Aaron Dieppa

Time flew by with this one. We had way too much fun! I love it when the couple that I’m shooting is not only photogenic but excited about getting their photos taken. Laura and Matthew really had fun with their engagement photography session in Temecula and you can tell by looking at their photos.

As I was editing their photos I just felt so happy for them because I could see how much they are in love. I actually could see it when I was photographing them too, and it was kind of funny, because Barbara came along for this one and we kept looking over at each other during the shoot as if to say to each other “awww we know what that feels like…to be in love…”

I am really happy with how their photos turned out!

I’ve photographed weddings in Long Beach, but never an engagement session until now.  So I was thrilled when Melissa and Adrian told me that they wanted to have their photos taken there.  I love the downtown area of Long Beach because it has so much character.  Every where you turn is another really unique spot to take photos.  It has a tremendous variety of backdrops with different colors and textures.  Long Beach was the perfect location for Melissa and Adrian.  They are such an incredible couple with colorful personalities that flawlessly compliment each other.

I was also fortunate enough to take some photos of them at the top of the Avia Hotel, which is a newer hotel in downtown that has a really modern, fresh design.

I really had a great time getting to know them and Barbara and I are extremely excited about their upcoming wedding in Costa Rica!!  I can’t wait to see what endless possibilities await for their wedding photos!

Hotel Se in San Diego epitomizes modern style.  And when Diane and Brandon asked me to do their engagement photography there, I wasn’t sure what to expect because I had never been there before.  But I soon found out that Hotel Se is great for engagement photography.  Around every corner was a different beautiful backdrop which per the words on their website were all “urban chic asian-inspired design.”  Say that 10 times fast!

After getting some amazing photos there we walked around downtown San Diego for a bit and then headed over to Hotel Del Coronado to wrap it up.  And on the way we took some really unique photos on an escalator.  This was definitely a highlight for me, since I’ve never seen engagement photos on an escalator, nor have I ever taken photos like this.  It was kind of difficult because we had to time it right to make sure Diane and Brandon would be across from each other in the right spot.  I love the way they turned out.  So cool!

Oh and I must thank my beautiful wife Barbara for joining us.  She is always a source of inspiration for me when I work. Diane and Brandon were so much fun to spend time with.  They were so relaxed and joyful it was an absolute pleasure to be around them and I cannot wait for their wedding this May!

A few weeks ago my good friend Brian Khang invited me to join him with a fashion photo shoot he was organizing.  Vivian Tran from All Made Up supplied the hair and makeup for the event.  We had Quynh Khang and Scott Jemison as our amazing models.  Much of the photo shoot was done in the woods at a “secret location.”  ;)

Ok I’m gonna come clean…before I got married I was a little biased when it came to the discussion of photography versus videography.  And at first I didn’t even want to hire a videographer for my own wedding.  I thought, “Why do we need a videographer.  We’re just going to end up with a video that we’ll watch once and then forget about.  It’s not like a photo album that will be out on display on our coffee table.”  To me video was such an intangible media when compared to printed photos and albums.  But now that my wedding has passed I can whole-heartedly proclaim that video played an integral part of capturing the memories of our wedding day.  EVERYONE should hire a videographer.  The Motion Boutique did an amazing job with our video.  I’ve watched it SO many times now and every time I get all choked up. It isn’t about photography vs videography or which is the superior art-form.  It’s about creating more than one artistic representation of your wedding so that you can remember it in different ways, through the eyes of different people.  I will always love photography.  It is my chosen form of artistic expression and my passion.  However, now I see that video offers something uniquely beautiful and different than photography and together they compliment each other.

Video by: The Motion Boutique

Photos by: Gabriel Ryan Photographers