Southern California Fine Art Wedding Photographer - SherriJ » beach

I met Aurora and James last month as they began planning their September 2012 wedding at a villa in San Juan Capistranio. They had only been engaged a month, and I was so thrilled photography was a high priority on their list of things to book first! Their ideas for an intimate wedding with lots of handmade details, made my heart happy. Aurora and James met in Long Beach and are planning to relocate at the end of the month to be closer to James’ new office. To celebrate this time in their life and how they met, they chose to have their engagement session at the Queen Mary and a nearby lighthouse!

I actually photographed the Queen Mary a couple of month ago for one of my architectural projects… during that shoot I learned the hotel was recently the location of choice of a Victoria Secret Campaign. CLICK HERE to watch the behind the scenes video of that. As we walked around the ship, we found so many great locations! The following 2 shots below was one of my favorite location finds… angel wings!

We were about to leave the Queen Mary and head over to our second location, when James found this amazing photo spot! I love how you can see the sign, boats, and the lighting on their faces is just beautiful!

Location #2 was across the river at a lighthouse. There were lots of people around, so we had to wait for just the right moment to get these shots.

Honeymoon in Paradise: Personal

sjphoto — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 03:00:11 +0000

While I was busy in the world of wedding planning, my fiance Mat was doing some research for our honeymoon. After talking with a few people, he decided to book us a dream vacation to Bora Bora and Moorea. Both are places I’ve never heard of before, and if you haven’t either, imagine an island where the sun warms your skin, a rainbow of tropical fish, sea turtles, and other marine life swim in crystal clear water, and you can walk barefoot along white sandy powder beaches, while sipping on the juice of some freshly fallen coconuts. Something I thought only possible in postcards, was my dream turned reality for the past 2 weeks in French Polynesia! Our first stop: Bora Bora, (aka the second most expensive place you can travel to in the world.)

Most of the resorts on Bora Bora are only accessible by taking a plane to the main island of Tahiti, then a small prop plane to the island. From there, you then take a small boat to your oasis in the middle of the Pacific. We stayed at place called Le Meridian, which had some cool over-the-water bungalows with glass floors to see into the water, a sea turtle sanctuary, and private lagoon for snorkeling.

We stayed for a few days, and on our last day we woke up to a double rainbow sunrise. It was so magical!

Some underwater screen shots from the Go Pro camera, swimming with black tipped sharks, sea turtles at the turtle sanctuary, chopping into some fresh coconuts for a snack, our amazing glimpse of a humpback whale and her calf, ended with a uber rare shot of a manta ray (these things have a wingspan of 15 feet!)

The second half of our honeymoon was spent on the remote island of Moorea. Here, we explored more of the local life.

One afternoon, we drove around the whole island and ran into this giant holding a pineapple. As legend has it, the statue is designed to be life-size of a man who lived on the island many years ago. They say he was so big, that if he wanted to travel from island to island he would just swim across.

During our whale excursion, we came across a documentary crew filming the new IMAX movie about the humpback whales. I learned a lot about whales that morning… like how mother whales give birth to their calves neat Tahiti in the warm waters. During the time they are with their babies, they don’t eat anything for months, since their food source is only the plankton that is found in the Arctic. They end up loosing a lot of their body weight. Our guide drove us around the waters all morning, and after about 3 hours, we finally saw the whales surfacing. I had my camera with me and got one lucky shot of a whale breaching out of the water! At the end of our boatride, we got to get into the water and swim with the whales! We were about 30 feet away from them at one point. It was so surreal to see them swim, but it was over faster than I could even comprehend what was going on! Thankfully we were able to get some shots of it on video. =)

Many things were checked off my “Life’s To-Do” adventures list during my honeymoon. It was really an amazing trip!

Melissa + Jeff: Sunset Engagement

sjphoto — Mon, 12 Sep 2011 15:41:01 +0000

Every once in a while, I get a couple who decide to book me as their wedding photographer, without ever meeting in person. They’re usually referrals from a friend’s wedding I’ve photographed. I’m actually super flattered in these cases, but also a really nervous! Last night, I met one of my 2012 clients in person for the first time, Melissa and Jeff. They were giggly and loving right from the start, which always makes my job super easy. They chose to have their engagement session during sunset at one of their favorite spots in Malibu, Paradise Cove!

Architectural Photography

sjphoto — Mon, 15 Aug 2011 16:33:44 +0000

I was going through my archives today and realized I’ve never shared a blog post about my architectural photography work, one my many photography talents. It may seem like it has little to do with people and weddings, but techniques used in architectural photography can in be applied to other subjects. More specifically, things that make a good landscape image include even lighting, using a wide angle lens correctly to get straight parallax in images (the vertical lines in an image), HDR editing (high Dynamic Range), and use of a tripod in low light situations. Here’s some of my favorite samples I recently shot for Orbitz.

Kyoto Hotel. They recently renovated, and the signature gold and maroon color scheme is found throughout the hotel. They also have a beautiful rooftop Japanese garden that overlooks downtown Los Angeles.

Terranea Resort in Rancho Palos Verdes. This shot overlooks one of their many outdoor pools. They have 180 degree views of the Ocean, a spa room with copper soaker tub, and private Villas! I’d love to spend a romantic weekend here anytime!

