blog | Not So Still Life Photography

Beverly Heritage Hotel – Milpitas, CA – Genuine Networking Association First Anniversary

Saturday, February 11, 2012 Posted in events

It’s almost mid February and with one New Year’s resolution well underway, redesigning this site to better reflect my business, it was time to begin work on another, increasing networking with other professionals.

I already belong to one dynamic group for wedding professionals, the Silicon Valley chapter of the National Association of Catering Engineers (NACE), so this year I also want to meet other professionals in general. I was invited to check out the Genuine Networking Association which has day and evening meetings, and the first one that fit my schedule was last night’s which happened to be their one year anniversary celebration.

The group has been meeting at the Beverly Heritage Hotel at Brandon’s Restaurant one Friday evening a month and to celebrate Brandon’s restaurant manager, Victoria, and the shared champagne with the group, a fact the group’s president, Elias, acknowledged with a high five and lots of laughter.

Champagne makes for great photos both in terms of toasting action photos, and even for detail shots, especially if you can catch it while it is still bubbling in its glass.

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Engagement Session Tip – Bring a Wardrobe Change

Thursday, February 9, 2012 Posted in engagements

One great tip that I give all my engagement session clients is to bring one or more changes of wardrobe for their session. Having more than one set of clothing options with which to layer or completely change outfits can make for fun photos that truly reflect your interests and personalities, and even give the sense that the photos were taken on different days. An engagement session with me lasts about an hour and a half to two hours which includes times to change clothes if desired.

Lindsay and Sonny wanted an elegant and formal look for some of their photos at Stanford University (where Sonny was completing his post graduate studies). They had met and fell in love in high school so using Stanford sweatshirts and lockers, their change of clothes gave the second half of their photos a back in the day feel.

La Trisha and John wanted their photos in the San Jose Heritage Rose garden to look stylish and coordinated. When it was time to show their sporty and competitive sides we moved to a nearby playground.

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An Engagement Session with Dogs – Client Question

Saturday, February 4, 2012 Posted in engagements

I met with a bride, a potential 2013 client, today who just got engaged this Christmas. I learned she and her fiance share a love of English Bulldogs, a breed of which they have two. The conversation turned to getting photos with their dogs and whether I had had engagement sessions with dogs. So for my potential client, her fiance, and other dog people, here are some favorites from a session with Riki and Nick and their two dogs or as they call them “their girls”, Bri and Tess.

Just by bringing a dog or two along, a couple can add fun and unpredictability to a session, in addition to showing their love their dog(s) have for them and vice versa. Though the dog(s) don’t understand it’s a photo session, they certainly know you want their attention, and may ham it up resulting in some great and humorous moments. When sessions include furry friends. I make sure to have a balance of moments with the pets and ones without to highlight just the happy couple.

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Robbie SchlosserFebruary 4, 2012 - 10:51 pm

Thanks for these beautiful photos, Danielle. They make a very attractive blog, nicely laid-out and balanced with the right amount of helpful comments in the text. You’ve come far in two years, and I look forward to seeing your blog two years from now.
Robbie

Danielle StolmanFebruary 4, 2012 - 11:18 pm

Hi Robbie! Thank you so much for the comments and compliments on my work. It means a lot to me as your blog, http://magnoliajazz.com/blog, both in terms of frequency of updating and content has been such an inspiration to me.

Blogsite Makeover

Sunday, January 22, 2012 Posted in photography - general

I’ve had this blogsite for two years and during that time I’ve used the blog itself as the landing page. Over the last two years, I experimented with letting more than less entries visible, showing all the photos then only two photos on entries, though the basic concept stayed the same.

That all changes this weekend, and I’m thrilled to have my first static landing page in over two years. With the help of Slidedeck it shows quite a few photos in 40 seconds and allows for faster navigation to certain aspects of my site (i.e. featured albums and photoshoots).

While it’s still a work in progress, I feel like it came together well. I greatly enjoyed going through photos both recent and from years past to put it together. I was looking for a photo with the right word on it for the testimonial section and to my surprise found just the right word, love, a fortune cookie (the only time I’ve ever had a one word fortune).

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Molly and Jeremy – Palo Alto

Monday, January 16, 2012 Posted in wedding albums, weddings

Molly and Jeremy wanted their getting ready spreads to have a classic and distinct look from the rest of their album. So the first two spreads in their 9 x 12 rectangular album are in black and white, and all the rest have the beautiful and vibrant colors of their summer wedding day.

Wedding and Reception: Stanford Park Hotel, Palo Alto, CA

1326795396 644 920 644 920