brian + jackie = engaged!!!

We just got back from a 4 day awesome trip from Oregon and Seattle. We spent some time with our good friends Albert, Tiff and the funniest one of the bunch...Mateo. The latter part of our trip we were in Seattle for a photography workshop. But more on that later...

Right now, we want you to meet brian + jackie. Yay! they're getting married!!

This shoot was special because first of all, it was our very first engagement shoot, such a perfect day to have it, and with an awesome couple! John has known jackie for about 5 months now and seemed to have a general interest in our work, so she asked us to do her engagement shoot...so cool! jackie and brian are getting married back east so i thought it was totally cool that they had some pictures from southern california to start it off. We wanted to do something super special to present this, but that was taking tttoooo long, so here it is....

Beauty for Ashes Photography

world premiere slide show...just click on their names!
***** jackie and brian *****

Thank you so much for waiting to see them, we love them especially the ones right below... again, congratulations on your engagement, and happy wedding planning from here on out... it's going to be so beautiful...

here are some of our favorites...

Please, give us some feedback, so please leave a message, we would really love to here what you guys had to say!

John and Lauren
Beauty for Ashes Photography

True Bella

Okay, we are guilty. True Bella had her photo shoot quite awhile ago, it was so long she went from being the only child to a RUNNING, older sister. It is so amazing how much time flies...Ruby, the mother was actually pregnant with baby #2. The parents haven't even really seen these photos, so we hope you absolutely love them! We actually had this shoot back in January! haha ...

Well, I wanted to start off these series of photos with her feet, cause it shows how small they were back then, and also how much she uses them now.

Haha... True's...when is he coming home picture...oh no Ruby!


I think this photo might have captured how she was...very quiet and well behaved. She seems so quiet here...

So True's parents discovered she was allergic to something a little late...haha. They found out she was allergic to dairy and what a journey it was to find out what it was. Not only a journey, a sacrifice because her Mom loves loves loves chocolate, so a few sacrifices where in mind. Well, her being allergic to dairy, it made her skin really dry and I thought post process work was needed, but I hesitated. This was a time in her life and family where this was True. Spots and all. Praise God it was nothing life threatening, so some of the shots, they were left in. Only because this is what I knew of True back then... SSOOO Cute red spots and all!

During the shoot, she was sooo good! I think she started to like the camera because we would find her looking at the lens a little more and more throughout the day!

I love this picture my husband took (detail shot) since True is a little bit older, she is more independent now, but at this age, she could barely hold her bottle without her mom. I also love this because it shows how small her hands are in comparison to her mom's. So different in size and represents how much Ruby guides True in her life. It shows how much Ruby's hands are involved in growing her and showing her Christ.

So cute!

So, by the time we went outside, she was getting really tired and irritated with Beauty For Ashes Photography...Sorry True!



So True is an older sister and is running all over the place...we can't wait to have photo shoot #2 with her and her sister. With better equipment and better knowledge of our cameras, we can't wait! So Ruby and Ben.... how 'bout it?

Work...Work...Work

Alright...

So it was one of those nights... a night that I think every married couple goes through.... or maybe it's just us, but I hope every other couple goes through, or else John and I have problems...but it was just one of those nights. So I was trying to think of how I can be part of his day, or part of his everyday routine... Since I am now going to be working in LA, I am taking advantage of the fact that I still have the luxury of sleeping in right now, but not for long, and kind of neglecting my husband in the morning cause I know sleeping in will no longer be an option anymore, so.. here are a couple of items my husband picks up every morning like clockwork...without a doubt...trust me, I've seen him do it...

His Wedding Ring

His Keys...

His bag...

And since the hubby is sick, he is a big fan of cough drops right now...The lunch sack... yeah, he could pick that up more often, but that's my fault =(.

So, I was like, a big fat picture of my head...no that wouldn't work...I can't think of anything cause it is way past my bedtime, so i just wanted to make a little note to tell my husband and the world...



My husband works really hard, commutes really far, and starting up our business... I don't realize how awesome of a husband he is to do all this for our family of two...not three yet... He is very talented and loving towards me... He is already sleeping right now.. but I love you very much!

Blogged Out

Okay,

So Time Warner is still in the works of giving us our internet back. Oh the funny thing is, Time Warner sent us a bill!! haha. They bill a month in advance too, but we don't have internet! And, they are billing us for our installation fee because we"cancelled" our internet....Anyway...

