Monday, June 27, 2011

I ♥ San Diego!!!

Hi everyone!! This is Marianne and as promised (although a day late), a blog about the trip I took earlier this month to San Diego. For those of you that don't know me as well, I absolutely ♥ San Diego! I always said, if I were to move outside of the Bay Area it would be to SD. Just ask Jeff, everytime we visit I always ask him, "Can we move here, please?????" He laughs, but agrees that SD would be the only other city he'd be willing to move to.

So, as I mentioned on Saturday's blog my trip there was primarily to attend a photography workshop to learn the art of boudoir photography.  However, it wasn't all business as I managed to squeeze in some fun time. The best part - my hubby got to come along for a few days!!! I thought I'd share a few highlights from my trip -- enjoy the the photos!!

This was the first time I've ever been to Coronado.
We decided to blindly explore and we ended up at the Coronado Ferry Landing.



Our next stop was Balboa Park. This place is HUGE and I wish we had more time to explore, but oh well that just means we have to come back. ;)  Oh and did I mention there were TONS of people having photoshoots that day, everything from engagement to family to senior portraits. I guess it's the "go-to" spot for location shoots. lol



One of the reasons I love SD so much is the friends I have down there.
Chelle and Jon -- thanks again for keeping me company on my last day. Oh and also for modeling. lol



I was super lucky I got to stay with my bestie from high school.
To the Steffy's thank you for letting me stay at Casa de Steffy! I always love spending time with you all.  On my last night, I went to dinner with Zon and her son B.  As soon as I whipped out the camera, he said, "no no noooooooo." lol Yes, B had to put up with auntie all week trying to get photos of him, but can you blame me, look how cute he is!  By the way, we ate at Phil's BBQ.  It was my first time there and YES everyone's right this place is yummmmmmm!!! 


Here's my other obsession -- kids and their kicks!
You'll see in most (if not all) of the family shoots we do I always get a photo of the shoes.




FINALLY ---
I want to announce that SIMPLY FABULOUS BOUDOIR will officially be launched this week! The new blog site address will be http://simplyfabulousboudoir.blogspot.com/
In the mean time, here's a sneak peek for what's to come!! ;)

Stay Fabulous!! ♥M

Saturday, June 25, 2011

Because every woman should feel fabulous! - San Francisco Bay Area Boudoir Photographer

A few weeks ago I (by the way this is Marianne) I went on a trip to San Diego. I had an awesome trip, which I will start blogging about starting tomorrow so stay tuned. =) My trip was part vacation, but one of the main reasons for going to SD was to attend a workshop by none other than The Boudoir Divas!! And now I am excited to announce that soon, Delumpa Photography will be introducing boudoir photoshoots done by yours truly!

I know some of you are thinking, "Boo-what? What's that?" The definition of boudoir (pronounced boo-dwahr) is a woman's bedroom or private sitting room.  So in a nutshell boudoir photography is intended to be sexy, more provocative, and appearing in a bedroom.

For me, boudoir photography is a chance for the every day woman to feel sexy and beautiful. It doesn't matter what size, shape, color you are -- I believe every woman is FABULOUS inside and out!  I wanted to do this type of photography, because I myself have struggled with my appearance and can be my worst critic. Sometimes I need to be reminded that although I might see imperfections in myself, that doesn't discount the fact that I'm a fabulous woman! So now I want to use my skill in photography to show every day women that they are gorgeous and sexy. It's time to bring out the fabulous!!

I've been wanting to go into boudoir photography for a while. So back in February I enlisted the help of my best friends and they agreed to model for me in a practice shoot. And what's a blog post without photos, so here's a little sneak peek from their shoots!!

Introducing: Miss Jazzmin

Introducing: Miss Marta


It's been about 4 months since I did their shoots. My passion to learn pushed me to take the plunge and sign up for a workshop to learn from a group of women whose work I admire wholeheartedly. I can't wait to post the next few blogs to share my SD adventure from a few weeks ago. So stay tuned!!

xoxo marianne

PS-- J&M you two ladies are the bestest! Love you both and thank you for your support!!! You both are gorgeous and fabulous in every way! xoxo


Wednesday, June 22, 2011

Tahara Family - Teasers - San Francisco Bay Area Family Photographer

J:  I've known Diana since college, so when she had told us that her and her family have never taken professional family photos before, we felt honored and privileged to be the first photographers to do so!

As you'll see in the following images, her kids, Ashlyn and Brayden, are a hoot!  Ashlyn was shy for the camera at first, but soon, her personality (especially her big sister side) came out.  

Most importantly, I want to give my wife, Marianne, huge props for this shoot.  She had taken lead photographer for this session and I'm so proud of how she did. =)  You're the best, love! 

Enjoy the teasers!  

Jeff & Marianne


M: For those of you that have never worked with us we always like to start with a warm-up shot to get everyone used to the camera. However, the Tahara's needed little warming up! They were ready to give big smiles for the camera. 


M: As soon as we saw the train we had to use it! I think the kids especially enjoyed being able to climb up there.




M: This particular sequence was one of my favorites during this shoot. By now the kids were comfortable with us and the camera. So as soon as they saw me hiding to try to take their picture they ran over and hammed it up for the camera.


M:  I love the expressions on Ashlyn and Brayden's faces.




M: I got to spend some time with Ashlyn and she was a natural in front of the camera.


