This was a fun family session shot entirely on film for a dear photographer friend of mine, Jessica Bellinger and her family. I shot it mostly on 35mm Fuji Superia film using a canon 1N and a 50 1.2 lens. I also used some 120mm Kodak Portra using a Mamiya 645 and an 80mm 2.8 lens, (I left all my digital gear at home for this one). The film was processed and developed by the find lab.

Shooting a young family on film has its challenges in and of itself, combined with three boys ages 4-7 and a cat on a leash, plus the mild pressure of knowing I was shooting it for another hybrid photographer that loves film as much as I do, I can honestly say it was my most challenging and rewarding family session to date!

Choosing the location was simple, she requested it and I had shot there several times before! The family’s wardrobe was simple & casual with a touch of elegance, put together by Jessica, of course! Sounds easy so far, great location, great looking family, but they had a surprise up their sleeve! They decide to bring their cat on a leash and their boys were more interested in chasing squirrels than taking pictures. I had my work cut out for me!

The cat was actually cool and collected for the most part, but the boys were a little wild, so I used a variety of methods to get them to cooperate for some group shots (mostly bribing with sweet tarts) and just let them be and worked around the craziness, intentionally selecting what to capture since unlike digital, I had a limited number of shots!

They were a fun group to work with! Kept me on my toes the whole time and really gave me a run for my money! After getting the film scans back, I couldn’t be happier with the results! This is a small part of their session!

I’ve had the pleasure of photographing Sophia and Isabella’s birthday parties for the last three years now and every year they get better and better! Since this was their big 1-0, the first of many double digit numbers in their life, their awesome mom, Marisol wanted to make it the most memorable! Marisol is originally from Colombia and in Latin culture there is no point in throwing a small party, it’s either go big or go home! It’s either a celebration or it’s not! There are two reasons to work hard for, to play hard and to support and love on your family! This was a combination of both and it was so PERFECT! My daughter Daniella, was invited as well and got to join in on the party and go with Mommy to “work!” We both had a blast and it was my sincerely pleasure to capture these memorable moments for Sofia and Isabella!

The day started with all the girls meeting at Cinema World for a movie!

Everyone got Icees and popcorn!

They all watched the movie Wonder with Julia Roberts and Owen Wilson. As dark as it was, I still snuck in a photo before enjoying the movie myself. There wasn’t a dry eye in the room, such a great film!

Following the movie Marisol surprised the girls with a spectacularly huge Escalade from Luxury Limousines in Melbourne, Florida.

 

This is one hot and fabulous Momma right here!

The limo and the service were both top of the line!

Look at how shinny it was!

Of course, we had to get a group shot right next to it!

Everyone was excited to get in!

Things started off quite inside the limo.

They all wore their new unicorn eye patches they got as party favors. Sofia and Isabella picked those out in a market in London while traveling with their mom over the summer.

Who’s kid is this? Lol! That’s my girl! Staring the dancing inside the limo! YOLO!

Because there’s no such thing as too much sugar on your birthday, first stop, Menchie’s!

Aren’t they adorable?!

 

Back to the fun limo ride!

Cheers to the birthday girls!

In case your wondering, they drank juice and water!

It was such a fun ride!

The last stop was at River Rocks for dinner!

They all had dinner and enjoyed each other’s company after a very exciting ride together!

Just before the sunset, I was able to take some pictures of the birthday girls on the dock behind River Rocks.

After singing the birthday song, we all had some cake and called it a night!

The cakes where almost too cute to eat! They were delicious and made by Miss Cuppy Cakes Bakery.

 

I had the pleasure of attending Rifle Paper Co’s “Sidewalk Sale” at their flagship store in Winter Park, Florida this past weekend and it was quite the pretty paper and flower lover’s dream!

In case you are wondering what Rifle Paper Co is, like my husband was when I told him about our weekend plans, it is not a shop that sells paper guns! Contrary to what it sounds like, it is a unique stationary company based in Winter Park, Florida. It offers everything from custom wedding invitation suites to Easter, Birthday and Thank you cards. They also have calendars, meal planners, agendas, notebooks, sketch pads, recipe cards, you name it!

