Robb & Lily were engaged in San Francisco, live in Los Angeles, and will be married this October in Washington, D.C..

Dave and I are fortunate to call these two close pals and I’m really excited and looking forward to shooting their wedding this fall.

The four of us met up yesterday morning and cruised our way up north to the poppy fields. If you haven’t been, GO. Ignore the pollen, grab a friend or loved one, get in your car, and go see the blooms for yourself.

What started out as a lucky $5 find at a Goodwill store and a quick trip to Chinatown for a $4 parasol ended up as a relaxing afternoon disguised as an engagement shoot. I love how these two share a mutual appreciation of being outdoors. Oh, and thank you to Dave for carrying all of my things, waiting on Lily hand and foot (literally, helping her change out shoes was such a kind offer), and just being great company. You are an amazing man, Mr. Masters.

Oh, check out the Bar & Grill in Elizabeth Lake if you’re the kind of person who likes to come home with stories.

I have so many images that I never blogged. I get busy, I get my work done, and then I put my images up on facebook for my clients to show off. It works for us, but not for you folks out there in the blogosphere. Hence the start of my “Stuff I never blogged” series.

The following images are from my newborn session with baby Liam and his parents from October 2009. Enjoy!

Brick building, abandoned warehouse, graffiti, train tracks, overgrown weeds. Check, check, check, check, and check.

Oh, and spending an afternoon after a week of rain to get some fresh air. Check.

I’ve been shooting a lot of headshots lately. Specifically of dudes. Even more specifically of dudes needing to look like they could be taken seriously.

Sam Maccarone is a man of many talents. For Christmas, a mutual friend of ours gifted him a session so he could update his portfolio to show his more serious side.

Ian’s employer recently requested a shot of him for their newsletter. Ian pulled out the Hugo Boss and we met up one afternoon for a quick session. Simple, straightforward, and a face to match a name under the employee directory.

At this very moment, somewhere in the world, there’s a sassy blonde on the way to Italy to live the more romantic life. For now, there’s a lonely “cheeky suite” missing it’s sassy blonde. Before Amber said goodbye to her little bachelor pad me and Anne had at it with her on a Saturday afternoon in Hollywood.

The three of us ladies set out to shoot a session where Anne could really focus on her boudoir ideas. Each idea was an equal collaboration between the three of us, but if you ask me, Anne really shined during the bedroom scenes. Please check out her blog to see her shots. I’m ecstatic that Anne has decided to return to the world of photography, and focus her creative talents on her work behind the lens.

I met up with Amber and Anne one afternoon at the Farmers Market and discussed her shoot over treats and window shopping. During our planning session, Amber and I realized we had a lot more in common than we ever thought possible. When I saw this kitchen, I saw baked goods and an apron. So did Amber…

At first I thought Amber had this smile on her face because moments earlier, she had answered the door for “Mr. Sexpot Neighbor Man” in this ensemble.

Nope. Amber’s got a sweet tooth. Like, a really, REALLY, REALLY crazy sweet tooth.

I love the light in Amber’s bedroom….

When you live in a building that offers a panoramic view of Hollywood and beyond, you have to take advantage…

While not wearing pants.

Amber had this bowtie choker that went with her wardrobe perfectly. It’s like this thing was waiting for this shoot, on this day, with this model.

Right before we took this shot, Amber was having trouble opening the bottle of spirit glue she needed to glue her ‘stache on. I used a stepladder to smash the bottle, at which point Amber took the little applicator brush, dipped it in the glue on the ground, and exclamed, “I’m gonna stick this on my face!”. We were in stitches until we wrapped a few minutes later.

Amber, may you enjoy showing the rest of the world your secret ‘stache. Good luck in Italy!

…that forces wedding guests to wear their inner freaks on their sleeves.

Okay, maybe the hosted bar had something to do with it. Maybe that box of props that showed up right after I started snapping away just inspired people. Or maybe, Tanya & Oscar have friends like mine.

Sure, I could have censored some of the more wild and crazy shots, but that wouldn’t be any fun now, would it?

Thank you to Anne K. for connecting the dots between Tanya and I. See, Tanya had Anne design her invitation suite, and at the last minute during a meeting between the two of them, Tanya mentioned how much she would have loved to have a portrait booth. Of course the first thing Anne did was give me a call and coordinate the last minute addition of a portrait booth to Tanya & Oscar’s wedding at the Los Angeles River Center and Gardens.

Tanya and Oscar chose a modern day Fiesta theme for their wedding. Check out their invitations by Anne. Just hours before their wedding, Anne designed some labels for the bags that we included with each 4×6 print that each guest took with them. I was hoping to provide a photo of the label upon showing you this slideshow, but I’ve been so incredibly busy I haven’t had a chance to take a photo yet!

