Anna Wu Photography

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.

Inspiration | Duke Poster Child

Anna — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 15:08:13 +0000

I know it may be tacky to quote myself, but I recently wrote a piece for my alma mater Duke University, and it was selected for publication as part of their “Major Impact” campaign on campus. I posted it yesterday on facebook and was truly overwhelmed by the positive response from my friends.

My letter is a story about pursuing my passions and creating my own path, and it’s a glimpse at my college career. You can read it by clicking below:

Duke University Major Impact

In hindsight, I can trace it all back to those formative moments in college when I hopped off my pre-med track and decided instead to design my own major in documentary studies and Asian American studies in Program II. It was then that I learned two important lessons: the first about creating yet unimagined futures, and the second about utilizing and leveraging your resources.

I also wanted to revisit two of my related personal posts from the last couple years. Every so often, I take a little side trip from the pretty pictures and delve a little deeper to share a bit of where I’ve been and where I hope to go. I love that so many people have reached out to tell me they’ve connected to my story. I am amazingly blessed to live this life that I love, and it’s an incredible privilege to be able to share it with you.

How I Wanted To Live

Creating a new path had nothing to do with what I wanted to do, but how I wanted to live. Balance. Control over my own time, variety in my schedule, and daily explorations of the world around me.

My Biggest Failure

The thing that I wish I knew about failure is that it is not simply the thing you have to overcome on your way to success. It’s not always “try, try again” or “learn from your mistakes.” Instead, failure is often the deep, dark staging area from which you have to build your success.

As some of you may know, I am actually headed to Duke University in Durham, North Carolina, today. It is my five year college reunion this weekend, and I will be reveling in waves of nostalgia, reuniting with close friends, frolicking about the gothic wonderland, and stuffing myself silly with southern food. Fellow Blue Devils, let me know if you’ll be in town. I would love to meet up!

Image credit: Jamaica Woodyard Gilmer
Makeup: Julianne Chai, Pretty By Julianne

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.

Christine & Scott | V. Sattui | Napa California Wedding Photography

Anna — Thu, 12 Apr 2012 16:35:47 +0000

They envisioned an outdoor wedding at a Napa Valley winery, V. Sattui. The courtyard would be strung with lights and guests would be seated in the cozy little square. But mother nature had other plans when the forecasts all turned to rain. Of course, Christine and Scott didn’t let it stop them for one second. All of the amazing vendors worked to seamlessly relocate the ceremony indoors to the barrel room. There was not one ounce of complaint over changed plans. It was beautiful, intimate, and filled with joy and celebration, and Christine and Scott had the perfect wedding in every way.

Christine got ready at the beautiful Avia Hotel in downtown Napa.

V. Sattui’s covered walkways surrounding the courtyard made for the perfect setting for Christine & Scott’s rainy day first look.

I absolutely loved working with everyone at V. Sattui. They made the entire day run so smoothly and were so helpful in accommodating us with all these gorgeous photography locations.

Christine and Scott opted to create two 20×30″ canvas prints of their engagement photos, as well as a custom guest book which I’m sure I’ll post about soon. I absolutely loved seeing all of their beautiful photos on display!

The details were classic and fit the rustic look of the barrel room perfectly.

Candid moments are always my favorites.

The room was transformed into the reception venue and a lounge seating area.

Macaroons! An entire dessert bar! And even an ice cream station.

Cheers!

Congratulations, Christine & Scott!

Wedding Vendors:

Venue: V. Sattui Winery
Hair: Jennifer Smallwood, It’s A Date at the Powder Room
Makeup: Jennifer Smallwood, It’s A Date at the Powder Room
Florist: Paul Stokey, Tesoro Flowers
Catering: Tra Vigne
Dress: David’s Bridal
DJ: Tony Sparks, Close Cut Productions
Wedding Coordinator: Darlene Forbes
Wedding Cake: Jaimee, Fleur de Lisa
Officiant: James Forbes
Photography: Anna Wu Photography

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.

No related posts.