Their sidewalk sale consists of samples and left over printed fabric pieces, loose cards, coasters, calendars and wall art. They didn’t have any wedding invites because those are customized to match a particular wedding theme and are sold on a per order basis. However, this doesn’t mean it wasn’t the perfect place for the discerning Central Florida bride to be! They had fabulous gifts any bridesmaid would love! The planners and notebooks were perfect for a busy bride to be to keep it together during the wedding planning process!

As for me, I stocked up on my Thank you cards, Christmas cards, coasters, and also bought a couple wall calendars for 2018, a planner, a few file folders, three wall art floral pieces, a notebook and piece of cute fabric just because! I got everything at 50-70% off and despite them being samples, everything was in great condition, I could not see any signs of damage on anything! I made out like a bandit in my opinion and so did many more savvy shoppers!

According to a super friendly sales associate, Rifle Paper Co in Winter Park has a sidewalk sale about three times per year and the best way to find out about it is to follow them on Instagram and like them on Facebook. If you perhaps are from my home state of California or another part of the world and can’t ever make it to their flagship store in Winter Park, Florida, don’t worry, they run fabulous sales and fulfill custom wedding invitation orders online at their website, Riflepaperco.com

Here are a few pictures of the Sidewalk Sale and some of the goodies I brought home with me! Please enjoy and feel free to Pin away!

 

And below are some of the goodies I brought home with me!

 

 

 

 

As many of you know, I was just all over Mexico this past summer and had such a wonderful time with my family! I also spent a few days in Mexico City with my cousin. It’s by far one of my favorite cities in the world! Being originally from Northern California and now living in Central Florida, I also have a lot of friends from Puerto Rico; naturally when the two major earth quakes and hurricanes Irma and Maria hit, they hit me hard as well! I lost sleep thinking of the loss and the devastation those natural disasters had caused.

I wanted to help, but didn’t know how. My first thought was to grab a flight to Mexico and just pick up a shovel, but being a wife, mother and a business owner, I couldn’t just drop everything and do that, plus that wouldn’t help anyone in Puerto Rico either! So, after a couple days, it finally came to me, I can find a charity that is reputable and that has people in both Mexico and Puerto Rico that is helping those that need it most! I found Direct Relief and was literally relieved!

I came up with a clever idea and called it “Pictures for a Purpose.” I reached out to a couple of my “Friendors” (wedding vendor friends) and within two weeks, I was able to secure a gorgeous venue for the event, get another photographer on board to help take more pictures and draw out more people! Together, we were able to get 16 families/couples to donate to Direct Relief and come out and get some awesome pictures in exchange! A huge thank you to Joanne from the Banyan Estate for being such a gracious host and not only letting us use The Banyan Estate, but also providing some yummy treats and refreshments as well! Thanks as well to Akili from Sassy a la Mode for giving Me some awesome event planning tips and being there to meet and greet folks for the first hour of the event. Another thank you to Nick and Lauren from Nick and Lauren Photography for joining me in this project! And of course, to my Hubby for coming along with the kids, supporting me and always encouraging me throughout the planning process and during the event! Most importantly, thank you to all who donated and supported such a worthy cause! We raised six hundred and fifteen dollars and blessed a lot of people in the process! These are some of the pictures that I took throughout the day!

Muchas gracias a todos!

 

 

Joanne setting up the yummy snacks for the guests!

Beautiful calligraphy by Flax + Wool Designs

Adorable details throughout the whole place! How cute is this glitter Mr. & Mrs. sign?!

I couldn’t resist a photographer’s selfie in front of this huge mirror!

I DIYed this flower crown with flowers I bought from Walmart the night before and I found the perfect little princess to wear it!

She was just the cutest!

Fashionable Mommy bought their Mommy and Me dresses from Auguste the Label, love them!!

This little cutie was wearing an adorable dress from Old Navy!

She thought my DIY flower arrangement looked so GOOD, you could EAT IT!

So, she took a bite! Aahh, memories! She’ll look back at this and laugh! I know we all did!

And how cute are these guys? Love the fall colors!