I’d also like to thank Carina of Tealight Weddings. From the moment I was added to Tanya & Oscars lineup, Carina made sure I was in the loop. It’s event coordinators like her who make my evening easy. I always knew where to find someone for a cleanup on aisle 6 (aka, spilled liquor in front of the booth), or when to quiet down so that the guests could focus their attention on some of the evenings other activities. Thanks Carina!

And like I haven’t written about her enough lately, a neverending thank you to Anne. She was in charge of the prints for the evening and that is no easy task. I can always count on her to show up ready to command the print station without any hangups or delays. To be able to call someone up 12 hours before an event and ask them to design custom labels without any hesitation or second thoughts is really an incredible bonus to working with someone as talented as her. Hello, my name is Pamela and I’m the President of the Anne K. fan club.

To view Oscar and Tanya’s portrait booth slideshow, click here or anywhere in the image below. *Warning* The photos in this slideshow are hardly G-rated. In fact, if you’re at work or there are little ones in the room, you may want to wait until later to check out these photos.

If you happen to be a guest from Oscar and Tanya’s wedding and you’re interested in ordering reprints from the portrait booth, please email me at pamela@pamelamastersphotography for ordering information.

When I smashed a bottle of spirit glue so Amber could put her mustache on?

No?

Oh that’s right, I haven’t told you about my day yet.

It started like this…

But ended like this…

And all those juicy details in between? Well I guess you’re just gonna have to hold on to your mustache and hang tight.

Julieann and I have a special friendship. Over the years, we’ve drifted in and out of each others lives but recently we’ve done a lot more and have spent a lot of time chatting. Even more recently, she and I have been shooting together. I love that I can geek out with her and her husband Erik for an entire day and talk shop.

Over the years, Julieann had asked a few times to do a session with me but always found a way to put it off. When she and I were having coffee together one day, she mentioned that she would be going on her annual camping trip to El Capitan State Beach with Erik. My eyes lit up and I told her it was time. It was.

Camping at El Capitan has been a tradition in Erik’s family for years. Julieann is not new to the outdoors either. She and her family are also expert campers. When the two of them met back in 2001, one of the instant attractions they had to each other was because of their mutual appreciation for nature. A typical vacation for these two is one that enables them to surf everyday or takes them out of the busy city to enjoy the company of each other while soaking up the sun. These two were even married on the sand. Instead of a typical reception, their post-nuptual celebration came in the form of surfing. The prize gift to the Bride and Groom? A set of matching surfboards.

This year during their annual trip to El Capitan, Erik and Julieann would be celebrating their 2nd wedding Anniversary and I couldn’t wait to shoot it. I’ll admit we had ulterior motives. When these two got married, they had the misfortune of receiving wedding photos that were not exactly what they had paid for and not something they could be proud to display in their home. Part of the purpose of our session was to try and recapture the essence of their wedding day while tying in the present. It wasn’t difficult seeing as how these two keep each other on their feet. Erik is the one that keeps calm on the surface but has been known to burst out with even the most random of comments. Julieann, she wears her heart on her sleeve. She’s honest and loyal, and you always know what she’s thinking. She’s strong, she heals people (she’s a Nurse), and she’s been known to burst out into song and dance if the moment calls for it. One of my favorite memories of the two of them was a time when Erik asked Julieann to “Keep the crazy on the inside”, his wife lovingly glanced over at him, threw her head in the air and exploded into a fit of laughter. That’s what I love about these two. They bring balance to a chaotic world, but not without a sense of humor and kindred spirits.

Here’s Julieann’s take on our session:

“When Pamela came up with the idea of trashing the dress @ El Cap, it instantly made sense to the both of us! We both looked at each other as if to say “DUH why had we not realized the COMPLETE SENSE of that IDEA?”
This photo session meant more to us than pretty pictures. This meant a lifetime of memories. It meant taking a piece of us that means forever, and making it whole by emerging it into a place and an event that simply describes us. Erik and I could not live without nature, our camping trips, the outdoors, and just being free spirited. These elements are so deeply in our veins, so true to who we are. The fact that we were able to capture OUR LIVES and pieces of us as a couple means MORE than just amazing photography to display.”

So last Wednesday we met up at their campsite, bustled a 2 year old wedding gown, played in and around the ocean and shared some laughs over the proper way to fall off a tree. Here are my favorite images from the day:

I knew Juan & Perla’s wedding was going to be fun as I passed the Paul Frank beach cruiser while walking into the ballroom at the country club. I was even more certain when I saw that Perla had taken the time to bring some of her own fun props for their guests to use in the portrait booth.

Perla and Juan now hold the record for the most enthusiastic wedding guests….ever! I had so much fun with everyone! By the looks of it, everyone else had a great time too.

Click here or anywhere on the image below to launch Perla and Juan’s wedding portrait booth slideshow!

… I found myself driving past Santa Barbara to meet a woman in a dress and her handsome husband for a 2 year Anniversary celebration during their annual camping trip. Who says weekdays are boring?

I’m going to leave you hanging for a few days while I play catch up.