Jerry Yoon // PHOTOGRAPHERS

Diana and Michael did their engagement session on Michael's birthday.  As a surprise to him, Diana got Oski (Berkeley's mascot) to come down to Memorial Stadium and shoot with us.  We love when people bring their favorite things to engagement sessions, such as hats, volley balls, accessories, pets, etc.  Oski turned out to be much more than a "prop".  He was actually quite a ham and really great at striking model poses!  We had a lot of fun working with him.  Thank you Oski! 

At first, something about Oski made me a little nervous.  He is famous around these parts and usually has a body guard, his two ears are fused into one (very strange), and he smells like an old man, a 67 year old man, to be exact.  But as we got to know him a little better, we warmed up to each other and then Oski tried to hit on Diana.  Oh Oski, you rascal- always flirting with the ladies.  It breaks my heart though, to see a huge smelly bear rejected. 

-Ingrid

 

As you can tell, we were having fun with this love triangle scenario.  It's not often we get to shoot three adults, one of which is the third wheel.  

Then we wandered around campus to find some cool places to shoot.  The lovely couple with great overcast lighting.

We asked Diana and Michael questions about themselves while shooting them.  This turned out to be great because we got such genuine expressions and found out funny tidbits about their relationship. 

I'm really looking forward to shooting their wedding because Diana and Michael are such natural down to earth people.  We also have a kajillion mutual friends and acquaintances!  

When Iris told Sarah and Amritz about our photography, they became fans of our stuff.  After hanging out with this ridiculously awesomely coolest couple, we're more a fan of them then they are a fan of us now.  I think it might be because they took care of us when we were clueless and cold in the belly of Seattle.  Or because they are so funny and we love to laugh.  Or because they are just that awesome.  If they had a blog, I would be their blog stalker.  Not in a freakish creepy way, but in a very loving way, that some of our blog stalkers do so nicely to us.  

The fact that their friends were jumping at the mic to give candid toasts of them is a small testament to how much they are loved and respected by their friends.  Ok, I better stop this gushing, or it's going to turn into a cheese fest.  Amrtiz promised to take us global like Starbucks.  He works at Microsoft now, so I'm conflicted, since I'm Mac and he's PC.  But that's ok, we all bonded heavily during their Cambodian ceremony, which will be a forthcoming part deux blog post. 

Sarah looking gorgeous and thinking about Amritz.  

Naughty Amritz getting an early sneek peek.   In front of the stunning Westminster Presbyterian Church.

Sarah sportin' the red hot wedding kicks.  

So this group shot wasn't staged at all.  We'd never do that, of course.  We're photojournalists.

This is how they warmed up before every shot.  Cool bouquet shot.

 

I heart you. Co-sponsored by a natural Vignette.

 I love the moment and anticipation in these two.

The moment before her father gives her away. 

The church was stunning to say the least.

Sarah heading towards the lightened alley way.

 The little people standing on the cake are exact replicas of Sarah and Amritz.  Did you guys eat them afterwards?

 

This, my friends, is Baby, totally blinged out.  He stole the ring shot.  More about who Baby is on their engagement shoot.   

That garter got passed around all night long.   

 

We get a lot of requests to shoot on the UC Berkeley Campus.  Every time Jerry and I start a shoot there, we try our hardest to do something unique.  Luckily the Campus is peppered with interesting backdrops and strange "tree people" who we would encounter on a later shoot. 

This shoot was particularly easy because Kyle knows how to make Tiffany laugh.  They were so open to doing anything for the shot.  We asked them to do a running jump over us over and over again, to learn precariously over the edge of a tall stump, and hardest of all, for Kyle to imitate Tiffany's silly faces.  This proved more challenging than it sounds since Tiffany is remarkably dexterous at making faces!  It was so much fun working with you guys.  I'm excited to see your photo-wedding favors. 

-Ingrid 

Tiffany and Kyle wanted an image where we shot through stuff and they would be behind it.  We walked around campus looking for good places to do this, when we settled on this patch of tall grasses.  I later realized that this area is actually a dry retention pond for dirty run-off to collect and then be purified by the grasses.  MMM, gross, interesting...and pretty! 