All Mom had to say was chicken pot pie and it brought a huge smile to this little guy’s face!

Look at that smile! He’s one handsome little guy and you can tell where he gets it from!

Classic Father and Son portrait! Melts my heart!

So many nice places to take a stroll throughout the Banyan!

Of course, they had to break out the “Big Guns.” Watch out!

That smile says a whole lot!

Hand in hand from now until forever!

Such a sweet couple!

This family was not the posy type, so I just let them be!

Brotherly love!

We let the boys run around and I grabbed a portrait of Mom and Dad alone for a change!

This little family was just the cutest! More fall colors!!

I seriously don’t think these two can get any cuter!

I can’t take it! This makes me want to have another little munchkin!

I ended the sessions with this super rad couple!

And they are expecting! Baby is coming this December! How exciting!

The Banyan tree from which The Banyan Estate got it’s name made the perfect backdrop for this Baby Bump!

 

Adeline and Gabriel flew down from the Big Apple to sunny central Florida for their lovely Coastal Florida Destination Wedding.  I used both digital and film to capture their day. Here’s a brief summary of their lovely wedding day! I’m so glad I was able to be a part of it and tell the story of their day with beautiful, timeless images! The film images were scanned by Photovision Prints.

 They had a simple, yet elegant invite that fit perfectly with their coastal Florida destination wedding.

The day began with the wedding party getting ready at the Double Tree by Hilton Beach side Hotel in Indialantic, Florida.

She had a cute custom wedding dress hanger with Mrs. Wagner written on it!

The beach view through this hall way window was a lovely backdrop for the wedding dress shot!

The Bride kept her details simple and timeless. Here’s a soft 35mm film shot of her earrings and her something blue.

Continuing with the theme of simplicity, the bride kept her makeup to a minimal and did it herself.

When it came to her hair, she left it up to Michelle Meyer from Styling by Michelle M.

Her simple and elegant up-do looked gorgeous and kept her cool on a warm Central Florida Spring day.

Adeline chose to honor an ancient and beautiful Indian tradition of using henna to symbolize a woman’s transformation into a bride.

All her bridesmaids were in awe!

Keeping with tradition and the merging of cultures; Adeline and Gabriel said their “I do’s” at Ascension Catholic Church.

The groom kept it classy as well!

Adeline’s wedding dress was from David’s Bridal.

Henna art by Space Coast Henna.

That look! So cute!

DIY wedding bouquet! All the heart eyes!!

Yellow Dog Cafe is the perfect venue for a Coastal Florida Destination Wedding.

It was beautifully decorated with DIY flower arrangements made by a family friend!

The guests enjoyed a beautiful view of the Indian River Lagoon.

A Coastal  Florida destination wedding would not be complete without starfish and seashells!

Their first Dance with a gorgeous view!

Those blues and pinks! LOVE IT!

Cake by the Ocean!!

Cake by Publix Bakery.

He didn’t play nice, but they had fun with it!

Adorable details for the Bride and Groom!

Lemon Raspberry Martini? Yes, Please!

Very lively crowd! Everyone made it to the dance floor at one point or another!

The view of Yellow Dog Cafe from their dock!

I love this shot of their hands intertwined!

We took advantage of the gorgeous weather and went out on the dock for some couple portraits during the reception!

It was breezy and beautiful!

A beautiful rainbow flare caught on my lens!

The light was magical here!!

Thank you Adeline and Gabriel! It was my pleasure to capture your special day! Cheers to you!!

 

.

Ankita and Raj wanted an intimate elopement before their big Indian wedding that took place the first weekend in May! They had a simple civil ceremony at San Francisco city hall, and celebrated with this coastal elopement shoot that was just as beautiful and romantic as their love story! They had to overcome many barriers to finally be together and they wanted a happily ever after that reflected their story and embraced their love for each other! This took place on the beautiful, yet rough Northern California coastline. The wind stirred up the waves, the salty air created a misty haze so strong the sun could not break through and the breeze was as cold as ice, yet the thrill of their love kept them warm! To give these images an extra special touch, I shot almost all of them in 35mm film using the magical Fuji 400H. I had the pleasure of styling the couple by picking their wardrobe for their session and I also got to collaborate with some very talented vendors to make this all come together so beautifully! I hope you guys enjoy these magical images! Congratulations once again to Ankita and Raj! Wishing all the happiness this world has to offer! A Link to all the vendor’s websites is located at the bottom of this entry! Be sure to check them out, especially if you’re a NorCal Bride to Be!

