This July has been one of the busiest months of my life! I've had a shoot pretty much every Saturday and Sunday this month, so I'm a little behind on my blogging. Here's a preview of what's to come:

Teresa and Jeff's bride and groom shoot in Irvine

Cherish's fun family portraits in Ranchos Palos Verdes

Baby Hai Van's (Pronounced haven) adorable portraits in Laguna Beach

Laura and Sean's beautiful wedding at the Montage in Laguna Beach

Dana Point, California.

We met Jennifer and Andy down at the Dana Point Harbor because Jennifer's parents used to live around there. I haven't been down there for a shoot so I was quite excited.

They were as friendly and fun as I had expected from our email exchanges. The shoot went by so fast because again, as we do with a lot of our awesome clients, we have so much fun just sharing stories about each other during the session. Jennifer told me afterward that we made them feel very comfortable, and that makes me so happy because that's one of the keys to getting the best looking photos.

We strolled around the harbor with the beautiful boats and headed over to the beach and park next door. Jennifer and Andy are going to be too modest to admit this, but they are one good looking couple!

Andy said that he loves black and white photos, and since I haven't really been able to show a lot of my black and whites here, this is a good opportunity to display them. It's a completely different type of editing when it comes to black and white. The control of shadows, midtones, and highlights are extremely important, as well as the handling of the different color channels. I am pleased at how it turned out.

Ranchos Palos Verdes, California.

From the first time I spoke with Tina over the phone, I could tell that she was a total sweetheart. And Bryan is the perfect match for her because he is the same way. They met and fell in love in the Navy.

I was very excited to finally shoot at the Wayfarers Chapel since I had been there as a guest and really liked some of the aesthetics of the location. It's definitely a challenging chapel to shoot in because the ceiling is mostly glass, so you have sunlight falling in however which way, but I liked what I got out of it.

Be sure to check out the awesome getaway car below; a beat-up, pimped up ride complete with a skull in the rear. It's stylin'!

Laguna Beach, California.

Nested between Laguna Beach and Newport Beach is a cozy little beach called El Morro. That's where Graham used to hang out and surf as a kid, so it has significance. We met Graham and Meesh there and had so much fun shooting and chatting. There is a pleasantness about them that makes them easy to talk to and photograph. Meesh has a radiant smile that the camera loves, and if it wasn't for her belly, you could hardly tell that she is pregnant!

I read recently that they will be doing major construction on this beach, so it's nice to have photographed it in its current serene state.

Good luck with the delivery Meesh!

Dana Point, CA.

We met Melani and Ben at the beautiful Ritz-Carlton Laguna Niguel in Dana Point. They were having a drink at the bar when we showed up. That's a good way to relax for a shoot! Melani wanted to showcase a beautiful blue sari and the glamorous Ritz-Carlton was a great location to match.

My favorite shot of the series is the one where Melani is spinning with her Sari. I love it because she was just acting silly and wasn't really posing so it has a candid feel to it.

After we were done with the formals, we got comfy and headed down to the beach for a little more fun.