Remember the hot air balloon shoot I did where everything just went wrong?  (You can read about it here.)  Well, I’m excited to share with you the results!    You can also check out Green Wedding Shoes for the full feature!

Ngoc & Albert thought a hot air balloon ride would be a great way to celebrate their one year anniversary… only one problem, they’re both afraid of heights!  After some thought, they figured it would be a great adventure to do together.  Wilmarose of Lovely Jubilee styled this anniversary shoot for them.  She wrote up a little short story about this adventure and hired Jen Simpson to illustrate a story book for the happy couple!  She then did all the shopping and pulled together EVERYTHING – from the clothing to the props, and even the story book.  Perfect hair & makeup by Margaret of Muse Makeup Artistry.

I LOVE that they have this story book that matches our shoot to a T!

Despite how cheerful these photos look, we were all NERVOUS!  All of us were afraid of heights.  The bigger the balloon got, the faster and harder my heart pound.  One one hand, I was worried about getting enough shots on the ground.  Then I was worried about going high into the air in a wicker basket.

The best part about working with a stylist is just showing up and everything is prepared for you.  I love the little “one cent to fly” ticket, all the cute flags, and all the other props Wilmarose thought out.

And then it’s time to take off!!  *gulp*

The ride was actually not as scary as I thought.  Take off was smooth… landing though is a whole other story.  But most of the ride was really relaxing.

There was one point though where we were REALLY high.   Ngoc & Albert hid in the basket, afraid to look over.

But then they encouraged each other and agreed to look at the same time.

One of my favorite photos of them:

I love this gorgeous necklace by Leanna Lin.

And finally, the (very rough) landing.  We slid across the entire field – basket tipped over at some points!  But it was an adventure of a lifetime and I’m so fortunate to have gotten to experience this!

And as mentioned in my post about the mishap, I had to “guess” every single exposure during this session thanks to a broken light meter.  Not bad, huh?  I’m proud of myself!  And now I’m going to pack as I leave for Seattle in a few hours!  Yippee!  Out of office til Monday!

These might just be the proudest photos I have ever taken – “but why, Caroline?  They don’t look so different from your usual stuff.”  Well, read on!

I was asked to do a love shoot in a hot air balloon.  Sounds fantastic, right?  I guess that depends on how you define fantastic.  Days before the shoot, I was told that I would only have 5-15 minutes to shoot on the ground once the balloon is inflated, depending on the winds.  I was freaking out a bit because there’s a huge difference between 5 minutes to shoot vs. 15 minutes to shoot, but either way, a really short time.  They couldn’t even tell us where we would be taking off from because it all depends on the wind conditions.  I was also told that it would be really tight inside the basket.

This was going to be a mystery shoot.  We show up, they shuttle us to a spot that they determine at that moment, then we have 5-15 minutes before we take off.  Ok, fun!  So on the way to the hot air balloon, I realized that I forgot my external light meter.  No biggie, I can use the meter in my Contax.  I’m used to it and do it all the time, so I’m good.  We get there and now starts the 5 min shoot we have.  We quickly start shooting when I realize that the meter in my camera is broken!  I stayed calm on the outside, but so freaking out inside.  I figure it would be best to pack light given how fast I will need to move, plus the tight space in the basket, so I didn’t bring a back up camera as I usually do.

At this point, I just had to “guess” on all of my exposure.  I’m used to shooting closer to sunset, so it’s brighter than I usually shoot too, but at this point, all I can hope for is that I have enough experience to pull from when determining my exposure.  It was like a pop quiz!

So we quickly shoot, jump in the balloon, and enjoyed one of the most amazing rides of my life.  The daaaays of waiting for my film scans to come back felt like an eternity, but when I finally saw them, I was blown away.  I am so proud of myself!  Just look at how pretty the colors are!

I’m so thankful that this could-be disaster story had a happy ending.  This was the biggest freak out I have had.  What’s yours?  I’d love to hear your stories!

P.S.  This was just a teaser from our shoot.  It’s getting published, so stay tuned for the rest!

Remember the love shoot contest that Jen of Green Wedding Shoes & I ran?  We finally shot it this summer and I’m so excited to finally share the results with you!  Most of you voted to see us bring the Nautical theme to reality, and I’m so glad you did because I love the result!  It’s perfect for Caitlin & Simon.  They both currently live in Bermuda.   Simon is the Captain of a ship, and Caitlin runs logistics.  They met on the ship, and now spend most of the year on sea.  They sail all over the world together and run a program where they teach kids from Bermuda how to sail.

Jen did a fabulous job with their wardrobe styling and set.  The couple literally flew in the day before, and Jen had everything set up for them already – outfits picked out and hair & makeup scheduled.  Awesome hair & makeup by Courtney of Flourish, and her adorable swimsuit is from Unique Vintage.

I couldn’t be happier shooting this engagement session for such a deserving couple!  Aren’t they just the cutest?

