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

Meet Ashley and Owen, the totally awesome and completely hot, newly married, Mr. and Mrs. Peak.

So, while we were out shooting a series of night portraits in the rain - with horses none the less - their approximately 800 guests were indulging in some delicious wedding favors.

But what exactly do you do when you have a very large guest list and still want a very personal touch?  Apparently you bake…a lot.  Ashley’s grandmother set out a couple of days before the wedding to begin baking homemade chocolate chip cookies for every guest.  Other family members pitched in to help, and they actually pulled it all off!  The cookies were placed five to a box, and packaged in ribbon and stickers that tied in to the wedding colors.  (For the record, that is THOUSANDS of cookies).

And they were EVERY bit just as delicious as they look.  What is more personal than Grandma’s homemade cookies?  I just love the southern hospitality of these favors, and the thoughtfulness and love behind them.

This is just a great concept!  Maybe I’m really biased because I’m fascinated with cooking and baking, as I’m a little challenged in that department.  Regardless, the cookies kicked some major rear…and I want one right now…

I cannot WAIT to share the images from Ashley and Owen’s incredible wedding. For the meantime, I’ve been culling down through their digital images - and I have been just blown away by the intimacy in our night series…

So, this wedding was absolutely gorgeous, and I’m so excited to share it on the blog! Check back soon for a full post once I have the film images. These two amaze me in so many ways - and it was an honor to photograph their wedding day!

Yesterday, I had the honor of photographing Ashley and Owen’s incredible wedding. What a blast and what a bash!  There are so many amazing moments to share - but I was so excited about our night shots that I couldn’t wait to throw one up on the blog.  Maybe I’ll add a few others in the next couple days!  So here’s an insta-fave straight out of camera.  I love so many elements of this image, and I certainly love the new Mr. and Mrs. Peak!  Congratulations y’all!

Spec Info: Shot with Video light, ISO 2000, 85mm, 1.4, 1/40, WB - Tungsten

And yes, it’s raining in this shot - you can see the drizzle more in some of the others - I’ll get them up soon.

Undertake a video project to market the studio - DONE!

{AMELIA IN ACTION} - NEW PROJECT LAUNCHED

I’m excited to finally share this new project on the blog!  This was a major and fun undertaking, and how awesome to check this off the 101 in 1001 list.

A few months ago I started talking with my buddy Seth Newell about doing a video project for the studio that would show a behind-the-scenes view of a real shoot with real clients. It was important to me to give people visiting my website a taste of a real relationship instead of using models for the shoot. We started brainstorming different concepts, and then just got to work on making it happen. Due to the crazy weather we had been having in Alabama (where we shot the video), we had to really work around a lot of schedules and weather constraints. And then, finally, it just all came together at the right time with the right clients!

We shot video of me on seamless paper run sideways - which I thought was brilliant - and Seth and Sean had me just run around and be. I was pretty nervous about their plan to interview me off-the-cuff, but in the end the guys were right - the monologues are unscripted and from the heart, and I think it lends even more authenticity to the final product.  Following that portion of the day, we met up with Ashley and Owen for their actual engagement session and got behind-the-scenes footage of our afternoon shooting together in rural Alabama.  It was kind of wild driving around with an entourage, but it was a ton of fun!  Unfortunately, we had to wait a couple months to launch the whole thing due to a death in my family and a move to the West Coast. Now, the day has arrived…

A huge thanks to Ashley and Owen for being willing participants in this experiment! Y’all are amazing and I am so thankful to be your photographer. I can’t wait to see you two tie the knot next weekend back in Alabama!

And a HUGE thank you to Seth and Sean of Green Block Productions for your creativity, patience, hard work, talent, laughter, and friendship!

And Graham, yet again - what would I do without you?! Thank you for integrating the website and being so awesome. And for the chapstick and coffee…

Yay for fun projects to kick off the new year! Is it wrong to say that I’m looking forward to tackling 2010 Elin Woods’ style? Yes, I’m sure it probably is…but I just did.

Thanks for checking out our new video!

Oh, how I loved my day yesterday! I hooked up with some amazing people to take on a great new “transitional” project for the studio. It’s all secretive for now, but I can’t wait for everything to come together and share it on the blog!

Ashley and Owen were great sports for our project day. In the midst of everything else that was going on, we managed to knock out a pretty fantastic engagement session. What a lovely couple. We laughed, danced a little, played the laying down game, and just enjoyed the day. Super special for this session, we shot on location at Ashley’s great-grandparents’ farm. It was just gorgeous. We also happened upon a car graveyard on the way out there - loved it. Ashley and Owen, thanks for being troopers and heading out into the blistering wind and cold!

Here are a few images from yesterday. I’m saving all the best ones for later - so here’s just a peek at some randomness.