This is just one of the spring wildflower mini sessions I shot this spring. I love spring in San Diego! I wish the flowers would last longer! Super grateful to share this magical spot with my client and creating these beautiful, lasting memories with them. The best part of seeing the family actually having a great time together during the photoshoot!
I absolutely adore this holiday mini session!
These photos are taken at a mini-session at Penasquitos Canyon Preserve.
This fall I was absolutely so blessed to have been able to photograph so many families! As a small business owner I cannot thank everyone enough for supporting Orange Turtle Photography and my family! This year for our own family photos, I set up a tripod and took some matching PJ photos! We have never had matching family pjs before so this is something special that I did for my family. But boy it was hard to get everyone (including our dog) to cooperate! In the end, I am really happy with the seemingly chaotic photos. These moments are authentic and true to our family. Every time I look at them they make me laugh.
Idea for next year - will definitely plan for a Christmas PJ mini sessions weekend marathon!
Hope y’all had a wonderful holiday season!
Congratulations to Rebecca and Eric! What a dreamy wedding it was! The bride, who is one of the sweetest person I’ve met, was absolutely stunning. I love the simplicity of her gown with a gorgeous train. It just fits her so well! I love that they had a marvel theme for their wedding! The guys wore superhero shirts underneath their suits and had matching cufflinks and socks. It was so cool! They played marvel music throughout the reception and I felt like I was at the Avengers Campus! Anyways I would love for you to take a look at this wedding gallery as this wedding really is that special.
Also - I am forever grateful to had the opportunity to work with these amazing vendors
Wedding Planner & Coordinator - MadebyConnie Events @madebyconnie
Boba - iTea
Bridal Gown - Enzoani @enzoani
Bridal Hair Accessories - Davie & Chiyo @davieandchiyo
Bridesmaid Dresses - Lulus and Baltic Born
Desserts - Satura Cakes @satura-cakes-los-altos
DJ - Santa Cruz DJ
Florist - Graceful Garland Co @gracefulgarlandco
Groom Suit - Hugo Boss @hugo_official
Groomsmen Outfit - Men’s Warehouse @MensWearhouse
Venue - Hollins House @thehollinshouse
Videography - Tabitha Ruth Films @tabithruthfilms
As a photographer you are so busy during the winter holiday season because of the family photoshoots that I often neglect taking photos of my own family…let alone getting our photos taken! But this past Christmas, I made it a priority to get my family photos taken. I called up my good friend Heidi from Heidi-O-photo to have our family photos taken! I am so glad we did this. I felt like it was such a special time during the photoshoot where we didn’t have to worry about anything but to just…BE A FAMILY. During the session I felt like I had the luxury to slow down and really looked into my kids’ eyes and smiles and enjoy being their mom. Thank you Heidi for capturing these precious images for our family! The session itself (the time spent during the session) was a precious gift…and I just love how the images turned out. I hope my kids will love me like they do now forever! HAHA
I sincerely hope that when my clients book a session with me, not only will they receive beautiful images from the session, but that they’ll also walk away feeling more loved and bonded after the family session. And I’ll do the best I can to make that happen!
This weekend I’ll be photographing Vivian and Kevin’s wedding and it’s about time for me to share their engagement session here on the blog! The session took place last fall on an overcast day in Northern California at Half Moon Bay by the Ritz-Carlton. I have shot at this location a few times - once for a family session, once for an elopement and twice for engagement session and it doesn’t get old. I love how the beach is located within a cove so it’s slightly less windy than the rest of the nearby area which gives us a perfect amount of ‘wind blown effect’! I love the textures of the rocks at the beach which provided a variety of different backgrounds, colors and composition possibilities. But of course the focus of the shoot has always been and will always be focused on the couple! Vivian and Kevin rocked the session and made my job super easy and fun! Here are some of my favorite from the sessions.
Over the fall/winter of last year I was lucky enough to be so busy with shooting even in the midst of a never ending pandemic. I am so thankful for all the clients who trusted me in capturing a slice of the precious season of their lives.
I absolutely adore this family session. the Matagora family was expecting their second child and the baby arrived shortly after the session! I’m so excited to be sharing this session with you. Click on the thumbnails below to see a larger image!
I am so excited to share with you images of this intimate backyard wedding! I loved everything about it…the setting, styling and of course the couple themselves! They have gone through quite a bit during months leading up to the wedding - they were set on getting married, but their original venue cancelled on them. In fact, the original venue actually closed down and got sold! Even with all the logistic nightmare, they remained focused on their love for each other. Ultimately they held their wedding in their very own backyard - which was the perfect setting! It was so personal and intimate. Not to mention that the backyard actually overlooks a lake!! The week leading up to their wedding though there was a huge wild fire ripping through northern California. We were of course very concerned about the situation but luckily where they live remained untouched by the fire. The sky was definitely covered by a golden haze though. It worked out great for photos but definitely not for our lungs but I guess luckily we all have our masks on! Congrats again, dear Alan and Angie. Your wedding was a dream. Working with you guys was a dream. Thank you for being awesome.
