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Katie & Kyle Engagement Slideshow

noreply@blogger.com (Reuben) — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 19:01:00 +0000

Below is a quick slideshow with photos from Katie and Kyle's engagement shoot. Katie and I met last week to talk about plans for her July wedding and I am SUPER excited about it! I'm trying to convince them to have life-size cardboard cutouts of themselves...

Here is a link to their engagement photos. Feel free to buy a print or two. Maybe even order a canvas or large print as a gift for them! www.pictage.com/1207436

Katie and Kyle Engagement

noreply@blogger.com (Reuben) — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 22:48:00 +0000

If you want some peace and quiet, go to downtown San Diego at 6/7am in the morning. That's what we did.

Katie and Kyle are friends of a friend of a friend of a Mom who has a friend whose gardener eats lunch with my friend. The two of them talked me into taking their engagement photos. One of the things these two love to do is go downtown. So that's what we did. We got up before early wakes up and met downtown for a chilly and early engagement shoot. You can't tell by the photos but it was downright brisk that morning. Definitely in the 40's or 30's. But Katie is a super-trooper-model-galore and did it all without breaking a sweat (literally and figuratively). We had a BLAST taking these photos. So grab a mug of hot chocolate and get ready to say "awwwwwww" a lot.

Alexis and Gabe Engagement Slideshow

noreply@blogger.com (Reuben) — Sun, 25 Dec 2011 03:17:00 +0000

Merry Christmas!!! I have been slaving over a hot stove cooking up this engagement show hotness! If you read my last post for Alexis and Gabe's sneak peek you already know how awesome and gorgeous this couple is. Now, you get to check out their engagement shoot slideshow. One of my favorite parts about photography is being able to tell a story. So this slideshow is really a memory book design for Alexis and Gabe to turn into a guest sign-in book for their wedding so they have a cool coffee-table reminder about how awesome this day was ... because it is a snapshot, a memory. When they look back at this book, I hope they remember the first step they took together, into the journey of the rest of their lives together.

Alexis and Gabe Engagement Shoot Sneak Peek

noreply@blogger.com (Reuben) — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 10:25:00 +0000

Wow, today was amazing! A few weeks ago, I got an email from Alexis Del Chiaro with some happy news that she was now engaged to Gabe! Of course, she immediately thought of getting photos taken (Gabe says that was the first thing out of her mouth) and I was more than honored to be asked! If Alexis looks familiar, it's because she is! She is one of the morning anchors for KUSI.

Skip forward to today... we had already rescheduled a few times because of all three of our busy schedules but today was the day! Rain was looming on the forecast but we were hopeful because the skies were gray but there wasn't any rain yet... Well, I went down to La Jolla to scout things out and right at the top of the hour when we were supposed to meet it starts raining! AAAAHHHHHH!

After chatting and figuring out a backup plan (really, who makes a backup plan for rain in San Diego???) we drove over to La Jolla Shores beach where it miraculously stopped raining. We got out into the cold where Alexis and Gabe were super troopers for sticking it out through rain and hail and sleet and .... well, maybe just cold but it was pretty brisk! It had just rained and the sky was cloudy. But we made it work and got some amazing photos!

PLUS, they were amazing models! Alexis knew the drill and gave Gabe some direction also. She already knew that it would be their job to relax and just act natural. After a few minutes, I really didn't need to tell them anything... they just did exactly what I wanted them to do!

It was so hard to pick through photos but this one is definitely my favorite of the day. With the rain, I asked them to grab their umbrellas. The "umbrella" series was probably my fav and you can see why. Their personalities totally shine through and this image really just encapsulates how I see the two of them.

I am soooo excited to share the rest of their photos with you! Make sure you register at Pictage so you can be the first to know when the rest of their photos are released to the wild.

Williams Sonoma Registry Party

noreply@blogger.com (Reuben) — Mon, 23 May 2011 19:11:00 +0000

Last Thursday I was invited to take photos for the Williams Sonoma store at Fashion Valley in San Diego, CA. Heidi, the store manager, sets up these really cool events for couples who have registered there. She puts together an event bringing together a few different vendors who have products at the store and invites couples to walk around, register items, listen from experts talk about their products, and have some amazing food provided by their store chef.

I walked around and got to do one of the things I love most, take photos of details! and all the fancy store product displays.

And here are some of your friendly staff from the store! And yes, I made a rookie mistake shooting this so the glass line cuts right through their faces. D'oh!

Victoria, Sarah, George, and David's Senior Prom

noreply@blogger.com (Reuben) — Mon, 16 May 2011 02:57:00 +0000

This past Saturday I had the pleasure of capturing Victoria, Sarah, George, and David's senior prom photos. Starting in the morning, I followed Victoria and Sarah as they got their makeup did, their hair did, their dresses did.... (more photos from that in a later post). After meeting up at George and Sarah's place we went out to Santaluz where we took some photos by this awesome villa-esque building. Now that I have my new Vagabond Mini battery pack, I can take my studio lights anywhere. So I brought them and used a beauty dish to light them against the sun and sky to create this dramatic lighting. It was so fun! (yes, I'm a nerd like that) Anyway, enjoy!

