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Dare To Be Different

Last month we attended a bridal fair where I (Aaron) met Grace and Rob. Right away Grace mentioned that she wanted to do engagement photos and incorporate her fiance Rob’s skating. I love people that dare to be different, so I was instantly fired up and ready to go with ideas!

We started on the main street in Halfmoon Bay

We started on the main street in Halfmoon Bay

Kept it simple.

Kept it simple.

I like to photos that fit personalities...

I like to take photos that fit personalities...

Including the dog can be difficult if the dog is scared of you!  LOL... You did good Remy!!!

Including the dog can be difficult if the dog is scared of you! LOL... You did good Remy!!!

We had such a great time in Halfmoon Bay!

We had such a great time in Halfmoon Bay! So many great shots (to many to post!)

We moved down to the beach near the Ritz Carlton in Halfmoon Bay. I asked them to sit how they might normally sit. My first thought is that this is different, but it's totally them!

We moved down to the beach near the Ritz Carlton in Halfmoon Bay. I asked them to sit how they might normally sit. My first thought was that "this is different, but it's totally them!".

The back lighting made for an amazing setting!

The back lighting made for an amazing setting!

Their natural interaction says everything about their love for each other.

Their natural interaction says everything about their love for each other.

They smile so easily once you get their minds off having photos taken!

They smile so easily once you get their minds off having photos taken!

Silhouettes are always fun!

Silhouettes are always fun!

Grace and Rob really wanted a to do a shot with their initials in the sand. They had seen these types of shots previously. They're always very romantic!

Grace and Rob really wanted a to do a shot with their initials in the sand. They had seen these types of shots previously. They're always very romantic!

We had finished when Rob walked up behind Grace and wrapped his arms around her so naturally that it would have been wrong not to include! Thanks guys! I really had a great time working with you!

We had finished when Rob walked up behind Grace and wrapped his arms around her so naturally that it would have been wrong not to include! Thanks guys! I really had a great time working with you!

API Brides are the best!

Over the weekend we needed to find a bride to model for us very quickly. How quickly? We needed someone that could be ready and on the photo shoot in less than 2 hours! Impossible you say? Not really… A quick Facebook post produced a willing heart, Samantha! She is one of API’s brides getting married in July of this year. I’m going to say this worked out for the best on both sides. Samantha got a glimpse of how an API shoot works. She also ended up with some nice photos in a different dress that she didn’t have to worry about ruining. API ended up with some very marketable photos that our newest wedding partner (Poplar Creek Golf Course) absolutely will LOVE!

Thanks again Samantha! You were ideal for this! I love how your bubbly personality came right through in the fun shots! We’ll see you in July!!!

Some places are easy to take great photos!  Not to mention Samantha was fabulous!

Some places are easy to take great photos! Not to mention Samantha was fabulous!


Simple and elegant....

Simple and elegant....


The Poplar Creek waterfall makes for an amazing backdrop!

The Poplar Creek waterfall makes for an amazing backdrop!


I just LOVE how her personality explodes out of this shot!!!

I just LOVE how her personality explodes out of this shot!!!


She was so perfect I know some will not believe that she is NOT a professional model! API brides are the best!!!

She was so perfect I know some will not believe that she is NOT a professional model! API brides are the best!!!

Just something different. If you know her, you can totally tell it's Samantha!

Just something different. If you know her, you can totally tell it's Samantha!

Mike and Stephanie Engagement

I know graffiti is a little delinquent, but, as you can see, it can sometimes provide a pretty colorful backdrop for a beautiful couple. And this couple was totally gorgeous.

I don’t quite need to explain, since the photos show for themselves, but Mike and Stephanie look, dress, and act in perfect style. I had so much fun laughing with them and walking around making images that look a little more edgy than I’m used to.

Below you can see a few of my favorite shots from our graffiti chic photo shoot:

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FREE Professional Family Photos!

I’m just like everyone else. I love FREE stuff! So how do you get free family photos? The same way we did! Its simple… All you have to do is vacation with professional photographers! The results are fantastic! We spent the MLK weekend at a cabin with some pro photographer friends. Now I admit the original intent was not to get free family photos… But after taking time to do family photos for each family, I quickly realized that it’s not a bad way to get great family photos that are really true to us and FREE. What do I mean by true to us? We always go to the snow as a family. But because I’m the photographer I’m not usually IN the photos. The result has been that we don’t have any photos of us that represent who we are as a family. Now we do!

jan2010texeiras Photo taken by Mark Elola

I also used the opportunity to take some much needed photos of the kids!

Simple baby pose photos

Simple baby pose photos

For the boys we also kept it simple. Working with kids can take a lot of patients. Especially your own! For this reason I prefer to keep kid photos looking natural. We focus on great lighting and getting a nice smile! The results are always great.

Easy shot using natural light to make a great photo!

Easy shot using natural light to make a great photo!

Photo by Aaron Texeira
Same simple pose for a great kid photo!

Same simple pose for a great kid photo!

Photo by Aaron Texeira

Day After Shoot

Lynnette and Henry are the first couple I’ve ever worked with that have opted to do a Day After Shoot; so, naturally, I was totally stoked. The thing that is so nice about the day after shoot is that you have ALL the time you could ever want to run ALL over the place (a big city, a country side, up and down a coastline) to take any photos you would ever want to take.