Our family self-portrait, Christmas 2020
Hello friends! Happy new year! We feel incredibly fortunate that our family have been kept safe from covid during the past 9 months! Whew! 9 months is indeed a long time and we couldn’t wait until the pandemic is over so we can see our friends again!
During the past 9 months, our business have gone through quite some ups and downs. Back in spring when the lock down was first enforced, all the shoots were postponed to summer/fall. But as the pandemic went on, weddings that was postponed got postponed again and some were cancelled. Fortunately in the middle of the summer, cases went down and I ended up shooting a few intimate weddings! They were all so cozy and sweet and I loved that my clients were able to get married and celebrate with their closest family members. And when fall came around I was able to shoot many wonderful family sessions!! Honestly I’m so grateful to all the clients who trusted me during this difficult year. December was rough because cases went up again and the lock down was once again enforced. Lock down fatigue was real, and there were definitely days when I really struggled emotionally.
Through it all I cannot thank God enough for His blessings upon our family. We have relocated back to San Diego - a city that I adore. I am excited to put down roots here in San Diego - though I will continue to travel back to the bay area often for shoots and weddings (my parents still live in the bay area so I will definitely be visiting often)! With the vaccines rolling out, I am hopeful that 2021 will be a brighter year for all of us. Stay healthy! We can get through this! <3
much love + appreciation,
your photographer, Cindy
Rachael and Michael had a sweet intimate wedding at Hakone Estate and Gardens after their original venue cancelled on them. Navigating through 2020 has been insane for so many of my couples but I am very glad that they were able to reserve a site at Hakone Estate and Gardens at Saratoga. Who knew how much you can accomplished within 2 hours? They had a sweet ceremony, we had time for some beautiful sunset photos around the gardens AND enough time to capture so much of their backyard reception! <3 Here are some of my favorite shots from the wedding. Click on the thumbnail to see a bigger image.
I am so excited to share with you this lovely shoot that I did recently with this gorgeous couple, Adrienne and Brian! They got married last fall but during the wedding they didn’t have enough time to take wedding portraits with their photographer. After getting her wedding dress cleaned, they scheduled a post-wedding portrait session with me back at their wedding venue - The Brazilian Room at Tilden Park, Berkeley. A few days prior to the shoot, the weather has been gloomy and overcast so I was worried that maybe the weather wouldn’t be that great for the shoot. But lucky for us, the sun came out that afternoon! And with a thin layer of fog it was just enough to the photos extra dreamy! The Brazilian room building looks just like a cottage from a fairytale. I love everything about this shoot.
Special shout out to Anne from FLEURISH . Anne is an amazing florist and the mastermind behind this shoot. If you are in the Bay Area and need floral arrangements for your event, be sure to check with Anne!!
Now onto the photo - click on each thumbnail to see the full image.
It’s not easy to squeeze an hour out on your wedding day to take portraits, let alone timing it during the sunset hour. Booking a post-wedding session is definitely another way to recreate beautiful images in a more relaxed pacing! I’m so glad this shoot happened. Congrats again to Adrienne and Brian! <3
How’s everyone holding up? It’s been a few months of sheltering in place. I am proud to say that we have been so good with staying at home. :) Occasionally our family go to walks at a nearby regional park. But on this special day (tho I have forgotten when it really was - everything goes by in a blur since the quarantine started), I decided to go see the sunflower field with my kids!!
Dixon, California
The sunflower field is located 1.5 hour away from home, with no traffic. For someone who doesn’t like to go on a road trip (especially with my kids because you never know how many stops you’ll need to make between point A to point B), it was quite a commitment. That day I purposely took a nap so I won’t be overly tired while driving. I had primed my kids by telling them that we’ll be going on an adventure at somewhere magical. I also bribed them with new toys from Target so they’ll have something to play with during the car ride.
The drive went smoothly (win) and the kids didn’t whine too much (major win). Even so, when we finally arrived, I was really nervous because I really wasn’t sure how my kids would react. To my pleasant surprise, after they got out of the car and walked over to the field, they excitedly exclaim, “This is so magical mommy!!!”
Whew!!
We then proceed to take a million photos as we walked in and out and through the field repeatedly.
After awhile Cassidy said to me, “sunflowers look like heads and they are kinda scary!”
