Destination Sacramento Wedding Photographer fun alternative » dave shilling photography

Ashley and Todd are engaged!

daveshilling — Sat, 12 Jun 2010 19:08:56 +0000

Ashley and Todd are a super fun couple, and I hope I did an adequate job of representing their chemistry and fun-loving personalities in their engagement session photos! One thing I love about them is that they made me feel comfortable shooting any idea that popped into my head, and they were stoked on the fun and unusual photos.. pretty much my ideal situation. Kind of funny that usually it’s my job to make my clients confortable, but I think they did that for me more than I for them. Thanks for jumping, goofing around, being in love, and being you!

WARNING: Mom Shot AHEAD!!!

Check out Todd putting the moves on his lady:

Much <3,

Dave

Christine and Roger are Married!

daveshilling — Sat, 24 Apr 2010 23:27:44 +0000

The sun was shining brightly on Christine and Roger as they wed in Monterey, CA at the Monterey Plaza Hotel. The weather was gorgeous, and that was a fortunate gift! Christine was also gorgeous, but I totally expected that. The girls at Oya Inc in Monterey did a fantastic job of accentuating her beauty, and her smile would light up the room every time. Roger and the guys got ready at a separate hotel, and he was looking very dapper himself, although he wouldn’t tell you so. Roger is that rare guy who is modest yet confident, charming but not overbearing, and Christine is his perfect match. Their ceremony on the balcony of the Monterey Plaza Hotel was overlooking the Pacific Ocean, and these two have a special love for water, so it doesn’t get any better that this! As the evening sun cast a golden glow, we headed down to the cliffs where Roger asked Christine to be his wife, and got some meaningful and romantic photos. Jessica and I had such a great time shooting this wedding! Roger and Christine are off to their next adventure in Korea, which is where Roger will be stationed for the next two years. Looking forward to the post cards =)

Roger sent this letter to his bride to be moments before the ceremony… cute!

The Monterey Plaza Hotel’s Patio overlooking the Ocean.. awesomeness!

I love this shot that Jessica took… It was fun having her as my second shooter for this Monterey Wedding!

Thank you so much for including me in a memorable day of your life, and I wish you many more!

Much <3,

Dave

Christine and Jim’s Engagement Session

daveshilling — Wed, 31 Mar 2010 07:43:31 +0000

I met the fun and carefree bride to be Kryssi while attending the Plan Green event at the UC Davis campus. . She helped facilitate the event, and she was one of the first people to come up and talk to me while I was setting up my booth. I was so excited to hear from her soon after about taking wedding photos for her and Jim! She’s the kind of woman who makes people around her smile, and Jim snatched her up! Smart move Jim =) Even though Kryssi works super close the the UC Davis Arboretum, she wanted to get some different textures for her engagement session. We had a great time cruising around Old Sacramento and basking in the warm afternoon sunlight, surrounded by 100 year old brick buildings. Check out some of my favorites from the day!

Love the pockets on this bag!

I just knew that Christine and Jim would be awesome, and they were… thanks for being so patient and fun, and I’ll see you in Tahoe in 31 days!

Much<3,

Dave

Sunshine in Sacramento

daveshilling — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 20:32:01 +0000

I don’t know about you, but my kids were definitely enjoying the nice weather we’ve had recently. Gray skies just make me feel, well, gray. Usually, I get super excited during storms because it means snow has arrived and its time for snowboarding, but it just hasn’t happened this season. So I might as well bask in the sunlight while its still here! We had a fruitful day at the Farmers market… I’m going to try these Japanese yams I scored this week, and Kaitlyn got to head behind the table( next to the register to pick her mandarines… she’s a little charmer! She must’ve gotten like 20 mandarines for $3.00, which is way cheaper than normal. I’m glad I’ve hassled her to say “please” and “thank you” for so long. After some much needed chores around the house, we headed to the park for some playtime. I wanted to write this post so it helps me remember that sometimes there are tons of things to do, but even when you are slammed with to-do lists, you have to stop and enjoy the reasons you work so hard. I hope you were able to get some sunshine with your family and friends this weekend!