J:  While Marianne was taking photos of Ashlyn, I happened to catch a moment with Dan and Brayden.  Dan had later told me that Brayden loves to play games of peek-a-boo.


M: This is the part of family photography that I really love -- being able to capture these genuine moments that  are full of emotion.


J:  And these next two photos pretty much sums up what every sibling relationship is all about!  I can't help but laugh when I look at this!



Sunday, June 19, 2011

Jo Anna + Joe Wedding Teasers - San Francisco Bay Area Wedding Photographer

First off, we're super excited because this is our first co-blog!! Second of all, we can't wait to show off our latest preview!! When we shot Jo Anna & Joe's engagement session back in April, we loved every second of it!  We knew their wedding was going to be fun!  They're both very loving, down-to-earth, and easy going people. So with that said, here's how we saw their special day unfold .... enjoy the preview!!!

♥ Jeff and Miyan












J: As some of you may know, Joe is a manager at 24-hour fitness.  At this moment, his manager side kicked into full gear and he gave his groomsmen a pep talk.  I swear I thought I was sitting in a sales meeting ready to sell some memberships.






M: The silhouette portrait is one of my favorites! Jo Anna you are absolutely gorgeous!!!


J: The ceremony was at St. Luke's in Stockton, a Catholic church.  Being Catholic ourselves, we adore the Catholic ceremony for its meaning, symbolism, and sacredness.


J: The first look!  Nowadays, some couples decide to forego the first time they see each other at the ceremony for a first look at each other before the ceremony.  What's most important about this is that it gives the bride and groom an opportunity to have a MOMENT with each other.  Once that ceremony starts, it's nonstop - one thing after another.  So it's nice to have a private moment with your wife/husband to-be, even if it's just for 5 minutes.

And Joe was so ready...


Some couples cry, but here, it was just pure joy...






M: The 10 minute kiss!!! lol Ok maybe I exaggerated a bit, but these two made sure they kissed!!!


J: Did I already mention that they were FUN?  The couple even had a dance battle, groom and groomsmen vs. bride and bridesmaids to help kick start their reception! Ca-raaaazy!!

The groomsmen pulled out their secret weapon:  Quinton!!  This kid is a showstopper!


J: Jo Anna and her bridesmaids had the Soulja Boy on lock....




M: As soon as the venue coordinator, Shelby, gave us the green light to use the piano I knew we had to get a shot with her laying on top of the piano. I was super excited, because we got to use lighting techniques that we've learned from workshops we've attended. You'll definitely see more shots like this in the future!



M: Jo Anna and Joe, thank you again for trusting us to capture your special day. Congrats newlyweds!!! 


Saturday, June 11, 2011

Erica's Baby Shower - San Francisco Bay Area Event Photographer


We shot the Abinsays back in December for their family photos, and were honored that they chose us to cover Erica's baby shower.

One thing about baby showers nowadays (at least the ones I've been to), are that they're all co-ed.  I remembered my mom used to go to baby showers and my dad would stay home.  My mom would explain to me that baby showers were "only for girls."  So when I was invited to my first baby shower a few years ago, I was pretty shocked and a little confused!  Sign of the times, right?

Well, I could say that the games part of baby showers are my favorite.  Why?  I'm a pretty competitive person (so is Marianne), so when it's time, we put our games faces on.......for baby shower games lol.

Below are the teaser photos from the event.  Enjoy!

Jeff & Marianne 


Did I mention this was a Filipino baby shower?  So you know what that means?  FOOD.  And lots of it!  For those of you who've never been to a Filipino party, we NEVER run out of food for our guests.  It's part of our culture and something that I absolutely love.




The creativity of parties nowadays blows my mind.  It's so easy to customize everything.  The theme for the baby shower was "Let's Go Bananas!"




Let the games begin!




The diaper game always cracks me up!

Friday, June 3, 2011

Donaville Family - San Francisco Bay Area Family Photographer

We love the Donaville Family!  Part of the reason why we love shooting families is that we get to see how everyone interacts with each other – there’s something about genuine love, humor, sibling quarrels, and mom and dad yelling at the kids that you can only get with a family. 

We shot the Donavilles back in January (they were actually our first shoot of 2011!) but Tenisha wanted to get the family dressed up with a classy feel to their photos.  Soooo, that took us to the Palace of Fine Art in San Francisco!  This location is really popular for weddings and engagement sessions, and if you haven’t been here, you should check it out!

Here are the teaser photos from their shoot!  Enjoy!

Jeff & Marianne



Aiden and Cristian were so much fun!  Marianne even let them take a few shots with her camera!  Future photographers??? hmmmmmm...=)


Here is lil Miss Aja!  This beautiful girl had tourists stopping her just to say "hi" and even wanted to take pictures of her.  Yes, she is that adorable!


One of my faves!!!  You could imagine what she's saying/doing here...






Tenisha and the kids...

As Marianne said, "she's gorgeous!"

Tony lookin smooth..




I have a feeling Aiden will be involved in the performing arts/working with people because his personality is to die for and is hard to ignore!


We just found out that Cristian was cast as "the Emperor" in the play, "The Nightingale."  Congrats!!  



Okay, as we mentioned in previous blog posts, family shoots, especially with kids involved, takes A LOT of patience.  You just have to wait for the right moment.  With Aja, she hardly left her parents' side during the shoot.  This was one of those rare moments where she wasn't with her dad and mom and caught her smiling for the camera!  This was definitely a "hi-five" moment for us.  This is the shot that Marianne got: