Richelle Dante Photography

Four Seasons Beverly Hills :: Sneak Peek!

admin — Thu, 09 Sep 2010 09:26:35 +0000

I was lucky enough to second shoot for White Haute Photography at the beautiful Four Seasons in Beverly Hills. I really, really want to do a full post of the wedding but have a bunch of clients waiting for images and I can’t justify doing an entire wedding blog over getting client work done. So, for now, I leave you with this…

Between a gorgeous location and a couple SO adorably in love, it was hard to pick a few to share!

A few details…

Hopefully I will be able to do a full post next week along with another wedding at the Sunset Tower Hotel in West Hollywood! Be sure to check back or just add me on Facebook. =)

Gavin :: Two Years Old

admin — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 19:24:11 +0000

I was happy to meet little Gavin and his mom, Nicole while they were here from Alaska visiting family. Gavin is two years old and full of energy! He loves to run and jump and flaring nostrils make him laugh. =) Here are a few of my favorites…

He looks like such a grown up in this one…

And a curious two year old in these…

Something about flaring nostrils makes him crack up!

Gavin liked being super tall!

Love this smile because it lasted about two seconds and with it came promises of chocolate. =)

Such a funny kid! He had me laughing a lot!

Climbing, dancing and jumping!

Such a cuite!

Little Avery and the Family that Adores Her!

admin — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 07:46:49 +0000

Meet Avery. She LOVES the camera… like seriously, loves it!

Not only does she like to smile for the camera but she loves to see the results. She could stare at herself all day… I’m pretty sure. =) But seriously, can you blame her!

This blog post oozes with cuteness! Oh, and did I mention this chair (if I remember right) was made for her great-grandmother’s father by his father. Did you follow that? So yeah it dates back to the late 1800′s. I love when family heirlooms can be brought into the photos!

Lets meet some of Avery’s family. First, her parents who completely adore everything about her. I don’t blame them though, I would too. She’s a pretty special kid!

Next are Avery’s great-grandma and grandma. They love her lots too!

We can’t forget Avery’s great-grandpa. I’m pretty sure they have a special bond. =) Love the facial expressions!

I kind of love doing four generations photos! It’s something that will be treasured forever!

If you haven’t had enough ooey gooey cuteness, here are more of adorable Avery!

“Hi, I love the camera. Photograph me please!” (I’m pretty sure that’s what she was saying here)

And one of the entire family!

Justin and Shayna :: Engagement Fusion Video

admin — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 06:47:29 +0000

I’m SOOO excited to be sharing this video! Awhile back Shayna had asked me if I could make a fusion video to show at their wedding reception. I’ve only done one other at the Salton Sea and I was really excited to do another! They were open for anything so we headed to the Orange County Fair. Justin and Shayna are so cute together and so in love it was easy to capture in video and stills.

My camera, Canon 5D Mark II, has amazing HD video and I rarely get to use it. When I bought the camera I wanted the video feature more for personal use as I am not a pro when it comes to video but it works great for fusion videos! I love being creative and this project was out of the norm for me and really fun to do! If you’re looking for a fusion video, feel free to contact me!!

Here it is… with an old school Weezer song! =)

Justin and Shayna from Richelle Dante on Vimeo.

Ramsey and Stephanie :: Long Beach Wedding

admin — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 09:48:07 +0000

I’m pretty sure almost every little girl dreams of a fairy tale wedding and that is exactly what Stephanie had… Cinderella carriage and all! I didn’t meet Ramsey and Stephanie until their wedding day since they live in Oregon but they were both super sweet and fun to work with. They were married at Uncle Tony’s backyard in a beautiful Long Beach neighborhood. I had actually been to Uncle Tony’s a few times before so I knew it was going to be a pretty wedding. See, my cousin is married to Stephanie’s cousin so technically, we are almost family! My second cousins were the flower girls, ring bearer and reception coordinator.

Here are a few of my favorites from Ramsey and Stephanie’s very special day!

Stephanie got ready in a nearby neighbor’s house. She was nice enough to let me explore and find places to take detail shots. Such a beautiful home and dress!

Stephanie looked so pretty on her wedding day!

Beautiful natural light coming in through a sky light!

Ramsey and Stephanie decided to do a first look. After the ceremony they were able to greet their guests and enjoy the cocktail hour. We had all the wedding party and family shots done before the ceremony!

Cute, cute kids!

The girls loved Cinderella’s carriage!

Husband and wife!

Details…

The cake was in the koi pond! Seriously, how cool is that! I’m still not sure how they got it out. =)

One of the Three Waiters. Such a fun dinner time entertainment!

Lots of dancing going on thanks to Porter Singletary III!

Trixie’s Pillow

admin — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 07:59:19 +0000

This past weekend I had a plan to be super productive. I didn’t have a shoot on Saturday and was going to use the day to catch up on blogs and editing. That all changed when I was asked to second shoot a wedding at the Four Season in Beverly Hills. How could I say no?!? So yeah, with that said I still have a lot to catch up on, including a full wedding post that I was suppose to have up today. (sorry Stephanie and Ramsy, I’m hoping to post it tomorrow!)

