NEW BLOG

Hi Folks! We have a new blog! It's over here at Laura Christin Photography Blog. Be sure to update your feed reader to http://www.LauraChristinPhotography.com/blog

We will no longer be updating this site.

Lots of exciting shoots in the works this year. Thanks for staying in touch with us! :)

WIPA - Wedding Industry Professionals Association

On Tuesday I spent the afternoon at the amazing Langham Pasadena photographing WIPA's monthly meeting. For those of you not familiar with WIPA (Wedding Industry Professionals Association), they are an amazingly talented group of people who come together to share knowledge, support each other, make new industry friends, offer referrals, and thanks to Langham this month, indulge in amazing food. This was only my second time attending but I can already tell that these are the kind of people I want to surround myself with. They are kind, intelligent, dedicated, and at the top of their wedding game!

The other bonus from this month's meeting was speaker, Mary Dann, wedding planner and co-author of the newly released book, Wedding Wisdom. She taught us ways to stay balanced and well in order to be able to give as much as well all want to to our clients and businesses. It was easy to tell that Mary's words resonated with the group. We have all certainly been guilty of pouring too much of ourselves into our businesses and burning out. Thank you for your time and insight, Mary!

































The talented team who sponsored the day:
Venue: Jill Hilts, The Langham Huntington, Pasadena
Linens: Veronica Taylor, Fusion Linens
Photographer:Laura Christin, Laura Christin Photography
Caricature Artist: Dave Stephens, Caricatures by Dave
Printing: Joyce Scardina Becker, Events of Distinction
Floral: Ricardo Luna, Luna Gardens
Videography: Joe Park, Joe Park Weddings
Entertainment: Steven Muchnij, 11H Entertainment

Tips for Brides (and grooms!) #3

Getting the most out of your photography time

If your family is anything like mine, having everyone in one place at the same time is a feat involving lots of planning and air travel. One of the many things that makes your wedding day so special is that everyone comes together. And it’s a perfect time for PHOTOS! :)

If you, Bride and Groom, do not plan to see each other prior to the ceremony, we usually do the majority of the family photos right after the ceremony. Then we photograph the wedding party, then the two of you! That way your family and wedding party can enjoy part of the cocktail hour, since we need the two of you for all of the photos anyway.

With a limited amount of time after the ceremony, it’s important to discuss family photos with your photographer. Prior to the wedding day I always get in touch with the bride and groom to find out which family members they would like to be included in the family photo session. Then I make myself a list of those photos in an order that makes sense to photograph them in to save time. Have I mentioned that I love being organized. It actually makes me happy. I know. It’s weird. But, it makes me happy. :)

Most of the time this part of the day runs super smoothly. Then of course there are those few times when no one can find Uncle Bob (I know exactly where he is - cocktail hour) and we really want him to be in our next photograph.. so we are waiting. Uncle Bob isn’t in a huge hurry (he’s enjoying a mojito) and likely doesn’t realize that finding him is eating up our hour of photography, which ultimately affects not only the family photos but also the wedding party photos and the photos of just you & your spouse.

Which leads me to my next tip!

Once you’ve decided who you’d like to be involved in family photos, kindly shoot them an email or give them a note card at the rehearsal telling them when and where to be for family photos. You can even explain to them that you will be doing lots of other photos within that cocktail hour after family shots so in order to get the best photos possible, it’s really important for them to be ready on time. You can tell them your photographer said so ;)

The truth of the matter is, the photography always works out. We always get fabulous shots, and we always smile through the search for Uncle Bob because enjoying the day is just as important as anything else! I’m just a firm believer in planning ahead to make the most of all of the time we have.

Here’s a sneak peak of the beautiful Denise and her mother during family photos last weekend:

The moment between photographs

What allows me to capture so many amazing moments with my camera is that I. don’t. stop. taking. photos.

When I first started taking photographs I calculated my shots. I was poised and ready for the first kiss at the altar: watching, waiting to push the shutter open at the exact precise moment the couple's lips touched. Somewhere along the way I had an "aha moment" and now I come home from a typical wedding with 3,000+ images to edit down to about 700. But I couldn't be happier.

