considering Orange County used to be dotted with tons of farms, it’s a shame that so few barn venues exist to give couples the rustic backdrop they’re looking for (although the big barn at Strawberry Farms in Irvine is another good choice).

I started the day by meeting up with the girls at The Hotel Hanford in Costa Mesa while Keith hung out with the guys at the Courtyard Marriott in Santa Ana.

Then we met up at the Newland Barn to take his-and-hers bridal party portraits.

There were lots of cool details, including an abundance of pinwheels which was a dominant icon of this southern-themed wedding.  And guess who made all those pinwheels? The father of the bride!

Finally it was time to get down to business. Cate and Ian chose the water tower as their backdrop rather than the gazebo, just like this prior Newland Barn wedding we shot, and we think it adds a nice touch.

After the ceremony we took some portraits of the bride and groom since they went the traditional route and didn’t see each other before the wedding.

And then…the party! After the first dance, guests dined on delicious burgers catered by In-N-Out.

The best man gave a great speech, but was then upstaged by the matron of honor (her sister Shelly) who sang a touching, funny song complete with her own guitar accompaniment in lieu of an actual speech. Classic!

It was a fantastic night! Cate and Ian capped off their evening with a grand exit surrounded by sparklers. We hope these two had as much fun as we did!

Congratulations to an awesome couple!

And a big thank you to all the great vendors we worked with as well:

Venue: The Newland Barn at Newland House Museum, Huntington Beach
Coordinator: Bre Nelson, Joyful Weddings and Events
Cake: Sweet and Saucy Shop
Flowers: Art with Nature
Lighting: Baker Party Rentals
Catering: In-N-Out Burger

But that’s not all! Our photos from Cate and Ian’s big day were featured on the Wedding Chicks blog.  Be sure to stop by and check them out!

Ben is a high school senior; we met his mom during a shoot for the band Instigator. I guess when your mom is the bluesy lead singer of a rock band you have cool in your blood, and Ben is a cool guy in the best sense—intelligent, thoughtful and easygoing. We met up with him in Orange County to take some senior portraits at one of our favorite spots, Irvine Regional Park.

Among other things, Ben is known for his yo-yo skills. Frankly, we’re impressed by anyone who can send the toy down and get it to come back at will. Fun fact: yo-yos, or something like them, date back at least to 400BC in Greece.

Ben is a great guy and we wish him all the best as he closes out his final year of high school and moves on to college. Congrats, Ben!

Exactly one year ago today, these two tied the knot in a wedding that was filled with an abundance of friends, family, emotion, and of course, the color pink!  We were only able to post a few shots from their wedding at the end of last year.  So to celebrate their first anniversary as Mr. and Mrs. we’re recapping a few of our favorite details from their big day.

Keith and I knew we were in for a treat when we arrived at Green Hills Baptist Church in La Habra on the morning of the wedding.  Their families had spent the previous couple of days decorating the church to fit Jenna and Matthew’s pink and black-and-white damask theme.

We loved the bottles of cider ready to greet guests at the entrance of the reception area.

After taking in the details, we headed upstairs to find Jenna and the girls getting ready.

With hair and makeup complete, we followed Jenna to nearby Creek Park in La Mirada.  The purpose of this excursion: Jenna and Matthew’s first look.  We love that Jenna and Matthew opted to meet and take photographs together before the ceremony.

Yes, it does break with tradition, but the benefits are worth it.  During the fall and winter months, the sun sets much earlier.  By taking photos before the ceremony, Keith and I were able to take advantage of the early afternoon light and not have to worry about chasing down the sun and popping our flashes.  Plus, the mood was relaxed and calm.  Time was built into Jenna’s wedding schedule so that all photos for the first look, family portraits, and bridal party would be shot before the ceremony.  With that plan, there’s no need to worry about keeping guests waiting at the reception.

And here’s proof that a first look is just as emotional as when a bride sees her groom for the first time coming down the aisle.

Jenna and Matthew’s church ceremony has to be one of our favorites.  Jenna’s dad not only walked her down the aisle, be also officiated the ceremony.  It’s always nice to witness a ceremony where the officiant knows both the bride and groom so well.

And perhaps our favorite moment—Jenna and Matthew’s sparkler send-off.

Congratulations Mr. and Mrs. Taylor! You’re a special couple and we hope you have a great time celebrating your first anniversary!

A couple weeks ago we had the opportunity to reflect a little more on our school days when we met this cute collegiate couple, Zenna and Cruz.  Just like Keith and I, they met as students.  And now, to celebrate their third anniversary, they booked a mini-session with us at one of our favorite Orange County locations.

The relaxed atmosphere of our Irvine secret spot—tall grasses, a dry rock bed, and a charming tunnel—worked as a great backdrop for this young duo. Here’s proof:

Thanks so much to Zenna and Cruz!  Working with you both brought back great memories for me and Keith when we first started dating.  Stay adorable!

And if any of you, our loyal readers, are looking for a unique anniversary gift to surprise your spouse with, a photo session is a great way to go.  Just send us a note and we’ll help plan the details.

Recently, we had the opportunity to host a private photography workshop with Jeni Ehlert and her husband, Sean, at one of our favorite local Starbucks.  We chatted for a couple hours over coffee and discussed the topics that interested them the most.  It felt great to share our experiences and knowledge about building websites, SEO, marketing, etc.

After the session we headed to our favorite Irvine secret spot for a quick portrait session.  Jeni’s had experience with modeling, so she was a natural in front of the lens, and she was great at coaxing Sean to take a few photos with her.  Sean, thanks for being a good sport!  We ended the session with some head shots of just Jeni that she can use for any of her business marketing.

If you’re a photographer looking for a little extra help or advice in building your business, don’t hesitate to send us a note.  We’d love to mentor you and put together a custom photography workshop to suit your needs.