PT 1: Kris + Kristen | Miss USA's Enchanted Garden Wedding | Simi Valley, CA | Los Angeles Wedding Photographer

Kris + Kristen's wedding was exquisite. The details. The sparkles. The beautiful people. There was glamour. There was friendship. There were details from incredible vendors pulled from all corners to make this enchanted garden wedding happen. I'm working on a culled list of all the brilliant hands that pulled together to make this event happen! Here are a few particular details that were so special to these two...

- DETAILS: Sparkles. Sparkles and white light everywhere. Those are some of Kristen's most favorite things. Along with fairy tales, glamour, whimsy and an effort to bring an enchanted garden to life. //  FIRST MOMENT: Kris & Kristen didn't want to see each other before the wedding but they did want to give gifts and pray together before the ceremony. She gave him a treasure chest dubbed "For His Eyes Only...A Taste of What is to Come." It contained her favorite images from her luxury bridal / boudoir session we had shot a week earlier...and he gave her a precious book of memories along with a jaw-dropping aqua diamond ring. oh my stars...so incredible! // BRIDESMAIDS: All the girls were close friends and family part of the Miss USA journey. With prestigious titles, hollywood credits, modeling contracts, sough-after designers, speakers, writers... but despite all the craziness, on the day of, all eyes were on the bride. They honored her and rejoiced over her with every ounce of joy they had. // HIM: the patience and anticipation Kris showed...(swoon). His men were goofy. They laughed and sprawled out in the stellar bachelor's room. They had a few drinks. They relaxed. They bonded...But as the ceremony got near Kris donned a pair of headphones and asked for alone time. He waited quietly for the ceremony... and oh his face when he finally did see her for the first time... go HERE for part two and HERE for part three

... so here is the prelude...

Go HERE for Pt 2!

VENDORS:

Venue: The Vineyards // Hair: Emily Dawn Artistry // Make Up: Katarina Van Derham // Flowers: Laura Williams of PoppyHill Flowers // Cake: Delicious Bakery // Bridesmaid's Jewelry: Marrin Costello // Bridesmaid's Dresses: Alfred Angelo // Photographer: Laura K Moore Photography // Videographer: Janelle Perusi // Lighting & Sound: Diversity Sounds DJ Services by DJ Christopher Tandy // Musical Performers: Cameron & Kelly Brier // Wedding Coordinator: Alice Issac: 00aliceissac00@gmail.com

Agua Caliente State Park | Books, Sass & Sunflares | Shimata Family Portraits

I could have eaten the sunbeams they were so delicious. As well as Lia's cheeks. :) The Shimatas brought a few of Lia's favorite things. They particularly wanted one-on-one time with her before baby Hannah arrived to really remember this precious time they have had as a family of 3. All new chapters are different and this one was transitioning quickly... 

Note: Since this shoot, baby Hannah has arrived safely! They are now a beautiful family of 4 and Lia has embraced her role as big sister with great pride and purpose. Oh the stories Monique has...there is never a dull moment. :)

Love this family. Love the way they have treasured this stage of life. | LKM

The Shimatas...

Tucson Botanical Gardens | Ng Family Portraits

It's almost Father's Day and this dad's interaction with his daughters were some of my most favorites taken all year. It was my first time shooting in Tucson Botanical Gardens and I could barely contain my excitement. It was pretty darn dreamy. And with these girls so bright eyed and bright colored, it was a pretty special session experience.

Here is the NG family. Full of joy and such a gentle, patient family. 

I'm comin' to the BAY AREA this weekend!

...and I still have a few slots open for portrait sessions in San Jose (or Bay Area depending on demand) on June 15 & 16. Go HERE to flesh out ideas/concepts and book a session! 

Judah + Chandel | San Francisco Engagement Session | June 2013

Ocotillo: Sonoran Desert's "Flaming Sword" | Texture Tuesday

For a plant that is often called the "vine cactus" and used as "fencing" because its spiny arms keep intruders out, the Ocotillo's springtime blooms are amazing bursts of color. It actually goes by other names like Candlewood, Slimwood, Coach Whip or Jacob's Staff. But personally, I prefer "Flaming Sword." Little fiery blossoms of surprise and life. 

It's like people, right? Sometimes you just don't give them enough credit and suddenly they bloom forth and you step back and think, "Wow! and that was inside of you this whole time? Such life!" 

....the desert is ripe with life lessons.

