lauren nygard photography: February 2011

Monday, February 14, 2011

Happy Valentine's Day, y'all!!

Hello everyone! I just wanted to take a minute to wish all of you a very happy Valentine's Day! Even though my hubby is out in the field this week, he sent me this gorgeous bouquet! Isn't that awesome?!

And here's a shot of some cupcakes I made to take to a friend's house on Friday. They were a new recipe that I don't think I'll be using again. ;)

Have a great week!

Monday, February 7, 2011

San Diego Shooting Group - La Jolla Engagement - Cori and Lamont

On Friday, the San Diego Shooting Group had our first shoot of the year! We're a small group that will be getting together every so often to have fun while practicing our craft. If you are a photographer and would like to join our next shoot, please head over to our Facebook page to join the group!

This time, we had a great turn out! A fabulous engaged couple, Cori and Lamont, met up with us at the Burger Lounge in La Jolla, where we caught them enjoying a delicious milkshake. We then walked around several surrounding blocks and took turns posing and photographing the two of them, before heading back to Burger Lounge for a well-deserved dinner!

Here are a few shots of the group with Cori and Lamont.

The following are a handful of the images I captured of the lovebirds! These two met twelve years ago while attending UCLA and remained friends for years before they started dating! Both studied Sociology at UCLA but later decided to follow different career paths: Lamont is now a writer while Cori does interior and graphic design. She's actually the force behind the awesome design and inspiration blog, Pretty Haute Mess! Lamont and Cori joke that creative couples have more fun, and I definitely agree with them!

Isn't Cori gorgeous? And how about that ring?! It is a vintage ring that belonged to her grandmother, Pearl, with whom Cori was very close. I don't think it gets any sweeter than that... ;)

For the next few shots, Stephen Knuth set up one of Shari Barnes' speedlights to create dramatic lighting. She was kind enough to let all of us use the set up to grab some shots! The following image shows the great thing about knowing how to set up off-camera lighting. I used the available sunlight to create the image on the left, and the image on the right was taken using the speedlight that Stephen had set up. As you can see, Cori and Lamont didn't change their pose at all--in fact, they didn't move a bit! The only differences are (1) the introduction of one speedlight off camera to the left and (2) my location. What's so great about this, you ask? I was able to come away with two very different images with zero changes from the couple. Cool, right?!?!

The following is my new favorite shot to set up! It's one speedlight (I use a SB-600) triggered wirelessly from the camera. In this case, I was using the Nikon CLS system because other photographers were able to fire the flash as well. This set up requires a light stand, preferably one that's voice-activated. Thankfully for us, Stephanie Zyga and Stephen were kind enough to be our stands. :)

A big THANK YOU goes out to Cori and Lamont for coming down and letting us shoot you! By the way, did I mention what a trooper Lamont was?? He had just had surgery on the Monday before the shoot, so he was on crutches the day! He would move to where we wanted to pose the two of them, then one of us would grab his crutches, we'd shoot, and then give them back. :) I can't thank them enough for spending their Friday afternoon and evening with the group!

Wednesday, February 2, 2011

Kristin and Trevor - Old Town San Diego Wedding

Kristin and Trevor are an amazing couple whose wedding I photographed alongside the awesome Aimee Westcott! The couple lives in Las Vegas but often vacations here in San Diego, so it just felt *right* for them to get married here. And I knew their wedding was going to be rad after seeing the jaw-dropping images Aimee caught of them during their engagement session at the Salton Sea!

The day started off at the US Grant hotel, where both the bride and groom got dolled up. (in separate rooms!) Since they didn't want to see each other until the ceremony, we had some fun doing a bit of a two-step when it was time for their portraits down in the lobby! From there, we headed off to Old Town for the gorgeous ceremony at the Immaculate Conception Church and for more portraits around the area. The reception was held in the intricate Don Room at El Cortez. Take a look at their special day below!

I love setting up a flash in an unexpected location, which is something I've learned to do from Aimee! Yes, we got plenty of natural-light images from Kristin's suite while she got ready, but I love how she glows in this image!

Oh, the shoes! The dress! The shoes!!

One thing that struck me during this wedding was just how happy everyone was! Here, Kristin's mom is placing the veil on her daughter, and you can see the huge smile in her eyes!