Megan Hayes

Extremely excited to be shooting my first destination wedding in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic this November. I can’t wait to get my toes in that sand and capture some amazing images for Sara & Robert! They will be holding their intimate wedding ceremony at the gorgeous Jellyfish Restaurant and we’re planning to do a day after session as well so we can maybe get in the water and try some fun things in their wedding attire. It’s going to be gorgeous!

Photo by bogdix on Flickr

This lovely family session in downtown Lancaster on the Boulevard may have been early in the morning but you would never be able to tell with their smiling faces. There were one or two giggle fits but that only made it more fun to take pictures of. A truly beautiful family inside and out. They even invited me to breakfast afterwards!  Mom has never had this type of family pictures done so it was the perfect gift for her from her daughter!

Read More »

I enjoyed spending time getting to know Sara & Robert for their engagement session last week at the TCL Chinese Theatre in Hollywood, CA. The inside of the theatre was pretty amazing. It’s huge and also very dark inside which was challenging but fun at the same time! We also decided to get some natural light photos outside on the staircase afterwards and I’m in love with those photographs too. Oh and the staircase was musical. Who thought that was a good idea? Every step played a note when you stepped on it which got pretty annoying with loads of people walking by but Sara & Robert were good sports and we managed to bear the annoyance.

In the short time I’ve spent with Sara & Robert I can tell that they love to travel and just have a fun time being together. A beautiful, fun & sweet couple! They are planning their destination wedding for November of this year in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic and I can’t wait to capture their wedding day! It’s going to be amazing!

Read More »

Hillarie & Lance’s engagement session is featured on Le Magnifique!  Click here to see my original blog post from their session.

I enjoyed photographing Aline & Nicholas in the warm spring sunlight over at the Iron Horse Trailhead here in Valencia last week. What I love about these two is that they naturally tend to be a little on the quiet side (which I totally identify with) but while photographing them I noticed right away how they just light up when they are together. They met at work after Nicholas introduced himself to her when he was trying to get to know everyone at his new job. Aline said right away something to the effect of “Oooo, I need to get to know this guy” and now about 3 years later they are engaged and planning their 2014 wedding. So happy for you two!

Read More »

Lisa & Chris make such a beautiful couple and I loved photographing the two of them on and near their property in Agua Dulce, California. They are in the works of planting/building their vineyards and it’s so beautiful out there. One thing I love about these two is how they just seem to roll with whatever comes their way. They had a few different issues come up the day of their engagement session but they took care of things and were still excited and ready to have a good time for their session. I loved the barn and of course the horses! Can’t wait to photograph their wedding next month!

Read More »

I HATE loosing things! When I went to grab my notebook where I keept all my business notes for the last couple years (including my 20 pages of fresh WPPI notes), it was no where to be found. After searching high and low in the places I thought it had to be, it was no where to be found. Crap. I frantically tried to think of where in the world I would have put it and then remembered having it in the rental car we were driving on the way back from WPPI. We had already returned the car by this point so I called their office and asked if they had my notebook in the lost and found by any chance. After they checked the lost and found and no notepad turned up he kindly said he would call the lady who was currently renting the car an ask her to check for it. With my head down on the kitchen counter about to cry over my years worth of business notes I turned and saw the notebook leaning against our living room chair. Hallelujah!  Needless to say the lady currently using the rental car never found it. (Ha ha!) Lesson learned, I’ll be putting my notes in Evernote from now on.

Ok, now that I’ve shared my horror story I can tell you about the awesome opportunity I had to attend the Wedding and Portrait Photographers International Conference & Expo in Las Vegas, NV.  I met up with my friend Jen and we stayed at her parents house the whole week. They are such kind and welcoming people! Thank you sooooo much Bonsignori’s! Although the conference was 3 weeks ago I think my brain is still recuperating from all the amazing information and inspiration. This was my first time to attend and I came away from this experience with new ideas, techniques and fresh inspiration for the future of my photography business. I took about 20 pages of notes and I’m currently reviewing all my action items.  Here are 9 things I’d like to do better and a few pretty pictures from the trip (mostly from my iPhone).

9 things I’d like to do better:

1. Believe that I can!  ”Your security lies in your ability to go out, kill it and drag it home.” -Dave Ramsey (via Zach & Jody Gray)
2. Blog more types of wedding content. Not just weddings/photo sessions.  -Lawrence Chan
3. Capture more emotion. Every story telling image should have 3 ingredients; Motion, Emotion and A little something special.  -David Getzschman
4. Focus more on what I can do for others.  -Laura Grier
5. Write down my goals. No, really go write down my goals.  -Lara Grier
6. Be a creator of wealth and not a re-allocator of my resources.   -Mary Marantz
7. Focus on leaving legacy, not making an impression. “What if we stopped worrying about leaving an impression and started worrying about leaving a legacy.”  -Mary Marantz
8. Get up earlier and work my BUTT off.  -Blake Discher
9. Send more handwritten Thank You notes.  -Blake Discher

Read More »