I realized that the first kiss is important, but it's the moment right before and the moment right after the kiss that is so special. It's all the little moments in the day that you never knew I captured. Maybe you don't even really remember all of them happening because you were so caught up in the moment. That's the way it should be.

You will probably remember Kristy & Kevin from this post. Well I think I actually squealed and did a little dance in the sand when Kristy said (to Kevin's surprise) that she wanted to roll around in the water and make out as their final engagement photo shot.

Here's the shot that Kristy wanted:


But, because of trigger-happy me, here is the sequence.. from Kristy convincing Kevin that their 3 hour drive to Big Bear Lake RIGHT after our shoot wouldn't be so bad because they had a change of clothes with them, to some hysterical water-up-the-nose out takes, and lastly, my favorite shot.. the moment in between photographs.













the moment:


This photo has more meaning than our original intended image. It's funny and touching, intimate, silly, and sweet all at once. It's them truly interacting. It's a moment in between our planned photographs.. and I'm in love with it.

P.S. Kristy - you are so much fun and absolutely hysterical. And Kevin - you are such a good sport. That's LOVE, folks!

Party! Sweet Cheeks Baking Company turns 3 years old.

I met the Sweet Cheeks Baking Company gals a little over a year ago. I had no idea, of course, that they would become some of my dearest friends but I meant it when I said in this post from their party last year that they make you feel like an old friend the minute you meet them. Thank you, for all of the love and support you've offered me both professionally and personally over the past year. It has been such a joy to see your business grow! You all are AMAZING at what you do.

The party was a huge success! I know I met a ton of new friends. :) I'm excited to see what we all accomplish together in 2010!!

Now, on to the good stuff. Hope you aren't hungry. But if you are, of course you can click here and order yourself somethin' tasty!











I love the attention to detail. The swirls on this cake are all S's and C's!























My Laura Christin Photography Feature (thanks for the love!):







Check out all the layers of yummy goodness:







Happy Birthday! :)




The Fabulous Contributors:

Paula Rae with Rae Florae
Dawn Stone with Embellishmint Floral & Event Design
Jay Miller & Donna Sly with Creative Catering
Dave Wasserman with Joes on the Nose
Haydee Alderete with Concepts Event Design
Valerie McCartney with Enticing Tables
Tricia Howell with Stonehenge Style
Kosta Houdalakis with Lisko Imports
Laura Christin Battisfore with Laura Christin Photography
Lisa with Elle G Photography
Nahid Farhoud with Wedding Elegance
Lola Chaney with West Coast Print Brokers

Luck

28 years ago today I was lucky.

I am blessed in ways I doubt this blog post will do justice. I am blessed with parents who read to me every night, coached my little league team, and taught me to stick up for myself. I was taught kindness by example. I learned to be proud of my achievements and always hold them close to my heart when I doubted myself. I was taught to persevere. I learned that corndogs and macaroni and cheese are not staple food groups, although that lesson did take several years. My family taught me how to fly away and create a life on my own.

I want you all to know that today while I celebrate my birthday, I am most grateful for you.

We are now spread across Maryland, Florida, and California. I miss you all, every single day, terribly. But I am a strong, self-sufficient, driven, and proud woman. Thank you for all of these things and so much more.

And of course, Happy Birthday to me ;)



From left, My mama, me, my brother Kevin, my sister Jenny, and my Dad, (my Papa to whom I am his Fievel)

Blogging

I’m laying in bed under about 30 pounds of covers feeling guilty because Kosta has been up working for at least two hours. Kitty’s curled up at my feet. The fan is blowing on what we call “Hurricane level 2”. I don’t really have to get up yet. I have time to accomplish everything I want to today. Plus I’m working late tonight.

I get a text message from one of my closest friends at 7:24 am. Megan Meehan: “You don’t update your blog enough.”

Now I feel guilty enough to get out of bed.

