Charles Le Photography Blog

Sara and Shon’s engagement shoot this weekend

Charles Le — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 06:22:26 +0000

After seeing Sara at three other weddings I’ve done, I get to shoot her engagement photos! Sara and Shon drove up from South Cal to meet me at the park for their engagement photos. We made some incredible discoveries during our photo walk and got some really cute pictures. It was a really fun shoot. Here are a few pics from the session. Congratulations Sara and Shon!

A quick family shoot at the studio today

Charles Le — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 01:42:13 +0000

I photographed Lauren and Dan’s wedding in 2008. Since then I’ve photographed five more weddings as a direct result of their referrals. I told Lauren I wanted to do something nice for her family to show my appreciation for their continued business and I thought a nice family portrait session would be just the thing! Here are a few pictures from this morning’s session at the studio. Thanks Mr. and Mrs. Kong for your referrals and for your continued support.

The First Wedding of the Year!

Charles Le — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 23:41:31 +0000

I started out this year by photographing a very intimate wedding for Naomi and Tony. It was going to be my first wedding of the year and I was anxious to get to it. For this wedding I brought along my new assistant Dakarai. This was going to be a very small and simple wedding with no reception. It was the perfect opportunity to warm him up for the big season to come.

We met Naomi and Tony at Menlo Presbyterian Church in Menlo Park for the ceremony. Their family flew in from Texas for the ceremony. I was able to capture a few intimate moments before the ceremony in the beautiful church.

The family gathered for a prayer before the big moment.

After the ceremony, we drove up to San Francisco to do some pics around the city. Here are a few from the shoot. Congratulations to Naomi and Tony and a great start to another year of fantastic weddings!

John and Katy’s wedding at the Fairmont in downtown San Jose

Charles Le — Sat, 26 Nov 2011 12:12:13 +0000

Another great wedding in downtown San Jose! I love shooting in my backyard (my studio is just a block down the street from the Fairmont). Sarah and I had another long day ahead of us with two tea ceremonies at their parents’ homes before the main ceremony at the Fairmont.

Katy’s father walked her to the car that would take her to John’s parent’s home for the tea ceremony. In the Chinese tradition her parents will remain at their home while she travels with her bridegroom to his parent’s home for a tea ceremony.

Then it was off to John and Katy’s new home where they had some time to relax and get ready for the upcoming traditional ceremony.

We had a a bit of time before the ceremony to do a photoshoot. It was beautiful in Saratoga, so I took them to a nice spot I had noticed earlier that morning for some pictures.

Everyone were seated to watch the ceremony. The ceremony took place in the same ballroom as the reception. I have to say, I rarely see this done. The advantage to having the ceremony and reception take place in the same room is that everyone is already seated for the reception!

The rest of the evening was full of fun, laughter, and even a bit of dancing.

Two adorable kids!

Charles Le — Fri, 25 Nov 2011 10:33:54 +0000

Bethany and Noel were the highlights for me in this family shoot. It was so fun shooting them! I love the way the siblings play off each other as well as capturing the laughs. It was nice to see the parents and grandparents getting into it too!

Early morning Maternity photoshoot

Charles Le — Fri, 25 Nov 2011 09:32:49 +0000

Danielle wanted to have some maternity pictures taken to celebrate her pregnancy. She wanted to do something different than the classical semi nude shots, so I suggest we do it at a park early in the morning. We had such great lighting with the sun filtering through the morning leaves. This is my favorite time of the morning to shoot, especially when the leaves are wet with dew. Here’s a few shots from the session. Enjoy!

Jaclyn and Matthew’s wedding at Sofitel in Redwood City

Charles Le — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 00:00:43 +0000

Jaclyn was a maid of honor at a wedding I photographed three years ago. This time around, Jaclyn is the bride and her best friend Lauren was her maid of honor. In fact, this would be the fifth wedding I would have photographed within this circle of friends since that first wedding!

This time the ceremony was to be at Sofitel Hotel in Redwood City. The forecast had called for rain, but we were fortunate enough to have some beautiful lighting and a very playful bunch of friends. We took full advantage of it before the clouds started rolling in.

