VANTAGE PHOTOGRAPHY » Engagement Session

Engaged! | Lisa + Bill | Little Italy + Balboa Park, San Diego | Portrait Photographer

vantagep — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 18:01:03 +0000

You know those people who just bubble over with enthusiasm and love and good vibes? That’s Lisa. Lisa contacted me last year about shooting her wedding in Wisconsin (I shoot about four or five weddings a year back in my home state) and I knew right away that this was the type of woman I’d like to work with. Just a super good person all around. The serendipitous thing is that she had moved to San Diego with her fiance, Bill, just about six months prior to contacting me. So we were able to do our initial consult and the e-session here in SD and then we’ll rendezvous back in Milwaukee in September. Convenient, no? :) I had a really fun time working with Bill and Lisa during their session–the session was laid back, they were super patient with me as I worked different angles and different ideas, and they had some great ideas of their own. And it made me stoked for their wedding, for sure.

Enjoy the sneak peek!

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Engaged! | Jess + Paul | Hotel Laguna, Laguna Beach, California

vantagep — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 02:03:00 +0000

This was one of those shoots that reinforced for me how small of a world we live in. Ok, let’s see if I get this right: Jess found me through my old client Karen (of Karen and Matt), whose sister is Jess’s friend from high school. AND Jess is friends with another client of mine (Becky, of Becky and Trey), whose brother is ALSO a client of mine (Dan, of Shelly and Dan). Jess and Becky both live in LA now, I live in San Diego, we are all from Wisconsin. Whew. I think I got that.

It also reinforced for me that my job is freaking awesome. Especially when I have clients like Jess and Paul who are up for anything (even having Paul run and jump over Jess several times because 1) it’s fun as heck and 2) oh, let’s take some pictures while we’re at it). We met at the Hotel Laguna to start off, where Jess spent several of her family vacations growing up AND, even better, where she and Paul were engaged. In fact, the shots of the two of them hugging with the gazebo behind them? That was them standing in the exact spot where Paul proposed. Super sweet. Then we went through some of the back alleyways in the village-y area near the hotel (the area is adorbes aka adorable. Yeah, that’s right. I said adorbes. You know you want to use that word now. Go ahead…I won’t make fun.) and then onto the beach area below the hotel. All in all, a super fun time. I super heart loved working with these two. Enjoy the sneak peek, Jess and Paul!

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Engaged! | Kate + Dave | Ocean Beach, San Diego, California

vantagep — Thu, 06 Oct 2011 18:27:52 +0000

I’m going to start this post out by making a disclaimer: Kate and Dave are really good friends of ours…so much so that I refused to photograph their wedding (I believe in being fully present when my closest friends get married, not behind a camera and worrying about f-stops.) Kate agreed that me being their wedding photographer wouldn’t be ideal anyway since I would be one of her bridesmaids…so there you go. The reason I’m telling you this? Because this is your fair warning that I’m about to gush about how great Kate and Dave are. If you can’t stand gushing, you best move on to the slideshow and pics.

Here are ten reasons, in no particular order, why I love Kate and Dave:

1) Michael and I laugh, a LOT, when we’re with them. At silly things, at stupid things, at witty things….all sorts of funny goes on with these two.

2) They laugh with their bellies. I love people who laugh with their bellies.

3) They are both incredibly thoughtful and engaged in the world. As much as we laugh together, we also have a lot of deep conversations about politics, religion, family, leadership, etc.

4) We can spend two hours stuck in our car with them at the Del Mar fairgrounds parking lot and not get bored.

5) Every time we get together with them, I walk away with at least something that makes me giggle the next time I think about it…and it would probably make no sense to anyone else. Here are examples: a) Run little bunnies, run! b) Prince was not in The Color Purple. c) Anne Frank was attacked by zombies.

6) They both want to do good in the world. And they do.

7) Kate and Dave have a connection that makes me believe in love.

8) Kate doesn’t push me away when I give her a big “you’re so great” hug in the middle of Old Navy.

9) When we go to their house for dinner, the wine is plentiful and they put dessert out first.

10) They have helped me to feel like San Diego is home.

Enjoy the sneak peek….because KATE AND DAVE ARE GETTING MARRIED!!!

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Engaged! | Courtney + Sean | San Diego, California

vantagep — Tue, 16 Aug 2011 18:43:30 +0000

A funny thing happened when Courtney first contacted me last year about shooting their wedding: I told her I was unavailable because I was pregnant and would be on maternity leave at the time. Courtney said she was disappointed but obviously understood. A week or so later, I got another email from her saying “wait, you know it’s May 2012 we’re getting married, not 2011, right?” Ha ha…clearly I had read initial email wrong because I wasn’t planning on being pregnant for over a year and a half (can you imagine the size of that baby??). So yaaaaay I was available and yaaaaaay they booked me…and I’m so glad they did because I super heart this couple with a cherry on top. Everything clicked on the day of their engagement session–the location was inspiring, the light was gorgeous and, as Sean remarked at the end of the session, we were an awesome team. The only thing that didn’t click for me right away? Getting my timing right on the last photo of the day–Sean doing a heel click as they were walking down the path (Sean loves doing heel clicks). I was struggling to get the shot exactly the way I wanted it…and it totally tapped into my competitive nature because I was like “dude, we’re getting this shot right.” And Sean was right there with me, saying “I can heel click all day. Look at this gorgeous lady I’m gonna marry–who wouldn’t want to do a heel click?” Yeah, seriously, that’s how cute they are because he was totally serious. A gazillion heel clicks later, success. Enjoy the the photos of this awesome sauce* couple!