I love that golden hour light and her beautiful smile!
The groom’s details were on point! From the boutonniere to the suspenders, the cuff links, the watch, the skinny tie, and the shoes!
So many lovely details shot on 35mm film! I love the grain, the color tones and the contrast! That shimmering light bouncing off the water is gorgeous!

Talk about a beautiful cake, and those roses were actually edible!! (more…)

A little over two weeks ago I had the pleasure of spending the weekend in Miami for a beach elopement and an engagement session I shot, plus a couple other fun things! Of course while in the area I made sure my family and I had some time to explore and have fun! I found an awesome Farmer’s Market called Yellow Green Market in Hollywood, Florida. It’s not completely open air, but it’s in a large open warehouse space with plenty of air circulation and open space! The Market is filled with delicious and exotic dishes, fruits, veggies, flowers, lotions and potions for every ailment, locally brewed beer and coffee!

To be completely honest, I spent most of the time there eating! We met up with an old friend and his kids, walked around and did a lot of “window shopping.” I bought some fresh flowers, (three bunches for $10), some amazing de-puffing all natural eye cream (it was $16 and I love it), and of course some delicious lavender earl grey tea (only $1)!

Since I was there with my husband, my kids, a friend and his kids, it wasn’t exactly a “photo trip” but I was able to have them wait for Me while I walked around with my camera for 5 minutes, (I actually set the timer on my phone) and took a few pictures so I could blog about it and entice you to go visit! I really enjoyed it! It’s a fun, vibrant place that celebrates different cultures and offers some amazing deals! It’s open on Saturdays and Sundays from 9am until 4pm year round! You can find it on Yelp as well!

I highly recommend Oaxaca an Asian Mexican Bistro with an amazing tuna stack! If you’re in the area, just go and explore it for yourself, you won’t regret it!

Aren’t they just the cutest! It seriously took longer to take these kid’s picture than it took to take all the rest of the pictures in this blog post!

Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this week’s entry!

XoXo,

Arlene

Hi guys! This is an informal blog post about my participation in the Vero Beach Bridal Show this past weekend. It was my first Bridal Show, so I wasn’t sure what to expect! I have heard a lot of bad stuff about participating in Bridal shows from other vendors and a lot of good as well! I had to make sure to pick out the right show for Me! I decided to go with The Vero Beach Bridal Show because if nothing else, the proceeds go to a good cause! All the proceeds raised at the Vero Beach Bridal Show go towards the upkeep of the Vero Heritage Center, an official historic building built in 1935 that boasts it’s original wood floors to this day! I’m a sucker for history, so I was sold with this fact alone! I figured even if all the ‘Brides to Be’ are only going for the “free stuff” vendors and sponsors giveaway at Bridal Shows and have no interest in my Wedding Photography Packages, I can at least know the money I spent to be a vendor at the show went towards preserving a little piece of History here in Central Florida! Here I am in front of my booth with a nervous smirk just before the doors opened! I didn’t book anything on the spot, nor was I expecting to at all! I hate being a pushy salesperson, and I STAY AWAY from those people, so I DON’T want to be that way at all! I put a nice display together, (all DIY by the way), and talked about what I do besides weddings, my photography style, my film preferences, the differences between film and digital, how to choose a photographer that is right for you, among other topics, like the Fiestas in Mexico, getting back to the gym, and my obsession with sweets with whoever would entertain me! The point of the whole thing for Me, was for people to get to know Me, know what I do, and help steer them closer to their dream wedding whether they hire Me or not! This was very important to Me because I am a people person and I love to help them whenever I can! I do what I love and want to share it with everyone, but I also understand that not everyone budgets for a professional photographer on their wedding day for a variety of reasons, the main one being money, and even though that sounds crazy to me, that’s me, and I have no right to push people into making an investment they ether aren’t prepared to make, can’t make, or simply don’t want to make! My booth was filled with DIY elements that even the most thrifty bride could put together with a minimal  budget, and a lot them thanked me for giving them tips and providing inspiration for them! The copper pipe arch was a huge hit and I shared with them that it was a made by my hubby and the materials were purchased for just about 100 bucks at Home Depot! I had one bride in particular tell Me her fiance is a welder and she was going to ask him to do this for their ceremony arch! All my picture frames were from IKEA and are all very affordable!  I also displayed my silk and dried flower arrangements so they could see how beautiful they look as well, and I got most of them 40% off at Michael’s, SCORE! I made sure to have water and some sweets as well to help avoid any awkward silence I was anticipating, but actually didn’t happen at all, in fact I came home with a ton of extra pastries! I sent in cookies for snack time to both of my kid’s classrooms today and gave away another couple dozens of pastries to my in-laws as well!