P.S. I want to print the last one particularly large. Like, the size of a headboard in my daughter's room. :)

Ocotillo Buds n' Blossoms | 20 x 40 Metal Panels - Ready to Mount $220 set

Ocotillo Blossoms | 16 x 20 Fine Art Metal Panel - Ready to Mount $225

Ocotillo Blossom | 60 x 40 Fine Art Giclee Canvas | $525 

Jaymin & Emily | Claremont Colleges Sweetheart Session

No special occasion. No special anniversary. Just a time in this life with your beloved. 

I loved getting to meet this couple. It was fresh and honest and full of life. It was awkward and then there was beauty in their affection and then they relaxed more. 

My favorites are the ones of them strolling down a street straight out of Anne of Green Gables. The sun was delicious. But no more than their laughter. 

Here is a recent sweetheart session with Jaymin & Emily

Congrats Miss USA 2014, Nia Sanchez!

Congrats to Nia Sanchez of Nevada! Crowned Miss USA 2014 last night!

I may have danced with her at a wedding...okay maybe took pictures while she danced at a wedding, but whatever. :) stunning woman. incredible smile. a whole year of mind-blowing opportunity ahead of her. Props girl. I'm pretty sure your candid answers tonight were some of my favorites...and that red dress....oh man, that dress. 

Miss USA 2014 | Nia Sanchez 

Bridgette | Lifestyle Headshot Portraits | Los Angeles Portrait Photographer

So there was this girl. I barely knew her. Had had more interactions with her on facebook than I had in real life. You could tell she was on a journey--soul searching. She embraced the quiet moments, reflected, sat still, appreciated little things, appreciated people--she loved them and served them and thought deeply. 

She is also a fantastic actress.

I didn't know where she was in her career as an actress but knew I would like to meet her and capture some of the spirit. I felt drawn and appreciative of the way her life made me want to sit still too. 

So on a whim, I connected with her during one of my trips to SoCal. I asked to treat her to a lifestyle headshot session. Hit or miss, we would get a diversity of emotions...Then traffic argued and fussed and light left quickly and we kept ourselves confined to her yard. We laughed. We thought of ranges of emotions and type-sets to capture. And my favorite ended up just being her. The ones with her down on the steps of her home...deeply authentic. simple.

The time post-shoot was spent sipping on homemade iced tea from mason jars, sitting on her bohemian couch in her quaint white bungalow in the heart of LA. I listened to more of the story I had tracked with in snippets over the years...and it was more special in person. We talked about patience for the right things. We talked about the beauty of not knowing. We talked about surrender and faith and loving others despite our own confusion. We bonded over authors and books. We shared stuff the other hadn't read or heard of. I met her dog Lucy. I. Love. Lucy. And now we are friends.

So here she is. My beautiful friend Bridgette. 

"Creosote Buds 1" | Desert Plant Wildlife Photography | Texture Tuesday

Spring is side-stepping as summer smashes through the doors this week with a very confident, unapologetic triple-digit forecast. And i suppose it's a good time to bring back Texture Tuesdays...because since slowing down to really find pieces of this hostile desert that I love--that i genuinely think as beautiful--I've been surprised...and wooed. 

There is this bush called the Creosote Bush.  When its leaves get wet it releases a smell that all Arizonans know to be the signal for RAIN. Often it's buds are little tiny yellow balls, but in the spring, when the desert bursts to life, the fruit appears as small, white, fuzzy balls. 

Creosote Buds 1 | Desert Photography | Texture Tuesday | Fine Art Panels: 20" x 40" Giclee Canvases $225 set

Nathan + Emily | Mt. Baldy Engagement Session | Shades of Blue, Creek Beds and Giddy Innocence | Southern California Wedding Photographer

430am rolled around quickly. I met Emily in PJs and giddiness with my hair/makeup arsenal prepared. We got fancy and mapped out concept and wardrobe for our early morning session in the Mt. Baldy foothills--the same place Nathan proposed one month prior.

I've known Emily since she was 4 years old. I was a clown at family birthday parties. I have watched her become an incredible woman and someone who I can truly call a friend...and soon to be sister. She is marrying my brother--a man happier and more free than I have ever seen him. 

Their affection has ripened these last few years. The wait has been long and sometimes hard, but the way they love each other more freely--laugh deeply and anticipate each other--makes my heart smile like a thousand bursting suns. Delayed gratification...patience...the arduous task of waiting for the right time. the right heart. the right place.......God is so, so good. | LKM