Richelle Dante Photography » Couples

2011… Where Did You Go?

admin — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 09:24:36 +0000

Seriously, where did this year go?? I feel like it went by even faster than last year. Actually I think it did, by a micro second or so after the earthquake and tsunami in Japan. It seems like this year was full of huge events that will be in future generations history books. From crazy weather, to international uprisings centered around social media to a war ending. I get AP news alerts on my iPhone and I don’t think I have ever gotten so many that made me say, “WOW”. Looking at my year, there were definitely some “news alert” moments. Organizing a trip to Haiti with multiple portrait projects had to have been the highlight of my year. A few years ago, I would have never pictured myself doing this. I guess once you see, you cannot forget. The more of the world I see, the more I want to do. It’s a dangerous but exciting cycle!

As for Richelle Dante Photography, this was by far the busiest year yet. If you follow me on Facebook, I’m sure you saw a bunch of status updates that had to do with me editing. I don’t think I have ever spent so much time behind a computer screen in my entire life! Luckily, I now have my assistant, Natalie, who helps with booking shoots and replying to emails in a timely manner. There were way too many emails I sent out this year that started with “sorry for the delay”. With a growing company, there have been lessons learned that will hopefully make 2012 even more successful!

I am so thankful for all my clients. Some have been coming to me for 3 or 4 years now and I have truly enjoyed watching their families grow! I seriously feel so blessed to get to work with such a nice group of people. You all make my job so much better and it makes all the hours I sit behind my computer worth it! I’m excited for next year… to continue seeing families grow and meeting new brides and grooms, and families.

For next year there will be a few new additions! DREAM sessions will be added (see my last post for more info). I’m so excited for these and for stretching my creativity even more. I’m also hoping to add more nationwide shoots… whether it is a wedding or a family/newborn shoot. I’ve had so many people say “if you were only closer”. Well, I love to travel and I love shooting in new places so I’m hoping I can make it happen in a way that is affordable for the client and me! There will also be more mini shoots, similar to the Santa shoot I recently did. Hopefully the first one will be in the Spring! To start off the new year, I will be heading to Cambodia and Vietnam. I’m looking forward for some downtime to think about the coming year. Details for the DREAM sessions and nationwide sessions will be announced in late January or February, depending on how bad my jet lag is.

Here is a recap of 2011. EVERY shoot from this year is in here including engagement, couple, weddings, weddings I second shot with friends, maternity, newborn, baby, family and my one senior. I hope you enjoy it! (PS, if I missed your shoot I didn’t mean to but I’m pretty sure every shoot is in here.)

Because I rarely post a photo of myself on here, this is the one I used for my Christmas card this year. If you didn’t get one, I only got about half of the cards out I was planning to send. Something else to work on for 2012. (Special thanks to Kim for the photo!)

DREAM Sessions :: Coming in 2012!

admin — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 10:29:54 +0000

I’ve been dreaming of this idea since I started photography. I’ve never liked the ordinary and have always encouraged clients to go for something different. So, for 2012, I will be introducing DREAM sessions. It’s what I’ve dreamed of and I want it to be the session you’ve always dreamed you could have. Like when you see really cool styled shoots in magazines… that’s what I want your photos to look like! Why not? With the help of stylists, I will be offering these amazing shoots customized for you. It can be an engagement, baby or family shoot… really, any kind of shoot you can think of. I will still be offering regular shoots but if you want to go all out and have something that will make your friends jealous, you will want a DREAM session!