Much <3,
Dave

Jackie and Andy are Engaged!

daveshilling — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 08:39:49 +0000

We kept waiting for the perfect day for our photoshoot… and it came.. on a random Tuesday months ago. We missed it, and I swear it’s been raining since then. Well Jackie and Andy said to heck with it, lets make lemonade out of lemons, and do our shoot in the rain! Well not entirely in the rain, but it was rainy=) We walked around Old Sacramento and found some awesome directional lighting to put this fun loving couple into… Even though they’re both two big kids at heart, they turned up the heat a couple of times, and nearly dried me off from the hotness!!

Thanks for being so much fun, walking in uncomfortable shoes on cobblestone streets, trespassing, and for not making fun of me when I got that parking ticket… hey it’s good luck right?

Much<3,

Dave

2010 means better choices.

daveshilling — Sun, 03 Jan 2010 07:57:21 +0000

It isn’t every day that I watch something on television that directly impacts the way my day begins and ends.

I watched Food, Inc. after being recommended by Jasmine Star on her Wedding Photography Blog. She mentioned how watching this documentary about where our food comes from shaped her food choices, and after watching it myself, I understood why. I don’t want to list out every awesome point that the movie made, just watch it, but at the end of the day my family and I decided to make a stronger effort to know where our food comes from, support local growers who grow their food naturally, and find a more responsible choice for our meat purchases. Today we headed to a local Farmers Market behind Sunrise Mall in Citrus Heights to check out what local growers had to offer during the winter season, and we came home with a bag full of goodies! Everything we ate was delicious and the cost was not prohibitive to doing this every week, so it has instantly become house law. Jenny is headed to the Farmers Market downtown under the freeway to see if they will have any locally raised meats that weren’t corn fed and raised in their own excrement ( seriously, watch this documentary) and I look forward getting pictures on my phone of these delicious treats! For you photo-nerds and the generally curious, here’s a setup shot for the delectable fruit display above:

NERD ALERT!!!!
Two SB-800’s both fired with CLS on manual at 1/80th power. The flash at camera left is snooted with a piece of tin foil, and the flash at camera right is diffused through an extended roll of paper towels help up by a flashlight. D300, 85mm@f8, ISO 200, 1/250th sec

P.S. We all tried the Asian pear on the right for the first time this evening . It was so freakin delicious. We’ll be getting more next time!

Much <3,

Dave

New Years Day in Photos

daveshilling — Sat, 02 Jan 2010 03:08:45 +0000

A rare moment of child-free leisure led us to Midtown for Crepes and coffee, and I didn’t dare be without my camera!

Bellies comfortable but not stuffed, we strolled around midtown for a few and enjoyed the solace of the New Year. Jenny is super patient when I’m shooting random eye-catchers on the street, and she holds stuff for me, models, and points out cool stuff of her own.

Jenny commented on how quiet it was in Midtown today, and I concurred. It was peaceful, strangers seemed to stride optimistically towards their destinations, and birds were dancing around from tree to tree.

Maybe everyone is excited about the possibilities of 2010, and they are starting their year on a peaceful note, setting the tone for the rest of the year.

I picked up a fashion magazine from the UK that is as thick as my thumb, and it spurred photo-shoot ideas which I’m looking forward to embarking on. Anyone want to model? Comments are welcome!

Happy New Years to my friends and blog stalkers!

Much <3,

Dave

UC Davis Arboretum Wedding Photography| Christine and Roger

daveshilling — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 11:48:27 +0000

I love shooting at the UC Davis Arboretum. My first session there was thanks to Amy and John, and when Christine suggested a location that was chill, romantic, and had water, I ditched our original spot once I realized how awesome the Davis Arboretum is. I scoped it out as a possible location for my own wedding, but walking around the place has shown me many more cool spots to shoot! Christine is not only a friend, but also a bridesmaid from Mishell and Christians Yosemite wedding last summer. Here she is looking FAB as a bridesmaid:

She told me then that she was planning to trick this poor boy marry this stud named Roger, and now its her turn in front of the camera! Excellent choice Christine, Roger is a cool guy! Here’s some photos from our day around the Davis Arboretum:

UC Davis Arboretum
1 Shields Ave
Davis, CA

I love this sequence… so cute! I love when my clients want to goof around on our shoots.

