Trista & Doug: An Anniversary Shoot

**the textures i used on these photos are from jesh de rox. you can find them RIGHT HERE. tell him i sent you!**

I've said this before and I'll say it again--having another photographer hire me to shoot is both flattering and unnerving. This time though, I wasn't nervous at all. Why, you may ask? Well, because I knew what Trista had planned and I was looking forward to it too much to get worried about doing the best job possible! I knew that no matter what, Trista and Doug were going to look awesome, which made my job amazingly easy!

First of all, an introduction. Trista Lerit is another Orange County photographer who I first met last year. She's upbeat and fun, gorgeous and stylish! When she approached me about doing this shoot, I thought it was awesome, and I did briefly question her husband Doug's willingness to comply. "He pretty much goes where I go", she said, smiling at the thought of her husband. Today I understood what she meant. Doug is a super nice, laid back guy who is just happy to be married to Trista. He wants to make her happy, and he's doing a great job--she was happy to finally get to do this shoot!

I'm sure you're saying enough with the blah blah blah by now, so I'm going to get to the photos. Here we go:

This is the first photo I shot today to test my settings as they were making their way towards me:

ISO: 100, Lens: 50mm 1.2, Fstop: 1.4 Shutter Speed: 1/8000 (by the way, in EVERY photo, I am shooting in manual mode, center focus, metering so it looks good in the back of the camera :) )

There was this INCREDIBLE field of flowers! It was the first thing I saw and I was kind of tempted to shoot the whole session in it:

ISO: 100, Lens: 70-200mm 2.8, Fstop: 2.8 Shutter Speed: 1/1000

ISO: 100, Lens: 50mm 1.2, Fstop: 1.4 Shutter Speed: 1/4000

ISO: 100, Lens: 50mm 1.2, Fstop: 1.4 Shutter Speed: 1/3200

Trista always looks gorgeous, but today she was really jaw-dropping. I shot a LOT of photos of her alone (Doug appreciated the break, I think)

ISO: 100, Lens: 50mm 1.2, Fstop: 1.4 Shutter Speed: 1/2500

On to the next spot. This location was so beautiful. Thanks to my friend Michael Norwood for disclosing his top secret location for us! See you there soon Michael :)

ISO: 100, Lens: 50mm 1.2, Fstop: 1.2 Shutter Speed: 1/2000

ISO: 100, Lens: 50mm 1.2, Fstop: 1.4 Shutter Speed: 1/2500

ISO: 100, Lens: 50mm 1.2, Fstop: 1.4 Shutter Speed: 1/2500

There were just so many spots to choose from. Luckily, they were willing to go wherever I wanted them to go:

ISO: 100, Lens: 70-200mm 2.8, Fstop: 2.8 Shutter Speed: 1/500

ISO: 100, Lens: 85mm 1.8, Fstop: 2.8 Shutter Speed: 1/4000

Back to Trista for a second. What's better than a creamy 1.2 backlit portrait like this? Only one thing...

ISO: 100, Lens: 50mm 1.2, Fstop: 1.2 Shutter Speed: 1/2500

...a creamy 1.2 portrait with a netted veil!

ISO: 100, Lens: 50mm 1.2, Fstop: 1.4 Shutter Speed: 1/2500

ISO: 100, Lens: 50mm 1.2, Fstop: 1.4 Shutter Speed: 1/1600

Trista's whole getup was so couture fabulous.

ISO: 100, Lens: 50mm 1.2, Fstop: 1.4 Shutter Speed: 1/2000

Sorry Doug, back to you!

ISO: 100, Lens: 50mm 1.2, Fstop: 1.2 Shutter Speed: 1/1600

I love them. I think it looks really surreal

ISO: 100, Lens: 50mm 1.2, Fstop: 1.4 Shutter Speed: 1/2000

You know I love some flare!

ISO: 100, Lens: 50mm 1.2, Fstop: 1.4 Shutter Speed: 1/1250

ISO: 100, Lens: 50mm 1.2, Fstop: 1.2 Shutter Speed: 1/2500

ISO: 100, Lens: 50mm 1.2, Fstop: 1.4 Shutter Speed: 1/1000

I loved this bridge and the light we had:

ISO: 100, Lens: 70-200mm 2.8, Fstop: 2.8 Shutter Speed: 1/200

ISO: 100, Lens: 70-200mm 2.8, Fstop: 2.8 Shutter Speed: 1/320

Yum

ISO: 100, Lens: 70-200mm 2.8, Fstop: 2.8 Shutter Speed: 1/160

A nice clean portrait of the two of them looking cute (yes, I know how to shoot a "traditional" portrait, I just think it's not as much fun as other stuff!)

ISO: 200, Lens: 70-200mm 2.8, Fstop: 2.8 Shutter Speed: 1/400

I saved the best for last. My hands down favorite of the day:

ISO: 100, Lens: 50mm 1.2, Fstop: 1.2 Shutter Speed: 1/1250

In case you were wondering about Trista's bouquet, it was done by Kristin at The Treasured Petal. Awesome work Kristin!

Trista & Doug, thanks so much for being good sports and for trusting me with this shoot! Congratulations on your five year dating anniversary, and HAPPY BIRTHDAY DOUG!