The Palm Resturant - Lunch Re-Opening

noreply@blogger.com (Reuben) — Tue, 10 May 2011 23:33:00 +0000

sLast Friday, The Palm Restaurant in San Diego celebrated a grand re-opening--for lunch. For the first time since they opened five years ago, they will be serving Friday lunch. No other restaurant of this caliber and quality open for lunch in downtown San Diego. So if you're looking for some AMAZING food, check out the Palm for lunch on Friday! Maybe make it a long lunch meeting... that never ends. :)

Be sure to register to be notified when the entire photo gallery is up.

Thanks to all the amazing staff from The Palm. You guys rock!

Fashion Valley Mall - Mom's Night Out

noreply@blogger.com (Reuben) — Tue, 10 May 2011 00:16:00 +0000

Last Thursday I had the pleasure of working with Fashion Valley Mall for their "Mom's Night Out" Mother's Day event. It was such a blast seeing all the great table displays for some of the best shops in the mall.

Be sure to register to be notified when the entire photo gallery is up.

woof 'n rose winery

links of london

williams sonoma

mac cosmetics

kiehl's

origins

ronald mcdonald house

starbucks

the container store / san diego magazine

Connect Your Laptop to HDTV Wirelessly

noreply@blogger.com (Reuben) — Sun, 03 Apr 2011 21:31:00 +0000

Have you ever wanted to view images or a movie on your HDTV but hate the fact that you have to be "wired in", as they say on "The Social Network" movie? Well, now you can wirelessly display anything you want from your computer on your HDTV. It's great for watching movies and being able to control them from your couch, using your HDTV as a second (or larger) monitor, set up wireless projection or presentations, etc.

I use it for my photography clients to walk through images via Lightroom. They watch the big screen HDTV and see large images while I can look through my Grid or Develop view on my laptop.

Here's a diagram I created to show how it works (photos are real but simulated on the devices).

All you need is a computer, an iPad (1 or 2), an HDTV with HDMI input, Air Display and an Apple iPad HDMI adapter.

Download Air Display
Install Air Display on your Mac and iPad
Turn Air Display on for your Mac and select your iPad
Turn off "mirror display" in your System Preferences>Display Settings (personally, I prefer having my Grid displayed on my Macbook and only the image on my iPad/HDTV but you can mirror your display also)
Connect your iPad to your HDTV via the Apple iPad HDMI adapter
Display anything you want now!

Let me know via comments how YOU use this setup!

Jolene & Scott's NYE Wedding Slideshow

noreply@blogger.com (Reuben) — Fri, 21 Jan 2011 02:43:00 +0000

I am SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO excited right now!!! I just finished the design for Jolene and Scott's wedding album and when I put it to music I got emotional. This slideshow is their wedding album put online and timed to music. They are such an awesome couple and I love the way the story of the whole night is encapsulated here complete with some of the extra special, unplanned moments.

The wedding albums I make for my couples are of the highest quality and will literally last for generations. So when Kimber grows up, she will be able to show HER grandchildren what her parents' wedding day was like! I thought it would be cool to see if we can get everyone to donate toward the "Jolene and Scott Wedding Album Fund" so we could buy this for them!!! If you're down with the idea, contact me.

The complete set of wedding photos will be online soon so register now with Pictage so you will be notified. And you can still check out the first blog post with photos.

Jolene & Scott's NYE Wedding

noreply@blogger.com (Reuben) — Thu, 06 Jan 2011 01:39:00 +0000

I hope you're all as excited as I am about these awesome photos from Jolene & Scott's New Year's Eve wedding!!!! Ohhh my, it was such a blast! I know Jolene from my work at It's Just Lunch and adore her. Her wedding was a great chance for me to meet her closest friends--who are awesome too!

Jolene and Scott rented a townhouse in downtown San Diego where they got ready. Admist all the craziness I was able to snap some great candids plus some ADORABLE kids (which will come in one of the next posts). They were married at North Chapel church in the Point Loma area. And the reception was the coolest idea ever!! They rented out SD Lounge downtown so we had a club all to ourselves for a blastin NYE party!

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Family and Friends: please register at Pictage so you can be notified when all the wedding photos are available.
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OK, I'll stop rambling and let you check out what you came here for ... photos of Scott and Jolene!

PS - she had THE BEST wedding shoes ever!!

And all her bridesmaids had awesome shoes too!!

This is Jolene's daughter, Kimber. Soooo cute!