To give you an idea of what it could look like, here is a recent styled family shoot I did at the Salton Sea…

Cari & Justin :: Married {Santa Barbara Wedding Photography}

admin — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 06:20:23 +0000

I have so many beautiful weddings to post but since they are so long, I haven’t done a very good job keeping up. Hopefully when things calm down after the holidays, I’ll be able to share them all. I am excited that I get to share Justin and Cari’s wedding! Their wedding was the easiest wedding I shot all year. Mostly thanks to Donna of The Perfect Details and an amazingly calm and loving bride! Donna welcomed me to the venue by giving me some homemade chocolate chip cookies. Seriously, who does that? So thoughtful and sweet. If you are looking for a wedding planner I highly recommend The Perfect Details (they travel!). It made me even more excited to shoot Cari and Justin’s wedding and I had a yummy treat for the long drive home! Then, after getting the cookies, Cari greeted me with a hug and so much excitement to introduce me to her bridesmaids. To say the least, I felt very welcomed!

I met Cari and Justin a few years ago when I did a couples shoot for them. Cari told me then I would be shooting her wedding so I was so excited to hear the Justin proposed! I had so much fun with their engagement shoot, climbing rocks in freezing temperatures, I knew their wedding would be just as fun (and hopefully warmer). They were married at the University Club of Santa Barbara on a cloudy day in September. We shot their portraits at the nearby Alice Keck Park Memorial Gardens and Courthouse.

This is a huge post, as they are a beautiful couple and Donna had so many amazing details I couldn’t leave any out!

Love all the colors in the table arrangements!

So many pretty details!

Love the something blue!

The invitation, designed by The Perfect Details, was probably the coolest invitation I’ve seen. On the inside of the box is a map of Cari and Justin’s journey together!

The bouquets were also really cool! Cari had all kinds of different orange flowers and each bridesmaid had one of those types of flowers in their bouquets.

A little wedding day Madlibs… of course!

I might have had a little too much fun with the antlers…

Gorgeous, inside and out!

Such a fun group of girls!

Cari’s sister is pregnant so of course we had to show off the bump!

Best. First. Look. Ever!

Cari’s face says it all…

I always have fun with the groomsman shots…

Umm, yeah, beautiful couple!

Love this one!

We headed over to the Santa Barbara Courthouse for a few more shots…

One of my favorites!

Loved their ride!

Every couple should look this excited when getting married…

I hope I am as excited when I get married as Cari was when they were pronounced husband and wife! Seriously, how sweet is this?!?

First dance…

Love this…

One single guy= easy win for the garter toss!

Cari and Justin, thank you so much for choosing me to capture your beautiful day! I’m so, so glad I was there to witness such a sweet, beautiful love! I can’t wait to take your family portraits.

Donna, thank you for making their wedding even more fun to shoot. You were a pleasure to work with and hopefully we will meet again in 2012!!

Collin & Ashley :: Dana Point Maternity Photographer

admin — Sat, 26 Nov 2011 08:27:27 +0000

I don’t know what to say about this shoot except that I love it. Ashley sent me her Pinterest inspiration board and I knew I was going to have a ton of fun at their shoot. Floppy hats, a beautiful couple and pretty light. It doesn’t get much better…

Sneak Peek Overload!

admin — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 11:33:39 +0000

I’ll admit it, I’ve been a very bad blogger but with it being the busiest time of year my main priority has been getting photos to my clients. I have been really good about posting sneak peeks on Facebook so, for those of you who don’t check my Facebook page, let me help you get caught up…

This past weekend I headed to the Salton Sea with Avalon and her mama and dad. SO many cool shots from this shoot!

How gorgeous is she!

Tatum was full of smiles…

It was so nice meeting Lucy and her family!

Loved all the color at this shoot…

I always have so much fun with this family!

Ashley and Colin’s is one of my favorite maternity shoots I’ve shot.

Tyler is the sweetest two year old I know and he loves Thomas!

This little guy was two weeks old when I met him…

The day after my brother’s wedding, I had the pleasure of shooting Sarina and Sam’s wedding…

One of the biggest events in the last month was my brother’s wedding! After many rain dances, the skies cleared and it was a great day!

Stephanie had so much fun twirling in her dress…

My brother was a good sport…

Adorable Addison turned two!

Kaylee slept through her entire shoot!

