Alice Sokoloff Photography

Friday, March 5, 2010

Love Story Photo Session with Natasha & Vladimir (San Francisco)

On Sunday I had an absolute blast shooting a love-story photo session with Natasha and Vova. What's a love-story photo session, you may ask? It's a super-exciting photo services product that I am pioneering and offering.

A love-story photo session is a more thoughtful and meaningful type of engagement session. It can tell up to three stories: the meeting, the courtship, and the proposal. The stories are "scripted" by the couple and the photographer ahead of time. But while the stories are planned, they stay fun for the couple to act out because of the photojournalistic approach that I use to photograph them. In the end, the love-story, as the name implies, tells the story of the couple's relationship in pictures and creates a wonderful lasting memory for them.

I couldn't dream of a better couple than Natasha and Vova for a love-story session. Natasha's laughter was absolutely contagious! Her background in theater allowed her to stay relaxed in front of the camera. And Vova's quiet romanticism set exactly the right kind of mood for the session. They also really took the time to think through the stories and to pick out the perfect accessories and props to make each segment, photographed all in one day, tell its own story.

And now, to satisfy some curiosity that you have hopefully built up... :-)

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One of my favorite images... It's so playful and sweet!

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Congratulations, Natasha and Vova! I can't wait until your wedding, only a month away now! :)

Until next time!
http://www.alicesokoloffphotography.com/

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Tuesday, March 2, 2010

Contest: Best Bay Area Love Story -- Meet the Contestants

For those of you following our blog, you know that Alice Sokoloff Photography was running a very exciting contest in the month of February that has just come to a close. We now have our contestants and the winner will be announced this coming Saturday, March 6 at the Books Inc. lecture and reading in Palo Alto by Joyce Scardina Becker of Events of Distinction. If you'll remember, the winner of the contest will receive a $500 credit towards a wedding photography package. The other contestants will receive a participation prize, which will be announced on Saturday.

Drum roll please. Let's meet the contestants. The love-stories below are based on the stories that the contestants have e-mailed to me, re-told in my own words.

Karen & Joost
Joost and Karen first met at a gay bar in West Hollywood that Karen had wondered into with a friend on Halloween. Joost, a Dutch native, was in the United States on an intenship. A week after their initial meeting at the bar, they started dating. But six months later, Joost went back to Holland after his internship ended and Karen moved to the Bay Area.
For the next 2 years and 3 months Karen and Joost continued to have a long-distance relationship, keeping the flames alive by Internet, video cam, Skype, and of course trips together throughout Europe and the U.S. They realized that, despite the distance, they preferred to be with each other than with anyone else.
And of course this story has a happy ending. In August 2008 Joost came back to California for another internship and on December 11, 2009 Joost formally proposed to Karen. Their wedding is to take place at San Francisco City Hall on May 27th of this year.

Anya & Slavik
Anya met Slavik outside a club, as she was looking for a likely candidate from whom she could bum a cigarette for herself and a friend. In fact, it was Anya's friend who had caught Slavik looking at Anya, and she suggested that she approach him, as she was sure he wouldn't turn them down. Indeed he did not. Anya and her friend did not see Slavik again until, after dancing for a few hours at the club, they came out again for air and saw Slavik engaged in a bloody fight with another drunk club-goer. Being underage, at the time, Anya and her friend fled the scene to avoid any unpleasant interactions with the police, which was be sure to arrive.
It was 9 months later that Slavik re-appeared unexpectedly in Anya's life. She was at a coffee shop with the same friend, looking at a popular social networking site, when she received an instant message from Slavik. Anya's friend suggested that he had been released from prison and now wanted to hunt her down to eliminate a dangerous witness. From the message, however, it did not appear that that Slavik knew who she was. He proceeded to ask her to go on a date, despite repeated refusals by Anya. Slavik found out her schedule and hang-out spots. Despite all odds, Anya had reasoned that if Slavik was a crazy stalker and had wanted to hurt her, he would have already done so, instead of continuing to court her, and agreed to go out with him! Just in case, she went on her date with a pocket knife in her purse.
Slavik arrived for the date in a black BMW with tinted windows. No one came out and Anya decided not to get in. But the BMW blocked her way to her own car, so she had to get in. To her surprise, inside sat a "nice Jewish boy, wearing a sweater two sizes too big, jeans, faded out and 2 inches too short, grandpa shoes, and an old black jacket." An hour into the date, Anya realized that Slavik really had no idea who she was and had on a vague recollection of that fateful night 9 months ago. Anya was endeared to Slavik for admitting during their date that he thought she was too pretty to date someone like him.
It has been 2 years since their first date and they are getting married on October 16th of this year.

