Amelia Strauss Photography Blog » Amelia Strauss >> Southern California Editorial Photographer / Destination Wedding Photographer

Okay, I totally stole this from Cristi’s blog, but how hilarious is this map?!

We, the ladies of Alpha Kappa Camera are on a retreat in Charleston, South Carolina this week! The map, courtesy of Cristi, is a fun little snapshot of who all is here for our first trip. Glorious beach house and good times for sure! I am SO excited to blog about our trip, and simultaneously check off a HUGE item off of my 101 in 1001 list.

Everyone made it here but for three of us - and so far it has been a killer start to a phenomenal week. These are some super talented women, and its thrilling to be here with everyone!

Details to come!

Oh, how I love this couple! I’m excited to blog a bit about our session earlier this month. But before I begin, can I please just throw out a few excuses for being the biggest blog slack attack EVER?! One: I’m moving. Two: I’m about to launch a brand new website and blog (WOO HOO!). Three: I’m moving. Four: It’s wedding season and my clients come first! With all that said, I would now like to throw out: No excuses! Play like a champion Amelia! So, here goes…

I met up with the lovely Suzanne and her soon-to-be-hubs Justin on July 4th at 5:30 in the morning, to become road trip warriors and book it down to Tuscaloosa for the sunrise over the river. Which was gorgeous! So here’s the deal: you know all that football traffic and interstate mess that we Central Alabamians hate? Well, you can skip all of that entirely by going down there on a Saturday during the summer, on a holiday, at the crack of dawn. There wasn’t a soul in sight for our shoot! So, there’s my tip.

It was a beautiful day and we managed to miss the brutal humidity by shooting so early. AND I had a ridiculously beautiful couple to work with, which makes my job pretty easy! I loved the locations we got to shoot at, including inside Bryant-Denny Stadium and all around campus. Suzanne and Justin are both University of Alabama graduates, so Tuscaloosa was a really special place for them. I would like to insert here that they were both really involved on campus during their time at the Capstone (side-note: me, not so much), and actually met while they were Orientation Leaders their Junior Year. I was treated to a whole tour and wealth of knowledge about The University as we spent the morning together, all of which I somehow managed to miss in entirety during my two years in school there…

It was a perfect day for a pretty much perfect session, and went off without a hitch! I so enjoyed my time with both Suzanne and Justin and I can’t wait to shoot their wedding this upcoming November. To finish off a great morning, we grabbed a late breakfast at The Waysider - AMAZING! Oh, and there was one of the most precious dogs ever along on the shoot…which really just made my day! Thank you Suzanne and Justin for a remarkable morning and the pleasure of working with you.

Enjoy the images! And thank you to Shea and Jeremy, who schooled me for my lack of blogging during our session yesterday. Here’s to not having to press “refresh”!

Check out our new view…

HUGE NEWS! That’s right, we’re moving to Los Angeles. After much prayer and consideration, my husband and I have decided to relocate all the way across the country, and we are ecstatic about it! Jason (who I’m calling out by name in this post for the first time ever) has taken a position with his company that will be taking us to the West Coast.

You may be thinking, “But Amelia, what in the world does this mean for you and the studio?”, and please know how much prayer and preparation has gone into the decision and answer to that very question. I will be physically moving to Los Angeles this winter around the holidays, and will still be working primarily out of Alabama. The studio will be based out of Alabama through next summer, as we shoot out of both the South and the West Coast. At that point, the studio will relocate entirely to Los Angeles, but will still be available for work anywhere (especially down here, where my heart is)!

So, this is a pretty big life change for me and Jason. We looked at different neighborhoods to live in over this past weekend - which, by the way, was the first time I had EVER been to Southern California. Massive Decisions? Yes. A Tad Overwhelming? You Bet. Exciting Adventure? Absolutely! I picked up on a few things really quickly: I have a southern accent; The 405 is almost unbearable; my vegetarianism is much simpler out there; the people are really friendly; the weather is unbeatable; and I LOVE my husband and can’t wait to make this move with him.

Things we are looking for, and would love prayer and welcome advice about: a place to live, a church, and friends. We are really leaving everything behind to make this move. It will be hard, but I am assured over and over again that this is the plan that The Lord has for us. And how thrilling is it to follow Him?!

It is truly amazing to look back and see how God brought us to this point, and how He guided us along the way. One example is the friends I’ve made just over the last six months before we could see any of this on the horizon, California photographers and all-around rock stars, Meg Perotti and Heather Kincaid. Meg had us over for dinner on Sunday evening, and her hospitality was welcoming and encouraging beyond anything I could have imagined.

I am so stoked to finally announce our plans, and I can’t wait to see where life takes us along this unexpected journey!

Here is the first image of me and Jason in California! (Taken on Meg’s front porch by Heather)…

Okay, so here’s the double sneak! First of all, check out Suzanne and Justin and a couple of my faves from their engagement session. There was a roadtrip and super-cool locations involved, which will make it onto the blog soon, I promise.

Also, very, very sneaky…check out a new watermark and blog edit on their images. I have been working with an amazing branding agency, and this little bitty sneak makes me very happy! The new branding is a big reason for the lack of updates to the website and hesitancy blogging - but it is all starting to come together, and I am blown away! I LOVE the new color scheme, logo, blog, and website that is to come…

Be sure to check back as progress is majorly in the works!

AND, now I’m off to Vegas for another engagement shoot…

Oh my gosh, this shoot yesterday was absolutely fabulous! Katie and Matt are just great, and it was such a pleasure to work with them. We played a little ball, had some drinks, relaxed on a pleasant afternoon…are you jealous yet?

Here are a couple images I’ve pulled as I edit through the session - enjoy the peek and leave them some love! Full post to come with images galore and all sorts of fun facts about this amazing couple and their upcoming wedding this December in Atlanta.

My fave so far…

Happy Fourth and I’ll see y’all back on the blog soon!