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

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.

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.

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.

I’m putting all of the photos from the wedding I shot last week at the San Jose Country Club online today.

This is the same wedding as my previous post with the flower girl dancing on the grooms feet.

I saw this shot of the bouquet toss. Bouquet flying through the air, girls and women reaching for the prize, and I thought “nailed it.”

© Alex Schoenfeldt 2011
All rights reserved.
San Francisco Bay Area Wedding Photographer

In this case, the girl dancing on a man’s feet is the flower girl dancing on the groom’s feet. The reason I love this shot is that it could be any girl on any man. Father/daughter, brother/sister, uncle/niece (in this case it is new uncle in law and niece. The flower girl was the bride’s niece.)

Flower Girl Dancing on Groom's feet

The photo was taken at the San Jose Country Club, San Jose CA.
Photo © Alex Schoenfeldt 2011
All rights reserved.
Alex Schoenfeldt Photography

The photo below is from a 2007 wedding on Treasure Island in the middle os the San Francisco Bay. After years of driving over the Bay Bridge and passing over Treasure Island, it was great to have an excuse to stop, get down there, and shoot some photos. If you like views of San Francisco, and views of the Bay Bridge, Treasure Island is a great place for a wedding.

Photo © Alex Schoenfeldt 2007. All Rights Reserved
San Francisco Bay Area Wedding Photography

I always love the chance to shoot a weeding at the Crystal Springs Golf Course in Burlingame, CA. They have a beautiful location for weddings. A wonderful gazebo on a lawn with spectacular views of Crystal Springs Reservoir.

This photo was from a ceremony there in 2009. As a photographer, I love catching moments like these where people are glowing with real happiness. Everything is beautiful and nothing is fake.

Photo © Alex Schoenfeldt 2009 All Rights Reserved
San Francisco Wedding Photographer

Ethan and Allison just sent me a very nice letter or recommendation. I was their wedding photographer for a summer wedding in the Tilden park Botanical Gardens in Berkeley California.

I’ll start with the letter, then I’ll post some of the pictures that them mention specifically.

Dec. 27, 2010

Dear Alex,
We wanted to thank you for the wonderful job you did photographing our wedding. We are thrilled with the pictures and it was wonderful working with you. We’re happy to recommend you as a terrific wedding photographer.
During the ceremony you obviously moved around to take pictures from various vantage points, but you were so discreet we didn’t even realize you were moving. Neither one of us had any idea you were so active until we saw the wonderful pictures. They captured the whole ceremony, even the unexpected moments like the trouble Ellie had breaking the glass.
And we were especially happy with the way you handled the formal shots afterwords. We loved your suggestion that we take a few of everybody who attended the wedding, especially the one where everybody is waiving. It’s one of our favorite shots! And then when it was just the two of us, you did a really great job of taking advantage of the setting. There were lots of wonderful pictures using the garden as a backdrop, whether it was giant Sequoia trees, flowers, or the footbridge over the stream. The black-and-white shots you took with your infrared camera are just amazing! And you worked quickly so we could get to the reception and enjoy the party!
You also did a great job of getting wonderful pictures of the kids, including Ellie as the flower girl. It was important to us to have great pictures of the kids at the reception, and you really did a fantastic job. The picture of Ellie crossing her eyes is one of our favorites!
On a stressful day, you made the photography something we didn’t have to worry about. You put everyone at ease and were always calm, friendly, and professional. In short, we were very happy with your work, and we’re happy to recommend you to others as a great wedding photographer. Thank you for doing such a great job and creating such a wonderful record of our wedding.
Sincerely,
Ethan Rarick and Allison Ellman

All photos © Alex Schoenfeldt, 2010. All rights reserved.
Alex Schoenfeldt Photography

Christina and Andy got married at Ardenwood Historic Farm in Fremont California in 2007.

The bride got ready in Patterson Mansion, and then the ceremony was in the gazebo.

All Photos © Alex Schoenfeldt 2007
All Rights Reserved.
San Francisco Bay Area Wedding Photographer

Bride and groom first kiss wedding photo in front of Gazebo Ardenwood Historic Farm Fremont CA