Here’s a front shot of the whole set up!

The Love balloon is from Paper Boy Shop and I had my hubby attach the metal wires to the frames to hang them from there.

How beautiful is this little corner of the table!

I put my family portrait front and center because any bride that is going to work with Me will at some point meet my family at some point in the process, so it might as well introduce them now! Our lovely family portrait was taken by Kayla Barker and my giant sample wedding album is from QT Albums and is handmade in Poland!

I can’t believe these lovely strawberry filled pastries didn’t fly off the platter!

A little close up of one of my silk floral bouquets! These flowers are from IKEA.

The large framed prints on the table were all taken in film and the smaller ones in digital.

I had to get a close up of these lovely dried flowers left over from an editorial shoot I did last year!

The largest print on display, (besides my logo) was also in 35mm film, everyone loved it! And I really loved the way they both hung so seamlessly from the copper piping! Thanks Babe!

Now to the other vendors! I was situated directly in front of Dillard’s Men’s and home located in Vero Beach! I love how they had something for the groom’s as well! This is Daniel Santos, the Men’s tailored business manager and his crew!

Here’s another fun display from Hair by Aly McKeen.

They gave out fun little hair ties and bobby pins with their business cards!

Events by Adriana had a lovely set up as well!

They are a Mother in law and Daughter in law crew ready for business!

The cakes on display were all so beautiful! The cakes pictured above and the next few below are from Frosting on Cardinal Drive in Vero Beach

Those details!

Can you guess what the inspiration behind this one is?

And here’s the pretty face behind all these almost too pretty to eat creations!

Not sure where these ladies went when I dropped by to take their picture, but none the less, they were both very nice! Here’s a link to their Facebook page, Lovely Artistry by Aimee Goddard

This was probably the MOST POPULAR guy and the busiest booth the entire time! He gave out FREE BEER! He’s from Walking Tree Brewery.

Another empty booth when I came by, but I still had to take a quick pick of all their lovely paper goods! They are from Peach Leaf Paperie.

Meet Joanne from the Banyan Estate in Malabar, Florida. I had the pleasure of touring her venue during their open house and I was quite impressed! It’s on my “I want to shoot a wedding there” list for sure!

Now, let’s get back to the cakes!!

This beautiful Momma is responsible for all those amazing creations! She was the second most popular booth since she gave out FREE CAKE!! She’s the owner of the Yellow Rose Cakery.

There were other wedding photographers on site as well! This was First Kiss’s booth! Crazy pictures and very cool display, indeed!

We all know the party doesn’t start until the DJ plays!! This is  Jay and Heather Barwick from Barwick Entertainment.

These lovely ladies are from Magnolia Manor in Vero Beach. Another venue I’ve toured and would love to shoot a wedding at as well! You can find a little facebook live video of my visit on my facebook page here Arlene Jacobs Photography

These lovely ladies knew their good side and posed perfectly for Me when I asked to take their picture! They are from Verola Studios.

