Small business portraits at Golden West Signs

We recently had the opportunity to shoot some small business portraits at Golden West Signs.  This little sign shop is run by Derek McDonald, a local sign painter in Berkeley. Derek has done work for many small businesses in the East Bay and beyond, including the Temescal Alley Barbershop and Beauty's Bagels. Back in the day, hand painted signs were everywhere but as everything has moved digital these handcrafted signs became somewhat of a lost art.  Thankfully there are still a few super talented artists that are taking up the torch and breathing new life into this craft. We really enjoyed this shoot and look forward to seeing Derek and his business bring hand made craftsmanship in to the future.

For more information about our small business and environmental portraiture, please fill out our contact form.

Chris and Christian

Portrait of local sign painter in Berkeley

Small business portraits at Golden West Signs

Colorful paint cans

Portrait of sign painter Derek McDonald

Portrait of Derek at Golden West SIgns

Environmental portrait of Bay Area sign painter

Temescal Wedding in Oakland

We love to travel and explore far off places and discover new venues.  The Bay Area and Northern California has so much beauty and it's nice to leave the East Bay and be inspired by new sights.  But when Lena and Brent brought their wedding at Pizzaiolo in Oakland to the table it had all the right ingredients and rekindled our love for staying local. We started our day at a lovely Airbnb rental in the South Berkeley area just on the edge of Rockridge in North Oakland.  We spent some time shooting a first look with Lena and Brent and some family formal portraits in the backyard.  We then made our way to a local lake with the wedding party to have a bit of fun exploring and shooting along the way.  Afterwards, it was off to Pizzaiolo in the Temescal District of Oakland.

Lena and Brent and the Pizzaiolo crew did an incredible job creating a great DIY detailed space that was warm, welcoming, and fun.  The outdoor ceremony took place on a spacious outdoor patio with an urban garden feel.  The inside of the restaurant with its distressed brick walls, warm lighting, and large tables allowed everyone to enjoy each others company on that special day.  To wind it all down tables were cleared and folks enjoyed custom cocktails and dancing into the evening.

We are so thankful to the staff at Pizzaiolo for being so accommodating and serving us delicious food!  Congratulations to Lena and Brent!  We are so happy to have had the opportunity to work with you.

Chris and Christian

Bride and Groom during first look in Berkeley backyard

Bride tapping Groom on the shoulder. First Look

Candid of Bride and Groom in Berkeley, CA

Bride and Groom walking at Lake Temescal in Oakland

Candid of Bride and Groom at Lake Temescal

Portrait of Bride and Groom in Oakland

Detail of decorated fountain with wedding chalkboard

Bridesmaids walking down aisle at Pizzaiolo in Oakland

Officiant during wedding ceremony in Oakland

Wedding ceremony at Pizzaiolo in Oakland

Backyard wedding ceremony in Oakland

Bride and Groom's first kiss at Pizzaiolo wedding in Oakland

Cocktail hour at Pizzaiolo in Oakland

Parents of groom during cocktail hour

Inside of Pizzaiolo during cocktail hour in Oakland

Bride greeting wedding guests

Food prep at Pizzaiolo wedding

Detail of vintage lighting at Pizzaiolo

Detail of table setting at Pizzaiolo wedding

Inside of Pizzaiolo

Groom toasting with friends in Oakland

Detail of wedding rings at bride and groom in Oakland Temescal

Detail of yellow rose bouquet

Bride and Groom in Temescal Alley in Oakland

Portrait of Bride and Groom

Spirts on shelves at Pizzaiolo

Wedding toasts on outdoor patio in Oakland

Pizzaiolo patio at dusk in Oakland

Wedding guests mingling

Wedding guests dancing

Dancing wedding guest

Headlands Center for the Arts Wedding

We were looking forward to Kathleen and Jorgen’s wedding at Headlands Center for the Arts since their first email to us.  As photographers in the Bay Area, there are always venues on our wishlist that we can't wait to shoot at.  The Headlands was certainly one of them.  Located in the Golden Gate Recreational Area, the Headlands Center for the Arts is an old military building located on the former Fort Barry near Rodeo Beach.

In addition to picking a beautiful venue, Kathleen and Jorgen were just great to work with.  Kathleen was so detail oriented and she wasn't kidding when she told us that she "DIY'ed the bejezus" out of this thing! We always love brides that have awesome Pinterest boards and impressive timelines on Google Drive. Kathleen and her sisters made all of the bridal bouquets, homemade jam, and all of the other details on display.

The wedding itself was beautiful!  The Headlands certainly didn't disappoint and the campus provided amazing coastal backgrounds. The ceremony took place under a huge eucalyptus tree overlooking fog covered hills of the Marin Headlands. Afterwards we all moved indoors for the reception. The inside spaces were so unique, even the bathrooms were cool! The reception was close knit and food was done family style inside the mess hall.

