Anna Wu Photography » portraits

Sun & Elliot | San Francisco Engagement Photography

Anna — Thu, 03 May 2012 19:41:24 +0000

This is an engagement I’ve been looking forward to for a while now. You may remember my friends Sun and Elliot from their portrait session a year ago, before they were engaged, just as they were about to embark on a year of long distance across San Francisco and Vietnam. Well, they made it through to other side–with a ring on Sun’s finger no less– and they will be wed in Chicago this fall!

We drove up to the Marin Headlands for their engagement session.

Such rebels.

After a quick outfit change, Elliot surprised Sun with a birthday gift– a shark kite! She has a thing for sharks.

And outfit number three was an adorable ensemble for the streets of Sausalito.

Love the one of Sun on the left. It might be my favorite.

Congratulations, Sun & Elliot!

Erin & Thomas’ Elopement | Big Sur Wedding Photography

Anna — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 17:51:38 +0000

This elopement takes my breath away.

Erin is a painter; Thomas is a composer. They both knew they didn’t want a big, expensive wedding. It was difficult for their families to not be there for the ceremony, but they knew this was what fit them best. They flew from New York City to Big Sur, California, and they stripped the wedding down to its core. There were no frills– just two people in love committing to each other for the rest of their lives.

Soaring Starkey was such a wonderful officiant. She personalized the entire ceremony to fit Erin and Thomas, and she was such a pleasure to work with, ever considerate of my photography needs on top of creating the most amazing experience for the bride and groom.

I just love the sheer emotion that runs through this elopement.

In the middle of the ceremony, Soaring stepped aside to let Erin and Thomas speak directly to each other, just the two of them.

Erin’s BCBG dress was just stunning. It was so beautiful and fitting for the unique occasion.

Soaring also provided Erin and Thomas with a full script of the entire ceremony, including both of their stories about how they first knew that they were “the one” for each other.

Finally, after the ceremony we had time to roam Pfeiffer Beach for some beautiful portraits. It was such an incredible experience to be there in Big Sur, surrounded by the grandeur of the California Coast. This was one of those days I really just looked around in disbelief– I have the best job ever. This was a Monday afternoon, no less!

Number one favorite:

Congratulations, Erin & Thomas! Thank you so much for sharing your special day with me. It was an absolute honor.

Wedding Vendors:

Location: Pfeiffer Beach, Big Sur, California
Officiant: Soaring Starkey
Dress: BCBG
Photographer: Anna Wu Photography

Elisa Park, Clarinetist | Musician Headshots

Anna — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 20:16:55 +0000

She is a pharmacist by trade, but she doubles as a clarinetist in her free time. I met with Elisa one Sunday for a quick headshot session outside the Dean Lesher Theater in Walnut Creek. I love the mix of looks we got! Some of my favorites are below.

Erin & Jack | San Francisco Engagement Photography

Anna — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 16:33:19 +0000

A surprise engagement session! Erin and Jack were so great to work with. They were visiting San Francisco from Seattle, and Erin planned the whole shoot as a surprise to Jack for his birthday weekend. We started by the California Academy of Sciences and wandered through Golden Gate Park to the San Francisco Conservatory of Flowers, and it was all sweetness along the way.

A little Jurassic Park moment:

Congratulations, Erin & Jack! I hope you’re enjoying these images from back in Seattle.

Talya Lieberman, Vocalist | Musician Headshots

Anna — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 15:19:02 +0000

My friend Talya is an incredibly talented opera singer. She also happens to be gorgeous. She’s one of my long time fans and has made frequent appearances on this blog. This time, I told her if she flew out to California, she had a portrait session waiting for her over here. She got a little bonus too. I even did the styling and all her hair and makeup.

We took a short little trip over to Oakland’s Lake Merritt for some unbeatable California sunshine.

Gardner Family | Oakland Family Portraits

Anna — Mon, 09 Apr 2012 14:54:52 +0000

It’s been such a pleasure to photograph the Gardners year after year and watch their family grow. Sadly, they are moving down to Southern California this month, and they will be sorely missed up here in the Bay Area! But I fully plan to visit them down in Ojai to continue the annual tradition, as long as they don’t get sick of me. =)

We kick it off with Isla the explorer. Isla is the best little girl ever. She loves zombies and Star Wars more than any other little girl in the world, she says outrageously awesome things all the time, and Aaron documents it all (along with writing awesome poems and other things) on his blog, which you should definitely read.

Classic Isla. The family was all posed for a portrait atop the Fairyland Hotel, but she was still having a lot of fun in jail.

Meet Miles! He has grown so much since I first met him for his newborn portraits.

Isla has her princess wave down pat.

Baby blues.

Love these precious moments. Telling daddy about how scary the wolf was, and getting a reassuring hug after going down the giant dragon slide!

Finally, a couple little Hallmark moments for posterity!

Joy & Tim | San Francisco Maternity Photography

Anna — Wed, 04 Apr 2012 15:44:36 +0000

Joy and Timmy are expecting!

Despite forecasts of rain, we lucked out on some gorgeous sunlight instead. It took a little bit of convincing for me to assure Tim that we weren’t going to create super awkward maternity photos (because yes, there are so many super awkward maternity photos out there in the world). But he was a good sport, and, well, I’ll let you judge for yourselves, but I think these turned out amazingly. I might just stick around this maternity photography business for a while. =)

I love Joy’s baby bump. Eight months!

So sweet.

Congratulations Joy & Tim! Can’t wait to meet the little one!

Hewett Family | Livermore Family Portraits

Anna — Mon, 02 Apr 2012 18:32:38 +0000

I will never forget when at the end of this session, Kristen turned to me and said, “Anna, thank you so much for taking the time to make our family feel special for a day.”

It’s an absolute privilege for me to build relationships with my clients and to keep in touch with them even beyond their wedding day. You may remember Kristen and Ryan from their beautiful backyard wedding in Sunol last summer. I was very excited to see them again with Kristen’s family for a family portrait session at her parents’ house.

At the end of the day, with all of the ups and downs that life hands us, isn’t it really all we can do to take a moment to celebrate joy, love, life, and make someone else feel special?

Enjoy!

Four generations of beautiful women.

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Valentine’s in New York City

Anna — Sun, 01 Apr 2012 06:35:07 +0000

This city is full of surprises. Even with all the times I have visited in the last couple years, no two trips have ever felt the same. This time it was a really quick visit, just two short days, one of them Valentine’s. No romantic liaisons, but lots of awesome friends! I spent most of the day with my good friend Yifan.

There’s nothing like waking up to the hum of the city outside your window.

Yifan is a tiny little ball of energy. And she managed to find a dog that’s an exact mini replica of her.

After a visit to Yifan’s lab, we headed to one of my favorite spots in the city, Baohaus. The pork belly is amazing.

On our way out, we ran into Evan Huang, co-owner of Baohaus. We chatted him up and he gave us a sample of the brand new special– the Jeremy Lin bao, a.k.a. the Taiwanese T-bao. ;)

We walked across town to get hot chocolate (thick as soup and absolutely awesome), and we wandered through Chelsea Market up to the High Line.

After an unintentional shopping spree at Brooklyn Industries, we made it to our dinner date at Malatesta, an adorable Italian place in the West Village.

Later that night, we headed across town again to the Blue Owl and a bunch of my friends came out for drinks. I neglected to take photos except for this one of Vince bringing us treats from Momofuku’s Milk Bar and of Juliana being enticed to stay awake, feline style.

Thanks to Paul, Dave, Juliana, Michelle, Vince, and of course my date Yiffy for a great Valentine’s Day!

Oh, and that other day I spent in New York? That one was filled with ballerina amazingness. Unfortunately, I still haven’t figured out how I will be sharing those, but if you’re curious in the meantime, you can sneak a peak of my Pointe of View album on facebook. Feel free to “like” the page while you’re there!

Christine & Scott | San Francisco Engagement Photography

Anna — Thu, 29 Mar 2012 16:23:19 +0000

Christine has a cheerful demeanor, an easy smile that breaks across her face and leaves an endearing little dimple on her left cheek. Scott is sharp-witted, a quiet observer, but always willing to indulge and humor those around him. They’ve been inseparable for years, and it’s fun to watch how they support one another.

It was a beautiful, sunny day in San Francisco when we met at Golden Gate Park for Christine & Scott’s engagement session. Oscillating between silly humor and quiet intimacy, the photographs are packed with a bit of each of their personalities.