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.

Culver City’s City Hall has been a go-to spot for photographers for a long time. There are a few reasons for this. First, the building is painted white so it’s a gigantic reflector/softbox making it ideal for evening out skin tones and avoiding harsh shadows. Second, parking is easy and free. Lastly, there’s never anyone there except for Security and they never give us photogs a hard time. So if you’ve ever wondered to yourself why you may see so many headshots or other sessions from this location now you know why.

This is Rolando. He’s easy on the eyes, don’t you think? I’m sure his signature hair will land him plenty of gigs in the future.

To Rolando – Date brillo cadenita que tu mojo llega

(That’s my attempt at using some Dominican words of wisdom – how’d I do?)

Last May, Mr. Masters and I went to NYC to attend a wedding (as well as other festivities) for Rob and Kathy. We were in town for just over a week and felt very spoiled that we were able to spend so much time with the two of them. Rob is an amazing designer, and Kathy works in P.R., and they both enjoy participating in ANYTHING art related. Needless to say, there was no lack of creativity at their wedding. I’ll explain more as you scroll through this post.

Rob & Kathy took DIY to a whole new level. In addition to the homemade place cards, they made these paintings to correspond with their color scheme. The location iCi (a restaurant in Brooklyn), is a blank palette with PLENTY of soft light.

Custom glass “etching” with their monogram:

Waiting for his bride…

“I promise, I’ll take good care of her”…

Kathy made the piece in her hair. I loved the button! (It’s slightly hidden, see it?)

In addition to exchanging vows, a few of the guests did some readings:

Mr. Masters was another participant in the reading portion of the ceremony. Sadly, I have no images of Dave in action since I was sitting right next to him. I shot the ceremony from my seat and there was no way I was going to stand up and ruin the moment to get my shot.

Kathy pledging her vows to Rob, this is where I completely lost it…

“Hand over the bling and nobody gets hurt”

Happy tears are the best kind to capture…

Robs brother, Danny led all the guests to cocktail hour

We were seated at the “Sketching” table. Later in the evening, the paper pad would be used to write notes and draw pictures for our pals

Rob and Kathy made each of these ceramic vases BY HAND. Each one was unique and had their monogram on it.

Danny giving his speech, my favorite part had a line about how the one who wins an argument in a marriage is the first person to admit they’re wrong.

During dinner, Adam, (another high school pal and a New Yorker these days) played and sang “I can’t fight this feeling” by Journey. Everyone joined him and happily sang along.

I still remember the food like it was yesterday. If you find yourself in Brooklyn, EAT AT iCi!

After dinner, the room was cleared and the couple entertained us with their choreographed dance to Elvis.

And then we all had a dance-off. This sassy lady you see gettin’ down on it is Rob and Danny’s Grandma.

Yeah, this shot is blown out. I actually like it just the way it is!

During the reception somewhere in between shakin’ my tookus and eating cake, Rob & Kathy showed us a video they made. I guarantee that you will never see a homemade movie as awesome as this one, WATCH IT HERE!

The following day, we met up again and cruised around DUMBO. We stopped by the gallery where Rob met Kathy, Spring. They also sell his Grandfather Clock. As an added bonus, we got to peep a piece that they had made together and their New York Times announcement. After that, we cruised around and played with the timer on my camera.

I can’t wait to return to NYC in just a few short weeks. Everything about the city just inspires me, including my East-side friends, and especially Rob & Kathy.

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!

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.

Ruby, Bolo, Punk’n, and Zuki at Kit Carson Park

Zuki

Punk’n

Ruby

Bolo

…that can help you forget that you were just rear ended twice, in twenty minutes, within the same 747 feet of road.

“But what the hell were you doing on Sepulveda at 2:30pm on a Friday, Pamela?”

Well, I was trying to avoid traffic. I know, in Los Angeles that just never works. I really should have known better. I don’t even really want to get into my two accidents, both of which seem pretty sketchy at this point. A word of advice, when you rear end someone who owns a nice camera, don’t try to drive off after they question why you don’t have your license on you, and ask to please hold while they call the police. Duh, I’m going to take a photo of you, in your car, driving away in an attempt to avoid being held responsible for your own stupidity.

I digress. (As I often do, I’m a woman full of tangents)

So needless to say I got home in a foul mood. Thankfully, putting the cards from a days work in the reader feels a lot like opening presents, even if I already know what the contents are. I can’t think of any other time in my life when I got home and laughed at the first image I clicked on after having the kind of day I’ve had…

Cute tookus, Liam! I’d love to be a fly on the wall in the same room as your folks when they bust this out in front of your first serious girlfriend. I mean really, it could be MUCH worse. Believe me, I’m part of the army of photographers who enables parents to build their arsenal of embarrassing photos. It’s not bad. Adorable even.

Thankfully, I’ve got Liam the Little Man to cheer me up. I’ll explain more later, but let’s just say that if there were a “Strongbaby” competition somewhere on the face of this planet, Liam would take 1st place in the push/pull competition. He’s not even 4 weeks old yet…

Thank you Liam, Janice, J.D., and Anne, for reminding me that my day didn’t completely suck.

More to come, if I ever get off the phone with my insurance company.

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!

Over the next several weeks, I’ll be unveiling a few changes around these parts. As for now, you’re probably noticing that my blog received a facelift. This is just one small piece of a rather large collaboration between Anne K. and myself, with the help of my techie husband, Mr. Masters.

If you happen to be waiting to receive information, images, or other products in the mail, it looks like you’ll be getting a sneak peak at my new packaging and stationary suite. In the meantime, everyone else will just have to wait for photos.