Four kids + downtown Pasadena = Tons of fun!

In the middle of all the chaos of October I took a week off and went to St. Thomas. One of my favorite parts of the trip was chasing the iguanas. Yep, I’m serious. The beaches were amazing but the iguanas were so cool!

Love Grant’s candy corn hat his mommy brought!

I met Jayden when he was just a week old!

My first shoot with Savannah, she was only 8 months! Now she is two and has a little brother on the way!

Giuliana started the marathon of newborns. How precious is she?!?

Alex and Brent were married in October!

Such a sweet family! I love seeing the kids grow! Luke is now two and hard to keep up with.

So now you’re all caught up! Hopefully there will be a full post soon!!

Scott & Cathy :: Irvine Engagement

admin — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 19:06:15 +0000

Cathy and Scott are my first 2012 couple to have engagement photos done! They are both librarians so it only seemed appropriate to do part of their shoot at a library. They showed up looking so cute and we had a super fun time! They are so sweet together and made my job sooo easy! I seriously can’t wait for their wedding next August!

A few of their favorite things…

I kind of love these shots…

Cathy got the cutest banner of of Etsy!

After the library we headed to a pumpkin patch. I love how the pumpkins are actually growing from the ground. A rare find in California.

So sweet…

Fun with shadows…

My favorite…

How gorgeous is she?!?

Scott & Cathy :: Sneak Peek!

admin — Sat, 15 Oct 2011 03:37:12 +0000

Normally I put sneak peeks on Facebook but I couldn’t choose just one to share so I’m using the blog!

Scott and Cathy are librarians so it was only appropriate to start at a library. After that, we headed to a very fun pumpkin patch!

Can you tell we are at a pumpkin patch?

More to come soon!

Kjartan & Gena :: Happiest Place on Earth

admin — Tue, 11 Oct 2011 05:26:39 +0000

Kjartan and Gena were in town from Canada and wanted to do a fun shoot. Of course, we headed to the happiest place on earth. They are such a sweet couple and their love was SO easy to capture!

See what I mean!

My favorites…

Meet Natalie!

admin — Thu, 06 Oct 2011 08:11:39 +0000

I’m so, so excited to announce the newest addition to Richelle Dante Photography! As my company continues to grow, I’m realizing I can’t do everything myself. I will admit, I’m kind of a control freak and this is why I only work with the best! Natalie is the perfect person to join the company! She will mainly be handling emails and scheduling so don’t be surprised if you hear from Natalie when scheduling a shoot. I will also be receiving your email but chances are, she will be the one getting back to you.

A little about Natalie… Besides working with me, she also works for one of the cutest little guys ever, her 5 month old son, Aiden! Don’t tell Natalie but I secretly hired her in hopes that she would bring Aiden with her and I would get to hold and cuddle him. Natalie has been a good friend throughout the years and I’ve enjoyed being a part of her wedding, amazing and miraculous pregnancy with Aiden and now working together. She is super sweet and already gets that I love using smilies way too much in emails (and blog posts). She has also had a couples, maternity, newborn and family shoot with me so she knows how it all works firsthand!

Natalie was so happy about the impromptu photo shoot yesterday.

She’s ready to answer your emails and she loves my first assistants, Sally and Trixie.

Natalie with her beautiful family!

Mike, Heather & Bear

admin — Thu, 22 Sep 2011 08:21:15 +0000

I love my friends and I love being able to give them pretty pictures…

Heather and I have been friends for more than 15 years and I’m pretty sure she has been modeling for me since the beginning. One of our first shoots we were in high school and we shot all black and white film. We went through tons of rolls not knowing how crazy expensive it would be to develop. Oops! Thank goodness for digital although there is something special about film.

Heather and Mike got married last year and shortly after they added “little” bear. He has grown since his last shoot, when he was 5 months old, and he is full of energy! This year they wanted something a little more urban so we headed to Fullerton and found some cool spots!