The mood was equally fun in the morning where everyone was there to prep Jaclyn for her big day. It was especially cute watching everyone help Jaclyn into her dress!

I have to admit, I kind of "helped" the girls with this shot. I just couldn't help myself!

Because of the imminent signs of rain coming, we moved the ceremony indoors. We had an intimate group of family and friends gathered to witness the two tie the knot.

I love this picture of Jaclyn and her dad before the ceremony - captured by my assistant Sarah

The fun continued at the reception where there were so many moments to capture.

There was a photo booth at the reception. Everyone had a blast using it!

The night continued on with lots of dancing. Everyone had a great time!

Congratulations to Jaclyn and Matthew as they start their lives together as husband and wife.

Relaxing weekend in Monterey and Carmel

Charles Le — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 06:32:32 +0000

I had my first weekend off in such a long time. Susan and I went off to Carmel and Monterey for the weekend to catch some R&R. The forecast called for cloudy with a chance of rain, but it turned out to be a perfect two days! I really enjoyed the bay and all the great restaurants. The hardest part is deciding where and what to eat. Everything look so good! We loved watching the Pelican, Sea Otter, and a Harbor Seal. Here are some pictures I took this weekend. They were all taken with one of my favorite camera, the Olympus EP-3.

I love sea otters. This one was especially cute!

We love hats/ We picked up these two from The Hat Store in Carmel

a bird whisperer

It was a gorgeous sunset and we were the only two still on the beach at this time... besides a doberman pincher that was playing catch

Chris and Tina’s wedding at the Brazilian Room in Berkeley

Charles Le — Sat, 12 Nov 2011 08:24:16 +0000

Chris had proposed to Tina while they were in Yosemite on a camping trip. He asked her to marry him at Glazer Point. After being together for 5 years, she said yes and they decided to tie the knot two weeks ago on October 29th. Each of the tables at the Brazillian Room were marked with the names of the different places they’ve hiked at. Ornate little pumpkins marked the guest’s names and their assigned table.

I arrived in Berkeley to find everyone busy getting ready for the ceremony.

The ceremony was quite beautiful with the sun casting a warm glow on everyone who witnessed it.

Their son Grant participated in the sand ceremony. It’s a ceremony where Chris, Tina, and Grant pour sand into a jar with the idea that their marriage, like the grains of sand, once combined, would be impossible to separate.

Everyone rushed in to congratulate the couple after the ceremony. There were lots of heartfelt emotions. Chris and Tine celebrated their marriage with a very joyful group of people!

As the guest began to come inside for the reception, we took a few minutes to take a few portraits of the newlyweds.

Tina took a opportunity to relax a bit before the couple made their grand entrance.

The evening continued on with beautiful toasts made by both Dads, Chris’s brother, and Tina’s sister.

Later in the evening, Tina changed into her Korean Hanbok and visited her guests at each table.

The it was time for the party to begin!

Jeannine and Kyle’s wedding in San Francisco

Charles Le — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 22:27:58 +0000

I went going solo on this recent wedding in San Francisco. It was a spectacular day! I had a beautiful clear sky and a lovely bride to work with!

When I arrived at the Marriott Hotel in the morning, I found Jeannine with her close friends and family. Everyone was excited about the wedding. I photographed the moments and anticipation with relish.

While Jeannine was getting her makeup and hair put on, I went over to find Kyle with his parents getting ready in the other room.

Jeannine and Kyle exchanged gifts. It was great to see their expressions in these pictures.

Finnaly, it was time to get into the dress and then onto San Francisco!

When we arrived at the historic City Hall in San Francisco, we were greeted to the beautiful sounds coming from the Harp played by Krista Strader.

San Francisco is such a beautiful city to photograph as well as a fun place to be. We had a few hours to spare after the ceremony so we took advantage of it by taking pictures around town, starting right at where they just got married!

It was time to get head out to Vivace in Belmonth to join their friends and family for their reception dinner.

The reception was quite intimate. The ambiance and lighting added to the intimacy. The conversations went well into the evening.

There is not a classier way to make your getaway then to be swept off in a beautiful Roys Rolls!