Well our bags are packed, our gear is loaded up, and we are heading out to the great state of Texas for a wedding we’ve been looking forward to for quite some time. Our friend and fellow photographer Phillip Glickman has honored us by asking we capture his and Ashley’s amazing day; we wouldn’t miss it for the world. We’ll be back in the studio on Tuesday!

Make it a great weekend y’all! (See? Already practicing!)

I had twittered last Monday that Erin and I had photographed a family portrait that was especially meaningful. The father, Masse, had terminal cancer and as a gift one of Erin’s friends asked us if we would capture him, his wife, and adorable 3 year old daughter together one last time.

Having just checked himself out of the hospital, he had chosen to come home and spend his last days with the loves of his life rather than being hooked up to machines in a cold and sterile hospital.

We arrived not sure what to expect, and began setting up our gear. Nori, his wife, came out leading her husband by the hand, carrying his oxygen tank and taking small steps as he used every ounch of strength he had to walk into their back yard. Their shy daugther hiding behind them clutching onto her Mommy’s leg.

It was the shortest shoot we have ever done, and yet we knew what we were capturing would be looked at more times than any wedding photo we could ever take. Because there, in a little backyard in Northridge, was a man treasuring every second he had left with his wife and little girl. And that smile was something not even as horrible as cancer could ever take away.

Our hearts broke as we received the news last night that Masse has passed away, one week after we captured him and his beautiful family.

Life is a gift, every moment. Take time today to tell those you love how you feel, and if you think of it please say a prayer for a wife and daughter who are missing the amazing man who shaped their lives.

So there I was just paging through and I stopped. I flipped back a to previous page and couldn’t believe it! There, in the back, was a paragraph we had written and image of ours! About a month or so before I answered a call for possible submissions about innovative and cost effective marketing techniques. If you’re a fan of ours on Facebook, you’re no stranger to the fact that we love posting sneak peeks the night of/day after all of our weddings. We love showing images to our brides as soon as possible so both they and their family and friends can share in moments together mere hours after it happened. Not only does it make our brides happy, but it has been a great way of letting others know about who Erin and I are and the love we have for wedding photography!

So there we are, in black and white on page 199 of this month’s Rangefinder Magazine. Nothing big, nothing glamorous, but man alive did it sure make our day. A huge thank you to our friends at SnapKnot for making us aware of this opportunity and to everyone who time and time again support us and push us to be better ever time we pick up our cameras!

With the help of our amazing brides and wonderful coordinators, Erin and I look forward to the privilege of journeying together as we strive for the front cover one day! (Hey, it could happen, right?!)

You guys are just the best, thank you!

As we came to find out, Kathleen and her husband Steven had a beautiful wedding over 3 years ago and to their utter heartbreak…they had no real photos to show for it. I’ll save some of the details, but the bottom line was they were so sad to have no usable images of Kathleen in her dress or her and Steven together. NONE!

So, we did our first ever family portrait/bridal portrait photoshoot, and had the absolute best time with this fun and wonderful family! We loved it so much, we are splitting up the shoots into two separate blog posts, starting with some of our favorite images with their whole family. And no, you’re not seeing double, Kathleen and Steven have two adorable twin girls! As you can imagine, keeping twins clothed and happy requires reinforcements to pull off a shoot like this, and thanks to some helpful hands from the family everything went just perfect!

First up on the blog, we are pleased to give you the Spagnolo family!

I HAD TO POST THIS ONE – A BEHIND THE SCENES SHOT THAT MAKES ME CRACK UP EVERY TIME!

- ONCE WE FEEL CONFIDENT WE’VE GOTTEN EVERYTHING FOR THE FAMILY PORTRAIT, WE LOVE TO SNEAK AWAY WITH MOM AND DAD TO GET SOME FUN AND PLAYFUL SHOTS -

^ ERIN’S ANGLE ^

^ MY ANGLE ^

So until next year…I give you…the Wade family! Hoping you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

P.S. We all have smiles because this was before our amazingly delicious meal. Had we waited, our waistlines and pained expressions would have been too much for the internet to handle. You’re welcome…the world.

Never a dull moment

My hot wife

Can you tell she used to model? Yeah...not fair for the rest of us

Erin loves this one.

The sisters who help keep one another sane among all the crazy guys!

Okay...maybe they are a little crazy too...