Here is their "first look", where they saw each other for the first time in their wedding attire.

Yup, we set up a photo booth. They rock!

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Family and Friends: please register at Pictage so you can be notified when all the wedding photos are available.
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Engagement Session with Dawn and Christian

noreply@blogger.com (Reuben) — Mon, 06 Dec 2010 19:58:00 +0000

This past weekend I had the opportunity to shoot an engagement session with Dawn and Christian. They are a hilarious couple! We spent most of the day laughing and laughing and laughing. From the time we started planning the engagement session Dawn couldn't figure out where to shoot. But I kept any any recommendations of "generic" places to shoot because I knew eventually they'd come up with something special. And I'm so glad they did!

We ended up shooting up the hill on Torrey Pines. Can you believe that in the 15+ years I've lived in San Diego I've never been up and on those trails!?! That place let us take some great photos. Ohh, and the reason it was special is because it is where they had their second date. I'm gonna say that their first date was more a half date so in my mind this was their first real date.

This is my favorite picture of them!

The first thing I noticed about them when we met was that they matched. Purple shirts AND matching Chuck's. So I had to get a photo of that.

Aren't they so dang cute!?!

We were able to get some awesome photos of the two of them up at the top of Torrey Pines.

With the sun where it was, we were able to get some awesome silhouettes for some killer black and whites!

Fashion Portraits

noreply@blogger.com (Reuben) — Sun, 05 Dec 2010 20:40:00 +0000

I did a few fashion shoots over the past few weeks and want to share a couple of my favorite head shots.

Thanksgiving at The Youngren's

noreply@blogger.com (Reuben) — Fri, 03 Dec 2010 02:21:00 +0000

This Thanksgiving, I had the honor of participating in the inaugural yearly tradition of a bunch of friends getting together for a post-Thanksgiving, Thanksgiving meal. Call it, Thanksgiving II - Revenge of the Turkey.

If you know The Youngrens, you already know how AWESOME they are (and if you don't....you should). Well, they just kicked their notch in the notch. Because this TII dinner had YEARS worth of ideas of two (already married) wedding photographers who have seen it all...and weren't afraid to throw some of their ideas in the mix.

Let's start with the spread. Can you believe this?

One of the coolest things they did was to give everyone an apple and attach a word to it. During dinner we went around the table talking about what that word meant in our lives. Mine was Celebrate (I got a kick out of that).

Well, before we actually got to dinner, we all spent some quality time hanging out and making dinner together....as a family :)

Here we are with a table full of hungry people waiting to chow down!

But wait........there's more!!! Stay tuned for a time-lapse video of our dinner. It's legendary.

Dating Coach DeAnna Lorraine

noreply@blogger.com (Reuben) — Sun, 28 Nov 2010 23:59:00 +0000

I had the honor and pleasure of photographing Dating Coach, DeAnna Lorraine, last week. She is an awesome wealth of information about dating, relationships, and life. Definitely check her out coaching Web Site at www.DeAnnaLorraine.com!! She even gave me some pointers, so watch out Ladies!

Isn't she gorgeous?! I absolutely love her big smile!

New Orleans Bridal Workshop Photos

noreply@blogger.com (Reuben) — Tue, 16 Nov 2010 04:32:00 +0000

Pictage Partnercon 2010 in New Orleans was AWESOME!!!! I helped the amazing photographer, Chelsea Nicole , with her shooting workshop (ps - if you're in Vegas and need a photographer, look her up!).The models, Peter and Tiffany, were great and up for anything! By the end her dress was just black. And it was worth it!

I always have SOOOOO much fun hanging out with other photographers and answering technically oriented questions like shooting in manual, or understanding flash. There was a woman literally in tears being overwhelmed by how to shoot in manual that I helped get to a pretty decent understanding. LOVE doing things like that.

During the workshop most of my time was spent shooting Behind the Scenes photos, videos, and helping out. I did manage to snap a few shots that I LOVE. Here are some of those :)

Links of London Gnome Hunt Photos

noreply@blogger.com (Reuben) — Fri, 24 Sep 2010 19:49:00 +0000

Hi All! So now I think I can finally share the images I shot for Links of London. They setup a two week Facebook campaign to extend what they're doing across the "pond" in the UK. If you don't know about the Gnome Stealing Prank, check out this background from Wikipedia. For San Diego, Links had me take photos of their gnomes all over San Diego. The contest was that every day they would post a photo of a gnome and the first person to guess where it was, won a Friendship Bracelet. Here are a few of the photos I took for them.

Romantic Couple Shoot at The Palm Restaurant

noreply@blogger.com (Reuben) — Wed, 22 Sep 2010 17:14:00 +0000

Wow. It's been quite a while since I last posted. Things have been busy on my end, doing some photography stuff and also working on building the new It's Just Lunch, San Diego Web site. And for that, I wanted an excuse to do another fun couple shoot. Because IJL is a specialized dating service for busy professionals, what better place to host the shoot than the Palm Restaurant! Part of the IJL service is to connect people together by setting up a lunch date or drinks at a bar after work.