The light that poured in at the Davis Arboretum was golden and delicious!

IN addition to being gorgeous and fun, these two are also part-time Ninjas, and they had a Ninja fight when were trying to shoot silhouettes… hey, sometimes you just need to kick somebody in the face.

I’m so proud of Christine for braving the big scary spiders to get this shot!!

We were literally in our cars, driving away, and I saw this steam rising… I flagged Roger down and when Christine got out, she jut knew exactly what I was thinking…. I love my brides!!!

I had so much fun on this shoot, and I think it shows in these pictures… can;t wait for your Monterey Wedding!

much<3,

Dave

San Francisco Wedding Photography|Reyna and Noah Portraits

daveshilling — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 12:04:36 +0000

After rockin out Frasinetti Winery with Reyna and Noah, we all got some rest and took a weekend vacation together to San Francisco for rest, relation, sushi, and portraits. This was a fantastic luxury to have my clients and friends excited about doing something different and shooting their portraits on the next day…. I was so stoked that they were stoked! My lovely wife assisted, and we were able to get in some sweet locations before the sun set on us and it was time for a fabulous dinner… Check out our day in San Francisco, my concrete paradise.

These getting ready photos have a more relaxed feel to them, and this was a common thread throughout the day… I’m hoping it translates well.

I ran across the street and went the the 12th story of a parking garage for the next shot… love the city feel, and I’d climb those stairs again anyday. And when I say stairs, I mean the ones leading to the elevator=)

Ahhh Pier 39. Clam Chowder, silly socks, Carousels, and tons of memories… and newlyweds.

Yeah, we had to head to the Palace. You know this place gets some serious photo-love…. it was a Monday, and there were STILL two other wedding couples having photos taken there… but we were watching. We made sure to rock it harder. I could see the jealousy in their eyes when I busted out some lighting gear ( the wife counts as lighting gear in this case… thanks babe)

We were losing light fast, but we made the decision to haul butt over to Baker beach, cause Reyna promised me that she will get her dress wet before the day is over…now keep in mind that this is San Francisco, not San Diego, and that water was JUST slightly warmer than freezing, so we didn’t completely trash the dress. I rolled up my pants and hopped in there so I knew what Reyna was workin with. She toughed it out, I screamed like a little girl when that ice water hit my pale legs!

I’m in love with this last image… since they are family friends, I should be able to get away with hanging it on my wall at home. Love U guys! Not quite as much as the love in this photo though… the hand, the look, its just… <3.

As far as photoshoots go, this one was epic. San Francisco portraits with my wife and great friends, sushi, pastry, designing my first bouquet with Maple leaves, it was perfect. Thanks Reyna and Noah!! I barely even realized I was working, and thats how work should be.

Much<3,

Dave

Marcie and Eric are Engaged and Lovin it! Sacramento Wedding Photography

daveshilling — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 11:21:00 +0000

Last weekend I had the pleasure of shooting Marcie and Eric’s first couples photoshoot! It ws an honor to say the least…. they never went to Sears, Olan Mills, Picture People… they didn’t know, but they saved it for me! Or at least, thats how I look at it. If that doesn’t make you feel special, I don’t know what will. I have a feeling, though, that this is more common than I realize, and Marcie and Eric may not realize it, but they have given me a new appreciation for what I do. Marcie and Eric are totally in love, and I was going to write more about it, but its obvious in their engagement photos that we shot in mid-town sacramento, so I’ll let them do the talking.

You guys are rad, and I’m stoked to head down to LA to shoot your wedding next month!!!

Much<3,

Dave Shilling