Well, she was not wrong about that. :D
It was their first time to have close encounter with sunflowers and I’m really glad that I took them out. It almost felt like I took them on a field trip. It was a nice change of scenery that’s for sure. As the quarantine goes on it feels like there’s no end to it. We are definitely very thankful that we have been healthy this entire time and that we are blessed with little adventures here and there!
How’s everyone doing today? Last week I had a chance to shoot a magical woodland maternity session. It was a weekday and there was almost no one there at the trail. It was so nice to get some fresh air outside. THE REDWOOD TREES SMELL SO GOOD! I am so very glad that the weather worked out and we got some glorious golden light!! Yay! Posting some of my favorites from the session to share with you guys! Book a session with me - you don’t have to be pregnant to do that!
Back in fall I got some photos taken by the amazing photographer Chrissie Kazerooni. She and I met years ago when I photographed her wedding and since then she has became a photographer! I am thrilled to have these photos taken of me and my babies!!! My daughter, Cassidy (who is now 6) and August (who is now 4) are growing up so fast. This season of life is so precious and flying by so quickly so I’m so so thankful that I have these photos to treasure forever.
So here’s my shameless plug - book a session with me so you will have photos of your babies with you - photos that you will treasure forever! <3
Two weekends ago I had the privilege to photograph one of the most beautiful weddings at Sonoma County. All the elements at the wedding were impeccably planned by the bride+groom with a team of amazing vendors (see the list below)! Almost all the wedding guests flew in from other parts of the country and out of the country. It was such a sweet celebration and reunion of friends and family. The day was full of so much joy and happy tears! I am so excited to share these images with you! <3
List of amazing vendors from the day -
Venue: BR Cohn
Wedding planner: Lally Events, Jamie Gansler
Officiant: Reverend Jan Heglund
Caterer: Elaine Bell Catering, Contact: Dana Osbourne
Videography: Barrel 9 Media, Justin Jerome
Hair & Makeup: It’s a Date at the Powder Room, email: admin@itsadate.biz
Florist: Venn Floral, Camille Rowan
Paper Products: Three Little Words Paper Emily Foran
Furniture Rentals: Encore Event Rentals
Event and Entertainment Design: Lauren Ray, Entire Productions
Photography: Orange Turtle Photography (me!)
Hey y’all!! Today I’m sharing with you a session that I am absolutely in love with! Honestly I feel so lucky to have amazing clients to work with. And lucky for us, we happened to have amazing weather in SF that day too - it was sunny and warm and we had the most golden sunset ever.
Sutro Baths/Lands End area is one of my fav locations because of just how picturesque it is! And there’s a parking lot!! And a bathroom too (which closes at 5:30pm by the way)! I love that I could take my clients to the cliffs, a foresty area and by the water all at the same location! Lorelie and Joe are so freaking adorable together. We had so much fun and got some incredible photos of them. Check out the photos (click on the thumbnails to see the full size images)
This beautiful couple got married on my birthday and I will forever remember their wedding anniversary! The Brazilian Room at Berkeley Tilden Park is one of my favorite venues! I love the outdoor ceremony area overlooking the grassy hill and the cute little cottage for the reception. It has such a fairytale vibe that I adore.
<3 Congrats again, Tiffany and Jared! Thank you for trusting me to capture all the beauty and joy of your wedding day.
Vendors:
Carrie Dove Catering - http://carriedovecatering.com
Quantumn Party Productions (lighting and AV equipment) - https://goquantum.co/
Julie Cao (Hair and makeup) - Instagram @jc_beautyartistry
Garnet + Grace Bridal Boutique (wedding dress) - https://garnetandgrace.com/
Fleurish (flowers) - Instagram @fleurishca
Sweet Adeline Bakeshop (cake) - http://sweetadelinebakeshop.com/
{click on the thumbnail to see the whole image}
Let’s freedom ring!!
Many years ago, I photographed Alice and RJ’s wedding at the beach. They were one of my first wedding clients who trusted me with their wedding. And their wedding was our first wedding that was ever published in a wedding magazine! What a privilege it is for me to photograph them once again, at the beach, as they are expecting the arrival of baby boy. <3
One of the perks of living in Northern California is that we get to enjoy the glorious redwoods that surrounds us. I feel so lucky that I live just 25 minutes away from Redwood Regional Park (in Oakland).
Paul and Jess loves the outdoor and they love going hiking together whenever they have a chance. So naturally I jumped at the chance of recommending to have their engagement photos taken at Redwood Regional Park.
I am very happy to report that the session went really well, mostly thanks to the sun who decided to come out at the right time to shine on us!
