Hahaha! I'm a sneeky wife!

So my husband was officially taken on as a permanent employee at his work (as opposed to a bunch of temporary contracts), so to do something nice for him, I surprised him by showing up to his office after he left and sprucing up the place. It was a little dull, but now it has little office-y doo dads, "family" pictures (which means some pics of us, the dog and cats), and of course, a huge tub of Red Vines. :-)


That sign on the back of the chair says "Congrats" in crazy bubble letters...

Hahaha! Anyway, I was totally sneeky and he was totally surprised.

Congrats again baby!!!

My happy happy birthday!

So for my birthday this past Monday, Preston and I took Kipper and headed to the trails. It was really hot and the "Waterfall Trail" was suspiciously lacking in water... BUT, we still had a great time before heading to dinner. Unfortunately, though we intended to head to my FAV Italian place in La Crescenta, La Betulla, we pulled up only to discover that it has gone out of business! It's now a sushi place! Sooo, we went to one of my next favorite places, a little whole in the wall Mexican place also in La Crescenta and I got my favorite Chuletas. :-) Here's a few pics!

BTW, the weird picture of Kipper is where he stepped on a fire ant and Preston had to pull it off... lol :-p

Meet the Newest member of the Shepard Creative Team!

I am SO excited to announce officially that Sandra has joined the Shepard Creative Photography team! As a New York trained actress, vocalist and dancer, she is practically bursting at the seams with creativity (which is actually a really fitting statement for her since she's also an accomplished seamstress!). She's also worked in the LA tv/film scene for over a decade and brings her own personal industry experience (both behind and in front of the camera)to the team. She is able to offer personal consultations, advice, and input on a variety of areas, including Headshot photography (in fact, I'd say she's probably the new resident expert!).

Sandra has spent a lot of time in front of the camera and will be joining the team as an Album Design Specialist. She also will be taking some of the reins on marketing and development and has already put together some new offers and packages that we hope to premiere by January of 2008 - so keep your eyes peeled!

On a personal note, Sandra was recently married to her wonderful husband Matt just under one year ago at Disneyland in southern California (they're Disney Fanatics) and knows well the time, effort, money, and love it takes to plan and pull off a beautiful wedding. She brings her own experience and sensitivity to the beauty of your event to each album she crafts and creates. I'm lucky to have her and we couldn't be more thrilled!

Welcome Sandra!


*photo by Jessica Verma

The Day before THE DAY

So, I'm preparing for my wedding tomorrow (not my actual wedding, a wedding I'm shooting - in case that sounded confusing) and it takes me back.

A lot of times, before a wedding, as I'm preparing for the next day's activities, I find myself thinking back to what I was doing the day before my own wedding. My prep work is NOTHING like that day now (thankfully). I spend the day before THE DAY charging batteries, checking backup equipment, clearing gig cards if they haven't already been cleared, getting some kind of sugary candy (I will bribe children - I am not above it), loading equipment, etc.

The day before MY DAY was crazy hectic. It was not something I ever wish to relive (there's a reason why most people only do a Wedding (the capital W kind) once. ;-) So as I load up my gear, I think about my clients for the next day and think about what they must be doing right now. I think about how exhausted they must be and how, most likely, they won't be getting much sleep tonight. I remind myself of what a roller coaster of emotions they're on and try to keep that tucked away in the back of my head for the next day. I hope that I don't add to any anxieties - brides and grooms have enough!

I have to go back to packing and prepping, but I just thought I'd share that. I'll be sure to post any favorites from tomorrow's wedding. :-)

~Brienne

Ah, how MJ has changed the world...

Is there anything better than this? An entire Philippine men's prison re-enacting "Thriller"! This video is hilarious. I think the only thing that could be better is possibly if a wedding party did this after they entered for a wedding party dance. THAT would be awesome!

Last Weekend's Wedding - Idolina & David

So here are some of my favorite shots from my wedding this past weekend (congrats to David & Idolina, by the way!). This wedding presented a new challenge for me because I had only 4 hours to do the entire shoot - ceremony through bouquet/garter toss!

I try to not add anxiety to my clients with any of my own, but that was definitely a struggle this time!

Congrats to the happy couple again, and enjoy the photos!

~Brienne

7.7.07 Wedding Shots

It ocurred to me the other day that I haven't posted photos on this site from my events very much. Time to remedy that. :-)

I'm always excited when I have a wedding to shoot. It's a big event and it always brings back memories of my own wedding. In a way, it's kind of nice because it keeps all those things I felt and experienced fresh. I love the details, I love the romance, and as strange as it sounds, I actually love the little REAL things - like the way a bride always looks to the side and tries to breath a little through the nerves when she thinks no one is looking. Or the way something like putting on earrings or a veil suddenly feels so...final. It's beautiful to watch and I am privileged to be invited to take part in my own way.

Here's some of my favorite shots from Shannon & Marcelo's wedding down in Malibu on the 7th.