Mom and Kiki

Alison January 26, 2012

Just going through some personal pictures from last year, and found these two from one of our trips to LA that I liked:

Beth + Daniel Engaged!

Alison January 16, 2012

engagement photography in knights ferry in central california I'm going to be a bridesmaid this coming year for my dear friend Beth. We knew we weren't going to be able to photograph her wedding so Adm and I wanted to do her engagement pictures to help capture part of the happiest time in her life.

Beth could not be more perfectly matched than she is with her fiance Daniel. Adm likes to call Beth the "Fiesta Bandita" (or "Party Bandit") because no matter where you go, Beth ALWAYS seems to have just the right bottle of wine, champagne, home brew, wedge of cheese or baguette at hand, literally in her purse, to perfectly fit the situation. And now, the perpetually happy Daniel with a heart of gold is always ready to throw gas on Beth's party fire. These two are nonstop fun and I'm pretty sure you can tell from the pictures that their engagement shoot was exactly that. Plus, Daniel, who still DJs in his spare time, raised the roof for us all over Knights Ferry which is where he proposed to Beth.

Beth and Dan, you know we love you and we absolutely cannot wait for your wedding this May - it is going to be like no other!

Suzie + Yui Hay in Carmel, CA

Alison January 13, 2012

A few months back, I was lucky enough to head to beautiful Carmel to photograph my dear relatives Suzie and Yui Hay. The scenes were breathtaking, the light perfect, and Suzie and Yui Hay were so happy. I love doing these kinds of portraits, where everything comes together perfectly. Here are a few of my favorites from their sweetheart session:

Favorites of 2011!

Alison January 1, 2012

Sometime back in October, when we were photographing back to back to back weddings, all I could think about was January and having a weekend off. Now that January is here and things are slowing down, all I can think about are this coming year's weddings. For me, photography is truly a way of life - it's always on my mind, whether I'm taking pictures or not. I can't help but see the world through that camera frame, and when I enter new spaces, the first thing I notice is the quality of light. In looking back at all of our work this past year, I am reminded of how lucky Adm and I are to be able to share our love for photography with others. We are so lucky to work with each other doing something we love. It is not lost on us that this would not be possible without our amazing couples who let us into their lives and trust us to capture some of their most treasured moments. Thank you.

Adm and I didn't bicker at all while putting together this best of gallery... No really, really we didn't. Okay I'm lying. But in our defense, it is HARD to whittle down thousands of images that we made over the course of this year to just our very favorites. It's even harder to do this with another person because photography is so personal and subjective. When we look at pictures that we made, we don't just see the actual image, we feel everything that was a part of what went into taking that picture in that moment, and sometimes it's baffling why others can't see and feel what you remember. We each have images that we're attached to and in the photo world, it's not uncommon for editors to tell you "it's time to kill your baby," meaning, it's time to let go of some of those favorites. So, in a task where Adm and I are killing our babies left and right, it's easy to see how things can get a little heated. Not to worry though, in the end, we smoothed things over with some hot fudge sundaes and came up with 67 of what we think are our best images from 2011.

All photos by Alison Yin, Adm Golub or Brad Zweerink.

Marian + Michael in Oakland, CA

Alison December 28, 2011

Being a part of Marian and Michael's wedding was like stepping into another era. For starters, their ceremony and reception took place at Preservation Park in Oakland, which is a beautiful block of restored and well-maintained Victorian homes. Marian also had an a distinct vision for her December wedding: Christmas in the 1950s. The amount of detail and decorating that went into creating "the look" not only for their venue but for Marian and her bridesmaids was truly astonishing. Marian and her sister Sarah, an extraordinary event coordinator and designer, have been decorating Preservation Park every Christmas for years. Every wreath, garland, bow, tree, really anything Christmas-related, transpired from their lovely handiwork. Furthermore all of the ladies, Marian and her eight bridesmaids, looked as if they had stepped right off the set of Madmen. Actually, they stepped out of a 1939 Rolls Royce for their grand entrance. The Rolls served as a backdrop for a series of pin-up pictures that our good friend Brad made of all of the women (see a couple below).

Despite the amazing scene that Marian and Michael created, the best part of their wedding was truly how happy and excited these two were to be marrying one another. They both had perma-grins the entire night, and with all that smiling how could they not have the foundation for a beautiful and happy life together? Congratulations, you two!!!

Photo below by Brad:

Photos below by Brad:

Photo below by Brad:

Ngoc + Steve in San Francisco, CA

Alison December 23, 2011

San Francisco wedding photography on a cable car We ended up having a later season this year, and so we still have one more wedding to share after this one! But, I am getting ahead of myself...

Remember Ngoc and Steve's engagement session in Berkeley just a couple of months ago? Well, these two brought everything together, with the help of their family, to throw an amazing December wedding at San Francisco's iconic Yank Sing Restaurant in The Rincon Plaza. Their wedding was definitely a family affair as Ngoc and Steve are super close with their siblings: Steve's brother officiated over the ceremony and almost all of the bridal party were family members, which led to some pretty sweet toasts.

We brought along our friend Brad Zweerink to help us photograph the wedding, and it was so much fun to be a part of a celebration for two people who were so obviously in love: Steve couldn't keep his hands off his beautiful bride as he kept wrapping her up in his arms and kissing her all night long. Ngoc and Steve, thanks so much for having us, we think you two are an amazing couple!