As a photographer, I felt I had complete freedom to experiment with ideas that I usually don’t want to risk time on when there are pressures at an actual wedding - I felt like I could do anything, that I could be as creative and artistic as I wanted and not worry if I was losing time.

And, please don’t be confused, we only call it a “day after shoot” because the traditional name for this kind of shoot is “trash the dress” and that just sounds scary. But nevermind the name; regardless of whether you want to do this the day after (like this couple did) or a week later, a month later, a year later, the “day after shoot” will guarantee you some of the most amazing images you’ve ever seen.

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This is literally the first shot I took - look how happy they are! It’s like this whole shoot was just an extension of the wedding the day before.

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The shadows of the Golden Gate Bridge were making their way across the fort. Seemed romantic, so I thought I’d have Henry and Lynnette dance around down there.

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I don’t normally do “jumping shots” because they’re not really very natural… but these guys were actually jumping around like this so I couldn’t help but take the picture. I mean, it was just natural.

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The First Look

Do you ever imagine that at some point during your wedding day that you and your groom would have a private moment away from all the hectic wedding preparations, schedules, and crowds of guests, a moment where the two of you can just quietly appreciate everything that is happening on your special day?

I know that it’s a huge break from tradition for the bride and groom to meet before the wedding - but speaking as someone who has shot a lot of weddings and understands how the photo time can often go (how quickly it can disappear), I’ve learned that meeting before the ceremony for photos is one of the best decisions a Bride and Groom can make. When you have a first look, it’s completely private. You’re not surrounded by a bunch of friends, family, guests, or friends of friends. It’s just the two of you. We back off with the longest lenses possible and photodocument some of the most precious moments that will happen on your wedding day.

As someone who sees thousands of wedding photos every week - the photos that always seem to have the most authentic emotions, the most honest, tender expressions, are those that are taken in the privacy of a “first look.” Just about every bride and groom who’s done a first look with us has told me, “We’re so happy we had the first look - I felt like it was the only time we really got to be alone and it really helped calm the nerves.”

One Bride once told me she was so happy that they decided to take their photos before the ceremony because after the ceremony, after she had cried and the wind had swept through her hair a bit, she was glad she had taken all the formals with her husband when her hair and make up were still pristine.

Aside from that - doing photos before makes your whole wedding experience YOUR wedding experience. You aren’t bogged down by a big long hour of photos that stops you from experiencing what’s happening at your own wedding. Once the ceremony is done, since all the formal photos have been taken before, both the bride and groom get to enjoy the cocktail hour with their guests. Guests also like this since they don’t have to wait around for an hour, sometimes an hour and a half, before things get rolling.

If you decide to do a first look, you have my promise that I will do everything I can to make sure your “first look” experience is every bit as special as it has been for our brides who have done one in the past.

Here are some photos from Jennifer and David’s “first look” that were taken just a few weeks ago at the Foxtail Golf Course

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The Best Light for your Wedding

Sometimes I’m at a wedding and shot after shot I think, “Woah, oh my goodness, this looks fantastic! Like, no, really, this could not look any more fabulous!” So I keep snapping away with all sorts of poses and excitement as every image seems to just click perfectly into a pristine glow. Why does this happen? Lighting.

The one thing we photographers always seem to say each other is this: “Lighting, Lighting, Lighting.” And guess what, it will have more impact in the gorgeousness of your pictures than, “Location, Location, Location.”

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(These photos were taken at Nicole and Jeremiah’s wedding at the San Ramon Wedgewood Golf Course)

As photographers at weddings, we’re always looking for soft, diffused light that brings out the best in people’s skin, features, and expressions. The best light (better than shade, better than indoors, and certainly better than the harsh sunlight at 12 noon) is the golden, warm, fuzzy kind of light that comes over the horizon just before sunset. This light is so good for photos you’re almost guaranteed something incredible in every shot.

So what do I recommend - no matter who your photographer, whether A Perfect Impression or otherwise, contact them BEFORE you schedule your ceremony start time and especially your Formal Photo times. The best thing you could possibly do is discuss all the issues about lighting with your photographer, pick their photo-obsessed brain for any detail as to how you can get the best looking photos, and then make sure you schedule your most important photos (i.e. Ceremony and Formals) to be happening with the last 2 hours of daylight before sunset.

You won’t regret it!

Crystal Springs

If I’m going to be completely honest with everyone; I’d have to admit that one of my favorite places to take pictures is at the Crystal Springs Golf Course in Burlingame. The place is gorgeous. Aside from the dramatic skies that always roll in off the Pacific ocean, the wedding site overlooks a wide valley filled with green trees and a long lake. A wedding photographer’s dream!

Here are just a few images from some of the weddings we’ve photographed at Crystal Springs:

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My gorgeous fiancée is just a little obsessed with the Twilight series (I think she wishes I were a vampire, actually), so this morning we drove out on a scenic road and took some Twilight-ish photos. These are a few of my favorites - which ones do you like?

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Meet the newest API team member!

Team API is proud to announce the newest member of the API crew! Baby Grace was born on 7.8.09 at 8:24 a.m. As her father I’m admittedly biased when I say she is the sweetest little girl I’ve ever met! :) Many have ask about baby pictures. Here they are! Taken at 8 days old. We hope you enjoy them as much as we are!
Grace - API's newest team member!So precious!Daddy's little girl!Just being funnyLove this photo!We love the details in life.GraceWrinkly little feet and a cute little bottom!Peaceful This is also a favorite!