I wish I had more time to get all the vendors, but I literally only had 10 minutes to spare after I finished setting up, (yes I put it all up and brought it all down by myself) and it was just not enough time! Plus, my primary objective was to introduce myself to future brides and have fun, but of course being that I’m a photographer and a blogger, I thought this would be a fun and educational post for my readers, (hi Mom, hi Honey, love you)! Anyways, all jokes aside, it was a good experience for Me, despite not booking anything, and not knowing if I will even get any clients from participating in this event, it was an experience worth having, my money went to a good cause, I met a lot of very talented wedding vendors, friendly and beautiful brides to be and I had great time doing it! I could tell the other vendors and the brides had a great time as well, so I would recommend it to both Brides to Be and wedding vendors alike! They held a fun bridal fashion show afterwards, but I couldn’t stay due to a previously scheduled Bride consult an hour north of there, so I guess I have something to look forward to next year!

Oh, and I also held an Engagement Session Giveaway and it’s still open! Feel free to share this blog post with someone who might be interested in joining! Here are the official rules for entry!Contest closes on Saturday March 11! Thanks you! Here’s a link to The Vero Beach Bridal Show as well!

Xo Xo

After going to one of the largest real life Pumpkin patches in the US, and seeing the world’s largest pumpkin at Half Moon Bay’s annual pumpkin festival almost on a yearly basis, I wasn’t expecting to be impressed at a Pumpkin Patch in the parking lot of a local church in central Florida, and I wasn’t but I still had a great time watching my little man have a grand old time!

It was his first kindergarten field trip and I would’t miss it for the world! Seems like it was yesterday that I brought him along to his older sister’s first field trip, and I was still holding him in my arms most of the time back then! Time does fly and kids grow up fast! I still can’t believe my baby is in kindergarten!

I used to be very much obsessed with constantly taking pictures of them at events and milestones like this, but as my photography and Mommy skills have improved, I’ve learned you don’t need a ton of pictures to capture it all! Instead of being all frantic and pointing my camera up his nose every time he takes a step, I’ve taken a step back and learned to take in more of those special moments and enjoy them, to truly be present in the moment instead of trying to force a moment or a smile out of them!

As my photography has improved, and I’ve gotten used to shooting with film, I choose my shots wisely and no longer over shoot “Just in case I mess it up.”

I mean how in the world did our parents ever survive (ok, myself included) back when all you had was 24 or 36 shots in a roll of film for an entire weekend getaway! It was simple, they (we) didn’t obsess over ourselves and look for photo ops on every corner! Instead we just lived our lives, enjoyed our time together, and snapped a few pictures in between as a momentum, that’s it!

Don’t get me wrong, I do love photography, I’m a photographer; and capturing all my children’s milestones is what originally perked my interest in photography, but I’ve realized that having a huge quantity of pictures of my children isn’t what’s important, it’s spending time with them that matters, and a few quality pictures from a special event, or milestone is more than suffice! I mean who doesn’t get stressed out when they look at their phone, computer, laptop or other mobile device and see tons of pictures and their storage nearly filled up! Aaaahhhh!

What if it crashes, gets stolen, gets wet, or the most likely scenario; your kid gets a hold of it and breaks it, and it’s not backed up! Just the thought of it is stressful! Isn’t it!?

So, at this field trip, I took less than 15 pictures total throughout the time there, and I was by no means pointing my camera at him the entire time. I actually really enjoyed it. I watched him as he sat among his peers and listened to a story, then planted a pumpkin seed, blew bubbles, tossed bean bags, and showed off his muscles next to the big pumpkins. I simply snapped a few pictures as those moments unfolded and I then put my camera away. I watched other Moms and Dads constantly pointing their phone or their cameras and calling their kids for attention and asking for smiles. That was me just a couple years ago! Man, am I glad I’m passed that phase! Moms and Dads! Please stop! Just be there and enjoy yourself, I promise you won’t regret it, and you don’t need ten million pictures of your kid on your phone, instead just hire me once or twice a year for your family portraits and you’ll be fine! Ha, ha, shameless plug! Anyways, whether you hire me or not, I hope you enjoyed my two sense on taking too many pictures of your kids at special events and enjoyed these pumpkin patch field trip pictures as well! Remember, a few quality pictures is ENOUGH!