Caitlin was such a trooper!  It happened to be during the cold spell here in LA (60s!) and she sucked it up in her adorable swimsuit.

Then we had Caitlin change into a cute little romper:

LOVE the simple black inner tube!

That ship looks *almost* exactly like the ship they met on.  Simon was explaining something about one of the sails, but it was beyond technical for me.  I love it though when someone gets really geeky about their passion!  I could listen for hours even though I don’t understand everything.

And then a cute little red dress.  Love the pop of color!

They’re really one of the sweetest people I’ve met and I’m so happy to have met them, and capture their story on film for them.

Check out Green Wedding Shoes for even more photos!

I’m sad that my Whistler trip has come to an end.  I’m probably flying home as you read this.  To brighten my day, ready for part 2 of Jen & Jason’s awesome anniversary session?  Well if you haven’t checked out part 1 yet, go check out their stylized vintage picnic photos first and read about the making of it on Green Wedding Shoes.

I love that photo of the lonely arm chair.  Isn’t the color of the upholstery awesome? 

I have a thing for trees, especially cool symmetrical trees like above.  I’m a sucker for symmetry… and trees.  You can imagine how excited I was to have found those trees!

Jen’s dress & boots were so cute!  It’s SO important to wear something that you feel GREAT in to a shoot.  Your confidence will really shine through.

And this bouquet of blue thistle (is that what it is?) that Jen made for this part is to die for!  It’s simple, organic, and charming!

Doesn’t Jen look fabulous??  Flawless hair & makeup by Fiore Beauty.  Even if you’re going for a natural look, professional makeup will give you that perfect finish.  And one of my favorite parts of her look is that beautiful hair piece by Untamed Petals.  I love the oversized flower!  Amanda of Untamed Petals makes the most amazing hair pieces!

I’m so in love with Untamed Petal‘s hair pieces!!

And I adore Jason’s outfit!  Love the vest & hat.  Their outfits coordinate perfectly!  When planning your session, you don’t want to match like twins, but you do want to coordinate your outfits to that they complement each other.

It’s really cute watching them together.  Jason is so so sweet to her.

Jen couldn’t decide what color balloon to go with, so she brought both a pink & a green.  Good thing she had 2 because after we took those last two shots with the pink balloon in part 1, it hit a tree branch and popped.  It was loud!

Then Jason busted out his guitar.  I love it when a guy plays an instrument… and girls too!  I just love hearing live music.  Makes me wish I didn’t quit piano lessons back in high school.

I really enjoyed watching them interact together.  They really adore each other so much and share so many laughs together.

And another gorgeous bouquet Jen put together!  I love how organic they look.  And another gorgeous headpiece by Untamed Petals!

That’s right, love is all you need!

I love the messages she wrote on these vinyls.

You have to stop by Green Wedding Shoes next (if you haven’t already) to read Jen’s perspective & her process of putting this all together!

So what do you think?  Love this stylized photo session?  Well, you could have your very own stylized shoot!  Jen & I will be giving away one stylized photo shoot!  Details will be announced tomorrow, so start dreaming about what you would want your shoot to look like! 

Greetings from Whistler!  Before I hit the slopes, I wanted to share with you an awesome session stylized by Jen of Green Wedding Shoes.  Green Wedding Shoes is one of my all time favorite wedding blogs.  Jen has amazing taste and shares the most wonderful inspirations.  We got the ball rolling at the end of summer and shot this past fall, right at their one year anniversary!  What a great way to celebrate!  Jen is an amazing stylist!  We came up with a look and Jen stylized the entire thing.  I love the outfits and props she put together!  Many people don’t realize it, but a lot of thought and planning goes into a shoot!  If you haven’t, go to Green Wedding Shoes to read all about how she put this session together.   She is amazing!

Jen is now going into photo styling, and she is totally perfect for it.  I love the book Jen put together and the bouquet.

I LOVE trees!  Give me a cool tree & sun and I’m in heaven!

Every detail counts!  I love Jen’s adorable cute red nails.  And check out Jen’s perfect makeup below.  Her flawless makeup and gorgeous hair was done by Fiore Beauty.

Aren’t they just so cute?!  And their details matched them to a T.

They’re just so cute & gorgeous together!

I can’t get enough of those details!  And the amazing light!

The colors and light here just melts my heart.  So sweet, just like them.

Persimmons, one of my favorite fruits!  My parents have 3 trees!

I love Izze!  They taste as good as they look!  If you haven’t, come by my office and we have a fridge full of them to share!

I love that vintage camera and I love the follow photo of them.  They’re laughing because they see tiny me through the camera.

Jason started taking pictures of Jen and he was a natural!  We totally cracked up when he started to imitate me!

This next one is a total favorite of mine!

And of course, we got a pink balloon.  It’s how Jen and I met. 

Stay tuned for part 2 tomorrow!  In the meantime, head over to Green Wedding Shoes to read about the making of this awesome shoot!  Happy anniversary, Jen & Jason!