Tamara & Jason
Tamara and Jason met in graduate school at a seminar in Feminist Theory at the University of Colorado. When Jason immediately made the link between Tamara's research and the work of W.E.B. DuBois, Tamara was interested.
For a while Jason and Tamara spent time together only as friends. Tamara knew she was comfortable about Jason the way she wasn't around anyone else. Tamara and Jason did not start dating until several months later when she invited him to her home and cooked him pot roast. Their transition to dating was seamless and comfortable. They moved in together soon thereafter.
At the start of the next semester, Tamara and Jason started to discuss marriage, without a formal engagement, but it was a difficult financial time for them, and wedding plans had to be put off.
Amidst long-term planning for a wedding two years out, Tamara learned that her father was very ill. Wedding plans were immediately expedited on an emergency basis. Tamara even bought a dress. Jason stood by her in this difficult time, doing what he could to support Tamara. Fortunately, it had turned out that Tamara's father's condition had been an exaggeration. But Tamara felt terrible about the way she had pushed forward with the wedding, like a "black widow spider." Jason proposed the next week on Tamara's 35th birthday, taking her completely by surprise! Tamara and Jason will be married on December 29, 2010 at the San Francisco City Hall.



I would like to thank our wonderful contestants for sending in their entries. Every story is special in its own right and I only hope I did each of them justice in re-telling them on this blog! Best of luck in the contest and I hope to see all or at least a few of you at the Books Inc. lecture and book signing this Saturday, March 6th at 3pm.

Until next time!
http://www.alicesokoloffphotography.com/

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Saturday, February 6, 2010

Specials: The Perfect Gift for Your Sweetheart on Valentine's Day!

Whether you are getting married, are already married, or are just dating, treat your sweatheart to a very special and meaningful Valentine's Day gift this year. It will cost you less than jewelry, about the same as a large bouquet of flowers, and will last a lifetime!

To order, click on the photo below:

Alice Sokoloff Photography

Just to clarify, your photo session does NOT have to take place ON Valentine's Day. It can take place on any date--all you would be purchasing is a gift certificate for the session to gift to your loved one.

Until next time!
http://www.alicesokoloffphotography.com/

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Friday, February 5, 2010

Contest: Best Bay Area Love Story




  Alice Sokoloff Photography is launching a great contest for engaged couples, so if you are not getting married, but know someone who is, forward the information on to them! And if you are engaged to be married and have a beautiful, compelling, funny or original love story that you are willing to share, read on!

The winning couple will receive a $500 credit towards their wedding photography package with Alice Sokoloff Photography!!!

The following rules apply:
    (1) To be considered, the couple must submit their love story in writing to info@alicesokoloffphotography.com together with (a) a photo, (b) their names, (c) the date and location of the wedding (if known) and (d) a contact telephone number, on or before March 1, 2010;
    (2) The couple must be engaged to be married;
    (3) The couple must not yet have signed a contract with a wedding photographer; and
    (4) The couple must not already be a wedding client of Alice Sokoloff Photography.

The entries will be published on the blog, together with the photos, on March 1, 2010. They will be evaluated and a winner will be selected on March 6, 2010 by Joyce Scardina Becker of Events of Distinction, an award-winning Bay Area event planner and published author, at the Books Inc. book reading and signing of her Countdown to Your Project Wedding in Palo Alto. (Details forthcoming.)

Please don't wait and submit your entry right away! There will be prizes for all submissions!


Until next time!
http://www.alicesokoloffphotography.com/

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Tuesday, February 2, 2010

Family Session with 8-Month Old Saskia (Redwood City)

Last week I had the pleasure of photographing the lovely 8-month old baby Saskia and her no less photogenic mom.

I loved the cute outfit that mom had picked out for baby Saskia. I normally don't think dresses work for babies, given that they are not walking yet and tend to use their dresses as a chew toy. But Saskia's sweater-dress really worked! As did her adorable little hat! :-)

We started our session inside by the window, but as the weather improved moved outside. While I am very happy with how all of our photos came out, I have to say, nothing can come close to shooting in natural light. (Is that a very cliche thing to say? Well, it is tried and true all the same!) The bright and saturated photos taken outdoors are my absolute favorite!

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Did I mention Saskia is teething? Big time! :-)

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Until next time!
http://www.alicesokoloffphotography.com/

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