*This super fun phrase (awesome sauce) brought to you by my good friend Kate Sheridan. She’s fun.

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Engaged! | Sarah and TJ | University of San Diego, San Diego, California

vantagep — Fri, 12 Aug 2011 20:45:15 +0000

Sarah and TJ are college friends of the fantabulous Annie+Brian duo and approached me at the wedding about doing their engagement session the next time they were in town (they live in Arizona and are getting married in Hawaii). A chance to work with friends of Annie and Brian? Yes please! The next time they were in town, we got together at the University of San Diego, Sarah and TJ’s alma mater – we even took some photos at the very spot where they first laid eyes on each other (the photo of them sitting on the posts). Sarah and TJ were a real joy to work with – they were so comfortable with each other as well as in front of the camera – and I’m so pleased with the results of this session. I just loved watching these two relish in each other’s company…

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Engaged! | Robin + Dave | Little Italy, San Diego

vantagep — Fri, 04 Feb 2011 19:41:33 +0000

Robin and Dave described themselves to me as laid back, goofy people that just like to have fun. Case in point? The photos from their engagement session: check out the slide show to see the poses they came up with in front of the Firehouse in Little Italy. Heart. I sorta kinda already knew they’d be super fun because Robin and Dave are friends with Meredith and Brian (remember that air guitar photo?) so I was pumped for the session…and not disappointed. The session was doubly fun because my hubster Michael came along to shoot as well. Yay for fun e-sessions and fun people! Thanks Robin and Dave–enjoy the slide show and sneak peek.

To see more of our work, check out www.vantagephotography.com.

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Engaged! | Annie + Brian | Belmont Park, San Diego, California

vantagep — Fri, 28 Jan 2011 20:51:13 +0000

Annie and Brian are my kinda people: they both love to travel and do good in the world (they spent time in Uganda helping to set up a local hospital….Annie is in her second year of Teach for America…Brian is training to be a doctor), they’re super playful (during their session, we passed a giant ice cream cone and I thought “dude, a giant ice cream cone! let’s take a picture with that!” just as Brian said aloud “A giant ice cream cone! Let’s take a bite out of it!”) and they’re waaaaay in love (check out their pics for proof). I really really really can’t wait to spend more time with them at their wedding and to meet the families that helped make them the super cool people they are today. Enjoy the sneak peek and slide show!

To see more of our work, go to www.vantagephotography.com.

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Engaged! | Nicky + Marvin | Santa Fe Depot, San Diego, California

vantagep — Fri, 03 Dec 2010 00:38:40 +0000

I can always tell I’m happy with the results from an e-session when I find myself smiling and sighing (“awwwww…”) as I edit a session. And I was definitely doing my fair share of that while I edited Nicky and Marvin’s session. Because, let’s face it, these two can’t get much cuter or more obviously in love. They were such a blast to work with.

The weather reports called for rain so we put our heads together for a great indoor location..and I was thrilled when Nicky was all about doing a session at the Santa Fe Depot in downtown San Diego (I’ve been wanting to do a session there for awhile now). Shooting at the Depot reinforced for me how much I love shooting at new locations, too. So often, couples will include “has shot at our wedding location before” as a plus for hiring a particular photographer…but I find that I often do my BEST work when I haven’t shot at a location before: my mind is open, the creativity wheels spin faster and harder and I’m inspired by little things that other photographers might overlook after having shot at a location for awhile.

But I’ll let you judge for yourself…make sure to check out the slideshow and enjoy the sneak peek. Congrats, Nicky and Marvin, on your engagement!

See more of our work at www.vantagephotography.com

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Engaged! | Meredith + Brian | Balboa Park, San Diego, California

vantagep — Tue, 03 Aug 2010 02:48:38 +0000

Oh how I heart Meredith and Brian–my stomach hurt from laughing so much during their session, seriously. Meredith and Brian are smart, funny, fun-loving and totally made for each other. The only sad part about the day was that we were THIS close to getting some shots with the dinosaurs at the Natural History Museum but, alas, the museum was already closed…so I’m pushing for going back on their wedding day. I know Brian is in…Meredith? Whadaya say? ;)

Really and truly, I’m sooooo excited for their September wedding–if this engagement session is any indication, the wedding is gonna be super duper fantabuloso with a cherry on top and with quite a bit of laughter to boot. Enjoy the sneak peek and slideshow, Meredith and Brian. More soon!

To purchase a DVD or iPod copy of this slideshow, go to www.weddingsbyvantage.com/meredith-and-brian and click on the CD icon at the bottom right. See more of Vantage’s work at our website.

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Engaged! | Harmony + John | NTC, Point Loma

vantagep — Fri, 02 Jul 2010 17:32:53 +0000

Freaking cute, that’s what I have to say about this engagement session. Harmony has one of the bubbliest personalities (and she’s a hugging type-a gal, like me) and John is so in love with her that it makes me feel gooey. Being new-ish to the area, and wanting something a little more industrial in feel, I suggested we shoot at the “abandoned” part of NTC in Point Loma. They were all about it…which was especially exciting to me because they were all about my “go for a spin in the random grocery cart” idea, too. More and more, I’m trying to do at least one part of the e-session that involves movement and playfulness, whether it’s doing cartwheels, jumping over each other or, in this case, grocery cart derby-ing. Make sure to watch the slideshow for a little stop-motion action, too. Enjoy your sneak peek, Harmony and John. I can’t WAIT for your wedding!

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