Kristina + Thomas // Southern California Wedding

Oct 10

I love traveling for weddings. I always feel really grateful when people book me for out-of-state weddings because I know it's a leap of faith. They don't really know whether I'm going to show up or not, which can be scary (spoiler alert: I always do!). But it's always really fun to get out there and meet a couple for the first time at their wedding. It usually feels like we already know each other after talking so many times on the phone and sending so many emails back and forth.

Kristina and Thomas found me through A Practical Wedding (where I was recently featured as a photographer dedicated to diversity!) and booked me for their June wedding in southern California near Joshua Tree.

Having a photographer that could speak Spanish and would be able to navigate their two different families coming together was really important to them, so we were a great match right away. Thomas is really into photography himself, so he really appreciated the work and my point of view.

Their wedding was lovely and hot. They had hats for guests to wear because the sun was so bright. I loved that they had their dog there, and that one of their friends went around and did audio interviews with people at the wedding.

Since they were in California and I was in Austin, they opted for a day-after session in Joshua Tree National Park instead of an engagement session. So we met the next day near sunset and had a really fun shoot. That was maybe the only time I'll ever take couple photos there unless someone else wants to go-- which I would love!

The park is absolutely breathtaking, and it kind of feels like you're on a different planet.

I got to take some film photos at Joshua Tree, which you'll see below. They're the ones where the color is kind of wild. I haven't offered film photography in the past because it's riskier and more expensive than digital, but I definitely want to do more of it this year. The risk is worth it! I remember doing a lot of film photography in school and having access to all these great cameras that I definitely didn't appreciate at the time!

But now that I'm in a place where I can afford to get back into it, I would like to do more of it. The look I go after with digital is a little more like film anyways, and I really think there are some things you can only get from film. If you'd like to book a film session, get in touch here.

That being said, film does scare me because so many things can go wrong! So I never use film for taking photos of moments that will only happen once, like the kiss during a wedding ceremony.

Scroll down to check out this mix of digital and film photos from Kristina and Thomas' wedding and day-after session at Joshua Tree.