So, a couple of weeks ago, I was telling John, the other half of Beauty For Ashes Photography, how blogged out I was...but now that it's been awhile, I am so missing it right now! I want to share pictures, and the newest additions to our great adventure to becoming awesome photographers... haha...

Quick update.. as you know our wedding photographers are holding these workshops and telling us all their secrets.. So I, Lauren, will be flying out to Washington on Saturday for a 1-day workshop and flying back. Then, in October, we are flying to Oregon, hanging out with The Zaporteza's, fellow Nike-an's, and then taking a road trip back to Washington. Then, Beauty For Ashes Photography will be attending a 2-day workshop on bettering ourselves and becoming one with our cameras... but really, it will be a blast, cold, and very educational, so I am very excited!

So, I miss my blogging that includes pictures... So, the pictures will have to wait, but they will be great!

Credit Mystery

Hello everyone!

As you know, Jp and I went on our family vacation over the weekend to go camping at Pismo Beahc, Oceana Dunes, and went ATV riding and didn't shower for 3-days! It was great if you asked me. But... this year, it was the most windy it has ever been since my family started camping here, but we got through it, and Jp wants to go back... We didn't bring our camera because of the sand and the lens...not a good mix, especially with the winds... it was really windy!

On top of that, on Sunday, Jp get an email on his phone saying someone tried to use his Credit Card over the weekend, but BofA didn't let the purchase go through cause the Credit Card has not been used in so long with a zero balance, so praise God for Security Protection... but that isn't the end of it. We got home Sunday night, and fiending to use the internet, we couldn't log on. Jp being the techy... tried all he could be still wasn't working. So we called Time Warner, and they said over the weekend, we requested the account to be closed....!!!?! what! We were in the sand dunes! So, we are hoping the custome service person who closed it made a mistake, but if they didn't, that person who closed it has my husband's information and was able to close the account. What thrill would they get out of closing the account?!? I don't know, but it was a success.

So now, we can't get our internet back untill the investigation is done, which should be closed on Friday, I'm hoping! So untill then, not pictures, no babies, no family updates...nothing... Just me at work talking about credit. It is funny how the higher the credit score, the more trust worthy you are. But when someone gets a hold of it and ruins it... while you didn't do anything, is very frustrating. praise God I took my Fraud Examination class, but even with all the precautions.... it happens to my husband. No damage has happened yet... so pray nothing does!

Babe-A-Rama

Kids are so cute! Jacob is probably one of the funniest kids Beauty For Ashes have ever encountered. He sucks his finger, talks in grunts, and is a Papa's Boy! But when he gets used to the camera, he knows what he is doing. In the next post, we will show you just how comfortable he was...

Haha, already using props...

Bubba #1 and Bubba #2...or shall we call them Eyes and Lashes...you'll see what I'm talkin about...

This is Bubba #1

and Bubba #2

Austin...I think he just discovered His legs and how to really use them, cause this boy was all over the place

Last but not least....the Bling of all Babies...AJ

Kids grow so fast and it's incredible how much they learn just by watching and listening... More Babe-A-Rama to come

Michael and Christina

Michael and Christina's wedding took place at the Cathedral, but Beauty For Ashes Photography had a one-stop trip at the Bonaventure Hotel in Downtown LA.

We were able to get a couple of images of the bride getting ready. She was actually calm, but her cell phone was by her the whole time.

The invtations and her wedding main color was pink, her favorite color, and had a modern style to it, but she chose a classy eternity band which signies her unity with Michael.

Going to the hotel or location where the bride is getting ready is not just to see what happens behind the scenes, but so important to see the details she picked to make her day complete. It could be the details on the dress, the shoes, or even the girls she hand picked to be in her wedding. You want to try to capture everything the bride loved as she picked them. She probably mentioned how she loved the laced flowers, or the style of the eternity band, or the way the shoes would look with the dress or even the height it would give her. Capturing the details is something I know I wanted, so it is important to know what the bride would want to see in her pictures.

Her dress was so unique because the tail was detachable. Since it was detachable, I wanted to show how small the dress was without it.

Although John usually has that eye for detail, I loved the simplicity of the back of the dress and had to take it.