Merry Christmas from the Ingalls!

Thanksgiving marks the end of a very busy year for us of weddings, babies and so many kids to photograph. It also marks the start of my favorite Holiday ever; Christmas! We celebrate this season with grateful hearts and so much love to share with all of our family, friends and clients.

Anna and I are thrilled to launch a full line of totally awesome Christmas cards created exclusively for all of our wedding and portrait clients. We were soooo excited that we got all elfed-up for our Christmas portrait; compliments of the amazing Jeff Newsom. (thanks Jeff!)

We are offering 8 unique designs in 3 different sizes in either flat or folded cards. If you got married this year or had your kid’s photographed by the lovely and talented Mrs. Elf-Ingalls then let’s get your Christmas cards printed in time for the big month of merry mayhem ahead. We will email all of our current clients with ordering instructions.

Here are samples of what we’ve got going on. Which one is your favorite?

(Kisseltoe)

(Lampost)

(Santababy)

(NogginToboggin)

(Barn)

(Littlegirl)

(Sleighride)

(Snowman)

(Complete collection -4.5x5)

(Complete collection -4x8)

(Complete collection -5x7)

Galleria Album {Sample Album –Mike+Jen}

Custom albums are the ultimate way to showcase your beautiful wedding memories! The Galleria Album is a brand new product that we are thrilled to offer our clients.

Check out what Renaissance Albums has to say about the Galleria Album.
“A handcrafted, reversible mat album, designed for hand-trimmed images to be mounted within flush matted pages. Each image is set in one of our custom designed mats and has a surrounding accent lining. The Galleria Album is available in a selection of Durapelle, Leathers, Luxesuede, Metal Cover and Pure Acrylic Cover.”







This sample album was made from Michael and Jennifer’s beautiful summer wedding.

SoHo Book {Sample Album -Matt+Brooke}

A lot of our clients are falling in love with this album! We chose the Sage Silk cover to compliment the green colors which were prevalent at the sunken garden where Matt and Brooke got married.

Check out what Renaissance Albums has to say about the SoHo Book.
“A contemporary coffee table album designed for showcasing full-page prints. Unique and unrivaled in presentation, the award-winning SoHo Book uses seamless page craftsmanship to generate its distinctive style. The SoHo Book is available in a selection of Silks, Leathers, Luxesuede, Metal Cover, and Pure Acrylic Cover.”




This sample album was made from Matt + Brooke’s beautiful wedding in San Clemente.

Myung + Stacy {Pasadena}

Myung and Stacy are so artistic that they made cartoon pins of their faces as party favors for their guests. They are so generous that they threw the bouquet and garter with attached Benjies. They are so much fun that they hosted a photo-booth so that their guests could show their true colors. They are so in love that they got married at Villa del Sol de Oro and will live happily ever after. The end. Or… just the beginning I should say! ;)









Anna and I rocked the Red Cheese Photo Booth! Can you tell that we love working together?!
Check out their engagements pictures!

Guadalajara With Jose Villa {Hasselblad Film}

This is my last photo installment of my September Guadalajara trip with fine art film photographer, Jose Villa. These shots were taken with a Hassleblad (120 film) camera. (It has been almost 4 years since I've worked with film!) Anna and I leave today out of L.A.X and we will have the whole 24 room Hacienda to ourselves for one night! I am excited to meet the 15 photographers that are attending the workshop and we are looking forward to partnering with Jose to encourage them in their unique gifting for wedding photography.




Not exactly sure if these pictures of Jose’s grandma are mine or his. Either way, they capture her everyday world in beautiful light.


Yo soy un cocinero.

Ingalls loves corn!


Jose took these next couple of images. I just love the crispness and attitude. Like I said before, it was such an inspiration to watch Jose interact with people and the environment. After he asked this moto-cowboy to take off his sunglasses he circled the bike to get the rearview mirror shot, all the while directing the man to accomplish the composition that fit his vision.



After I took my only B&W photography class in college I became obsessed with photographing in different cemeteries throughout my travels in Europe and Mexico. I was fascinated with the various depictions I found of the cross. Everyone portrays the life and death of Jesus so differently through this one little symbol. I love it here -broken and smashed, but still speaking a message of love and memory at someone’s grave.

This is pretty cool… So, I was shooting with my digital and Hasselblad. At one point I set the Hasselblad down on a grave only to look back a couple minutes later and see this image through the view finder staring up at me, begging to be clicked. It was such an serendipitous moment, that I wanted to show what I saw just so people would believe that I didn’t find this shot, it found me.




Just a couple shots from the Holga came out. I was having technical difficulties with the film not winding tightly.


Check out my other 2 digital posts from my time in Mexico: Mexico with Jose Villa and Mucho Mas Photos. And… check out Jose’s Holga images; they are amazing!

the world from 13,000 feet!

Joshua Caine wanted to surprise our friend Jeff Lazo at ProDPI for his birthday with a skydiving adventure. I tried my best to back out with all of the excuses I could come up muster with short notice. Jeff Newsom conquered all my excuses with the power of his logic… And I am SO GLAD I did it! It was the closest thing to flying!!! Newsom and I shared a plane ride up so you can see him jump out before me. He swears he wasn’t nervous, just glad to be alive when the chute released. Check out Newsom’s video. Happy Birthday Lazo!!! Thanks for making me go Josh and Jeff!

Jake + Nancy {San Luis Obispo}

Nancy was the most excited bride I have experienced in the history of brides.com! She actually contacted me for the first time like 3 and a half years ago about shooting her wedding. She was excited then and boy was she excited on her wedding day! My wife, Anna went to high school with Jake and Nancy so it was a bit like shooting a party full of old friends, except I was meeting most of them for the first time.

They got married at one of our most favorite restaurants in town; Novo. The entire back deck was reserved for Jake and Nancy’s most beautiful wedding ceremony and dinner reception. It overlooks the creek in the heart of downtown SLO. We were able to get some amazing pictures around the creek area after the ceremony. Since Nancy was so freakin’ obsessed (and excited!) about photography, I was allowed to flourish in my element. Nancy would catch me getting lost looking into the trees and across the cement walls for the magical light. She would say, ‘I see your mind working! Do whatever you want with us!’ I had died and gone to wedding photographer heaven. Nancy would yell out to anyone that walked, ‘I just got MARRIED!!!’

Their personal vows were the best. The words they exchanged were so intimate and humorous that I really began to see a picture of their beautiful love for one another. Jake started out saying, ‘This was the easiest writing assignment of my life.’ The love that flowed between them made their wedding the easiest photo shoot of my life! ;)