Wedding Photography | San Francisco Wedding and Event Photography

15 second exposures of a night wedding at the Ahwahnee Hotel in Yosemite National Park

Ahwahnee, Long Exposure, night photography, Photos, wedding, winter, Yosemite No Responses »

Apr 022012

Kate got married outside at night in the middle of winter (barefoot too, and sh was really hoping for snow!) at the Ahwahnee Hotel in Yosemite National Park.

I had two cameras. One of them on me with a flash to capture the wedding as it happened with good lighting. But I knew that this alone would not convey the full impact of being outside at night, so I had a second camera on a tripod. I used 15 second exposures to capture both the light and the feeling of the wedding. In some of the images, you can see me and the flash my camera produced more than once in the same frame.

I’ve included not only 15 second exposure images, but also a few of the “regular” shots from the wedding, for context, and because I like them.

All photos © Alex Schoenfeldt 2006. All rights reserved.
Yosemite National Park Wedding Photography

San Francisco City Hall Elopement with photos at the Japanese Tea Gardens, the Warming Hut, and the Palace of Fine Arts

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Feb 102012

Kristy and Ronan got married with a few family members present at San Francisco City Hall. City Hall is a great place to elope. It is prettier by far than most wedding venues in the area. After the wedding, I took the bride and groom around on a tour of some of the most photogenic spots in San Francisco.

The Japanese Tea Gardens are a great place to take a bride and groom. The spaces are intimate, the backgrounds are exquisite, and it is easy to get shots with nobody else in the frame. Next, Alamo square, which has a great city view for that cool street shot. The warming hut is the best place to get shots with the Golden Gate Bridge, and the Palace of Fine arts is so pretty as to almost be cliche, but it is still that pretty.

You could not fake this moment for a million dollars. Candid wedding photography.

candid, photojournalistic, wedding No Responses »

Jan 212012

Portraits are great, don’t get me wrong. A god portrait can reflect back to someone just how beautiful they are. I love doing portraits. I love the collaborative process and the deliberate pace.

But my heart leaps at candid, photojournalistic and naturalistic photography. To capture a moment as it happens is such a thrill. Most people just are never going to fake an emotion right. Show me “overjoyed and in love” the best actors can pull that off, but for most of us, if you want a photographer to capture that moment, they have to be there, be quick, be unobtrusive (it can’t be about the photographer by definition) and be good. I love the moment when it all comes together. I am not thinking of my camera, I am not even thinking of myself. I am just caught up in the moment as it happens, and I capture it as it happens. This feeling, this is why I love wedding and event photography.

This picture below is an example of what I am talking about.

Look at them! Happy, laughing, in love, in the moment. Real. I love that I captured that and can show it back to them.

The human touch, father daughter.

photojournalism, photojournalistic, wedding 1 Response »

Nov 102011

Father daughter dance, facebook grab, tear-sheet

I love my job. Photography is fun and all, but I get to really be a part of Such a beautiful moment in people’s lives, where for a few hours people are not afraid to express love. I’m there to capture it.

I took this picture years ago. I posted it on FB for the bride in 2009. She just made it her profile photo. Her comment “I love my dad.” What a great moment for her. I’m so happy I can do that for people, show them these wonderful moments in their lives.