Queen Mary, Long Beach. A retired cruise ship is now a fun destination for travelers from around the world. This is a shot of their classic meeting rooms.

Portofino Hotel and Yacht Club in Redondo Beach. Beautiful gray lounge.

Noe Restaurant, downtown Los Angeles

Pacific Palms Resort Spa. The cool lighting in this room changes!

Hilton Universal City Cafe with glass atrium

Hotel Erwin, Venice. Very modern rooms

Hotel Erwin, Venice. Hightop lounge with Ocean views

Roosevelt Hotel, Hollywood. Great location in the heart of Hollywood along the Walk of Fame.

Roosevelt Hotel, poolview king room

Roosevelt Hotel’s pool

Anne & Peter: Married at Verandas Manhattan Beach

sjphoto — Tue, 02 Aug 2011 07:01:50 +0000

Venue: Verandas, Manhattan Beach
Photography: SherriJ Photography
Florist – Flowers by Laurel
Makeup & Hair – Tara & Meyon at Bob Roy Salon Manhattan Beach
Wedding Coordinator – Sara Lehnberg, Verandas
Band & DJ – Dwight Kennedy
Dress – Somsi Couture
Suit – Jos A Bank
Desserts & Catering – NY Food Company
Invitations: Bride’s own design

*UPDATE This wedding has been published on Engaged and Inspired HERE. (August 23, 2011)

Kristin and Jordan: Engagement at Manhattan Beach

sjphoto — Tue, 26 Jul 2011 08:14:08 +0000

I met Kristin and Jordan last month as they started planning their February wedding at The Victorian in Santa Monica. One interesting fact about their celebration, it will take place at the end of football season after the Superbowl (important factor for the men in attendance!) The winter sun will set early, and they are planning a romantic nigh setting. For their engagement shoot, they wanted somewhere fun and meaningful, so they chose a location about 5 minutes away from their place in Manhattan Beach. It was my first time shooting there and I loved exploring with them!

Pura Vida Costa Rica!

sjphoto — Mon, 18 Jul 2011 16:13:42 +0000

This past week, I traveled to Costa Rica to capture event coverage for Playstation during their annual conference. It was an amazing experience traveling out of the country, eating some amazing food, and lots of fun adventures! On the first morning, we woke up at 5:30am to see the monkeys, but couldn’t find them. Instead I took this photo of a pretty butterfly.

My favorite lunch, sea-bass ceviche. Desserts were also amazing!

Cigar Rolling demonstration.

Debi Nova. (The Costa Rican “Shakira”)

Victoria & Tony’s Engagement: Santa Monica Pier

sjphoto — Sun, 19 Jun 2011 19:09:29 +0000

I met Victoria and Tony last week, as they started planning their April wedding. It so happens, we’re both getting married at Calamigos Ranch! With similar tastes and styles, Victoria wasn’t hesitant booking. She pretty much inquired, consulted, and decided to book within 72 hours! I guess, when you know, you know… and I’m so glad to be a part of their wedding day plans! On Friday, we did their fun engagement shoot at Santa Monica Pier. Victoria brought a couple of props and we had a great time exploring. I think this first picture pretty much sums up their playful spirit! =)

The first outfit matched their school spirit. Blue and gold for UCLA!

Reagan & Ken’s Wedding: Sherwood Country Club, Malibu

sjphoto — Wed, 15 Jun 2011 03:50:02 +0000

Reagan and Ken celebrated their marriage this past weekend with a double wedding. On Friday, they had an intimate family ceremony at Our Lady of Malibu. Before their family dinner on the Malibu Pier, we had some time for a quick photoshoot at the beach.

It kinda reminds me of their engagement session from back in September. Reagan wore her mother’s altered wedding dress; her favorite part of the new design was the deep V back.

On Saturday, they continued the celebration at Sherwood Country Club in Malibu for a more formal ceremony followed by reception.

As the ladies were getting ready, I took some detail shots. The girls giggled at the “Doll-sized” corset.

Family formal shots were taken right at the ceremony site. Some advice I give all my couples, is to write a list of family members they’d like in the family formal pictures, and then give that list to someone in the bridal party. Reagan did and appointed her most organized bridesmaid. I couldn’t believe it when we were done with ALL of the family formal pictures in about 10 minutes!! Actually, I can believe it. It really pays to be prepared.

With family formals done quickly, we had extra time to photograph the bridal party in different locations, including the front of the site.

Taking a romantic golf cart ride to our photo spot!

The pathway leading to the picturesque waterfall is lined with thick rose trees on both sides.

I love Reagan’s veil. I think it was taller than me with my arm lifted high!

A special part of dinner, was a coffee station with the most AMAZING drinks! Pictured on the right is Jenna Armstrong, superstar assistant and 2nd shooter! =)

Location: Sherwood Country Club, Malibu
Photography: SherriJ Photography
Day-Of Coordinator: Peggy Shevlin Event Specialist
Ceremony and Reception Music: The Ho-Dads, Bob Schuster
Cake Baker and Decorator: LaStarr Cakes & Co., Starr
Florist: Britica Designs, Bianca Landworth
Calligraphy: First Impressions Designs (bride’s personal company!)
Hair and Make-Up: T.E.A.M. Hair and Make-Up, Mar