Hi, nice to meet you. I’m Lauren. I’m known to my friends as “the creative one”. I never read the manual or directions, yet am completely organized and detail-oriented. I’m an event planner by day and photographer on the weekends and evenings, which gives you the added value of booking a photographer that knows a lot about wedding planning. My apartment is an outward expression of who I am – it’s full of furniture from antique stores, old books, mismatched frames, and touches of my photography. Inspiration comes to me in the form of crisp weather, hot hazelnut coffee, antiques, the smell of pine trees, and colorful winter scarves. I find beauty in rare things and attempt to hold on to it with one click of my camera. I dabble in guitar and singing. If I could be a full-time traveling photographer, I would. You’ll see a lot of blogs on my website about tips and tricks for wedding planning. This experience comes from years of being “always a bridesmaid, never…” Well, you know the rest. I’ve been the bridesmaid in 8 weddings, have assisted dozens more, and have attended even more on top of that. I can tell you protocol, how to make the perfect wrapping paper rehearsal bouquet, and have tons of ideas on creative wedding photos. As you may have noticed, this isn’t a husband and wife wedding photography business like a lot of others you may have looked through. How does a girl who’s never been a bride know the first thing about capturing the most important day of your life? Simple. I love love and I love capturing love. My life has been filled and blessed with couples who have fallen in love and I’ve had the joy and privilege of shooting every one of those moments. I’m a romantic, lover of love, artsy, joyful single girl and it would make me so happy if I could be part of your love story.

I am very fortunate to have been part of some of my best friends’ weddings since 2007, which is when my interest in wedding photography began. Thanks to a generous gift of a DSLR from my parents, I’ve been able to shoot their weddings, which has allowed me time to perfect my art and style before actually calling myself a “photographer”. In the past couple years I’ve transitioned into a career Wedding Photographer and have shot over a dozen weddings and somewhere over 50 engagement and family shoots.

A Canon 5D Mark I. And I almost only shoot with fixed prime lenses. The look a prime lens gives you, verses a zoom lens, is nearly flawless. You know those photos you’ve seen on wedding blogs were the bride is perfectly in focus and everything in the background is complete blurred and it looks just like a painting? THAT is what a fixed prime lens can do. I also have a Nikon D7000 as my back-up camera. How do I shoot Canon and Nikon, you ask? Simple, I learned on a Pentax, grew my art on a Nikon, and decided to make the switch to Canon because of the lens quality. I’ve had time on each brand which makes it pretty easy for me to switch back and forth from one camera body to the other.

Yes! I’ve done small weddings alone, but if you’re wedding is over 75 people, then a second shooter is definitely needed. Since Lauren Alisse Photography isn’t a husband and wife business, you must be wondering who I bring as my second shooter. Allow me to introduce you to my good friend, and second shooter, Jeremy. Jeremy and I have been shooting together for over a year and work really well together as co-wedding photography shooters. He has an amazing ability to capture candid moments that others might miss and I am pretty darn good at posing couples in a way that is beautiful, natural, and artistic. Oh, and he shoots film and I’m digital. As the client, you’ll never know the difference, because we both love natural looking photos, he gets digital scans of his images, and I do all the editing – you’ll never know what’s mine and what’s his.

Since I’m an event planner by day, I’m happy to be involved in your wedding planning process as much or as little as you need me to be. My wedding package prices include one on-site consultation, unlimited email and photo communication, and an extra hour of comp time where I scout out the venue on my own to find the best places for your photos to be taken. If you need me to be more involved in the planning process, please contact me about additional consulting hours. Also, look through my blog for wedding ideas and tips. That is a free resource for you to use for all your wedding planning fun!

You will get all digital images on a CD 2-4 weeks after your portrait shoot or wedding. Those digital images are yours to do whatever it is you want with them. Make yourself a wedding album on sites like Shutterfly and Costco or print different sizes for your home. Need more ideas? I’ve helped brides come up with layouts and ideas on what to do with their photos so they don’t end up sitting on the CD forever. I’d be happy to help you, too!

When are we leaving? Traveling is second on my list of favorite things to do, after photography. No travel fees in San Diego County. Contact me for travel fees outside of that area.

A lifestyle shoot is me capturing you doing whatever it is that makes you, you. We get to get creative and play around with themed shots. Do you want to do something different and artsy, but have no idea what to do? Give me a call or shoot me an email and together we can come up with some really fun ideas.

I recommend staying away from really dark colors and true white {unless you’re wearing your wedding dress – then it’s more than OK to wear white <3}. Bright, vibrant blues and purples or muted, pastel colors photograph really well. Avoid bright yellows, reds, and oranges because they can make your skin look pink or green {and no one wants that!} True white and dark dark blues and blacks don’t do so well either {except for brown – brown is good}. If you can avoid it, don’t wear anything with distracting logos, slogans, or patterns. The focus should be on YOU, not your shirt. Whichever way you choose to go, don’t be too matchy-matchy {a family in all jeans and white button-ups is soooo out}. Try wearing different shades of the same color, or different colors in the same hue {jewel tones or all pastels, etc}. It looks so much more natural when you’re wearing different, but similar colors. Accessorize, accessorize, accessorize! Throwing on a scarf, a coat {for the men}, or a chunky necklace can change your outfit without doing a whole wardrobe change. And most importantly…wear something you feel comfortable in. If you aren’t comfortable in dressy clothing, don’t feel like you need to dress out of your style for the shoot. The best photos come when everyone looks like themselves, feels great, and is having fun!

A lifestyle shoot is me capturing you doing Please ask! laurenalissephotography.com or 858-349-4898