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Reflections : Choosing an Engagement Location
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I have opinions. In fact, my opinions have opinions, almost like my mouth is a factory mass producing opinions by the nanosecond. There are times when JD is like, LET ME GUESS YOU HAVE ANOTHER OPINION, RIGHT?! I just feel my thoughts will go wild if they stay locked up in my brain, so cut me some slack!
A few weeks ago, I mentioned my clients choose the location for their engagement session and I don't have much say in the matter...and I prefer it that way. I want my clients to be invested in the shoot and take ownership in how their love is documented.
Last week, however, I received an email from a client who told me she and her fiance brainstormed locations and thought shooting at Santa Monica Pier would be "easy and fun". Then she asked for my opinion. This is the part where JD is standing somewhere in the distance whispering, NOOOOOOOO!
The minute she asked for feedback, I knew she was still searching for the right spot and needed a little guidance...here's my response:
Hi Sonya!
What great email timing you have! Love it! :)
Okay, so here's what I think (and please know I'm only ever honest with my clients)...
I will shoot wherever you think is best and wherever you and Eric will feel most comfortable. More than anything I want the session to truly reflect everything you are and how you love. In light of this, if the beach/pier is a place you spend a lot of time and really oozes how you love, then great! Let's go there.
If, on the other hand, the location is easy to get to and pretty, then maybe we can add a layer to the shoot to personalize it....because sometimes easy doesn't necessarily mean the best place for you. If, say, you're beach goers and it fits your personalities, which beach do you go to? How far do you live from the beach? Is there any way we can find a location that incorporates who you are and how you spend time together? The sky's the limit!
I'm great with either option, I just want to make sure you know of all your options. Once we lock in a place, I'll solidify the time (as it's based on the available light in that given location).
Can't wait!!!!! :)
Stay Fabulous,
j*
The important thing for me was to act as a guide and ensure the engagement session was a true reflection of their love and this is how I did it. Sometimes offering an honest opinion is difficult with a client, but I couldn't be more proud of her new location of choice. After thinking things through with Eric, they chose the Viceroy Hotel in Santa Monica to start their shoot, as it was where they celebrated their surprise engagement party.
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| Educating clients, offering insight, and (dare I say) pushing them to define what they want will yield a better experience and likely produce images that appeal to clients' sensibilities and sentimentalities. I hope this adds a little more insight into how I work with my clients and engagement sessions. When I started my business, I tried to navigate these sometimes difficult conversations so, perhaps, this might help one person find their voice and grow their business stronger in a shorter amount of time. |
    
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Official Part of the J* Team
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| I decided to make him officially part of the team last week and the commonalities between my assistants are uncanny. JD and Polo are great at scoping for optimal locations, hard workers, and neither can resist the smell of bacon. |
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Malibu Engagement : Claire+Steve
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I t hadn't been a few days and her inbox was filled with responses. And winks. Claire wasn't used sure how this online dating thing worked, but when she signed up with match.com, she was pleasantly surprised to see such a warm welcoming via email. As she sifted through pictures and profiles, Claire saw Steve and something was different. A tiny spark of interest was about to ignite the flame of love.
Steve had a successful career and loved what he did, so dating sometimes took backseat to his business ventures. He created a dating profile with the hopes of finding a special person to share life with, and when Claire's picture popped onto his screen, he was smitten. His first thought was, This girl is hot, so he decided to sit and write a letter.
Claire had never received such a sweet, kind, and genuine letter online. Ever. She wrote back and started the correspondence that changed the course of their lives. On their third date, Steve invited Claire to Point Dume in Malibu. They walked to the top of the hill and overlooked the southern most point in Santa Monica Bay. It was the place they returned for their engagement session, a place where they had fallen in love.
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| After spending time with them in Malibu, I can't wait for their wedding in July...their days sounds nothing short of amazing in part to Amanda Auer's hard work...their wedding should be a customized version of their love. |
| Life is crazy is some ways...Claire moved to New York City for college, just a short distance from where Steve lived. They moved to California shortly thereafter but it took the internet to finally hook them up... |
| I'll end this post with this photo of two sweet people madly in love... |
| I'm honored to be a part of this wedding and I can't wait for what's in store this July! |
A s a kid, Memorial Day was a pretty big thing in our house. Just before my dad made pancakes, he'd go outside in his favorite pair of red sweatpants and proudly display his American flag. He lost many friends during the Vietnam war, so the day was about remembering. Who they were, for what they fought, what they gave us.
Sometime later in the day, we'd have a barbeque or go to the beach because that's also what the day was about. For him. My dad said memories are for the living, so we must live and enjoy what's been given so freely to us by those who sacrificed their all.
Many thanks to those in the armed services who protect and serve...and their families who sacrifice so much too. |
| The lovely ladies at Style Me Pretty are showcasing a few of my military bridal photos of Michelle + Colton, so feel free to check it out here! |
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Friday Randomness : Self Diagnosis
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I 've been self-diagnosed with Memorialweekenditis. It's like like that illness you got before spring break, but better because you don't have to borrow your mom's family van to cruise to the beach with homemade sandwiches in a cooler with a broken handle and scrounge parking money from a sticky ash tray filled with pennies. Say what? Never happened to you? THEN YOU HAVEN'T LIVED LIFE.
Here are a few things I found while strolling through the interwebs... |
| This is how I'd answer a True or False test... |
| WHO'S BEEN FOLLOWING ME AT THE AIRPORT!?!? |
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