From their engagement session at the Presidio in San Francisco to their wedding day, we loved working with Kathleen and Jorgen (and their handsome dog Quatrro). Congratulations you two!

Venue: Headlands Center for the Arts Coordinator: Simply Events Officiant: Carolyn Selic Catering: Katie Powers Catering Florist: Bride and Sisters

Engagement Session in the Presidio

A couple of weeks back Christian and I met Kathleen and Jorgen at one of our favorite places in San Francisco to shoot, the Presidio.  The Presidio has so much variety contained within its borders and it never fails to inspire us.  We connected with our couple and their dog Quattro in the late afternoon and shot into the early evening. We spent our time exploring some of the unique buildings and open spaces along the way.  These guys were super fun to shoot and did a great job being comfortable in front of the camera.  The grounds were beautiful and we caught some awesome San Francisco twilight. We look forward to working with Kathleen, Jorgen, and Quattro this Summer for their wedding at the Marin Headlands Center for the Arts.

For more information about our engagement sessions or to schedule a session, please fill out our contact form.

Chris and Christian

Engaged couple in San Francisco presdio in front of brick wall

engagement-session-sf-presidio

Wide frame photo of engaged couple kissing with rustic building

Engagement session at San Francisco Presdio

Engaged couple with dog in the Presidio

Couple in front of rustic green wood wall in San Francisco

Presidio engagement session with golden evening light

san-francisco-engagement-session

Engagement session with dog and golden light in San Francisco

Wedding Photography Timeline

In the months leading up to the big day our clients frequently ask how they can organize their wedding day timelines to get the absolute best from their wedding photos.  Over the many years that we have been shooting weddings, we have definitely learned a lot along the way. We decided to put together a blog post with some tips that we feel are essential to making your wedding photography flow as smoothly as possible and help us to provide you with lasting moments that you can look back on for years to come. Please note these suggestions take into account photography coverage lasting anywhere from 6 to 8 hours.

Getting Ready(Recommended Time 30 minutes to 1 hour)

Getting ready is such a fun part of the day to shoot!  We have found that during the anticipation of the event we are able to capture some really great candid moments of our couple surrounded by family and friends.  This time also helps to re-connect our clients and ourselves to one another and let folks know that we are there to have fun and help out however we can.  This is also a great time to document all of the details before they've been exposed to the long day.  We love shooting wedding dresses, shoes, bouquets and boutonnieres, invitations, and all of the little decorations that you've worked so hard on.

For the best getting ready photos, we recommend picking a well organized room that is basking in natural light.  Since there are two of us, we are happy to split up and document both of you during this time.

First Look (Recommended Time 15 to 20 minutes)

The first look allows a number of things that help the event to move along nicely.  It's an amazing moment to capture candidly and a nice way for the couple to relieve some pre-ceremony jitters.  It also provides the chance to capture the joy of seeing one another for the first time away from all the guests.  Although first looks are nice they are definitely not necessary, we love shooting the traditional approach too.

Wedding Party Photos (Recommended Time 20 minutes)

These photos can happen at a number of different times throughout your day.  Depending on where final preparations are happening, these photos can take place once you're all ready to go.  With two photographers, we can split up and shoot both sides independently. If you are opting for the first look, these portraits can happen after we've spent some time with just the two of you.  Lastly, these portraits can also take place after your family portraits and before your reception.

Family portrait at Bay Area Wedding

Family Portraits(Recommended Time 20 to 30 minutes)

Formal family portraits are that part of the day that most couples know needs to happen but often fret about how it will happen.  We always encourage our couples to set aside anywhere from 20 to 30 minutes for this portion of your day.  If we're able to keep the groupings to an essential minimum (immediate family) then this part of the day can go smoothly and often be wrapped up before our allotted window of time.  With the two of us working together, we try our best to expedite this process in order to get you and your guests back to celebrating.  Before your wedding day, we'll ask you to provide us with a list of family groupings that are important to document.  More often than not, family portraits happen immediately after the ceremony.

Couple Portraits (Recommended Time 15 to 30 minutes)

Beyond the first look it is always nice to take some time with our couples to shoot some portraits of just the two of you.  Best case scenario is that we are given a minimum of 20 minutes around sunset.  Some couples look at this as a quick mini session that takes place around the venue.  If a couple is looking to create something really special, we are always down to travel nearby to a designated spot to work away from the bustle of the event and really focus on the couple.  Obviously if we travel elsewhere a more generous time window will be needed.

Ending the Evening

As the celebration winds down into the evening and folks really cut loose and have fun, we love to be part of that!  Shooting dancing and partying is always a blast and we love getting out there and capturing those moments.  We tend to find an hour or so of coverage here does the trick.

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Every wedding is different and every couple has different priorities.  These are simply some things to think about.  As you begin to plan your wedding day, please don't hesitate to ask us any questions you might have.  We want to help you make your day enjoyable and stress free!