It’s not that I don’t blog often because there isn’t anything to blog about. I have a sticky note on my computer titled, “things to blog” that is growing ferociously. I guess I’m just not sure about my voice. I’m not sure about what I want to share or what I want to be out on the web. I do know that I don't want to just slap up some wedding photos on the web and say here ya go. My business and my relationships mean more to me than that. Good writers always have a purpose to what they write. I don’t really consider myself a writer let alone a good writer. So I worry, what if I don't project who I really am? What if the things I want to say don't come out right?

I’m a perfectionist.

Megan will probably laugh reading this because I’ve butchered a Whitney Houston song at the top of my lungs in her car and I’ve cried on the couch beside her watching Extreme Makeover: Home Edition while the man from the gas company explained the leak in our basement and eyed me kind of strangely. I’ve cart-wheeled down a deserted beach with her because I was kind of having a lousy day. My cart wheels are nothing close to vertical. I think I just like being the center of attention when no one is really paying attention.

When I was 11 my family moved from Pennsylvania to Oregon. In our new neighborhood there was a group of kids about my age who played roller hockey in the cul-de-sac. I was such a tomboy. But I had never roller bladed. Or held a hockey stick. So my little brother Kevin and I got roller blades and practiced skating in our garage with the garage door closed for hours. Maybe days. Until we were confident enough to go join the other kids.

We did great. I ended up with a mean slap shot (for an 11 year old girl) and Kevin was really fast. Sure, I overlooked a few minor things.. I was always considerably better at crossing over with my right skate than my left because I never thought to turn around and go the OTHER direction in circles in my garage. But when I got out there and had to skate the other direction.. I was fine. And I learned a lot faster out in the streets than I ever would have holed up in my garage.

Sometimes we practice and plan so much instead of just getting out there and doing it. I know my blogging will improve the more I do it. And the only way to find my voice is to try it out. Fortunately I’m not so obsessed with perfection any more that I have unpublished blog posts stashed away in my garage.

With that I will end with one of my favorite quotes that I sure need to practice more, “Use what talent you possess: the woods would be very silent if no birds sang except those that sang best.” -Henry Van Dyke

And a few of my favorite people on this planet. Thanks to the University of Delaware:

From left to right, Me, Marisa, Danielle, Megan & Cindy

Taking Care of Myself

I used to love going to the gym. I loved having that structured part of my day where I pushed myself to be better, stronger, faster. It was a chance to step outside of my personal life and my business and decompress and relieve anxiety. In the nearly 2 and a half years since I’ve exercised regularly, I forgot how GOOD it feels. I had been making excuses not to join a gym. I live in San Diego, one of the most beautiful cities in the country with undoubtedly the best weather (this week the exception of course). Why pay for a gym membership when I can just go run around the block? I need new running shoes. I already don’t have enough time in my work week.

This week, I realized those things for just what they are: excuses. I don’t like running outside. Who cares what my shoes look like.. plus there’s an amazing place called Foot Locker. And I could certainly wake up a little earlier each day.

I joined 24 hour fitness and worked out for the first time today. AND I FEEL AMAZING! I dusted off my hand me down New Balances that were my best friend’s in college, grabbed a bathroom hand towel, filled a water bottle and WENT. I’m committing myself to taking care of my body so that it can take care of me.

I expect to be so much busier in 2010 both personally and professionally. It’s already shaping up to be our best year to date (I’m so excited for our 2010 weddings!!!) and we aren’t even through the first month yet. I’m prepared to put into my body all the positive things that I will need to get out of it this year. Bring it on, 2010!

Holiday Photos

We ventured out to this beautiful, quiet little spot to create images for Gabby’s holiday card. It’s always such an honor to photograph a photographer!

Gabby has been there from the beginning of my adventure in moving to California. Her support and belief in what I am capable of as not only a photographer but as a person is immeasurable. She is insightful, honest, and always striving to become a better person so that she can give more not simply just to be the best or have more. I admire that in you, Gabby and am lucky to know you. Thank you for trusting my work!


























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