Today is an exciting post about Trixie and her favorite pillow. =) My dogs are pretty much allowed anywhere. Recently Sally has fallen in love with the air mattress that I had out last week for a guest. I still haven’t deflated it because she loves it so much! It’s like a giant dog bed. =) I have been trying to train them to stay off the couch since I will be getting a brand new one in 8-10 weeks (thank you for your speedy delivery Crate and Barrel). Also, Sally sheds a lot and I get tired of lint rolling the couch. Trixie loves to be close to me so its been hard keeping her off the couch. She has found a few tricks though. First, she will lay on my legs, technically not touching the couch or she will lay on my $40 pillow(yes, I spent $40 on a pillow, but it was sooo cute). It’s so adorable, I can’t tell her to get down. Hopefully I will be a little more strict with my kids but I figure spoiling my dogs is okay since they can’t really rebel as teenagers. =)

You couldn’t tell her to get down either, huh?

Family Fun at Strawberry Farms!

admin — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 08:36:04 +0000

Another long blog post but these families are sooo cute, I can’t cut it down! I remember Jamie from back in my competitive skating days. It was in Lake Arrowhead at the Rim of the World competition, 1994 and I was competing in Preliminary level. Jamie won and I got fourth. She did a double flip and I didn’t… I was jealous. Fast forward about 10 years or so and we ended up teaching skating at the same ice rink.

Jamie wanted a shoot with all of the family… her family, mom and dad, grandma, sister and her family. I knew it would be a challenge with three kids under the age of three but it worked out great (most of the time)! Jamie’s mom wanted to shoot at a red barn. I’m always up for a challenge so I googled red barn in Orange County. The first one to pop up was Strawberry Farms in Irvine. They were nice enough to let us use the barn and the area around!

Jaylee and Jackson striking a pose!

SO cute! This was one of the first shots I took and all three were so cooperative. I figured the rest of the shoot would be easy! =)

The formal family shot…

The not so formal but super fun shot! These kids love to fly!

Love Jaylee’s face in this one!

Four generations!

See the logo on this photo? Designed by the guy in the photo, Josh. He did an awesome job! I told him I wanted it to look “naturey” without looking “naturey” (yeah, I wouldn’t want to work with me either). I couldn’t believe how right on he was with this design. It’s exactly what was in my head that I couldn’t accurately describe. =) Be sure to check out his website!

Jamie’s sister, Amy and her beautiful family!

It’s fun to fly!!

Such a cute family!

Definitely the one they want over the fireplace. =)

Jackson is so stinkin’ cute. I love that he plopped himself down right in front of me!

It all started with these two…

Dad and his gorgeous daughters…

I have to end with this one of Jacob. Such a sweetie full of fun! I thoroughly enjoyed their shoot!

Elijah :: 6 Days

admin — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 08:20:41 +0000

It seems strange that it’s Thursday and I haven’t blogged all week! I’m loving my last few shoots and I’ve wanted to share them! With that said, meet Elijah! He was 6 days old when I met him, so tiny and so cute! His older sister, Brielle, is 2 years old, loves to put together her puzzle and dressing like a princess. I really had fun with this shoot and Elijah did awesome! There were so many I liked, I couldn’t narrow them down! Be prepared for a lot of baby goodnesss…

He looks so tiny and so happy all bundled up!

Love this…

I love the pop of color the hats bring into the photo! This one is from etsy.com.

Brielle is 2 years old and joined us for photos when she was ready. =)

Brielle was very gentle with her new baby brother…

I kind of love this one…

Loved Elijah’s nursery and the monkey theme!

Sweetness!

Thank you Jen and Brian for inviting me into your home. You have a beautiful family and I’m so glad I could photograph these very special moments!

Gigi :: OC Mommies Winner!

admin — Sun, 22 Aug 2010 23:06:56 +0000

For the first time I gave away a session in a contest. OC Mommies contacted me to see if I was willing to give away a prize for a contest and I thought it would be fun to give a session and see who would win! I lucked out and got to shoot adorable little Gigi. She is 7 1/2 months old and this was her first photo shoot! She started off a little shy, wondering who I was and what that big thing was I kept putting in front of my face. But after a little while, she warmed up and was a blast to shoot! She has the most adorable crinkle nose when she does her really big smile!

Gigi’s shoot was done at The Lab which is one of the locations for the mini sessions. I still have a few spots left so please contact me ASAP if you want to book a shoot!

Love this smile!

So, so cute!

It’s only cool to drool when you are a baby and have super cute sunglasses. =)

Love this spot at The Lab. I kept telling Natalie, Gigi’s mom, “we have to go to the glowing bushes”. At first I think she was confused but once we headed over there, it all made sense!

So sweet…

Everytime Gigi put her sunglasses on she would get a huge smile. I’m guessing she likes to be stylish!

Love this purple wall and love this smile!!

Yep, standing by herself at 7 1/2 months! Maybe a little help from the wall, but still, pretty impressive!

Leo :: 3 Months

admin — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 08:08:43 +0000

I’ve been spoiled lately… my last few baby shoots have been incredibly smooth and easy! I never know what I’m going to get when I show up and I really don’t mind waiting if the baby isn’t quite ready for their shoot but Leo made my job soooo easy! He is 3 months old and was a superstar! He was changed four times, put into baskets and buckets, and had to hold his head up for a very long time. And still, he smiled for us! Seriously, awesome! Because he was so good there are a ton of great shots. I had a hard time narrowing it down for the blog. =)

Leo the lion!

He is a strong little boy, holding his head up!

Love this outfit. He looks like such a little man. =)

Kind of angelic…

My favorite!

Cutest smile ever!

Leo is a thinker…

Seriously adorable!