Out on the East Coast they're a big name for power players, especially in Washington D.C. where the term "Power Lunch" was probably coined. I put the call out for models who are already a couple (hey, why try to create a spark when there's already ones out there :) and found model Iris and her fiance, Mandell. They were great to shoot with! Rounding out the team was Meagan on make-up and Rowena handling hair (well, on Iris at least :).

PS - the food at The Palm is UNBELIEVABLE. I mean, just look at this delicious surf n turf. Their steaks are to die for and so is their lobster. I just wish I hadn't let the talent eat the dinner and had it myself :)

Vendor Spotlight: Links Of London

noreply@blogger.com (Reuben) — Tue, 14 Sep 2010 16:44:00 +0000

The other week I did a shoot for Links of London. They're much better known in Europe and the Asias but you definitely need to get to know them. They make FANTASTIC jewelry! And one of the perks of shooting for them is that I got two of my own pieces! Hooray!! Big thanks to Natalie at LOL (yah, I had to use that acronym) for hooking me up with this "sweet gig". Anyway, you all should know me well enough by now to know that I love taking photos of just about everything. What better subject to shoot than some fantastic new jewelry of mine :)

Their only store is inside Bloomingdale's at Fashion Valley Mall. They've got great stuff for weddings, gifts, or for yourself! Stop in to check it out and say hi to Roger, their General Manager, for me!

First up is the Friendship Bracelet. Apparently these things are all the rage here in the American States that have United. I can totally see why. I LOVE this thing!!! And yes, I definitely got a pink one!

Next up is the Portobello White Chronograph Watch. It is just stunning in all it's details. So many little intricate details and is now my go-to dress watch. Plus, it has a genuine crocodile strap!

Hillary & Matt Wedding Part I - It's All In The Details

noreply@blogger.com (Reuben) — Mon, 13 Sep 2010 14:39:00 +0000

A few weeks back I had the honor of second shooting for another great photographer, Sean Walker of Sean Walker Photography. I love second shooting because I get to take extra time to setup and shoot detail shots, which I LOVE doing. Here are some from Hillary and Matt's wedding.

Fashion In The Valley - Fashion Show at Fashion Valley Mall

noreply@blogger.com (Reuben) — Fri, 10 Sep 2010 16:26:00 +0000

TGIF! Yesterday night I had the honor of being able to shoot "Fashion in the Valley", a fashion show at Fashion Valley Mall promoted by Riviera Magazine. Links of London was also there to sponsor a fun gnome hunt! I haven't shot a fashion show in forever!!! And because I wasn't "officially" shooting this show, I took the liberty of playing around with some things and taking some more artistic-y shots. Let me know what you think of them!

Ohhh, and what's a fashion show without one of my favorite runway models, Nadia! Doesn't she rock the runway!?!?!

Photos From All Over San Diego

noreply@blogger.com (Reuben) — Sun, 05 Sep 2010 17:52:00 +0000

The other day I explored the corners of San Diego for a shoot (can't tell you what it's for yet) and shot some photos. I wanted to share a few that I took :)

Company Spotlight: It's Just Lunch

noreply@blogger.com (Reuben) — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 13:27:00 +0000

Today I'm doing a different kind of vendor spotlight. If you're already married, you won't need them. However, if you WANT to get married....they're the people to contact!! I'd like to introduce you to the lovely ladies from It's Just Lunch! They are a specialized dating service for busy professionals. And they all happen to be incredibly beautiful ladies. Just in case you're wondering, no, you can't date them :) I was there the other day to take some headshots for them and want to share them with you all.

Vendor Spotlight: M Bride, Designer Bridal Salon

noreply@blogger.com (Reuben) — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 14:29:00 +0000

I'm really excited to do a vendor spotlight on M Bride. They have an awesome store in downtown La Jolla and the owner, Michele, is amazing! PLUS, they are providing dresses for our upcoming Bridal Shoot! Last Tuesday, I went in to do a dress fitting with one of our models, Cindy Whitmarsh of Cindy Whitmarsh Fitness, for our shoot. Of course I had to take photos of the dress so we can style the shoot but since I was there, I took some photos of her salon.

If you're looking for a great designer bridal salon then check M Bride out!

Katie and Ben Engagement Session

noreply@blogger.com (Reuben) — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 21:10:00 +0000

I'd like to introduce you to Katie and Ben. A wonderful couple I was able to take engagement photos for this past weekend. They are so cute together!! They are both outdoorsy people who both like to read, so found a hiking trail to take these great photos of them together.

Ben picks flowers for Kati all the time. Here he is giving her one.