This is Berkeley's Eucalyptus Grove.  The old guys who did the campus planning brought these over from Australia, hoping to make a good wind screen.  They didn't realize that later, these giants would come crashing down on neighboring buildings when they got too old.  Fun fact!

Relaxing on a log after their sprint through the forest. 

Finding interesting lighting is key.

And then making interesting lighting is another key when good lighting doesn't exist. 

Kyle working his charm on Tiffany.   

 

Jennilee and Brett had a beautiful wedding at the Harvest Inn in St. Helena.   Spending time with them during the engagement session was so fun that we were definitely looking forward to seeing them again.  We had so much fun with them on their wedding day that it went by all too fast. 

When we met the wedding coordinator on the day of Jennilee and Brett's wedding, one of the first things she said was "Make sure you take pictures of all the amazing details!  They are everywhere!"  I think the credit for that goes to Jennilee who stayed up late nights to make all those great details.  She rocked it! 

Thanks guys for all the time and effort you put into creating such an awesome day for us to shoot. 

It was good seeing Jennilee and her bridesmaids enjoying the small moments in between. 

I love the veil that Jennilee chose.  She looked really gorgeous in it.  

That's the vineyard in the background framed by the mountains.   

Jennilee has really cool taste.  She made sure all the details and the cake had a distinct style.  The cake looked fab because it was framed by the fireplace and looked like it was shimmering. 

The sun was setting and I caught this one.  I just love the composition, colors and Jennilee bringing sexy back. 

 I loved how there was this vintage telephone booth in the front.

 

 

It's been a while since we've done a slideshow, so I'm pretty excited about this one. I forgot how fun they were to watch. Especially the pics where Chang Soo and his mom were getting down on the dance floor. She was doing the robot! You've got the coolest mom CS.

Click Here if you can't see the slideshow.

I have this special connection with Brendan and Elizabeth.  Actually, Ingrid and I both have a connection with the both of them.  I used to work with them during the CALPACT days on UC Berkeley campus.  It was surreal getting to shoot them, because now we were in this completely different situation.  I'm used to asking them to help me teach a class or something, not snuggle or kiss in front of me while I take photos of them.  I think that's what made it all the more fun! 

Ingrid and Elizabeth had the architecture major connection.  When we went inside of Wurster Hall, the architecture major building on Berkeley campus, I think they were both flooded with memories of all nighters on the 8th floor.  I just couldn't believe how messy that place was!  Well they both survived and now were able to play inside the building, instead of having to worry about making the perfect cardboard structure.  

Brendan and Elizabeth also have the biggest hearts when it comes to helping their friends out for their weddings.  I've seen them at so many weddings decorating and now I look forward to seeing them being on the receiving end of all that lovin'.  You guys rock!

Elizabeth was having fun, while Brendan became a little camera shy. 

 

Brendan pulling Elizabeth away from the big tree monster.   

Good boy meets bad girl.  

Good boy woos bad girl. 

Good boy looks like he has no idea what he's getting himself into. 

Dirty concrete corner, with scratchy glass and bright sunlight make for a cool picture. 

 I must confess, I didn't actually see the square composing Brendan's face when I shot this.  Sometimes, I just get lucky. 

The 2008 wedding season is in full gear and we've been doing a ton of engagement sessions.  Almost all of our couples have opted to get an engagement session and we've been getting a lot of people who just get an engagement session from us even though we can't shoot their wedding.  So we'll be doing over 40 engagement sessions alone this year!  Who would have thought ten years ago that these shoots would become so popular.  Jesh de Rox in Canada is an engagement session master and he's charging over $5000 for just the engagement session alone!  So yes, the engagement session is here to stay and I believe that this segment will continue to grow as couples begin to be aware of how special these images will be to them 10, 20, 30 years from now. 

The approach to each session for me is always slightly different, but I think the underlining current is one of discovery.  Every session is a small adventure, because for the most part both parties have never ventured in this new territory before.  I've never shot the couple before and the couple has more than likely never been in a shoot like this.  This always leads to awkward, funny, anxious, silly, solemn, hilarious, tearful, joyous,  ______ (fill in the blank) moments of discovery.  This path always leads to something that has never been created or captured before and won't be repeated in the same manner ever again.  And to be able to share this with you...it's my honor and privilege. 

 Alex and Joshua, thank you for an amazing time.  You have this wellspring of joy together that inspires me.