Valentine’s Day Photo Shoot
Happy Valentine’s Day! Today I’m FINALLY sharing this super fun photo shoot from last year. I’m so sorry I hid all this awesomeness from you! Last January, I collaborated with my friend Janea Greene Creative on a Valentine’s Day photo shoot in her studio, Creative Space Studios. The purpose of the shoot was to create an opportunity for photographers (new and seasoned) to use the space and shoot against different staged backdrops. Working with Janea to brainstorm ideas was so much fun! We went down the Pinterest rabbit hole and found so many good ideas. In the end, we settled on four setups that catered to wedding and creative lifestyle photography. Janea wanted to provide an encouraging, fun environment for different creatives to work side by side and we accomplished just that! There were nine photographers who participated and they used the space as their playground – posing models, changing outfits and moving around props. I even got the chance to model for a few shots and had so much fun!
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Love Letters
The idea for this setup started with this giant heart love letter Janea found by Oh Happy Day. I made my own version of the love letter using my Cricut machine for the postage stamps and watercolor for the message inside. I was really inspired by the idea of love letters and happy mail, so I folded paper airplanes and arranged them by size and color to look like hearts coming from the pile of letters and packages. The faux packages and air mail envelopes were decorated using this Valentine’s Day stamp set, postage stamp stickers, baker’s twine and custom wax seal I saved from my wedding. The little red mailbox was actually my Christmas porch decoration! I transformed it with an air mail envelope that fit the bottom door perfectly and covered the Christmas details with Valentine’s Day images and phrases. I love how Janea thought to add a large pegboard for more texture and dimension.
Galentine’s Day Party
The Galentine’s Day setup was probably my favorite! There should be no surprise I like pink! Janea let my maker heart run wild with this one. I thought it would be so fun to have it look like a besties party where the girls snack, take selfies and make mini photo albums. I made the “Dancing Queen” and “Girl Boss” medallions, light blue heart ring box, wooden heart rings and earrings, heart paper straws, conversation heart popcorn and mini albums. The literal icing on the cake was Diana’s coral ombre scalloped cake topped with the gold “gimme some sugar” cake topper. We had so many different props, the tabletop happily evolved over the course of the shoot!
Ombre Tulips
I love ombre anything and flowers are no exception! The night before the shoot, Janea and I hung tulips from the ceiling in an ombre pattern using fishing line. It looked like the flowers were floating in air! The concept, although simple, beautifully complimented the coral velvet chair and the two-tiered cake made by Diana (which also had red tulips!).
PAINTED FLORAL WREATH
The talented Lorin of Letterly Signs and Lettering painted the most beautiful floral wreath backdrop. The vibrant colors really popped on the black paper and was a welcome contrast to all the pink in the room.
Possibly the most fun was meeting and working alongside everyone who walked in the door that day! The energy was so infectious and I just wanted to live in that happy moment forever. Brittany brought her chic wardrobe and style advice, Lauren gave the models a lit-from-within glow and Janea kept the party going! I enjoyed making the magic happen and am so grateful for this opportunity. I’m looking forward to more collaborations like this in the future!
Let’s collab! Call me maybe?
Contributors:
Bridal Gowns: Brides on Hartz | Cakes, cupcakes, macarons: Sweeterie | Cake topper: Happily Ever Etched | Crafts, Design, Prop Styling: Freshly Fuji | Hair and Makeup: Lauren Tukuafu Makeup | Linens: Party Crush Studio | Models: Brittany Olsen, Diana Chu of Sweeterie, Olivia Armstrong | Painted floral backdrop: Letterly Signs and Lettering | Photography: Anna T Nguyen, Cerissa Mangrum Photography, Janea Greene Creative, Pomegranate Ink, Samantha Grant Photography, Shannon Alyse Photo | Studio: Creative Space Studios | Velvet chair: Lux Event Rentals and Design | Wardrobe Stylist: Brittany Olsen
